Hello long lost friend

Well, it has been awhile. My life these last two months has been a roller coaster of emotions. This has been an incredibly tough semester and I just have to survive because after this I have one more left till graduation!!! It is so surreal. I will have a bachelors degree in May, Lord willing. I am excited and scared. I tell people and myself that I am going to graduate in May but sometimes I am not sure how I am going to get there. I have to study for and complete my GRE this winter break so that I can apply to grad school.

I am super stoked because Josh Groban's new album is coming out on the 15th!! He has already released three songs and one more on tuesday. He is doing a few "Before We Begin" concerts and tonight was the first one. Heard it was great. Did we doubt??? NO WAY! :) I am a little sad and melancholy because I can't go...why??? I live too far away! Never dreamed that when we moved to Alaska I would fall in love musically with a curly haired man with magical pipes. I am still waiting for my first concert. We should be back in Indiana by the time his new tour starts!!

My husband and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary on the 14th. Hard to believe it has been that long. It has flown by. I am so blessed to have a wonderful man like him to love me and take care of us.

Tonight we set our clocks back for the end of DST. It is so bizarre that Alaska does this. Now we just get darker sooner. The sun won't rise until after 10 am tomorrow. And it will set at 5 pm. The joys of the Arctic :)

Excitement & Happiness

I have to take a moment to squeeee for a moment. Josh Groban is finally finished with his new album and he named it 'Illuminations'. The first single, 'Hidden Away', is out and the Josh appearances have started happening! It is such a gift to get new Josh music. The album comes out in November and I can not wait! My goal this time around is to get to at least one concert. It will be a tough one because we are in Alaska until June. I am just crossing my fingers that he tours internationally first and then the US because I need to get back to Indiana first!!!! We shall see. It may be my graduation present to myself! :P I promised to take my youngest daughter too because she loves Josh too.

I have gotten settled into classes and we have our home routine down so on Monday I start my workout routine. I can go to the gym MWF and hopefully on Saturday. I am excited because I really enjoy working out. It's just when we get short on time the only thing that can give is usually that. I know it shouldn't but we are going to get better at that. I need to get in better shape so I can cross-country ski without killing myself! LOL!

Prayers of Thankfulness

I am happy to report that I do not have celiac disease. My scope came back normal so that is comforting. I am still gluten & dairy intolerant but without the pesky autoimmune disease to go along with it. I am so thankful!!! Now to get myself to feel better which means being super careful and eating a well balanced diet! Sleep would be a good thing to but who are we kidding??? ;)

Need to Vent

I need to vent about food issues right now. Being gluten intolerant/sensitive/allergic is a huge thorn in the side. Are we lucky that we can control our "issue" without medications...sure...but it also means that we have to know EVERY SINGLE ingredient that we put into our mouths. Just when you think you have it down & relax just a wee bit it comes back to bite you in the gut. You heard that right...not the butt...the gut! I get so tired of having digestion issues!!! Not only do you have to be on super high alert as an adult but when you have a child with the same condition you have to be even more careful and teach them what they can and cannot have. You try your hardest to teach your spouse (who thinks you are a bit off your rocker about the whole sitch), family members and friends. I have had people from my husband to my family and friends try to feed me, unknowingly, the wrong thing.

So, the reason for my vent is that my husband fed my son something today that he wasn't supposed to have. My son even told him that, "Mom says I can't have this." What does he do? He says, "I read the ingredients and they are fine!" The product in question happens to be a pre-made Kellog's Rice Krispies Treat. In their Rice Krispies they use malt flavoring which is a no-no for us wheat intolerant folk. I know this from my research. My husband knows a lot but not as much about the little ingredients that I do. What makes me the most upset is that my son told him and he shot him down about it. That puts my son in a bad position. Not only this but my husband is also upset at me for questioning him?!?!?! Really?? I told him point blank that he has tried to feed me things that I am not supposed to have. What about this does he not understand? I think his biggest problem is that underneath it all he thinks that this whole gluten intolerance/allergy is in my head. I have had the blood test that came back negative. I just had the scope and don't yet have my results. I am having allergy testing done in October. Even if all of these came back negative I know that gluten does VERY bad things to my body. I will never eat it again! Why do I need a medical test to tell me what I know? Why can't my husband just trust my judgment?

It's almost time!

