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 Graduation!

Well that was a fun weekend!
Aside from the actual graduation ceremonies (yes, Dawn and I have graduated!), it was a lot of fun having my parents and sister in town staying with us for the weekend! We had a great time!
There was a lot of story-telling and even more eating! Dawn, Christie and I prepared a nice Italian dinner on Sunday for Mother's Day (and for Father's Day, since Dawn and I will be out of the country for Father's Day ;o). So that was a success as well! I know my mom and sister will be back in 2 1/2 weeks for Dawn's and my Black Belt test (and hopefully my dad will be able to make it as well), but I believe my sister, Michelle, and her little one, Tony, will be coming down as well! So we're really looking forward to that as well!
Then, it's all about Europe!

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 High school is almost done!

yea!!! I am done with UTA... my last class yesterday.. woohoo!!! Tomorrow is my last day a the high school! I will really miss being there, but really need to earn some Europe money!!! Now I just need to focus on my black belt test! I hope everyone is doing great!!

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 Graduation is getting closer!!

Hi everyone! Graduation is starting to become a reality... Jchon bought our caps, gowns and invitations. It is really getting exciting!!! Hope everyone is well! Love Dawn

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 Does It Ever End?

Well. . . things have not really been easy this semester, but at least they have been moving along. Until Friday. Friday I received notification that I am currently enrolled in a course that I apparently took about 2 years ago when it had a different course designation (it was BUSA 3306 then and is OPMA 3306 now). After making phone calls and reviewing my degree plan, it turns out that I indeed did make the mistake of not reading the fine print on my degree plan. Under the portion where it lists certain courses to choose from for an Advanced Business elective, it listed four courses that were the exception. I enrolled in one of them. My bad. So. . . now I have dropped that course (still leaving me enrolled full-time luckily), but am now 3 credit hours shy for graduation this spring. After spending some more time on the phone with my advisor, I have found out that my only real options are 1.) to wait until Maymester (a two week time period between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of the summer semesters) and take a two-week intensive course to make up the credit, which will still allow me to walk in the May graduation, but not receive my diploma until August (not a horrible solution). Or 2.) enroll in an online course at another university that will allow me to work at my own pace (*a very fast one) and complete the course in time for the credit to be posted with my current course load at the beginning of May. Luckily, LSU-Baton Rouge has such a course I could take. And at a significantly less tuition rate than even an in-state tuition here for a Maymester course. I am currently waiting on emails to be returned before making any final decisions, but at least there seem to be some decent choices to decide from. In the mean-time, Dawn and I had a very nice weekend up in Oklahoma visiting the family and attending the arts & crafts show An Affair Of The Heart at the fairgrounds. Although there were many more wholesale items there instead of more hand-made items, there were still plenty of neat items to get some ideas for next years Christmas presents!! :o)

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 What A Week!

Well, we are just about finished with week #1 of our last semester. It would have been stressful enough without moving into a new home the very same week, but now that the week is coming to an end, we have survived. Tuesdays and Thursdays certainly are going to be LONG days for me. I get up at 5:30am, leave the house around 6:30am and get home between 8:00 & 8:30pm, with classes just about the whole day through (I have about 3 hrs between my last two classes). And of course, Dawn has to get up around 5am EVERY weekday morning to be at her highschool around 7:30. She usually leaves the school around 4pm. It takes us both about an hour to drive each way during our day, but the drive (at least for me) really is not that bad. Both of us are driving in the opposite direction of the heavy traffic, so we make good time on our drives. And I still have yet to find a job to fill my Mon/Wed/Fri days, not to mention we still have to find a way to fit in several hours of Tae Kwon Do classes so we can test for our Black Belts this June. There is no way we can allow ourselves to get behind in karate, it has taken too much energy to get this far. As some of you know, I have been trying to apply to OTS in order to get back into the Air Force. And you would think that in light of world events recently, that they would be jumping at every applicant. Well, I hear it is that way in other branches of service, but the Air Force has decided that they have enough non-technical degrees for this fiscal year (Oct-Sep) and are not accepting anyone (not even processing applications) without a technical degree (ie-Engineering, Meteorology, etc) unless they are applying for a rated position (Pilot, Navigator, etc). And since I have no desire to fly professionally (I may get my private pilots license later in life), they will not even talk about proceeding my application. And no, they do not think my degree is technical enough (BS Information Systems). The closest degree I could have gone for would have been Computer Science through the College of Engineering, but I REALLY have no desire to do that much math or programming. So, in short, I have NO idea what my future holds once Dawn and I get back from our trip this summer. Quite stressful. However, in the mean time, we are just helping Dawns parents get the house unpacked and arranged. If anyone is ever in our area, please do let us know, as we would love to have you over. There is PLENTY of room. Until next time. God Bless.

