Finals are coming up!

Hey, they are smiling because they know their pic is being taken, or maybe it was a great joke.....(bing images)

This is more like it......

Or maybe this, lol....

I am not worried about my forensic anthropology exam.  I'll read over my notes, review the photos that are included in our weekly powerpoint lectures, and look over our quizzes.  No biggie (but not taken lightly, I assure you).  However, statistics is different.  I'll spend hours studying....hours at the tutoring lab......it's torture.  Because, basically I feel like a monkey learning sign language.  I'll (hopefully) learn enough to do well on the exam, and then forget it all a week or so later.  In fact, when I reviewed our last exam, I was shocked to realize I probably couldn't do as well on that same test right now....how did I ever pull it off?  Well, hopefully I will be able to do the same in a little over a week.  

Last week I spent some time shopping.....and crying.  I was trying to find some new clothes for work, and crying because everything is so expensive.  Over 70$ for a pair of slacks?  Never.  I just can't do it.  I am going to try Kohl's again.  I usually don't shop for clothes there because I can never find anything that fits me well ~ although I admit I'm extremely picky.  I don't have the body shape of a 16 year old, which seems to be the model manufacturors use.  Aren't they paying attention?  I don't get why so much of the clothing in retail stores is geared toward teens.  They don't have any $$, and although I realize their parents do, I would never have asked my mother for an outfit that cost over $100, but I suppose that today's teens do.  

Ok, off to study!  Enjoy your weekend, and Happy Easter!

(bing images)

Love, 365

Just screwin' around

Sandpipers in New Orleans

This morning I decided to catch up on reading new postings from my favorite blogs, and I thought, I haven't "skimmed" for new blogs that I might find of interest in awhile.  You know, when you view your own or someone else's there's a little link at the top that says "next blog".  When I first started blogging, I would hit that little link and read until I was bored, got an idea for my own blog, or hit a road block (usually a blog where something is for sale).  So, I starting skimming.  Sadly, I ran across a lot of blogs that were old.....no blog posts for years.  I get it though.  Something happens in your life, and suddenly blogging is the last thing on your mind.  I suppose there are as many reasons for abandoning a blog as there are for starting one.  And although I realize that one day I might abandon my own, I would put more importance in making sure that my family deletes my Facebook page than worry about this silly thing......

Friday my youngest son turned 31.  We aren't big "birthday" people ~ you won't find us inviting loads of friends (family all live elsewhere, 100's of miles away) for a party.  We do the "what would you like for dinner, pie or cake" kind of thing along with a gift or two.  And my son says the words I had been dreading ~ "Pan dulce".  Pan dulce (which simply means sweet bread), is time consuming.  I first made it about 15 years ago when I was exploring bread recipes.  Well, my son absolutely LOVES the stuff.  So, yesterday I made pan dulce.  It takes a long time, because the dough takes forever to rise on that first go round.  The recipe says 1 1/2 hours, but its more like 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  At some point you have to make egg streusel, which goes inside (or outside if you want, but I don't like it that way).  Which is basically flour, sugar, salt and egg yolks - you make plain and chocolate.   Well, it had been a year since I had made it, and I was trying to read it without my glasses, and I made a boo-boo, and had to fix that, and in the meantime the dough was ready ~ well, to make a long story short, I was muttering "why couldn't he have just asked for pie", my better half asked if he could help, and FINALLY finished.  My son eagerly grabbed the first batch out of the oven, my husband told him they were pretty hot, and he said "I'll take my chances!"   It was worth it.  :-)

Love, 365

And now I will rant.....

Hi!

Before I get started, I wanted to let any of you that read my blog (yeah, all 2 of you, lol) that there is a lady who needs help.  Although my battle with breast cancer is at a stand-off (my own Murphy's Law response, lest it return), there is a lady that is right in the middle of her battle and is having some financial difficulties, and is asking for help - even though it is always so very hard to ask.  Please go here to read her story, and if you have a few extra $$, please donate.  Thank you.

