357 days.

The Fall 2008 semester is over! Thank goodness. I have worked the most that I've ever had to, but I think that's the way it's supposed to work when you're so close to finishinjg up that BA degree. I managed 2 A's, 3 B's, and 1 C. Trust the me, I was happy to get that C. But the most important class I was taking - Intermediate Accounting I, I was able to get an A! I'm so relieved. That is the class that really determines if you're gonna make it out to major in Accounting; otherwise, you change your major. I've heard different "stories", different situations about people taking intermediate, not making it and having to change majors. If you don't pass Intermediate Accounting, that sets you back a whole semester. You can't continue in your upper level classes if you don't pass Intermediate. It didn't help that my uncle kept reminding me over the semester, as he was asking to see how I was doing in my classes, that those Finance majors were once Accounting majors who weren't able to make it throgh Intermediate Accounting.

Ah, but enough of that. Haha. School is done. Now I have a part-time job with my uncle. And lots of time to experiment in the kitchen! I want to try different cakes, different pies, different cookies . . . and experiment with the recipes I already do. I only need two things from Dad, and surprisingly they're not money! I need a bottle of Castillo's 80 proof Rum, and for him to level the oven so the cakes won't come out slanted thus allowing me to actually use the convection part of the oven.

Christmas is just another day this year. We're not doing anything, just dinner with the Weslaco Cedillo's. Maybe Tio Joe will come down. Oh and of course Christmas morning mass with the family. But no gift exchange. :( Oh well. Audrey and I didn't even put up the tree this year. My last Christmas at my house and it looks like any other regular time of the year in the house.

My dress has arrived in stores. And these next few weeks - month, will be not so much hard, but busy. Deposits need to be made, payments need to be done. CRAZY. But I'll get through it. I always do. Less than a year to go.

UPDATE ON THE BAKING EXPERIMENTS TO COME SOON!

Gas is $1.39-$1.49 on the west end of the valley.

Rain rain go away, come again when I'm asleep at home or something.

I, like many other people, enjoy the rain. Especially living down here in the Valley, where rain is a precious gift from Mother Nature. However, I think it not to be so precious when it starts pouring when I'm at school or out doing errands. I like the rain to come in the middle of the night, or during the early/late evening when I'm home to enjoy it. But I'm not God, and I have to take what I can get. Even if it involves blood-sucking parasites. On the upside of all the rain, the grass is green, really green and looks pretty once it's all nice and cut. 

School. It's packed. Parking is a nightmare. And all the crappy humidity doesn't help! Classes are going ok, but I'm discovering all the crappy teachers I had, what I was supposed to be learning seems to be reappearing now. So I find myself in the position of having to go back and read, learn and practice those concepts so that the classes I'm taking now, well,  I'll get something out of it instead of just being stuck with an overly-priced book at the end of the semester. Audrey seems to be adjusting quite well to her new schedule. That of being awake for more than 2/3's of the day and reading and studying during most of the 2/3's. We're still working on the reading and studying part, but it's in the works. 

This blog is being cut short, due to the fact that Intermediate Accounting starts in 14 min. and I've got to go potty. 

A name I left out for Bonnie: Menace

And a gas update: $3.29 over the weekend in Edinburg. Now $3.31. 

30 hours!!!

After much deliberation, more like procrastination, and a lengthy amount of time (well, no not really), but I've calculated what is standing between me and my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting: 30 hours! That's 1 year. There are several ways I can go about as to attain this degree: summer sessions/ part-time in the fall, or just have a whole summer off and take a full fall semester. Either way, I will (God willing) be done and graduating December 2009!!! So that's exciting.

Today was the first day of fall classes. I had 4 classes today, and I'm taking 3 Accounting classes this semester. So basically, no room for procrastination this semester. More like, me not taking my laptop to school :( and in Audrey's words: "We are going to take advantage of the $40 fee to use that library!" So that's the plan, for now. Wish us luck with that! And this afternoon, Audrey and I walked over to check out the rec. center where we started to walk around and see what they had to offer (I had only been there once before in my whole 5 semesters at UTPA), when a rec. dude came up to us kinda out of the blue and asked us if we were lost! I just laughed. We ended up getting a mini-tour of the place.

