After the holidays, I looked over at that pile and there were 20 different catalogs to look at. I also got another 10 repeat catalogs. I think they wanted to make sure I got their catalogs.

I only ordered from 3 places last year. I know that one of the places that I ordered is one of a set of 8 catalogs that come from the same distributor. Out of the stack of 20, I am looking at 8 catalogs with the same (or right down the street) return address: R.H Shumway, Vermont Bean Seed, Totally Tomatoes, Jung Seeds and Plants, Seymour Seed, McClure & Zimmerman’s Spring catalogs, Edmund’s Roses, and Roots & Rhizomes. I know they’re out to make money, but I’m not into flowers unless they are the edible variety, like bee balm or nasturtium. This may make me think twice about ordering from either of those catalogs for a good couple of years. I won’t be ordering from them, because they perceive me as an order number instead of an individual customer that prefers to order from one or two (maybe threeJ) catalogs every year.

I like to try the colorful varieties of different vegetables. This time, I think I’ll go for chocolate peppers and purple carrots. I’ve had pretty good luck with watermelons for some reason, so I’ll keep with it. I’m planning on setting up the new planting bed over spring break, so I’ll have plenty of room to grow whatever I want. I’ll be sending out my orders by the end of the week and setting up the lights and heat mat for germination in a week after that.

Here’s a list of what I have planted before:

• Rattlesnake pole bean – one of, if not THE tastiest beans I’ve had
• Blue Hubbard squash – went nutso last summer and took over half the garden
  • Produced some squash that were in the 30 pound range. The weather must have been just perfect for them. Pies were great, too. I even dropped a bunch off at work. I had to convince people that they were definitely edible and very good, in fact. I guess they’d never seen one before.
• Moon & Stars and Tendersweet Orange watermelons – The Tendersweet kicked Moon & Stars butt, but I’m willing to give it another try this year.
• Empress of India nasturtium – A good solid nasturtium that withstood being walked on and tormented because it was right in with the beans.
• California Wonder pepper – A might small for me. I guess I like the meatier variety.
• Black Brandywine tomato– Didn’t get a single tomato. The birds loved it, though. Think I’ll get some string and put up some old cd’s this year to ward them off. I think the tomatoes were too far from where I could glance at them during the day.
• Pruden’s Purple tomato – ditto, but I did like the flavor of the few that I got
• Black Turtle bush bean – didn’t produce enough for a good meal by itself. Trying it again, this year.
• Champion radish – dh’s and gpa’s favorite
• Lettuce mix – cut and come again salads after consecutive plantings
• Kale (forgot the variety and don’t have the packet anywhere) – I think it was the dwarf curled variety. I’ll be trying that type again, hoping that it will be the same if not better in flavor after the first frost.
• Georgia Jet sweet potato – They grew with no care at all to produce way more than we needed. They ended up under the hubbard squash. They were solid 5 inch by 3 inch diameter beasts. I dropped some of these at work, too.
• Yukon Gold potato – I enjoyed the versatility of this potato. (It can be baked, boiled, and fried just fine.)
• Clemson Spineless okra – The plants grew over 6 feet tall in the walking paths. I’ll be digging trenches and putting the seed in the trenches, so that the birds don’t roll them into the path. I actually saw them pick up the okra seed roll them in their mouths and drop them. I guess okra doesn’t taste so good to the birds around here.

The garden will look similar to last years with the addition of a new bed for the three sisters (corn, beans, squash).

Wow, that was a lot of stuff, but I didn’t plant them all at once.  It kinda went in waves and I try to go with heirloom or hardy varieties that don’t need as much extra care.

Well, I’m going back to whittling down the list of possible summer meals.

Laters

I’m just gonna be honest and say that rotations, and the rest of vet school, kicked my butt.  I had no time for myself at all.

It took me a week after finals to string a complex sentence or answer a three-part question appropriately.  So, I waited until I could be coherent before writing.

Due to the new curriculum, I started out the fall semester with a shiny new blue coat, a new horrifically ugly nametag picture that will follow me through the next 4 years, and a stethoscope in my pocket.  The learning experiences that I got during those first 8 weeks are irreplaceable.  I felt in the way, useless, incompetent, tired, and exhilarated at the same time.  It was comforting to know that there were 120 other people feeling the same way.

I really wish that each rotation was a bit longer.  I would just get the hang of how things were run in that location, when I’d go on to the next location.  Or, maybe it should be that way to give a person a little taste of a specialty or aspect of veterinary medicine.  The hours were sometimes erratic, but well worth the lost sleep.  I’m sure next year’s rotations will build on the class knowledge and clinical skills learned from this year.

