Just thought I'd update you girls about my Grad. school situation. I know some of you wanted to know how it all turned out and today I have my definitive answers...
UConn and Penn State didn't offer me admission...I was sad about UConn, because I really wanted to get in there. The University of Vermont and University of New Hampshire both admitted me, but UVM offered me no Teaching assistantship or fellowship. That meant that tuition was $26k/year, plus another ~$15k for housing/living expenses/books, etc. I just can't afford to take out 40-45k out in loans for my first year of grad. School, and probably another $25k the year after that. I already have $20k out for undergrad...and in the humanities, having $80k worth of debt hanging over your head when you get out of your Masters degree...it's just not worth it.
So, with UVM being a non-possibility, I had to wait on UNH to tell me if I was going to get a Teaching Assistantship from them, because they were running late. I wasn't going to find out until this afternoon whether or not I got one. When I called, I was informed that I didn't receive one...and I'm just so sad about it. I've spent so much time, energy and money to apply to schools. It's upsetting that I now can't go--not because I wasn't good enough to get in somewhere, but because I wasn't good enough to qualify for some sort of non-loan financial aid.
I really had my heart set on grad. School this fall...and now I've got to go with Plan B. I have to get a job, re-apply to grad. Schools and go part-time while I work... I'm not looking forward to taking 4-5 years to finish a 2-year degree. I'm just really upset right at the moment...I think I'm going to go call someone to see if I can find a shoulder to cry on.
Azure - I am so sorry you didn't get into the school you wanted. I know you had to meet their academic requirements. Perhaps trying to tweek the student aid and/or teaching assistant apprentiship application will work. It's all based on falling into an exact financial category to be approved. Maybe you can try to find out what the number needs to be??? I don't know...never went to college myself, but just a thought? Hang in there...when one door closes another one will open. Sending you big hugs!
Hey Monster & Lynnar! Glad to see you both here AND in good spirits!
Petra - Did you take D-doggie to the vet? How is he? I hope it's not tape-worm, but maybe you should have that checked? A long time ago, my dog got it from eating some garbage or some wrotten food he found outside. The doc gave him some meds and after a few days of the worst smelling diareah in history...he was all better!
SIC - Hope you are feeling better today. How's things at work (Ms. Boss Lady)? Anyone giving you sh*t today?
As for me...I'm still stoked about getting back down to my posted weight (165lbs), which I refused to change when I went back up to 167! I know...kinda bad, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it! Anyways...got my cardio in this morn (about 11a.m.), and been eating well, preparing my tax returns (for last 2 years - didn't file last year...ooops!), getting bills together...ya know...paperwork! So quiet around here...I LOVE IT! DD9's coming back home on Sunday...I do miss her...DD21 is working every night til 9pm!...but I do love the quiet though...how peaceful, the only thing missing are birds churping! BF came over last night so...I'm kinda drained today, but I'm gonna pick my lazy bones up and go do my eve 30 min cardio before I poop out!
hit a new low on the scale this am. not posting it until TOM is gone and I am sure it was not a sudden water loss to be regained or something silly like that. staying below 40 carbs around 90 protien, and 1200 cals whoo hoo never did that before. fs are good under 115 at any time I checkl (do not check after meal though I just may have to try it.)
AZURE...sorry about the grad school issue, I love to learn, I can feel for you. there may be some reason for this. Just hang in there.
Azure-so sorry that grad school didn't turn out like you wanted. Perhaps getting a chance to get some work experience while you get your degree may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Sue-you are doing awesome.
I know you guys are probably hearing about the dog saga so I'll try to keep it brief. Lab work was mostly normal-low albumin which isn't a surprise for a dog who isn't eating and throwing up all the time. We came up with a plan of what tests to do in what order but tonight at obedience school something strange happened and I think I may have figured this out. We were teaching the dog to retrieve-throw a treat, have the dog get it, call her back give another treat. I threw the treat, the dog couldn't find the treat. Was standing over it and couldn't find it. I tested this out further when I came home and either someone has trained this dog exquisitely to ignore distractions or she can't smell. At least she can't smell like a dog is supposed to be be able to smell. I think we are barking up the wrong tree. I think she might have a brain tumor. It would certainly explain everything.
