It's Friday already

Hello everyone and a huge happy Friday to you. I can't believe this week has gone so quickly! It feels like it was only Tuesday yesterday. Last time I wrote I was feeling a little over whelmed with my Essay writing, annotated bibliography - well you will be pleased to know that I am now no longer over whelmed. I gave myself a break from it and went on and did my other two modules (prep and  computing) and have come back to it with fresh eyes. And surprise surprise it all makes sense now. I actually think it may of been one of those OOOOHHHH DUHHH moments as it really makes perfectly reasonable sense now hehehehe.

Anyway I have started researching for my two problems and I am going to spend some more time on it this weekend so hopefully by Monday I will be on top of the AB (annotated bibliography).

I must say that I have not been overly motivated this week - I even used the folding as a distraction one day - so things must of been bad. Although once I got really into it, I have been fine. I have been learning all about Excel this week in Computing - and don't I love it!!!!!!! I have played with Excel once or twice before but I never knew how to apply formulas - so I am very excited now.

Then with my new reading and listening skills that I have learnt in Prep - I'll be unstoppable hehehe. Seriously though I am thoroughly enjoying myself and I am so glad that I have undertaken this challenge in my life!!!!

Ok well I am off to go close the house up now - it is freezing here today (well almost anyway) actually it is 18degrees celcius so I shouldn't complain. Especially compared to all my lovely blogging buddies (big wave hello) in the UK - I'm sure you would find 18 positively tropical (quoting my lovely cousin John in Nottingham).

Ok talk soon

x joy 

Post number two for today

Hello everyone again,

It is now Tuesday afternoon and my day hasn't gone as planned. I said in my last post that I was going to start with my EWU first off today to get it under way but I got a little over whelmed with it. So have popped it aside for now and will go back to it. I am thinking that maybe I just don't have my essay writing hat on today. Really I am probably being a big girl and I am letting it be bigger than it actually is. But anyway I think a fresh, clean mind tomorrow will give it a new lease of life.

So today instead I have begun my PSU and this weeks module is all about active reading and listening. I have written a little list of tips about how to read selectively and it is:

• Write a list of what I need
• Check reading lists provided
• Check dating of material
• Check authenticity
• Look at and read back cover, contents list and indexes.
• Keep word limits in mind.

According to the evaluation lists in Cottrell (2008, p. 116-118) I am not a very smart reader. And that is no surprise to me. I often find myself reading and reading information and not being able to take it in. So I really enjoyed this exercise to give me some strategies in this area. I will start breaking my reading down into smaller more manageable chunks (there is that strategy again for reading - it seems to keep popping up- breaking things down into more manageable chunks - I think it might be the key to life itself lol hehehehehe). And I will also start to summarise more. I already use high lighters and pencils for marking important points but I will go one step further and use more colours and different marking patterns for easy identification.

The next part of this module is the SQ3R strategy and this was a bit confronting to me because I have covered the SQ3R technique for EWU but I couldn't remember what it stood for - urgh how frustrating. Maybe I just don't have my brain attached today - or I left it somewhere hehe. Anyway I now remember (after looking it up) it stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. This is a very valuable tool that I should keep in mind for all of my studies. I especially need to ask questions and try and answer them and review again and again. I often put my notes away - never to be seen again but I have really taken this on board as a way of remembering and linking to newer information that I gain. I already know that if I read my study materials again within 48 hours that they stick in the old gray matter better.

Ok well I am off to go cook some dinner for residents of Smithville oh how I hate cooking!!!!!! I think it will be chicken tonight.

 ok talk soon

x joy

Week 8

Hello, it's Tuesday today and  I am a little bit late starting this week. This is not an ideal situation in my books - I usually like to get right into study first thing Monday morning however I have just had a combination of being busy and not being very well.

 My busy schedule started last Friday with my oral presentation and morning tea with my lovely paper crafting pals - which was lovely. Then I had to take hubby over to Barcaldine to pick up another Ambulance for his busy weekend schedule. At the moment with my health issues, me and the car are not getting along very well, I think it is all the bounce, bounce, bounce. Anyway I ended up in bed Friday afternoon and night in pain. Then the next two days were busy including a return trip to Barcaldine to take the ambulance back on Sunday. Then on Monday there was a car rally in town and Tania Kernagan and John Paul Young were in it, so I just had to go and have a little look didn't I. Well that was the end of me - I spent all afternoon yesterday in bed in pain. OMG I am so over this body, the sooner I can have surgery the better!!!!!!!!!  