The goal in rotations was to observe, do, then explain as much as possible.  I didn’t realize how much I knew about cows from undergrad and life experience, until I was in a situation where I needed to recall it.

After rotations, the actual classes started.  It was not a gradual ramping up of what we needed to know.  It was full bore, wide open information from 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday from day one.  The subjects covered were Physiology, Histology, Neurobiology, Gross Anatomy, Imaging, and Clinical Correlations.  I also had an elective that required outside of class work and a presentation.  Did I mention, I still work part-time?  Yeah, that, too.

I think I wasn’t as stressed as other students. Or maybe, some people like to stress about small stuff.  My theory is, if I know where I am in the grade range, I’m fine.  I’m not competing with anyone to get in here, anymore.  I’m working to earn that degree.  I’m working to accumulate the knowledge to do the job that I’ve wanted to do for the majority of my life.

I’ll be posting again, soon.  I can’t guarantee the consistency of posts during the year.

I’m planning on getting a big dumpster dropped off to get rid of all of the garbage that the kids think I’m letting them keep.  They’ve been disrespecting me by not cleaning up their messes.  I’ve been working odd shifts, and so didn’t notice some things because of sleep deprivation.  Now that we’re gearing up for school, I don’t have time for their nonsense.  I told them that they need to get it cleaned up by the end of this week, or I’m getting rid of it next week.  And, when I mean get rid of it, I mean all of it.  Clothes, books, toys, artwork, etc…  I have some stuff in the garage to put in a dumpster, anyway, so it’s not like I wasn’t gonna get one.   I have a teenager now, so the mess grows quickly.

After my physical, though there is nothing wrong, I’ve been trying to eat better.  Working second and third shift is not a great thing for eating right and exercising.   I’ll be at school in 2 weeks, so I’ll be able to make my own lunches and work out, some.

I am in the process of claiming a new area of the yard for a garden.  I plan on using the lasagna gardening method this time.  That’s where you layer different organic matter to create a bed that is all organic mater on top of the bare ground.  In my case, the stone riddled, shovel breaking clay.  I’m hoping it will help with the over run of perennial thistles, that I’ve been fighting since I moved to this place.  If it works, I’ll do it in the main garden.  I think it may take some extra set up time in the beginning, but I won’t have to dig and pull a bunch of weeds every time I want to grow stuff.  The downside is the fact that I would be covering over the 6cu yards of compost that the landscape recycling center dumped in my driveway, last spring.  However, to get rid of the persistent weeds without spraying a bunch of chemicals, is a plus.  I’ve been doing the lasagna method in containers for quite some time.  I didn’t realize that was what I was doing, though.

I’m trying to get a hang of the tablet pc.  I’m pretty good at the touch pad, but the pen is giving me fits.  I know it’s more of a practice issue, but I don’t take it to work, and I get complaints when I’m playing with it.  The husband wants a laptop, now.  I told him I could get one for him, but it wouldn’t be the same as mine with all of the extra stuff on it.  He was not amused.  I can’t afford 2 laptop payments on my reduced salary. Also, I don’t want to get the full loan amount, just to fritter it away on other stuff.

Well, school registration for the three kids is this week.  I’ll be warming up my checkbook until then.  I still haven’t gotten the rest of the stuff I need for clinics.  Did I mention, I hate shopping for clothes.  I can never find pants that fit right off of the rack.  If the waist fits, the legs are too short.  If the legs are good, I have to find a matching belt.  It’s been this way since I turned 13.  You would think I’d have learned how and where to shop by now.

Oh well, enough ranting. Til next time.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading for fun and for the kids lately.  Gardening books and manga have been the main course, with a little research on possible wireless networking for printers and peripherals for the new tablet on the side.  If all goes well, we will have 4 computers with a wireless printer.

I made the most righteous shrimp stew with nasturtim leaves, okra, shallots, carrots, and bell peppers from the garden.

2 lb shell on Shrimp

3-4 shallots, depending on the size

about 1 1/2 cups of okra sliced (you can leave it out if you don’t like okra, but you’d have to make a roux or thicken it some other way)

1/2 cup chopped nasturtium leaves and flowers (Depending on the variety of flower and your taste, you may want less or more)

2 medium bell peppers chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

3 carrots

1 bag of frozen vegetables (about 12 – 16oz), you pick what you like. (It could be mixed veggies, california blend, etc.)

Butter

Flour

Take the shells off of the shrimp.  Put the shells into a small pot and fill the pot just until the shells are covered.  Put the pot on to simmer and set aside when the shells are bright orange, or they have been cooking for a good 20 minutes.

