Bye Bye Hectic Holiday Season...

I just realized I haven't written anything since the 3rd...tsk tsk... Not that I am going to blame any one thing mind you - December has been a whirl wind in my world, as I am sure it has been for most of us!

The semester was pretty non eventful, much lower key then basically the previous 4 years I've attended. This was a part time semester with one night class and one lunchtime course. Neither very challenging nor writing intensive (which isn't making a case for why I have been MIA..hmmm) - Anyway, I ended up with another 4.0 semester, which would be my GPA if it wasn't for that pesky B I received in Exercise Physiology back in the Fall of 2008 (which seems like eons ago), it has me hanging at a 3.944 so it would appear I will never get that elusive Summa Cum Laude, Magna it is...

In the midst of finals, my little baby girl had to have a bilateral myringotomy, which is fancy for tubes in both her ears. We have spent so much money on doctors co-pays, antibiotics, not to mention taking time off from work. While scared to have our angel put under anesthesia, we couldn't be happier with the results. In the past week and a half, she has heard more and began walking more, giving us piece of mind that it was indeed the right decision. Hopefully when we go back to the doctor in January, she will score flying colors on her hearing test...

On a sad note, we said goodbye to Teeny Martin a.k.a. Granna, she passed on December 20th... She was a spirited woman, and even though she struggled with verbal communication, due to multiple strokes prior to when we met, she spoke volumes with her kind eyes, bright smile and all too clear expressions... I will always remember how she hated to be told to sit, and often tested the boundaries by trying to sneak around and get up to walk by herself... oh and her eye rolling was priceless. She will be dearly missed but I am forever grateful to have been a part of her life, and having her at my wedding, meet my baby girl, celebrate Gabriella's first birthday with us, and chase her around the house at many a family BBQ as she said "No No No"... she was always ready to go home by 430pm. I take comfort in knowing she is now in her forever home, watching down on us... 

So life in the Epton household never seems dull... we have Joshua who is obsessed with Drivers Ed and a car, and Gabriella who is just getting her legs figured out. Stephen is steady improving his golf game...maybe someday we will be traveling to tournaments to watch him? I really feel like I've been replaced by his new shiny golf bag...lol

You'd think with classes over that I would have more free time right? Ah, not so much! I continue to be consumed with fundraising for the upcoming Tinker Bell Half, just booked my travel today - apparently only like 2.5 weeks late...oops! The Lousy Medal Virtual 5k was a huge success, we will be posting the Grand Prize winner here in the near future & seriously, I am so humbled by the sheer generosity and support of others... My crafting was not so successful. Two craft shows and little to show for it. Although I did have some running friends order some custom frames for their family which I have to say, I was so thrilled with how they turned out! So with the Lousy Medal Virtual 5k, Crafting for a Cure and the Bondi Bands, I will be about $200 shy of my goal - which is great in the grand scheme of things!

Of course, if you didn't know, I always have something going on... tonight I start my Internship, last part of this Bachelors in Exercise & Sport Science program. So last week I busted out my excel spreadsheet and worked it until somehow I found 350 hours from now until April 25th, to complete this deal. Yes, 350 hours on top of my full time job, my house, my family, my training, and ultimately my desire for a full night (heck 6 hours straight would be awesome) of sleep. How you ask? Well, not easily and not without sacrifice. Thankfully, I have a very supportive husband... he has said multiple times that it's something that needs to get done, and we will work through it. It would be silly to throw in the towel now, so close to finishing, so press on I will (woah, I went all Yoda on ya!) - finish this degree up and proudly sashay across that stage on May 5th... seems like forever away but I think the older I get, the faster time passes... 

I am looking forward to completing this chapter, and I already have big summer plans... What are they you ask? I plan on finding my toes in the sand more this summer than summers before! Especially since I started this degree process back in March of 2006... a lot of summers were consumed with accelerated coursework! Of course working from home will help with that, 10 minutes to the beach + 40 minutes on the beach + 10 minutes home = 1hr lunch...oh yeah, something to look forward to! No more studying, no more papers to research and write...this summer I am all about relaxing! (Someone remind me of this post in May please when I inevitably will find something to get involved with!!!) 


That my friends is December in a nutshell! Stay tuned, later this week will be the Lousy Medal reveal, race report and announcement of the Grand Prize winner!!!