I am finally having the scope done to see if I have celiac disease! Updates coming soon!!!

Home again, home again....

Well, we finally made it home after over two months of insanity! How can I describe two months with our families? In all fairness we had some pretty great times but we also had some pretty crappy times too. We loved seeing our church family and are eager to be back with them next year. The summer also helped us realize why we moved to Alaska in the first place! However, we are still going to go back to good ole IN when we graduate and I will pursue my graduate degree(s) and then we shall see where life takes us!

While in IN my talented younger sister took a BUNCH of pictures of us and so far I have seen a few. My favorite by far is one of my husband and I that I have posted as my profile pic on facebook and twitter. Here are 2 that I haven't posted yet.

Maximum capacity

Have you ever been so upset and disgusted that you just shut down? This last week and a half have been too much for me and today I just couldn't take any more. I literally just shut down. I quit trying to save face and play nice with my MIL. I just kept to myself and helped my kids but I finally had to tell my 10 year old that I couldn't take any more and I needed her to just do what she was told and stop arguing. She has been upset by this last week and a half too. How would you like to be a guest in someones home where you have to ask for every little thing you do...even get a drink of water. This is just so they can't come back and say, "Where is the glass you used?" I have felt like a prisoner in my MIL house especially because of my kids. It doesn't feel very good to know that she disapproves and thinks badly of my children.

Have I said that I'm ready to go back home?

You gotta know when to walk away, you gotta know when to run...

At this point and time I am about ready to run as far away from my MIL's house as possible and contemplate never coming back! How can a woman who raised my wonderful husband be as domineering and controlling as she is??? How can she listen to her son and still think that we don't know what we are doing when it comes to raising our kids. She actually had the nerve to say that our kids where pretty much heathens and she is afraid that her grandkids are going to grow up and be horrible!!! That woman has crossed the line. It makes me almost ill to look at her. She is so high and mighty and telling us that we aren't doing our jobs as parents and then has the nerve to be wounded when my husband tells her how mean she can be and how she talks down to everyone.

We have been away from Alaska for about a month and a half and we are all ready to go home. The horrible thing is that we are planning on moving back to Indiana after we graduate but now I think that there is no way that I want to live that close to her. I hate to feel that way but I can't help it. I have decided to apply at Purdue and IU and see what happens. I think that 2 hours away is just close enough to make a day trip but also far enough to keep them at a safe distance. I am really starting to feel a bit mean about the whole situation so I better keep it to myself and just pray about it.

It appears that we have been here long enough to see why we moved away in the first place. Good thing that not all of our family makes us feel this way!

Also I am still having food problems. I can't quite figure it out and I am going to request an endoscopy for them to biopsy my small intestine to see if I have celiac. When I eat sugar it has been hurting my stomach and it is possible that soy is too. Life is such a bummer sometimes! I think not knowing is the worst part!!!

Oh, and on a positive note...Groban promised us a vblog this weekend! It is Sunday night so I assume it will be there when we wake up in the morning. :)

Staying on task & summer craziness

It has been way too long since I have written. However, this comes as no surprise to me. I am the kind of person who decides to start a journal and writes in it a couple of times a year or will do good for a week or so and then fall back into my normal routine. I thought that because this was faster...I can type instead of write that I would do better but NO! Actually, I have done better because I have written about some of the major events and it occurs every couple of months. Well, I'm back to write and it has only been 2 months. :)

This summer we left Alaska and are spending it with our family in Indiana. We did this for 3 reasons. 1) My Dad died in November and we wanted to help my step-mom fix things and move out of their house. 2) We can't afford to live in Alaska during the summer on student salaries. We had the hardest time paying for rent and daycare - even when we both worked full time jobs. 3) We wanted to spend time with family and friends without the craziness of coming for a few short weeks like we did the Christmas of 2008. Weeeeeeell, things don't usually turn out the way you envision them and this summer has been no exception. We are spending time with family and friends and we have been helping my step-mom but Ian and I are also taking online classes. He is taking 6 credits worth and I am taking 10. Yeah, it hasn't been that much fun. My classes are interesting but I would much prefer to NOT take classes on my break in-between semesters. It's a sure way to get my brain leaking out of my ears. LOL! The positive things about this summer are that we have had time to really see our families and our children have gotten to spend time with them also. I got to see my baby brother graduate from high school and we get to reconnect with our church family here. My little sister just got engaged and I get to be here to celebrate with her and her man. We have taken lots of pictures and will have them to treasure for the next year when we go back home to finish our final year of school. Some of the negatives are that I got into a fight with my MIL for the first time in almost 12 years of marriage. And it is VERY difficult to split your time between family members and not have someone with their feelings hurt. That resulted in me crying from frustration and my feelings being hurt because we have tried so hard. I hardly ever cry so you can imagine how upset I was.

