It's my own fault :(

Hey everybody,

Let me just go ahead and say it.. I have to retake Theory 1. Yes, I didnt get enough homeowkr turned in, so now I have to retake the class. Honestly, I cant be mad at anyone but myself. I really do want to be a court reporter soo--o bad. But life--life just gets in the way. So, I dont have any excuses, I just have to take it over. And yes, I am paying out of pocket. UUggh!! Im so-oo angry at myself, but I cant cry over spilled milk, huh? Im trying to look on the bright side, I will know my Theory, really, really well. I figure, I can make up for lost time in speedbuilding. I know I can! Well, classes start Monday and of course, Im not excited as I was in the beginning. But, I know this is what I want to do, and like I said, its my own fault. So, Im getting back on the horse and this time Im staying on it.

Another shocker, my mentor is getting married and moving!! She is moving all the way to Washington. So, my plan of action is to spend as much time shadowing her as possible. I would really love to work for a firm part time, so Im currently looking. I cant believe she is leaving me!! But, Im soo happy for her :) My mentor is awesome! I met her when I was a flight attendant, and we just happened to be sitting next to each other. We didnt start talking until the plane was about to land, and the rest is history. She sponsored me when I joined the State association. She gave me a machine! She is just awesome, and I wish her the absolute best!!

What else? My baby is wonderful, she is almost standing up on her own. Time is just flying, she will be a year old in 2 months. She is my main motivation to finish school. I want to be able to spend more time with her and to afford all of her activities. I'm going to try and update this more, but you know, I say that all of the time :)

So...keep me in your prayers, and I will do the same :)

Hello world!!

   I know! I know! It takes me forever to update my blog. Im going to do better, but I say that all the time. However, Im going to try. So, updates... I still work at the college, just moved to a campus closer to home! YAY!!! Babygirl is almost 10 months old. She is growing up so fast, she can almost stand up by herself without holding onto anything. Today is my final exam at CCR. I still love CCR with a passion. Im guilty of not putting in the practice that I should. I have promised myself that Im going to do so much better next semester. I woke up this morning at 5:30 to get in some practice. I have to make sure that my Theory is solid. HAVE TO!!! I have a metronome, I have plenty of study material. I just have to buckle down and find the time, or use my time wiser. So I have decided to start getting up almost an hour earlier and get some quality practice in. I start my las Theory class in a couple of weeks. Im excited! I will be speedbuilding by the end of the year..Yipppee!!! I would really just love to go to school full time and be a stay at home mom. Maybe if I think positive and pray really hard, my prayers will be answered.  :) I just want this soo-oo bad, and I know its going to be an uphill battle. But I am up for the challenge. Sometimes, I wish that I would have gone to CR school straight out of high school. No loans, no debt, just a working reporter. But everything happens for a reason, right? As always, I have to mention my favorite groups on Facebook. Encouraging Court reporting students. Love, love, love this group!! Its always so encouraging to see all the people passing tests, and graduating. I will be there one day. Maybe next year :) Well, thats it for now. Im at work, its summer registration here. Love you all!

I've stayed away too long, again.

Hey everyone~

Let me update y'all! So, my Theory class was scheduled to start on January 17th. On January 17th, it was ..CANCELLED!! It was cancelled due to low enrollment, apparently, a class has to have 5 or more students for it to continue. I was so dissapointed! I actually cried when I got home from work. So I posted on facebook, and recieved so much encouragement from everyone. So...I dusted my self off and started searching for other possibilities. My teacher emailed me and said that she is going to offer the class again in August. August?!?!? I guess I could have waited until August, but I didnt. I was tired of waiting. So I asked around, did some research and now I enrolled at the college of Court Reporting. I love it!!! I had heard so many positive things, so I decided to go for it!! So far so good :) My teacher is great! She actually called me, to check on me. WOW! However, I did start off with Phoenix theory, and the school teaches the moody method, but it seems similar. I dont think I will have any problems. I am so motivated to do this!! Also, I got an alert on my phone from the discussion board for school. A graduate student was selling some of her stuff. I immediately contacted her and now I have Mark's Theory book, 20-30 tapes/CDs, and some Briefs books coming. What a blessing?!? I am setting myself up for success. You know, everything happens for a reason. What if my class hadnt been cancelled? But maybe Theory 2 wouldnt have had enough students, or my speed building class wasnt full. I would be at a stand still again. God works in mysterious way :) So maybe by the middle or end of the year, I will be in speed building class. This goal is achievable, with hard work and discipline.

Oh, I cannot express how great the court reporting groups on facebook are :) I am in a bunch of them, but all are so helpful and encouraging. Honestly, my groups are the only reason that I even get on facebook anymore.

