Is she alive?

So, I totally fell off the radar.. The blogging radar that is. We had our final in-home visit today, so I thought tonight would be one of the best times to catch up my blog, right?

Not to mention, I just strategically crept into our front door without making a peep in hopes of not disturbing the dogs who are sleeping in their crate. Dustin is at work for the next hour or so, and I finally have peace and quite.. So, this bottle glass (see what I did there!) of wine and I have planted our self in front of the computer screen..

Here we go.

 Last time I blogged Dustin and I had been wanting to further our education. It was a flop. I was skeptical about the online college thing, and honestly I am glad I went with my gut feeling. Come to find out, I was almost six hours away from signing for a loan that would put me eight grand in the hole (not to mention Dustin was signing one for himself also) before I realized the university wasn't fully accredited. Though they were "regionally" accredited, they were not "nationally" accredited, and no matter what silly ways they tried to talk me into it, it wasn't (and never would be) as legit as a degree from UM. So, I bolted as did Dustin. 

I would love to go back to school, but right now isn't the time. I know education is important, but so is everything else. And, right now, I don't have the money. No matter hoe many commercials I watch on television that promise "free money" for college, I can NEVER find that free money. Either we don't qualify because we make to much money (which is a joke in itself) or you have to apply for the scholarship and hope you get picked out of the other 1.3 million students riding the same boat as you. And, between you and me, I am lacking in the "luck" department.

Oh, but I wasn't on February 12th. ;) That story is to come..

So, college is on hold for both of us. And, honestly, I am okay with that. I want to get my degree and make my parents proud. And, I liked to think anyone with their degree is out their making double what I am right now, but honestly they aren't. Sure, some people are making bank with their fancy job with their fancy title, but there are also a ton of folks making the same I am, doing the same work as I am, stuck in the same job, same routine, same lifestyle. 

I am content for now though. Check back with me in a year or so. :) 

Once I realized school was not going to work out, I proceeded to find something else to keep me busy. And, for the first time in twenty two years, that "something" was exercising. 

Yep. You heard right. I joined a gym.

I joined the gym on Saturday, January 15th, at 11:12 AM. I attempted my first work out (which consisted of just walking on the treadmill) on Saturday, January 15th, at 10:14 PM. I officially felt like I was dying on January 15th, at 10:18 PM. Lol. It was bad.

I managed to walk a mile in thirty two minutes.

It's been over a month and I've lost twenty three pounds and can walk a mile in twenty one minutes. Some nights I walk two miles. Some nights I work my arms and ride the stationary bike- which is a work out if I do say so myself. Some nights, when my day has completely sucked, I punch the punching bag until what I think is sheet rock falls from the ceiling. Idealy, I'd love to lose about a hundred and fifty pounds. That is an entire person.. I know, over the next few years, that I can do it. I just have to stick to going to the gym and eating healthier. It's not easy, and at times it's totally dreadful, but I can do it. What do I have to loose? Oh, wait, I have weight to loose;)

So, my goal right now is to loose fifty pounds. I have lost twenty-three pounds, so I have twenty-seven left to go. I can do it. 

Oh, and another sweet victory I've crossed is I've been caffeine free for thirty-six days. The only thing I've been drinking is water and the occasional cup of orange juice or wine. I've eaten things like kale, tilapia, spinach, and I even tried sushi. I don't mind eating healthier. I haven't eaten fast food (with the exception of Arbys once) in over a month. I haven't had a hamburger in over a month. I haven't "cheated" on anything totally unhealthy yet. I miss sandwiches- like lots of mayonnaise, cheese, and turkey sandwiches. Oh, and BREAD. Lol. Isn't that strange? I've had Subway a few times but I stuck to the six inch flat bread with no condiments and semi dry chicken breast, hah. I did have a pretty good sun dried tomato wrap today for lunch from Publix Deli. I am not on a so called "diet", I am just trying to chose healthier eating choices.

Like I said, it's been tough. Dustin is doing this change of lifestyle also. He hasn't been to the gym near as much as I have, however, he is always on his feet at work. He strays away from the "healthier choices" every now and then and, here's the kicker, he is still drinking diet sodas, yet he is loosing weight faster than me.

I know, I know- men loose weight faster than woman. I get it. It still sucks.

So, aside from our new weight loss goals, we have finally made progress with our foster care journey. We were scheduled to have our final visit on February 12th. Unfortunately, mother nature decided she didn't like that date very much and she sent us a good ole Alabama snow storm which consisted of rain, rain, three snow flakes, and more rain. The entire city shut down- including DHR. 

So, we had to reschedule. We had our final in home visit this morning. It went well. We woke up- made the bed- which we NEVER do. Who are we fooling? Lol. We walked the dogs and loaded them up for a car ride and went down the street to Publix to buy some muffins AKA "sweet offerings" for our DHR worker. Hah. I totally had this awesome idea where I was going to pop them suckers out of their plastic containers and line them up on a cookie sheet and try to play off the "I would make an awesome foster mother because I baked these awesome muffins.." but on the way home we got stuck by a train- a SLOW train. As we were pulling into the apartment's parking lot, so was she. She caught me with Publix bags in hand. Lol. Oh, well. She still loved the muffins and I sent her home with an entire container full, so I say we gained a point. 