We have been on a journey to understand how to deal with and train our daughter on how to behave in a non confrontational and respectful manner. It seems that we may finally be on the right track after some much needed advice from other parents who have been through the same thing. It is difficult to be a parent when you don't have the tools or example from your own childhood to help.

So amid all the fun and craziness we putter along doing the daily tasks that need to be done and try to savor the experiences of this summer and spending it with those we love.

See you in a month or so ;)

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today I celebrate my 31st birthday and I love it! I am not afraid to grow older and I have wonderful family and friends. My husband gave me the most beautiful gift and I am ever thankful that I am blessed by his presence in my life. He thinks about me and what I truly need. I have learned a lot from him and aspire to be more like him.

We are packing up and cleaning our apartment to move out for the summer. That's what happens when you live in family housing on a university campus and don't want to pay rent for the summer! And when I say we I really mean my husband mostly. I am trying to finish up last minute work. I did spend about 2 days packing the girls and our room but he will have done the bulk of the packing, cleaning and moving. I will be helping finish up the last minute stuff on Friday as we fly out of here at 1 am on Saturday. There is only 5 more days until we go to Indiana for the summer! I am ready for the heat and humidity! Yay for my skin! :o)

Here is a picture of the beautiful gift I got. It's a piece of whales' tooth that has been scrimshawed and painted by a talented Alaskan artist. I am in love with it!

Countdown to Indiana

Today begins the 2 week countdown until we are on a plane and headed to Indiana for over two months! The list of things that has to get done before we leave is enormous! However, once we are on that plane we can take a big breath and relax! It will be a bit hectic this summer trying to spend time with everyone but I am determined to enjoy and not let little things bother me!!

Heavy heart

I have a lot on my mind this morning. As some of you know I live about three parallel lives being a full-time student, part-time worker, mother of three and a wife. We moved away from Indiana because we wanted an adventure and to get our kids away from all the dysfunction of our families. Then in November I lost my Dad all of the sudden and that really shocked me. We decided to go back to Indiana after we graduate so I can pursue my Masters at Purdue University. We have grown, our kids have grown and I have a younger brother and sister that need me around. We also have nieces and nephews that we are missing grow up. Not to mention the fact that my step-mom needs us. I grew up in a family that was pretty messed up but not as bad as it could be. Our biggest problem is that my mom is so selfish. She was not a good mommy. She was a mother and took care of our food, clothing and shelter needs but not emotionally. I was a really good kid, no partying, no sneaking out, no boys and I was grounded all the time. I was disrespectful and talked back a lot because I really despised living at home from about 16 on. Finally at 18 I was kicked out. I came home one day from work and was told that I had a week to get out. I had already graduated high school and had plans to live with my grandparents during college so no big, right? Except for the humiliation of being kicked out. My mom had four children from three different men and is on her fourth husband. There is lots involved in all this but that is the very basic of it. Each of us children has had a different screwed up experience but had others to share in it. My youngest brother has been in the house alone with my mom...except for various boyfriends and now new husband and hasn't had anyone to be there. I moved to Alaska and this causes me serious guilt. It is one of the big reasons we are going back. Well, he turns 18 tomorrow and my mom is kicking him out before he even finished high school. This greatly sickens me and I am so mad at my mom. I haven't even talked to her yet. I need to talk to him before he is out. He has one of those pay by the minute phones and it is out of minutes. I offered for him to come with us when we moved up here but he had his friends and school so he didn't want to. We are going to Indiana for most of the summer and I am trying to get him to come back with us for the year before we move back. He says no but I guess we will see. Our sister lives an hour away from him in Indianapolis so he could go there but he says he doesn't want to. I know that he would live with us if we were there. It makes me sick being so far away. When we get there we are going to give him a graduation party and go to graduation to celebrate his accomplishment! I have so much to do right now with school and I am having a hard time concentrating because I am thinking about him. Oh and my sister has totally disowned my mom so I have to call and talk to her to get to talk to him. I hope my mom is happy with her new husband because she is completely alienating all of her children. I talked to my older brother about it all and now I am even sadder. Apparently, my brother is skipping school and calling himself in and I don't know if he'll graduate high school. Life sucks when your parents don't care enough to find out what is wrong.

