Cindy Downes

May. 13, 2008 - My First CLEP test

Today, I took my first CLEP test and passed! That was quite an experience. I was nervous. The test center was confused about what I could or could not take which caused confusion. And the test was a lot harder than I thought it would be! But I passed, so that's one less class I have to take. It would have cost me about $600 in tuition and textbooks and three months of classes. Instead, I paid $65 for the test and $20 for tutoring. Well worth the stress! If you want to read more about my college adventures and CLEP testing, check out my College Blog.

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Feb. 10, 2008 - New Blog: Weigh Downes

I've started a new blog to try to encourage myself (and anyone else who wants to join me) to eat better, exercise, and stay healthy. I've gained a lot of weight since my operation, especially these last months going to college, and I don't feel good anymore. I'm out of breath, my feet hurt, and generally in bad health. So, I'm going to blog about my road back to good health. If anyone is interested, view my "Weigh Downes" blog. I'd love to have some company!

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Jan. 9, 2008 - New Photo

Well, I had to put up a new photo of myself as the other one was years ago when I was a lot slimmer! I've gained a lot of weight in the past few years from lack of exercise and eating out too much. So, now you see the "current" me! (Of course, you'll notice I'm sitting in my new sunroom!)

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Jan. 8, 2008 - I passed . . .

I passed my Language Exam! I am SO relieved. During the last six months, I've brought my horrible GPA (from the '70s) up to 2.54, completed my course requirements, and passed the entrance exam with an 84. Not bad for age 58! Now, I'm officially a Journalism/Public Relations student at OSU. I'm going to go celebrate!

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Jan. 5, 2008 - My new study room . . .

I forgot to tell you all that we built this beautiful sunroom onto the back of our house so that I can study in peace. Here is a photo:

I LOVE this room. We have all kinds of critters that visit - birds, squirrels, muskrats, and raccoons. The beavers who have taken up residence in the drainage ditch behind the back yard are becoming a nuisance - they've build a dam which block the the ditch. I've always wanted a river or pond - well, I now have one - thanks to the beavers!

Anyway, I had a Christmas party here last night and it is decorated all Christmasy. I might take it down sometime this month! Right now, all I want to do is sit here and watch the birds as I take a study break!

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Jan. 5, 2008 - Language Exam

School has definitely started for me. I went to my adviser Wednesday and discovered that I have to take my journalism Language Exam on Monday. This will decide if I get into journalism/public relations or have to change my major!

Anyway, I've been studying all day, but I needed to take a break so I thought I'd check on some of my blogging pals. Wish me luck on the test!

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Sep. 7, 2007 - Empty Nest Mom Heads to College on Good Morning America

You can now see the video on the ABC Web site.

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Aug. 30, 2007 - Empty Nest Mom on Good Morning America . . .

Yesterday was a red-letter day for Empty Nest Mom. At 5:45 a.m., the producer (Holly Sweet) and the video crew for a segment on Good Morning America showed up at my door and proceeded to follow me around all day! The feature will air on September 7th on ABC's Good Morning America. Check your TV listings for time. (They did tell me that because it is a "feature," it would be the first thing dropped in event of a big news story; therefore, I should continue watching until it comes on. Sometimes it takes weeks and in rare cases, even dropped totally.)

So how did I get this "movie star" treatment? Ladies Home Journal and Good Morning America were cooperating in a effort to do a story on the increasing number of boomer women who are going back to college. In the process of researching, they ran across my blog, "Empty Nest Mom Goes to College."

I was contacted by email several weeks ago and interviewed over the phone. I had a delightful talk with Emily Bond and Lorraine Glennon of Ladies Home Journal, but it appeared that I did not quite fit the criteria that the company had decided on - a boomer woman who had one career and later went back to college to retrain for another. I prompted forgot about it and continued my busy life.

Then, on Tuesday am (Aug 28), I received a phone call from Maureen White, a producer for ABC. She explained that they had decided my story was one of the ones that they wanted to tell. She went on to explain how they would follow me around on campus all day and do a sit-down interview. Then came the bombshell - they were coming tomorrow (Wednesday-Aug 29)! As you can imagine, I had very little sleep on Tuesday night!

