Gradumacated

I can hardly believe that my time as a student is over! There are a few things that I will miss about going to BYU, but honestly, I couldn’t be happier about life right now. I was really scared about the job hunting thing, but things fell into place miraculously and I’ve already started training for a new job as an Activities Director for some assisted living facilities. I’m really jazzed about it, and I think that this job will bring me a lot of joy. I start doing that full-time on Monday!

The two days of graduation ceremonies were honestly amazing. It was such a great experience to go through the whole graduation process and “walk” and celebrate! It gave me a chance to reflect on my time at BYU, and especially to think about those in my life who made graduation possible. My parents gave me a lot of financial support, but even more, they gave me emotional support as I went through the college process. They’re encouragement means a lot to me! I’m also super grateful to my siblings for their example and their support in coming to my boring graduation (minus Jeffrey, but I still love him). I’m especially grateful for Kevin and his encouragement and support! I couldn’t have done it without him!

I’m so glad that I’m not a student anymore!! I’m so excited to see where life takes me in this next year while Kevin finishes his schooling. Life is lovely!

today i'm a negative nancy

I've had a lot of random thoughts bouncing around in my head the past couple of days. I thought maybe I would get them out here, and maybe then I'll stop fixating on them.

*Saving Mr. Banks. I cannot stop thinking about that movie. So good.

*I sincerely hope that Kevin never becomes an alcoholic

*Let's be real. Kevin is the greatest husband ever.

*All I want to do is be done with school so I can deep clean and reorganize our apartment

*I am not thrilled that we have to move in June (more on that to come)

*How can I make this giant ball of panic in my chest go away?

*Infant Development paper. 10 pages of Infant Development paper. Gah.

*I wish I had already written my Infant Development paper.

*Crap. I'm way behind on my Internship hours. I am not excited to make up those puppies.

*I feel like if I'm not in class I am constantly doing internship hours or work hours. Which doesn't make sense because I do most of my work in class.

*I wish so much that I hadn't forked over 200$ on textbooks. I stopped reading them during week 2.

*I was done with this semester before it even started.

Sorry blog readers, that was a stream of fairly negative thought processes. Life is good in general, it really really is. I'm just incredibly excited to graduate.

Some thoughts about the semester so far

Well, we're about a month into the semester. I'm super surprised by how this semester is going. Let's just say that things have not gone at all like I thought they would. I've had to make some major adjustments and I've learned some things about my ability to function during winter semester. I'm kind of shocked by how different this semester is going than last semester. Even though life is pretty much the same as it was during the fall, I seem to have lost my ability to do a lot of things. For example:

Last semester I was a boss at working out. I had a rocking work-out schedule and I stuck to it with no exceptions.
This semester I have been so lazy, especially since my race. I told myself that it was just because I needed to rest and recover, but it's gone past that. Even when I go to the gym I just do 30 minutes on the elliptical and then leave. And most of the days lately, I just haven't worked out at all. I miss it. I can feel it. I feel yucky.

Last semester I did super well at keeping the apartment clean. Not perfect, but for the most part I felt like everything was in order.
This semester I feel like I cannot keep up with the housework. The laundry is always overflowing, the dishwasher is always packed and dirty, I never ever vacuum because it just feels too hard. Kevin has had to help me keep things clean way more than he should (the boy is taking 18 credits of chemical engineering, he should not be worrying about helping me with chores).

Last semester I stayed so on top of my schoolwork. I (almost) always did my readings and my assignments well ahead of time, and I was super motivated to get homework done before I did anything else.
This semester I keep getting super overwhelmed by what I have to do and to cope with it I just pretend like I don't have to do anything and I watch a movie or read a book instead. Just to be clear, I really don't have that much to do. I do have more going on than I did in the fall, but it's not that much more. For some reason  I just can't bring myself to do it. I haven't been doing any of the readings for my classes (which makes the 200$ I spent on textbooks really redundant!).

Last semester I had so much energy and I felt like I could do anything and everything.
This semester I feel tired all.the.time (and no, I'm not pregnant).

Senoritis? Seasonal Depression? Who knows?

The good news here is that even though the semester has been kind of cruddy so far, it is in my ability to change things. This week has been slightly better because I've made a couple of changes. The biggest thing is that I've changed my work-out time. So far this semester I've tried to do it in the middle of the way when I have time, but that has NOT been working. So from now on, I'll be working out in the mornings (I'm such a morning person). I"m sure this will help things a lot.

Something else I'm going to change is my attitude. Instead of saying "what is my problem?? Last semester I was doing fine, why am I such a failure this semester?" I'll say, "today was really hard, and there are some things that I can just let slide. Tomorrow's a new day and I'm ready to try again."