Petra: Oh my goodness. That problem with your poor dog is very upsetting. Worse since you are still grieving for another pet. I'm so sorry. I hope this situation resolves itself with a minimum of heartache. I'm sending up a prayer, which is not much but all I can do. You know, the treat thing might be something else entirely. I have two dogs. One is what appears to be a mix if a corgi and St. Charles spaniel. I adopted her a few years ago when we got the cocker and I was worrying that the cocker would be lonely during the day. The other dog has very few teeth and had been crated until it almost made her insane. She tried to chew her way out hence the missing teeth. When we first got her she was very afraid of men and used to growl when my husband leaned over her quickly or moved too fast. She got over that but it took about a year. She has always done this thing periodically with toys and treats for retrieval though. Sometimes she will run for it, pick it up and bring it right back. OTHER times, she will run around the thing sniffing and pretending she is looking for it. She even does this when she is playing with a toy by herself. My sister the vet watched her do it and told me she has seen some smarter dogs do this for extra stimulation. I will ask her about it again to see what she says. Right now she is in Hawaii doing some seminar about vet care for dolphins of all things. Mind you, she is a specialty in sugery fo dogs and cats in Northern California so I don't know why she is swimming with the dolphins right now. Well, actually I do know. I suspect it has something do to with fun continuing education that you get to write off of your taxes!.
Azure: Sweetie, that grad school information almost brought me to tears. It seems like yesterday that I finished college (its really been 20 years) and grad school was a much easier option. I was in Southern California and got accepted to the grad programs of my choice but didn't want to go further and it was a much easier road than you are facing. The schools were in Southern CA and I think, at the time, tuition was like $600.00 a quarter or something (It was UCLA, UCI and Cal Arts I think). I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to live on the restricted income of a student anymore and didn't want to incur any debt. I can't imagine looking at the incredible expense and mountain of debt you are looking at. It is so discouraging though. Most people don't realize what it is like to try to have a drive for more education and the intestinal fortitude to want to achieve it. What you are facing with regards to expense is beyond comprehension to me and has nothing to do with fortitude and drive. It is obscenely expensive. Do not ever say you are not good enough to get a non-loan financial aid package. The problem is that there just are not enough of them to go around. I am so in awe and impressed that you are not throwing in the towel and giving up. You have a plan B. I wish I could wave a wand and make it better for you.
Just got home from my board meeting. Went swimmingly tonight. Only an hour. The naysayer (whom some of you may remember from my distressed posts of late February) was there and got seriously spanked by the board members in attendance. Vindication from last month. They told him he was wasting corporation resources including consulant time and energy and demanding too much attention. Yikes. He whined that they won't respond to his emails and they said, "You demanded our contact information in February and we gave it to you but did not say we would answer you. The reason we have these open meetings that you can attend is so you can ask questions and we will answer them." Lord that is true. He has cc'd me on like 30 emails and the response from the board members has been resounding silence. Of course, all his questions have to do with future development and city planning outside the scope of the corporation. These board members just happen to be directors of a corporation and happen to be developers too.
Nasus: Good for you!
Joyce: Love that ticker going down girl!!!!
Tomorrow is a good day. No office. Meeting with a developer on a big fancy schmacy resort style club in a private community that we are supposed to open in May. Pools, waterfalls, fitness center, aerobics room, great room, childcare, playyard, spas, fountains, snack bar, etc. The countdown begins. The building is done but the furniture, systems and equipment go in the first of May. The staff then is hired, all the systems have to be worked out and then we turn the sucker on June 1st. At least this keeps me out of the office tomorrow.
Busy day today 5 peole to see and meeting inthe middle of it. life gets too busy at times, I just hope I can rush (not to fast through these visits and not be my usual take 45 min or 60 min when it usually takes 20-30, If I limit my time I know i can do it even though I have about 100 miles to drive today, so be it. I will pack my lunch and hope for the best.
Funny last time the shakes were taking me out of ketosis, No bad breath and no purple, I have been having them this time (with driving and all) and it does not seem to be giving me a hard time!! Funny! Well must shower and get moving.
Crap, Azure! Stupid Universe! So sorry you've been disappointed in this - hopefully you'll find that the world has some opportunity waiting around the corner that you'd not have had the chance to experience had things gone according to plan. But - man, it does suck. Sorry, love.
I'm pretty sure the dog can't smell. I've presented her with several objects that she should want to sniff (kobe does) and she either does nothing or licks them. I suspect dogs like many species have some olfactory receptors on their tongues. I think we even have some. She may have the misfortune of not being able to smell AND having a GI problem but we typically look for one unifying diagnosis. She never sniffs on walks and I have always thought that was odd.
Petra - Is her nose cold? Has she been tested for tapeworm? I think the temp of the nose has something to do with the health of dogs sniffer and overall health. Just a few thoughts...not a pro at this, but have had a dog in past (unfortunately I was a kid at the time and didn't do much to care for him). Anyways...hope she gets better...I know it would s*ck for me if my dog got sick so I feel for ya.
Nasus - Can't wait to hear your WL results! Go You!
SIC - Hurray!!! No office tomorrow! It's been a no office week for me, but somehow I manage to stress myself out at my home office! I'm envying your day tomorrow! Damn...I love your life!
