Online Schooling

I am three weeks away from earning my Bachelors of Science in Business - Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I have attended a community college (where I earned my associates degree in Musical Theatre) and a top 100 University (only for a semester because it was too big for my liking). When my husband and I decided to start our family I switched to the University of Phoenix Online. I was really excited to be able to do school on my timing, at home (or anywhere really), and to avoid annoying lectures and time wasted when you go to school on campus (like the dead time between classes).

Well, here I am about to graduate and I have a lot of stress to show for it. I definitely have learned some good things that I could not have learned without gaining an education, but I definitely did not learn as much as I could have. Since the learning format is set up as the student reads texts books and searches the Internet to learn (I feel I could have done it on my own without paying so much money) I was not the best student because I only learned what I had to so I could complete assignments in stead of really reading everything. Once in a while I would get a good teacher (most were just facilitators as their title and actions show) and those TEACHERS sometimes taught me stuff in addition to the text books and if it was done simply, pertained to the subjects being learned, and there was not too much outside information I actually learned a lot in those classes. But then there were teachers who threw way too much information at us that I would loose track of the required subjects on the discussion board. I was also overwhelmed by those teachers and did not learn much at all. But all that aside, it is kind of nice to learn at your own pace and focus on the aspects that you would like to know more about...but it was also sometimes hard when you didn't know where to look.

Even though going to school online has been quite a challenge and I did not learn as much as I would have liked, I am grateful to have had the opportunity. I couldn't have got my degree at this point without it. I do feel I earned my degree, but I just wish I could have left with even more knowledge; although, in the business world sometimes you don't really learn anything until you get out there and apply it (I've learn SO MUCH since I started my business). So overall I am happy with my experience and would recommend online schooling to anyone that wants to take charge of their education or wanta to be able to have a flexible schedule.

Rant about Teams (skip if you don't want to "hear" it):
The only thing I would NOT recommend is going to a school that focuses so much on teams. Teams have been the death of me at UoP. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one trying, sometimes everyone wants to be the leader, sometimes we just can't communicate well for various reasons, sometimes there is so much communication that the important stuff gets lost. Right now I am experiencing one of my top 5 worst team experiences EVER! I guess I just had to go out with a bang (and not a good one). Right now I have a teammate that keeps attacking me for doing what I am supposed to. So annoying. She doesn't make sense a lot of the time and then gets mad at me when I take action to get our assignments done. She has already apologized to me for accusing me incorrectly but then goes on to get mad about another matter. I don't know what I did to make her so mad and want to target me, but I am getting fed up! If it wasn't for the fact that our assignment affects my grade I would not care so much, but I am not going to let her poor skills get me a bad grade because she is too stubborn to realize that she is not doing things correctly. Other teammates see it but because I am the first to bring up a problem (not saying it's her but that there is something we need to work on or if I take action and fix the small thing) she get's super mad a me! It seems like she thinks she is in charge and that edits can only be done if she approves them. We have to highly consider her ideas before making a decision (even if we don't like them and state we want to go with someone else's idea) and she acts like she is a pro and we are all infants. If she did not have such poor writing skills I would trust her edits and opinions more, but her work is not very good and is even missing words in a sentence a lot of the time. I am not saying I am perfect (and I probably could have been more considerate of her supposed learning disability and tons of medications if I knew before hand), but that is why we are on a team - so we can work together to catch mistakes and make it better. We are not her team and she is just one person of 6.

Not all teams are like this, but more often than not I have had some sort of trouble and I am so excited to be done with it all soon. If I do decide to get my masters I will not go to UoP just to avoid the teams. I would love to get my degree from them, but I can't take the stress and frustration of these teams any more.

Moral: Find out if the online schools you are looking into make you work on teams or not. If you find a credible school that doesn't do teams, let me know, lol!

Hopefully my honesty (and rant - sorry about that) help someone out. Feel free to comment with any questions about UoP or online schooling in general (or even plain old college).

