Trip to Oregon

In two days, I will be headed off to Oregon again to take care of my niece and nephew for a week. Adam and April will be in school during the week while their parents go to Eugene for a business workshop and conference. While I get quite a few projects accomplished for the family while I’m there, I did have a few days that got boring. This time around though, Michelle and Kayleigh will be going with me (my daughter-in-love and my precious 6 month old granddaughter). Having them with me will make the time during the day more fun. I doubt we will be spending a lot of time outside due to the typical rainy, cold and forecasted snowy weather they have. However, we will be taking the kids to school (about 30-40min. drive) every morning and picking them up in the early afternoons. We do get to see Mt. Hood every time we walk outside and look to the east and it should be covered with snow all the way down. Taking the kids to school is also where town is in case we need to stop at the grocery store. The traffic in the Portland area is so different than around here and I don’t know my way around there at all, so we are limited on what or where we will be going. However, I may brave the traffic and ask my brother for directions to getting around so that I can show Michelle some of the beautiful scenery of Oregon. One stop I will make for sure will be one of the wineries; I want to bring back a sweet red wine I found out there on my last visit.

I finally got all of my Christmas decorations packed away. I want to have everything done before I leave since I will only have three days to recover from my visit, as is typical when you go away, before my next semester starts. I have been ready to get back to classes all week. Two weeks off seems to be all I need before I start getting antsy to crack open my books. This week has been filled with appointments for Dentist, Doctors, hair and such and next week spent in Oregon helps to fill up these last two weeks before school starts up again.

Speaking of school; I will be taking 10 hours this semester but I have a feeling that I will want to start taking at least 12. This last semester wasn’t challenging enough and I really do have the time to invest into my studies since I don’t work outside of the home and there is only Mike and me here at home. Oh, I can’t forget about Jake, our four legged baby, but he pretty much hibernates during the winter months unless you provide him with a warm lap (he’s a Chihuahua). What has really encouraged me to think about taking more classes was reading the Dean’s list for the college and not seeing my name on it (I still have a 4.0). While I’m on the National Dean’s list for Phi Theta Kappa, I’m not a full time student, which is the requirement for the college list. I think I must be a little more competitive than how I would describe myself to others. The odd thing about it is that I compete with myself, not really against others. Example: if the goal for high achievement is getting on the Dean’s list, then I want to be on that list. If the best I can do is get an A, I’ll work to get that A. The good thing about this drive is accepting my limitations and not beating myself up when I don’t achieve a goal. We all have certain abilities and gifts, none of us can be the best at everything. However, in the areas I can excel in, “…I will do it will all my might.”

If I have access while I’m in Oregon, I post what is going on. Otherwise, I’ll be back after my first week of classes.