End of term in sight!!!

I have two weeks before final exam for my marketing course and then two weeks after that is final for accounting. Very nicely spaced to allow for intensive study prior to tests. The new course guide is now online so I have chosen 4 courses for next term...all online. I sent the info to my case worker who then has to make up letter of sponsorship and fax it off to college before I can go and register in person. Quite the hastle but it seems to be the only way they are willing to do things. I'm hoping this all happens BEFORE the weather and roads get bad AND BEFORE the classes online become filled. I had heard in another class that online classes tend to fill quickly for this winter session(I guess all us out of towners hate the winter drive to the city).

On a brighter note....Deb and I got to watch some bluebirds at play while out with our nature hikers this morning. One of the ladies informed us that the bluebirds often crowd into a nesting box during winter cold spells likely to keep one another warm. Very cool to see such pretty birds at such close range. Toward the end of the walk we had a great chance to observe a pair of Cardinals sitting in a nearby tree...quite unconcerned about us watching them. Today's hike was in a provincial park close to home where we frequently walk with Dusty. Having this great bunch of local knowledge strolling with us allowed us to learn lots of the local history of the area as well as alot of who owns what in the area. That picture up top is an Eastern Bluebird. The colors in the picture are not nearly as bold as the males we watched today.

Family Christmas Plans

I almost forgot. While visiting with mom she mentioned that the current plan is to have a family dinner/get together over Christmas holiday at her church. She was very happy with the way her birthday party there, comfortably held everyone in one room. It made it much easier to visit everyone than when we are spread throughout one of our homes. The facilities are easy access for all, big kitchen for prep and there is lots of parking. Shirley is making arrangments so if you haven't heard from her yet and you have requests regarding date and time please get in touch with her so she can attempt to determine when the best time would be for all to gather. Personally, Deb and I are hoping for a date while the kids are off on Christmas break, but we do realize that much of the family has prior engagments and other family(in-law) commitments. Christmas is coming soon so get your requests to Shirl soon.

Mom

I made another trip this week to visit mom and take her back to see her surgeon. Her leg is improving and this visit he allowed all the remaining staples to be removed. we had noticed some dimpling near mom's incision and I asked the Dr. what caused the marks. He explained that during surgery he closes the incision with layers of stitching before the outer staples and the tighter he stitches underneath..the less noticeable the outer scarring will ultimately be. Those dimples are inner stitches. I guess that means in time when those dissolve mom will have less feeling of tightness when she bends but meanwhile she is very happy to have those staples gone. She was able to get into my car a bit easier after the removal. It will still likely be awhile before she is able to easily get in and out of cars or drive herself but at least she is well on the mend and able to look after herself and her own needs at home without being dependant on others.

Midterm Exams

Well I made it through the mid term exams. My final mark in "Stratagies for Success" being 100% gave me confidence to go on. In Accounting I got a very disappointing 66%. It was half multiple choice(I got 46/50 there) and the rest was one long accounting problem in which I messed up from the beginning....thus final mark of 66%. "Marketing" was better, my mark for this exam was 82%. I am currently working on an assignment for Accounting worth 20% of final mark. It is a complete financial work up for a business which has been running for three months. Lots of work for sure! Especially when I have trouble even using Excel to get forms and have no idea how to use formulas in Excel to help with calculations...I have to do it all manually. That's Ok cause I really want to get as close to full marks as possible so I will just keep plugging away at it no matter how many hours it takes! Only one month left and this term will be over....next term I will have a heavier course load but with online classes I think I can handle more.