About me

[Tangliss]

I can't seem to be getting into my work, which is frustrating :roll: I have only just made a start on book 3 for Human Biology & Health, although on a positive front, I've finished book 2 part 2 for Chemistry as well as completing question one on TMA 3! Now I have to make a start on book 3 for that too. If anyone else is doing these subjects with the OU, PM me, as I would love to hear how others are doing.

I called QMC today to find out whether or not my midwife has contacted them. I was told I have a scan booked for 1st June @ 2:00, so Martin has booked the day off work. He also has the 2nd off, so we are going to have a 5 day weeked in two weeks time! I'm a little bit nervous with regards to the scan, as I'm scared they won't be able to see anything or there will be something wrong! I know it's silly, but I can't help feeling like this. At the same time, I'm really looking forward seeing him/her. I remember when I first saw Carter, he was this tiny perfect looking baby, who kicked his legs at us! It made me laugh but also scared me knowing that he was in my belly. It was like a little alien growing inside :wink:

Carter is at nursery this afternoon. I thought he would moan like he usually does when he got there, but he was fine and waved me off with a massive smile on his face. I'm glad he is getting back to his old self as I hate to leave him when he's distressed.

My hayfever has really kicked in this week. The damn grass pollen is out, and boy does my nose know it! I can't stop sneezing and my nose is constantly itching! I have had hayfever since I was 12 months old, and around the age of 12 to 15 it was at its worse. At one point the doctor was going to refer me to an eye specialist as I had to wear sunglasses from the moment I got up until I went to bed, it was so painful. Fortunatly, it's no way like that anymore, now I just suffer with my nose and the odd spout of itchy eyes. I can't wait until the end of June, as that's when I seem to get over it.

Enough of me going on like an old woman :roll: :wink: Back to watching my Yoga for pregnant women dvd, although I can't start it until I'm 14 weeks.

[Tangliss]

British weather, bah! It can never last longer then a few days before it turns sour. My house is back to being cold, and my fingers back to being blue. The sad thing is, it's warmer outside then it is inside, and apart from running up my gas bill, there's nothing I can do about it.

Martin has booked for a skip to arrive next Saturday. I have decided that I want all the crap taken off the drive, which includes a very horrid, old carpet, plus all the other rubbish taken out of the garden. We have a shed full of stuff such as old boxes, chairs and bottles, lets just say that my garden is one big rubbish heap. I have decided that I want to make the garden look nice, and child friendly for Carter. Shelia, the woman next door, says her husband wil help Martin with the garden, yeah right, I bet he does not even know that yet. Martin thinks all these changes I'm inititating is because I'm nesting! Yeah right, surely it's far too early yet. I think the real reason is, apart from OU work and Carter, I have nothing to do in the day, so my mind keeps ticking away thinking what should we do next, how much will it cost, who cares I'm having it anyway :wink:

I have managed to do a few notes for Biology today, which is a lot more then I managed yesterday. I was going to do more Chemistry, but I though sod it, it's Friday.

This weekend is going to be a no spending, relaxing one. I'm just hoping the weather will be good.

Martin will be home soon, he worked an early today, so I better pull my finger out and start dinner.

[Tangliss]

Yesterday, I withdrew my application from UCAS It was a very hard decision to make, considering how much I went through to get a place on a course I wanted to do more then anything, but money wise it just would not work out. Why does living in London have to be so expensive! There is just no way we could afford it on Martins crap wage with two children. The only way it could happen is if we win the lottery, and what are the chances of that!

Today I have been doing my OU work as usual! Got my second TMA back for Chemistry, got 75%. It's not great, but considering I found the polymerization question impossible, I managed to do alright! I really was expecting 50 to 60%, so I can't complain I'm still awaiting my result for TMA 02 for SK220. I am a bit unsure how that went, but have my fingers crossed that I did ok.

After speaking with a very nice lady at the OU a couple of months ago, I decided to call UEA to see what they thought of mature students offering OU qualifications. The guy was really clued up, and a pleasure to talk to, unlike some admissions tutors I have delt with in the past. He informed me that a number of Matures have been accepted onto the 5 year course with OU courses, and from the sounds of mine, would be a good candidate! So I sent him an email with the course descriptions and links to the OU website, and now I am hoping they will be enough to allow me to apply this year.

Going to go and make some lunch. I never used to eat in the day time, but since I became pregnant, I'm always hungry! :?

[Tangliss]

The Speech Therapist came today to see how the Cart is progressing. When she arrived, he was in bed sleeping so I left him there for the duration of her visit. I told her how he has come a long way in a month. He says so many words now compared to none he said a while ago. She seemed quite impressed although I don't think she believed me 100%, and has decided to call his nursery and get their feedback. She added, 'I don't think you are making it up, I just want their opinion'. To that I replied, 'well, I would not make up such a thing, as it was me who arranged for you to come and see Carter in the first place, so I would not lie about his progress' :roll: Ah well, as long as he is making progress, I do't really care!

