For those of you who have followed my blog, on my travels, thank you so much.

 

I have started a new adventure: I am in a PhD program for Journalism and

Mass Communications. As a full-time student, who teaches as well,

I am quite busy, but I love it!

Cheers to all,

Laveda

 

Before about 2002 I was not a flyer. In fact , I was not a flyer at all, for many, many years. When the only practical way to get my kids to Disney was a flight, I took pills prescribed by my Dr. To get on board. Today I can fly with little anxiety, which is why I am writing this on a plane somewhere over Missouri I assume.
I had a busy day today, taking Sarah to day two of the bar, taking Wrigley to the animal hospital where he stays when I go away, bringing Sarah lunch, packing, and then to the airport.
The text from the airline saying my flight would be delayed ignited the idea we would go to Margaritaville. I have been to about six of Jimmy Buffet’s famous restaurants, and have been excited to visit the one in my hometown which was opened while I was gone. I kept trying to find a good time to visit, but there never was one. Today was it!
We headed to Navy Pier, dodging lallapalooza closings along the way.
We paid an absurd amount to park, but it was worth it to see the crooners’ namesake in my own city. Unfortunately, another text while eating told me the flight was once again on time, and according to that schedule, I should have checked in at the airport ten minutes ago! Check please!
Since we were now in a hurry I missed getting a chance to browse the store and get a Chicago Margaritaville item.
As I was hurrying to get to the airport, Sarah and I talked. Since I had been driving her around for 3 days, I had told her many stories about various places we passed. She was tired, exhausted from the grueling test, so she let me talk but finally decided I would make a great tour guide. Yes, that is my true gift! She pointed out the guy on the double decker with the microphone and said “that should be you”. We laughed about how I could tell all my stories to people who would appreciate them, instead of my kids who I keep repeating them to.
She has a point, so I told her I’d look into it for my weekends!
We made it to the airport in time for me to check in and sit there waiting for a while.
I am heading to Wichita, where I will help Jonathan move his stuff to Houston. He starts his new job on Monday! It is always fun and exciting to start a new job, but especially when he will be doing something he has dreamed of. It’s not quite the four letter king of sports, but it is a national syndicated station, and quite a position for him to be in.
I think when the kids were little I was too afraid to fly for fear of something going wrong. I think I wanted too badly to know how they would grow up, and now I know. They are all self sufficient, with lives of their own. They don’t need me too much anymore, but when they do, I kind of like it. I want to hang around and help as much as I can, but I am certain they would be fine without me. So I board the plane and hardly wince at the turbulence.

Today is the day. All around the country those who have graduated law school are filing into buildings with their belongings in plastic bags, laptops and cords in arm. They have spent the last 3 years and especially the past two months studying for the one test which gives them legal permission to be called a lawyer.
They all have different stories, but together they have come together for 12 hours of grueling testing to determine if they should be given a pass. They don’t need to pass with a score, they need to be in the top 60% of those taking the bar.
There will be young men and women all around the country taking the test on the same two days. The test is only offered twice a year, and there is no shame in not passing the first time. JFK and Michelle Obama are two examples of people who did not pass on their first try.
Sarah has studied hard, and I am proud of her dedication. She, unlike many of those she tests with today, has a job already lined up with the city of Chicago, so she really would like this to be her last attempt.
We did a test run yesterday, driving down discussing lunch and how we would meet up since there are no cell phones allowed in the testing center. Imagine a whole room full of 20somethings with no cell phones!
Today will be all of the essays, chosen from over 26 different subjects. Tomorrow will be the questions with multiple choice answers, but certainly not easy ones.
I think it would be more practical to put these future lawyers in a room with all of the materials they need and have them defend someone. Like in the movie My Cousin Vinny, he was able to prove the case, which is what makes a good lawyer, not memorizing facts and data. I do not think any practicing lawyer uses their memory to do their work. They use common sense and the ability to find answers when needed. This antiquated way of determining who shall pass should be given a facelift and a more practical way of determining future lawyer’s ability should be found.
However people like long standing traditions and balk at those who think outside of the box. I don’t mind being different and hope those standing in line today, will not all conform, but some will be those who make things better, whether they pass this test or not.