Little surprises

Life can be so hectic and stressful that you can focus on only that. Then all of a sudden you are pleasantly surprised by something fantastically grand! It happened to me on Thursday evening. I received a call that I needed to call the Dean's office and I was thinking...what for? Then I got an email and this is what it said...

Dear Shannon,

The Fairbanks Garden Club presents their Conservation Award annually to a Natural
Resources Management student who has shown exceptional achievement and interest in
the agricultural industry and/or in the management of natural resources including forested lands. A committee of School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences faculty and the Dean selects the student. The $300.00 cash award is presented at the Fairbanks Garden Club's April meeting. I am very pleased to tell you that you are the recipient of this year's award.

WOOHOO! I was TOTALLY not expecting this! It makes me wonder who chooses and why they actually picked me! I get to go to a luncheon with the garden club so they can give me the award. It is very flattering. It won't look too bad on my resume either ;o) It's magnificent really!

Mommy vs. Student

I have written about how we have been having trouble with our oldest daughter and her attitude. It is so stupefying to me as to what we should do. I decided to sit her down and ask her "what type of person do you want to be?" This would be limited to character traits and not things like, "I want to be rich"...don't we all! I think this may get the ball of conversation rolling and help us accomplish the things we are trying to teach her...at least I pray it does!

Of course, in all of this I have to study for two major exams in systematic botany. Not to mention the gazillion other assignments and projects that have to be done before the end of the semester. It is days like this that I battle the most with wearing so many hats. I love being a mommy and I love being a student but they do not always go well together! I know I am so blessed to have a helpful, loving husband and that I am not the only one to go through this. I am constantly asked how I can do this having a family...and honestly I don't know sometimes. It is just something I need to do and I do it. It will make our life more enjoyable and secure. I like the fact that I will be doing something to help the environment and people.

Well, back to studying!

Whining

Why does whining sound like someone is poking your eardrums out? GAH! My youngest has the gift of whine and boy is it insanity! I am so ready for it to be bedtime. Not to mention that bedtime is when I can actually get something done because finally there is some peace & quiet. I won't mention how my brain also likes the quiet and usually decides to go to sleep on me ;o)

Victory!!

I have such a great feeling tonight as I sit here because I am DONE with my senior thesis draft proposal presentation! I planned and practiced a lot and I pulled it off! I feel like I looked at my notes a bit too much but I received pretty good comments. The things I got comments on were things I already knew. This was probably the best presentation that I have done so far. Now I have to do the project and research and prepare my thesis and then present it next semester! I will be working on it lots! It is such a wonderful opportunity and I am thankful that I get to do this. It gives me the chance to see what a Master's thesis will entail.

Disappointment

I am so upset at my oldest daughter right now and figure it is better to hash it out on here than let it simmer. She is 10 and so beautiful and stubborn and sensitive and selfish! It is amazing that my little girl can be such a selfish, disrespectful thing. She always wants more or something better or to prove that she is better than her younger brother and sister. How fabulous to try to prove that you are better than your 6 year old sister?!?! No matter what my husband and I tell her she doesn't listen. We are both full-time students so things are tight financially. However, we have some pretty wonderful family members so our kids haven't wanted for much. Plus things are a little more comfortable for us now that I am working part-time. My daughter has to complain about what she doesn't have or how so and so gets this. I am seething mad at her attitude right now. She doesn't even see that there is anything wrong with it! I just want to beat my head against the wall!

This all started because my youngest REALLY wanted the new Alvin and the Chipmunks ~The Squequel and the older one complained because she was going to get the little cardboard 'poster' that was covering the 2-disk DVD set. This is the girl who is crazy over Twilight & has 1 Twilight and 4 New Moon posters. It has all been so ridiculous! I swear it was almost better to not be able to afford anything except the basic necessities because then there was none of this. How do you teach your kids to be thankful and unselfish? We are involved in various charities and very involved with our church family. Okay, I think I have beat this dead horse enough. I will try to repeat "This too shall pass!" I need a t-shirt like Josh Groban has!