I usually start out with butter melting in a large stock pot. I saute the shallots until they are clear then reserve them for later.  I put the peppers in the still warm pot and add some more butter to saute the peppers.  I then add the carrots and celery.  When they are warm, I add the shallots back to the pot and pour in the shell water (stock) over a strainer.  I simmer that for about 10 minutes, then add the frozen veggies and okra.  That should be cooked until the frozen vegetable of choice is tender.  Then, add the shrimp and the nasturtium last.  The shrimp only needs 3 minutes to cook through.  The nasturtium bring a sweet spicy flavor to the stew.

Nasturtium by itself can be used in salads to add a little more kick.  I’ve had nasturtium pesto, but it didn’t seem to have a blend of flavors to it.

The watermelons prospects that grew up my fence are now safely encased in their pantyhose slings so they don’t snap off of the vine from their weights.  The Hubbard Squash went crazy and took over the extra space in the garden.  It snaked its way around everything, and is now 30 feet across and about 4 feett high.  I’m assuming, I’ll have quite a few extra 15 pound squash to get rid of, come fall.  What a pity.  More pie to make.  I’m so sad.

I have sticker shock from all of the checks I’ve written.  I still haven’t doled out the mega bucks for a tablet, yet.  I need to get it soon, or I won’t be able to work it properly during orientation week.  I’m leaning toward the HP tablet that’s at the U of I WebStore, but CDW has this 4 year on-site warranty deal with vet med, so all I’d have to do is walk down the hall, if it broke.  Decisions, decisions.  No matter what, I’m getting an external harddrive for backup and a wireless card that works.

I got on the years long waiting list for the coveted parking lot next to the basic sciences building.  The lady laughed over the phone and asked if I was wanting to get on the list for F 27, which is the number of the lot.  Yep, I got stuck with the lot across the street.  I’m sure by the time I’m a fourth year, I’ll get to park by the building.  Heck, I may want to park over by LAC, by then.

I read about the special roomthey’re building for us, and it sounds pretty interesting.  I still don’t know what we’re doing.  The way the plan looks so far is a bunch of clinic for 8 weeks, then 8 weeks of classes.  From the tentative schedule that I saw, they are cramming a bunch of stuff into those 8 weeks of class.  We also have mid-terms and finals on the materials, so its just like every other school, but squeezed into shorter time.  I’m hoping we’ll get a first look at concepts while working through modules inthe clinics weeks.

I’m getting the kids back to their sleeping routines.  Talk about torture.  Mom’s getting them up early in the morning and making them do stuff.  I know it’s rough on them, but I need to do this for me, or I won’t be awake for classes at all.  This is coming from a person that gets out of work after the time that they flash the traffic lights.  The lights are turned to flash to save money.  They do this so that people can use them as a stop sign.  I get home way faster that way, but I don’t get to sleep when it’s dark out.

Child number 3 actually has summer work, which the new teacher sent out.  Looks like she’s gonna be a piece of work.  I’m giving him phonics lessons, because apparently phonics is no longer part of the curriculum in public school.  I didn’t realize this or I would have done it when he was in kindergarten.  He’s great at sight words, but didn’t learn the sounds, and so flails when he needs to sound something out.  I’m sure we’ll be good to go by the start of classes in 5 weeks.

Geez, classes start for the kids in 5 weeks, and orientation for vet school is in 4.  Yep, I not freaking out.  Nope.  *coffee mug shaking as I type*

Guess who got cleared to dance.  Me, that’s who.   My shoulder has the same range of motion as before, so I can do whatever I usually did, with moderation.  No, digging a random hole.

Well, the letter with information from the CVM is now in my hands. 

• Registration information – If you don’t have your UIN, it will be on the letter.
• A promise that the student schedules will be available – The same schedule they said would be in this letter.
• Information on the mandatory orientation – A week before school starts
• iVLE Illinois Veterinary Leadership Experience – I think it may be the same as other Illinois Leadership type programs.
• Blue Coat Ceremony information – I can only invite 3 people.  How will I choose?  After my husband, there will be 2 seats I need to fill.  *Tapping staff on the ground* In laws and parents, there shall be a fight to the death.  *Cue the fight scene music from Star Trek.*
• A website that leads to a bunch of stuff that has to happen ASAP

I have a bunch of information to read and forms to fill out.  I haven’t decided if I want to take the public health course which is a highly desired elective.  The scheduling for clinics has not been finalized, but I have a schedule for orientation week, which I will be giving to work.  I’ve been told that this is not usually how things go.  The new curriculum has been holding things up as far as giving information out. 

