Reflection

As I sit here to type my “reflection blog” for my English 101 Class, I think of my struggles and success. I do think that it has gotten easier to just sit and write about things! I guess a blog is just your own private thoughts! I blogged about religion, money, my kids, my husband, my friends, and random other things! It got easier! When I first started blogging I would sit down and ponder what I was even going to write about, what one subject could I write 300 words about?! Then I would start writing. I would realize that my blog would be all over the place, I would title my blog alphabet and by the end of it, it was doing subtraction! That didn’t matter. This blog was about free writing, so if I got off on a tangent that took me around the state, then it didn’t matter because I was expressing myself through writing! I think it depends on what is on my mind, I noticed if I was really focused on one topic, I stayed pretty well on topic, but if it wasn’t a topic I was too passionate about I would ramble about other things! I don’t know if I can say that this helped me as a writer, in terms of better punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, or whatever else, but I definitely feel like it made typing my thoughts much easier! I would like to say that this class has helped me as a writer, but I don’t know that yet! I have struggled with the fact that it is now nearing the end of week 7 and I have yet to receive one piece of feedback on my writing. Practice makes perfect, and blogging is definitely practice of writing, which is wonderful; unless I have been doing it all wrong. If I have been doing it all wrong, that is not good because now I am set in my ways and have yet to have someone tell me that I am not doing something right! I didn’t like or dislike this assignment, I just didn’t know what to write about at first and the more I blogged, the more natural it became. I also did my extended learning opportunity and I enjoyed that, I love getting to know more about other people! I am concerned because so many blogs, only had 1 or 2 posts on it. I just like confirmation to know what I am doing is right, so until I am told otherwise, what I have been doing is right! Thanks for opening the blogging door. I have actually thought about making a blog on my youngest son’s health. I would love to be able to look back at when he was 3 and where we struggled so when he is 10 we can have such a huge testimony!
Word Count 480
7.17.13

Financial Advice - Journal 25

My husband and I have been through a lot. We have had financial success and failure. Right now we are trying to overcome financial failure! My husband’s income is 50k(+) a year. So for 5 years I have been a stay at home mom and handled the finances. He use to always kids around and say “I make it, she spends it” which was true! You would think that amount of money would be sufficient for living, and it is, but not if you don’t know how to budget! We had a total of 7 credit cards! (WHAT WERE WE THINKING GETTING 7 CREDIT CARDS?!) My husband was not at all aware that on our Wal-Mart shopping trips I would just slide a credit card instead of our debit card from the bank! He would check the bank and see we were doing really well and we would frivolously spend money, nakato, shopping, mini-vacations, etc. Before I realized it I was putting gas, groceries, clothes, everything on credit cards and we were blowing the rest of my husband’s income! In May it came to a head where I had to sit down and budget and I finally realized all of our credit cards are maxed out and we are strapped really tight! We were talking to some close friends from church and they referred us to our head deacons! They came over on Memorial Day and helped us figure out a “Dave Ramsey” plan for our life! We are excited to say that right now we have paid off AND CLOSED 4 of our credit cards and only have about $5000 in debt remaining! I started working to contribute to paying off those credit cards, and if things go as planned, by June of next year we will have ALL DEBT paid off, and $15,000 sitting in the bank for savings! In 3 months of donating plasma, working, and praying we have our emergency fund established and feel confident and excited about our financial future! I recommend to any and everyone to read Dave Ramsey’s book. Find out about “Financial Peace University” because it established peace in our home and in our heart to know if something happened tomorrow any Brad lost his job, we would be covered!
Word Count 378
7.17.13

Cell Phones- Journal 24

The world today is getting so technological! There are so many “techy devices”. Everyone that I know has a cell phone! Even my 5 year old has a cell phone! I am thankful for cell phones because my husband is the store manager at an AT&T Wireless store! I think the advancement in technology is crazy. I think about when I was in middle school and we had aim and bar phones! I have a few favorite things about my cell phone. I am on the Android bandwagon! I like the options you have available with it! On an Iphone you have one phone option, with android I had the HTC One X and Now I have the Samsung S3. ! My favorite apps are, Candy Crush Saga, Groupon, Facebook, and Chrome or Browser! I have spent way too many hours playing candy crush! I am on level 213. It makes me a little sick to think about all the time and effort I have spent playing that game! I could have been playing with my kids, studying or reading my bible! But that Game is so addicting. It also doesn’t help that you play with your Facebook friends, and I am a very competitive person! I really like Facebook because I was raised in Louisiana and it gives me the opportunity to stay in touch with friends and family there! It is in some ways better! I love chatting with my aunt on Facebook because it is at my convenience, but when I call her she is on the phone forever, and it is sometimes a little awkward! Since I live hours away from my family they also have the luxury of seeing pictures of my boys growing up, since we don’t make it home too often! The internet browser is just convenient; there are so many mobile sites. I can schedule Dr. Appointments, Pay Bills, Check bank account balances, Google phone numbers and everything else! All around cell phones are really cool and I can’t wait to see how things look in 10 years!
Word Count 346
7.17.13

