The Waiting Room

Only because I am a little behind on this stuff!!!

Accent: Yes, the one associated with Redneckville, USA
Booze: Yes, please!
Chore I Hate: Grocery shopping
Dog or Cat: I like both but…Dogs rule!
Essential Electronics: Ipod
Favorite Cologne: None. I usually use lotion or body spray
Gold or Silver: Both
Hometown: Redneckville, USA
Insomnia: Since I was a baby
Job Title: Adjunct Instructor
Kids: Does the Boy count?
Living arrangements: Three bedroom house built in 1950.
Most admirable trait: Compassion
Number of sexual partners: Believe it or not, just Husband!
Overnight hospital stays: Four
Phobia: Snakes and crowded, closed areas
Quote: Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge at you because you are a vegetarian. Shari R. Barr
Religion: Lapsed Catholic who now practices the feast of maximum occupancy as created by Homer Simpson
Siblings: 1 brother
Time I wake up: Alarm goes off at 6:30, but the Boy drags me out of bed by 8:00.
Unusual talent or skill: I can put both legs behind my neck when sitting on the floor.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Brussel spouts
Worst habit: Biting my cuticles
X-rays: Pinky finger and right knee
Yummy foods I make: Key Lime Pie
Zodiac sign: Capricorn

I returned from Aruba at 10:30 last night. Husband and I just crashed after a 12 hour day. Today, we are trying to get back to normal, that means laundry, grocery shopping and mowing the lawn. Our back yard looks like a jungle. Tomorrow, the Boy comes home from his vacation.

ARUBA ROCKS!!!! It was 80+ degrees every day. It did not rain once the entire week.

There is so much to tell, so I thought I would break it up into a couple of posts.

Day 1: Sunday, April 23, 2006

We left Lake Effect Snow Central around 8:30 in the morning. We had to change planes in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte has a lovely airport. Looks like a mall and it even has a Sarbucks, which came in handy. All in all the flight there was uneventful except for one thing. Why would a parent drag a nine month old child on an airplane for a 3 ½ hour flight? This poor baby screamed itself hoarse. Thank God, we were sitting far enough away that I could drown out the crying with my Ipod.

Aruba is on Atlantic Standard Time, but since we are on Daylight Savings Time, we were in the same time zone. That was good. no jet lag. We arrived in sunny Aruba around 3 PM. Aruba is a very small island. . Aruba is located in the heart of the southern Caribbean, 15 miles (20 kilometers) off the coast of Venezuela. It is 19.6 miles (30 kilometers) long and 6 miles (9 kilometers) across, at its widest point, with an area of approximately 70 square miles (184 square kilometers).

We had to go through customs, which took all of five minutes. Then it was off to find a cab and head to our hotel. Almost any kind of vehicle is used for a cab, pick up trucks, SUVs and sedans. Our hotel was only a 15 minute ride.

We stayed at the Tamarijn Aruba Beach Resort. When we got to the hotel and completed our check-in, we were greeted by Fred. Fred was not there to help us with our luggage or to give us some information. Fred’s sole purpose was to persuade us to attend a time share seminar! We were not even 10 minutes in the hotel when this dude stalked us and hounded us to set up a time to visit the time share that is affiliated with the hotel. His opening line was “So, you two are Americans, so you are no doubt rich.” Now, Husband and I are not rich in the financial sense. And we are not well off either. And if we were, I don’t think we would spend our money on a time share! Husband had a great time messing with Fred. He told him that we were dirt poor and won this trip on a game show called “Pig in a Poke!” Just to shut him up, Husband told him we would stop by on Monday, which we both knew was a lie!

After our encounter with Fred, we were taken by golf cart to our room. Our hotel was only two stories, but ran the length of the two mile beach that is part of the property. Our room was located near the end of the property, which means a five minute walk daily for meals, working out and the like. But we figured that this would be good incentive to stay in shape.

After settling in, we took a long walk along the beach. We went back to the main area where the restaurants were located. Our hotel was All-Inclusive, and we had the choice of three restaurants. One was a buffet. The second was a place where you could grill your own food right at the table. The last was a posh Italian restaurant. Since the latter two required reservations, we decided to eat at the buffet.

After that, we settled in the deck chairs that surrounded the pool and beach, with our first round of drinks. The sun was ready to set, so we just sat back and enjoyed the view. And of course, we left the camera back in the room, so we missed a great opportunity to capture a great sunset on film.

It was the perfect end to day one.

Tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I will be on a plane headed for sun and fun.