Long time no see!

Well, hello there stranger. It has been so long! I have a crazy busy life and I have missed posting! The job I took in the New Student Orientation office at the U is great but I realize that maybe it wasn't the best idea to take the lead position that required me to work 20 hours a week. The reason I say this is because I am not having enough time to study for my classes. All my kid-free time is spent at work or in class. Of course, my oh so insightful husband warned me of this but I said, "No worries, I can handle it!" I have been handling it alright but I don't think that I have been giving either thing enough attention. My Systematic Botany class is worth 4 credits and I NEED to get a B! I am not delusional enough to think I will get an A. I need Hermione Granger's little time travel necklace from Harry Potter!

The good thing is that we are in the last stretch of the semester so it will be over soon. For my degree we have to do a senior thesis and I present my draft proposal next week. I am a little frightened but also excited. I have to work hard this week and practice, practice, practice! We present in front of our classmates and all the faculty and committee members. We had presentations yesterday and the questions after the presentation are the most frightening. Actually the questions are good because you get a slew of ideas from a ton of very intelligent people. My project title is WETLAND PROTECTION PRIORITIES FOR AVIAN SPECIES OF CONCERN IN THE GREATER FAIRBANKS AREA. Wetlands are near and dear to my heart so I am super excited about this. Plus my project will actually be useful to the agencies around Fairbanks to save the places with the highest value. I have a fabulous committee who have been on top of things and really made this a great experience.

On the home-front we have been having especially challenging times with our oldest daughter. She has been blessed with a seriously strong willed personality and feels like we shouldn't tell her what to do and everything we say is wrong! It really comes down to a total lack of respect for us but I don't think she sees it as that. I have tried to be fair but we really need to crack down on her. My husband argues with her because he wants her to see what she has done and admit that she is wrong. Honestly, she would rather die than admit that she is wrong in any way! What a predicament we are in. I refuse to argue with her because it's like banging my head against a wall. I will explain what she did wrong and let her tell me how she wasn't wrong and then I inform her that she WAS wrong and give her an appropriate punishment.

I have had no time to pursue my internet social fun. :o( I miss playing on twitter, Facebook and FOJG! I am hoping that I will have a bit more time this summer but time seems to race away from me at lightening speed! I am looking forward to meeting some of my best Grobie buds this summer while the family and I are in Indiana.

Well, I suppose this is long enough...it's good to be back! Oh yeah, Happy Spring!

Stress

It is amazing how many places stress can come from. I have been just a bit over stressed as of late because of my extremely busy schedule. I may have bit-off-more-than-I-can-chew but I won't admit it yet! I have to give myself a bit more time to get used the the new routine.

I was so cranky this morning! I could feel my eyebrows getting lower and lower in my frown! I felt like the grumpy old troll on Dora the Explorer that was playing on our TV this morning. So my husband being the wonderful man that he is, took some of the stress from me and lightened my burden a bit. He was going to take care of the kids tonight and let me do my homework. I was feeling better and my day went on and I was looking forward to having uninterrupted time to do my homework (which I am WAY behind on). I came home to a quiet apartment and set to work getting a snack and doing some minor chores on the computer like checking email. I settled in to start my first assignment - reading and writing a one page response paper and then the family came home. This is when chaos ensued.

I think my husband has good intentions but he gets stressed at the way the kids are behaving and begins to yell and then I REALLY can't concentrate. I go down to lend a hand and it gets worse because I apparently added some more stress by telling the kids they had to do more homework that he wasn't planning on having them do. My 8 1/2 year old son begins to get worked up and starts crying about having to do his reading homework that is not due until Monday. We are busy all weekend and ALWAYS forget about it and end up doing it after church services on Sunday night. Not the ideal thing to do!!! In my husband's defense he is going to be cooking dinner and cleaning it up.

I have a full evening of work to do and when there is so much yelling and commotion I can't concentrate. It seems to have calmed down and I have turned up my music :) Nothing a little Josh Groban can't fix! Right now I'm listening to the Chess soundtrack...I love that play/concert!