P.S. I am proud to be a Phoenix, I am just having a bad experience on my last team sadly... My teacher is awesome though! And he has been praising my individual papers, so I guess if nothing else I have improved my writing in APA format! (Don't judge me by my blog posts though...definitely not like how I write my academic papers).

Best wishes as you work toward your goals! You CAN do it!

Live YOUR Truth!

I just recently joined a program called Dress Your Truth. It helps you with energy profiling to discover the best ways to dress, accessorize, and even style your hair to help you live your inner truth even better. It's an amazing program that just plain helps you feel more empowered. I like feeling empowered because it gives me the motivation to make my dreams reality. I also like that it helps you recognize which clothes and colors match your physical features to bring out your personality more. It is quite freeing when you are able to share who you really are with everyone you meet. It can also help your relationships when you understand the concepts built into this program (which is always a plus). I am excited to find out which type I am and see how it improves my personal and business life.

If you want to learn about the program or join me on this journey visit this LINK. Another cool thing is that if you use that link, until Sept. 30th, 2012 you can get the program for 67% off its regular price PLUS a $20 gift card! Such an AMAZING deal! Here is the LINK again :) Come join me and let's chat about what we learn! It would be so much fun!

Gone Public!

I've decided to make my blog public. I figure it is easier to reach people who may want to read if I open my blog to the public.

FYI: This blog is a place for me to speak my mind and post whatever I want. If you like it feel free to follow or comment, if you don't like it move on. Thanks!

Mikarose Giveaway!

Mikarose, the fabulous, fashionable and modest women's store and diyDivas are doing a giveaway! Click HERE to get entered to win a $50 gift card and see some of the cute options!


I would love to win this because some of the dresses I have been eying for graduation are theirs! That would be awesome to get it for free! Plus, who doesn't like free stuff? :)

Anniversary Vacation!

I am so excited for next week because my husband is taking us on a surprise trip for our anniversary! I can't wait to get there, relax, spend some quality time, and find out where our destination is! I just have to survive 3 and a half more days until the fun begins.

My mom was in town the last few days (my days off) so I was a bit distracted from all the preparation I was supposed to be doing. Now that I have work until we leave, I must find a way to get everything done in time without killing myself. Honestly, what I have to do does not seem too bad, but I am having a such a hard time focusing since I am so excited! It's my final week for my current business class, so I've got to finish up all the homework and get my final over with. I've got to do some laundry and pack for the trip (which is hard to know exactly what I should pack since I don't know where we're going, but I'll figure it out). I've got to pack my daughter's stuff as she'll be spending the week at my in-laws. I want to buy some material and add some modest features to my formal dress I want to take, as well as finish up some earrings I made to wear with it. I would also like to go shopping for a couple of new outfits to wear. Finally, I would like to get my house all clean before we go so I can come home to a clean house. We'll see how it all goes.

I really just need to get myself to focus better so that I don't end up having to do it all on the last day. I really don't have to do everything on my list at least, so as long as I get my schoolwork done and get things packed we're good to go. I am just so excited and can't wait for this much needed break! Finally 3 years later my husband and I get to go on a honeymoon-like trip! Yay!

Yarn Bowl Giveaway!

There is a giveaway going on for these awesome yarn bowls! Check them out on etsy HERE! You can check out the giveaway HERE.

CraZy liFe!

So many crazy things have been happening! I can't even keep on top of anything at the moment. We might be moving for Army training in a couple of months, I realized that I must not get below a C in my remaining classes to keep my GPA in check with my major, and I don't know how to get through life other than to take it one moment at a time right now.

Currently, I am SUPER tired and have to finish my hw (that whole needing at LEAST a C thing) before midnight. That leaves me with 7 hours. Maybe I should take a nap. All I have left to do is finish my personal paper (which is looking really good somehow!), fix my team paper (which shouldn't take much more than an hour), answer a discussion question, and respond with two posts to other teammates. I will loose some points this week because I missed two days of participation and one DQ. But that shouldn't make me loose even a whole point...so hopefully my assignments are good enough to keep my grade in the A range (I got 100% the first week! But there were only 3 points to earn...mind you my total class only has 100 points total, but still...3 points are probably only about 3 hours of work or so).