See you all on the flipside! I will have a drink for all of you...which means I will be VERY drunk. But, that is the sacrifice I am willing to make for all my wonderful friends since I can't take you all with me!

Now that the craziness of the semester is over, I am dealing with the craziness of packing for the trip.

When Husband and I booked this trip, we purposely decided to leave on Sunday, so that we would have Friday and Saturday to pack and do miscellaneous things. Well, there is a ton of stuff to do!!!

1. Laundry. This included summer clothes that I put away in storage.
2. I have a manicure and a pedicure scheduled for today. You can’t go to the beach with your feet looking scaly and gross!
3. Pick up supplies at Target
4. Drop off the Boy at his doggie hotel tomorrow morning.
5. Pack. Duh!!
6. Clean the house. I am one of those people who cannot go on vacation unless my house is clean.
7. Stop at the mall and return shirt to Ann Taylor Loft, pick up items at the Body Shop and try to avoid any more shopping.
8. Make sure passports, E-tickets and travel info is in order and get traveler’s checks. Although, we are staying at an all inclusive, it is nice to have some money on hand.
9. Fill any prescription meds.
10. Let neighbor know we are going away. We often check on each other’s houses when the other travels. Thank God, I have a mail slot in my front door which allows the mail to go directly into the house. It's great because I do not have to have the mail held.

Whew! I hope I am not forgetting anything!

I have graphed all my papers
I turned in my grades
I am done!
Time to do the Happy Dance!

WOOHOO!!!!!

Husband sang Kung Fu Fighting at the top of his lungs while driving me to work this morning!

I could not stop laughing. I don’t know if it was because of the song, his really bad singing, or both!

After all the shit I had to deal with today, I found a pile of it at home in my office, courtesy of the Boy.

Somebody just shoot me now!

Yesterday, one of my colleagues told me that my Critical Thinking student had committed plagiarism last semester. The DI had a record of the plagiarism. So, when I asked if the student would be dismissed for a second incident of academic dishonesty, the DI said no. Her reasoning was that one incident was plagiarism and one was dishonesty and they are two different things.

But, I thought both cases are dishonesty, and therefore, the student should be dismissed. But NOOOOOO!

Fast forward to today. The Di (Dean of Instruction) and I meet with the student who received “help” with her paper. She admitted that her brother helped her by telling her what to write. She had a difficult time understanding why this was a problem. We had to explain to her that help with a paper does not include having someone else supply the information or thoughts.

Then I had to explain to her that she was going to fail the course because she did not turn in her research paper. I set up my grading so that a student cannot pass any of my courses if they do not submit a research paper. I do not believe that a student should pass a course and not complete a major element.

The student was absolutely devastated. She thought we were punishing her because she did not speak English well. She complained that the paper was too hard because of her limited language skills and that was why she did not submit the paper. (Those are my words, not hers). That is a load of crap. I hand out my project during the third week of the semester. The students turn in portions throughout the semester, so that I can check on their progress. She knows that she can see me, her English professor or go to the tutoring center for help. So, the language argument is just an excuse.

So, there is a good chance that this student will be in my Critical Thinking class this summer. Great…just fucking great.

I don’t know what makes me more pissed, the fact that the student played the language barrier card as a means to gain sympathy, or my boss for not having the guts to admit that the student messed up and should be dismissed.

Ah...the joy of academia

My Critical Thinking student will be meeting with me and the DI tomorrow to discuss her paper. I honestly believe that she had someone write the paper for her. I double checked with the tutoring center. They have no record of assisting her with the paper. I also spoke to her Composition instructor who stated that he did not help her either. So, my guess is that someone helped her just a little too much.

I had a similar situation two summers ago. I had a student in my Survey of Law class write a paper for one of his friends who was also in the class. The problem was the he wrote the paper using the same writing style that he uses for his own work. Needless to say, both students were busted for academic dishonesty and received an “F” for the assignment.

The DI asked me to decide what the punishment should be for this student. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t that HER job? Anyway, I am going to give the student an “F” for the paper. She will fail my class, not because of that “F”, but because she did not turn in her research project which is worth 100 points.

The other problem with the ¼ paper is solved also, but not the way I would like it to be solved. I am required to grade her according to the rubric that the college provides for the course. This means that she gets points for only doing ¼ of the work. I am not allowed to reduce her grade. WTF is up with that?? At least the little work she provided was so crappy that she got an “F”.