12 weeks left of this semester. I can do it. I may not do it well, but I will do it and I will pass all of my classes (hopefully).

beginning of the end

I'm the type of person that requires rituals when I change phases of life.
I need to recognize the "lasts" and the "firsts" and I love to do so.
Sunday I had my last ever back-to-school blessing (unless I end up doing grad school which is not in the plan right now). It's true that I'll always ask Kevin for a husbands blessing when he does back-to-school blessings for our kids, but this was the last one for me as a student.
Yesterday was my last first day of classes.
I chose out my last ever first day of school outfit.
I took my last back-to-school picture.
This will be the last semester of carrying an ugly backpack around for most of my time.
It will be the last semester of changing into my gym clothes in the bathroom in between classes so I can work out.
There will come a time when I write my last papers, and take my last finals.
Oh so many lasts are approaching.
No matter how excited I am to finish something, I always feel a little sad about all the "lasts."
I was SO excited to transfer to BYU and leave BYU-Idaho, but I still cried when I said goodbye.
Even though I really did not love my job making traffic sensors, there was still a sense of loss when I turned in my badge and left for the last time.
I feel the same way now, and I know this feeling will be magnified in four months when graduation day is here.
But I've learned that when something ends, something new immediately begins, and those beginnings are so exciting.
While there are so many lasts in my near future, there are also so many firsts.
First day at a new job,
First time in my life when school isn't the focus,
And so many more.
I'm so excited about the firsts.
And I'm excited about the lasts too.

where we're at.

It's finals time.
Apparently this means that showering is a super low priority,
That getting out of bed is impossible,
That we eat banana bread and Chick-fil-a and not much else,
That I wear workout clothes under my pants,
And that our apartment looks like a bomb of messiness went off.

I'll be done by this time tomorrow, Kevin will finally finish on Friday morning.
Maybe we'll emerge then.

I wish we were snuggling right now

The one downside to having such an incredible Thanksgiving Break is that it makes getting back into the swing of things super hard. I only had one class today but it was still hard. Poor Kevin woke up at 3:15 this morning and couldn't fall back to sleep so he got up and did homework. He has five classes today, so let's just say it's been rough.
The semester is wrapping up fast. It's good and bad because it means that soon this semester will be over and we can have a longer break, but it also means that everything is due in the next two weeks. Boo to that.
Really all I want to do is crochet scarves and watch movies.
Oh, and snuggle my handsome husband.

I seriously love everything about this sweet boy. How cute is he though? So cute.

tips on how to not be the worst professor ever.

Have you ever had a professor that assigned the most ridiculous, non-useful, time-consuming assignments?
Yeah I'm in the middle of that right now.
The first half of the semester had zero assignments, and then one day it was like "oh by the way, your first annotated bibliography is due in two days. There are a million asinine technical requirements about stuff that totally doesn't matter, and each one is going to take you at least an hour. Only one is due in two days so I can tear it apart but after that you are welcome to turn the rest in early. There will be ten total and they are all due at the same time."
So,  here I am, almost three hours in and I have one more assignment.
Oh, but that's only to fulfill the requirement for what's due tomorrow. Four of them are due tomorrow. I still have five more to do.
My brain is heavy from reading and summarizing studies about children's play.
Oh, and at the end of the semester I'll have a seven page research paper in which I have to somehow tie together all ten bibliographies that I summarized. How backwards.

There are some people who should not be teachers. Being an incredibly boring speaker, never varying your lectures and giving the WORST assignments ever is a fast way to make people hate you.
Just so you all know.

falling in my lap

It's so funny how things just happen that you have no control over isn't it?
I just registered for my last semester of college. Three weeks ago, I was planning on taking 4 classes which would only be 12 credits, I was NOT going to do an internship, and I was going to just work less than 10 hours a week. I was going to keep it as easy as possible.
Then I found out that I was two credits short and that I have to take another class in order to graduate.
Then I found out about an internship that was too perfect to pass up.
Then I found out that that internship is only one credit, when I need three to graduate.
Then I found out about another internship that I can do online, and do as many credits as I want.
Then my boss asked me to TA for another of his classes, which would allow me to work 15 hours a week.
Sigh. So now I'll be taking 4 classes still, plus one credit of internship, plus 15 hours of work a week.
And then the semester after I graduate, I'll have to finish up my internship credits.
Still easy, just more hours of my time allocated to different things.
I'm super grateful for all these opportunities, but April  24th can't come soon enough!

simplicity

Our little life has become very simple this semester (at least for me!). I feel good about that. I like not being on the go all the time. We go to bed early and wake up early. I either go for a run or do reading for class. Then comes class for a few hours each day and I hit the gym on my non-running days. I'm almost always home by 3:30. I walk to and from school and, especially right now, I'm loving the beautiful walk. We live in an especially beautiful part of our college town. I get home, sometimes do some reading for classes, and make dinner. Kevin gets home at either 4 or 5 and we have dinner. I read, a lot. I crochet, a lot. I walk movies and TV shows, a lot. Sometimes if I'm lucky I get to socialize with my neighbors. I also bake way more than I should (always the same two things, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or banana bread). 

