Where have you been

I bet that you were wondering where in the heck that I have been. I've been busy! Christmas came and went. School started again (for me) and the kids are both in basketball now. I'm only taking one class, but it's still at night, so no rest for the Wicked...LOL.

I found out that I will not be entering the RN program at Rock Valley college this fall. I think I'm okay with that. I still might get into the LPN or the surgical tech program. I'm waiting to see. If I don't get into any, it's okay, because I can stay at the job that I have a little bit longer.

I am going to try to get in here and update you a little more frequently. I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head. One of them is to update my "affiliate" links and the other is to share with you some of my older writing. Some of it is very funny, mostly because I wrote it as a teenager, before I knew how the world really worked. Not sure if I will get it up here or not, but I promise to at least think about it.

I just signed up for a new Gmail account. I've heard lots of good things about it, so I'm going to try it. Since I can't access it from work, it won't be my primary, but it will work as a good "home" email.

I gotta run the oldest to basketball. See ya soon!

Amy

One down, One to go

Well, the first final is done. A & P. Thank goodness. I don't feel like I can really breath yet, as I don't know my grade for sure. I know I did okay, I just don't know if I did okay enough. We should know by Friday. The next one (and last) is on Thursday. That one should be a smidge easier as I only need a 33% to get an A, and just by showing up, I get an 83%. So "go me".

I'm looking forward to having a month off of school, as I am planning to take that time to work with Derek and Abbi. They have been calling to me, bugging me to finish their story. It will be nice to have that time to work on that. And my house will be clean again. I swear nobody notices hair balls and dirty dishes. It drives me crazy that I don't have enough time for it all, but I know in the long run it will be worth the headache.

Okay, I'm off for now.

C Ya~

Aim

A Month later...

I did not even come close to blogging once a month....Not even a little bit. I did actually write a little. But that's it. No excuses, just busy. next week is finals so then I might actually get a chance to breath.

Tonight, Rick Springfield is doing his Concer For Sahara. I hope everybody has a great time, and I hope that just for a few hours, Sahara and her family can enjoy themselves and forget that Sahara is sick....I'm praying for her recovery, as are a lot of others.

Christmas is coming...are you done with your shopping? I haven't even sent my cards out yet. But they should be ready this weekend. I'm just waiting for some pix of the girls to come in. Shopping is close to being done, but not quite there. Hopefully next weekend, I'll have time to finish up. I would love to have a few low to no stress days before the holidays. We are hosting Christmas Eve, and then visiting others on Christmas Day. The kids will love it.

Okay, gotta git....Have a good weekend.

C Ya~
Aim

NaNoWriMo...and more

It's not too late to sign up....If you are a writer and want to kick it into gear, sign up @ www.nanowrimo.com. I have done this the past 2 years. neither year did I complete it, but it was fun to try.

Since school is taking such a toll on my time (and my brain cells) a friend suggested that I try nablopomo, which is in essence a commitment to blog everyday in November. Since I'm already 7 days behind, I'm going to try to catch up by blogging 2 x a day for the next week....Cross your fingers.. :)

Dec. is fast approaching, and so is that special day...No, not Christmas, you silly, The Concert for Sahara that Rick Springfield and the boys are putting on. You can get information from several places. Please check the links below.

www.rickspringfield.com
www.saharaaldridge.com
www.tickemaster.com

Okay, gotta scoot...does anybody know the difference between an epicondyle and a condyle?!@? Oy, this test is gonna be the death of me....

TIl next time~

Aim

Good things, bad things, red things, black things....

That was pretty funny! I'm no Dr. Suess, though. Good things: Sahara Aldridge is back home, My husband is almost home from his fishing trip, got my car back last week, the kids are healthy. Bad things: received word last week about a 12 year old boy with a brain tumor (sounds similar to Sahara's), cell phones and water don't mix, car is still over heating, have another A & P test this week. Red things: devil horns...for those of you that were at the Joliet, IL Rick Springfield show, this is for you, Black things:...um, hmm, I can't think of anything....that's a good thing, right?!?