But it chaps my ass to think that a student can pass an assignment and only do ¼ the work. That makes no sense to me. Someone had posted a comment that an employer would not accept ¼ work from an employee, so why should it be any different for students? I even tell my students that if they are going to do something, don’t do it half –assed. They should use their whole ass!

I asked the director of the General Education program if such a thing was just an oversight. He said that the standard was correct because they want to have some consistency... Constancy of what…crappy work passed off as acceptable? What the hell are we teaching these students? I then asked him why doesn’t the rubric have a category for incomplete assignments or assignments that were not submitted and have zero points attached? He said that he would bring it to the attention to the DI.

And they are just figuring this out now???

What do you do with a research paper that is only one-fourth complete and the grading rubric you are required to use does not talk into account that scenario?
Should I give the student the minimum points allowed, or not accept the paper at all?

Your thoughts are welcome.

Remember my Critical thinking students who do not speak or write English very well? I read their essays and research papers over the weekend. It appears that neither one wrote the papers.

I told them to seek assistance with the tutoring center with their wring. I am not sure if they did go, because I do not have any memos from the tutoring center indicating that they were there. I plan to stop by this morning to check their records. But at any rate, the essays read way too well for someone that has trouble with English. I spoke to on of my colleague who has one of the girls in her Composition and Research class. She agreed that based on her assessment of the student’s work, she does not believe that the student wrote the paper.

Assuming that I am right, it is sad that a student would go to such lengths to pass a class. All I can do is confront the students and ask them.

Until then…

Reading Jo(e)'s post about Easter with her children made me think about when I was little girl growing up in Redneckville during the 1970’s (yes, I am showing my age!)

My family would get together with my dad's siblings and their kids and we would all go to my great grandmother's house for Easter. My great grandmother lived in a two bedroom apartment, so four families with a total of nine kids, plus my grandmother and numerous great uncles made it a tight squeeze, but no one ever complained.

The girls were dressed in their cute little Easter dresses and twill around the room, while the boys would run around the apartment trying to get as comfortable as possible, stripping off ties and vests. Moms would be in the kitchen helping with the cooking. Dads and uncles would be watching whatever sporting event was on the TV.

Oh, and then there was the food. All the traditional foods, ham, potatoes, breads, and veggies, but all soul food like fried chicken, mac and cheese, greens, etc…enough to make you want to stuff yourself silly. And dessert! Cake, pies, and ice cream all around.

At some point during the day, all the moms would "disappear" and travel to my grandmother's house to hide Easter eggs for all the kids. My grandmother’s house had a huge back yard with plenty of places to hide the goodies. The rest of the family would drive the over to my grandmother’s and the kids would have a blast finding the plastic eggs filled with candy or silver dollars!

Sadly, my family is not as close today as they were back then. Time, distance and family squabbles have separated everyone. I think the breaking point came when my father passed away in 1988. There was a great amount of family strife around that time and I think there are some family members who have not let go of the past. It is truly sad because my brother and my cousins have children now and it would be a wonderful way to continue tradition to see them running around looking for Easter eggs while the older people sit around and reminisce.

But I am not going to be sad. I am going to smile and take comfort in a joyous time in my life.

Well, I had my first shot of the day.

Someone please explain to me why in the hell students will use in text citations for some things and not for others? Or they will use proper in text citations for the first one or two pages and fuck up the rest?

On of my Survey of Law students did this. She properly citied the first two pages of her paper. After that, it was like she had a major brain fart and forgets how to cite for the rest of the paper.

Note to GML: It’s our favorite student who is guilty of this one!!!

1. Begin grading. Yeah, I know, I should have started that yesterday, but well the couch was pretty comfy and... Anyway, I have three classes of research papers to read. Two of those three classes have other essay assignments that must be graded too. See post above.
2. Take the Boy for a walk. Done. A nice 45 minute stroll around the neighborhood. The Boy is good and tired. He is passed out in his dog bed, which means I will be able to get some work done.
3. Work out. Done. 45 minutes on the treadmill.
4. Do laundry. Like Shelly Malone stated in her blog "Laundry is a bitch!"

Not a bad list, but there is this little devil on my shoulder telling me that I should go shopping instead. Must...avoid...temptation!!!!

It’s a Good Friday.

I say that because the semester is now over. And not a moment too soon. I was so exhausted yesterday, that I went to bed at 10 PM last night. This morning, the Boy let me sleep until 9:30!

