January 25, 2014

I'm gonna throw up.......

Does this make sense to you?  Me neither......

Three weeks into the stats class, and I'm already freaking out.  The problem above is exactly what we use to figure out the standard variation (except it should be n-1 instead of n).  It's gonna be a struggle. I was talking to a woman I know casually, who is working on her degree in art history.  She said she ended up with a C in stats.  Which worries me, unless she's unconcerned about maintaining an A average.  She has the luxury of going to classes during the day, because her husband is a successful oral surgeon.  (do you sense a wee bit of jealousy?)

Today is house cleaning day.  I had to resort to Saturdays because I like my Sunday racquetball.  I really hate chores.  I recall feeling this way when I was 6 and had to pass my Mom's high standard of what she considered "clean" ~ like wiping her finger over my blinds to see if there was any dust, or looking under my bed for dirty clothes.  So, at least I'm consistent with my whining, ha ha.

Meanwhile, on Facebook, one of my friends posted this:

And usually in January.....

And I thought this was clever and funny....

I don't know how effective this would be, but what they hey!  It might work.....

From Scientific American, this photo...

If you want to read more, go here

Ok, well, I'm off to vacuum, dust and mop.  Have a wonderful weekend!!!
Love, 365

January 18, 2014

Of dogs & homework.....

 Brodie
Sioux

These are our two house dogs.  They stay outside while we aren't home...but are otherwise inside dogs.  They are good dogs, who don't chew up stuff (other than the designated dog toy) inside the house.  However, anything that's outside is fair game.  My husband tried to make the dog house more comfy by nailing down a carpet remnant, but Sioux made it her personal challenge to see if she could rip out all the carpet.  She succeeded, and it took an hour to pick up all the little pieces of carpet, scattered everywhere.  Still, even with the "challenges" of being a dog family, I can't imagine a life without one (or two).  

~Yesterday I took a few minutes and called my Mom & Sister (who live in Texas).  Everyone seems to be doing fine, except my Mom, who is having trouble with her back.  Her Dr prescribed Celebrex, which she later researched & discovered that it is contraindicated with some of her heart medications ~ I asked her if that particular Dr is her main physician that prescribed her other meds, and it turns out she is.  What the hell?  Don't Dr's even check to see if the medication they are prescribing might pose some sort of risk to their patients?  I was disappointed to say the least.  In the meantime, she continues to try and cope with the pain.  It just pisses me off, I suppose because I feel so powerless to help.

~In the meantime, the statistics class is plodding along.  Our instructor is originally from Sweden, and has a very charming accent.  He did warn us that the class starts out rather easy and becomes difficult quickly.  I have some homework that I plan to start on when I'm done with this.....which is probably why I keep trying to think of other banalities to bore you with so I can keep putting it off, ha ha.  

~My birthday is the 20th, and once every seven years, I get to share it with Martin Luther King Day, as I do this year.  I had planned on getting my drivers license renewed, and then I realized they will be closed.  Crap. We generally renew our license for 8 years, and the state doesn't send you a reminder that your license will expire soon, as my husband found out this year while traveling.  He was traveling for work, and was at the Enterprise car rental, when he discovered he couldn't rent a car because his license would expire before his scheduled return of the car.  Hey, I don't look at my expiration date!!  Now I put a reminder on my calendar to remind me.....the computer/phone calendars are so handy....

~Well, it looks like I've rambled on long enough, I hope you all enjoy your weekend!
Love, 365

January 11, 2014

I'm living the illusion!! Join me!

Tiger @ the ABQ Zoo, Oct. 2013

I'm so happy this week is over.  It was a long and difficult week, due to the absence of a co-worker who was quite sick this week with the flu (?) or something.  So, I've planned to go to Costco & get my flu shot today.  They are offering it for $14.99, which seems to be a good bargain.  I only hope they aren't out of it.  

My statistics/probabilities class started this week, and the instructor seems to be a very nice person.  He was late to class, but we all discovered that he works in Santa Fe during the day & comes home to Albuquerque & teaches our class in the evenings, which explains his late arrival.  Received my first homework assignment, which I'll be working on tonight.  My forensic anthropology class starts on the 20th....someone I know has taken this class & said it was great, so I have high expectations.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the info on what materials (like books & stuff) until this week.  Luckily it's fairly cheap through Amazon.  

Suldog posed 11 questions that I shall attempt to answer:

Have you ever voluntarily put anything up your nose aside from drugs?
~No, although I had to remove various objects from my kids noses.  I always wondered why they believe this is an acceptable storage place for buttons, marbles, and small action figures.  You've got a pocket, use it!

 Is it still there?
~No, and I have the Dr receipts to prove it.

How many real teeth (that is, not store bought) do you have in your mouth?
~28, I had my wisdom teeth removed one at a time to maximize the pain.

