celebrate my drive--help my school win $25,000 or $100,000

Much of my life has revolved around Nebraska Christian Schools. First, I was an NC student (grades K-12!). I even lived on campus for six years during elementary school, as my parents were the boys' dorm parents. Then, after graduating from college, I got a job at NC as the superintendent's secretary. Nine years later, I'm still at Nebraska Christian, though my role has changed many times! Nebraska Christian is a special place to me, and I hope that if God blesses me with children, they will be able to attend NC, as well.

As a small Christian school in a farming community, Nebraska Christian's finances are often tight. One area where we seem to be perpetually "behind" is technology. Sure, things are better than they were when I was in high school, but if you saw our computer lab, you'd probably laugh. Or cry.

That's where State Farm's Celebrate My Drive comes in. This program, which promotes safe driving, is also a competition between schools. We are competing with schools with student bodies of 750 or fewer, and the schools with the most safe driving commitments from October 18-26 will win a $25,000 or $100,000 grant. If we're the top school in our division, we would also win a concert with Kelly Clarkson! If we get one of the grants, most of the money will go to updating the technology on campus ... which we desperately need!

Here's how you can help: Each day from today through October 26, go to http://celebratemydrive.com/RegisterStudent.aspx and commit to safe driving. You'll enter your email address and birth date first. When it asks you for the state, select Nebraska, then select Community Member, and enter Central City for the city. Then it will pull up a box where you can click Nebraska Christian Schools. You'll take a two question quiz and then check a box to commit to safe driving. That's it! All it takes is one minute of your time. (Well, I'm actually asking for nine minutes of your time, as I'd like you to vote each day!) Please vote!

Update: I just learned you can vote through Facebook, and it's a lot easier to find Nebraska Christian that way! Just click here and enter the requested information, typing "Nebraska Christian" in the school name blank.

lazy saturday thoughts

I don't have anywhere to be until 2:30, and I don't have any books that have to be read now, so I'm enjoying a rare morning of laziness. I decided to write a "real" post—it's been a while since I've written anything besides a book review!

• One of Tricia Goyer's books is free on Amazon right now. She's the author of my favorite Amish series (which I reviewed here and here). You can get Songbird Under a German Moon here, but hurry! Another of her books was free two days ago, and now it costs almost $10—I don't know how long this deal will last!

• My parents received the "Hall of Faith" award at Nebraska Christian's Harvest Festival last night. The award is given to faithful supporters of the school. It's supposed to be a surprise, but they figured it out—which I told my boss would happen! Mom is always responsible for ordering the plaque, and she knew something was up when no one would tell her who the winner was. We did manage to surprise them a bit though—my brother and sister-in-law came, sat where we knew Mom and Dad wouldn't see them, and then showed themselves after the banquet ended. I didn't get any pictures at the event (I'm hoping my yearbook photographer was on top of it), so here's a recent picture of my wonderful—and deserving—parents.

• I think I'm going to bite the bullet and get TV. Not pay TV, but free TV. I haven't had TV since I moved out of my apartment over a year ago, and after hooking up my sister's converter box and antenna for her last weekend (or turning on the converter box and turning the TV to the right channel, which is basically all "hooking it up" required), I've decided to do the same for myself. I already own a converter box, so it's just a matter of buying an antenna (which can be really expensive. And even though I checked out antennaweb.org, I'm still not sure what I need). Hulu and Netflix give me a lot of TV options, but sometimes you just want to be able to watch immediately, you know?

• You should check out Clash of the Titles, this fun website I stumbled across recently. Basically, two books go head-to-head, and you vote on the excerpt you liked best. There are always contests to enter, too ... and I just won a $10 Starbucks gift card yesterday, so I know it's possible to win! 

• Snow White: A Tale of Terror, which is one of the movies I talked about in the "My Life in Films" post a few weeks ago, is now streaming on Netflix. Yes, I've already added it to my queue.

• I hate online learning. I understand its value and convenience, but I'd so much rather go to a real classroom where I could physically interact with my instructor and classmates. And I'm thinking about quitting the library program. More on that to come later ...

35 before 35: #20

#20: Go back to school

Ever since I graduated from college (seven years ago--how is that possible?), I've been thinking about going back to school. I thought about getting a master's in library science, a master's in creative writing, even a master's in accounting. But I never pursued anything—I just did a lot of thinking.

This summer, my responsibilities at work changed, and I started working on the financial side of things. Because I have no experience in accounting, I thought about taking a class. Then I thought about getting a master's in accounting. Then I realized how insane that was, and I went back to thinking about taking a class. At the end of July, I decided it was time to stop thinking and time to take action, so I got on our local community college's website to see what kind of accounting courses they offered. In the midst of my search, I noticed a blurb about a library certificate. Within minutes, I was taking steps to sign up for the library program, and all thoughts of accounting fell by the wayside.

My program is a certificate in Library and Information Services. It's only 18 credits, but because of the way classes are set up, it will take two full years to complete ... if I decide to stay with it. I'm taking one class this semester, and it's online. In the beginning, I hated the class; I felt like it was a lot of busy work. Now, the class is getting better, but I wish I could just go sit in a classroom for three hours one night a week and be done with it. This is the first online class I've ever taken, and I think I'm more of a traditional classroom kind of girl. (Unfortunately, this entire program is online, so I don't have the classroom option.)

When I'm finished, I'll have completed the requirements to be a certified public librarian in Nebraska. (Many libraries require their librarians to have a Master's in Library Science, but that's not a state requirement.) I figure if I completely fall in love with it, I can go on to a Master's program. If not, I should be able to get a job in a public library—which is something I've always wanted to do.

The reason I'm not sure if I'll complete the program is because of the time factor. I already feel like I have no free time (which isn't true; I'm just not managing my time well at this point)—I shudder to think what this spring will be like with speech season, a full-time job, and another class! But I also know that this is the perfect time for me to be in school. At this point in my life, I'm responsible for myself ... and that's it! If I need to stay up until 2 a.m. working on a paper, I can. If I want to grab a bowl of cereal for supper while reading, I can. And I can fairly completely recuperate each weekend (at least until speech starts). So I'm tentatively planning to sign up for the next course in the spring.

I'll keep you posted.

Have you thought about going back to school years after leaving college? If you did it, what was your experience?