Anyway, I am at that tired point where I ramble, and it looks like it is coming out in my writing here. Maybe I should see if it will happen in my papers...or take a nap...or do something more productive than writing a blog post that not many people (if anyone) will read.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Sorry for not keeping blog posting promises if you were wanting to keep up with them. Have a great day!

So Happy

I am so happy right now. I have been the last couple of days. I'm not quite sure why I am feeling so strongly this way right now. Things have been changing for the better, but I wouldn't think that they would equal up to this much happiness. There are still so many things that never seem to go right and I am definitely not accomplishing everything I wish I could do, but here I am happy and loving life.

Some of the positive things that are in my life right now are that I'm exercising (can it be the key factor? does it really make that big of a difference?), I finally have some idea of where life is heading (we are finally getting some direction from the Army after 7 months of waiting, I am so close to graduating school, I am being given opportunities to use my talents), I have married into such a wonderful family that I absolutely love, we have enough money to pay our bills since I started working that there isn't a ton of stress there (we still have a way to go to be out of debt though...but we're on the path to getting there!), I am in a good class in school right now with a great teacher (it amazes me how much school affects my life...it seems like it shouldn't so much and that I don't spend enough time on it for it to do so, but maybe I don't fully comprehend how much time and energy goes into it), and Claira is turning out to be such a great child (Of course I love her no matter what, but I am loving that she is learning so much especially in areas of having good behavior - like going down for naps so well - and continues to be so cute every minute of every day. She definitely is a child and has her bad moments/bad behaviors, but I know she will turn out to be such an amazing person).

I guess if you look back over the key words I bolded there...I really do have so much to be happy about and I am so grateful for that!

Shred-Day 2

Day 2-Level 1 (See the program details HERE)
Wednesday, 1.11.12
     Today I am going to try a slightly different focus with my diet. I am going to worry less about the carbs and worry more about eating a balanced diet. Basically I am already there...so that should be easy. Also, the part of the carbs I WILL worry about is making sure a majority of them are whole grains (except for right after my workout). I am going to completely keep fruit in my diet since I am working out, but I will focus on eating a lot of veggies since they seem a little harder for me to include. Also, I am going to track my water better and make sure I am drinking at least 8 cups a day.
     So, I forgot to take my measurements and pictures before starting this program...but since I didn't do any exercise yesterday, I ate "bad stuff" yesterday, and I have only done one workout (the day before yesterday) I think today is an ok day to document these things.
     Post workout: I feel great! It was a lot easier today. It actually helped me feel less sore. I waited until Claira was napping and that helped a TON! And now she is still napping and I am going to eat some yummy pizza and do hw. Once I have finished that all I have to do is take Wayne to an eye checkup and do the dishes and I can enjoy the rest of my day :D

Weight: 158

Today's Meals:
Snack: 1 serving of turkey bites.

#1: Two pieces of whole wheat with honey toast with butter; 3 over-medium eggs with garlic salt, onion powder, salt, pepper, and parsley spices (cooked in olive oil); and 3/4 cup cran-grape juice.

Snack: a little bit of dried fruit and nut trail mix

#2: 1 serving of Freschetta chicken club pizza (romatoes, spinach, bacon, alfredo sauce on thin crust) and 1 serving of Tony's garlic cheese bread.

Snack: String cheese

#3: 1/2 serving of the pizza, 1 serving of the cheese bread


Snack: a couple of handfuls of peanut m&m's (because the Midol was not cutting...sometimes a girl just needs chocolate...thanks goodness it really did help!)

Water: 5 cups? I lost count at the end of the day... Still could have got a little more in.

Shred-Goof off day...

