Finding Scholarship Money

If I haven’t already mentioned in a previous post, I am eager to start Grad School; however, the cost to do so is astronomical!!   Wait- It’s not just graduate school, but undergraduate programs as well.  So regardless of whether you are trying to fund your child’s education or your own, brace yourself… it isn’t cheap!  Since I’m a nontraditional student, who graduated eons ago and don’t have the 4.0 undergraduate GPA, no one is chomping at the bits to throw any cash my way.  As of today though, my employer still offers tuition reimbursement (as long as I meet the requirements), but with all the recent cuts from Governor Christie, nothing is guaranteed.

Pre-Fab Fix

... My name today--  Tanya "Pre-Fab" Cain.  I'm serious.  Tailor has soccer practice soon.  I have an hour and half to whip something resembling a nutritious meal together that I honestly look in the mirror and say, "I did cook dinner tonight!"  Ha! Ha!  I'm so for real.  I know it's not the home made stuff, but I don't have time, nor am I interested in making home made pasta.  For my fabulous pre-fab dish, click on the link below:

http://lexasrecipes.blogspot.com/

Attending The Concert

Today I am recovering (actually my feet) from my adventures last night at The House of Blues. We told our daughter that we would attend the concert last night, and although both my husband and me just wanted to chill at home, we wanted to keep our word to her and attended anyway.

Just before the concert, we saw our daughter and her boyfriend.  We talked for a few quick minutes and off they went with excitement to film the night’s events.  I thought, how cool is that; age 20 and filming on stage at a concert held at a casino in Atlantic City.  

While my husband and I waited outside the entrance for my cousin, I couldn’t help but notice the difference in the unspoken dress code of the, what I refer to as, the teeny boppers!   I thought I was dressed down with my jeans, chained spaghetti strapped knitted top and 3 inch heals, but I couldn’t be further off.  Ohm god!   At 44, I felt like I had stepped into a time machine.  Wait!  Maybe I shouldn’t blame it on my age and should just consider that I am just a tad bit out of touch with the latest fashion styles.  I think I do okay at work, but the social scene is a completely different world.  Nevertheless, most of the kids had the same jeans and sneakers on that we had on earlier in the day- darn, we didn’t have to change our clothes.

Riding The Wave: My Style!

 
      When I was 20, my daughter’s age, I was inundated with advice and pressure from my mother to do everything the way that she wanted me to do things, and boy oh boy, did that bring on some serious drama. To the point where I was kicked out of the house.  I furiously rebelled and did the opposite of what she told me to do, even when I knew she was right.  I did the opposite mainly because she was so persistent about me doing things “her way” and wouldn’t indulge me at the least to try and see things from my perspective.   The point is that in her mind, I was still a child, who wasn’t entitled to an opinion (even at 20) and should continue to do as I was told… period.   I told myself that if I had children, I would never pressure them with such ridiculous demands. 

     Fast forward to some 20 some years later and yikes!!  My words have come back to haunt me!   Oh man… they come quicker than we want them to.  My daughter will be 21 in two weeks.  She’s a film major completing her junior year in college and was recently presented with an incredible opportunity that would send most parents into a tizzy and them some!  I’m still laughing…    laugh or cry?  In my eyes, she’s still a baby, who’s not quite as hip as her counterparts (or so I think).  

     She left today to go on a Four-City East Coast Tour with an upcoming Hip-Hop Artist who’s the opening act for a Grammy Award Winning Hip Hop Artist & Producer.   She’s filming a documentary on this promising  (so I'm told) hip-hop artist, so she’s following him with her camera everywhere on the tour.  

Remaining Present on Easter

It’s two days past Easter and, for those of us living in South Jersey, the weather is amazing!  It’s 88 degrees outside! We haven’t felt temps like this since early fall last year.  With the weather being so nice, you might be wondering, why the heck am I not outside enjoying the weather, but I really am enjoying the day.

I’m sitting in my kitchen nook, doing what I do best:  multi-tasking!!  Lol!  The sliding glass door is open; all of the windows are open; and the ceiling fan is circulating an abundance of fresh air throughout the house.  I’m babysitting for a friend.  My son and two other kids ages 7 & 9 just came in from outside and are drained from playing in the heat.  Gee, I never thought that I could even think about mouthing the word “heat” when just a month ago, we were buried in snow. Anyway, all three kids are quietly lying on the sofa watching “Finding Nemo” for the umpteenth time!  And me…. Walla!   I’m trying to get my writing thing on…

Recently, a colleague gave me a copy of Russell Simmons, “Do You!” It’s a great read, a little philosophical, but yet, incredibly thought provoking. Quite a few passages have really struck me, one such passage reads:

         “The most powerful step in realizing your potential is simply to be present in the
         world.  That might seem so obvious that it barely bears repeating, but operating
         outside of the present is actually what separates all of us from the happiness we
         desire.”  “Too often we spend our lives drifting between the past and the future,
         instead of rooting ourselves in the moment.  And living like that, you become
         your worst enemy.  You wait for things to happen instead of making them
         happen.  You imagine what happiness is like instead of appreciating the
         happiness that is already present in your life…  You must embrace the present. 
         Never forget that…”