So, at 5:45 a.m., August 29, my "claim to fame" began. Holly first explained how the day would work then I was wired for sound. They videotaped me eating breakfast, packing my books, driving to college, walking on campus, studying in the library, and in my classrooms. They interviewed my classmates and "listened in" while three of us chatted over lunch. We drove over to OSU-Tulsa and did the "sit-down" interview.

At the end of the day, they even followed me to Panera Bread on 15th & Utica, where I met up with my daughter, Shelly, to discuss our day at school.

It was a long, tiring day but very fun! The ABC crew was wonderful - they were friendly and easy to work with. I can't say enough about how much they made the day one I will never forget. If you are interested and get a chance, be sure to tune in to see how it turned out.

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Jul. 28, 2007 - College at 57 - Finished Round 1!

I just completed my my first semester back at college! I got A's in both Speech AND College Algebra! Not bad for an age 57, tired, rusty brain!

I really enjoyed my classes but did I learn some things about college life. I'll be posting my first "exposé" on my Empty Nest Mom goes to College in the next week.

I have a lot of catching up to do - a newsletter to get out to all my subscribers, some editing work on my Oklahoma History Online curriculum, housework and gardening to catch up, and I'm going on a mini-celebration vacation with my daughter, Shelly. We're going to Dallas together and shop til we drop and eat!

She and I are going back to college at the same time. How fun is that! She is 30 and quit college her first time through just as I did. The main difference is that she has a 3.6 GPA and I have a 2.1 GPA from my old college years. Suffice it to say that I have a lot of A's to get to catch up! Especially since I have 94 credits already! (Only 48 of them count towards my major in Journalism. Tell that to your kids who want to quit too soon!)

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Jun. 10, 2007 - My Garden

I just took pictures of my Earth Box Garden to show you how it is progressing:

The tall one is tomatoes. The 2nd earthbox is squash and you can barely see the peppers in the background.

Close up of the tomatos.

Peppers

No squash yet!

This is the first garden I've planted since I was a kid so I'm really excited. However, I've already had ants attack my peppers (found out I had aphids) and some of my tomatoes have blossom end rot. I didn't mix the dolomite in well enough I guess. Hopefully I will get to eat some of this before the critters do!

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May. 16, 2007 - Earth Box

I decided to try gardening again by using the Earth box and I am IMPRESSED! I bought a complete kit with staking system to plant tomatoes. I had bought four different tomato plants on April 15th. Two I planted in the front garden and two in the Earthbox. They were all the same size when I planted them. Now, the ones in the front garden are a bit taller and starting to blossom. The ones in the Earthbox are huge! They have grown two and one half feet taller and already I have some very tiny tomatoes! I'll take pictures one of these days and show you. In the meantime, if you have a brown thumb like I do, you might want to try The Earthbox. I am ordering two more! Website: The Earthbox

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May. 10, 2007 - EmptyNestMom Goes to College

I've started a new blog to keep you up to date on my college adventures. I'll not only tell you about my adventures finishing my degree, but I'll give you a peak at the current state of a public college and how you might prepare your child for higher education. Check it out at: EmptyNestMom Goes to College.

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May. 6, 2007 - Berry Pickin'

It's here (or coming soon) - berry picking time! This is one of my favorite times of the year. Fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and more. For a list of berry farms around the country, check out this link: Pick Your Own.

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May. 2, 2007 - I'm going back to College!

Yes, after 32 years I am finally going to go back and finish my college degree and my daughter is going to go with me! Won't that be fun! She already has a GPA that is way higher than mine! I currently have 94 credits but I discovered that only 48 of them will actually count towards my degree. I also have to make us some lower level courses that I never took such as College Algebra, Calculus, and Statistics - UGH! I figured out that I will be 62 when I graduate! Pray for me!

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Apr. 21, 2007 - Not moving!

I'm not moving after all! We looked and looked but finally came to the decision that here is where we are going to stay. We're just too old to move! So, now after two potential moves, I'm finally settling back into my home in Broken Arrow. I think I'll build on a porch!

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