The Answer To My 1/4 Life Crisis!

I've decided to go back to school! Yes, I will be returning to my Alma Mater for my MBA!



After thinking it through and discussing it with hubs, we've decided that this will be a good move! So, I've ordered the Princeton Review's GMAT 2010 Prep and I'll begin studying for the GMAT test once the book comes in! (You have to take the GMAT test in order to get into Business Graduate School.)

So, since I have the Pre-Reqs for Grad School, I'll only have to take 10 Graduate Courses. I'm planning on taking 2 classes per semester and start in the Spring. But, since I have to have a GPA of a 3.0 in order to obtain my Masters, I might have to take only 1 class per semester. We'll just have to see! Keep in mind that I'll continue to work at my current job while going to school - so 40 hours and grad school! Not to worry though, I worked 40+ hours the ENTIRE time I was in college - all 5 years. Yes, 5 years.. I changed my major at one point.

So, wish me luck. This will be challenging, but I know I can do it!

Birthday Girl & Bear

First off, I'd like to say Happy 18th Birthday to my little sister! I'm stunned that she's actually 18, since I still think of her as being 4 years old! I just can't believe that my baby sister will be attending college at my alma mater in a few short weeks. It just doesn't seem right. But alas, she is. So, Lil Sis, I hope today is the greatest day and that this year brings all you've ever hoped for and more! I remember my 18th year and it was full of new experiences and feelings. I hope it's even better for you! *I'm not sure if she reads my blog, but she will kill me for this picture that I stole from her Facebook page!



On another note, I've decided to post a few pictures of Bear, our Golden Retriever who has become an inside dog for the time being. Bear, enjoy being inside, come August 10th you're sugar butt will be outside (if all goes right)!! Not to sound mean, I do love that dog more than one should ever love a pet, but I'd like my loveseat back!! Plus, Rocky would love his big brother to come back outside! He whines/howls every single day. Poor dog.


His kitchen towel bandanna!
How he spends most afternoons and nights.

*Caution: Nude Dog* Him sprawled out on the loveseat.


He decided to grace me (crush me) with his presence.

And yet another crushing...

This is his "This recliner is mine." look.

And yet another loveseat pose.

Right before he destroyed his toy duck.

A Golf Weekend!

This weekend seemed to have a theme... Golf!

On Friday, we decided to have dinner at one of our favorites - Olive Garden. We hadn't been there in a while and were long overdue for Italian food. The food was alright, but the people behind us - definitely spoiled our nice little dinner. They were on vacation from somewhere up north (accents) and were extremely rude and loud. They were a family of 5 and everyone was constantly talking. The youngest of the bunch had some kind of portable device that played cartoons LOUDLY. Which, btw, was annoying as heck. Plus, the father, complained about everything and demanded he not pay for their drinks because the salad came out before them. So, his total bill? $16 for a family of 5 - at Olive Garden - because of his constant complaints! Anyways, they were loud and obnoxious and I should've asked to be moved. To make it worse, they left as we were finishing our dessert, so we had to listen to them the whole time. And yes, we totally fell off the fit train. Don't laugh. LOL

Saturday, I had to work till 4pm. But afterwards, I met hubs in Hot Springs and we went to On The Border with his mom and her friend. The food was great (I was starving, too) and the company was a lot of fun. I like eating out with them - it's never boring. Afterwards, we went and played Putt-Putt. Of course, I was dead last... I did horrible, but had so much fun! We ended up making it home sometime after 9 - so I got NO housework done on Saturday - which is usually my "hurry up and clean" day.

Sunday morning, we went and played 18 holes of golf (the real kind) with my parents. It was the young ones (us) vs the old ones (them)! We had a lot of fun and my golf game is improving - I can chip great, but other things need work - like my aim! Afterwards, I went grocery shopping, picked up some dinner, did two loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and read for about an hour. Then, it was time to go to bed!! Btw, I do go to bed early - like 8:30 - but remember I get up between 3:45-4AM. Boooooo.

So, we played a lot of golf...and the house is a complete disaster! A few odd details to throw in there - the Strep is completely gone now, Bear is at the Vet getting his last treatment today, and I'm considering reading the Harry Potter Series. Has anyone read them and should I give it a try?? Oh, and the fit train is back on (again) and tonight calls for 2 miles (maybe more) depending on if it rains!

Sorry it was such a long post! Hope you stuck through it!

