How much?!

I have seen the most recent numbers for the total amount that I now owe to the federal government for my student loans.

Part of me wonders now, had I known when I started college that this would be the total (growing total) that I now owe, would I have still done college?...grad school?

So at my current monthly payment, I should have the loans paid off by the year 2019.

.........sigh. Tara, maybe I'll be taking that $75/hr job in Alaska now.

craft-cocaine

I was in a discount store and saw discounted blank scrapbooks, and discounted papers, and discounted stickers and so on. For a very reasonable price I was able to purchase a book, papers, and a few embellishments - all coordinated to eliminate the need to buy more later.

I have come to learn two things:

* Scrapbooking takes FOREVER
* There is always something more that you think you might need to make the perfect page.

I am sticking to the discounted items....but let me confess that the checkers at the craft store know my name.

I've been tagged!

My friend, Tara, tagged me! Here are the rules as well as my responses:



1. I love to read. I really enjoy starting a book and being completely wrapped up in it. But I am terrible about finishing a book. Perhaps part of my problem is that I don't want an enjoyable book to end! So I have a bookshelf filled with books I've read - most of the way through!

2. I start a new job in a few weeks and am terribly nervous about being on my own. I am afraid that I will end up walking the halls of the hospital without a clue as to what I should do with my patients. I know this won't happen, but it is still my fear.

3. My most silly pet-peeves are drivers who drive with their blinker on, but don't turn or change lanes; and drivers who like to declare how big of a fan they are by placing a team logo sticker on their car - but are not fan enough to know how to put it on straight.

4. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. One reason is because many of my family members have November or early December birthdays. So Thanksgiving becomes a mini reunion as well as a great meal! Also, while many other holidays have become commercialized and involve the potential for gift-giving-stress, it seems that Thanksgiving is still about reflecting on all that there is to be thankful for and spending time with friends and family.

5. My friends are amazing. We all used to live reasonably close to each other, but the past few years have found us geographically scattered. Michigan, Utah, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota....it is weird to think that most of my friends don't live near me anymore but thanks to cell phones (I love the Verizon in-network calling!) we are still involved in each others' lives!

6. I have a fear of bears/mountain lions that has no real cause. I know it is good to have a healthy respect for natural predators, but I have never seen a bear or lion. I love camping and backpacking - so when I am in my tent at night listening to the sounds of the forest, I convince myself that it is a bear lurking.

7. I started knitting a baby blanket for a friend of mine when I found out she was pregnant. Her baby is now 7 months old. When I had another friend become pregnant, I thought I'd finish the blanket and give it to her. Her baby is now 4 months old. I have another friend who has carried and birthed her baby. Still no blanket. Knitting a baby blanket on size 7 needles takes a long time! I might not be fast, but I am persistent!

I am tagging: Bob, Megan, Andrea, Kami