Final post!

So this is my final post for class!  I feel really relieved that class is over.  Things have been really busy for me, and I feel like I have just completed something on my list.  I learned a lot from this class and I know that I am going to use this information later.  Thank for everything!

Running Running Running!

That is what I am doing!  I am running for the finish line.  I only have a little bit of energy left.  My legs are weak, my head hurts, and I am dehydrated, but I can see the finish line.  I have to give it all I got.  Only a little bit left, two more classes, two more quizzes, and summer school is over!  I am already thinking about what I want to do with my son, my free time, and what I am not going to do with my time.  I will have a months rest until it all starts up again. I really don't know why I like to torture myself!

Repulsive Taste

Repulsive, nauseating, foul taste in my mouth!  How do I cleanse my pallet?  How do I over come this offensive taste? Sometimes you just have to walk away from the table.  And I think that is what I need to do  :(

Almost to the end!

I am one of those people that like to count down.  I enjoy getting to the finish line and completing things.  What I have to say is that we have 3 classes left.  So we are almost to the end!! I am excited because I need a break.  I am enjoying the fact that I wont have homework and I wont have to think!

First Open Water Divers

So I finished my first Open Water class!  Today was the last day of diving! My students have completed their final dives.  They are certified and I have made it through the first class!  It was a lot of work but I am glad that I have one under my belt. I learned a lot by teaching by myself, and I know that next time it will go smother. (there was a few small hick-ups)
All in all-I am glad my first Open Water Class is done!

My first Open Water Class!

This week I am teaching my very first Open Water Class.  I have been an SCUBA instructor for over a month now, but this is the very first class that I am teaching All-By-Myself.  I have assisted in several classes and taught sections of the class, and administered the open water dives, but because of scheduling I have not done a complete class all by myself.  So this is an exciting week for me. 
Yesterday was the first classroom session, and it went down with no problems.  Well maybe just one, my voice hurt by the end of class.  I am a talker, and don't mind doing it, but after three and a half hours, my voice was hurting!  I am excited for tomorrow night to finish the classroom, and complete the pool work Friday night, and be diving in Lake Mead this weekend.  It is a busy week for me, but I am doing something that I love!

Cabin fever!

My family cabin is very small, remote, and just a step above camping.  I call it camping because the cabin is basically, camping with a structure protecting me.  There is no power, we haul in our water, and it is such a remote valley, there is  no cell service.  When I am there, I feel one with nature.  I don't have to worry about what is going on in the world, or who wants to talk to me, I don't even care what I look like when I am there (meaning I don't put on my make-up or do much "primping")
The cabin is all about family time.  We go on ATV rides, play cards, and just sit around and talk.  I was fortunate enough to have my older brother come with his girlfriend and her two kids (for a short time), my little brother with his two kids, my parents, and my boyfriend was able to join us also.  All in all it was a good trip to the cabin and a good 4th of July.

Vacation

This is a much needed vacation.  But the stress of getting everything done before the vacation is becoming over whelming.  I am one of those people that has to get EVERYTHING done before I leave.   The house needs to be clean, laundry done, homework finished, and work taken care of.  If this is not complete, I am stressing while gone and I am thinking about everything that I need to do once I get home.  In short the vacation is not as enjoyable unless my life is in order.  If I have to, there will be an all nighter soon.  And once there is an all nighter, usually there is a crabby mama.  Watch out Vaca, here I come!

Stranded!

That is right....I am stranded.  I dropped my son off at the babysitter and was headed to work, I forgot some things at home, so I went back.  I was in the house less then 5 minuets, just grabbing a few things.  I returned to my car and noticed that it was listing to one side.  I look at my drivers side rear tire and I hear the air hissing out of it.  Knowing that I have little time before it is flat, I jump into my jeep to drive to a gas station to up air in the tire.  That is when my jeep didn't start! I have been having problems with the batteries for about a week now, and was waiting until I got paid Monday to replace it.
I am a very prideful person, and when things go bad, I don't always ask for help.  So I went to the back yard, grabbed my bike and proceeded to ride my bike to work.  About half way there I was wondering why it was so hard to peddle.  I changed my gears, that wasn't the problem, then I looked down to discover that my bike tire was also flat! I proceeded to walk the rest of the way to work, getting madder with each step.  Today, there is no solution for this problem, except to just wait until Monday.

Potty training sucess!

