All of my friends and colleagues know that I’ve obtained my Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees from schools that offered online programs. In addition, I’m currently in the process of earning my Master’s, and am doing that online as well — even though I have plenty of “bricks and mortar” educational institutions in my area. I just happen to appreciate the advantages of an online university, which include flexible scheduling and competitive tuition prices.

I’ve done a lot of research into online degree programs, and one of the schools that I recommend most often is Western Governors University. WGU is fully-accredited, has a solid reputation for academic excellence, and has the personnel in place to deliver a quality educational experience to nontraditional students. This is true whether you’re interested in an online nursing degree, business degree, education degree, or any other program the school offers.

It takes a lot more than a high school diploma to advance your career. If you’re serious about success, be sure to check out the online degrees offered by Western Governors University. Investing in your own future is never the wrong decision!

I thought I would be able to get far more work done now that I’m on break for school, but that hasn’t been the case at all. In fact, I think I’m getting less done now than when I had three grad school classes to attend to as well as my regular work and family commitments. What is up with that? I think I need some project management software to keep me on schedule during the daytime. Otherwise, I just while away the hours on Facebook, watching DVDs, or replaying highlights of the Blackhawks games.

Speaking of… how about those Hawks!! What an incredible game last night, coming behind from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to take a 4-2 lead on Nashville in the third period — only to give up that lead with 3 minutes left in the game, and then win it on Patrick Kane’s 15th goal of the season at 19:17. Wow! This team is for real, and is truly the only bright spot on the Chicago sports landscape.

Go HAWKS!

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Well, another scary airline incident is going to result in increased security once again. This time, a 23-year-old Nigerian man named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to ignite some sort of explosive on Northwest Flight 253 as the plane was arriving in Detroit from Amsterdam. Details of what officials are calling an attempted terrorist attack are still a bit sketchy, but apparently Abdulmutallab tried to ignite a powdered explosive called PETN with some sort of chemical that was possibly injected via syringe.

A preliminary explosion did in fact take place, but passengers quickly jumped on Abdulmutallab to prevent any further damage. Several people were treated for burns related to the incident.

Well it’s going to be interesting to see where this investigation leads. Abdulmutallab says he was acting on orders from Al-Qaeda, which has fueled speculation that this could have been a test of both the explosive device and airport security.

Thank god he didn’t succeed.

(AP Photo)

Have you ever wondered what the most valuable college football teams in the nation are? I have. There’s never been a doubt that college sports generate millions for their universities, but some of these numbers are still very surprising. These values are based on a formula that takes into account things like alumni donations, ticket sales, and sponsorships. The “profit” is how much the school has left over after running the football program. This money is usually used for academics and other scholarships at the school.

1. Texas Longhorns: Value, $119 million; Profit, $59 million
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Value, $108 million; Profit, $38 million
3. Penn State Nittany Lions: Value, $99 million; Profit, $50 million
4. Nebraska Cornhuskers: Value, $93 million; Profit, $49 million
5. Alabama Crimson Tide: Value, $92 million; Profit, $38 million

I think my 12-year-old Miniature Dachshund is dying. He has been very sluggish for the past couple of weeks, and hasn’t been eating well. Also, he doesn’t bark/go crazy when someone rings the doorbell or when my husband comes home from work — two things that he has consistently done since he was a pup. I have a terrible feeling that the end is near.

Things have been crazy because of Christmas, but I’m going to take him to the vet just as soon as I can for a checkup to make sure that he’s not sick with something that can be cured with some medicine (I know in my heart that this is not the case, though). Then I’m going to bring him back home and make him as comfortable as possible for as many days as he has left.

Crap, I’m tearing up just thinking about this.

I don’t even know why I bother. It was just more of the same godawful crap from the Bears today. I’m getting tired of repeating myself, so I won’t. Final score: Ravens 31, Bears 7.

(Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

Have you heard about this yet? I was just checking some news sites this morning when I saw an article about the Auschwitz sign being stolen Friday night. The police have no leads at the moment, but are said to be tightening border security to try to make sure the sign doesn’t get out of the country. Apparently, the thief or thieves just came in and took the iron sign down (the one that says, “Arbeit Macht Frei”, or work makes you free) while security guards were patrolling a different area of the compound.

WTF could anyone do with a sign like that? They can’t very well display it. And would anyone even try buying it on the black market? This makes no sense to me.