Anyway I am feeling better today, so here I am. Now I have abit to get through this week so had better get into it. I have my annotated bibliography for EWU, spreadsheets in CSU and active reading and listening and my information literacy for PSU. I think the annotated bibliography is the most daunting so I am going to tackle that one first.

I have also got a few things on this week including the kids home from school tomorrow for ANZAC day then I have a hair cut on Thurs and Doctors apps on Friday. So I have to juggle the study in between these things. Ok well I had better go and get into it and stop procrastinating.

Have a great day,

talk soon

x joy

Thought I would share a little photo that I took of JPY yesterday - he is very charming and charismatic.
I was singing 'Love is in the air la la la' all after noon hehehe 

Reflection for week 7

Hello and happy Thursday to you.

I am having a good week - I have got all three of my modules wrapped up today. I just have my oral presentation from last week to do tomorrow. So today I am going to do a little reflection on my essay writing. Boy this is a daunting task - not the reflecting but assessment 3 and 4. I understand it but it is still daunting. I have done my first two 'Let's go' activities and have narrowed down my choice of two problems and I think they are waste and water usage (I think - anyway). I am looking forward to stretching my boundaries with this first assessment. You know I never even knew what an annotated Bibliography was until yesterday when I looked it up in the dictionary hehehe. I kind of knew but not properly. Anyway I really like how this assessment is worked into really simple steps to follow cause that is just like me and my to do lists that I write. I work things out into smaller more manageable pieces and then at the end it becomes a bigger piece. 

I have loved Edward de Bono's six hat thinking as well - it does the same thing really - looks at things in smaller pieces rather than the big picture. I can see it will be really useful in all aspects of life. I am looking forward to putting it into practice with the essay.

Here is my own little hat - a pink hat not like de Bono's but a little tiny paper one, measuring about an inch and a half across. I made it a couple of years ago to wear for a best decorated hat competition. Maybe I should make ones in de Bono's colours to remind me of the thinking skills associated with each colour.

 Ok well that is about all for today. It is home time for the boys from school - so I will go and do some Mothering duties. Plus I need to cook some goodies for tomorrow's morning tea.

Have a great day

talk soon

x joy

No crazy distractions today

Hello, happy Tuesday to you,

 I hope you are having a great day.

Mine is running along smoothly unlike yesterday. It is just after 11.00am and I have studied all morning and have completed my Prep module for this week including the information literacy unit 3. So now I can move on to either EWU or COIT. I have an assignment due for COIT on Friday so perhaps I should get that one out of the way first before EWU. Although I think I have completed my power point but I may need to just fine tune it a little. 

I got some more results yesterday and this morning for my Prep and Computer skills and got High Distinction in both - whoooo hoooo, very happy girl again here in Smithville (the happy dance was here again). Remember that Computing Assessment that I uploaded wrong and was stressing over - well that was it - and I still got a HD, mind you I only just scrapped in by the hairs on my chiny chin chin (I don't really have hairs on my chin - I just quoted from the Three Little Pigs). I got 86% so I made it by 1% PHEW.  I made a few errors in both but the feedback I received was really good, so I know what I need to work on.

Added note to say I may only of got a Distinction in Computing - I have just noticed a discrepancy in my marking sheet - so I have emailed my Lecturer. I am still a happy girl anyway - cause I thought I had  stuffed up big time so 84% is still way more than I thought I would get.
(still doing the happy dance)

Ok well you have a great day

talk soon

x joy

And back again

It is now nearly one o'clock and I still haven't done nearly as much as I would of liked. You see the boys left at 8.30am then I ran around and did a little bit of housework before I started study at 9.00am then hubby has been home twice today already. The first time was at 10.30 for morning tea and then he was home at 12.00pm for lunch - URGH. And funnily in between his two visits the phone rang once, I had to chase the dog around the yard because he was going pyshco at another dog, I had to visit the the ladies then I had to go and get a glass of water and a couple of panadol for a headache that was creeping up. How is a girl supposed to get things done?

