My WGU Chancellor's Club Bio

I was recently accepted into the WGU Texas Chancellor's Club! I am super excited to represent WGU around the state, and specifically in my community. What I was not excited about, having to write a WGU focused bio. I didn't like the idea of writing about myself or sharing my story. It was mine after all, and I felt as if words could never put it all together. Well, today's deadline approached and I HAD to write it.

I did not expect it to be so self motivating! Thinking about the completion of my degree, yet more importantly the journey I took to get there, has made me want to go that much further and complete this MBA. Should you possibly need a study break, or some motivation, write your story, list your "why," look down deep behind the tiredness and remind yourself why you are making those daily sacrifices and renew your commitment to whatever you are reaching for in life. Whether it be your education, dreams, goals, don't forget most importantly to do it for yourself.

Currently a Lubbock, Texas resident and current employee of medical practice specializing in pain management and regenerative medicine, I provide administrative and operational support to the clinic as well as marketing, strategic planning and project management.  Working with a small business has provided me with opportunity to hone and develop the skills I learned while completing my BS in Business Management with Western Governors University Texas. With these skills in addition to those previously acquired in the legal, financial, and nonprofit sectors, I strive for excellence in information as well as customer service.

Currently pursuing the MBA with WGU I am also passionate about serving the community. As a previous receipt of the American Red Cross Hero’s award, multiple awards for service during employment, a WGU Continuing Graduates Scholarship, I have been proud to represent the organizations that I am connected with in the community.

As a child who grew up with the commons plights of poverty and family instability, there was always one thing that provided sanctuary, school. I enjoyed learning independently at a young age and thrived academically when my environment established opportunity for self paced learning. I was fortunate to be instructed and nurtured by exceptional educators and my successes during early schooling cultivated a sense of fulfilling achievement.

Graduating in the top of my class from high school, I attempted to complete a degree at a variety of different academic institutions.  Unfortunately personal socio-economic barriers combined with a lack of programs that were flexible for me as an untraditional college student hindered my progress. I had not yet given up on my dream to become the first college graduate in my family when as an enrolled community college student I stumbled across a WGU advertisement online. After a little research it was obvious I had found the way that I would finally obtain the bachelor’s degree I needed to elevate my career and create opportunities for myself.

After diving deep into the WGU program, many conversations with the support staff at WGU, and building a close relationship with my student mentor, I did it.  Every sacrifice, every moment spent dreaming, preparing, and executing the attempts for my goal had paid off. I am a WGU graduate. I am incredibly grateful for the entire organization WGU has built, as well as the community I have found with other students at WGU. This will be my inaugural year as a member of the Chancellor’s Club and I am excited to share my life changing experience with WGU Texas in Lubbock and across the state.

Stay tuned for the adventures this new opportunity will create! And if you are interested in any of the details of WGU learn all about them by visiting their website at wgu.edu. 

Middle of the Night Conversation

I put middle of the night in the title, because that's what 2:00am to 3:30am is considered for most people, although I was just ending a work project and thinking about heading to bed before work tomorrow morning. But then I hear the squeak of the hinge from the door down the hall and a whimper. Please don't be illness (which my daughter proudly informed me was another word for sick tonight). It was thankfully just a super soaked pull up. Those are rare these days, thankfully.

I start in on the cleaning, and comforting. It is safe to say those grumpy, half awake when you really want to be sleeping genes are mine. I totally get it, so I make it the best I can avoiding larger fusses by finding the Elsa jammies, without the buttons because who wants to fuss with buttons anytime after 10pm? Little turtle and monster feet slippers also a help. The true savior here is the coveted Hearts Blanky still being dry. Now for some snuggles.

I unwrap the layers of blankets from the messy headed pile of sleepy in the recliner and we snuggle in. Usually at these hours we'd go straight for The Thomas Song, which recaps all the highlights of her day including Thomas the Train along for the adventures, but during the pajama change I had noticed a large and rather fresh looking bruise on the back of her leg and asked her what happened.

No memories of anything particular, but there was reports of wiggly legs at school during the end of the day educational TV time, as well as when a friend had pushed her down. We discuss what we can do in that situation, how we should treat our friends, and apologizing when things don't go as intended as well as offering forgiveness to others. She gets it, and she knows what's expected of her. She knows what being nice means, how emotions can sometimes control situations, how no matter if you are always nice some people won't be, and how all kids are learning just like her.