I joined a Facebook group…mainly because it is about losing weight, and it has a military theme. Not sure why, but I have always been fascinated with the military, and if not for my fear of weakness, I probably would have joined the army when I graduated from High School. Unfortunately, I knew a woman who went into the army and got discharged, so that kind of scared me. What  different life I would have had…so there, that is the reason!

I joined this group and took the nickname Hawkeye, after my favorite character from MASH (could be part of my military fascination, MASH was popular and one of my favorite shows when I was in my young impressionable years). The military group is fun to be a part of, but the main reason I joined it, was for weightloss motivation and support. It is a challenge, and those seem to work well for me.

I think I would feel so much better if I could shed some more weight. I think about how others view me, not just people of the opposite sex, but all people. If I want to get a position as a substitute teacher, what if the hiring person has a bias? But then I saw the following article and honestly, it kind of scared me….like the people who take kids to a jail to “scare them straight”, I feel like I have been shown the real truth, and now I must face it.

http://on.mktw.net/1c68Mme

You can click on the link and read the article for yourself, but according to the study, it is apparent, if you are overweight you are less likely to get into Grad School, and less likely to get the fellowships/assistantships, I desperately need. No matter if I can keep my 4.0 GPA for my Master’s Degree, I am still viewed as lazy and not able to control myself, if I am overweight.

Are they right in this way of defining who should get into their program? I hear age is one of the less likely ways grad schools discriminate, but not sure of that either. I almost feel like I am up against the odds on this whole plan….but this would not be the first time, and ironically, this type of thing is exactly what motivates me the most!

I was working at the bowling center when I determined I wanted to work in radio. I was told then, for many reasons, including, my age, the major market we live in, my family, and my lack of (at that time) a college degree, I would not make it, and would never work in radio in Chicago. Ha! I worked for not one, but two top stations in Chicago and had a blast, so it sure was a good thing I did not just listen, look at the statistics and then give up!

So, as my Drill Sargent has informed me, I better get my act together and get on board with the plan! I have always done better with a goal, and now I really have the motivation I need. I finished up my final projects for the summer semester yesterday, so now I am ready to focus on the plan at hand.

See you all around the barracks.

PS I did pick Hawkeye, so if you come around and I have a still set up in the RV, I am just acting out my part!!

Trying to get rid of a lot of clutter involves selling things. I think garage sales are a lot of work, and people want everything for next to nothing. I chose to get rid of some of the things I still have around by using Craigslist.

Craigslist has it’s seedy side, but most of my selling experiences have been good. Even my job searching experiences have proven to be fruitful in the past. I like how people will come to you, hand you money and then take the item away. This happened a lot at first, but then all of a sudden people responding to the ads were not being responsible, and some, were downright rude.

I waned to get rid of, what was, the waterbed, but was in pieces and really hard to reassemble. I listed it as free, and had at least 12 people inquire, but one person was insistent that they wanted it, and were coming from Indiana to get it. They were two hours later than they said, which kept me waiting for them to show. Being here when they say they are coming, has made me cut short workouts, leave the library early, and even miss important TV viewing! But I waited, once they got here, with a vehicle too small to take the parts of the bed, (which I had expressed to them was huge!), they said they would take part of it and come back for the rest. I agreed to this and went to the neighbors to ask if they could pull into their driveway to load up. As I came back, I saw their car pulling away, and when I tried to call, they didn’t answer!!! How rude? If they didn’t want the item, they could have just said so. 

Then there are the people who request the dimensions, extra pictures, etc. only to never respond after that. I ask if they are still interested, and even some of them do not reply then. Really, how hard is it to respond? 

