Spring Break was great!

So, I got all of my PLA (prior learning) papers reviewed and all were recommended for credit!
Yeah! last term knocked out 18 credits toward my degree!
Last week was Spring Break and I enjoyed it! I started out by having dinner with a great friend- Christi and some great wine.
I read 3 novels and watched about 6 movies! Now I can't wait for Angels and Demons to come to the big screen. Fell in love with "The Last Holiday" movie all over again.
My sister and her two teenage daughters moved in a little over a week ago and we are adjusting rather well to a house full of FOUR women...
I topped off the week with a weekend downtown Seattle with the same two nieces. We attended the Northwest Women's show, stayed in the downtown Hilton, did some shopping and then Sunday did the Underground Tour of Seattle. Did you know that one of the largest contributors to our early city budget was the taxation on our "seamstresses?" http://www.undergroundtour.com/ Of course the girls loved the associated ghost stories.
(I'll post some pics soon)
I definitely took advantage of the week off and started another term of school yesterday.
This is another busy term with 21 credits on my plan.....then taking it easy with 9-12 for the summer!

We had so much fun!!

Just a short note, I'm still seeing a bit blurry...you'll see why.....
My grand kids and I had a great time this weekend.
Jackson, Abagayle and I dug up an old brick patio and removed the bricks to prepare for the fence coming in. They were soooo cute trying to drive/move the wheelbarrow...I needed to lend a little help.
We played games, went to the library and make cookies on a stick, which they decorated with sprinkles, even had lunch at their favorite spot - Costco!

I had a great visit with my daughter as well. She brought me a thoughtful gift and as always I enjoyed just spending time talking with her.
Monday morning I ended up with a gift from Lorelei,,,pink eye - oh boy!
Got on the drops yesterday, but the eye was even more swollen this morning.
(hence the blurriness)
I have soooo much more sympathy for babies now that have this...
Forgot to get pics, but please know that we had a great time and I can't wait to see them again.
Time to go put warm, wet washcloth on my eye....looks like I got punched!!

Ciao' for now, V-

Relaxing with my family

Last weekend was Valentine's day and I spent it with one of my best friends, Kelly and my niece Letitia.
Kelly and I flew to Spokane in the morning after a great breakfast at Anthony's at the airport. mm,mmm, mmm. We shopped around a bit at a couple of stores in Spokane and both found fun rings at a local christian book store. We went to our tax appointment and then met with Letitia.
Letitia had driven from Missoula, Montana.
We found this great Italian resteraunt and got one of the last parking places in the lot. The food was great. We went clothes shopping on the way back to the hotel.
Spending the rest of the weekend visiting and catching up was a great way to spend my weekend.

How did I do it then???

This is my friend Leann and I when I was about 20 years old....wow!
I think this should be my goal picture....what I aspire to be again!
(ok, so the hair hasn't changed a whole lot!)
So besides the waistline changes I also am noticing that I'm doing pretty well with balancing a large load on my plate/platter....as well or better than I did then.

Here's the short version update on my goals:
Children's story - In the process of receiving feedback, have receive quite a few...thank you! I will be working on it after mid-March
School - I have 1.8 papers done and 3.2 to go and about 4 weeks left - YIKES!
Work - Ramping up on two key projects with slow down in sight around end of March...
Family - all good on the home front :>)))
I'm enjoying the process and am looking forward to relaxing this summer and enjoying the lake.

The dream is not lost.....

I am taking a PLA (prior learning assessment) course at Marylhurst University this term and am writing 25-30 page papers on topics where I have college level learning through training and experience. One of the topics I am writing a paper about is Real Estate 100, basics of real estate. I realized as I started to write the section on investing , how very much that dream is still alive. I can see the time when I own several properties and am enjoying the benefits of positive cash flow. Looking forward to when that becomes my reality. ciao' for now!!

The "AFTER"....Love my new office space

We started "Operation Office Clean out" after breakfast this morning....

Yep,,,,I did it, I'm getting rid of 3 boxes of books.....for those who know me, I love LOVE books..

I had to empty the shredder 3 times because of all the oooolllldd paper work..

This went off to the Thrift Store today for some other souls to enjoy. (Plus I get a write-off!!)

Thank you so much Brenda for all your help today. Your friendship is a gift that I will always treasure.

Ok,,,so I didn't get rid of all the books....The good news about this photo is that I now have a designated spot for homework ...lower right...I had it all scattered before, it's my favorite result of the day...thanks for asking the great questions Brenda.

I was so glad to be done, it took us just about 3 hours...what a fantastic gift.

That's it, birtWEEK is officially over. I am so blessed to have shared it with my family and friends.

What a great birthday week!!!

Yesterday was my official Bday, but as you saw in the other entries, the celebrations started last Thursday.
First thing yesterday morning, one of my best friends and sister Kelly, came over and gave me the gift of time and help yesterday. Look!!!

We got new pendant lights and light switch installed in my living room. It made a huge difference in the lighting in that space.

We even got my toilet fixed using some new "Gloveables"!!

Then she and I met a couple of friends Christi and my Aunt Chris at...
We had a great lunch and some amazing wines....

A little snooze on the couch and I was off to celebrate and eat more!!!!

I met my friend from high school, Leann for dinner at Engs Chinese for dinner....

Talk about calorie overload!!!!

zzzzzzzzzzzzz for me.

My next Birthday wish and gift....

My other great friend Brenda has offered to help me with any project I chose....so, putting her great organizational skills to work, we'll be organizing my office Saturday morning...after an evening of fun catching up visiting of course!!....I've sort of started....kinda.

Well at least the piles on the bed are sorted by work, school, personal, etc.

Come back this weekend to see the 'after' pictures....

I love turning my BirthDAY into a BirthWEEK!!!