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 It Is Official

Well, congratulations to Dawn :o). Since her next and last semester this spring will be spent teaching (a pass/fail situation), her GPA that she earned this past semester is her graduating GPA. . . 3.831 ! Does that not make you sick?! ;o) So, she will be graduating Magna Cum Laude and believe me, she has earned it. What about me? Well . . . I will graduate - that is good enough :o).

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 And They Are Over :o)

Well, they are over... No more finals for another semester. And you might as well not ask how they went, because I have learned over the last couple years, that I have no way of telling. I have taken exams after which I thought I did great, only to do poorly, and I have taken exams after which I thought I did poorly and ended up doing well. Go figure. I will simply have to wait until final grades are posted sometime next week. Happy Holidays :o)

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 The Longest Week

Well, here we go. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, we head into the longest week of the semester . . . Finals week. BLAAH. Well, at least I do. Apparently, Dawn only has one final this week, and that one is a take-home final that is due this week (not to say that it is not a difficult one at that). I, however, have one final each day this week except Friday, with my last final (I thought saying "final Final" would sound too weird ;o) on Thursday evening from 8:15 - 10:45 PM. Again, I must say "BLAAH". We will let you know it goes!

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 Is It Over Yet?

The semester has hardly begun and we wish it was over already. The light at the end of the tunnel may be getting brighter, but the journey is getting tougher. But oh well. It is all just an endurance test right? You just have to cross the finish line. Dawn is doing well with her internship at a semi-local high school. She observes/helps/teaches various levels of a high school German class. Plus multiple teaching classes at the University in the evenings. Luckily, we still are able to fit in our dance class (swing, ballroom, etc.) as well as continue our Tae Kwon Do classes (we will be testing for our Red/Black belts within the next couple months and our Black belts in June). So at least we get to see each other then, because that is about all the time we get! :o) My classes are going ok. Not great, but ok. I am enjoying my French class though. It is nice to get out of the Business building for something different. But the biggest news so far is that Dawn and I have decided that I am going to officially apply for OTS (Officer Training School). We both miss the military life and it was always my desire to get a commission before I even enlisted the first time anyway. So I will be starting the application process soon (it really is a long process, unlike enlisting, where they will take you off the street and throw you into Basic Training). We have prayed about it quite a bit and are confident (as we can be) that this is the road to take at this time. So wish me luck! More later!

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 We Can See The Light!

And so begins our last year of our undergraduate career. We began fall classes yesterday and although Dawn and I will pretty much not see each other until graduation, things are going well. Dawn started her internship with a local high school German class on Monday. She seems hopeful that it will be a good semester (along with her remaining Education courses on campus). She is also working just under 20 hours a week with a company that I am more acquainted with than she, Handango (of Handango.com). They are a company that sells various software for handhelds, PocketPCs, Palms, etc. She gets the coolest jobs. I, however, started in with classes yesterday as well. Along with my degree courses (Finance, Database Management, Intro to E-commerce, etc), I am taking French I. Yup. I took French back in high school, but of course I do not remember near enough to get by when Dawn and I take our backpacking trip to Europe this summer. So, it will be French I this semester, and French II next semester (it is proving to be my favorite class so far). Check back soon for more updates!

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 And They're Over. . .

