Going back to school. I think.

Well, I did it. I took the first step in going back to school today. It wasn't easy, mostly because it required getting up before dawn, but it's been done. I took a placement test of sorts today, to see how stupid I've become in the 10 years that I've been out of school. I'm almost afraid to go back tomorrow to get my results. Why, you ask? (*sigh*) I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I put my first name in the "Last Name" box and the teacher handed the form back to me to be fixed.

The rest of the time in the classroom went by slowly. This, of course, was due to the 500 question test in front of me. Broken down in parts, and each part timed. I finished the first section pretty fast and had time to look around. A few other people my age smiled back at me. A much older woman was struggling with her answers and kept tugging on a bit of hair hanging from her ponytail.

Moving on to the math section, the knot in my stomach turned into a fierce sinkhole. I was never very good at math and had a hard time just reading the questions. We were given 50 minutes to answer 40 questions. Along side my answer booklet were 3 sheets of scrap paper. I immediately knew this would not be enough scrap paper. I was right. I was only halfway through the questions when the timer went off. Man, I suck at math.

I was able to finish the rest of the categories quickly enough to go back to the math test and complete (attempt to understand the weirdness on the page is more like it) the other half. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need some extra help with my math type studies.

I have to go back in the morning to get my test scores and find out which classes I'll need to take in order to do well on my entrance exam.

What? I forgot to mention what I'm going back to school for? Sorry. I'm interested in becoming an LPN. It's a good starting point and it's only a 2 year degree. I can add to it if I decide to continue with school after my time is up. Or perhaps, after I work for a while.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it. Oh, tomorrow is my first wedding anniversary. And I have to spend a few hours in a classroom, then take my 4 month old daughter to the doctor to get routine vaccinations. Yay!

**The picture at the top of the post was taken the morning after my husband proposed to me. We were camping in the mountains and got up super early to go fishing. It was a gorgeous day.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Allen (aka: the old people two houses down)

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Allen,

First, I would like to say that your fireworks display last night was beautiful. Absolutely stunning. That being said, lets move on to the real issue.

I know we live out in the middle of nowhere, and I am aware that it is, indeed, the 4th of July (America! Hooray!). But it would have been most kind of you to give us some sort of notice before setting off such an amazing display at midnight. When I heard the first boom, I assumed- as I'm sure most of the people in our usually quiet neighborhood did, that it was a single, celebratory spark to announce the anniversary of our independence.

Little did I know, that it would continue on until around 1:30 am. Had I been aware that this event was to occur, I wouldn't have tucked my sweet little 3 month old daughter into bed. I would also have let the dog come into the house so that he would not, in a frenzy of sheer terror, break the cable that keeps him safely put in our yard and end up trying to scratch our front door open. You see, that poor dog (in said frenzy) had no idea that the great terror in the sky was harmless. To him, it was some big, giant, noisy monster, trying to kill him.

I would also like to bring attention to the other dog that was already in the house and was now barking like a wild banshee. She, being the good little guard dog she is, was alerting us to the demons that were attempting to take down Earth. Those poor dogs...

It wasn't a total drag, however...I managed to see a shooting star in between colorful showers of ash and silently made a wish. I wished for you and your guests to grow tired and go to bed. You did, after another 30 minute round of blasts.

Thank you so much, again, for keeping us up all night. Tonight, we will be ready for the noise. And, perhaps, we will get to enjoy the show without being so aggravated.

Sincerely,

Cortney B