Things are trucking right along around here. A & P is more than half over....YEAH...we have another test this week..NAY....It's actually going pretty well....but I'm not sure that I will walk away with an A, I'm shooting for it though. Algebra is going okay. We're doing some stuff that is a little complicated, and I can't apply it to real world stuff, but still, overall, going well.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?!? Not me. Well, actually I have bought a couple of things, and I do have some ideas, but no productive shopping yet. Honestly, that may not happen until 12/15. (that's when I'm done with finals). Could make it interesting, unless I mail order stuff, then I could get it done sooner.

Anyway, back to work, school, housework, etc, etc, with a little entertainment thrown in for good measure (GREY'S ANATOMY ROCKS)

Til next time~
C Ya!~
Aim

Where oh where has Amy been....?

I've been working, studying, getting my car worked on and learning how to properly install car seats! I spent four days in training to become a child protection seat technician. It was a lot of lecture, some hands on, a test and culminated with a car seat safety check on Saturday. There were 15 of us in the class. It was an interesting 4 days. I don't think I've ever spent that much time in the company of policemen. (which was like half the class). I did figure out though, that they are mostly 10 year old boys in big boy bodies! Goofing around, teasing, snapping sarcastic remarks. It was a hoot.

While I was doing that, I still had to go to school, and take notes on stuff that I won't be tested on for two weeks, while still trying to retain the stuff from 2 weeks ago that I will be tested on this week. Are you confused yet? Yeah, me too! :)

Going to basketball draft tonight with the little one, while Han (that's what she likes to be called now) goes to Girl Scouts. Then I have to get serious about the studying for this week's test in
A & P. Lots of short answer (which are not so short) and diagrams. Busy, busy, busy....

C Ya Soon!

Aim :-)

GH, GA and ER

I've been catching as much GH (General Hospital) as I can. I'm about tired of Carly/Sonny/Jax. I think Carly and Sonny just need to get away from each other...and move one. They could have such better stuff going on. And Jason and Sam belong together. I'm still not quite sure what happened, but they need to be together, even if Elizabeth is carrying his child (Which I don't know that she is, I'm just saying). Greg V is doing a great job as a junkie...this is a great story line as it truly shows how drugs can have you making bad decisions/choices and what happens to the poeple around you when you do.

Grey's Anatomy started last week with a bang! I'm telling you, Derek Shepherd could charm the panties off of a med student...oh wait, he did! LOL. I'm looking forward to tonight's episode...Not that I really expect Meredith the choose one tonight, but I think it will be fun to watch and with the crazy week I am having, I need a little fun. Go Grey's Anatomy!

I watched most of ER last week, and I think it was the first time that the new season started right were the last season let off. They usually go a few months, or at least a few weeks..this time , they only went a few minutes. It was exciting and riveting....I can't imagine anything but good things for Abby and Luka's baby, though, because Carter and Kim lost a baby a couple of seasons ago and with Carter and Abby's history, I don't think they can both lose a baby...or if they do, it might be the glue that binds them together.

So that's my TV viewing for the week...That and Dancing With the Stars....I love Joey and Sarah, have no preference about Willa, and I don't want Mario to win, because even though he is handsome (did you see him last week on Nip/Tuck!?? OMG), he dissed Ally Landry in the worst way...so I don't want him to win.

C Ya~
Aim

Quizzes, tests and lab practicals...OH MY!