She confessed sometimes it is hard to apologize when she is on her own and there isn't a stuffed lovey or a grown up to help. I suggested that the fairies could help make her brave, as it is always kind and responsible to apologize for the things we don't make good choices about. Silly Mom. Fairies are too small, how could they even help?!

 Magic. Fairies have magic and that can help make you brave. She didn't know that, and considers the impact these magical fairies may have on her life. From being brave, to leaving coins when you stay in bed all night, these fairies are good friends to have. Thankfully her aunt, uncle, and cousin had sent her very own fairy door for her birthday that keeps the coins a comin'. I'm not entirely sure how the coins end up in my floor boards, but I have a pretty short list of suspects.

One more, well thought out, extensively set up question about fairy magic before The Thomas Song to which I reply, making sure to repeat back all her set up conditions:

"Yes, love, maybe the fairies will leave you a package of smarties in your lunch box for you to have as an after school snack if you are a good girl all day and do all your work and mind your teachers, always asking to use the potty and not playing in the soap and water when do, and doing a good job getting ready for school on school days."

For Brenda

When I was lost and confused,

tossed aside and thrown away,

you blanketed me with kindness,

for as long as I needed to stay.

You gave me a safe haven from the cold,

just a child on my own.

Standing by my side,

you opened up your home.

Through tough lessons and trials,

and all the moments in between,

you were there with encouragement,

shaping the future me.

You cheered for my potential,

and believed I’d find my way,

and now that I am here,

I cherish all those days.

You strong convictions helped guide me,

and love gave me worth,

helping to make me the woman I am,

by being family I didn’t deserve. 

Rest in peace sweet Brenda. Your memory will be celebrated forever in my life. You changed my world and will always be one of my heroes. 

With love always. 

Dancing Not Optional

I am not a dancer. Well, not in public anyway. The most dancing that happens in my life is maybe a quick turn or wiggle while cleaning the house listening to James Bay on Spotify. And in the car. I am a well practiced car seat dancer when I remember to turn on the radio. 

In high school I never enjoyed the dancing portion of the dances. I did like dressing up and hanging out with friends and crowd watching. I'd join in on the Electric Slide or Macarena, but that's about all that you were getting out of me. 

This weekend was my best friends wedding, and well I danced. I danced completely sober, I danced after a couple drinks. I danced with my daughter, who surprisingly has such confidence and joy on the dance floor. I have never witnessed someone dance so energetically with no notion to stop. Well, until some other super fun thing caught her eye. The night was filled with super fun things that meant many trips to and from the dance floor for her. 

I am not sure what this move is called, but she 100% meant every thing about it.

I danced with my husband. I should note that we aren't dancers to the point where we did not do a first dance at our wedding. I am not sure anything we've ever attempted could honestly be considered "dancing." Maybe one day we'll take a lesson or two, or just copy after our dear dancing daughter. 

At least we can take a photo together. ;)

I danced with strangers, in front of strangers, with friends old and new, with the bride and groom. The bride may have informed me that one of my Matron of Honor duties was to dance, but it would have happened anyways. 

I was so happy during this entire festivities it was extremely therapeutic to dance it out. To move in the light fall air, in a beautiful flowing dress, under the lights of a romantic and fun evening and dance. Just dance. I was not concerned with what moves looked good, it just felt good. The energy of such love and happiness for the newly married couple, for my best friend in particular who has found and claimed love and family, to just flow out. My heart and soul were overflowing with love and happiness for her, and I simply could not contain it. I needed to dance. 

Despite knowing there is video evidence of said dancing, I am happy it happened. I feel somewhat less self conscious and more confident that dancing does not have to be a mental choice for me anymore, but a physical reaction to the environment. Dancing can be a reaction to the love and connectedness of myself with others, the evening, the universe, the joy deep within me for others and maybe even myself. 

Plus, I checked off a bucket list item I didn't even know I had. I danced with a hedgehog. 10/10 would recommend. 

Meters

There was a period of time where my cousin Amber and I spent hours playing The Sims. We used the early 2000's internet to find cheat codes unlocking unlimited cash and all the accessories. We'd design and build house so grand and elaborate MTV's Cribs episodes hardly compared. I mean, we had unlimited money, and in early adolescence, unlimited time.

We learned the characters language, ran their lives, and soon lead them to having children, earning promotions and gaining new and rather useless talents. We coordinated their sleep, their food intake and their time spent socializing, building self esteem, and even the potty breaks. (I have an almost four year old, and I use the word potty. Deal.)  What we needed to do next for these characters depended on the status of their meters. The graphics showed us exactly how much we could accomplish in these characters lives before initiating their next sleep cycle or hosting the next big shindig.