Mid-Life Crisis

I'm having a mid-life crisis. I've always laughed at people who said they were going through a mid-life crisis, but now, I know what they were talking about.
I'm not exactly sure how it's happened. Maybe it's due to the recent event that I was turned down for a job that I really wanted. Maybe it's due to the annoying intern that recently left to go to Grad School in another state. Or maybe, I was just headed this way all along.
I'm bored with my current position. Just plain bored. I've been doing the same job for 3 years now. I know that's not a long time, but I'm one of those people who, if they're not learning something new or feel challenged, they're ready for something new.
So, I've been sitting here for the last week or so wondering what it is I want to do with the rest of my life. A few options have come up. I could go to Pharmacy School - which is a total career change for me. I've always wanted to do something in the medical field, but with my queezy stomach and fear of needles and blood, I knew this was not really an option.... Until I heard about Pharmacy School. Yes, they have to learn how to give shots and such, but for only about a week. I could handle that.
So, what would Pharmacy School take? I'd have to take 6 undergraduate classes (since my degree is a Bachelor of Business and not a Bachelor of Science). Then, I'd have to take test. And then, I'd have to entail 4 long years of going to school full time (18 & 19 hour semesters) and pay around $5,000 per semester. This means I wouldn't be able to work. While hubs said that this is still an option, I have veto'd it out. It's no longer an option.
Second... I could go back and get my Masters. Which, is something I've wanted to do for the past few years. It would only take 10 classes and I'd be done. Only problem with this is... What would I do with my Masters? It's not like that would automatically give me a new and exciting job. Plus, I'd still get bored after a certain amount of time, I'm sure.
So, that 2nd option is on the back burner. Option #3... Find a new job. Well, given the state of the economy, that's a tad difficult. Plus, I love the company I work for now. Only problem is, they don't have any openings. Also, why would I leave a secure job where I make a nice chunk of change at...and go to something that may be less secure? Yeah. Not a good option either.
So, I'm stuck. Plain and simple. Plus, add in there, the whole.. "I want to have a child before I turn 30" thing.. That makes things a little more difficult too, when you're thinking of going back to school. There's no way I could go to school full time, work full time, and raise a child. Or for that matter, go to school part time...
So.. anyone have any suggestions?

The Boat

Yep, ladies we have a boat! :0) Ya'll crack me up!

I thought I'd post a picture of the said boat... The only one I have is from my Facebook page... So, it'll have to do! And yes, that's our truck too. :)

Woe Is Me.

I haven't had strep throat since junior high and let me just say, I have no idea how I ever survived this. I stayed at home yesterday and slept most of the day, just for the simple fact that you don't swallow while you're asleep (for the most part). Swallowing is quite difficult and painful. I know I'm dehydrated, because I've not drank 20 ounces of anything since Sunday. And food? ha! I laugh at the thought of food. Those plastic freezer pops are the closest thing that I've had to food since Sunday. Those even hurt.

I went ahead and went into work this morning, just for the simple fact that my fever is gone. So, in theory, I'm not spreading the germy germs to everyone. But, I'm still distancing myself from others and avoiding talking. Talking hurts. As for my appearance...I went to work without makeup (this has only happened like 3 times in 3 years) and I'm wearing a sports bra under my shirt!! ha! I didn't want to get dressed this morning, so I made myself a deal :)

Today is day 2 of the ZPack. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Woe is me.

Race Report & Strep Throat

Hope everyone had a great Independence Weekend! This will be very short as I'm home and have Strep Throat. Yep, went to the Dr today... I felt great until yesterday and then it all went downhill. Moving on..

The race went really well. Hubs & I woke up at 5:30, got ready, and drove to LR. I had to register on race day (which I hate), so I wanted to make sure to get there with plenty of time.

Breakfast - I had 5 peanut butter crackers. Not what I usually eat before a race, but it's all we had.

We get to LR at 6:30 and I registered with no problems. They were out of all t-shirt sizes except 2xl.. So, I took that and gave it to hubby to do yardwork in. :)

There were a ton of people at the race. The past 3 years I've done the race, there has always been a ton of people. I think there were between 600-800 runners that finished. I could look it up again, but I don't wanna :)

Race starts, I hit the start button on Happy and noticed that it hadn't cleared my time from the last time I used it. I had no idea what buttons to hit, so I just noticed what time I started on and away I went. Mile 1 went pretty well, with the exception that I had to tinkle and there were no porta potties at the race, what-so-ever.

Anyways, it's pretty much downhill until the last mile. Mile 3 you travel up a few nice, long hills. That's where people started to die ...myself included.

Here are my splits:

Mile 1 11:52

Mile 2 12:24

Mile 3 13:34

.10 9:58 pace

Not too terribly bad (for me). My official time was 39:29. I was pretty happy. That's a PR for me! Yay! I was secretly hoping for 38 minutes, but I'm pretty happy with my time.

Also, just an FYI.. usually a Kenyan wins the race..but this year, the Kenyan was beat. The guy that beat him had a pace of 4:20 and the Kenyan had a pace of 4:30!! Wow! Insane!

That's all I've got. I'm going to go rest now!

Rats!

I didn't believe my coworkers when they said we had one. Then they said it was huge. It? A rat. Yes, we have a rat on our floor. How do I know this to be true? Because this morning, I had a run in with said rat.

I came into work at 5:45am this morning, put my stuff on top of my desk, got out my laptop, and then proceeded to put my bag under my desk...then I heard something behind me. I turned, nobody there. Then I heard something huge hit my desk. Then it hit the wall. Another wall. Then a "scurring" noise. I never saw the rat. But I heard it and it sounded huge. And, I was all alone...so it wasn't a coworker pulling a joke on me. Eek! So, needless to say, I've been sitting indian style at my desk all day - no legs dangling from my chair here.

Other than that, I got the pleasure of watching 3 joggers doing hill repeats in front of our building. It's the perfect spot for it, but I never thought I'd see that while sitting at my desk.

Nothing new to report on. Skipped my run yesterday due to a breif rain shower and due to the fact that I just felt lazy. Hubs had to work late - he got home after I went to bed... So, I took advantage and did some housework, took a bubble bath, and read. Btw, I'm currently reading The Diary of Anne Frank: The Definitive Edition. Love it.

Bear went to the vet on Monday for his 2nd round of heartworm treatments. We pick him up this afternoon. I called yesterday to check on him and they said he's doing fine. I miss the poor guy. I never thought I'd say that - I'm not an inside pet person, at all. And I still stand by my word that come Sept 29th, Bear will become an outside dog once again. :)