It has been a busy week around our house. I had my first a & p test last week, which we still do not have back. Apparently one version was corrected with the wrong answer key, so they had to be regraded. So next Tuesday we should have them back. Then Tuesday we did our histology unknown, and I got them both right! (Thank goodness we were able to use our flash cards). Tuesday was also the first math test. I heard people talking about how hard it was, how they might drop the class, how they are going to the tutor, and I'm thinking "WHAT?" I guess I just remember enough of it from school, that it's all making sense to me. Either that or I completely fubbed it up but don't know it yet. We should get that test back on Tuesday also. Yikes!
This is girls weekend as Daddy is going out of town to an anniversary party. The girls are both having friends over tonight, and then tomorrow we're going to get Halloween costumes. Or things to make them. Hannah wants to make her costume this year, but I don't know what she wants to be. Should be interesting.
Caden, the cutest baby ever, turned one this week. I cannot believe how fast the past year has gone.
Grey's Anatomy's new season started last night, and it left a lot of things hanging, so it could be a really good season. They have always had great writers over there. I look forward to watching it every week, even more than ER and that is saying a lot.
Anyway, that's the scoop for now. I'll try to check in this weekend.

Two people who need your help and prayers. Please visit the links below:

http://saharaaldrdge.blogspot.com

http://www.savetiffany.com/

Help anyway you can, even if it is just with thoughts and prayers.

Til next time,

Aim

The first of many...

Tonight is my first A & P test of the semester. I have been studying like crazy and have come to the conclusion that my brain is FULL. I'm trying to come up with some tricks to make things stick. Some of it works, some of it not. there are 6 short answer questions on the test, plus a "model" of the skin, and lots of multiple choice. I'm not sure what the short answer questions are worth but the whole test is 100 points, and it's over 5 chapters. that's about 20 points per chapter, which means that short answers should only be worth, what, five? Maybe? Each?! I don't know, all I know is Ican't wait for this test to be over. At least then I will know what the test looks like. I know, you are thinking, "amy, you silly silly girl, tests look like tests", why yes they do, however, I haven't had to take a test like this since I was pregnant with Hannah and she is almost 12. 12 years is a long time to forget. I guess instead of blogging I should be studying, but I truly believe that my brain is fried. I will look over the information a couple of more times before the test, but I am now at the point that I just want it to be over with.

Next Tuesday is the first algebra test. I'm alot less nervous/worried about that one. Even though I've never considered myself good at math, I think I remember the progession of solving the equations.

SO, I'm off....
C ya after the test~

Aim

The meaning of dreams....

I have been having a semi recurring dream over the past few nights. Nothing fancy, earth shattering or gory, it's a romance, or something akin to that. I can't give away the details, but I can say, it's most likely a short story. It involves an actor on GH (and it's not Rick), and it moves fast. I don't know why I've been having this dream, but I figure if I get it down on paper, my brain may move onto other things. Today, being the anniversary of 9/11, the lightbulb went off in my head. The heroine of this dream/story will be named Marni. Maybe that's why I've been having the dream. Anyway, once I get it down, I'll post it on my website http://amymariekrueger.tripod.com.

Also, if you aren't familiar with Marni, the Rick fan, who lost her life on 9/11, please check out this page:http://www.rickspringfield.net/Ricktopia/marni.html. I never knew her personally, but her writing can make you laugh and cry all at the same time. I'm sorry that I never got the chance to read her stuff first hand. And, today, as we remember those we lost, I send a healing prayer to all of their families.

We will never forget.

Til next time~
Aim

T G I F

It's finally Friday...Yeah! Lots of homework and some studying to do this weekend, plus do the laundry, plus clean the house, plus, plus, plus....there is always something on my plate that I HAVE to do, and then I try to fit in time for the WANT to do's....and I almost never get all of it done. I guess that's the price I pay for being a multitasker. I always have several balls in the air at the same time. Thinking ahead to the coming week: Sunday School teacher, Girl Scout leader, student, employee, wife, mom, daughter, aunt (Caden is almost one), taxi driver, laundress, floor cleaner, vacuumer, dishwasher, cook (sometimes- thank goodness Dan is a great cook), friend, and many more. Maybe there will even be enough time for me to be ME! Derek and Abbi haven't seen me for weeks, and they have a few new "Cousins" who have materialized lately. I've just been jotting notes, because I don't have time to do fully developed stories.