In other news, Bonnie has been dubbed "Terrorist. Stitch. Hurricane. Tornado. Disaster." among other names. She just seems to get into pretty much anything. It's been raining since Friday, on and off - mostly on. But anyway, apparently and according to mom, Bonnie managed to roll around in some mud sometime after Audrey and I left for school this morning. As she was telling me the story of why the tub had dirt residue all around it, she was trying to hard to fight back her amusement. I only wish I could've seen it, even if it was a huge mess. And the damage, so far, looks like (I'm going to have to replace) two blinds, 5 pairs of Audrey's sandals, 3 pairs of Mom's sandals, a new pair of house slippers for Dad, a couple of rolls of toilet paper, and a couple of pairs of socks .... I've been fortunate to save pairs of shoes just in time! I only hope Mr. Bear is lucky enough to last just a little while longer.

Can you say potty-trained??/Wedding Fair 2008

:) FINALLY!!! I've seen major progress with Bonnie! Even though I'm not home as much as I'd like to be everyday, Audrey's helped out a lot (even if she purposely leaves Bonnie out longer than she really needs to be just so she'll stay out of her hair). And if she does have an accident, it's my fault; it usually happens right after she eats (about 15 min.). But success! Although, she gets into just about everybody's stuff, and still can't be trusted on her own, I have a feeling I'll be having to leave her in her travel cage whenever we go out or aren't home - she can't be trusted! It doesn't help that she can pretty much jump onto just about everything (beds, sofas, t0ps of picnic tables!), nothing is safe anymore!

So yesterday when I was driving home from work, there was this stupid driver - some red mustang. He was trying to look all cool and like a badass revving his engine just to make that stupid noise, and of course trying to pass just about everybody. He ended up having to slam on his breaks several times because he got stuck behind the slow pokes. I was just watching him. Pretty entertaining stuff. I just wonder what the heck was his rushing all about???

This past Sunday (8/3), there was a Wedding Fair at the McAllen Convention Center, the new one. Man was that kinda a dissapointment! At least 5/8's of it was Wedding Photographers! Luckily I still need one, it's just that everybody charges so much! :( There were like 3 booths of bakers, 1 with the chocolate fountains, 3 for dresses, 4-5 for caterers and 50 bajillion photographers!!! Ok, maybe I'm exagerating a bit, but it did take us about 4 hours to get through the whole thing. I did find the florist for my wedding bouquet! Sometimes it seems like it isn't gonna be able to happen, but then I remember that a lot of people have asked to pay for stuff! Which is really great for me! But still: lots of money! I hope we win the lottery soon!

Another day, a lot of money.

It took me about a month to save some money and make a payment for my summer II tuition. And the worst part of it is that I didn't even manage to pay for 1/2! It's due in full by this Friday, which obviously is going to be nearly impossible for me to do. I will however be able to pay it next week and days before term is over. That's the good news, sorta. 4 weeks of work gone in 1 minute.

So in walking from the car to class, it only took about a min. or two (before I actually made if onto campus) to actually become swarmed by mosquitoes! And they weren't those little ones, they were the big suckers. I managed to keep 'em off. I must've looked like I was crazy or something - swattting all over the place. After class I saw a dead bird on the sidewalk. Poor thing probably died of too many mosquito bites.

In other news, Bonnie is pretty much back to normal. She's eating regularly and wreaking all kinds of havoc around the house. She's much taller, and is using that to her advantage. I do need to teach her to stay away from the oven and that jumping on the side of the table is unacceptable. I also need to get her a chew toy. She seems to love sandals. A vet appointment is in the works, but don't tell her! She's about 5 months now, I'm not too sure if I can get her fixed quite yet. But I will find out! I just know that I am not willing to go through it again!!

Some good news: today gas was $3.67 a gallon (unleaded)!!! That's the lowest it's been in a month or two. I can't even remember. All I remember was it jumping to $3 and then before I knew it it was at $3.89! I can't even remember it being around $3.50. Wichita, Kansas was the city in the country that had the lowest price at $3.60 - it now seems that we're not that far from them! Is it sad that low gas prices seem to be the highlight of my days???
I'm just in a routine right now-wake up, go to school, eat lunch (maybe), go to work, go home, homework/study, dinner, sleep --> all for about 5 days. Danny on the weekend, if he's not working. And then the whole thing just starts all over again!

Hurricane Dolly

Ok. Maybe I was wrong. Yes, I admitted it. I didn't think Dolly was going to be as big as the hype the news was giving it. It all sounded exactly like "Emily" in 2005. "Ooooh Emily's coming! - Make sure you're prepared if the power goes out! ..." Same 'ol. And you know what? All it was was a lot of rain in 1 day. That's it. So when they started talking about Dolly, we weren't as prepared as we should've been, but we were very fortunate than a ton of other people.