Husband is getting his gear together for his big annual fishing trip this weekend. Husband, his dad and his brothers are get together for the first day of trout season. Fishing is something that Husband and his brothers have done since they were little boys. It’s nice that they are able to spend some quality time with their dad. They will fish on Saturday and then return to Redneckville for Easter Sunday. Husband will drive back to Lake Effect Snow Central Sunday afternoon.

This means that I have the house to myself to the entire weekend. Well not completely to myself, given that the Boy will be with me. Of course, I will be grading papers this weekend, but I do plan to do some other things too. I plan to watch Crash, actually the end of it, because I only saw 2/3 of the film. I will probably order take out, either Indian or Mexican. And of course, lots of naps!!!

Have a good weekend everyone. I plan to!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the semester in now over!!! I am finished with my classes. Now, I begin the grueling task of grading research papers. At least I am not giving any final exams this semester. Time to break out the red pen of death! (Insert sinister laugh!)

I also had my meeting with the DI regarding my teaching philosophy, which she did not even, collect to review! I did all that work and she did not want to read it? WTF!!!!! I stayed up until midnight finishing it and was almost late this morning because I overslept and the bitch did not want to read it????

Maybe I will break into that bottle a little early….

OK, my students in my Survey of Law class just finished their last exam. I could not wait for one particular student to leave. You see, she is a bit on the heavy side and she was wearing a rather short skirt. She was sitting at the table with her legs spread so far apart that from my view and that of others, you could see her crotch.

EWWWWW…Someone gouge my eyes out!

I have been waiting all day to post this story.

When I came home from work yesterday. I dropped my gym bag on the floor in the living room. During the Boy’s usual happy welcome dance, my bag was knocked over and my travel mug fell out. There must have been some coffee left in it, because some of it spilled on the carpet. I tried to clean it as best I could, knowing that I am having the carpets ripped out this summer. So, there was a somewhat visible brown stain on my tan carpet.

Well, this morning as I was putting on my make up, Husband went downstairs to let the Boy out and make coffee. Suddenly, he yells “Boy…did you do that???”
Me: “What did he do?”
Husband: “I think he peed.”
Me: “Don’t you remember that I spilled coffee yesterday.”
Husband: “No, you need to see this.”

I came downstairs to find Husband standing next to the spot where I spilled the coffee. The stain now had a yellowish tint to it. The Boy peed in the exact spot where I spilled the coffee! The Boy just sat there, hanging his head in shame and nervously wagging his tail.

As many of you know, the Boy is my 5 ½ year old German Shepard-Lab. Since adopting him 4 ½ years ago, he has NEVER had an accident in the house. He is very good about letting someone know if he has to go out. He will jump on top of me and let out this whine that sounds like a squealing pig if he has to go out in the middle of the night. Nothing like 70 pounds of dog standing on one's body and whinning in your face to wake one from a sound sleep. I am a VERY light sleeper, so I would not have slept through his attempt to wake me. Plus, he always wakes me up when he has to go out.

Unlike some people, I do not believe in physical punishment for any animal. I will not rub his nose in the spot or hit my Boy. It is cruel and just wrong. All I have to do is shake my finger at him and tell him to go in the corner and he goes for a time out. (Really….he does!!!)

But I have to laugh at his precision and accuracy!!!!

I think I am going to give my Employment Law class a gift today. I am giving them the class period to work on their research paper which is due on Thursday. They may go to lab or library to work, or they may use the time to ask questions.

I am doing this for purely selfish reasons. I just don’t want to teach today. This is the last week of classes and all of my students’ work is due this week. I am not giving a final exam in any of my classes, so teaching anything today would be a waste of time. Besides, attendance and attention span has been lacking this week as students wander the halls with that deer in the headlights look.

I am preparing for my grading bonanza that will begin this weekend. Husband is going on his annual fishing trip with his dad and brothers this weekend, so it will be just me and the Boy. It’s a good thing that Husband is gone, because I become very grouchy and nasty when I grade final papers. I even tell my students that I keep a shot glass and a bottle of liquor on the table as I grade. This semester’s selection is Jonnie Walker Red!

I have to work on my philosophy statement and portfolio today. I am meeting with the DI on Thursday to discuss it. I have documented my evidence of my philosophy. Now, I have to write a reflective piece discussing each piece of evidence and how it relates to my philosophy. The DI at my college loves the concept of reflection. Everything we do has to have some reflection component. I can’t stand it. Usually, I make up some BS about whatever topic she wants me to reflect. If I wrote what I REALLY thought, I would probably lose my job! So, I use all the happy buzz words that surround academia and regurgitate the college goals to make her happy.