So now I am not going to get interrupted until 2.30pm although when I think about it - that is only one and a half hours away. Still not enough time to achieve all that I wanted to. But I will stop whining and get on with it hehehe.

Ok well I have travelled back in time and reread my first posts from module 1 and looked at the things that I thought would be hurdles for my study and going by first paragraph some things haven't changed hehe. The things that I thought would be troublesome were procrastination, self motivation and computer Internet problems. I have solved the Internet problems and have upgraded to a new usage plan and gone wireless - which is great. But the old procrastination and self motivation are still showing their ugly heads - although not as much as they were.  I still need to set study time aside - set myself up with water, snacks and panadol, take the phone off the hook or put the answering machine on and tell hubby not to come home as much! That should fix the problem hehe - wish me luck!

I loved the video on procrastination - it is so me.  I do exactly what that little man does. I'll just do this before I do that hahaha. I have so gotta get that under control! Maybe I could use a positive affirmation to help - I can sit and study while ignoring all distractions hehehe. Actually I love positive affirmations and have used them for years. I even made a huge poster full of my favourite ones - but now I wonder where that poster is - it used to hang on my craft room wall, I must have a look for it.

Some techniques that I currently use to relax are unwinding in a lovely bubble bath (ahhhh nothing nicer) and when I am fit and healthy (not just yet) I love spending time working in the garden although at the moment I find just sitting in the garden near my water feature reading is a great way of relaxing. Another technique is putting things into perspective and setting priorities by making lists. I find this really helps - it breaks things up into smaller more manageable tasks. I love crossing things off as I go to see that I am achieving something.

HAHAHAHA best laid plans go astray again. I was all set to study till 2.30pm and now the CQU site is down hehehehe that is good old Murphy's law for you isn't it. So I am going to be super resilient and swap my day around and pop to the shop for some fresh fruit and some dinner now and finish with the study when I get back (if the site is back up again).

Talk soon

 x joy

p.s. Why doesn't Mr Blogger think that my hehehe and hahaha are words - he keeps asking me to change them in spell check - get used to it Mr Blogger - I speak the language of hehehe and hahahaha

Module 7 - Stress management and resilience

Hello again, I'm back as promised. I knew I was going to be journaling and reflecting today - I had a sneak peak at this module last night so I knew what I was doing today. So here we go:

The stress quiz was very accurate for me (at the moment anyway - I wonder if I had done it last week with the video uploading, if it would of come out differently hehe) anyway I got a score of 37 today and it said that I had a good balance which is most of the time for me. I do think that I can cope with stress most of the time - it is just the odd time when things get too much that I don't. So really I think the test was very accurate.

I love the images of 'first world problems' - talk about putting life in perspective. They made me giggle but really when you think about it, we all do it to a degree and it may not seem like it at the time but a majority of our problems are 'first world problems' - just like my 'my video won't upload to youtube' moment.  Really I am lucky that I have a video camera to play with anyway and the computer to try and upload it on and then the electricity to run the computer and the money to afford the electricity and and and . . . . . . . . . . .  I should be thinking of all the things in life that I am grateful for and the learning opportunities that are ahead of me instead of whinging that I can't get something to work for me!

I love the table of managing stress - I think that I will photocopy it and put it above my desk. Don't sweat the small stuff is one that I really like. I have the book Don't sweat the small stuff. . .  and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson (1997) and I read it all the time. It is a great little tool for putting life into perspective - it's just hard remembering it all when you need it most. I really like the idea of putting  strategies into your everyday life that way they are already in place for when you need it. I think I need to do that - perhaps I could include some quiet listening to  music time each day. I also need to set realistic goals for myself - sometimes I expect way too much.

This then brings me to the the Stress is making Australia sick article - very interesting reading. As a society we tend to push ourselves further and higher constantly - this article emphasizes that it is not good for us. We need to take control and find measures to keep our stress under control. One person is only capable of achieving so much within each day and although we need to limit procrastination and time wasting, we need to limit how much we take on in life.

Rather than make this a marathon blog post I am going to finish this one here and start a new post. That way if I am rambling on a bit you can take a break from reading hehehe. Also I need to go back and look at module one now and reflect on what changes that I was going to put into practise and see if I have followed through with those changes.