Facebook.  I was so excited at the idea of it, I joined a few years ago.  I don't post every day (or even every week) but I have lots of "friends" who do.  Most are posting family photos, or letting us know about a trip they took, a great restaurant they ate at, silly antics of our pets, etc.  But some people insist on attempting to solve the great issues of the day, or going off about an injustice they perceive.  Here in Albuquerque we recently had a police shooting of a homeless man who was camping/living in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.  Someone called the police, because he was doing so illegally.  This man has had previous issues with police (burglary I think, maybe more), and was mentally unstable.  Notice the word "was".  He was shot and killed during the confrontation with police.  One of my Facebook friends posted a pro-police remark, and I responded that I certainly appreciate our police force keeping us safe, etc, so on - but that I thought that they didn't need to use lethal force on a man who had a knife.  I was villified by some of her "friends".  Apparently we are to support the Albuquerque Police Department, regardless.  No.  I still believe that the situation could have been handled differently.  He couldn't be tazed because of all the clothing he had on.  But still.  In my opinion, they put him down like a rabid dog.  He was a human being.  In the meantime, the DOJ came out with a report of the APD that is less than exemplary, stating that they used lethal force in more than a few instances that was not considered justified.  

***I hoped that Facebook would be a fun way to keep in touch.  I suppose it's human nature to take something that could be fun and uplifting, and turn it so it gives people a way to be rude and disrespectful to others that they wouldn't dream of doing to your face.  I recently posted this:  

Just for the record, I appreciate all that our police force does to keep us safe.  But to give a blanket "OK" to everything they do is to deny that as humans we all make mistakes ~ but to make a mistake with a gun is an awful lot of responsibility that some on the force are unable to handle.

Love, 365

Just your regular weekend......

Oh, yeah!  The wisteria is blooming!

I have been wracking my brain for ideas for this week's post.  But, I didn't really decide on anything.  It turned out to be the same ol' this week at work and at home (well, with the exception of getting a good grade on my stats test, ha ha.....that was pretty awsome for me).  The semester is beginning to wind down, and if I remember correctly, I'll be done by the first week in May, so about 3 weeks to go!    I have decided to take the summer off ~ #1, I need a break  #2, UNM charges more for summer classes & it's already too expensive, #3, I need some time with the family, catch up on home improvement projects, and a few months with no homework or exams.  

This morning on Sunday Morning reported on a story about whether or not professional atheletes are "born" that way.  They began with a story about a guy who quit his job, and is planning to be the next top PGA player.  His goal?  To give 10,000 hours of practice to the sport.  The question ~ if you practice the sport you're interested in for the above mentioned time, will you be good enough to put you in the top tier of the sport?  Is it in your genes?  Your opportunities (parental involvement, encouragement)?  Or did you just love it enough to put in the effort to excel?  I found this story interesting, because I played in a racquetball tournament last weekend...lost the 3 games I played, although I came very close to winning in 2 of the matches.  So, this summer, I will be signing up for some lessons, and practicing a lot more!  

Parting shot....This guy actually survived having a chain saw embedded in his neck.  I posted this on our discussion page in my Forensic Anthropology class, since we are studying trauma this week.

Love, 365

Dear Ami.......

Happiness....(Bing images)

***Oh, I wanted to write a little poem, but I kinda suck at poetry.....no, I really, really suck at poetry!  

Last week I took our second exam in statistics.  I studied, was tutored, I fretted and worried.  Today we received our results.....a 91!  I was so surprised, I raised my fists into the air and said "yes!"  So, at least I won't have to drop the class.  I can soldier on and put this last (I hope) math class behind me.

Ami ~ I might go look for that elusive purse this weekend.  :-)

Love, 365

New Orleans

Spring break, here only a week ago, is now a foggy memory.  I have 2 tests this week, one already done..and another to do.  I'm not so worried about the one I still have pending, it should be.....well, easy isn't the word, but slightly challenging, I guess.  The statistics class still gives me freaking nightmares.  I believe I passed, but really have no idea until I get it back, which I hope will be Tuesday.  I told my husband that if I don't do well, I will drop and take the class again later.  I hate to waste the money.  So I hope I did OK.

On a personal note, I seem to be having issues with how to deal with difficult people.  There is one difficult person in particular that I have to deal with 4 days out of 7.  I really can't avoid her.  