Time

I am starting this entry without a title because I am unsure what it will be. My life is so busy and I feel like I am already behind. Classes started 2 weeks ago and I am so blessed to be able to do the things that I am doing. I just haven't gotten into the right rhythm yet and don't feel as productive as I should be.

I got my blood tests back after several weeks and the test showed that I am not allergic to any of the things they tested me for. This test proves a few things to me 1) I don't have any other food intolerances or issues and 2) I need to go back be tested for the genetic marker for celiac. I know for a fact that I cannot tolerate gluten or dairy because it does undesirable things to my digestive system and my face breaks out in acne. Not pretty when you are 30! I knew that the gluten or dairy allergies wouldn't show up because I have not eaten them in 6 months. I want to be sure that it isn't celiac. The genetic test will tell me whether I have the marker for it and whether I should go further into testing for it. I am so sensitive to gluten and have to be EXTREMELY careful not to 1) contaminate my food with gluten and 2) unknowingly eat something with gluten in it. I have been so careful and am feeling a ton better.

I talked to my best friend tonight and it is so difficult to keep in close touch because we live a gazillion miles apart and have a 3 hour time difference. Not to mention how jam packed our lives are. She lives in Mississippi and I am in Alaska. I (along with my family) will be in Indiana for 2 months so she is going to try to come up. That would be so fabulous! We haven't seen each other in about 4 years. I hadn't told her about my Dad dying in November and I even started crying. I haven't cried about it in awhile and telling her brought it back.

I am getting a little stressed about my schedule but I have to get in a good routine. Well I have to get busy doing something besides this :)

Thankfulness

I want to dedicate this post, on this day to my most favorite gluten free blog. She really is a dear and well, a goddess! No, I have never met her other than on the lovely pages of her smart, sassy, witty & delicious blog. As I have previously said I have discovered that I have some food 'issues'. I hesitate to say allergies yet as I am in the process of waiting for the results of my blood tests. I began searching the internet for gluten free recipes when I stumbled upon the reality that I may be gluten intolerant (praying hard that I'm not celiac) and low and behold, what do I find? A Gluten Free Goddess!! She has allowed my culinary world to be opened again. And because she has more allergies to food than what you would ever dream, her recipes are perfect for me! What brought me to post about this today you ask? I was wanting to use up some pumpkin pie stuff in my fridge when I decided to look up a few recipes. I went to her blog and as I was perusing I started reading some of the charm that is Karina and then started further perusing the chocolate chip cookie recipes and my heart swelled with gratitude. As I sit here with a stomach who is trying to decide whether it likes the breakfast I ate, I am contemplating making some, OH SO GOOD, chocolate chip cookie/vanilla brownies! Of course, it doesn't hurt that the temps here have been between -20 & -30 degrees F (and lower!) for the last two weeks. It is not hard to imagine why yummy warm brownies would warm me a bit. Soooo, I just wanted to give a shout out to the culinary & literary goddess, Karina, who inspires me even when I get down because of all my food 'issues'!

Just in case you want to check out her blog, allergy laden or not, go to http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ (I am still trying to figure out how to put the actual link in!) Thanks Karina!

Potpourri

Wow, a lot has happened in the last week! This post is going to be a bag of potpourri with all the things I want to say.

First of all, it has been freezing!! Brrrrr :) It is bearable but it makes me REALLY appreciate summer.


My wintermester class is almost at an end and I am a little sad. I have enjoyed every minute of it!

I have a new job! Yeah, like I need another thing in my schedule. This job was too good to pass up. Plus, they basically called me and said, "This job is available and we think it would be perfect for you, are you interested?" I worked my first day today and it was great! I am going to be the student lead in the New Student Orientation office at the U. In the posts to follow I'll explain more about my duties as I learn them :)

I had made a doctor appointment to establish care and get help with some of the things bothering mainly what appears to be a gluten and dairy intolerance. I laid it out for the doctor and he ordered a blood test to test me for allergies that included a celiac panel, soy, eggs, peanuts, dairy, and some of the local seasonal allergies. Thankfully there aren't many of those but once we go back to Indiana I will be miserable again. We only have 6 species of trees in Alaska. Indiana, yeah, lots more! I will find out about my results in 10 days and I'll post about that too. I just want to have a base and go from there. I am having my son get a celiac panel also. He was tested for the main allergies but I want him specifically tested for gluten. He has been on a mostly GF diet for several months now. I say mostly because he is a cheater and eats some things that he shouldn't. He complained of his stomach hurting for months and when I suspected that I had a gluten intolerance and it hurt my stomach I decided to try it on him too. He hasn't complained of a sick stomach since then.