And the finals are over. . . We're not sorry to see this week end! It got pretty hard to stay motivated these last few weeks, but we did it (though Dawn better than I). I believe Dawn made a 4.0 this semester, bringing her GPA to a 3.86 or something. . .doesn't it make you sick? I think my GPA is holding at 3.26 (better than high school). Now a couple weeks off before Summer Session begins! Not to mention JOBS! We'll be heading to a temp agency for summer placement somewhere, anywhere that pays the bills. Plus, Dawn will be heading to New Mexico for 4 weeks this July for a German program, so she'll need the temp work just to work around her summer schedule. As for me. . .we'll see.

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 Finals Approaching!

Here we are starting our final week of classes before finals week starts! I would like to say that this semester has flown by, but that would be bending the truth a bit! :o)

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 Spring Break?

One of these days we'll learn to take our breaks as an actual break! Actually, it was pretty nice making the trip up to Oklahoma again. We got back in plenty of time to relax for a couple days before getting back to classes!

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 Here We Go Again!

And they're off! Another semester begins! It should prove to be an interesting semester. Dawn continues with here German and Education courses while I jump into more of my computer and business courses. I'm particularly looking forward to my Visual Basic and Web Programming courses! We'll let you know how they go!

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 More Finals

Whew! Glad those are done with! Now for about a month of no classes! Can't beat that. Between studying for finals, taking finals and trying to get Christmas presents made, I'm ready for a long break.

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 Didn't We Just Get Here?

It seems as though we just pulled in from California yesterday! It's amazing how quickly this past year has gone! Dawn and I are back into the hustle and bustle of another fall semester at UTA and we're starting to really miss the days of English Lit and History classes (they seem a lot easier and relaxed compared to our current loads!)

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 Summer Session II. . . Check!

Ok, maybe a break in classes would have been O.K.. We're both wishing we had more than two weeks off before the Fall semester begins. But what can you do, eh?! Besides, Dawn and I took another "class" together. This time, it was Kickboxing! We figured it would be a good fill-in during the summer since we won't start back into Tae Kwon Do until the fall. And it was FUN! We didn't really think so when the class started, but now that it's over, we're sorry to see it go.

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 Summer Session I. . . Check!

Now, that wasn't too bad. . . our first time taking a summer course and we made it just fine! Plus, Dawn and I were able to take a class together for the first time as well (Weight Training. . I know, not a "real" class, but it was fun)! Now on to Summer Session II.

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 Semester 2. . . Check!

Well, that's semester number 2 finished and behind us! Only 4 or so more to go! It's been a pretty good spring and we're looking forward to our summer classes! (Oh yeah, today is Dawn's and my 5th Anniversary!)

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 Spring Break!

Woo hoo! Spring Break is here! It seemed like it was taking forever for Spring Break to arrive, but now it has, and it's already about passed! Well, while the majority of college kids were at the beach having fun. . . Dawn and I were up in Oklahoma having fun! Well, ok, maybe not your typical definition of fun, but we got stuff done anyway. We spent the first 5 of 9 days of our Spring Break up in Oklahoma doing some more work on my sister's house. We finally got the kitchen cabinets up and while Dawn spent most of her time outside laboring in the yard planting and raking and cleaning and . . . I spent most of my time in the kitchen installing the floor tiles. I think it would be OK with me if I don't see another ceramic tile for a few years to come! All in all, it was a good week though. We really enjoy being able to help our families out in any way we can, and we know that the work we've been doing up in Oklahoma is appreciated, so it's all worth the effort! It's nice being able to see the house being transformed with every work day that passes.

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 Back To The Grind!