I am going to try very hard to keep my blog updated. maybe this can be encouragement to other students, and when I become a court reporter, I can look back and see how far I have come.

So keep checking back. And I'll keep writing :) No matter how it looks, the glass is always half full!! My glass runneth over at the moment..lol

Still Here :)

Hey everyone~

   Even though school hasnt started back for me yet, Im still reading blogs, websites and practicing on my machine. I have come to the realization that there are not enough hours in the day..lol. So I try to practice for a few minutes before I leave for work, it might only be 10-15 minutes, but I try. Then, after I get the baby to bed I practice for a few good hours. However, once school starts back next month I will set my alarm to wake up 2 hours early to ensure that I get some focused practice before work. I've been really trying to get my Theory down so I can be ahead or at least wont struggle once I get in class. I just checked my Theory class roster and its only myself and one other student. As long as they dont cancel my class, I am completely fine with that.

   Oh! I am in soo-oo many groups on facebook that encourage and support court reporters and students and sooo many people are passing tests and certifications. I am so happy for everyone! When I get a chance I will list all of the groups I am in, so you all can join. YIPPEE!!  I cant wait until I am posting about my progress. I also figured that even when I dont have anything to write about I will try to find something motivational to post or say. I'm also loving watching all the youtube vidoes of court reporting students and their journey. I was thinking about doing my own videos, but like I said there are not enough hours in the day anymore..lol. If I get a chance, I might try and do a couple of videos every now and then ;)

          Hope everyone has a happy and safe holidays :)

Rookie writer signing off :)

I'm still here, I promise.

Hey everybody,

As you can tell, I took another break. Well, during the break my babygirl was born. YAY!! She is now 3 months old (Time flies) and I have gotten use to motherhood. So, its time for school. I will be in Theory 1 starting in January. I can't wait!! I'm in so many facebook groups its crazy. Im constantly on depoman.com, readback.org, of course my blogs and NCRA's site. I'm going to start practicing my theory again, in hopes that I can pass through quickly. I have to be honest and say that the world of captioning has caught my eye. So we will see which route I will go when I get to that point. But until then, I have to practice, practice, practice. I think Im going to use Mark's suggestion and practice 3 times a day, no matter what. Writing short is important so Im going to start my brief dictionary. Im preparing and planning. I'm going to do my best to update this as much as possible. Hope everyone is well out there.

Side bar: I cant believe the holidays are right around the corner. Yikes!!

Here is my love bug :)

Rookie writer signing off!!

New Purchase

Hey everyone~

So my wonderful fiance was on craigslists and found someone selling their court reporting books. So of course I had to have a few items, since they were super cheap. So now I have Phoenix fast track book, Phoenix reading practice, and a Phoenix speed building book. Yippeee!! All weekend I have been practicing on my theory and reading. Unfortunately, the lady who I purchased the books from was a former student from my school. She said that she had been in the program 4 years and made it to the 180s speed. Practice! Practice! Practice! That's all she stressed for the few minutes we met. So every night before bed I read a little bit and practice. Im super motivated!!! Here is a picture of the books she was selling. Oh! and she gave me some speed building tapes for free :) Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It was super hot here, like 95! Plus me being 7 months pregnant doesnt help. But now I am addicted to all of my court reporting facebook groups, I am constantly checking them, so everyone go join! Well, keep practicing :)

It's the weekend!!!!!!!

    Good morning everyone!! My life hasnt gotten too exciting yet, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am still here. School starts on the 29th, and I cant wait! I miss being in school, maybe I'm just anxious to get moving again on the court reporting path. So I looked today and there are currently only 3 people in my Theory 1 class (including me). I am ok with that, maybe more individualized attention..lol..which means that I will be held accountable.
     In other news, I spoke with my mentor a few weeks back and asked her how the industry was doing. She told me that things had slowed down a little bit but she still managed to earn over 100k last year. So, you know what I was thinking.."Well, if thats slow, Im okay with that!" That reminds me, i would like to give a shoutout to my wonderful mentor, Monna. She is the absolute best!! I will have to write a blog on how we met, its one of those..Everything happens for a reason, God works in mysterious ways type of thing. But she lets me know about all scholarships, she was my sponsor when I joined TNCRA, and I can shadow her anytime I want to. And it doesnt hurt that she has some of the highest credentials in my city. woot*woot*
    Well, I'm still reading blogs and checking out CSR nation almost daily. I love reading about people's progress and accomplishments. I cant wait! I guess I should get back to work, its almost registration time here at the college and since I am a financial aid specialist, business is about to start picking up. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I'm technically a mother too huh? So this is my first year celebrating this holiday. YAY!!
  I'll write again soon!!
Buh Bye!!