Goof off Day... (See the program details HERE)
Tuesday, 1.10.12
     Man, I am getting more and more sore by the minute! So today has not gone as planned at all... Yesterday my husband, Wayne, told me he thinks my diet is a bad one and that he could give me a better one... He thinks cutting out a certain type of food is never the way to go. I agree to a point, although, I am trying to see results here, not just eat healthy. But he also thinks it's a bad idea for me because I love carbs and find so much joy in eating them. I told him if he wanted to show me what he thinks would be good I would consider switching.
     Well, today I guess I decided I didn't like the diet either because I did not follow it at all! I ate so much junk! It didn't help that I haven't slept since Sunday night so was using food and caffeine to keep me awake. I had a big day with a bunch of girls (ages 8-11) coming to my house for an activity day and getting news about Wayne's new Army orders. At then end of the night we attempted a family night as well (which failed due to a missing blu-ray player remote) and I ate and drank more junk there... On top of all of this I did not work out more than what it took to clean, go up and down my stairs a million times, and search for that remote.

Today's Meals:
#1: Crunchy Peanut butter and strawberry preserves sandwich on white bread.

Snack: 1 serving turkey bites, 4 whole wheat ritz crackers.

#2: Fozen dinner (Turkey, mixed veggies, sweet potatoes, and a couple of bites of apple dessert) that had about 220 cals and 6+ ww points.


Snack: Peanut m&ms.


Snack: String cheese and 2 servings turkey bites.

#3: About 2 1/2 cups chex cereal with milk.

Snack: Dried fruit and a few gummie bears.

Snack: Home popped pop corn with butter + salt and a Fuze strawberry-guava drink


Water: Not nearly enough...maybe 4 cups?

Shred-day 1

Day 1-Level 1 (See the program details HERE)
Monday, 1.9.12
     Yay for day 1! It started off a little differently than planed, but I'd say it's been successful. I ended up sleeping-in a LOT and was 4 hours late for work...but man was that sleep so good! I guess my body needed it in preparation for this program ;)
     I survived the workout and actually enjoyed it. It seems to be similar to exercise I already like to do and since it only takes a half hour out of my day (it's about 27 minutes long with the warm-up and cool-down so with starting the DVD you'll want 30 minutes set aside) I think I will be able to stay committed to this one and see results. I found myself doing the modified moves on some and some very slightly modified moves on others. There was only one point where I needed a 5 second break (during the third set of jumping jacks, I believe) and another where I had to pause for just a second when I felt a twinge in my back*. Although, I did learn a good lesson that letting my 16 month-old daughter "watch" was not a good idea and I had to take a quick pause a couple of times.
     A little history: one summer I did my own workout somewhat similar to this, putting in 2 hours a day, and lost 18lbs in two months! That wasn't quite as intense so hopefully I see good results this time as well!
     *The twinge: I have a condition called Spinal Listhesis which the doctors believe I developed when I had a back injury as a gymnast (at age 14). I didn't find out about my condition until fall 2011 when I was almost 24 (about 10 years later!) when I re-aggravated it enough that I had to go through physical therapy. Basically all I can do is strengthen my abs and be weary of the moves I do so that it doesn't cause me too many problems. The move I was doing with the jump rope and I was jumping a little too high for my back's liking ;) otherwise, the moves in level 1 seem just fine for me to do (a huge thing for me as compared to other programs I've tried)!

Today's Meals:
#1: Wheat tortilla, big piece of green lettuce, 1 scrambled egg, a piece of 97% fat free lunch ham, and 2 tbsp of salsa.

Snack: 6 whole wheat Ritz crackers.

#2: 1 Avocado with a little salt (and tried some lime), 1 cup of 100% cranberry concord grape juice, 1 piece of white toast with a little margarine.

#3: Two celery sticks, a wheat tortilla, big piece of green lettuce, piece of lunch ham, 1 tbs mayo, and 1/3 serving of coby-jack cheese (1 serving is a 1" cube with only 1 carb! But it does have quite a bit of fat so I should probably still only eat it in moderation).

#4: Catfish with toasted pecan topping, cooked spinach, corn-squash vegetable medley.


Water: TONS...well, at least 8 cups but probably more.