I do not want to take away from all of the very nice, responsible people who have shown up, handed me money and taken their items away, without an ounce of trouble. I just wish everyone could be so good. I will be listing more items tomorrow, we’ll see how this weekend goes.

It’s a good thing I wrote a little yesterday morning, because the rest of the day involved working on the projects I have due. I am trying so hard to get them done so I can do some of the other things I have to get done.

I did get a call, from a place in Nashville. One of the many places I filled out the forms online for employment, which you almost never hear back from, called me, wanting to hire me. The message said they loved my resume and when could I start. I had to call them back and explain how I am no longer going to be in Nashville, as planned, but instead will be in St. Charles, MO.

I have been less than impressed with the new way people are hired these days. It’s not just me, my kids and friends have all gone through the same thing. You fill out extremely long, very detailed applications and then never hear back from the company. My least favorite part of the experience is when they ask you to attache your resume, but then on the application they have you fill out every detail of your resume, including names of supervisors and phone numbers. Some of my previous employers do not even exist!

In the educational field they also tend to want you to supply references, with letters. Who am I supposed to ask to send out many, (not 1-2, but many!) letters of recommendation? Not only do they want the references to be work references, but a couple of them wanted only direct supervisors! I have one, and that poor man has already responded to multiple requests on my behalf. Do these places think we are only applying at one place? And do they not realize that until we are one of the final people in consideration, they do not need a reference? Many state that without all of the required information you will not even be considered for the position, so you must include the references, your transcripts, a completed application (some have been 10 pages long!) a cover letter written specifically for the position, and your resume, tailored to the position you are applying for.

With all of this for one single position, you can imagine how much time and effort it takes to apply to many places, and how frustrating it is when you don’t hear back from one of these places after all the hoops you jump through.

My frustration with this has started once again since I will be heading to St. Charles, MO, and I would like to be a substitute teacher, but the process includes all of the things I mentioned above, plus fingerprinting and background check. I can’t even start on that until I finish my projects for the summer semester, which are due Sunday!

I do not think there is an alternative to this new way of hiring, and sometimes when I see the requirements, I think it is the company’s way of eliminating the people who are not serious about the position. However, those of us with the need for employment really have no choice and will continue to fill out ridiculously long applications hoping to receive a call like the one I did, only hopefully in the same city I will be living in. Many times, the positions listed, already have someone, many times on the inside, already in mind, and are only fulfilling their legal duties by listing the jobs. This means that the hoops so many people are jumping through are completely pointless, and you never even have a chance for that job. This seems the most ridiculous part of all. However, it’s their job and they can hire whoever they want, so we have to play their game in hopes of getting that one call.

Ironically, I would have been set up in Nashville, with a job, my gym, my scooter, in a place close to downtown. Instead, I will head to St. Charles, with no job, no gym, no scooter, and living in a tiny town, near St. Louis. Despite all of this, I am excited about St. Charles and optimistic I will work out all of the details and have a great time there. Most importantly, I will get the chance to attend my graduation in December. I did not go to my Bachelor’s Degree graduation, but this one, for some reason, I want to attend.

Now, back to the projects, which I only have parts of two to complete, and turn in. I am exhausted today, but like a runner nearing the end of the marathon, I feel that second wind coming on, so I am off to get this work done and the summer semester completed!

Have a great day!

Wrigley, tired of my schoolwork

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  ~World Health Organization, 1948

Portion control is the real reason I do not weigh what I did on my wedding day, (132 lbs). I felt fat that day, because I was always comparing myself to my skinnier friends. I have not weighed that little since then, although I got down to 135 after each pregnancy, until the last baby, and for some reason I have not been able to get within 25 pounds of that weight since. I would blame it on my underactive thyroid, but I know only about 20 pounds is due to that terrible twist of fate. The rest is because I eat a lot. I wish I did not like to eat huge portions, and I wish 2-3 bites of some delectable food would suffice, but for me, more is better.