Ketosis strips - Good to have during induction....meaningless during maintenance (not a true measure for weight loss). I don't monitor anymore, cuz my carbs are up to about 80 grams+ per day and I'm focused more on "eating clean" (no processed foods, limiting salts and saturated fats), but my diet is still pretty high in fat (I just try to replace saturated with good fats, ie. mono-unsaturated, poly, etc. in olive oils, nuts and limit the butter/cream).
BAB - How's things going with your play (Rumours)? R ya nailing it during rehearsals? What about that dude/love interest? R things getting hot and heavy? Sorry to be so forward, and pleazzzze, if this question to too forward, just tell me to buzz off...I just was wondering???
Hope your all having a great day! I'm feeling kind of peppy today myself...Joyce
Azure, I can imagine your disappointment, but I'm sure you're right about racking up too much debt in grad school. I have a Masters in English and don't earn anywhere near enough to pay off loans!! It's the type of job I wanted (although every job has it's negatives) but DH basically supports us. I did the grad work part time in about 3 years. I found it pretty easy since it was the subjects I liked (except for French!!). The work experience might help too when you have the degree and are ready to start your career. Also, part time students can defer their student loans which was a big part of my return to school all those years ago.
Back in a few
Hello, thought I'd stop back and update my WI. I finally got on the scale this morning and found that my two weeks of not staying OP resulted in only one pound gain. Hurrah! I was afraid it would be more. I'm planning to lose that pound (again) right away by staying on induction for the next week and a half. I bought myself some brand new keystix, so I can make sure I stay in Ketosis which is the only way I'm ever able to lose very much weight.
I completely forgot to go to the gym this morning! I know that sounds suspicous, but on Tues and Th, I go on my own instead of to a class and usually before lunch. I got caught up in work (believe it or not) and just moved right on into lunch time without getting out to the gym! I don't know if I'll make it up tonight or not. There's a Yoga class I can catch if I stay in town late, but that means eating out somewhere. There's no way I'll go home and cook a healthy meal that late! DD23 wanted to meet me anyway....
Quiet board today. Hope everyone is doing well!
Petra I am a RN (of 25 years) and currently practicing as a home health nurse. I work with St. Joe's out of Syracuse they have a wonderful rep. one of the top 100 in the nation, so you know I have to be on my top, But my greatest pelasure is spending time with my patients. yesterday I was teaching the patients and her niece how to eat foods from the low glycemic food choices. They asked if carbs turned to sugar and well yes... they she said i guess I can not eat them any more. silly what some people come up with. I had one wo took 80 units of lantus then the husband called me 3 hours later and said her fs was 59 and she refused to eat any food as all they had in the house had salt in it. (she was told by the doctor if she gains any more fluid she was going back into the hospital) well you can guess how I flipped. and she just cried stating i can eat it becuase it has sodium in it. well you can guess what i said. she ended up eating he called me with a fs of 79 30 min later and then 2 hours later he called with a fs of 176, he as ready to call 911 and send her to the hospital as he thought that was too high. LORD HELP ME!!!
I managed to get all my visits in and enjoyed all of my patients. I have one on that has had a stroke and you have to watch your self i got hit pinched given the finger, told she does not like me, i walkedout of the house with about 15 nail holes in my hands, worse part of that she has only one hand to use. but i got her back I told her still liked her, and she started to cry.
water was poor this day, and well TOM hit me with a vengence I am cramping so bad. I do know that female hormones are stored in the fat and as I am losing them it is common to have harder periouds and more cramps, but this is way over board. (I also have a fibroid the size of a basball which does not help) cal intake was actually poor under 1000 I will have a piece of cheese later when i get hungry before bed.
Sue-thanks for clarifying. God bless you. I take care of a lot of stroke patients and many have serious behavioral issues. I went to a nursing home today and spent the whole day there. I swear everyone who sees geriatrics should have my training but I know that is just not possible.
I confirmed the dog can't smell with the vet. The vet test is with rubbing alcohol. However, vet thinks this may have been a longer standing problem and she may still have a GI problem. Will continue to go down that path unless another neuro problem arises like a seizure or she starts walking into walls. Unfortunate dog. Bambi-the dog has been tested for worms-in general with a fecal.
Lynn-that is fantastic that you only gained a pound. You will lose that in no time flat.
Awwwh Petra...I'm so truly sorry 'bout ur doggie. I was hoping it was just tapeworm (easily fixable). Maybe their some vitamins/minerals that can naturally possibly help her. I wish you nothing but the best in dealing with whatever may come. Ya know...I think most people don't think of dogs as prone to illness just like humans. But, they do...unfortunately. I actually saw doggie "weight loss" pills at my local Walmart when I went to buy Max some treats. I was like, "huh?" "you've gotta be sh*ttin' me!" I hope things turn out okay for you. Sending you a big hug!
Now doggie weight loss pills is out of control. People need to be more responsible than that with what and how much they feed their dogs. Thanks for the well wishes.