And sip some Jonnie Walker Red!

Today I received my student evaluations from my Critical Thinking class. Usually, my evaluations results are very high. But this time, they were a bit sub-par. I am trying to figure our why that is the case. This particular class was unlike any I have taught in the past. The students, with the exception of a maybe four, were difficult and combative. This class consisted of the abuse student and the two students who were having trouble with English.

So, is it me or them? I am not so arrogant to think that I am the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, I have to wonder after receiving such high praise, why my numbers have dropped.

I usually perform an autopsy of what worked or did not work at the end of each semester, regardless of my evaluation scores. I believe that I can always improve something. Often, what works with one group of students does not necessarily work with the next semester’s group. So I guess I have some thinking to do.

Update: I ran into the DI this morning and mentioned my concern regarding my evals. She thought that they were fine and I should not be concerned. But she also brushed me off in order to have a discussion with the comptuer tech dude.

But I can't help it. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me. Am I crazy?

So it’s Sunday, and I need to get my butt in gear. UPDATED

1. I so need to work out. (I hope GML is not reading this). I have not worked out since Wednesday. Thursday, I was sore from Wednesday‘s workout. Friday is my off day. I should have done it Saturday, but well… DONE. 45 minutes on the treadmill and 80 crunches
2. I did clean the living room and dinning room yesterday. Our dinning room table is the dumping ground for all junk: mail, cell phones, baseball caps, books, purses etc... I don’t think we have had a meal at that table in a few years. So today, I need to clean the kitchen and the bathrooms. Husband will be spending the day getting the garden ready for early vegetable planting. DONE
3. I should flip the mattress. I usually time the rotation of the mattress with the seasons. Spin the mattress on the Solstice and flip on the Equinox. But I need Husband to help, and he has been occupied with other stuff. DONE
4. I have to finish the evidence for my philosophy statement today. I have a meeting with the DI on Thursday to go over my work. More bitching about that later. STILL HAVE TO DO!!
5. Laundry, Laundry and more Laundry. STILL GOING
6. Send taxes. They have been done, but I owe this year and I will be damned if the government is going to get the money any sooner than absolutely necessary. DONE AND E-FILED
7. Cleaned out clothes closet and stored summer clothes. Made list of items needed for Aruba.
8. Took nap and had nice dinner with Husband, who did the cooking. He made shrimp sautéed in olive oil and seasonings, scalloped potatoes and asparagus. He is a great cook!

On the plus side, I did get my hair trimmed and colored on Friday. Plus I did some sinful shopping for Aruba. Spent WAY too much. But it’s all good.

Alright…enough. Time to get to work.

The 40 Meme. Thanks B* for this one!

1) Who is the last person you high-fived? The Boy. It one of his tricks!
2) If you were drafted into a war, would you survive? Yep. In college I took ROTC instead of gym courses. It was fun.
3) Do you sleep with the TV on? Nope…must have quiet
4) Have you ever drunk milk straight out of the carton? No, I am lactose intolerant
5) Have you ever won a spelling bee? Nope..I can’t spell!!!
6) Have you ever been stung by a bee? Yep.
7) How fast can you type? Dunno, I have never timed myself.
8) Are you afraid of the dark? Nope.
9) What color are your eyes? Hazel
10) Have you ever made out at a drive-in? Yep.
11) When is the last time you chose a bath over a shower? Last night after my workout.
12) Do you knock on wood? Sometimes
13) Do you floss daily? Yep. I am very particular about my teeth.
14) What happened to question #14? Probably in the witness protection program for meme questions
15) Can you hula hoop? I have not done that in ages!
16) Are you good at keeping secrets? I am a lawyer…what do you think?
17) What do you want for Christmas? No clue. But every year I ask for a puppy so that the Boy will have a sibling. So far, Santa has not followed through on that one.
18) Do you know the Muffin Man? Not personally
19) Do you talk in your sleep? No, but I have been known to scream.
20) Who wrote the book of love? Some dude
21) Have you ever flown a kite? Yep
22) Do you wish on your fallen lashes? No.
23) Do you consider yourself successful? Yes. I am very proud of what I have accomplished.
24) How many people are on your contact list of your cell? I think about 20
25) Have you ever asked for a pony? YES..and I am still waiting for that too!
26) Plans for tomorrow? Getting my hair done and doing some vacation shopping.
27) Can you juggle? Nope.
28) Missing someone now? Yes. My niece who is studying abroad.
29) When was the last time you told someone I Love You? About 10 minutes ago
30) And truly meant it? Absolutely
31) How often do you drink? I have a glass of wine almost every night
32) How are you feeling today? Tired
33) What do you say too much? Pretty much any swear word
34) Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? Nope.
35) What are you looking forward to? ARUBA!!!!!!!
36) Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes, my mom and I were locked out of the house and I was small enough to fit.
37) Have you ever eaten dog food? HELL NO. Do you know what’s in that stuff? Why do you think dogs beg for OUR food?
38) Can you handle the truth? Yep.
39) Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like green eggs and ham or genetically altered green eggs and ham.
40) Any cool scars? More like too many scars. I don’t heal well from cuts or bruises.