For those of you not familiar with Derek and Abbi, they are the main characters in my book. It has been in the works for more years than I care to count, but it is closer and closer to being a completed manuscript. It was supposed to be done by 2007, but since I started school, I figured that was not going to happen. I don't have a new deadline as of yet, but i do need to get them back on my to do list. Which reminds me, add webmistress to the list...one for me http://amymariekrueger.tripod.com, one for the family http://fishingkruegers.tripod.com, and
one for each girl scout troop. Ha! Who am I fooling. I haven't updated the websites in weeks.

All of this is making me want to add things to my to do list, and that's not good! I guess I don't really need to sleep, do I? Oh, yes, I do. I tend to be pretty ugly (and I ain't talkin' looks) if I don't get enough sleep.

Anyway, check out the websites sometime. I promise I will spend some time updating them. If I do one a week, they will all be updated monthly. What a brilliant plan.

Have a good weekend,

C'ya~
Aim

Studying Tissues

It seems as there are several of us concurrently studying taking A & P! WOW. And we are all on the same track, ie- tissues this week. There are so many different types of tissues and so many ways that they can look. My husband seems to think that I am putting in more time that I need, I think it's not enough. I wish we could email pix to each other to check our knowledge of tissues. I keep mixing up the flashcards I made (which is a huge help) but I hope that I can learn the "tricks" to remembering the tissues before the test. (which, I believe is in 2 weeks!) Oh, that just reminded me, I have to go print out the review sheet. First written test is next week and I'm totally stressed about that. It's gonna be a long hard weekend of studying for me.

My new (to me) car is going into the shop tomorrow. Right now, it won't start. Great, huh? I knew this was going to happen, okay not really, but I figured with my luck that something HAD to happen once I started school.

Last week I saw three people in one day that I used to work with. Two on campus. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has made the decision to go back to school. Go, us!

Okay, so today's post is short and sweet, I'm off to class.


Aim

Where have you been....

Has it really been a week since I logged on?! Dang, where did the time go. Classes are going well. Math is easier than I thought, A&P is about what I expected. Quiz #2 is today but I feel pretty confident with the terms. Next week's, not so much. But I'll have lots of time to study while I'm sitting at the family garage sale this weekend. I'm hoping that Dan will take the girls fishing, because they can't sit still for more than 5 minutes, but if not, I'll have them quiz me....LOL.

Speaking of "LOL" I was thinking about all the internet abbreviations the other day. Where did they come from. I mean, who was the first one to say "LOL" and that's how it was going to be. When I was younger and wrote notes to my friends, "haha" was laughing. And who decided that "dh" worked for hubby? Maybe he's not a darling? Maybe I just want to say "hubby". I can't think of a lot of others, but I know that they are out there. I was going to do a search for internet short hand, but decided not to waste my time. If you feel so inclined and find some good ones, let me know. I may compile a list just for kicks. In my spare time. (yeah right)

Anyway, one last thought, Sahara Aldridge is still down in Texas. She starts a new treatment today that involves 2 therapies at the same time. (i'm thinking chemo and radiation, but I might be wrong). So please say a pray for her and her family as they go to this next step in her treatment.

C Ya~
Aim

TIme flies when you're having fun....

Where did the time go?!? It seems like just last week I was heading into to Chicago to see WICKED, oh wait, that was just last week. Since then, the girls have started school, I have started school, I have had several discussion about the lack of customer service with our school's transportation department (I mean how hard is it really to let one 7 year old get on the bus when you are already stopping there?!?), and we are all trying to adjust to our new schedule. In a couple of weeks, I'll throw in girl scouts on Monday nights and I'm sure everything will go to hell. it's not a bad schedule, just busy, different. Last night I spend 2 hours on homework. I studied like a fool and keep getting the same vocab words wrong. What is up with that? It should not be that hard.

Thanks to all who "informed" me that yesterday was Rick Springfield's birthday! I already knew that, but it's nice to know that people are thinking about me. (And he looks great for 57. check out his website for recent pix. You won't believe it! www.rickspringfield.com)
I almost brought treats to work to celebrate, but then I figured that was a little too hokey, so I didn't. Here's to self control!