Now, starts the extensive process of figuring out what size lab coat I wear, what to wear to the Blue Coat Ceremony, and running through all of the new user id’s and passwords I need to remember.  Also, the tablets/laptops are mandatory, so I’m in the process of shopping for those.  I hope that I can find someone with a microscope that has the arrow on the left side, or I may be footing the bill for my own.  I have a vision problem in my right eye, which makes seeing through a low light source hard.  Most scopes have the arrow on the right.  Some scopes have arrows that can be removed and switched to the left, but it’s not clear if these microscopes are that type.

I need to add a visit to the doctor for myself and a trip to the illini union Bookstore to the numerous other appointments, like dentist visits, school physicals, various summer activities, and grade school registrations.

Well, back to filling out those forms.  Heh, I think I’ll need to get more ink for my printer.  GREAT! *sigh*

Side Note about my out of state trip

There are places down south that haven’t seen very many black people, and do not cater to people with curly hair, let alone black hair.  I could not find curly hair formula for kid number 1 at a Super Wal-Mart.  I mean, come on, a Super Wal-Mart!  It was her fault, because I told her to make sure she packed her hair products for this very reason, but it was still a bit unnerving that the W was off of the interstate highway.

I didn’t even bother to look at their cosmetics section.  This is why I don’t bother shopping at a regular store for my shade of anything.  I stick to Sally Beauty Supply and a few online merchants where I know my colors (be it for skin or hair) are available.

/Sidenote

I still haven’t gotten any information other than the acceptance letter from Illinois.  I have a feeling they are still ironing out that shiny new curriculum.  I’ve received two updates saying that the information packet would be out the first week of June, then another one apologizing that the letters weren’t sent yet.

It’s making it hard for me to set up the schedule for my job for August.  I know when the first day is, but I have no idea how long I’ll be in class.  This means that I don’t know when I’ll be available to work.  I plan on working 10 or so hours a week at the A.  I’m sure I could turn into the weekend queen, but I’d rather keep some weekends open for family type stuff.  I’m hoping that I can split up the hours during the week, but without even at class schedule, I have no idea when I’ll be able to work.

Also, the orientation and leadership weekend/day were tentatively announced during interview day, but nothing else has been offered since.  I am assuming that this will be part of the info packet, as well.  I can only assume that the most recent information about laptop/tablets, books, and other supplies would be in the info packet, too.

I’m lazing about playing the sims3, playing mafia wars on Facebook, ferrying the kids all over creation, and cleaning up the house for the rest of my short vacation. 

I’m thinking about making a bunch of meals and freezing them, but the dh is a preprocessed food junkie.  He may not heat up what I cook.  I’ll be testing him out over the next few weeks.  I may have to brush up my crock pot skills, if he won’t defrost stuff.  I don’t want people going hungry.  I wonder how a roux would work in a crock pot?  Probably won’t work.  I’ll have to do some research and experimentation.    I know that they love my baked macaroni, so I’ll make an extra large batch and freeze half.  I’ll have to put that other half batch in the deep freezer, behind a bunch of vegetables, or it won’t survive a day.

I’ve been checking out study skills books to gear up for vet school.  Some of the info is what I’ve been doing, but other stuff is pretty interesting.  I might share.

*Squeeeeee*

It’s official.  I looked at the administration application for UIUC (My password still works.  I sent my transcripts that way.) and it said that I am eligible for Regular Admission to “DVM:Veterinary Medicine -UIUC.”  And I could register for classes NOW, if I knew what I was taking.

Hey, people who went to UIUC for undergrad and are going to vet school for class of 2013, you should go look, too.  It’s an awesome feeling.

Secretary voice strikes again

This never ceases to amuse me.  I get the shocked look when I get to the drive thru window.  I got the sideways glance when I was running a register or taking orders from the deli counter.
This last instance occurred when I was trying to get my kids registered for swim classes.  I am getting the kids together for their summer activities, and gifted student summer enrichment (pain in my behind to schedule around, I swear.)  I called in to talk about my options and told the lady that I would be coming in to do the actual registration.  I gave my number and child information to do the hold.
When I got there, I had the form filled out and gave it to her with a smile.  The lady at the counter said that the courses had just been filled.  I said that I spoke to [her name] who told me that there was a space available.
The lady did a double take, put her hand to her chest, and said, “Oh, wow! You don’t sound anything like how you look!”  She got to signing the kids up with a quickness.
In other words, she was saying *gasp* “You don’t sound black over the phone!”

After several years of this, I’ve gotten used to it.  However, when ya treat me like it’s my fault that my momma taught me grammar, it gets on my nerves.  It’s not like I change the way I talk from person to person.

The stereotyping works in the opposite way as well.