I am please with the level of work from my two law classes this semester. They have really stepped up their game with respect to homework, test grades and their research papers. I just finished reading the research rough drafts from my employment law class. Except for some minor grammatical and citation errors, they have really mastered the cases they selected. Plus, they have made the important step of synthesizing the information.

So, why do I feel like this is too good to be true? Maybe it’s the cynic and pessimist in me. For the past 2 ½ years, I have found at least on case of plagiarism in each of my classes. This semester, I scared the students with threats of fire and brimstone if I found plagiarism. Maybe they finally listened, because they seemed scared all semester any time they had to submit something that required documentation.

And yet I am cynical. Should I be?

With the end of the semester near, I am less inclined to help my students. Mostly because the questions they ask can be found somewhere in the assignment or the syllabus. Some are seeking help at the last minute when there is not much I can do to help them. I often ask them why they didn’t seek help from me earlier in the semester. Their responses range form the ever popular “I don’t know” to “I could not find you during your office hours.” The latter is a load of crap because they KNOW when my office hours are. They KNOW where to find me. And, if on the off chance that I am not there, they can have someone page me.

Lately, I would rather hide in the coffee bar down the street then have to deal with my students. It’s that bad or what?

There are two weeks left before finals and my students have lost their minds. My Critical Thinking students seemed relieved, overjoyed if you will, that I gave them the class period to work on their research papers which are due next week.

My abuse student approached me after I dismissed the students.

Abuse Student: I am having trouble with my paper.
Seeking Solace: What seems to be the problem?
AS: I don’t know where to start my paper.
SS: Well, did you look at the outline in the research packet? That will tell you what I am looking for in you paper.
AS: No, there’s an outline in the packet?

At this point I want to slap the shit out of this student.

AS: How many pages does this have to be?
SS: 6-9 pages.
AS: I can’t write that many pages. I can talk for six hours, but I can’t write that many pages.
SS: Instead of focusing on the number of pages, maybe you should just start writing. Besides, you did not submit an outline or a rough draft and the deadline to submit them have passed. I am willing to look at your work if you want, but I will not give you credit for it.
AS: I don’t know what the hell I am doing.

I wanted to say “You got that right.” But I resisted the temptation.

I almost threw my scale out the window today.

I have worked out diligently since January. Although I had some results in February, the scale will not budge. I have increased my cardio; added strength trained and modified my diet, so I know I am doing all the right things,

BUT WHY DOESN’T THE NUMBERS ON THE SCALE MOVE!!!!

Husband says I look great. He has noticed that my waist is smaller and my body looks trim. He also said that I do not look as tired as I usually do and I seem to have more energy. He said that he is proud of what I have accomplished and says I should keep going.

He is right. I noticed all of those things. My clothes feel loose and I definitely have more energy. Plus, I have not suffered as many flares as I usually do in the wintertime. Basically, I feel great.

BUT WHY DOESN’T THE NUMBERS ON THE SCALE MOVE!!!!

I shouldn’t be hung up on what the scale says or what size number is on the clothing. The rationale side of me knows that I should be doing this for my health and wellness. But I just can’t help feeling like I failed in some way. That thought scares me.

I am not going to stop though. First of all, I am not one to quit anything. Second, doing nothing won’t solve anything. And third, GML would kick my ass. She has been my voice of conscious during this whole journey.

So in honor of my resolve, albeit a little shaky, I have complied a workout play list that should get me going.

1. Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution by AC/DC (Yes, I was inspired by the Nike commercial!)
2. Who Are You? by The Who
3. Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
4. Mama Said Knock You Out.by LL Cool J
5. Vertigo by U2
6. Get This Party Started by Pink
7. Baby I’m a Star by Prince
8 It’s My Life by Bon Jovi
9. Ants Marching by The Dave Matthews Band
10. Train Wreck by Sarah McLachlin.