"The Valley's a Disaster Area!" Yes this is true in some areas. Our street wasn't flooded at all. The water on the grass sank in a little and the yard was kinda mushy. But like I said, we were fortunate. Our power turned off around 8 pm on Wednesday and popped back on @ 7 am on Thursday. Watching the news later that night, I learned about all the other damage and disaster areas around the valley. Just north on our main road in Donna (493), people are walking in their houses knee high in water! And tonight, 2 days after Dolly, there are still people without power. The Island has been access restricted to relief teams and residents only until further notice. Probably until the power has been restored. I'm just sugar-coating everything. There's a lot more damage that's occurred, so much that can't possibly all be blogged in one entry.

So my prayers go out to all the family's who have been greatly affected by Dolly. It will get better soon.

Hurricane Shmurricane!

So all this "Hurricane Dolly" panic is making me upset. Mostly because if it does turn into a hurricane, it's only a category I --> strong winds and lots of rain. I don't think it's enough for an evacuation. I do however find it necessary to cancel school and work. :) But that's me. UTPA, over here in Edinburg (which is more than an hours drive to the coast) is considering canceling classes, I think tomorrow and Thursday. And naturally I think it's a little ridiculous. I think people are just looking for a break. And for some people I get it. But for other people who don't really need or want the break, it sucks. My dad went to HEB for some groceries, so that we are more prepared for dinner tonight - bottled water was on the grocery list and of course, there was NO WATER left! It was pretty much all gone.
I get the sand bags deal. Lots of rain = possible flooding in low lying areas.

Anyway, in other news - Bonnie might be sick! She's just lying around, kinda depressed. She had thrown up Sunday evening, twice. Then twice again Monday morning. She didn't want to eat a thing all day yesterday. So in hopes of her hunger returning, I fed her considerably less than usual. I checked in with Mom, and Bonnie hasn't touched it! She has been eating ice, so I know she's had some water. And she is refusing to sit with anybody on the couch. She insists on having a seat all to herself. So, if she doesn't seem better in a day or two, I'm going to have to take her to the vet! :( I hope she feels better soon. I really need the money to pay off my tuition next week!

Evening .. .. well morning thoughts.

The title is self-explanatory isn't it? :D
Today was just an all around good day. Long awaited, and extremely appreciated.

For me, everythings just been pretty hectic. School, work, homework, Bonnie, chores, bills, and trying to maintain a consistent schedule for all of them. This last week was a little odd, because of the changes in semesters right in the middle of the week. Summer I ended on Tuesday, and Summer II began on Thursday. And in adding to this madness (maybe just a bit overdramatic), but I somehow managed to sign up for the 7:45 am lecture! I do not know how that came about exactly but it did, and I am kind of stuck in it now. So I am just going to have to do it. Wake up early every day of the week.

Bonnie. What can I say about my new puppy . . . she is hilarious, most of the time. Potty training is still coming along, and it has not been a complete failure. Her bladder is just about the same size as mine (metaphorically speaking of course)! But she adores Chula, and loves Smokey to death. Which makes my job a little easier in the long run when I take Bonnie and Smokey with me to their new home (still a couple of years away), but at least I know that they'll get along. She is also very much curious about Chiquita, but Chiquita will not have it. She has gotten so much bigger since May. She chews on just about anything. And she loves to snack on the seed pods that fall from our Mesquite trees, (yes they are edible). And I have been told that when I leave for school in the mornings, Bonnie will find something of mine, usually folded up jeans on the bathroom floor, and drag them out to the living room or even sometimes just in the bathroom, and lay on them. Cute huh? She follows me everywhere: we can be relaxing on the couches and she'll be asleep, but if I get up to go to the kitchen or something, she'll follow me. She has managed to do some damage to my bedroom furniture, scratches on the footboard, but I'll eventually use it as a guest bed, so it doesn't bother me so much. Nonetheless, she is absolutely adoreable, and even though she's not the same, she has helped me.

Danny and I are still going, and looking forward to the big day. He's even got a countdown on his cell phone: "(# days) till: JESSICA HILTON". And the other day I received a newsletter to my e-mail titled "17 Months To Go!" I can remember the day I signed up for that newsletter, and the countdown displayed somewhere along the lines of 22 months! But anyways, my point: It will be here before we know it!

Procrastinator I am!

A little Yoda for you there!

Been so busy since I've joined this thing. Vacation from work, short but sweet.
Kori's in town, and summer school started last week!

I promise to update with some sort of information soon!