This week I have contacted Medical schools to get their feedback. I have written a letter to Sheffield University with regads to my OU courses, and have attached print outs about each from the website. I will be posting that first class tomorrow. I also sent an email to Nottingham University, and they advised me to do a degree and apply to their 4 year course, as they don't accept Access courses, A-level retakes, and anything below 85% in the OU courses I have taken or currently taking! Gggrrrrr!

Better go back to my work as I have been very lazy of late.

[Tangliss]

I'm in a good mood today! Just received an email from UEA, informing me of my OU courses, that if passed successfully, will be considered for entry onto their 5 year programme! This is excellent, as it will not limit me to applying to only one university this year! I have also written a letter along with print outs about each of my courses from the OU website to the admissions tutor at Sheffield. When I called them up, yesterday, I was also told I need to send a copy of my CV, so I have been writting that up all morning (lost the other one due to a virus) and have sent it to Martin so he can print it out. Once he gets back, I will be off to the Post Office to mail it first class. I have decided to leave my A-levels off of it, as they are rubbish, and see what they say with regards to my current courses and entry to either their 5 year or Foundation year to medicine. I really want to open up as much avenues as possible.

The skip came this morning. It was going to arrive tomorrow, however, we realised that with all the cars parked on our street on a Sat morning, there would be no way a lorry with a huge skip could make it up our drive. He had problems with it today, and that was with an empty road!

Martin is finishing early today, and I have my Mum coming. So, I am planning on finishing off Chapter 3 for Biology and then spend the rest of the day cleaning the house, while Carter is at nursery.

[Tangliss]

The weekend has been much the same, hot and lazy, well, for me anyway :wink: Martin has spent the past three days clearing out our garden, shed and the rubbish in the house. We have managed to get rid of quite a lot, but will have to get another skip when we decide to do the garden, as there's so my rubbish that will be coming out. I doubt it will ever happen though.

My Mum came on Saturday, and stayed until 6:00pm, which is late for her. The reason, we brought a bottle of white wine, so her a Martin drank that. She would have left about 3:00pm otherwise, as she gets really bored without booze and we always run out of conversation quite quickly.

Diane, the woman down the road, took Carter to the park today along with her children. I must admit, it's really nice of them, and have never met such a friendly neighbourhood in my life.

Tomorrow I have my scan at 2:00pm, which I'm both nervous and excited about. It will be the first time I will be baby number 2, this time I'm going to get some scan pictures, as I never asked for any at Carter's 12 week+ scan.

I keep on checking the UCAS website to see if the 2005 forms are out yet. This time I have decided to get my form in as early as possible, as last time it was all left to the last second, forcing me to post my application Special Delivery in order to get it in on the 14th October. My last referee said he would do it again, and I am also going to get an academic one from the OU.

Speaking of the OU, I have signed up for a level 2 course starting in October, it's from the Health Studies section, (K260) Death & dying. Sounds morbid, but I think it looks really interesting. I am still waiting on my registration forms for (SD226) Biological Psychology-Exploring the Brain, however that does not start until next Feb, so I have loads of time.

I will probably write again tomorrow, with details of my scan.

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[Tangliss]

Yesterday, I received some forms to fill in from the OU for SD226, with regards to financial support. It's totally changed, as before, the OU decided whether or not one needs to pay for thier course, but now it looks as though it goes through the SLC, and there's a max amount students are entitled to, £575. I really don't want to apply through the SLC as I only want to ask them for help again once I start doing a medical degree. I already owe them over £10,000, and I don't want to keep adding more to it, especially as I might not get in until 2006, so will be charged £3000 tuition fees. I'm not sure what to do as I can't afford to pay for the new courses I have choosen. I'm going to have to find out more about this change.

I decided to start a level one Maths course with the Open University, which starts this October. I really want to apply to UEA's 5 year course, as I would love to get my teeth stuck right into medicine. The problem is they ask for GCSE or equivalent grades, in English and Maths at grades B. I'm fine when it comes to English, however I only got a grade C in Maths, and feel this may hinder my application. The OU course looks really good, it's basically a maths refresher, and I think it would look good on my UCAS application.

I am still awaiting my SK220 result for TMA 02. I'm getting worried as I have been reading the OU conferences and a lot of tutors have deducted marks for one of the questions, as unlike us, it seems that many of them were not informed of the word limit change a month before it had to be in, an increase from 300 to 600 words. So I am hoping my tutor is clued up about the change, as I need all the marks I can get :wink:

Enough about the OU! Now Scan time! Yesterday, Martin, Carter and I went to QMC, and I was seen by a midwife just after 2:00pm. I was really nervous, however, unlike last time when they turned the screen away from me, the screen was left so I could see it. She found baby 2 straight away! He/she was a blob on the screen, so the midwife enhanced the resolution, and there was my baby!!! He/she was so perfect, and very active! I saw it's heart beating strong and fast, and at one point he waved at us. He/she kept on moving around, one min he was facing us, the next I could see it's spine, then as one point he was facing downwards. I could not believe that 'thing' was in me, it felt strange. Afterwards we got a couple of scan piccys and I was told that I was 13 weeks pregnant, which I knew I was right about, as my midwife calculated I was more advanced then that, but mothers know best :wink: He/she will be due 7th December, which is great as it leaves a little gap between it's birth and Carter's birthday, plus babies always tend to be late!