It's a nice change of pace. I enjoy the fact that I have other things in my life besides just school and work. I love taking time to be by myself. I love going to the temple on the weekends and reconnecting spiritually. I love having time to take care of my body and take care of myself. I especially love spending time with my husband in the evenings (even if he's doing homework), and going to bed together every night.

For a while, I felt guilty at how simple my schedule has been. I got caught in the trap of thinking that if I'm not killing myself because I'm so busy, I'm not using my time well or being productive. Now I realize that on the contrary, when life is simple, I can get so much more done and I can be a much more well-rounded person.

Life is great friends. 

And here's a picture for my sisters, who refuse to read words in blogposts.

coming up.

It's hard to believe that in less than eight months I'll be totally graduated from college. Sometimes I want it to come faster and I just can't wait, and other times I freak out because I have no idea what I want to do with my life after college.
That's how it is sometimes huh?
It'll be really interesting where we end up, that's for sure.

decidedly content

Remember how last week I posted about how I was kind of nervous for school to start because I didn't want to adjust to a new routine? Yeah, I'm super over that now. My new schedule is so fabulous, especially compared to the really stinky work schedule I had all summer. I only have four classes, three on Tuesday and Thursday, and one on Monday and Wednesday. I don't have class on Fridays. I have a 10 hour a week job as a TA. I get to pick my own hours.
Today I was done with class by 11:00am. I went to the gym, dinked around campus for a little bit, and was home by 1:00. I did the laundry, read textbooks for three hours, folded the laundry while watching How I Met Your Mother, made dinner, crocheted a Granny Square and my husband came home to a clean(ish) house and dinner (almost) on the table. It was so wonderful.
Kevin is studying Chemical Engineering. He has a really hard major. He's in his Junior Year which is supposed to be his hardest year. He works SO hard at school and work so that he can support us financially. I love love LOVE that I have the opportunity to support him as he does this hard thing by making sure he doesn't have to worry about food, cleaning, errands etc. If there is anything at all that I can do for him that will make his life a little easier, I will gladly do it. I appreciate his sacrifices so much. The incredible thing is that he still finds time to love on me, and cuddle me, and talk politics with me (because we so know what we're talking about...) and go to bed early with me. I am seriously a lucky girl.
Life has been fabulous these last couple of weeks since school started. The weather is too perfect for words. I try to do as much of my textbook reading outside as I can. I love spending time out there, hanging out with my neighbors and their darling babies. Life is truly fabulous.
Also, check out these massive Granny Squares I'm crocheting. Seriously, my wrists have been aching lately because all I want to do ALL THE TIME is crochet.

Picture 6 of these giant babies in an afghan 2 granny squares wide and 3 long. I know right? It will be fabulous.

Beginnings

Today is the first day of my Senior Year of College. I've had one class, Persuasive Writing (yes, I procrastinated my last English class for as long as I could...). At the end of the class, my teacher gave the assignment to write every day of the semester. It doesn't matter the medium, it can be a blog, journal etc. so I decided to use this as a reason to revive this blog. I won't write every day, but I will write a lot more, and my posts will contain more words than pictures.
That being said, I've been thinking a lot about change lately. A couple of weeks ago, I turned in my badge for a job that I had (off and on) for over 5 years. It was bittersweet. Mostly sweet, because I was incredibly excited to do something (anything!) else than assemble traffic sensors. But it was also a little bit scary because the reason I quit that job was because of school, and for the opportunity to have a different job. Change is always a little scary I think, because it's just unknown. I don't know how this new semester is going to go. I don't know what my new job will be like.
I used to think that there was going to come a time in my life when things would be done changing for a while. I thought that when my husband and I were done with school, and he was in a career and I was in the home with our children, that things would settle down and stay the same for an indefinite amount of time. But then I realized that even if school/work schedules aren't changing, lots of other things will. Babies turn into children so much faster than I wish they would, and when I'm home with our kids, my life, schedule and routine will consistently change as they do. There will always be the change of the seasons, there will be happy times that drift into sad times and back again. No matter what happens, I can always count on the fact that nothing is ever going to stay completely the same.
Sometimes this concept is really hard for me. I want things to stay the same, I'm comfortable with where I am. Even though I was counting down the days til my last day of work, a big part of me didn't want to see the summer end because Kevin and I had developed a really fabulous routine. I knew that as soon as school started, we were going to have to completely revamp our routine. It's going to take a while to reach a point where I feel that we have reached a comfortable place. And the funny thing is, by the time that happens, the semester will be almost over and it will almost be time to start over again.
So I'm deciding to embrace the change this fall. Times will never be the way they were this past summer. But we have amazing memories that we can fondly look back on, and wonderful pictures to help us remember. And the best part about change is that is provides opportunity for a new adventure. Here's to many adventures this school year. :)

