Wow!!! I can't believe it's already the halfway point of the term. So excited to know that I only one year away from graduation; six months ahead of schedule. I can't believe that at 33 and four kids later I'm back in school getting my degree. I guess when Mike died, I knew change would come, but not like this. I loved my last job, but the harrassment from another employee just became more than I could handle. I still remember the day I got the phone call from Kaplan. I had actually been ignoring their phone calls for almost two months. Then one day I answered it by accident, but now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't an accident. So there i was on the phone and the next thing I knew I was enrolling in school and doing my financial aid application and signing up for classes. Even more mind boggling than that was the term was starting the next day. I remember getting off the phone about 3 hours later and thinking, "what did I just do?" Now I'm almost through my fourth term and only have four terms left. I am halfway through. When I first told my kids I was going back to school they laughed and thought I was too old. Now, they are my biggest supporters. They are so proud of me and even posted pictures of me with my certificates on the social pages. My son tells me all the time how excited he is for me. I've had really good paying jobs over the years without a college degree, but this is different. Having my degree and certification means I'm going to have a career and in a world and economy like today's, nothing tops that. Jobs come and go, but careers are earned. That's not to say that all of this has been easy. After 16 years of being out of school it's hard getting back into a routine again. Homework was supposed to be a thing of the past and now it's a daily thing. What makes it even more weird is doing it all online. Who would of thought?! I love it this way as it makes it easy for me to work around my schedule and my kids' schedule, but I'm a people person and miss interaction with my classmates. Some of my best friends were made in school. Even with these little things I don't get, I am more grateful from the things I am getting by being back in school. I will be even more grateful and feel more accomplished when I graduate and walk in the ceremony. Chicago, here I come!

As I read everyone's blogs, I am amazed to find out how much everybody is against them. I think everyone is looking at it as useless or an invasion of privacy. First let me say, we all learn from each other, and the things you have been through or have to say are at your discretion. However, those things, may be able to help somebody else, you never know. I think these blogs are set up in a way for us to get to know some of our fellow classmates in a way. I do schooling online because I have to, not because it's the way I wanted to. I am very much a people person and love to interact with people and being an online student doesn't allow for that. I think another reason for us having to blog is that whether we realize it or not now, a lot of careers, especially in the healthcare profession require a lot of writing. Doctors, nurses, psychologists, whatever are required to make notes and at times even full reports on patients, their conditions, etc., whether we like it or not. One of you mentioned not letting your child have a blogging page or Facebook account, and then referred to a friend of theirs about a tattoo. The comments and encouragement from their peers are going to be there either way. What would they be saying to them at school? It's really unavoidable unfortunately. It just makes me feel bad getting such a negative vibe from reading everyone's blogs. What would we tell our children if it were reversed? I know I would tell mine to keep a positive attitude and make the best out of the experience, you never know what you will take away from it.

Another week of school down, and 5 1/2 more to go. Another week of cleaning house, making dinners, driving the kids to school and picking them up, and whatever else pops up to fill my day. I'm actually, for the first time in a long time, running ahead of schedule. I love that feeling when I'm on track or ahead, it gives me that sense of accomplishment. All the discouragment I feel goes right out the door. However, as much as I love being home with all my babies, I do miss working. I went to my old job at Second Harvest Food Bank to visit some of my coworkers and friends. While this was not the highest paying or best job I have ever had, it was by far the one I loved the most. I truly believe that finding a job you love is higher paying than having a job that pays top dollar that you hate. I miss being on the forklift and loading and unloading the 53 footers and doing the inventory for the warehouse. I miss the people I worked with. There were only about 25 employees in the whole warehouse, and to my amazement, with the exception of one employee, the rest of us all got along. WOW!!!! I was completely shocked when I had walked in, not only of the changes, but after going to the receiving area of the warehouse, I was shocked to see the system they were using to inventory. It was mine!!!!! When I was working there I developed my own little system on the most efficient and time saving way, for me anyway, to inventory a 28 pallet load. I had taken it to my supervisor many times, but she didn't really like the system because it required her to learn and use the computer more than she was used to. It turns out, after I quit, she took my sytem to the Director of Operations and he liked it. So much in fact, they ordered three more laptops and put it into full effect. As I read our reading material for the week, plagiarism, I thought about this. In a way, this is really plagiarism. My old supervisor took an idea or thought that was mine, and portrayed it as her own when the time was right. While it made me mad, at the same time I wasn't as mad, because I knew that everyone else there pretty much knew that's how I did it. Besides, I'm not working there anymore, so I don't need the credit. It's just upsetting that when presented to her, she didn't "like" the idea, but then took it to the boss as her idea. I'm pretty sure though, that even the boss knows it was mine. Afterall, I was the only one doing it that way when I was there. I think plariarism plays a role in all our lives even when we don't really think about or realize it. Think about when a "catch phrase" catches on. Everytime one of us uses it withour citing the source it's technically plagiarism, however, not to the same degree as doing research and presenting the information as our own. This is where APA plays an important role. I hate APA, but I have learned that I need to love it, learn to use it, and not be afraid of it. My formatting is not always proper, but I'm learning I'm going to get it, eventually.

Well, I think I have finally decided on a topic for my research paper. I have chosen to do my research on the use of polygraph tests in law enforcement. I guess the reason I really chose this particular topic is a very personal one for me. Four years ago my husband and brother in law were murdered. To do this day, no suspect has been taken into custody. It is very frustrating for our family because we do have a suspect that has failed not only one, but two polygraph tests. We have two eyewitnesses that have both passed polygraph tests, but these are not at all submissible as evidence in a court of law, not in California anyway. I really want to research why they are used if they are not allowed as any typed of evidence. What purpose do they otherwise serve, how accurate are they, and how do they work? Why are they not allowed to be used if there is another piece of evidence that can be used to validate its accuracy? I've often thought about starting a petition to the the State Attorney General about allowing this type of evidence with another piece of validating evidence, and now after my research, I will have a more informational approach to move forward with. I don't know how easy this research will be, but I'm excited to gather information and learn more about it.

Wow! This week has been an especially trying week for me. So much has been going on and I'm trying to keep up, and although I'm managing, it's not easy. I did get out of pulling weeds in the backyard considering my son got grounded and that became his punishment. LOL I think it was his grounding that was so trying. It amazes me to watch my children grow. To see the things they do and especially to have them arguing back with me now. While it is not right, it is still a sign of how my children are maturing and growing and becoming a person all their own. At the same time, it makes me sad to then realize that this is something their dad will never get to see. Sometimes it even makes me angry. It's not fair that I have to deal with all of this by myself; he should have to deal with this, too. Still, I am thankful. I am thankful that I get to experience all of these things with my children and that I get to watch them grow. Not only grow, but mature, even though their actions at times seem so immature. It's these immature actions that stress me out so bad. I got so stressed by my oldest son, Chance, that I completely forgot I had class on Saturday. Then come an hour after it was over it hit me. I hate that feeling, and I hate doing Option 2 for seminar even more, but I am determined to get an "A" in Comp this term. I missed it last term by less than 10 points. Darn it!!! Luckily this term I only have two classes instead of three. It will be a bit of a break for me, although my other class in an Honors class. I'm just about halfway through my program at Kaplan University and I can't wait until I'm through. Even more exciting, I get to start my first term of clinicals in July. I can't wait to actually get to start working in a healthcare environment. I never would have thought at 33 I would be back in school, but I am so glad I am. I'm finally making something of myself, and I'm proud!