Vitamins taken: Fish oil, daily multi-vitamin

Spiritual Awakening: Overview

The Problem:
I've noticed something rather sad lately... Ever since I started my job at the end of Sept. 2011 (it is now Jan. 2012) that not only has going to church become difficult - mostly due to my schedule, (I was hired part-time and with Christmas I was working overtime almost immediately), my husbands fairly new career, visiting family for the holidays, and just trying to get used to working the over-night shift (10pm-7am) - but I have been struggling with the small things too. My personal and our family scripture reading have basically ceased to exist, we don't hold FHE (Family Home Evening) faithfully, and I am lucky if prayers happen before meals. I hate this and know that it is part of why I have been feeling a bit low lately. I know these things make a HUGE difference in my life.

I feel like work has taken over my life and all the time I have left I dedicate to schoolwork, spending time with my family, and trying to fit in sleep. It has been very difficult and spiritual things have not completely disappeared, but they are not as much a part of things as they should be (at least in my opinion).

History:
I grew up with a pretty hard life (as many do in our own ways), but I won't go into the details. My point is that if it were not for the Lord I would have not likely survived. I have always had a strong testimony that the Lord loved me and at times when things were the worst I could literally feel the Lord's arms around me as if He were hugging and comforting me. I worked so hard to be spiritual always and it showed. It was not until I got out of my house and went to college that I started seeing a lack of my effort to do the small things...I believe this is because my life became much easier and I didn't HAVE to rely upon the Lord so much. I loved going to church at my college branch and I would have moments come and go where I was really into the little spiritual things (mostly when I had some problems arise), but I had definitely changed. It got to the point that I started praying for trials so that I could have that "spirituality" again (never a good idea).

Now:
Eventually I met my husband and we have been going through the busyness of trying to finish school, survive with little money, start a family...a familiar story for many I am sure. We have made many efforts to do the little spiritual things, but it has been HARD! I don't know why it is so hard honestly (until now anyway). Maybe it's because we have only been married for not even 3 years and have had and currently do have a lot on our plates. Maybe it is because we aren't perfect.

I know nobody is perfect (but it is not an excuse) so I won't beat myself up over the struggles that have been happening; instead, I am going to start today by trying a little harder.

The Plan:
I am going to blog as I try harder to read personal scriptures and pray daily in an effort to have better motivation. Hopefully this journey will turn out to be something that establishes a better pattern so that I can continue to read and pray normally as a habit instead of struggling to fit it in.

I will also talk with my husband and find a time we can commit to family scripture study and FHE and let you know how doing these two activities faithfully changes our sense of spirituality.

P.S. I am also doing an exercise and diet program called 30 day Shred, so I should be able to blog about both over the next month pretty faithfully. Here's to hoping!

30 day Shred

I've never been one to diet or stick to a strict exercise program in an effort to loose weight (or fat rather). I also am not one to set new years resolutions, especially any about being healthier than I normally try to do.

Well, I'm changing those starting Monday.

What brought this on is that I recently acquired the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and have been thinking about trying to get into better shape for a while now. The DVD arrived today (Friday, 1.6.12) and I am feeling really motivated that I can use this as a tool to live my life better.

I also am going to try out part of this "slow carb" diet that I found and modify it to fit my needs. It just sounds interesting and contains foods I enjoy. Also, I like the fact that there is a "Dieters gone wild" day and I CAN eat the white carbs I love as long as it is within 1.5 hours of finishing my workout. I probably won't be super strict to it as my life may demand, but I will give it a decent effort to supplement my workouts. Also, I will not likely cut out fruit because I think it would be important to keep fruit with working out and not just dieting as it is set out to be.

Wish me luck and we'll see the difference after 30 days of my Shred!

Before:
*I will insert pictures*

Weight (before eating, first thing in the morning, only wearing under-clothing): 158 lbs. Which surprised me! Usually during the day I weigh about 164, so to be 6 lbs lighter because of missing clothes and food is kinda cool.