Clarkey, I was lucky, as I did not need to drink too much water before the scan, and I'm glad. Once the start pressing in your tummy, the first thing you want to do is wee :lol: I was glad when I got out so I could go to the toilet.

Better stop writing and get dressed! Martin has a test a Yorkshire Bank today, 10 to 11, so I better help him out before he goes.

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[Tangliss]

Today, is so boring! Plus the weather is crap so don't feel like going outside.

Martin has just popped to the shop while the Cart is in bed having a nap. A gardener was meant to come around at 12:00pm, but there was a no show :x I waited until 1:15pm, then phoned to see what the heck was going on! He answered and said he was 'up a tree', telling me he had totally forgotten about the time. I will give him up a tree :roll: The least he could of done was called, I find that both rude and irritating! He is now coming at 4:15pm, that's if he bothers to get down form the damn tree and drive to ours!

On Thursday, another gardener came to give us a quote on the garden. He said he could to it for around £1000, which is excellent considering how much needs doing! I really think I will take him up on his offer, as he is both cheap and the design he has suggested sounds really nice. I'm just waiting to see what this other clown suggests today, then make my mind up. To pay for it I have taken a small loan with Barclays, which I applied for and it was also approved, today! I am just going to have to wait for he paper work to arrive, before it all goes into my account. If I do choose the first gardener, he said he will be able to start the first week of July, so we will have the rest of the summer with a nice garden to sit in, plus it will be child friendly, so we wo't have to worry about Carter escaping.

My TMA for SK220 (Human Health & Biology) still has not come!!! I'm getting worried, as I have been reading the conferences on the OU website and it seems like everyone has had their mark back! What's even more worrying is that loads of people have said they have just about scraped a mark over 40%, while others have said that it is the worst mark they ever received for a TMA, and these people have done 3 to 4 years worth of courses! I really need to get the highest possible grades, in order to stad any hope of getting into Medical School.

Talking of Med school, today, I ordered my UCAS form for 2005 entry. The forms won't be posted until 14th June, but at least this time around I have loads of time to get it in before the deadline.

I will leave the blog here for now.

x

[Tangliss]

What a hot day! Too hot to do anything, plus my nose is sore as I can't stop sneezing due to my stupid hayfever! I think there should be a law against people cutting grass during the 2-3 weeks of grass pollen season! When it's nice like this, I decide to sit in the conservatory with the doors wide open while watching the Cartman. Then out of the blue, a flipping lawnmower starts going, I start sneezing, the next thing I know, my eyes are streaming and I'm running for the Optrex! Then, as soon as I go inside to recover, the lawnmower stops :roll: until the next time I decide to brave it.

Martin took the day off work, today, as this morning Carter was really hot and puked up on my new clean bed sheets, which caused some concern, as he does not tend to get sick that often. I was really lucky when he was a baby, as he hardly got sick, unlike me throughout the first trimester of my pregnancy. Anyway, I thought we should take him to the Doctors, and as I am housebound, due to my hayfever and the Doctors is miles away, Martin said he would take him. Come 9:00am, Carter was his usual self, so we ended up not taking him, as I knew all the Doctor would say was to give his plenty of fluids and Calpol to soothe him temperature.

I have tired to finish off my TMA 03 for ST240. I'm really enjoying this one, which is a shock as me and Chemistry are not the best of friends. I am hoping to get it in this week, so I have the next four weeks to concentrate entirley on Biology. Talking about that, I still have not received my second TMA, so I sent my tutor an email to ask if she had received it. I was informed that I should receive it by tomorrow, now I'm really nervous about it, due to the low marks loads of people have been getting. I read on the OU conference, today, that another person scrapped 40% :shock:

Martin was told he passed that test for Yorkshire Bank, and so will be invited to an interview. He has also been offered an interview at Derby Royal Infirmary next Tuesday, which is great news.

Enough of me boring the hell out of people

x

[Tangliss]

Despite being told by my tutor for SK220 (Human Biology & Health) that my TMA should reach me by Tuesday, I still have not received it!!! It's starting to p*ss me off somewhat, as practically everyone else has received theirs, some up to three weeks ago! I really want to know my score, as I am really nervous due to the low pass rates people have been getting!

I have had really bad hayfever this whole week. Monday and Tuesday nights were the worst, as I could not breath out of my nose and found it impossible to sleep! My eyes have been really really bad, so much so that I have been unable to go outside and Martin has taken the week off work to look after the Cart.

I called up Sheffield Admissions, today, so see whether or not they have made a decision on my OU courses and entry to either their 5 year or Foundation course to medicine. I was told that they are on a training course this afternoon, so I will call them on Monday instead.

I have been addicted to Ebay all this week. I have managed to buy a couple of DVD's, a game and a VCR. Martin has spent a small fortune on there too!

Best be off as Martin has just got back from Tesco.

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