a brief respite

It's day one of finals week. I need a break from studying. Yesterday after work I took one of my finals which was offered early. Hooray, one down! This morning has been working out and studying. I'm planning to take two of my tests today and two tomorrow. The nice thing is that after I've studied my brains out I can just get both at the same time and bust them out.
So far, the week has looked a little bit like this:

Forget studying on reading days, I'd much rather read juvenile fantasy.

Yesterday was the first day of textbook sell back. I have never once sold back my textbooks in the whole time I've gone to BYU. I took 12 books to sell back. They took about half.

And loaded us up with almost $300! We're rich!

Our dinners have been simple, we've made time for some great friends, and we've gone to bed as early as we can manage.
My approach to finals week is to bust out my tests as fast as I can because I can't stand to stretch them out. I'm not very good at studying, so I'd rather cram for 2 hours before I take the test.
Kevin's approach to finals week is to use every single day, every single hour. He takes one test per day and studies his little brain out all the time.
It is a dang good thing that he is going to be the breadwinner for our family. I'd much rather stay home and grow humans.
Wish us luck!
Now back to studying.

ARAB 101

Our poor little newlywed blog is struggling to survive isn't it? Ah, well. I'll try to be better about documenting our adorableness.
Here's an update on our little life!
I recently got offered a job as a TA for a class in my major for next fall and winter! Yay! I told my boss at Wavetronix that I would be saying good-bye for good at the end of the summer. I'm excited to have a job that is slightly more related to my studies and that will give me some serious flexibility!
Kevin and I just registered for classes for the fall semester. I only have to take four classes, and I get Fridays off. Best idea I've ever had. I'm really looking forward to my schedule!
Unfortunately, Kevin has to take five classes, and our schedules are very much opposite. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I only have one class, but he has all five. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he only has one class, but I have three of mine. This is a bummer, but the good news is that we are both always done by 4.
I'm continuing to experiment with our dinners and other cooking/baking. I've found a fabulous homemade granola bar recipe that we both really like and we are still eating our homemade tortillas. A couple of days ago I made a cauliflower soup in the crock pot. Sure, I wasn't expecting the mozzarella to curdle into orange lumps, but it was still yummy!
My running/exercising has unfortunately been put on the back burner a little bit. I've been fighting some illness and some days of extreme busyness which has made exercise less of a priority. But, the good news is that we just got a pull-up bar and a foam roller using an Amazon gift card that we got from our wedding. What a great gift. Kevin and I are really enjoying the pull-up bar especially. :)
Life is busy, but we are working really hard to find and maintain a balance so that we can enjoy our time together. We love where we are in our life. Things get hard sometimes with school and work, but we are just so enjoying the responsibilities that we have and the experiences we are having together as young newlyweds!

busy bees

My poor little blog has been neglected. We have been participating in other interesting pursuits such as:
Spending a short weekend down in not-so-sunny St. George for the Dixie Red Rock Relay.
Having a combined FHE with some of our favorite people.
Accepting a speaking assignment in church.
Reading, reading reading. I am on a reading binge right now. It's insane.
Watching LOST. We are addicts.
Running. Every day. All of my runs since the race have been pretty much terrible. But at least I'm getting out there.
Experimenting with food-stuffs for dinner. Last night it was stuffed peppers. Next time I'll do it a little differently.
Staying on campus way later than we want to.
Ecclesiastical endorsement interviews.

Oh yeah, and school and work and stuff. We are busy people. Trying to maintain balance.

to which i say, who knows?

All of a sudden things are just coming up.
Research opportunities.
TA positions.
Possibly finishing school early.

All of these things are looming, awaiting decisions.
All of the decisions are dependent on so many other things.

Gah, life is crazy like that isn't it?