Measurements:
Bust: 38"
Chest: 33"
Waist: 32 1/2"
Hips: 42 1/2"
Thighs: 24 3/4" each
Calves:  14 3/4" each
Upper arm: Left 12", Right  12 1/4"
Forearm: Left 10", Right 10 1/2"

Day 1-Level 1
Monday, 1.9.12
See it HERE

Goof off Day...
Tuesday, 1.10.12
See it HERE

Day 2-Level
Wednesday, 1.11.12
See it Here

Day 3-Level
Thursday, 1.12.12


Day 4-Level
Friday, 1.13.12


Day 5-Level
Saturday, 1.14.12


Day of Rest
Sunday, 1.15.12

Day 6-Level
Monday, 1.16.12


Day 7-Level
Tuesday, 1.17.12


Day 8-Level
Wednesday, 1.18.12


Day 9-Level
Thursday, 1.19.12


Day 10-Level
Friday, 1.20.12


Day 11-Level
Saturday, 1.21.12


Day of Rest
Sunday, 1.22.12

Day 12-Level
Monday, 1.23.12


Day 13-Level
Tuesday, 1.24.12



Day 14-Level
Wednesday, 1.25.12


Day 15-Level
Thursday, 1.26.12


Day 16-Level
Friday, 1.27.12


Day 17-Level
Saturday, 1.28.12


Day of Rest
Sunday, 1.29.12

Day 18-Level
Monday, 1.30.12


Day 19-Level
Tuesday, 1.31.12

Day 20-Level
Wednesday, 2.1.12
I'm 20 days in and it's February!

Day 21-Level
Thursday, 2.2.12


Day 22-Level
Friday, 2.3.12


Day 23-Level
Saturday, 2.4.12


Day of Rest
Sunday, 2.5.12

Day 24-Level
Monday, 2.6.12


Day 25-Level
Tuesday, 2.7.12


Day 26-Level
Wednesday, 2.8.12


Day 27-Level
Thursday, 2.9.12


Day 28-Level
Friday, 2.10.12



Day 29-Level
Saturday, 2.11.12
I have a craft fair today!

Day of Rest
Saturday, 2.12.12

DAY 30-Level
Monday, 2.13.12


After:
*Insert picture and measurements*

My Life Goals List!

As I was writing my last post it made me think of how I haven't reviewed my life goals list in a while. Honestly, I don't think I've thought about it much since 2009. So here it is in no particular order:

Graduate High School
Get an Associates degree
Find an amazing man to love me forever
Go through the Temple
Get sealed in the Temple
Have a family
Get a Bachelors degree (almost done!)
Start my own business (working on it)
Open a dance studio
Learn how to play piano well (very amateur at the moment)

These are more general "good person" goals, but still important to me:
Make my home a place where people like to gather
Bring happiness to those around me
Help people to feel they are loved
Serve others often
Be a strong and active member of my church

One I am thinking I want to add:
Get involved in a meaningful organization (I even have one in mind, but the name and reasoning are for a far into the future post).

So far so good!

My bucket list has a long way to go though.

So close and yet so far...

It's 6am and I'm doing my schoolwork hoping that somehow I can do well enough to get a passing grade in this class. I have 3 days to finish this 25 page paper, a 20 slide power point presentation, and take a final (that I need to get at least 70% on which is do-able but scary since I'm bad at tests as the past has proved over and over).

But enough about that...

The exciting part about passing this class is that it means my next class is my last Business core class! Once I finish it I move on to my Small Business concentration classes! I'm excited to hopefully finally learn something that will apply more to my situation :) I really hope I learn many things to help me with my business(es).

Also, after this current class is over, I will only have a total of 7 classes left to pass! This puts me at a "finishing school FOREVER" date of Sept. 10th, 2012. It is so exciting to think I will be graduating THIS year! I will only have been in college for about 6 years! Golly!

Maybe I should plan a GIANT party for the fallowing (*construction joke) weekend to celebrate! Any takers!?

I am just so happy to finally be reaching this goal! HUGH goal to cross off my list! (Maybe I'll record my list in a following post:)

As always, thanks for reading my ramblings!