I find myself often considering where my meters are. It is not uncommon for me to say to my husband "my (insert meter of topic) is low." Thankfully, while I refer to my needs in meters, I have stopped using the Sims language. I am certain some of my family members recall some of the phrases, but most others would have no clue what I was referring to, so life just works out better not to do this.

I feel as if at least one of my many meters are continuously low. It's hard for them not to be. Life responsibilities, and adjust to an essentially new world here in Lubbock, it not unreasonable that this is just the case.

As we move into a new holiday season, and Pinterest becomes overwhelmed with the cutest of crafts, the social offering around us increasing exponentially, and the longing in my heart to create magic for my daughter rages, I am going to be very aware of all my meters.  The alone time meter, the family fun meter, the crafting meter, the sleep meter, the school meter.

We have so much to celebrate, so many people to celebrate with, and joys to recognize. While I am tempted to start scouring the internet looking for the next fun event, the next craft or recipe, I am going to choose to look at balance. A choice to look at the trends of these lower meters and make sure they too get their fill.  I hope to find and develop a new meter of balance within myself, and make sure that is the one in the green. And a cheat code for unlimited money. I definitely hope to find an unlimited money cheat code.

Tick Tock

The house is cleaned, the child is sleeping, it is quiet.

I can hear the clock on my mantle between clicks of the keyboard and calculator buttons being pushed from the husband working on his math homework at the dining room table. I sometimes forget that clocks make sounds during the hustle and bustle of the day. Normally I am looking at the clock on the computer screen at work, waiting until I can go home. Often its on my phone attempting to gauge how late we are getting out the door in rushed mornings, or how deciding how tired we are all going to be tomorrow because the planned bedtimes did not happen as, well planned.

This weekend was filled with scheduled activities, debating on when we would hit the streets to gather candy, crazy late bedtimes, and trying to calculate how long the sugar high would take to wear off from the timed, and spaced out Halloween candy bag raids. The answer, 2 hours.

For the past year life it has seemed like life has been a movement on a timeline with so many important dates and moments to hit. It's been just over a year that it was decided we would be moving to Lubbock. The clock started ticking, and necessary milestones were planned.

The first for me was my graduation. I knew I needed to finally obtain my bachelor's degree in order to help provide income for us. I always knew one day I would get there, and have been working on it. Finally by plugging into the right school, a strong support system backing me up, it happened. I made it happen. Check one. Ok, BIG check on this one.

The next big step was to get all the documents and papers in place for the husband's transition from his associates at a community college to a state school. Paperwork. And phone calls. Plenty of phone calls.  Dates for every little form, orientation, scheduling classes, and finally the beginning of the school year. The schedule came out, and his name was on the roster. Check!

The packing proceeded, the new house was found, the moving truck rented, and utilities connected. This probably isn't the order, but in that whirlwind, I am just happy it all happened. Unless I missed something I have not discovered I need to be taking care of, check.

Next the goodbye parties were scheduled. I am so happy we took a moment to stop and reflect on that time we had shared in Austin, and those we have shared it with. It will always be one of my favorite chapters of our lives. To spend time hugging our friends, reminiscing on simpler times, and lingering in the goodbyes, drawing them longer than the road between here and there (its really not that far, come visit!) was much needed. No check for this one. We will be visiting. We mostly determined there will not be an easy goodbye, we will back and look forward to the intersections of our paths. Our time in Austin may have ran out for now, but our future will hold time together.

At 11pm on Daylight Savings Time, were society tells me I have gained an hour, I am thankful. An hour to reflect on the past year was exactly what I needed. Knowing tomorrow holds 24 hours of time to make progress in school for us both, clock in and out of work, to laugh and be silly with our daughter, to sing one (or two) extra bedtime songs, and maybe even squeeze in an episode of Star Trek, is okay in my book. We aren't guaranteed this time, but we are going to take it.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

I hope you enjoy reading and getting a glimpse into my life. I am a former Buckeye, whose been converted to Texas life and will someday maybe even own a pair of cowboy boots. In this blog I plan on including a variety of things from story time and craft projects, adventures around central Texas and beyond,  projects I am working on as an intern at a local ministry, college stories, and most importantly the discoveries and fulfillment's of being a wife and mother. 

If any of this interest you, I encourage you to keep reading!