Loves - Journal 23

Tonight I work. Ugh! I don’t know how many people go to their work and think, I DO NOT WANT TO GO! But I am one of those. The reason I am in school right now is so I can get a job that I enjoy one day! I think I would enjoy being a pediatric nurse or a trauma nurse! But working as a cashier at a gas station is not even remotely appealing to me! Since I work at Loves, a truck stop, I don’t really feel like I contribute to anything! I work the “Fuel Desk” which means I have to cash out all the customers that come in the gas side. Even though I work over night, I am so busy! Since it is a truck stop we have truckers come in all night long! I am responsible for cleaning everything! I have to make sure coffee is constantly made, I have to stock cigarettes, I also have to “Bag Hot Dog Buns”, I have to take all the roller grills with hot dogs and corndogs and tornados on it and clean it all, I have to restock all the sugar, creamers, condiments and everything! The thing that frustrates me most is that I have to do everything because nobody else does their job! Every shift is supposed to have coffee and sugar and condiments stocked, but they don’t. So I have twice the amount of work to do because I am the only person who stocks stuff! The diesel side of the gas station does nothing! I mean that in the nicest possible way! They have to deal with “Cash Advances” and the Cat Scales and clean showers! Overnight we maybe have 15 customers shower, and very few drivers come in for cash advance or to weigh their scales. I just think the work should be a little more evenly distributed!
Word Count 316
7.17.13

TravZim- Journal 22

I normally don’t get in political rants like this, but I wanted to express myself on my own blog. Please, take no offense to my random blabbering about something I know very little about! I didn’t closely follow the Travon Martin and George Zimmerman case! I remember when it happened that everybody was in an uproar because a “white guy” shot a “black kid”. I remember thinking, isn’t he Hispanic or Puertorican? I am not sure about his nationality, but he is not white! So, I don’t think it is fair to say the white guy shot the black kid. I get really tired of the race card! Either way, a MAN shot a KID! I don’t feel the race is relevant or the title “thug”, If he called himself a thug, who cares?! What matters is that a man shot a kid! Now, was it, self defense, was it premeditated? I guess the Jury determined it was self defense! I personally think that Travon Martin was targeted. Like I said, I don’t follow this too closely, but if I remember right, when the shooting first happened they said George Zimmerman had called 911 multiple times  since he was on “Neighborhood watch” that night and they told George to leave him alone! Clearly he didn’t, which is what makes me believe he targeted him. He should have walked the other way, not confronted the kid! I think he antagonized Travon and Travon did “MMA style” go to town on him, I don’t think he ever felt threaten for his life, because he had a gun on him and he knew it! Travon, I doubt knew that he had a gun! I think the riots are just making the African American race look like they are “thugs” and I wish they could just stop being angry about their Great Great Grandparents being slaves, there is nothing anybody now can do because of something that happened then! I just want us to all to get along, like everyone is the same, equal, because we are!!!
Word Count 343
7.17.13

Back 2 Skool – Journal 21

Oliver, my 5 year old will be starting Kindergarten this year! He will turn 6 in November! He has been so excited about school! He went to summer school at Alice Pittman and seemed to love it! Suddenly last night he told me he doesn’t want to go to school. He told me he was scared because school is longer than summer school! We are getting ready to do our back to school shopping! I have never done “back to school” shopping before, so I don’t know how much I should plan on budgeting for it! We live right by our elementary school. It is called Wilder! We literally are 400 feet away from  the front door of the school. I can see the front door of the school from my front porch! I feel like it is a great area to live in with wonderful schools! I don’t know why he suddenly became nervous! I am a little nervous too but I have made sure to be positive and encouraging anytime we are talking about school! My husband who is the best dad sat him down and talked to him! He wants to learn so bad! I love that he has a hunger for learning! He is 5 and is consumed with Presidents and States and capitals. My husband told him he would get to learn how to read better and add big numbers and learn about presidents and science! He seemed to be a little more excited again, I am just nervous that the first day of school he is going to be upset or cry. Even up until his last day of summer school, I still wanted to walk him into class and linger, if he cried it would be really difficult for me to leave! I love my baby so much and I cannot believe his is about to start kindergarten! I pray that he is going to succeed and excel and that he is going to be a light of Jesus for others to see!
Word Count 340
7.17.13

Grilling - Journal 20

I have been so busy with everything I haven’t had a chance to clean or do laundry or even cook dinner! After the zoo and Jordan Valley Park, I came home to blog and ended up taking a nap! While I was asleep, my best friend showed up! My house was a mess and she helped me clean it! I know I have a true friend when she comes over and knows I have been tired and busy so she cleans my house! I haven’t even cleaned my pool or put chemicals in it, so she did that for me too! My husband is going to mow tomorrow and since I don’t have class like I normally have, we invited them over to grill! I have really missed them! I am excited because I have seen her every day since Sunday, which use to be our normal! Before I started working and school it was completely normal for us to be together every day! Unlike one of my friend’s heather, we were together every day and we would start arguing and bickering! But with Kristy, it isn’t like that. We are together all the time and things never get awkward or uncomfortable! We always get along! We have such different parenting styles, she is 10 years older than me and her youngest son is one year younger than my youngest! She is more laid back and just lets Jeremiah do his own thing; I don’t think it is just her age, we have another friend named Jodi who is 40 and her youngest son is 2 and she is very attentive to what he does and how he is behaving! Jeremiah is having some behavioral issues, but he is getting better! Time out really works for him! I just miss them all and I am so glad that I get to see them tomorrow night for dinner! We also haven’t had a chance to go to the store either, so along with laundry, essays, dishes, mowing, grocery  shopping and everything else, we will be busy tomorrow!
Word Count 346
7.16.11