I consider the problem mine to deal with.  I can't really ignore her, but I can't give you any details.  I just wish I knew how to deal with this (occassionally unbearable) situation.  I've tried being cordial, asking about her weekend, her pets, etc.  She will answer, but tersely.  If I walk into a room, she will walk out if she is able.  She acts as though I have some incurable disease.  Quite frankly, it makes me "mad", and I don't mean angry, I mean crazy!   Ignoring her doesn't work.  Being nice to her doesn't work.  If anyone out there has any ideas, please don't hold back.  I could use some advice!

Well, I have a busy weekend ahead of me!  Enjoying catching up on past episodes of Game of Thrones before the 4th season starts!

Love, 365

Hoppity hop hop hop hop....

All images courtesy of Bing...

Easter is my favorite religious holiday.

Yes, I realize it represents that our Lord died for our sins and was resurrected.

But.....

My favorite part is the candy.

Believe it or not, my Mom made my sister and I Easter baskets until we 

had our own kids!  Then, she made them for her Grandkids....

Although my parents never gave us baby chicks (dyed pink or purple)

Or baby ducks (they are awfully cute)

My neighbors did get a baby duck that grew into a fun pet in their backyard...

Until our dachsund got out of our yard &

promptly ran over and killed the duck that he used to "play" with through the fence.

I know they are pure sugar..

I do love peeps.

We dyed eggs for hiding

And tried not to peek where Mom and Dad were putting them.

There were always plenty of jelly beans

Sometimes they would get lost in the basket grass

So once eveything else was gone, you could go on a treasure hunt.

Although Easter is over a month away

The grocery stores are completely stocked with every kind of confection

Tempting me to buy some and stash it somewhere.

Or eat some.

***We are already short a box of peeps****

Love, 365

Signs of Spring...

Trees blooming on UNM campus....

Ah, Spring!  In New Mexico it means extremes of highs and lows.  We've had temp's in the high 60's and then yesterday we had snow flurries.  Luckily it didn't get too cold last night, 31 degrees is probably not so bad, especially if it wasn't that cold for too long.  So far, people with peach trees are OK.  Peach trees seem to bud and bloom as soon as the temp's warm up, regardless of the hours of sunlight, so no one wants a hard freeze, which will destroy most of the blooms/hence no fruit.  It really takes forever for peaches to ripen here.  In south central Texas, where I'm from, some peach varieties  begin to ripen the first part of May.  Here, it seems as though the majority of peaches ripen at the end of June or even July.  Its a long time to wait for a good peach ~ because the grocery store peaches are awful, in my experience.  

This week is our spring break at both colleges.  Since I am taking one at each, it's nice for them to occur at the same time.  I have a big Stats test that will take place on the Thursday after spring break, but our instructor gave us the practice test so we can work on it during the break.  Good news for me, as it gives me time to work on it, have some tutoring, etc.  I really need to make a better grade on this test.  Hoping for at least an 80.  Anything above that will be gravy.....