If you could take any two things on the planet and staple them together, what would they be?
~Well, I enjoyed Ami's answer to this one, so I'll go with that.  I still don't understand why he would have anything to do with Kim Jong Un.  What a sleaze bag.

Do you think plants can hear you think?
~Yes....that's why I make all my plants live outside.

How many rocks are in your house?
~The only rocks I have are the ones the dogs sometimes drag in (teeny ones stuck in their paw pads).  I think rocks can read thoughts, so like plants, I make them live outside.

If I asked you to shove a toy surprise up my ass and call me Crackerjack, would you compare and contrast Napoleon's march on Moscow with Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo on Highway Star?
~I can't answer this question.  It's waaay too much like school, and I'm not getting any credit, so to hell with it......

Why are you still reading this?
~Because.......

Do you think it's going to get better?
~How will we know unless we continue?  Follow the pursuit of the silly, I say.....

Why is a kumquat not entirely unlike a porcupine?
~They are both squishy on the inside...

When do you think the world will end?
~According the the Maya, it has already.....personally I'm enjoying the illusion of the life I'm currently experiencing.  

Love, 365



January 4, 2014

I've already broken my resolution....

Naw, I'm not this cute...

Has anyone noticed the trend of your "friends" on Facebook posting their workouts?  I see these posts  a few times each week.  I don't get it.  I don't post my workouts on Facebook, because WHY WOULD ANYONE GIVE A SHIT???  What I should do is post something about it, but I do dearly love some of these people.  I don't want to hurt thier feelings.  Sometimes I think Facebook is a giant waste of time....oh, wait.  It is a giant waste of time, but it does keep me connected with friends that I don't see very often.  Maybe I should post a "I'm taking a break from Facebook, because I just can't deal with the daily banality".  I'm sure everyone will understand--right?   Yeah.....

Love, 365

January 2, 2014

What the heck????

Have you seen this on TV??

Yesterday I saw this ad on TV.....really????  First of all, I love bacon.  I rarely eat it, but I admit that there are some recipes that simply must have bacon.  OK, maybe many more than call for it!  There is one recipe I love called beef carbonade ~ rather like a stew, served over egg noodles.  It's really fabulous....but it only has 3 strips of bacon in the entire dish, but it wouldn't be the dish I love without those lovely strips of smokey meat.  **I have 2 issues with the "bacon bowl".  Firstly, you could do the same thing in a muffin pan, so there's really no reason to buy a special contraption to make them, although I suppose that those of us who love kitchen gadgets might want them just because.  Secondly, it's the first of the year and the first thing you think is that you have to have food served to you in a bowl of bacon????   I think we all know that having bacon daily is probably not a great idea. (On the other hand, as Fukushima is currently continuing to spew radioactive waste into our oceans, bacon might be healthier than fish.) 

Ah, America.  Home of the "bacon bowl". 

Love, 365

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

(Happily "lifted" from somewhere on the internet)

~It feels like Sunday.....I'm in my pajamas and robe, I've got a nice hot mug of coffee in front of me and I'm blogging.  Like I said, it just feels like a Sunday!

~I've been jotting down the dates, times, building #, professor names for my upcoming classes.  Last semester was easy....I had one class, & she didn't give us tests (writing isn't the same, but still isn't "easy", at least not for me).  On January 7th I start my Statistics & Probabilities class, and the week of Jan. 20th I begin my online class - Forensic Anthropology.  Cooool!  I have wanted to take this class for years, but CNM only offers it during the day & during the week, so I couldn't take it due to work.  So, to recap: one class I dread & wonder if I'll pull out my hair before it's over, and one class I'm excited to take.   College as an adult is truly a wake up call...part of me wishes I had done this in my 20's, but I know I wouldn't have taken it as seriously as I do now.  Did I mention I made an A in my last anthropology class?  Felt great.....

~I mentioned that I was going to make some resolutions for this year.  Here it is:

I resolve to be fearless and courageous.

 On that note, I must follow up on my last post & admit I haven't gone to the gym and followed the workout that the trainer gave me yet.  Today I'm playing racquetball, so I won't be doing it today, but I'm off tomorrow, and will be going, along with all of the resolutionists that will likely be there.  It's funny ~ there's always a large group at the gym beginning Jan. 1st.  Some last a few weeks, while others stick it out for a couple of months.  Only a few will be regulars, having worked through the soreness and pain, to find that they enjoy working out 3 to 4 times a week.  Those that achieve this mind set discover that they sleep better, have a more positive mind set, and have fewer aches and pains (once they get past the soreness issue).   It's been proven time and time again that physical activity (and I don't mean cleaning house, although it can be a workout!) makes people feel better mentally and physically.  The secret is not a gym membership....just plain old walking works too.  In my case, I want to improve my upper body strength as well, as women typically become weaker as they age, and I want to be able to open my own jars!

Love, 365

False spring is over.....

  I took this photo of a ranunculus I bought a few days before.  They are such beautiful flowers ~ so delicate and brightly colored.  I don&...