Until later.....TTFN!

Today is my baby's birthday

Well, technically she is my baby, just not my youngest baby! My oldest daughter Madyson turned 10 today. How on Earth am I old enough to have a 10 year old? Oh yeeeaah, I am 30, hehehehe. I've also been married for 11 years. She has always had a somewhat mature, bossy, commanding personality. I always said she was a high maintenance baby and people thought I was crazy. If you have a high maintenance child you understand! Maybe it comes from being the oldest but I figure with our families that she had it coming, LOL! We have many commanding personalities among us! **whistles innocently**

We celebrated her birthday with 7 of her friends plus her younger brother & sister. Dad had to work this afternoon so he helped set up and high tailed it out of there. I can't say that I blame him as we did have a plethora of preteen girls in one small space :P Actually my husband can handle them better than I can most of the time! We did manage to have a pretty good time snacking, making bracelets, playing twister & freeze dance, eating cake and ice cream and opening presents. There was even a cake and ice cream chasing ruckus that I had to calm down quickly!

All-in-all it was a great day and a memorable birthday for Madyson & Mommy!

Quotes for fun & inspiration

There are so many wonderful quotes out there that are silly & sentimental that make you think and feel. I am going to include of my newest favorites. One thing I love about the internet is all the great friends I have found and all of my quotes today I got from them. Let us not forget some of the wonderful signs we see. I have included one of those too. Happy Friday!



"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road." ~Henry Beecher

Josh Groban

So today was the big day that Josh was going to be singing the National Anthem live at the Citi BCS football game in Pasadena, CA. I was bummed because I had to be in class and wouldn't be able to watch it. After class I got on twitter and there were rave reviews and people congratulating him. I about had a stroke I was getting so excited and anxious to see it. Never fear, Grobies stick together and I was presented with a link to the video very quickly!! He performed with Flea on the guitar! Fantastic!!

Tomorrow is the halfway point in my class and I am excited because we get to watch the movie Amadeus about Mozart! Our professor even told us to bring popcorn :D What a guy!!

Music Appreciation

I received a scholarship this year that was for *cough* older students who had been out of school for 5 or more years, were seeking a bachelor degree and had financial need. Since I can check each of those boxes I wrote my essay and was one of the students chosen to receive the scholarship. It paid my tuition (not fees or supplies) for the year up to $5000. In-state tuition in Alaska is practically dirt cheap...it's everything else that costs an arm and a leg :) So I am trying to get as much out of the scholarship as possible so I signed up for a Wintermester class over holiday break. It is similar to Maymester where you take a 3 credit class in 2 wks. I took Communications during Maymester several years ago at Purdue in Indiana and vowed NEVER to do it again! I have just proven the point that one should never, say never ;) I am taking Music Appreciation- The interrelation of music, art & drama. It has been a wonderful experience. My professor is great AND interesting! He doesn't expect miracles and really enjoys what he is teaching.

I have an extra semester open because my husband won't graduate until a semester after I have completed my requirements so I am going to take some classes I want that last semester and graduate with my husband. I am going to take more music classes. I absolutely, stupidly adore music! Since I 'discovered' Josh Groban my music world has blown wide open! I want to learn how to play the piano and that will be one of the classes I take. They offer class piano for amateurs like me, lol!

Off to bible study for us! Smile at strangers...it confuses them :P

Here I go again!!

I started a blog without much searching and wasn't happy with it so here I am again with a better, more researched blogger.

I will use this blog to chat, rant, pout, and mostly talk about the nonsense that rolls around in my head. That shall include things about my 3 kids, my husband, my food issues, my grand adventure to obtain my bachelors degree, life in Alaska, Josh Groban...lots & lots of Josh ;) and a myriad of other things that I love!

I named my blog Keep Me Awake for a couple of reasons. There is a line in my favorite song, Awake, by Josh Groban that says, "Keep me awake to memorize you..." Time passes so quickly and with that events of our life passes too. I want to savor life and time in the present and not always be looking and hoping for the future.

Welcome to the crazy but always interesting life of Shannon!