Long time no see

Why yes I am still alive. Unfortunately, my energies have been focused elsewhere. I can't believe I haven't even written a blog post in the new year. Shame on me. I have been knitting up a storm on some tiny things I'll show you soon. I've also been procrastinating on finishing those adorable baby sweaters for my Seattle friends. The actual knitting part is done, the seaming and sewing is what remains. I honestly did start working on one sleeve last weekend but the selvedge edge is so messy its hard to find the right stitches to sew up. I should have slipped the first stitch of every row to make for a neater edge. I have created a self-imposed deadline of having these in the mail by January 31st.

This is my last week of 'freedom', classes at UofM start back today but my classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays this semester so I don't go back until Monday. I'm taking an English class, Macroeconomics and an Algebra class (barf). No morning classes this semester thank goodness, I'm just on campus from 5:30-8:30PM on Mondays and Wednesdays. The work isn't terrible it's just going to class and having to be around people I'd like to strangle. Each semester puts me closer to the end though, so yay for that. 

I haven't been baking as much but decided last night to make something together for Doug's game group that gets together on Thursday nights. I thumbed through my collection of baking cookbooks and found a recipe for Butterscotch Cashew bars from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book. The bars are made with a shortbread base with a butterscotch caramel on top and then sprinkled with whole, salted cashews. (which by the way I completely forgot how delicious cashews are, OMG).

They were really easy to make and totally addictive once you started eating them. Hope the guys like them!

College: revisited

Monday classes at the University of Memphis started. I have made my return to campus so I can finish my BA that I've been working on forever (although I did have a four year break). I'm taking classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:50-7:45AM (yes AM!), Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-6:55PM and Thursdays from 5:30-8:30PM. This is in addition to my full-time 8-5PM job.

Monday proved to be difficult, I was too stupid to figure out how to use my parking garage tag, it took me 15 minutes to hike from the parking garage to the building my class was in, it was a million degrees outside (okay maybe not that hot but still rather warm), I was starving by 7:30, I didn't have coffee, my composition class is taught by someone at least four years younger than me and I feel impossibly old compared to everyone else. Despite all that, I'm glad to be back.

It's not so much about getting a degree to get a better job, because really I've been working in the field (Non-Profit Development & Administration) I'm getting a degree in for the last nine years. Now granted once I get a degree I'll probably be able to get something slightly beyond entry-level but mainly I want to go, learn and finish. I want to finally pass algebra, be done with it and hopefully not have to deal with it in a classroom setting ever again. I want to get a degree with my name on it and know I worked hard to earn it.