My son and I have been "talking" (I am the one that is doing all the talking) about using the big boy toilet for a long time now, and we have had a minimal amount of success along the way.  Let me stress, a long time.  He turned two in April, and we have been talking about it long before his birthday.  I am tired...tired of changing diapers, buying diapers, asking him if he wants to go, and I am tired of sitting in front of the toilet begging him to use it! 
This weekend there was a Big step in the right direction though!  We had a busy day of me working half day, running errands, and an evening pool party, and he didn't do his usual business.  I thought nothing of it, gave him a bath and put my tired baby to bed.  At one o'clock in the morning, he wakes up and tells me that he needs to go pooh.  Reluctantly, I climbed out of bed, took him to the bathroom and sat him down.  While sitting on the bathroom floor, he looked at me then just started crying, being half awake and hating my life, I just gave him a hug.  As I was about to take my crying baby off the toilet, he took care of business!  And that is when the party began!  We both clapped, I was cheering and congratulating him and going on and on.  It didn't matter that it was the middle of the night, we were parting, and I had to break out the candy and go on and on about what a big boy he was and how proud.  The next morning, at breakfast, I had to make an announcement, it didn't matter that we were eating, everyone needed to know! They stated that they already were aware at one in the morning when it went down.  What can I say, this little bit of success was a long time in the making.

Have you seen my....

That is all that comes out of my mouth these days.  It seems that I am always looking for something.  If it is not something that I have lost, it is something that my son has misplaced, or something that he has taken from my family members.  My mother was trapped at home this Wednesday because she couldn't find either of her two sets of car keys. I looked for the keys for over an hour and I didn't find them. It seems that on a daily basis I run around the house looking for my son's beloved bear because he can't go to sleep with out it.  I have found it in the shower, in the fridge, and under a giant pile of pillows.  He sure knows how to hide things.
So I think that my two year has become this crazy hoarder.  He walks around the house with bags, toys boxes, and wagons that he fills up.  He just"collecting" whatever happens to be around.  And he has some interesting ideas on what he thinks is good stuff.  I guess, for now, I just need to get used to this hide and seek game that we are playing.

Instructor 101

I have been working in the SCUBA industry for about 6 years now.  I have worked on a couple different boats, in a few dive shops, and just recently, I have become an instructor.  This is not a fabulous paying job, with benefits and great perks, it is a job of passion.  A job that I love because I enjoy being in the water, watching the interaction within an ecosystem, and I enjoy introducing people to the underwater adventure that I love.
Having just moved back to Las Vegas, I was dreading diving in Lake Mead.  I put it off for months, complaining about the cold water, bad visibility, and lack of anything interesting to see.  This bad attitude was transposing into my work, and effecting my students and how I was teaching.  My students don't realise that they are about to ascend into a giant mud whole, where the visibility will be limited and there is little fish life.  But the students will pick up on my abomination for Lake Mead, my disgust of the life, and my hatred of the cold water.  This all does not make for a fantastic first experience. 
This week, in Instructor 101, I learned that the instructor makes all the difference.  I have such a love for this job, the industry, and what I get to do, I need to show it more.  And in showing it more, people will see my passion for the amazing experience that come when diving.  A little attitude change can make all the difference!

Merry-go-round

The past month has felt like a crazy merry go round ride, just a constant blurry circle of tasks, appointments, and work.  At times I really feel like I am being pulled in so many directions, and being ask to do so many different rolls, but yet, the feeling of accomplishment is no where to be found.  This week I did conquer a small hill, but when I got to the top of it, I saw the mountain range that was out of sight while focusing on the task at hand.  As I continue to climb on, determined to accomplish all that is in my sights, there is a little bit of happiness along the way that keeps me going.  My two year old son and I attended the circus this Friday night, his first time and I had not been in years.  He was so happy and was enjoying himself so much, that he occasionally turned around and gave me a hug and a kiss, then went back to enjoying the show.  It was a small thank you that I didn't see coming, and that he had never done.  It made running out of work early and scrambling to get him feed and there on time, all worth it.  No matter what is going on in my little world, my two year old always knows how to remind me of what is important.  I know this is all just life, but sometimes the dizzy ride wears me out.

First Week

The first week of summer school, I sat back and thought......WHAT am I thinking?! I haven't taken a summer classes in years.  Summer classes are intense, and demanding.....just like everything else in my life.  So what AM I thinking taking a summer class?! Why do I feel the need to torture myself? 

I guess...because I see the finish line, the goal, and I am trying so very hard to get this done.  And I think that I am easing myself into summer school by taking an eight week course instead of a four week course.  At least this is what I am telling myself.  Either way, I am here, I am committed and I know it will be a ride, but I am down!