Well, we're back to the school thing and things are going well! We're in the midst of our first exams of the semester and so far, so good. It really is wonderful being back in school. And I'm enjoying this semester even more than I did the last! Probably because I know that this will be the last semester of all those basic required courses (History, Math, etc.). Next semester will be full load of degree courses. . . the fun stuff! However, for now, we're still doing the math and history thing. But, things are going really well so far. I'm starting to get an idea of what this "studying" thing is about. And let me tell you, it makes a difference! Big surprise, huh? As I said, we're in the middle of our first exams of the semester and although Dawn may have a tough time of improving on her 5 A's and 1 B score from last semester, I believe I'm headed for a big improvement from my 2 A's and 4 B's record. I still find it amazing the affect a few years of maturing can have on one's attitude toward school. I get a chuckle everyday listening to my classmates' tales of staying up all night with friends and of deciding to put off the studying in order to attend a party in the dorms! Oh, well, they'll learn! Dawn and I are still taking Tae Kwon Do from Dawn's sister, Debbie. We attend classes twice a week for one hour. We started as white belts in late October, tested for orange belt in December (then there was about a month break because school was out) and we'll test for green belt this Friday! Fun stuff! I would say the thing we enjoy most isn't really the martial art so much as taking the class from Debbie. It's fun to be a part of family's life outside the home! Plus we've been taking our niece and nephew (Brenna and Joel) with us for the last few weeks, so it's been that much more fun hanging out with them! Joel had taken the class from Debbie a couple years ago, so he's been playing catch up to get up to speed with the rest of the blue/black belts! Good job Joel! So, for now, it's back to classes, although a little earlier in the day this semester, as Dawn has a required class for her German degree that is only offered Monday through Friday at 8 AM. And of course, having only one car, I start my classes at 8 AM as well. It's actually getting easier to get up so early every morning. It makes us anticipate and enjoy Saturday mornings that much more! Plus, we get to anticipate the breaks we get this semester such as Spring Break in March and more importantly, the trip we get to take with my parents in just one week to Florida for an annual ceramics show where they'll purchase their ceramics molds for the year. Well, of course there's also the day at Disneyworld while we're there! Yahoo! Talk to you later! God bless!

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 Finals Are Over!

Wow! Our first semester back in college is over already! It seems as though we just got here yesterday. It's been great being back in school. It's amazing how much more fun it is this time! I guess it takes a different perspective to appreciate the higher education. As I said, it really has been great being back in school. Of course, there are still the things about being back in school that take some of the fun out of it. Such as the ESSAYS! I can't figure out if I like writing essays or despise them. I always dread the upcoming due date on that 5 page paper on whether or not James K. Polk portrayed the ideal Jacksonian president, staying up all night (and I mean ALL night) writing it the night before it's due. But in the end, it is gratifying to print those pages, staple them together, look at them as though you've just given birth and of course, then wonder if, within those neatly typed pages, you've even answered the question your professor asked in the first place. Oh, what a wonderful feeling! It does feel good to have one semester under the belt already. Just another five or so to go (maybe less)! Both Dawn and I finished the semester pretty well. Although, Dawn certainly surpassed me with her grades. She made it through with five A's and one B. I made it through with two A's and four B's. Oh, well. I've decided that next semester, I will make at least one more A than I did this semester, with, of course, my ultimate goal to make all A's. I found it very hard to maintain a couple high grades in a couple classes once we started getting closer to the end of the semester. I could see the end in sight, and started rushing for the finish line! Better luck next semester, right? We're a few days into our Christmas break now, and it feels great! I've been looking forward to forgetting what day of the week it is! To us, every day is Saturday! For the next five weeks, anyway. Dawn and I will be spending Christmas both here with her family and in Oklahoma with my family. If the roads are good enough for our little "86 Dodge Colt ("The Grape"). It will be nice to spend some time with the family in Oklahoma. Our trips are usually one-day trips, so we never really feel like we've gotten to spend time with anyone. This time, we're there for several days, and we're looking forward to spending time with family. One thing about our situation right now, is that we have no money. Everything we have goes into school and monthly bills. So, Dawn and I have been really busy the last several weeks working on making hand-made gifts for our families. I can't say what we've been working on, although after Christmas, I'll post pictures of everything on Dawn's and my hobbies pages, we're very proud of the work we've done, and believe those receiving will truly enjoy them! Well, enough for now. I'm going to go enjoy not having to do any homework. Maybe I'll go read a book. . . oh, wait, I'm on break.. . . no using my brain! Love to all, and God bless.

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