Don't forget to check Sahara's blog for daily updates! http://saharaaldridge.blogspot.com

See ya later~

Aim

One Short day in the Emerald City...

WICKED totally rocked. It was no Rick Springfield concert, but it was so totally worth it. I must say, if you enjoy musicals and have a change to see this, you must go!

We left on time, got to Chicago just about when expected, parked fairly easily and then were able to shop a bit and grab some food. First time the girls and I ate Popeyes, and I must say, it was really good.
We hit a little leather bag store (I wish I could remember the name of it) They had the cutest little purses and everything was on sale. However, when you are looking at leather, sale is still out of my prcie range.
We spend some time in Borders, and that was it's own experience. This Borders had 3 levels. Ours is big, but boring (no offense- I love Borders). Anyway, spend a half an hour in the kids section. Who knew there were so many cool books for kids! I wanted to pick up some of the books to read myself. However, I was slightly disturbed by one thing. "Flowers In The Attic" was in the young adult section. What the (%&$? I know I was a teeenager when I read it, but there is no way that my 11 year old is going to read that book. I guess I need to pay closer attention to what she's reading. Anyway, then we headed down the street to the Ford Center/Oriental Theater.

The Oriental Theater was beautiful! Let me say that again BEAUTIFUL. I was amazing. I was glad that we got in there before the lights went out. The sucky thing was that we weren't allowed to take pictures. It was beautiful. Okay. anyway. On to the actual show...

The sets were fantastic and the costuming was amazing. The actors did a great job and mostly stayed true to the soundtrack. I liked that they were able to tweak some parts to fit their voices, instead of straining, and in that way, made the songs their own. This is definitely the untold story of Oz. Lots of twists and turns, but fun to watch. I must admit, I would almost be willing to see it again. Michelle, the other mom who went with, and I agree that a girls weekend to New York to see the orginial just might be in the plans for out future. It was a wonderful night, the girls had a great time (the 11 year olds are in love with Fiyero) and we didn't even get lost. Okay, a little, but that's because mapquest didn't know that our off ramp would be closed. We still managed to get home by 1am...even bigger than that, we GOT HOME. Anyway, go see WICKED, or at the very least, listen to the soundtrack. You will not be disappointed.

Til next time~
Aim :)

Off to see the Wizard

Oh, yes, ladies and gents, we are off to see the wizard. Today is the long awaited day that we go to see WICKED in Chicago. the girls know all the songs, have saved money for souvenirs, are looking forward to eating downtown. Mom (that would be me) is not looking forward to the drive into Chicago, the traffic in Chicago, or the one way streets in Chicago. But I am looking forward to the show. It should be very interesting and entertaining. I even offered to give my friend Kelley a "concert call". Baby has picked out her white outfit, so that she can look like Galinda/Glinda. Lyric is wearing her new favorite jeans and who knows what else. Mom is totally undecided. K and M are coming with us, so it is totally girls night out. However, non alcoholic it will be. That's fine. I'd hate to get a little toasted and then lose one of the kids in downtown Chicago. (that was supposed to be funny, I hope you all laughed). Look for tomorrow's recap of the show!

Til next time!
Aim

It's true, patience is a virtue....

A week or two ago, I found that one of the classes I'm taking had an opening at a different time. It wasn't the section I wanted, but it was better than what I had. I told myself to wait, and if it was still open when I got home, I would switch. Guess what? It wasn't there when I got home to check. So, I continued to check daily (or multiple times daily, if the truth be told) and there was nothing. Now, in general, my schedule was decent, but I was going to have to make some changed to some things that would effect others. But, today is my lucky day. I checked mid morning and found that the math section I wanted had 2 openings. So I took it. Now my classes are both on Tues/Thurs. I even have time between classes to go home and have dinner with the family. How cool is that? The funny thing is, if I had switched to the other A & P class, I would not have been able to change the math class I changed today. Go figure! Patience is a virtue. Now if I could just instill that in my kids.