As a kid, I was the star member of the clean plate food club, and I reveled in pleasing the adults in my life with the huge portions I could consume. It should have been a sign that at 12 years old I could eat the same amount of food a grown man could eat, yet, I was praised for my “healthy appetite”, which only made me seek more of the same.

I know we are a product of our past, but it should never be an excuse, once we learn better. My thyroid condition is not good, in fact, I know it has many side affects which I cannot control, despite taking the medicine prescribed, religiously for the past 26 years. And then there’s my genes, which are not the best. Every female in my family tree is at least 50 pounds overweight, some many, many more.

At my heaviest, I was more than 110 pounds over my wedding day weigh in, and the most unhealthy I have ever been. I managed to shed 60 pounds from that high, unhealthy weight, but I have been at a standstill since then.

I have not been perfect, because every now and then I want some treat, but I have been pretty good about eating a much healthier diet, with more fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. I have practically eliminated all dairy and meat, eating them only on special occasions, and adding juicing when possible. All of this, in addition to 4-5 trips to the gym weekly, with other daily exercise, has still kept me at a standstill, and I know why.

I started following my exercise with the fitbit by BodyMedia earlier in the year, but started to record the food I ate a couple of weeks ago. I put in all of my food and when I checked, even with a mostly vegan diet, I managed to take in as many calories as I was working off! And despite what some people think, it is all a matter of calories in and calories out. Eating 2500 calories is not going to move the scale, even if the calories are made of wholesome foods.

The bottom line is this; I have realized the real problem, and now I need to address it. I can work out, and be in better shape, have more muscles, but until I quit eating such large portions, I will remain overweight. This is hard to face, and even harder to deal with, because I am that person who eats when I am tired, bored, stressed, anxious, etc. I am an emotional eater and I know it. Maybe admitting it and working harder on that will help?

I remember in the series Sex and the City, Miranda attended Overeater’s Anonymous and had to pass a Donut place to attend the meetings, and finally she and the guy she met there, split a donut at that place. I liked how Mike and Molly met at an OA meeting too, so maybe it is a great pickup place? I should look into meetings once I get to St. Charles, because they may help. I am a part of a couple of groups online, and have seen others with this same struggle. Having a support system and accountability seem to help a lot of people.

Writing about this is not easy. It is hard to admit that each day, my food choices take up so much of my mental energy, and are so hard to get a hold of. I am going to continue to record my food, and keep track of my exercise, in hopes of making strides toward my goal. I have set my goal of weighing what an average American woman weighs, by my birthday this year (October). I saw an infograph which told me I needed to lose a few pounds to get there, and it made me decide to make that my goal.

I hope you will join me on this quest for eating more whole foods, in smaller quantities, and exercising to feel better. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Proud Mom moment:

In a recent column of the Chicagoland Radio and Media, Jonathan was mentioned, and in the media world, this means you are somebody! Here’s the column: 

Evergreen Park, IL

I took 3 classes this summer in hopes of getting my Master’s Degree by December. I was not aware of the summer 8 week classes which are really 16 week classes crammed into 8 weeks. I did not anticipate the time it would take to complete the tasks required to maintain my 4.0 (shameless plug) GPA.

My days consist of taking Wrigley for a walk, checking my email, Facebook, etc., working on my schoolwork, studying for the GRE, getting to the gym, then dinner, Wrigley walk #2, TV time (while simultaneously doing GRE flashcards or some other study materials), bed. This is a typical day the past couple of weeks, and says a lot about all the work involved in my classes. One of the classes consisted of only four projects, which were agreed upon, and are due the last day of class, July 28th. In trying to keep up with the daily work of the other two, I let this get put on the back burner, meaning I am now doing all of the other work, and 16 weeks worth of projects, in about 3 weeks!!