On the Forensic Anthropology front, I was surprised we actually had an e-mail from our otherwise absent professor (no, not the movie, lol), letting us know that she is crediting us for the first 2 questions on the lab test, because further review of the book/lectures showed we weren't provided enough information to correctly answer them (unless you were lucky).  This means I have a 92 instead of an 84.  This is not the first time this has happened in this class.  Makes me wonder if this is the first time she has offered Forensic Anthro online.  You would think that if it had been online awhile, these bugs would have been worked out already.  Although I am thoroughly enjoying the class content, the way the class is being handled leaves a lot to be desired.  The torq (my jaw) is that I paid an extra $100 to take this class online (because I couldn't find an onsite class outside of my working hours).  ***gnashing of teeth******

~~~~~in other weird news....

In North Carolina, a guy kills an 8 foot, 500lb boar.   

Ugh.  

Enjoy your Sunday!  Love, 365

The art of conversation is dying....

Is this a date?  Or are they just sharing a table? (courtesy Bing images)

Yeah, no kidding....

First of all, I want to state that I do text.  Sometimes.  When I really need to.  Like "I'm on my way home"  or  "Could you pick up milk on your way home?".   The only people I have "text conversations" with is my oldest, who receives so many phone calls (business) that he rarely answers the phone.  BUT, even in this case, it annoys.  Why don't people want to talk to each other anymore?  

I would say that texting is distancing us from each other.  Look at the photos above ~ great examples. I see this everywhere I go ~ in class, on campus, at work, shopping.  Like the photo above, they aren't even looking at each other.  Are they on a double date?  Waiting for the bus?  

Looks like the art of conversation is dead.....

Be a rebel ~ call someone you love today & just have a chat......

Love, 365

Why Cosmopolitan Magazine is irrelevant to my life....

Photos from the April issue.......

I was never this skinny after age 10.....

Well.....our office subscribes to a number of magazines (only we donate our old ones to the gym, and keep new ones in the waiting room, which is definately not normal).  Every now and then we get some rather odd mixes, like "Trailer Life" ~ which is about travel trailers, not the mobile homes you see here and there.  Last month we received a Cosmo.  I haven't read one in years, so decided to have a look through it during lunch this week.

The stories included: 

~brazilian waxing - not something I've ever done or would want to, mainly because I've heard it's extremely painful - also kinda stupid looking.  You see?  That last comment puts me into the "old fogey" category.  Just what I'm talking about.

~How about this headline: The pro's and con's of him coming on your face as a sort of "facial".  Umm, no.  Make that HELL no.  

~"Dry shampoo will change your life"  Really?  There's a video of a woman demonstrating the life changing aspects of using dry shampoo.  The only difference I noticed at the end of the video, was that her hair looked messy.  Easy.  Just don't do anything to your hair in the morning.  I certainly don't need to purchase something that sort of does the same thing.  Sheesh, were we born yesterday?

~5 ways to fake amazing bone structure.  Hey, if God meant for you to have it you would.  Using makeup to "fake" bone structure (which just looks like a lot of makeup to me), isn't going to fool anyone.  Over do it, and you look like your getting ready for Halloween.  Besides, I don't want Kate Moss cheekbones.  Mine are fine, thank you very much.

~Things men don't want to talk about.  Obviously, the women interested in this article just simply aren't paying attention!!  I knew all that stuff when I was 10, from paying attention to how my parents communicated (not to say they would talk about penis's and such, though, just to make that clear).

~Celebrity stuff - what they wear, what they say, how they do makeup, etc.  Who cares?  I've never understood celebrity fascination.  They sometimes put their underwear on inside out too.  And have zits, cellulite, under eye bags, etc.  If you saw the Today show last week (?) they demonstrated how photos are retouched, to where you almost don't recognize the original.  Hmmm.

There are soooo many other things I could rant about, but I'm tired.  It's late.  It's Friday, and I'm ready to go to bed and read for awhile.  

Love, 365

Forensic anthropology is fascinating....

Crystal skull....didn't want to gross you out with a real one.

Although I still have some gripes about how the online class is being managed by our "out for a break" instructor, the class itself is really fascinating.  Currently we are studying how to identify the sex, age and ethnicity of a skeleton.  Which ain't no easy task, apparently.

The older the individual, the more difficult it is to pinpoint with any accuracy the age, due to health, activity level, (access to health care anyone?).

You'd think it would be easy to determine sex, right?  Nope.  Some female skeletons could be mistaken for a male if the bones are "robust" ~ large, strong, large muscle attachments, etc.  Conversly, a small man might be mistaken for a female if considered "gracile" ~ smaller, etc.  The pelvis is invaluable for determining sex, but if it isn't present, then it can be pretty sketchy.

Ethnicity (or race, as they term it in our text, which seems like a very antiquated term that I don't really like, because I don't believe there are "separate races" of humans).  Not surprisingly, forensic anthropologists are typically asked to determine ethnicity before sex, because different ethnic groups have different phenotypic traits (genetic expressions that are visible) that will influence the determination of the sex.  

Enough of that...it's not that interesting unless you enjoy forensic shows ~ I've been told that "Bones" is a really good show to watch if you're interested in forensics.  Never have watched it, but will have a look at some of the older ones on Amazon video streaming, so I can see what my friends are talking about.

Still haven't heard much from our instructor, but I did hear from one of the teacher's assistants, who finally helped me figure out how to look at my previous quizzes, which I promptly copied so that I could study them for the mid-term/final.  Damn, guess I should have taken that damn IT class.

Meanwhile:

How nice.....

I appreciate honesty......

Whaaa?

(the preceeding courtesy of Huffington Post)

Love, 365