I was in a bar for a friends birthday, and a woman I don’t know came up and apologized for the music the house band was playing.  She stated that they usually have more hip hop.  The band was playing “Wish you were here” by Pink Floyd.  I wasn’t sure why the strange drunk lady was even talking to me.

Garden Patrol

The rabbits are tearing up my strawberries, so I actually had to put straw on them to make them hard to find.  I’ve found that fabric row covers deter the little nibblers enough to let the plants get established.  I should’ve tried this last year, but I didn’t have the extra cash that my job is providing.  The birds don’t like okra, or maybe, they like to roll it off of the raised bed and stash it in the path.  Almost all of the okra plants are in the path between the rows.  The geese are driving me nuts.  They love to pull up my grass.  I’ve given up trying to chase them off and so has the dog.

The potatoes and watermelons are looking pretty nice and leafy.  I’m hoping they’ll do what they need to do later in the summer.

I need to buy a new digital camera.  None of the pictures of daughter number 2′s celebration of completing 5th grade showed up properly.  Something about the memory stick made it all distorted.  It was cheap anyway, so I won’t be paying to get it fixed.  I just hate it when you take a bunch of pictures and not one that was saved was usable.  I’m gonna be sure to have a shiny new one for number 1′s transition to high school.

*shudder*

Maybe the card fell off of the desk, and I’m logged in as accepting?  Nope.  I’m not gonna think like that.  I’ll call on Thursday afternoon, just in case.

Well, my car was totalled out, and I’ll be driving my dh’s car for a while.  The three kids think the rental is the best thing ever.  I think all the gadgets are distracting.

What to do with all of this money…

* puts on practical mom hat and spectacles*

I plan on knocking out some debt with it.  We can trade for another van, if the prices look right. I think, we may wait a year and save up to get a utilitarian ride.

*takes off mom hat*

I should spend it on candy.  ;-D  A candy colored,road hazard, old beater in which to go back and forth to work.

Okay, the diabetics are closing in on me.

I now have confirmation that both sides of my family, including my mother and sister have diabetes.  I am a prime candidate, and so are the kids, seeing as dh’s mom and sister have it.  I plan on changing my and the kids eating habits.  I know I should exercise more, but I’ve got an old dog that doesn’t like going farther than the end of the block.  I’ll be working non-stop in the garden, soon.  Wielding a pickax can be quite therapeutic.  I’m not looking forward to my next doctor’s visit.

Hey Mom, when the dog dies, I want…

The girls are already planning for his demise and putting puppy thoughts in.  I may get them to volunteer at Champaign County Humane Society to see exactly what it takes to take care of a dog.  That would possibly satisfy the puppy cravings, too.  The boy hasn’t weighed in on what he wants, but the girls are all into little itty bitty things.  I like small dogs, but I’m more of a big dog kinda girl.  This new dog will end up being my dog, anyway, so I don’t know why I’m fighting it.  I figure I’ll be bringing one home from school at some point.  I’ve heard it’s inevitable.

More some other time.

The next afternoon, I get a call. I thought for sure it was another call from a list of insurance people that had been calling since I made the insurance claim the previous afternoon. I said hello to the person. It was Mary Kelm. At first it didn’t register, and I asked her name again so I could write it down. I was doing that to remember who was calling for what company, and in what department they were. When she said she was calling from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, I had to think really hard before it registered.

The dialog kinda went like this:

Me: Really? I was gonna call to go in for the file review, but…

Mary: No, no! I’m not calling about a file review.

Confused me: Oh, okay. What can I do for you?

Mary: I’m calling to offer you a seat in the class of 20…

Me interrupting: NO WAY! NO WAY! NO WAY! Seriously!?!

Mary: You’re going to vet school!

Daughters: What happened? Why are you acting so crazy, Mom? (The older aloof teen)

Me: I just got into vet school!

Daughters: *High pitched ear shattering shreiks*

Me with yelling in the background: Thank You so much!

The call concluded with me apologizing for yelling in her ear and for the kids.

I’m a bit confused right now. Coulda died on Thursday. Found out I’m going to vet school on Friday. I’m doing a reserved happy dance, because it hurts to do a big one. I really had no idea I was close enough on the list to get in. As you know, I was waitlisted last year and did not get in. I fully expected a repeat of last year. Well, some of my friends on SDN let me know they were going elsewhere to vet school, so I didn’t dare dream and be number 15 when they chose everybody up until 14. Now, I have to worry about replacing my car, getting a tablet pc when I wasn’t paying attention to all of the threads on SDN, transitioning daughter 2 to middle school *shudder*, and starting being the guinea pig for that snazzy new curriculum.