27 October, 2010

I have a goal

I am sure that people with think I am a tiny bit crazy, and they may be right. I am going up to the college and taking the placment test, turning in my application, financial aid paper work and will be assigned to an advisor which I do hope to be able to talk to for a bit today.

My plan at this point is to complete my AA in the next year, my BA in the following 2 years. A Master's in the 2-3 years that follow and finally that PhD. It is my ultimate goal to complete all of this within the next 10 years. I know it's not going to be easy, what with teaching my own children, running my household and just life in general. But there are people out there that do it everyday. I just have to pace myself and maintain a good balance with working with the children's school work and my own.

When I am done with all of this what will I use it for? I can't honestly say right now. I just know that this is my goal and I am going to do everything I can to make it happen.

21 October, 2010

I'm going to do it!!!

I got the ball rolling today and next Wednesday afternoon I will be taking the placement tests needed to enroll at the local community college and finish that AA degree and just keep on going till I feel like I'm done.


I will take the test, be assigned an advisor, turn in my application, unoffical transcripts, my appeal letter for financial aid-I am under probabtion and have to prove myself.

I started this post the other day and had to stop, so now I am going to finish it.

I am going to go back to college and I am excited. I know it might seem silly to sit here and say that I am going to go to school just so that I can go. But honestly that it just what I am going to to.

I can teach my children, do all the things that need to be done here everyday and what??? I am not happy, I need more, I feel like my life is a waste and a joke. You know that part where you are at a party or something and all the other women are talking and then it comes up, that well what do you do? Oh I'm a Mom, and the next you know they all start pulling away from you and you are left standing there wondering what just happened. But the funny thing is, I can't say that this has happened to me or that it would because all of the women I know are just what I am, a mom who stay home and teach their own children. But I need to do this for me, sounds selfish I'm sure. I just feel like at this point in my life, if I don't get this ball going right now I'll never go back. That if I wait till Rachel is done with school-which is another 15 years. That I'll just be to tired and not interested.

I hope to go back and move forward with my higher education and see what happens. Who knows with me going to school and all it might just make my guys move faster and try that much harder. But then again I may find that I get my AA and decide that I just need to wait a bit and go back when they are all a little bit older still. We'll see, but for right now my goal is to get that AA, then BA, then on into a Master's Degree and hopefully a PhD.

But for now I'm off to write my last appeal letter.

18 October, 2010

Starbucks Pumkin Scones

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

Here is it as written. I think that I usually use an entire small can of pumpkin so that would be quadrupling it. And I'm still lucky to have any the next day. This is the one that I am currently using. I do have a second one, just need to find it.

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 Tablespoons sugar(this is the way it's written)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omit this)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 ground nutmeg
1/4 ground cloves
1/4 ground ginger
6 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons half and half (I just use milk)
1 large egg

Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar (again it's written like this)
2 Tablespoons milk

Spiced Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 ground cinnamon
1/8 ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper
3. combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.
4. with a fork, pastry knife, or food processor cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter remain. Set aside.
5. in a seperate mixing bowl wisk pumpkin, half & half, and egg.
6. fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. form the dough into a ball.
7. pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch think rectangle(about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide)
8. use a large knife to slice the dough into three equal portions. Cut diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.
9. place on prepared baking sheet from step 2
10. Back for 14-16 minutes until scones turn light brown
11 place on wire rack to cool

Sugar Glaze directions
1. mix the powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons milk together until smooth
2. Brush glaze over the top of each cooled scone.

Spiced Glazed
1. make up the sugar glaze and as it firms add in the spices, mix together until smooth
2. use whisk to drizzle over scones.

I have tried the plane glaze it was ok, I might add a touch of vanilla next time. As to getting these into that 9x3 shape and making triangles, nope I'm lucky to get it into what ever shape, use a pizza cutter and we have scones. They are usually ugly but super tasty.

17 October, 2010

Going to try to write again

I find that when I get on here I tend to babble. I tend to keep my journal the same way. I may start with one topic like school and then the next thing I know I am talking about building a house or what the best recipe for pumpkin scones are. So I really want to try and stay focused on my topic, which means I suppose that I could end up blogging 10 times a day. Or maybe I just write drafts of what I really am talking about and then I just cut and paste what I'm saying.

School we are behind, really behind. There is a lot of attitude, laziness, and just "I don't want to do that so I'm not" going on here. And I'll be honest they out number me and I give in to them instead of fighting. When I know this is the fight I need to be willing to fall onto my sword for.

Organization-well it's a slow process here. I think I want to do this, but then that seems like a better idea. Take clothing for instance I have 6 boys=lots of clothing. LOTS of clothing. So much so that I really shouldn't need to buy any thing for anyone except maybe for under things. Well I do need to add to this mountain of stuff for Thomas as he is the oldest and all, but the others shouldn't ever need anything. But then again there is a problem I have a healthy solidly built boy(I do not consider him to be husky), then I have a reed thin, very slim boy, another healthy normal body style, back to that thin very slim, then another normal, and the last normal within age/size ranges. How do I keep clothing for these guys? I buy for Thomas-the oldest, Aric the first slim, Matthew second slim and yet Aric's hand me downs are usually too big. It's a mess. So right now I am at a loss as to save? pass on to others outside of our family, or just buy when they each need stuff. And then of course there is Rachel, being the only girl we have to shop for her as she has nothing and with my sister in Germany it isn't that easy to for her to pass down. I am going to send her a huge box of stuff for her son though.

This is really dumb, no one wants to know about my life or what I am about. BLAH BLAH BLAH. wall flowers are meant to be ignored.