The visit was short. She asked us about what kind of child we were comfortable getting. You want to know our response?

A human one.

We don't care if it's white, black, blue, purple, green, or orange. We don't care if it has eleven toes and six eyeballs. (Hmmm, that would be strange) We just want a foster child. We just want to hold 'em, and love 'em, and take 'em to the McWane Center. 

She walked around the apartment and checked off stuff on her never ending check list. Everything played out, and we met each and every requirement. She was impressed with the room we set up for our foster child. She was even more impressed when I opened the closet and revealed the million boxes of organized clothes ranging in each gender from newborn to size 8. I think that earned us 10 points. 

Now all we do is wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.

She is carrying the jobs of three different woman, so her work load is heavy. I know she is a busy lady. I know she has a million things going on at work. I know she also has a family and two girls. I know she isn't superwoman and she can't snap her fingers and have paperwork automatically typed up, printed off, and filed. 

But, I also know their is a kid out there needing a home, a safe place they can rest their head..

I know there is a kid out there that needs me, and that makes me absolutely anxious and absolutely impatient.

So, we are now just waiting for her to finish things up and finalize everything.

We are excited. We are nervous.

Some days we are more excited than nervous, and then we see a kid have a total melt down in Walmart on isle three because he can't eat the spaghetti-O's RIGHT NOW and those days we are more nervous than excited. 

Career Week in Pre-Kindergarten sparks a lot of interest....

This week was Career Week in my classroom- keep in mind my students are four years old. First and foremost, I had to explain to my children what "career" meant. When I first asked them what "career" meant they said- and I quote- "...that's when you pick someone up and take 'em somewhere." I was so embarrassed.. Either my students are at that age where they are trying to put two and two together or I have the voice of a country bumpkin. They thought I was saying "carrier" and their use of "carrier" was even more country bumpkin than my uncontrollable accent. "...like when you "carrier" (carry her) to the store." Lord, help us.

Once we got past the confusion, we had a blast. Monday we made firefighter hats. Tuesday we made police officer hats, badges, and stop signs. By Wednesday my fingers were crippled with premature arthritis from all of the cutting, LOL, never the less, Wednesday we made chef hats. Thursday we made doctor bags with gloves, gauze, band aids, and cotton balls. And, Friday we made tool boxes with a hammer, screw driver, and a saw. All in all, it was very fun and very educational.

Not only did the children learn a lot, but so did I- and my husband, Dustin.

Friday the children had to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up. I got to thinking about that myself, and even discussed it with my husband on Tuesday evening. I love my job. I love children and I love teaching children, but I don't think I want to do this forever- especially at the pay rate I am at. I dropped out of college my junior year. Partially because I was tired of school and partially because the cost of living isn't cheap and being a full time student doesn't put food on the table.. I needed to work forty hours, and you cannot be two places at one time. 

So, I got to thinking about what my dream job would be. I love to write- hence my blog. I am also writing long statuses on facebook, and as a teenager I even wrote a children's book that is published in my high school library. I am a good writer, and I would enjoy writing for a magazine or a newspaper. So, that's it. I want to major in communications with a concentration in journalism. 

I still cannot afford to be a full time student on a campus, so I decided to check out University of Phoenix. As of right now, I am projected to start my first class in February. I haven't finalized anything, and we still haven't done my FAFSA but I am headed in the right direction.

Not only have I had this urge to pursue higher education in hopes of a brighter future (that sounds straight up like a commercial for University of Phoenix), but my husband is also interested in going back to school.

As of right now, he is talking to the same adviser as myself about getting his associates in food management and hospitality. 

It sounds all good, right? But, the fear of digging the hole that I like to call DEBT bigger and bigger scares the crap out of me. The thought of an online math class scares the crap out of me... And, last but not least...

The thought of being a first time parent to a child coming into foster care while balancing college AND a full time job scares me. I am not just jumping into the deep end, I am jumping into the flipping Atlantic Ocean. 

Dustin and I have already dedicated so much of ourselves into this foster care thing, and we aren't backing down. We are dead set on fostering children.. I am glad that we are trying to better our future for ourselves and our future children (whether they be our own or our foster children), but I am scared to death that we are "biting off to much than we can chew". So, with that being said, keep us in your prayers. I know God has a plan for both of us, and I am one hundred percent sure his plan for us included foster care. Now, I am just trying to decide whether or not he thinks University of Phoenix is a good idea right now. Decisions, decisions. 

Oh, and for the record, a lot of my students came dressed as Princesses and Superman. I didn't judge them or break it to them that those characters aren't real. Who knows, maybe they will land a gig in a movie or work at Disney World. None the less, I hope their dreams come true.