Til next time~
Aim

Bats in the Belfry

Well, the sleepover was a success, i think! the girls earned the planned badges, only two cried about their parts in the play, and nobody was traumatized by the bats that came to visit. that's right, I said bats! It may have been the same bat twice, as we did not actually see it go outside, but regardless, we had 2 bat incidents. What do you think happens when there is a bat flying around 12 girls, that's right, screams, scretches and more screams. of course, after it was over, that was all they could talk about. (What if the bat comes back, where did it come from, that was freaky) But then in the morning, as they were getting picked up, I'd say "Tell Mom/dad about the guests/excitement we had" and nobody knew what I was talking about. I guess kids are pretty resilient! yah!

Saturday then started slow, getting the room cleared for Sunday school, headed home, hanging out. Then we decided to drive to WI and check out a new bike trail. I should have known that Baby would lose it, she was hot and tired, so we didn't go as far as we would have liked, but it was still a good day. then of course, both of the girls perked up when we stopped for ICE CREAM!

Sunday, Fisher went, well, fishing...early...like so easrly my brain cannot function at that time of day. When he got back, I took the girls shopping for first day of school outfits. Before you know it, it's time for bed and time to prep for another week of work. Little do the girls know that this is practice week for school, so bedtime just got moved up an hour, just to try to get them in bed on time. We'll see how that goes. I'm not holding my breath!

On a side note, there is a new fund raiser in the works for RMH (Ronald McDonald House, not Rockford Memorial Hospital). If you would like to contribute, let me know or contact Char Rush at shivoo78@aol.com. We are collecting things like toys, board games, and pop tabs. And of course, cash is always good.

Til Next Time~
Aim

sleepover or sleepless

Tonight is our annual girl scout sleepover. This will be the 6th time we've done it, not including camping. Somebody tell me what was I thinking!?!? No, no, I'm kidding. I love being a Girl Scout leader. It gives me a chance to connect with the girls, spend special time with my own, and be a kid again. Tonight's Theme is Hollywood! We are earning the music, dance and theatre badges. I have a play for them to perform, a red carpet for entrances, and music to dance to. It should be a good night. Some of the girls aren't going to be able to attend, but we'll just make due. Some of the attending adults may have to take parts in the play, which should be pretty funny! it's call " when nursery rhymes attack" or something funny like that. I have to get the "ballots" created so they can vote and we can do our award show. First Annual Troop Awards. That should be a riot in and of itself.


we are also going to make cards for Sahara. I'm not sure get well soon is the right thing to say, thinking of you? feel better? sorry your sick? Hmmm, I'm going to have to think that over. Anyway, I hope that she will like them.

Til next time~
Aim

What to do, what to say....

I logged in twice yesterday and then didn't know what to say, amazing huh? So, I logged out and went about my business. Not sure what to say today either. In a world where 12 year old girls get brain tumors, children loose their parents in horrifc car accidents (and parents loose thir kids that way, too), people are bring bomb onto planes and trying to kill hundreds of innocent people, what is there to say?! Not much I guess, but let's pray. Pray for peace, healing, health and friends. In this big crazy world, you have to have somebody to lean on. You have your family, but sometimes family can be smothering. Your friends will complain with you, fight for you, be outraged for you, support you, lift you up, talk you down, pick you up, and more. Mostly without judging (however sometimes we need a little judging) and always with nothing but your best interests in mind.

Sometimes we call family the people that we are biologically attached to, sometimes family is a group of people with a common bond (Rick World, and the family of "Those that are praying for Sahara" come to mind, as well as those that have rallied around Amy Hawkins and her family) with no biology but nothing but the best of intentions.

I have met people in my life that I wish were part of my family, and I draw them in, or they me, and we create a relationship, a bond that will outlast time. Sounds corny, don't it? But it's true. There are people that I am glad to have in my life, and I hope that they are glad to have me. People that I can count on, cry to, complain with whatever, and I always feel better in their presence, even if it is an online presence. I want to thank you all for coming into my life.

Til next time,
Aim