I have always been a procrastinator, but I do always get the work done. There is something about a deadline which makes me get things done. Maybe its the adrenaline? I am not sure, but I have always been like this. My favorite memory of this, is from my Community College Days, when a big paper was due, but it had to be typed, with no mistakes. I did not own a typewriter at the time, so I went to the school library to use theirs. Unfortunately the typing class I took in High School was a waste of time, and I made more errors than I had planned. I kept starting over, because the teacher made it clear no white out, no tape, no errors on any pages! I was there for a few hours typing from the handwritten paper I had written out, when I realized I was not going to be done by 7pm when the class started.

I was sweating and, of course, the faster I tried to type, the more errors popped up. I finally conceded that I was not going to make it, and slowed down and carefully finished typing the paper. I pulled out the last page, put it all into the folder and ran to the class. I showed up ten minutes late, but I had the perfect paper in hand, and somehow managed to pull it off.  It was when I sat down, I noticed I had been sweating so much from the stress, my shirt looked like I had been working out in the gym. I am sure I would not have won a prize for my appearance, but I did get a good grade in the class!

That was the one and only time I was late due to my procrastination. In fact, I was proud of the 125 page script I was required to write for a class in my undergrad studies. There were about 15 students in the class, and I was the only one who came to the final class with a finished script!! The others either didn’t show up or had asked for an extension. So, even though this week will be tough, I have finished four of the seven initial projects I started last week needing to complete.

I want them done now to finish out the semester, and to give me some time to get some other things done before I head down to St. Charles. It is a busy time, but I have always preferred to be busy, so I am not complaining!

After starting this blog for my travels, it seems if things go well, I may be in one place for a while, so I have decided to change the direction of the blog. Heck, who am I kidding, the blog was always whatever I wanted to write about! But now it may have a different slant.

I am so happy I got to travel, at a rather young age, around the country, and see and do all the cool things I wrote about. I am so glad I wrote about them and they are chronicled, because I know I don’t remember the details too much. However, now I am a late 40s woman, on my own, returning to school to get my Doctorate. I have limited income, and will be accumulating student loans, if a school will accept me. I am hoping for some type of assistance, a fellowship, etc. and will be chronicling my story about trying to get into a good school and how to financially make it happen. I am hoping to continue losing weight, I have been at a standstill for a few months now, so that will be part of the equation as well.

Because of my procrastination, and ignorance concerning the 3 classes in Education I need for my Master’s Degree, I will be spending the next semester in a Campground right near my school, in St. Charles, so I can complete my last semester, and be able to send final transcripts to the schools with my admissions. Some of the programs require a Masters Degree, but others do not. I will be applying to several schools, once I finish the GRE. If you don;t know about the GRE, I don’t have hours to write how I feel right now about it, but it is required for PhD programs and your score matters for the assistantships and fellowships I so desperately need. Because of this, I will be studying hard and taking the GRE tis fall, (date has been changed due my needing to be in St. Charles, MO, for the semester).

On another note, The ONLY place for me to live while in St. Charles does not allow motorcycles, so I will have to purchase or rent a vehicle for the time I am there. I am not happy about this, because my scooter is so reasonable and definitely a fu way to travel, but it seems like this is the only way to do this…although I keep thinking of other ways.

My immediate time consists of finishing up my Summer double semester of 3 classes! (which I am supposed to be working on projects from as I write!) then I will be taking Sarah to the testing for the Bar at the end of the month (fingers crossed for her, she has been studying so hard) then she starts her new job with the city of Chicago! I will be off to Houston where Jonathan will be relocating for his new job with Yahoo! Sports Radio, doing on air work, full time, with them! My kids are so much cooler than I could have hoped for! Sam is still looking for his next big thing, but he worked for CBS Sports for the John Deere Classic, and is working camera for media com, so I am confident he will land something great. David is plugging away, working hard, and Jody is in the accelerated Nursing program, which keeps them on their toes!!

I am truly blessed, and look forward to the twists and turns as I return to regular blogging, focused on my educational and fitness goals. I hope you will continue to read. even if you only read for my trip before. I am sure I will still have adventures and misadventures along the way. My life is interesting, for sure!

Thank you all.

The best four projects I have ever been a part of: