Our Awesome Life

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-01T14:55:00.000-09:00

Hey all! I've been such a slacker, and I have SOOO much to talk about. We'll start with last weekend. Mark and I met up with his dad in Moab for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun! We did a ton of hiking around Arches National Park, and Mark did a lot of climbing. We almost made it to all the trails, but we were so pooped by the end we decided it wasn't worth it. Mark and I also biked Slick Rock Trail. It was probably one of the hardest things I've done physically, but also so amazing! There were some times that I didn't think I could make it. I thought I'd have to have someone come fly me out. But, we both did it! Here's a few pictures to go along, and a video too.

And onto the biking pictures...

And, a video. We had lots of videos, but they accidentally got deleted. My bad.

Personal Progress

2011-10-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

Howdy! For all of you who don't know yet (which I'm assuming is most of all 8 of you), I've added a link to the right of this post called Our Personal Progress. A friend and I decided to do personal progress from the young women's program in the LDS church, and we're blogging our experiences. If you'd like to read an uplifting thing every now and then, feel free to pop over there! Also, if you're interested in also doing personal progress, you can find the program requirements at personalprogress.lds.org. Hopefully it will be an uplifting experience for all! Also, if you'd like to be an author on that blog, let me know and I'd love to have you there :)

Big Plate

2011-10-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

I've come to have a lot on my plate in the last little bit.

First off, I finally got a calling in my LDS ward! I'll be working with the young women as a secretary in the presidency. I'm super excited about it! I'll be in charge of the personal progress program, which I plan on doing along with the girls. It will be so good for me. SO exciting!

Next, I've been on weight watchers for a few weeks. My weight and height had put me technically overweight. I'm not saying that I think I'm fat, but I could definitely stand to lose a few pounds. So far, it's been great! I've lost over 5 pounds, and recently bought a bunch of size MEDIUM shirts! I'm so happy about that.

Also, I'm starting to get into essential oils to help with ailments. For example, I'm using one called slim and sassy (a mix of a bunch of metabolism boosting oils) to aid me in my weight loss quest. This week Mark and I went to the dentist and each of us have cavities. We're going to use essential oils to make them heal and recover. God has provided all of the things we need, and the oils I use are the purest forms of those things. So, I'll keep you posted on how we do with those.

I've also been keeping up on the biking goal I set when we moved here. This morning I biked 25 miles! Hopefully someday soon I can have a real bicycle. I'll keep you posted on that too. Thanks for checking in on me!

Dear World

2011-09-29T15:24:00.000-08:00

My heart aches right now. I wish I could be close to my family, so I could be with them through this trying time. I've mentioned before my cousin, Jake, who was fighting cancer. His story is here. He passed away about an hour ago.

Thank you to all of his neighbors and friends who were there for him and his family during these past months. There are no words to express how grateful I am for you taking care of my aunt while she struggled through watching her child die. She still needs you. They all do. I wish I could be there for them, but I'll have to rely on you.

God bless.

High Time

2011-09-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

I suppose it's time I blogged again. So much for the 3 posts a week goal...

Last week Mark's mom, Kathy, came to visit. She stayed for a full week, and for 4 days of that Mark was out of town. Lucky me!! We had a fabulous time together. Some of the things we did:

Rode the tram and took a short hike on top of the Sandia "mountains" (<- that has "" because I'm from Utah)
Santa Fe - museum, dinner, shopping
House hunting
Cooked and ate delicious food
Read fun books
Exercised
Relaxed
Explored Petroglyph National Monument
Went to the temple

We may or may not have done other things, too. But we had so much fun that I've forgotten the small details of what we were doing to have fun :)

Things have been pretty quiet around here since she left. One big fun fact is that we've borrowed a bicycle for me to ride around town for my workouts. I went 14 miles today! The bike only has one speed (it's kind of run down, and used to be a 24 speed mountain bike), so it takes a while to get anywhere. The speed it's on is good for going uphill. However, it's hard to work up speed on a nearly flat surface. Downhill is obviously fine.

One other fun fact is I may have a job by the end of the year! I'm going to the same event that got Mark hired at Sandia (the Science and Engineering Expo) at the end of October. Until then, I'll stay content with the relaxing and peaceful life I live.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

Mark and I had our first ever Labor Day weekend in Albuquerque. My parents were able to come visit for the weekend - and I think they enjoyed the motorcycle ride down. They arrived on Friday, and we went to lunch at Fuddruckers (soooo tasty!). On the way back home we went shopping, and by the time we got back it was time for dinner. We went out with my mom's cousins, which was super fun, to a New Mexican place where we all got to try New Mexican for the first time.

Saturday was a way fun day, and the one that we actually got pictures. We went on the longest tram in the world, to the top of the Sandia mountains. At the top we spent a few hours hiking and exploring around. It was probably the best view of the city! Here's a bunch of pictures from that.

This one looks like I'm climbing, but I'm really laying on some funky rocks :)

After the tram and hiking we went to the temple, where Mom and I were so hot that we almost passed out doing sealings. Because of that, we spent the rest of the night at home looking at pictures and hanging at the pool.

They left this morning to start their motorcycle trek back home. It was SO great to have them here, and I look forward to many more fun visits in the future!

The Amazing Plan

2011-09-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

Due to a happy event (yay for winning blog giveaways!) I have recently come upon a large stack of Hallmark cards. It's Hallmark's current goal to bring card giving back into society. It has since been overlooked by the communication abilities of facebook (birthday reminders) and twitter (little feel-good notes). But, as they say, one always loves receiving a piece of mail that isn't a bill or junk. Since winning a giveaway on Casey's blog, I was challenged to send out at least 7 cards to people I care about. I sat and wrote them one night while Mark was away on business. I mailed them the next day, full of love and inside jokes. I sent a couple to some good friends. I sent a couple to my parents, and as an extra surprise mailed it to their workplaces rather than their home (I'm a clever gal). I sent one to my Grandmama, whose birthday was coming up. And then I waited.

I knew the cards had started arriving when I got a text from an unsuspecting friend. She commented on some of my notes, and said she really needed the card that day. I smiled, of course, and told her I love her. She has been one of my best friends these 15 years or more that I have been reasonably socially acceptable. Her card went something like this: "Are people giving you that 'things get better with time' B.S.?" ... on the inside... "It's shopping. Things get better with shopping."

Next came the text from my dearest mother. "I've figured out your evil plan!" she says. Ha! I took her by surprise! That was my biggest hope :) Now, to see how Papa takes it... I'm pretty sure Mom hasn't suspected Papa to get one at his work as well.

A text and a phone call from two more of my friends. Can I just say how much I love hearing from them? It's hard living so far away from everyone, because they get to thinking that I don't care anymore about their day to day lives. But I do!! I love hearing about all the small little things that are happening with them.

There's still more people I hope to hear from because of this adventure, but I can't wait to post any longer. I'll bet the suspense has just been killing you :)

Also, even if you maybe didn't get a card, it's ok to text or call me at anytime. I'm truly 100% available for a "hello"!

Thanks be to the Indy Lady!

2011-08-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

My brilliant plan is beginning to unfold. Even my mother (Hi, Mom!) didn't know of this plan in all of it's exactness and genius. And I have Casey to thank. I am currently compiling a blog post to detail the awesomeness of my amazing intellect. Stay tuned...

CSI: Birdland

2011-08-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

On the next episode of CSI: Birdland...

Who was the cause of this atrocious deed? An angry acquaintance? A jealous boyfriend? Find out the story behind the sadness on the next episode of CSI: Birdland. Wednesdays at 8 p.m. CST on BVN (Bird View Network).

CrAZy DrEAmS

2011-08-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Probably the last thing you want is to log on and read about the weird dreams I've been having. BUT, when there's not much else going on, these dreams become the excitement in my reality. So, here goes.

Dream #1
Mark goes out of town on a business trip, and I fall for Kramer... from Seinfeld. This guy:

I woke up feeling guilty and really sad. Wouldn't you feel sad if you gave up my handsome fella for this guy?

Dream #2
Ok, now it's a war zone. Pretty much everybody in the world hates each other and we're in the middle of WWIII. Nuclear bombs are going off everywhere around me. Luckily, I can run really fast, and they're far enough away that they don't kill me, only knock me down. Then I see one headed right for me. I thought I could outrun it. I run so fast. But not far enough. Suddenly I'm a spirit, and I'm trying to convince some live girl to let me take over her body so I can talk to Mark. Then I woke up.

Dream #3
I helped some lady come up with the idea to put on a show - Hairspray (the musical). Except that this rendition of hairspray wasn't anything like the Broadway version. I think we only called it that so that people would come see it. It was very poorly done, and our actors were horrible. I think I snuck in and said a line somewhere in the middle of the play. My line was supposed to be funny (it was hilarious to me) but none of the audience laughed. I felt dumb and got off the stage. If I remember right, the play was about politics, and was trying to make a point/send a message. Funny thing is that in real life, I don't care much for politics and definitely wouldn't want to embarrass myself on stage just to make a point.

So, there you have it. This week's dreams in a nutshell. I hope you've been entertained! :)

Stake Conference Cuties

2011-08-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today we went to stake conference in our new stake. The messages were great, but I just have to tell you about the kids sitting in front of us.

One of the little girls was drawing on a piece of paper. Turns out she was drawing the stone tablets with the 10 commandments. How cute is that?! Then, she turned the paper over and started writing... F A... "Mom, I'm trying to spell 'faith'. What comes next?" I T H. Under that, she wrote GOD LOVES ME. Under that it was I BLE... "Mom, how do you spell 'believe'?" ...I BELIEVE IN GOD. Finally, she wrote I LOVE GOD. This mother must be doing something right with her children. Also, I should mention that this little girl was drawing and writing with no prompting from anyone else - this was all her.

Her brother was also pretty cool. He first drew a picture of Jesus. Then the Albuquerque temple. Then Angel Moroni. Seriously? What did this mother do to teach her children to do these things for fun?!

Amazing. I hope my kids are awesome like that.

P.S. For anyone reading this who may not be LDS (aka Mormon): stake conference is a meeting when several wards (bodies of saints) get together and have church meetings. More info at www.lds.org :)

Dear Diary

2011-08-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with my sister. It's been a while since we had a good, long talk about whatever. I love talking with her, because we always end up talking about members of our family and how much we love them. Specifically, we were talking about cousins who we helped raise. There's a special place in my heart for my younger cousins who look up to me. Just a few weeks ago, Mark and I stopped by my family reunion on the way to move to Albuquerque. When we got there, a couple of my cousins ambushed me (the sweet little things). They had felt bad that I couldn't stay and participate in the crafts, so they made some crafts for me. My sister was telling me about when they decided to make them. They heard I would be stopping by, and asked my sister what my favorite colors were so they could make something that I would love. What angels!!! I am just overcome with feelings of love and gratitude for the TRULY AMAZING family I was born into. I have THE BEST parents and siblings in the world. I have the MOST AWESOME aunts and uncles that anyone could ever have, and I was blessed with a lot of them! I have so many special cousins, both older and younger than me. And my in-laws are just as amazing! I wish you all had been born into my family so you could know what it is to be truly blessed.

I want to keep rambling on about how much I love my family, but I'm afraid that my language is not eloquent enough to express what I'm feeling, so I would just bore you all to death.

Thank you, Sister, for reminding me of how amazing our family is!

Albuquerque So Far

2011-08-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

Well, my friends, my mom finally talked me into it. I always said that, "when I get to Albuquerque I'll blog more". I've made myself a liar so far, and my mother is trying to correct my evil ways. :)

Mark is enjoying his job so far. He doesn't have his security clearance yet (and probably won't for a couple more months) which means he can't really work on what he wants to work on. He's doing training and stuff, though, so that keeps him busy. By the end of this month, he will have taken 3 trips for conferences and classes. He's been to Austin and Denver, and has yet to go to Chicago.

I still don't have a job (I wish I did, but finding a job as a statistician isn't as easy as it sounds), which means that I am a stay at home wife, with no children to take care of. How do I keep busy, you ask? Well, for starters, I made some friends in our church ward who are also stay at home wives with no children. We get together every couple of days (including today, in about 5 minutes!) and figure out ways to entertain ourselves. Once a week there's a playgroup at the park for the mom's with kids, and we go crash the party. When I'm by myself, I read, practice instruments, watch tv, play computer games, play video games, go grocery shopping, clean the (small) apartment, and shop online for big ticket items that we can't yet afford. Yes, I am living the dream. I sometimes complain about how bored I get, but that's my own fault. As you can see, there's plenty to do.

Currently I am trying to learn tennis. Mark was on the tennis team in high school, so he's really good. He doesn't think it's fun to play with me (yet) because I'm really not very good. So, if you come to visit, feel free to challenge me to a tennis match! By the time you get here, I might be able to return a serve :)

Right now I'm going to set a goal: I'm going to blog AT LEAST three times a week. That means that ya'll will have to check back more and more often. It may encourage me if you left a comment so that I know you're reading.

Love and miss you, UTAH!!! (and all the people in it and wherever else you are)

When you come to visit...

2011-07-16T14:21:00.001-08:00

Here is where you will enter our apartment.

Here is where we'll eat our meals.

Here is where we'll watch movies, or Futurama.

Here is where you can pick a game to play, or check your email. If you want hamburgers or grilled chicken, we'll walk out to the patio through that door.

That's your room at the end of the hall.

Here's where we'll make dinner and do dishes together.

Feel free to use any of the clean towels on the shelf.

This is where Mark and I will be sleeping. If you want to play the piano, just ask so I can make sure our room is clean :)

Here's where you'll stay. Sorry about the bad lighting in the picture.

This is the patio. The shelf won't be there when you get here, so it will be a lovely place to spend an evening.

Obviously, the grill. In the closet we have all of our recreational equipment (tennis rackets, camping gear, etc.)

And finally, here's what the weather is like. Pretty sky, no?

See you soon!!

Moving

2011-07-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Mark and I are in the process of moving to Albuquerque. We're very excited about this move, but very sad to be leaving our Logan home. We loved it in Logan and I wish we could live there forever. But as with all amazing small towns, there aren't the job opportunities we were wanting. So here we are, starting a new chapter in our lives. We're calling this the "Real Life" chapter. When I say "we", I really mean me because, let's face it, Mark doesn't help me write this blog, and he doesn't read it most of the time either. :)

For those of you who don't know much about Albuquerque, I'll lay down some facts for you. First off, it's in New Mexico, not Arizona. (I've had so many people say "Have fun in Arizona" or "Don't eat at this restaurant in Arizona". Too funny.) Secondly, it's at a high elevation in the desert, so it's not too hot and not too cold. The winter averages in the 40-50's and the summer averages in the 80-90's. They also say they have four seasons, and occasionally get snow. Third, each year Albuquerque hosts the largest balloon festival in the world. Hundreds of hot air balloons are launched into the sky throughout the festival, and I hear it's just lovely.

Now, I've never been to Albuquerque, or New Mexico for that matter, and I have no idea what it's really like. Mark says it's windy and hot. Several people I've talked to LOVE it there. Hopefully I will love it there as well. Once we get all settled in, I'll try to remember to post pictures of our apartment (which has tennis courts and swimming pools - yay!!) and other things that might be interesting. Also coming soon: The Europe Trip. Watch out, that one will be a long one. There's a total of 8 weeks of stuff to talk about there, and LOTS of pictures. After these messages, we'll be right back.

Graduation Invite!

2011-04-27T07:08:00.003-08:00

The Craziness that is Real Life.

2011-04-18T07:22:00.001-08:00

It seems there comes a time in life where it's time to move on. We're approaching that time. Our life together has been spent going to school. In the 4+ years we've been together, neither of us have worked a full time job, or even thought about it. Now we are both interviewing at various companies and trying to start a new life. In 3 weeks, we'll both be done with school, Mark with 2 Master's and 1 Bachelor's degree, and me with a Master's and a Bachelor's degree. It's crazy to think about, but a new life begins in less than a month. Mark is currently interviewing with a company in New Mexico. I am currently interviewing with a company in California, and a University in Wisconsin. We're really hoping we can find jobs in the same city, but so far we're not even in the same states. Of course, we won't live apart from each other, but it would be nice to start jobs at the same time. Crazy stuff.

*A big thanks to Kate Pease for taking this picture (and others used for graduation announcements), and to Cory for putting the announcements together.

Email Fail

2011-02-03T08:07:00.000-09:00

An email I received from the Logan Institute (a church education facility):

Dear Students,
We have two request for interrupters.
One is from the Logan School district. They need someone who speaks Mandarin Chinese. If you are interested please call Tami Clark at 755-2337 Ext. 2.
Second, we need someone to help the missionaries interrupt Marshallese for a family they are teaching. If you are interested please call Brother Curtis at 245-3278.
Thanks,
The Logan Institute

Too Long...

2011-02-01T07:51:00.000-09:00

I've been out of the blogging scene for quite some time now because I spend so much time on the computer that when it comes time to write a blog post, I just want to shut down the whole computer. But, it's 9:30 in the morning, and I'm still fresh for the day. So here's my update.

I graduated last semester with my masters in statistics. I defended my thesis (which, for me, wasn't actually a thesis - it was a project - but it's easier to just call it a thesis) just after Thanksgiving. The topic was characterizing influenza movement through the U.S. Pretty cool stuff, but I'm glad to be done with it. If you really are interested, there's a copy of my report in the USU library :)

The math department at USU is allowing me to teach classes for them this semester. I'm currently teaching two sections of math 1010 (algebra), and two sections of stat 1040 recitations. I love it, most of the time. I love getting to know my students and watching them progress in their knowledge and understanding of mathematics. Most of them are a joy to be around. Since I'm teaching so much, a lot of my life consists of grading, which happens to be one of my least favorite things. In order to cope, I listen to movies on my computer while I grade. Yesterday was Corpse Bride - it has some awesome music.

I'm still playing bass with the Cache Symphony Orchestra, and I usually love going. The practices are once a week, on Wednesdays, which is a day that I teach for quite a long time. Wednesdays have become very long and tedious, but I don't teach at all on Thursday, so it works out.

Speaking of working out, I tried the P90X program last year, and wimped out. I got bored always exercising by myself at home, and it was hard to stay motivated. In the second half, I would either sleep through the time I was supposed to work out, or fall asleep in the middle of the workout when I sat down to take a break. So this semester, I decided to do the P90X diet hardcore, and for my workouts do the Fun Fit Forever program on campus. So far, I am loving it. I hope to lose 20-30 lbs before summertime when....

Mark and I are going to Europe! He decided that for his last semester (which happens to be in the summer) he'd do study abroad in Switzerland. He'll be gone for the month of June. The awesomeness happens between May 15 and June 4 when we will be touring Europe together and with some friends. I am so excited to eat the chocolate, fresh fruit, and gelato that I experienced 6 years ago with the choir group I went with before. Also, I'm really hoping to see Phantom in the London theatre (which I was supposed to see before, but didn't... blasted terrorists).

Well, that's it for now! Until next time...

Christmas Concert Tonight!!

2010-12-09T06:28:00.001-09:00

The full Cache Symphony Orchestra will be playing a Christmas concert on Thursday, December 9 in the Logan Tabernacle at 7:00 p.m. The concert is free. Christmas favorites such as Mannheim Steamroller’s “Silent Night”, Leroy Anderson’s “Christmas Festival” and a holiday sing-a-long will be featured. Local favorite vocalist Randy Smith will sing, accompanied by the orchestra in an arrangement by Jay Richards. Please join us!

Great News!

2010-11-30T07:37:00.002-09:00

I passed my defense! Now I've got a billion corrections to make on my thesis report, but at least I know I'm bona fide.

Defense clap clap

2010-11-29T08:25:00.000-09:00

I thought the title would be fun because the word "defense" reminds me of going to a basketball game or whatever. But, that's not what I mean this time.

I defend my thesis today!! Assuming that I pass, I will be practically done with school after today. WEIRD! It starts at 3, at which point I will give a presentation for about 20 minutes. Then people (mostly my committee) will ask questions. And then? Then my advisor and committee decide if I am a master of statistics.

I'll keep you posted.

Cache Symphony Orchestra Concert

2010-11-10T06:52:00.000-09:00

The members of the Cache Symphony Orchestra would like to invite you to our Fall Concert that will be held Sunday, November 14^th at 7:30 pm in the Kent Concert Hall on the Utah State University campus. There is no charge to attend.

Please notice that we have changed our name. The orchestra has grown significantly in the last few years, and the old name, Cache Chamber Orchestra, no longer seemed to fit. The group now consists of over 60 string players, and when wind players are added for the winter and spring concerts, our numbers grow to 85 or more. We are now known as the Cache Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Robert Frost will direct the strings of the orchestra in pieces by Rutter, C.P.E. Bach, Corelli and Handel. Featured will be an arrangement of the Shostakovich string quartet number 8. This moving piece depicts the composer’s feelings about the horrors of war and will include a slide presentation.

Plan also to attend our holiday concert on Thursday, December 9^th at the Logan Tabernacle.

http://cachechamberorchestra.wordpress.com/

Testimony

2010-10-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

I learned something during church yesterday. In fact, I learned it as I opened my mouth to give a comment in Sunday School. We were talking about how the Lord helps us through our trials. During the past several weeks, I have made comments (mostly in Relief Society) about how my big trial currently is writing my thesis. I am not a writer - that is why I am doing statistics. But, I still have to write up all of my research in order to graduate. As I was relating this to the class, I realized how the Lord had helped me through this trial in the past week.

Last week I decided to start reading my scriptures. I have not been faithful in reading in quite some time (sorry, I'm not perfect), and it's often hard for me to read without getting distracted and wanting to do something else. On Monday, I picked up my scriptures and opened them to where I believe I had last had my personal study. It was in Mosiah. I started over at the beginning of Mosiah (because who wants to read 1st Nephi a million times?) and read for a half hour. I did that again on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and made it clear through Friday! And do you know what? I noticed a huge difference in writing my thesis. These two things seem totally unrelated to me, yet I know that it's because I'm making a bigger effort to keep the Lord's commandments that I have been blessed with a greater ability to write.

I missed my Saturday study (oops) but got back on track yesterday. I read this morning. Today I wrote another (somewhat short) chapter to send to my adviser for a little revision. And I am excited to read tomorrow, because I am falling in love with the story of the Book of Mormon. The sons of Mosiah are about to go preach to the Lamanites, and Alma the younger was just put in place as chief priest. I read through their conversion story, and it only makes me want to continue converting myself and becoming a better daughter of God.

There you have it. Keep the commandments of God and He will help you in any trial.

For the Sake of Jake

2010-09-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is my cousin, Jake. I got an email from his mom (my aunt) with some information about Jake and a program in place to help him.

Jake Holladay is a 19 year old twin who has been diagnosed with stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a very rare form of cancer. He is currently on round eleven of chemotherapy and just finished his radiation treatments. Despite his daily struggles, Jake is a normal teenage kid. He likes playing computer games, paintball, swimming and golfing. He loves hanging out with his four brothers, 4-wheeling, camping and ruining his mom’s laundry baskets while making home videos. He hopes to someday become a computer programmer.

His family is handling the situation with a positive attitude.
His mom says, “Many people have asked us why we can keep such a positive attitude about having to deal with cancer. The facts are: there is cancer in Jake's body and we have to deal with it. We aren't being punished for something, we don't have a lack of faith, and we are not bad people. It's not fun, it's not easy- it is what it is. If we get mad, sad, or angry, will that make the cancer go away? No. If we chose to have a positive outlook, to have hope, will that change the outcome? No, but the journey will be much more peaceful. It's much easier to see God's tender mercies when you’re not mad at Him.

As a mom, I want the best for my boys. For me it's a no brainer: I want the Being that knows how it’s all going to turn out to be in charge. He gave us friends, family and neighbors to help us bear our burdens. He blessed us with awesome doctors and nurses who spent time learning about this cancer so that when we brought Jake to them, they would know how to treat it. He put angels in our life to take care of our needs."

His parents have insurance, but with hospital stays every 3 weeks, weekly clinic visits, and daily radiation, their savings have been rapidly depleted. No donation is too small; even $10 helps in a big way. Are you one of Jake’s angels? Reach out for the sake of Jake!

To make a donation through paypal send it to forthesakeofjake@gmail.com or click the link below.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=forthesakeofjake%40gmail%2ecom&lc=US&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

Visit www.forthesakeofjake.blogspot.com for updates on Jake's condition. Thank you so much!

Please, if you have a few moments, please help.

Top 10

2010-08-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Reasons to be a Statistician

10. Deviation is considered normal
9. You feel complete and sufficient
8. You always wanted to learn the entire Greek alphabet anyway
7. You can legally comment on someone's posterior distribution
6. You may not be normal but you are transformable
5. You never have to say you are certain
4. You are honestly significantly different
3. You never have to be right - only close
2. Estimating parameters is easier than dealing with real life
1. Statisticians are normal, everyone else is skewed

JSM Final Update

2010-08-16T11:28:00.001-08:00

Well, in my last post I said I would let you know how JSM is going. And then I didn't write again. I have been home from JSM (Joint Statistical Meetings) for about a week and a half, and I figure I should keep my promise.

The hostel I stayed in was quite nice. They fed us breakfast every morning (and it was pretty good too) and the rooms and "washrooms" (as they say in Canadia) were clean and orderly. It was located in a convenient part of town, near quite a few restaurants and sources of entertainment. Of course, by the time I was through with my meetings every day I just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep. So that's what I did. The food was pretty good, not much different than what you would find in the U.S. except that the fish there was much better than in Utah.

The scenery was beautiful. And being the me that I am, I didn't take a camera. Thankfully, my good friend, James, had brought his camera and kindly took a few pictures of me. The first two were on Sunday, and it was chilly. The last picture was on my last day, the day I presented my poster.

Ephraim and me. I didn't get a picture with James (oops).

Me and the cruise ship that would've been fun to go on.

Lookin' good, no?

My poster session went well. I got a lot of questions that I was able to answer, and a few that inspired ideas for the rest of my research.

Overall, the conference was a success. I had a great time and learned quite a lot. (Also, I met Lance Waller from Emory University. He's the 3rd author on my published paper.) Definitely successful.

JSM update

2010-08-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

I am currently sitting in my room at the hostel. The smells of dinner on Granville street waft up and into my window. I'm hungry. This morning I went to a very spiritual sacrament meeting in an LDS ward not far away. I wish I could explain how nice it was to hear such powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful.
I'm getting better at typing on the iPod but I'm glad it corrects my mistakes most of the time. JSM has been mostly interesting so far and I have gotten a few ideas to add to my research. Hopefully it stays as interesting in the next few days. I present my poster on Wednesday morning, so wish me luck with that.
I am out of time for now. It's time for dinner (finally). Hopefully I will have more to share later. For now, peace out.

I feel...

2010-07-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

I feel so blessed at this time in my life. (That sounds like a good opening to talk about a tragic event. However, there is none to talk about at this time.)

I feel blessed to have a wonderful husband who came home and deep cleaned our house while I was teaching my night class last night.

I feel blessed to have an intelligent (and slave-driving) adviser who has published a paper on my research and encourages me to publish one of my own.

I feel blessed to have good students who work hard and also laugh at my lame jokes during class.

I feel blessed to have supportive and good-humored friends to help me through the every-day trials of life.

I feel blessed to have a supportive family who make sure that I am always taken care of.

I feel blessed to have the opportunity to travel to a statistics conference and talk with other people about my research.

I feel blessed to have such caring secretaries in the math department who answer every question and help fill my every need.

I feel blessed.

Tickets

2010-07-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

I finally have all of my tickets and reservations for my trip to Canada. My poster that I will present is ready to be printed. Now I just have to wait.. and pack. But I do have a question about the packing.

Have any of you stayed in a hostel? I'll be staying in a hostel in Canada. I know they provide lockers which you can padlock (so I'll take a padlock), but I'm not sure if they require you to bring anything like sheets or pillows or whatever. Does anyone know?

Hair Triumph

2010-07-15T08:14:00.001-08:00

I'm not usually so good with hair and fashion, but look at what I did today! I'm pretty proud of myself.

LAZY is the name of the game

2010-07-09T15:32:00.000-08:00

Or busy. Either way, it's been a while since I've posted.

Teaching takes up most of my time this summer. My students turn in 8 assignments per week, plus we spend 7 hours in class. When I'm not teaching, I am being a wife or a student. Like I may or may not have mentioned before, I am presenting a poster at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Canada at the end of this month. Today was dedicated to creating my poster. I'm not done. But I will be.

For the 4th of July, Mark and I went camping up Logan canyon. He and our friend found the most perfect spot to camp: plenty of shade, grassy (no dust), and secluded. It was perfect. We spent 4 days relaxing in hammocks, reading books, and eating camp food. We didn't have any fireworks, nor did we go see any this year. But what are fireworks to rocks and mountains?

Despite my last post, my birthday was pretty good. We spent the next day at Lagoon with friends, which was SO fun! I am such a roller coaster lover. I wish we could go more often.

I'm out of time, but I'll promise to post a couple of pictures of camping (and maybe - eventually - i just might actually put a picture on my blog). Have a good weekend!

I Wonder Why...

2010-06-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

I wonder why when I hear or read something mean about myself, it echoes in my mind. Yet, when I get a compliment I immediately brush it off as though I don't deserve it.

Today I read through the course evaluations from the three classes I taught last semester (done by the students). Many of them had good things to say like, "Without this class I would have failed" and "She is an excellent teacher and really knows her stuff". And that's typically how I feel about myself as a stats teacher as well. But then there were those few disgruntled students who hated coming to class and didn't like me much who said things like "SHE IS THE WORST TEACHER EVER" and "SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT AND SEEMS COMPLETELY UNPREPARED". Obviously, there is no real need to take these things personally. But then I question myself and think "Are they right? Am I just a fake teacher who is only half-trying and just hoping for a paycheck?"

And again I ask myself why I can't just let the bad things go and dwell on the nice things that people say?

Summer

2010-06-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

This summer has been a good one so far. Frankie was the first big event of the summer, and it kind of put a bit of a damper on things. I had plans to paint the whole house before the summer semester started and all sorts of other fun plans. I did get one room painted, but haven't done any painting since.

My summer semester started on Monday. This means that the college algebra night class I have been ~~dreading~~ looking forward to teaching has started. My students seem like good-hearted people who want to learn, so I anticipate having a good 14 days with them. Yes, I said 14 days. We have a regular semester worth of class (about 48 days) packed into two short weeks. I feel bad for the students, but it is their choice (and I'm getting paid more than a regular semester so I certainly don't mind). Along with the college algebra class, I am hosting a recitation/help session for a stats class. I started that one today. It's voluntary for the students, but I had a good turnout. I think that one will go well also.

In other news, we had Mark's family reunion this past weekend. It was a blast! Imagine a weekend filled with Lagoon, hiking, eating, and playing games. Who could wish for more? We also had family pictures done. It's great having photographers in the family. When I get some pictures of Mark and me I'll put them up here.

Finally, it's my birthday on Friday and I'm planning to use the tickets from last weekend's Lagoon trip to bounce back with some friends. Hooray! I'm also looking forward to spending time with my parents for Father's Day this weekend.

That's all for now! Pictures to come later.

Frankie's Newest Look

2010-06-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

He's looking good! I got the stitches out today. That's the first picture. The second picture is how we're dressing him these days.

And to think it's only been 11 days...

Painting

2010-05-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

It takes forever.

But I'm pretty sure I'll be satisfied with the finished product once we get the room put back together. The painting is done as of today (but only in the one room we've painted so far). We'll wait a few days, then put everything back in the room instead of the hallway.

As for Frankie? He's doing alright. Still causing a constant pain, spiced up with a few jabs of intense pain that can't really be stopped. I'm not sure what brings those on, but I sure don't appreciate them. I'm getting used to typing with only 9 fingers. It's weird and a little hard. I hope I don't get too used to it.

One last thing - the last few days I watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and LOVED it!! (That would be a great birthday present for me in June. Hint hint, Mom.)

Frankie's New Look

2010-05-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Frankie and I went to the doctor this morning to have a checkup. The doctor cleaned up some of the dried blood from when Frankie was created (aka when I got stitches) and redressed the wound. Now Frankie gets his dressing changed twice a day, morning and night. We'll return to the doctor on Friday to be checked again. Frankie still insists on hurting me, but that's what men do, right? (Is it weird that I consider my finger to be a man?) Anyway, I wouldn't mind having company, so if you don't have much going on, let me know.

Until next time.

The Gym is a Dangerous Place

2010-05-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was at the gym working out. I had been using a 75 pound dumbell for squats. I had a couple of sets of arm weights left to do, but was done with squats so I attempted to put the 75 pounder back on the rack. I hoisted it up and dropped it into place. It bounced, caught my finger underneath, and slammed back down onto the rack. I grabbed my hurt finger with the other hand, thinking that it really hurt, but I could finish my workout in a few minutes when it stopped throbbing. I opened my hand to take a look at my finger and was a little frightened to see a hand full of blood. I looked around me for help, and saw a man who looked like he worked for the university and asked him for help. He later recalled that I walked up to him looking at him funny. I felt like I had been yelling for help, but I guess not. Anyway, to make a long story short, I got some help and Mark (who was at the gym at the same time but working out with a friend) drove me to the student center to get me fixed up. Frankie (short for Frankenstein) is the result.

Zumba

2010-05-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am addicted. If I had the energy (and money) to go everyday, I totally would.

Reasons why I love zumba:

It's an excuse to hang out with awesome girls.
Booty shakin'.
One hour of intense exercise.
One hour of blasting super fun music.
It ends at 9:30 pm, so I'm totally ready for bed when it's over.
Tanktops and booty shakin'.
Latin dancing.
Did I mention booty shakin'?

Time for bed :)

Good Day

2010-05-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day. Mark and I helped clean the church this morning, which is always a good way to bond with other members of our ward. Afterward, I worked out, ate lunch, and almost took a nap but was interrupted by a phone call from the Sunday School president. (Funny insert: he didn't know I had been officially released from my Sunday school calling, and that was why he was calling - to see if I had been released.) He also needed my manual to give to the new guy. During the conversation he asked me who is supposed to teach tomorrow. Me. In other words, the new guy. But the new guy didn't know it (and they couldn't get ahold of him), so I offered to teach. I like teaching. Quite a lot. But not quite as much as directing the choir, which is my current calling. Anyway, I had already given my manual to the Bishop so I needed one from one of the other teachers. (Thank you, Gentri!) I went to pick it up from Gentri and we decided that we should make freezer jam together.

For those of you who don't know me well, I should tell you that I am not much of a homemaker, except I do dishes when they are there. So, making jam was a big step for me. It was SUPER EASY! And it tastes SOOO good!!! If only I weren't on a low carb diet. I would have eaten so much bread and rolls today just so I could eat the jam.Yum.

That's basically all I've done today. But I learned something new, with a new friend, and it feels good.

Happy Sunday tomorrow. It's gonna be a good one. I can tell.

Finals Week

2010-05-06T10:27:00.002-08:00

I was having this internal debate about whether to end my break now or in a few days. On the one hand, classes are out for the semester which means school is over. On the other hand, it's finals week which means school is not over. After spending a little time catching up on blogs, I decided it was time to catch up on my own. I have a presentation and a paper due in an hour, and a test tomorrow morning. Today's schooling doesn't worry me too much, but tomorrow's test I am a little stressed about. But I actually studied for it this time... And studying for a master's level math class isn't easy because all you can really do is read through theorems and work old homework problems. Not fun. But I did it, so I'm hoping that helps me on tomorrow. Also, your prayers in my behalf would be appreciated.

This semester was as busy as I had thought it might be. I spent a lot of time grading a lot of quizzes and tests for my classes. Mark spent a lot (and I mean A LOT) of time working on homework and trying to get enough hours in at work. Most nights he would come home around 10 pm. It sucked. But that small phase is over, and a new one is beginning.
Mark is graduating on Saturday with his bachelor's and master's degrees in computer engineering. I'm proud of him and his accomplishments. He is starting the MBA program here at USU this summer, and will be in school through next summer, so we're not done here yet. I'm thinking we should just become professional students and get a million degrees. We would be really smart.

Although the semester was busy and hard, we had some fun times. We were able to take time off for spring break and head out to Virginia to spend some time with Mark's dad. I had never been to Virginia before, so we spent a couple of days in Washington D.C. and a couple of days in Williamsburg/Jamestown areas. It was quite a fun trip, and we got to spend time with some old friends who have moved out of Logan. I may post pictures sometime of that trip, but we'll have to see about that.

I don't really remember much else that happened during this semester, except that it keeps snowing when I don't think it should. Like right now. It's May, for goodness sake. Snow should not be allowed in May. Or June. I really hope it doesn't snow in June. But apparently, the weather doesn't care about what month it is. Lame.

Final thought - I think I'm back for good now. Hooray.

Break

2010-02-08T08:16:00.002-09:00

I'm writing this post to let everyone know that I am officially taking a break from blogging - in all aspects. I have had far too hard a time focusing on my schoolwork and blogs are such a fun, easy way to procrastinate. In order to stop myself from overdoing the blog thing (mostly reading them) I have decided to stop for the semester. I will continue to be on facebook, and I always have my cell phone (and I love talking to people) so feel free to get in contact with me there. I anticipate that my life will slow down a bit after this semester, at which point I will probably come back. See ya on the flip side.

Nervous

2010-01-26T10:38:00.004-09:00

Time is creeping up on me today. I have an appointment with a surgeon at 3:30 to talk about how we're going to get rid of my pilonidal cyst. My guess: surgery. Ha. I'm funny. But I don't know much about different types of surgery and all that. So that's really what this appointment is all about.
I'm nervous right now. I have so many questions, and I haven't been writing them down so I don't know what they all are. I Google'd "pilonidal cyst" and read about it. There was a picture on the Wikipedia page. Don't look at that one. It's not pretty. Instead, I read on some health website all about it. If you're really interested, you can go read about it, but I wouldn't suggest eating your lunch at the same time.
Mark gave me a Priesthood blessing this morning, which gives me comfort. But I am still nervous. Wish me luck.

Post-Edit:
I'm back from the doctor. No surgery in the foreseeable future. I've just got to continue taking the antibiotics I've been taking and hope that it just goes away. If not, well, that's another story. My prayers are for the first case. Thanks for your prayers and support.

A Few Randoms

2010-01-21T15:04:00.002-09:00

Ok, so that last post was a little nerdy. But I've just got to tell ya that I improved on that little beauty. It now gives me a lot more information, and the code is in the form of a function instead of a script. That's not what I came here to talk about though...

Today marks the start of the 41st month of the courtship of Mark and me. Isn't that precious? We celebrated by continuing our monthly tradition of going to Panda Express. And it was gooood this time. Sometimes it's just ok (and even bad on occasion) but not today, pal! It was dee-licious! That's not really what I came here to talk about either...

Since I didn't do a real lovey-dovey post earlier this month (for our 3-yr anniversary) I want to write a few things now. Mark is...
1. Amazing
2. Intelligent
3. Funny
4. Sweet
5. Sexy
6. Fun
7. Practical
8. Tasteful
9. Romantic
10. Mine

My Success

2010-01-20T19:33:00.002-09:00

I wrote a program to make pretty graphs, similar to this one.
My life rocks!!

Back to Real Life

2010-01-13T10:18:00.002-09:00

As you may have read in the past few posts, Mark and I had a very fun and eventful winter break. But now we're back to real life. Right this second, I am on a computer in a classroom where I teach two classes in a row. I teach another class after this one in a room across campus. I'm taking 3 hard classes along with the 3 I teach. It should be fun.

Luck

2010-01-07T11:12:00.000-09:00

Do you believe in good luck and bad luck? I do. And when traveling, Mark and I have bad luck. For example:

We are currently in Georgia. We were looking forward to a break from cold, snowy Logan. However, I look out the window and what do I see? Snow is falling on the Georgia trees. Figures. The forecast is cold, rainy/snowy weather until we leave.
On our way here, we packed so that we wouldn't have to check any bags. As we were boarding our second flight yesterday, an airline worker said, "There's not enough room on the plane, I'm going to have to check this bag for you." There ended up being enough room. Also, that was broken by the people who forced us to check it. Thank you, American Airlines. Thanks for taking our stuff and breaking it.

And that is just the first part of this trip. Now, lets take a look at past vacations.

Portland, December 2008.
Snow. Lots of snow. In a city where it never snows. It melted not too long after we left. Everything we wanted to do was closed or unaccessible. Figures.

Argentina, March 2008
Our flight to Argentina was cancelled; we left a day later than we wanted. They had sent our luggage on before our flight was cancelled and it got lost. We didn't have our luggage with us for a day. Yellow fever broke out at one of the tourist attractions we wanted to go to. The coins required to ride the bus were worth less than the metal to make them, and thus were in small supply, making it hard to get around. On the way back to the U.S. we got to Texas and the weather went crazy. We had to stay in a hotel overnight because of flooding and tornado warnings. Figures.

England, June/July 2005
The day I flew into Enland, terrorists bombed busses in London. London locked down it's city. Nobody in, nobody out. We (the touring music group) had to skip the London part of the trip. Figures.

Lake Powell, August 2004
Big speeding ticket (my fault). Huge lake storm - both ski boats sunk and the houseboat we were on got washed up onto the shore. Rolled the car on the way home. Figures.

The list can go on. Can you say "bad luck"?

Yesterday

2010-01-04T13:24:00.000-09:00

3 years and counting...

I love you sweetheart.

Christmas at the Anderson's

2009-12-26T13:05:00.001-09:00

This year was a wonderful Christmas. Mark and I were lucky enough to spend a week at my parents house. We went to the Sweet Family Christmas party and had a great time visiting with my aunts, uncles and cousins. During the party, a group of us were sitting around the table and decided to write a letter to my cousin who is on a mission... one word at a time. As we passed the letter around, each person wrote down one word, adding to a sentence. The best sentence we came up with was: "Always remember, we always remember to remember that remembrance never forgets to remember". I hope he has fun reading that letter. Good times.

Throughout the week we mostly hung out, played video games, watched movies, and ate a lot of delicious. Christmas morning consisted of Mom, Dad, Mel, Mark and me there to open presents. Mark got an air compressor and various tools that we could use throughout our lives. I got a Bosch from my parents, a nice knife set from Mark and other various cooking items from other various relatives. I'm excited to get home and do some cooking! I think Mark is excited for me to cook too.

Today is the day after Christmas. We spent the morning sledding, and it was AWESOME! I've got some pictures to prove it. Also, none of these are photoshopped in any way.

This is me in my new snowclothes.

Mark and me on the sled.

A winter tradition in my family is called "snow kayaking". It's pretty cool. Check it out.

Mark in the kayak. Aaron on the snowboard.

Aaron in the kayak.

Aaron in the kayak, with Ginger in the background.

Mark in the kayak hitting the side of a jump

(and still getting some wicked air).

Mark, Dad, and Aaron in/on the kayak.

What are your wintertime traditions?

P.S. We sold my car. Hooray!!

The Trick

2009-12-09T08:41:00.001-09:00

The trick to feeding a man is to not ask him what he wants or tell him what's for dinner. The trick is to just make it. Set it in front of him. Let him eat. He'll enjoy it if you don't give him a choice. Mark has always told me that it would work, but he's usually around when I'm cooking (which means he will disagree with what I'm about to cook, and we end up eating mac and cheese). Last night he was around, but on the phone. So I made a dinner of potato and cheese soup (thanks to Wendy's great gift). And he liked it.

And that, my friends, is the trick.

Sigh of Relief

2009-12-07T12:56:00.003-09:00

Well, I feel pretty good about my final. As I've talked over it with some of the other students, I've felt more and more confident. When I think about the midterm and it's results I feel even better about this exam.

The rest of this week will be filled with relaxing, cooking, laundering, cleaning, bass playing, performing, sleeping, researching, proctoring and grading. And all of these things will be done with A LOT less stress.

It's going to be a good week.

Ketchup

2009-12-03T19:23:00.002-09:00

Since the last time I wrote, two big events have happened. First, Thanksgiving. Since Mark had gone to Bryce Canyon and Escalante with his brothers, I found a ride to Salt Lake to spend time with my sister and mom. It was great! We had fun making noodles for homemade chicken noodle soup, laughing and chatting, and making jello "shots" and trifle "shots" for the Sweet family Thanksgiving. It was awesome to have time to just chill with the fam. It was also awesome that Gramma Sweet was at my mom's house for a few hours making the noodles for Thanksgiving dinner. I haven't spent time with her in a very long time, and it's just good to be around Gramma. Just to be able to hug her when I wanted was wonderful. I love you, Gramma!!
After spending time with my family, the plan was that Mark would pick me up and we'd head back to Logan on Wednesday night. Or so everybody else thought. Mark and I had planned to stay for Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Thursday, and I decided to keep it a surprise. The look on Gramma's face was priceless when she saw me Thanksgiving morning. I hope I never forget that face. She's beautiful. Anyway, it was wonderful to spend time with the aunts, uncles and cousins who were at the dinner. I miss those folks.
We left Salt Lake on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Logan around 6 or 7. Mark and I got bored and fell asleep at 7:30. Lame, I know, but it was awesome. We woke up at 6:30 the next morning, and we didn't go shopping. Weird, right? But we didn't feel we needed anything. So we just had a nice long morning together. Later in the day on Friday, Mark's family held their Thanksgiving dinner. That was also a blast. 4 of the 6 brothers were there (one was in Ireland and the other in Georgia). It was fun to be with all of the nieces and nephews.
I love holidays!

The second big event that happened was that I finished my grading of assignments and quizzes for the semester. You know what that means? This semester is just about over. Not only am I done grading, but I am done with assignments and projects for my classes. Just one final on Monday, then I'm basically done. How awesome is that?!

What's your favorite part of the holidays? Is it the sweets and treats? Is it the hot chocolate by the fireplace? Or is it just having the heat on in your house so that it's a nice cozy place to come to after playing in the (non-existent) snow?

For the Love

2009-11-22T19:41:00.003-09:00

Mark left tonight to go to Bryce Canyon with a couple of his brothers for a few days. I don't know what to do with myself. It's quite boring living alone, and I've only been home without him for 20 minutes. Lame. Any ideas on things I can do to keep myself entertained? Or, rather than that, how do I motivate myself to clean the house and get my homework and other things done?

On a different note (no pun intended), I played in an orchestra concert tonight. Have I ever told you what a release music is for me? Sure, the practices at night in the middle of the week are sometimes inconvenient. But when I sit on stage with the lights warming my skin, and the conductor walks on stage and everyone claps, then the house lights go dim and the conductor raises his baton... Then music. From a bunch of people using their talents and working together to provide something beautiful to a willing audience. I get chills just thinking about it. I'm so grateful that my parents instilled deep within me a great love of music. I'm grateful for such supportive parents, who drove through a snowstorm for an hour and a half (one way) so that they could listen to the orchestra play for an hour and a half. I'm grateful that they encouraged (and sometimes bribed) me to try different types of music and instruments. I declare that I have the best parents in the world. I love you Mom and Dad. Thank you for coming tonight. It meant the world to me.

Guest Post

2009-11-11T17:40:00.002-09:00

A friend of mine wrote down this story about a recent family home evening in her singles ward because she thought I would enjoy it. And I did. So I got permission to post it here. You're welcome.

"Lap Tag" or "How I Spent the Creepiest Monday Night Ever" by Jill Warnock

In lap tag, you have a group of people (>7) and it must be an odd number. Half the people sit in a circle and then the other people sit on the first groups laps. For notation purposes, the people in the first group are denoted (1), the people in the second group as (2) and the person by himself as (3). 3 is also in the circle. 3 points at two 2s, who have to crawl over to 3 and tag his foot. The 1s hold on to their 2s and don't let them get to 3. The 1 whose 2 gets to 3 first becomes the new 3 and the other 1 and 2 switch.
So then they made me play. And I get stuck sitting on the lap of some guy who came with another girl, meaning I had NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE. When I got pointed at he wrapped both arms around my stomach and one leg around my knees and we had to wrestle. And I am done with singles wards.

Because I Said I Would

2009-11-11T09:12:00.000-09:00

I know you have all been waiting for the pictures of me and Casey. So, here they are!

This last picture I think is best, except the lighting isn't great. But did you see in the second picture how intense our conversation was? Man, it was great. I just love that woman.

Also, do you like the blog makeover? It's kind of fall-ish.. Since it's fall now, I figured it would be appropriate..

Awesome Week = Really Tired

2009-11-05T20:24:00.002-09:00

Wednesday was a very good day for me. First, let me just tell you...

I got an A- on that midterm that I dreaded and complained about for over a week and that took me 16 hours! Oh, I just can't describe to you how good it felt to get it back without having a big F on it...

Ahh.. I'm glad I got that off my chest. Now, on to equally exciting and fun news!

Wednesday afternoon I headed down to the big city for a teeth cleaning and a book signing. It doesn't sound very exciting, but wait! The book signing was actually for a cookbook written by The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Before the actual signing took place, there was a question-answer session where we could ask her anything we wanted. Naturally, I thought of my question the next morning... I want to know if she's ever had fry sauce.. It's not an extremely common condiment outside of Utah, but how could she come to Utah without even trying it?!

Before the question-answer thing started I was people watching (a favorite past-time of mine) when I realized that I was sitting about 7 feet from where Casey from mooshinindy.com was standing with her little moosh! I was ecstatic! I mean, not only did I get to revel in the beauty and glory of my favorite online recipe provider, but I got to see the owner of one of my favorite "real life" blogs! You can ask my mom, aunt, or sister-in-law. They'll tell you that I was excited. I couldn't stop the little squeals of delight from escaping from my heart. Just thinking about it now gives me the chills. And that was just from seeing her. Then it happened. She looked in my direction and saw me looking at her. And I mouthed (because it was loud and she wouldn't have heard me if I spoke it out loud) "Are you Casey?" She looked at me, somewhat bewildered, and responded with a nod. I motioned that I was going to come talk to her (and she didn't run away!) and away I went. It's interesting how sometimes I feel shy in leaving a comment on someone's blog, yet in real life I am as forward and outgoing as the girl next door (or something like that). Anyhow, I introduced myself and talked for a minute (and got a couple of pictures with her - to be posted later) then returned to my seat. Seriously, a highlight of my night.

After the question-answer thing we (mom, aunt, sister-in-law, me) went to Arby's. I got an order of jalapeno poppers, and the nice gent gave me a couple extra cups of Bronco Berry Sauce. I decided to ask PW if she would use them in a recipe in a future post. She said she would. So now you know my claim to fame.

More about this good week to come...

Someone Explain This..

2009-10-27T11:54:00.001-08:00

This morning when I went outside, there was snow on the grass and not on the sidewalk. I understand that. What I don't understand is that it's been snowing all day, and the snow on the grass is melting...

?

All Better

2009-10-20T19:32:00.003-08:00

Life seems so much easier without having to think about that dreadful test. Now my days are a little more lazy and relaxing. Did I tell you I spent 16 hours on that blasted thing? Yeah, I did. And I'm not even very confident that I did well. Talk about having a burden lifted off of my shoulders. I care about the grade I got on the test, but I feel much better not thinking about it for now. No use in worrying over something that I won't find out for another 2 weeks, right?

Anyway, back to real life. Now I've got to bust my bottom to get a bunch of research done. My adviser is presenting this project at a conference at the beginning of November. And our model keeps changing (which is good, but also brings on a lot of work).

I love statistics. Except when there's math, too.

2009-10-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

AHHhhhhhh

That feels better.

Dread

2009-10-16T07:58:00.001-08:00

In approximately two minutes, the hardest and most evil test will show up in my email inbox. The professor gives us 72 hours to take the exam from the time we receive it. He estimated it will take between 12-15 hours to complete, which is why he gives us 3 full days. So we can spend 4-5 hours on it each day. In my last post I mentioned the class I really don't enjoy. This test is for that class.

If I survive this, come visit me in the hospital.

Overwhelmed

2009-10-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

I rarely have something clever or witty enough to take up a whole blog post.

I don't this time, either.

But I figured it was time that I let you guys know a little about what's going on in my life.

This semester I am taking 9 credits. For those of you who don't know, that is full time on the graduate level. Lucky for me, 3 of those credits are devoted to my research, and I don't have to go to class for them. So, basically, I'm taking 2 classes. One of them is TOTALLY FUN!! We basically analyze medical data using techniques suited for biological/medical data. The homework is more of a fun activity than a chore, and class time is always fun. My professor has a great sense of humor, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who thinks he's funny. But the point is, I love that class. The other class? Not so much. The professor is nice, but not very funny. The material is boring as poop. The homework is harder than wrestling a grizzly bear. And it's required for my major. Lame. Oh, did I mention the take-home midterm is estimated to take between 12 to 15 hours to complete? *Sigh* So much for my fall break. Needless to say, my classes take up a lot of my time.
Not to mention the research I'm supposed to be doing. It's a good thing I have a very motivated adviser, or I would never get a single thing done for this project. I'm having a hard time self-motivating myself to get anything done with it. I had a great time doing all of the exploratory analysis! But now that it's getting down to the nitty gritty? Yikes. Let's be honest. Who actually enjoys reading journal articles? And what about writing them? Not me. I guess it's an acquired taste. Kind of like drinking beer. At first it's gross and you want to spit it out. But as you drink more and more and taste different kinds you start to like it. Or so I hear. I've never actually tried that one. It just smells gross. Why would I want to ingest it? Just like journal papers. They just look gross and tiring. Why would I want to waste my time reading it (just so I can walk away feeling like I've been hit by a train)? There's still a few fun things to do with my research. But writing it all up into a big paper just seems so daunting. Also, this month is crunch time. My adviser is giving a presentation on my project and wants to have a paper submitted, or close to submission, before he goes to present on it. That way, people won't steal our ideas and beat us to the punch line. The stuff we're doing is pretty amazing. But sometimes I just feel like I'm in over my head with it. *Sigh* So much for October.

And that's just the classes I'm taking. Then there's the easy part of school: teaching. I teach two help labs for two classes. They are both very easy to teach and talk about since they are statistics classes, and I have been doing this stuff for 5 years. HOWEVER, along with teaching comes grading. And that can take forever. With two quizzes a week and a homework every other week for one class, and a homework every two or three weeks in the other class, I end up with a lot of grading to do. And not only do I have to do it, but it's boring. I used to help my friend, Laura, with grading her 5th graders homework. That was fun because they say funny things. But grading stat homework (as much as I love statistics) is not fun.
Then there's the other job. You would think that working one or two nights a week wouldn't be so bad, right? Well, that's wrong. It's so hard to be working at Domino's, driving around thinking "I could be doing my homework or research or grading right now" and then not be able to do any of it. Even when it's a slow night, I have to just stand inside and do nothing. HOW COMPLETELY UNPRODUCTIVE IS THAT?!! *Sigh* So much for date nights.

Despite how this post sounds, I am actually doing well. I was sick for a couple of weeks (which only stressed me out more) but I'm over that now. I don't cook. The house doesn't get cleaned very often. Sleep is often neglected. But we are alive and getting through school. And ONE DAY, we will have degrees to prove it. Which will lead to careers that we like, instead of delivering pizza.

Until next time, my friends.

Weird, Wild Stuff

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

I was going to the bathroom and I undid my pants and started to pull them down when something caught my eye.. It was a praying mantis.. On my zipper.. Totally freaked me out! How I wish I had a picture of my face at that moment.. Because seriously, how weird is it to find a praying mantis hanging out by your zipper on your jeans.. How did it get there? I have no idea. How long was it there? I have no idea. Why did it feel the need to travel on my pants? Maybe it was part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for Praying Mantis's. Who knows? Just to clarify, I didn't kill the thing. After I (very quietly) freaked out (because I didn't think it was appropriate to shout in the bathroom) and brushed it onto the floor using my cell phone (which is smaller than my hand and was actually quite difficult to use but I was being a scaredy-pants and didn't want to touch the bug.. plus, I was sick, and disoriented by the near disaster), I used the toilet then washed my hands and used the drying towels to pick up the bug (insect?) and gently put it out the window. Tragedy averted.

My Beautiful

2009-08-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

I'm wanting to sell my car for $2000. Any takers?

1997 Chevy Cavalier. 151,000 miles. Manual. New clutch system. In town 25 mpg, Freeway 30 mpg or more.

Dear Nathan

2009-08-27T06:40:00.001-08:00

This post is for you, since you are the only one who cared enough to leave me a little luck comment. Thank you.

The first 3 days of school were great. I taught my first class yesterday and it went better than I could have hoped. The "kids" in my class are awesome; they all seem to want to learn and understand statistics. I was really fearing having someone in my class who was going to be a jerk and disrupt the whole class all the time. Lucky me! I didn't get one of those (as far as I know).

Also, I have recently been informed that I will get to teach another recitation section for a different class. The math department is creating it because I would like to teach it and they think it will be beneficial to the students in that class. The way awesome thing about this new class is that it's a recitation for a 5000 level statistics class. It's pretty cool when I'm teaching students who are just about on my level.

Anyway, I have class in a couple minutes, so I've got to get outta here. Thanks again, Nathan.

-Jess

P.S. We really miss having you guys around to play games with us all the time. It's just not the same without you.

A New Semester

2009-08-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

Monday fast approaches.
Class at 9:30. Title of the class? Mathematical Statistics I - STAT 6710. Sound overwhelming? It is.
Tuesday comes next.
Class at 9:00. Title of the class? Biostatistical Information - STAT 5810. Also another overwhelming class.
Then there's Wednesday.
My first day of teaching a recitation section. Wish me luck.
Thursday and Friday will be nothing completely new.

I'm looking forward to the schedule I will have every day. I even created my Google Calendar so that I can schedule appointments and whatever else. Ha. "Schedule appointments." I make myself sound so important. The recitation that I'm teaching is like a lab for a statistics class. It's going to be a lot like teaching Gospel Doctrine. I have a basic teaching guideline, and I use it to get my class involved in learning the material. It should be fun... As long as the people in my class are friendly and talkative.

I'll let you know how it goes.

My Take on College

2009-08-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Bleh.

The Forboding

2009-08-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

The daytime sky like the night.
The sun red as blood moving in the sky.
The wind blows past me, thrashing, pushing me toward darkness.
I close my eyes and wish the grave feelings gone.
A moment of happiness.
Then black.
I search.
I scramble.
I grope for something familiar.
Blind and desperate I find nothing.
Then, a light.
Dim, and unmoving.
Peace swarms my soul,
And I surrender to the night.

Grocery Shopping

2009-08-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

I am not a fan.

I would rather send someone else to do it for me, as long as they know to buy good quality at a good price. Today I was going through the mail looking at the ads for Smith's, Albertson's, and Maceys. They all seemed to have some good deals, so I split up my grocery list.

First, there's Albertson's. They advertised 20 yogurts for $10. The picture was of Yoplait yogurt (which I love). When I got there, it was store brand. Not cool. Thanks for getting my hopes up, then smashing them to smithereens! Thanks a lot, Albertson's.

Next up, Smith's. I went there for some advertised produce and some other things. The peaches I picked up had a sign above them saying they were the ones advertised for cheap. HOWEVER, Smith's doesn't believe in paying people to be cashiers. Instead, they make their customers use the self checkout. How the heck are we supposed to make sure we have the right price when we have no stinkin' privileges?! Thanks, Smith's, for supplying ONE GUY to service ALL FOUR self-checkout stands! That's TWO people helping ALL of the customers who are checking out. Nice.

Finally, there's ♥ Maceys ♥. I walk in. Plenty of employees walking around helping people and smiling. The produce was cheaper than at Smith's, but their ad didn't say so. Multiple checkout stands open, PLUS self checkout. So what if the milk is 15 cents more? I should've gone with my age old strategy of just shopping at one place, instead of trying to get the best deals everywhere.

Lesson learned.

Sweet Family Campout

2009-07-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

A day and a half after we got home from Portland (see below for details on that trip) we left for Zion National Park for the annual Sweet Family Reunion. Again, we had a great time. The Sweets are so fun to be around! Most of what we did consisted of hiking, eating, and visiting. Since Mark is from St. George, he knew of a hike that is really cool that isn't well known. We attempted that one on Thursday with a large group of hikers. However, we turned in to the parking lot just before the one we wanted and ended up doing a much harder, less pleasant hike... with a bunch of young children who kept falling into cacti. At the bottom of the hike we came to a small river where we played in the water and caught frogs. It ended up being a good experience and the kids got to build some character.
Friday Mark, Tyson (my cousin) and I went back to do the real thing. We got some pretty awesome pictures there, and had a good time.

Portland Vacation 2009

2009-07-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Portland was SO FUN! We had a blast. The drive should have seemed quite long but time passed quickly both on the way there and on the way back, probably because I took naps while Mark drove. When I wasn't napping, I was reading aloud a book called The Elfstones of Shannara. It's a pretty good book. I would suggest it to anyone who likes things like The Lord of the Rings.

On this trip we

did a lot of hikes
played a lot of games
watched a couple of movies
ate a lot of good food
went to the Portland zoo
played at OMSI
hiked to some waterfalls
visited the aquarium at Newport
saw the Oregon coast
visited with Mark's brother and family
went to the rose gardens
went hiking
visited old friends in La Grande

Portland Zoo

2009-07-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Newport Coast and Aquarium

2009-07-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

OMSI

2009-07-27T15:27:00.001-08:00

Multnomah Falls

2009-07-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Rose Gardens

2009-07-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Punchbowl Falls

2009-07-27T15:24:00.001-08:00

June

2009-07-08T12:34:00.001-08:00

Since I missed posting for most of June, here's what we've been up to:

A week and a half in St. George visiting family and friends, playing games, and chillaxin. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable time - a great way to celebrate my birthday!

A few days near Park City with my fam. Boating! Swimming and hot tubbing! Playing Phase 10 with Aunts and Uncles until you feel like you're going to die! It was great to see my extended family that we don't get to see very often.

A LOT of work (without many blogworthy pizzalog moments).

Cleaning house and trying not to be too lazy during the day.

Trying without success to come up with meals that are more healthy than pizza that aren't complicated or time consuming to make.

Going to the gym as often as we are in town.

311 concert!! Sadly, the camera broke that same trip so we can't take pictures anymore.

Coming up in July:

A trip to Portland to do the things we couldn't do this winter (everything) when it snowed there.

Another family vacation down south with lots of outdoor activities!

More hanging out during the day, lazily doing research, then working at night.

It Would Be So Much Easier IF...

2009-07-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

I got paid for the research I am working on
I was good at writing scientific papers
I constantly thought scientifically about most things
Results on the computer were always scientific results
Journal articles were fun to read
People in the close circles of my life understood statistics enough that I could share with them what I'm doing in my research and classes

These things would make my life much easier. But when all is said and done, would they make my life (and research) more fulfilling?

Pizzalog #5

2009-06-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

Every summer, USU holds a football camp for high school boys. If you've ever known a high school football player, you'll know that they can eat. Football camp was this week. And it was crazy. Imagine 5 high school football teams. All hungry. Last night I would take 5 orders at a time up to campus to the boys. One of the guys was really happy to have his pizza. He told me that I had a four star rating in his book, and he gave me a four dollar tip. My response: "Oh, I'm not five stars?"

I Did It

2009-06-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

I finally got myself a gym membership. This gym has a personal trainer that holds classes once every hour, helping you to create a workout that is right for you. This includes how much weight you should use on each of the machines, and how long/hard your cardio workout should be. I started creating my workout today, and will finish it tomorrow. My goal is to become more fit. Hopefully that includes getting rid of my lovehandles, but if they don't go away then I'll be okay. To quote the scriptures, I want to "walk and not be weary and run and not faint." This is a call to anyone who would like to join me in this effort. I'll try to document my progress here.. Maybe.. If it's not too embarrassing.

Pizzalog #4

2009-05-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

Getting in and out of my car for work a bajillion times a day provides a little wear and tear on my car. Sometimes the big bags of pizza will hit my air vents and break the lever that lets you close the vent (this only happened once, and it's on the passenger side which isn't as bad since I'm usually the only one in the car, and hence nobody is usually in the passenger seat). Other small (aka cheap plastic pieces) frequently break off and end up on the floor. Don't ask me how many pieces of my car I've thrown away because I don't know where they came from or how to put them back. Eventually you realize how important each little piece of your car is. For example, all the little plastic parts on a seatbelt that don't really make your seatbelt more safe, but they make the seatbelt look a little better. They also make the seatbelt less harmful and annoying to you. I burned my arm on the metal part of the seatbelt when I got into my car today. Later on, the same part of the seatbelt got stuck between the cushion of my seat and the metal on which my seat sits (the metal that lets me adjust forward and backward). And because all of the nice little plastic parts were gone and the seatbelt was stuck in the seat, I got a bruise on my leg. As I was getting into the car with a big bag of pizzas, I fell a little and crashed down hard on the stuck seatbelt. My life is so hard.

:)

Pizzalog #3

2009-05-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, you should read #1 and #2.

Now for #3. One dark night, I was delivering pizza to some family housing near campus. At my school, campus sidewalks are wide so that authorized vehicles can get to where they need to go. This family housing place had the same wide sidewalks, but also had automated gates to prevent unauthorized people from driving on them. It was a dark and busy night, so I hurried to the apartment and gave them their pizza. Did I mention it was dark? My lights were on, facing the direction of the apartment. Because it was so busy, I decided to run back to my car (toward the bright lights on a very dark night). Needless to say, I couldn't see very well. I was running pretty fast. Remember those automated gates I mentioned? Imagine getting clotheslined (sp?) by one of those. Yeah. Welcome to my world of awesome.

Picture This

2009-05-29T14:44:00.000-08:00

A new Walmart is being built near my home. When I drove past it last night, this is what I saw:

And the dang thing isn't even open yet!!

Summer Fun

2009-05-22T10:11:00.001-08:00

The husband finally convinced me to put down my book and go outside for some fun. We decided to round up some friends and go play frisbee golf on campus.
Here's a sweet action shot of the husband:

One of the friends (and me in the background, but don't look):

The husband trying to explain to the guys the next "hole". They look a little confused.

Another one of the friends (who ends each throw in a girly ballet pose. This picture shows him entering this pose.):

These last few pictures are for our niece. In order to travel around the world, she created a flat twin (a notebook with her picture on it). This gets mailed around to people she knows in different places. We received her flat twin and decided to take her frisbee golfing with us. These are a few pictures with Flat Emma.

What a joy to have a relaxing and fun summer afternoon.

Pizzalog #2

2009-05-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, you should read Pizzalog #1 which describes a little about why I am doing this. And now with #2:

I was delivering pizza one night, and I was taking an order to a small house in a small town just outside of Logan. As I was walking up to the door, a small child came over to me, dressed in a long sleeve orange shirt, overalls and flip flops. The child had long-ish blonde hair and a cute face. Pushing a stroller, the child came over and showed me the doll in the stroller. I knocked on the door and the child's mother came to the door. "Your little girl is so cute!" I said after receiving payment for the food. The mother responded, "He's a boy."

Let's be honest. Do you let your only child, a boy, push around a doll and a stroller?

Pizzalog #1

2009-05-16T11:34:00.001-08:00

As most of you know, I deliver pizza to pay the bills. Like many jobs that have person-to-person interaction, sometimes weird things happen. I'm sure that many of my friends get sick of my stories because they all start like this: "One day, when I was delivering pizza...". I recently realized that you, my blogging friends, rarely get to hear these stories. I have many in my archived memories (which I often have a hard time retrieving, ask the husband) so over the rest of my time working pizza I will try to remember all of my wonderful stories and share them with you. We'll start with the most recent.

Last night, I was delivering pizza. Our store closes at 1 on Friday nights, and around midnight we got a call for an order close by. It's a good neighborhood, and it was my order to deliver. Hoping for a good tip, I packed up the pizzas, breadsticks and the Diet Coke and headed out the door. I got to the house within 20 minutes from the time they called (this is normal for us). Picking up the credit card slip for them to sign, a pen, and all their food I headed to the door. I knocked. Waited. Knocked again a little louder. Waited. (After working pizza for 2 years, it's easy to tell if anyone is coming or if anyone is there. Sometimes people order pizza then run to the gas station to get a soda or whatever. Or they order while on their way home and we beat them.) At this house, the main light was on and I knew someone had to be home or they would be back soon. I rang the doorbell. Waited. Knocked again, long and hard. No response. The next step in this case is to call the number that they called from. I did this 3 times with no answer. I called the store at which I work to ask the manager whether to bring the pizzas back or what to do. He said to try knocking again. Leaving the food in the car and taking only the credit card I went to the door again. This time as I neared the door I noticed that their blinds were up a little bit so I peeked in. I was suprised when I saw a woman asleep on the couch. Knowing she was there I knocked and knocked and rang the doorbell. Peeking in, I found she was still asleep. Laughing, I called the manager again to ask what to do. He told me to step inside and try to wake her with my voice. "Okay," I said, "I'll call you back." I opened the door and said, "Ma'am?" No response. Not even a twitch of the hand. "Ma'am, your pizza is here," I said a little louder. She snored a little louder. Standing there in shock I decided to touch her hand, thinking that would surely wake her up. It didn't. I squeezed. I patted. I practically yelled trying to wake her up. Nothing. By this time I'm thinking this is the funniest thing that has ever happened to me.
I called the manager again, who in turn called the store owner. Since she had paid with a credit card the debate was whether to leave the pizza inside the door or bring it back to the store. While I was waiting I decided to get a head start back to the store. But they told me to leave it there so I turned around and went back. Peeking inside, I saw she was still asleep so I knocked. Peeked again and saw her hand twitch. This was the first movement I'd seen of her the whole time (including when I touched her). I knocked again hard and continuously for about 10 seconds. Peeked in yet again and she had moved off the couch! A few seconds later she came to the door, completely out of it. I hand her the credit card slip and ask her to sign it and she sets it on the couch and takes the pen and food to the kitchen. She came back about 20 seconds later with a piece of pizza in her hand. "Do you know where the thing to sign is?" I respond, "I think you dropped it on the couch." She goes back in the kitchen. Thinking she doesn't have a clue what I said I stepped in and grabbed the slip. "It's right here, ma'am." Handing it to her, I pointed out the spot to sign and the spot to write the total. When I got it back, she had slashed out the tip line, written 4.00 on the total line, wrote the total (the wrong total, adding the tip completely wrong) on the signature line, and signing where the delivery persons id is supposed to go.

Amazing.

Still Alive

2009-05-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

It has been a while (yet again) since I last posted. This time, my excuse is that I just haven't felt like writing. I still don't really feel like writing, but you guys deserve an update.

School is out for the summer, and neither of us are taking summer classes. I'm excited for that, sort of. This entire past week I have done hardly anything. If I'm going to survive this summer I definitely need to get my butt in gear and start some projects or something. Like my research for grad school. The problem with that one is that I've done the fun part. Now I need to do the boring things like search the web to find data and read journal articles. I dread the latter. They make me fall asleep. So, to keep from going completely insane because of my research, Mark and I decided to do a few touchups in our house. It's fine the way it is, but good is good and great is better. So, we bought a new light fixture for our pool table room. Already that room is really coming together. We have a few more ideas, but we have yet to decide on much else. Anyone like to paint? We can probably use the help sometime.

Our other plans for the summer are a lot of weddings, a few vacations, and working pizza the rest of the time. We sound busy, but we're not. Trust me, I would know. Anyway, I'm curious about how many people actually read my blog. Usually there's not much to comment on, so I understand why you don't leave comments. Today I'll ask a few questions that you can answer in the comments section. Sound good? I thought so.

1. Do you like to paint? (And would you want to help us sometime this summer?)
2. What is your favorite meal? (And can I have the recipe?)
3. What is your favorite vacation spot?

I Looked Out My Window And What Did I See?

2009-04-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

DUCKS!

...and a cat.
Have I told you that I love my new house?

Brain-Stress Deadlock Disorder

2009-04-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

I hate thinking of titles for my posts. It's probably the hardest part of keeping a blog, and today that is the thing on which I will blame my infrequent posts. That and a whole lot of homework. This semester I have been blessed with a lot of time to finish my assignments and projects (etc.), but these last couple of weeks have blown me out of the water. I thank my teachers for extended due dates and simplification of homework.

Sometimes I get so stressed out about everything I have to do that my brain goes into a deadlock. The stress makes it impossible to accomplish anything and not accomplishing anything causes stress. There are certain techniques to avoid brain-stress deadlocks (a term I came up with myself) which include (but are not limited to): not procrastinating your homework, keeping a formal calendar of all assignments and due dates, making a checklist of everything that needs to be done (in order of most important to least important) along with an estimate of how long each item will take, and keeping a clean home. I sort of failed on a couple of these techniques and ended up in a tough spot. The only way (or so it seems) out of a brain-stress deadlock is to hunker down and get something done. It is usually better to start with something easy or not very time consuming. Work your way up from there. And then write a blog about it. That's how it usually works for me.

p.s.

2009-04-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

it's april fools day. hope you had a good one!

also, that was my friend's test... congratulations laura!

News

2009-04-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Best Day of My Life!

2009-03-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the best day of my life, except for the time that we removed the fireplace and went to Weinersnitchel (I wrote about that in my journal as a kid, labeling it "the best day of my life"). Anyway, I got to go see Arlo Guthrie in concert! I grew up listening to this man, and it was sooo fun to go see him live. He even came to my small town for two nights in a row. (We have an elderly population.)

Plus, there was a double bonus. One of my best friends EVER came to visit and go to the concert with me. She wasn't sure she'd like it, since Arlo's high time was in the 70's, but she ended up really enjoying herself. Now if that isn't a testament to good music, I don't know what is.

We tried to catch the band at the bus after the show, but we were one minute too slow. At least I got to sit on row 4 and watch him work his magic.

Here is a picure of Iki and Ica (that's what we used to go by - Iki is short for Nikki, Ica is short for Jessica). Thanks, Iki, for coming up! It was so good to hang out with you. Love ya!

Post-Edit:
I just want you all to know that I almost met Arlo Guthrie tonight (the night after I went to the concert). We were on our way home from somewhere and I asked Mark to humor me and take me to where the bus would be. Unfortunately, Arlo had left about 2 minutes before we got there. But I did meet his son, Abe Guthrie. I suppose that will have to suffice.

Best Invention Ever

2009-03-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.fruper.com/

Description:
Tired of that same old monotonous water? Bored with water that doesn't look like futuristic alien mouthwash? Need to make your midnight bathroom appointments more exhilarating? Then you need to get the LED faucet light attachment from ThinkGeek. You can turn any faucet in your home into a streaming fantasia of techie-bliss in just minutes. How does it work? Just attach to the end of your faucet (universal adapters included), and when the water flows through the magic chamber, it simply turns on the LED array and illuminates the stream with soothingly powerful hues.

Blue/Red LED - Normally streams BLUE LED's until the water temperature hits 89 degrees after which the LEDs turn RED (now with a brushed chrome finish)!

Features:
* Chamber with LEDs
* Batteries pre-installed plus a set of spare batteries (uses G13-A style watch batteries)
* Instruction Sheet
* Two universal adapters included. (fits most standard faucets in USA. Not recommended for faucets outside of the USA.)
* Dimensions: 2.25" tall, 1.25" diameter.

And it's only $9.95!!!

The Cure for Spring Fever

2009-03-25T06:24:00.000-08:00

Snow. For one week after a full week of pure spring weather. Instead of feeling happy, like you want to go outside and play, you will feel depressed and it will be much easier to stay inside and do your (insert relative job here - for me, homework).

I found the cure. See, Mom? I do know everything.

Virtual Tour

2009-03-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

This is for you, Aunt Carrie. Thanks for commenting on my Facebook status today! :)

Here we start with the outside view. (It is a beautiful day today!)

The next couple are what you would see if you walk through the front door.

I'm working on a project over here. Please excuse the mess, and note the rock band guitars and drums. Come play!

Or if you don't like rock band, there's always these! For a complete list of what you can play when you come to our house, click here.

Ahem. Moving on to the kitchen/dining area.

/laundry room.

/computer/music room.

Back into the living room, we have stairs.

At the top of the stairs: a morin-khuur and a ukulele.

The hall at the top of the stairs leads to three rooms and has a nice corner closet.

The pool room:

The bathroom:

The bedroom:

(Complete with walk-in closet!)

There you have it. Next time, let's make it not-so-virtual, eh?

Gettin Back In

2009-03-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

School started again today. Last week was our spring break, and I spent most of it just being lazy. Already I can feel my mind start to drift away to motorcycles and warm beaches. Rather than listen to my professors, I daydream about the day when school is finally out. I think I'm burned out for the semester. My classes used to be fun and intriguing. Now they are all a bore.

Classes? Work?

No thanks.

Guitar Hero? Board Games?

Bring it on. I wish...

The Day That Got Better

2009-03-04T19:15:00.001-09:00

Today started out see post below. However, as the day went on, it got a little better. I made it to my 2nd class of the day (which is boring and hard, but if I miss a lecture than I'm totally lost and will never catch up) and I also made it to work at the pizza place (joy.).

The good part about today? I joined the community orchestra. And I went to my first rehearsal with them. And it was pretty much amazing because I haven't played an upright bass in three-and-a-half years and I have been aching to play for at least two years and I finally got to play and it was amazing, but now my arms and fingers are tired from playing the amazing bass and I'm really excited as you can tell by this amazingly long run-on sentence. Also, run-on sentences are easier to type because you don't have to worry about punctuation and capital letters and such so the buttons are easier to push and I think I'll start typing in run-on sentences for the next couple of posts and I'm wondering if that would bother you? Just kidding. I'm not that talented.
I think my fingers still have a bit of adrenaline from playing the bass again. Ahhh.. it just feels so good, ya know? Maybe you don't know. But don't take my word for it! (That's what they used to say on Reading Rainbow. Remember that show, anyone? It was da bomb.) Anyway, I just wanted y'all to know that my day got better.

(Insert emoticon smiley face here.)

Sick day.. like a snow day, but not

2009-03-04T09:24:00.001-09:00

I really don't like being sick. Also, I really don't like missing school. Therefore, today is not one of my more favorite days.

The Weekend

2009-03-02T07:04:00.000-09:00

Well, thanks to my Aunt Carrie, I figured out what to do on Saturday. (Thanks for the invite, Carrie, I had a blast.) I surprised my mom by coming down to her house on Saturday night. There was a party celebrating the return of my uncle from Afghanistan (hooray!), and my mom didn't invite me because she "knew I couldn't come anyway, so why invite?" But I went anyway. And she didn't know until I was standing in her kitchen. See?

Priceless.

During the course of the night, I played with my cousins (see above - isn't he so cute?!), visited with aunts and uncles, laughed a lot, and had one of grandma's delicious eclairs smashed all over my face and up my nose. Later on I scratched my nose, just to find dried chocolate frosting. Thanks a lot, Aaron and Sam! (You big meanies!)

On Sunday, I went to church in my mom's ward, where it just so happened that my second cousin (whom I love dearly) was having her baby blessed. So, I got to see all of the family that I normally only get to see at funerals. It was nice to see them in a positive place. That evening, we celebrated my sister's birthday with a dinner at mom's house.

Thanks for the party, fam! I had a great weekend!

The One With the Time

2009-02-27T06:51:00.000-09:00

I'm referring to myself, not the husband. You see, the last two homework assignments I had only took me about 20 to 30 minutes each. Not too bad of a work load for a graduate student. The husband, on the other hand, gets homework assignments that take him 15 hours each. That leaves me as the one with all of the time in the world. I don't even know what to do with that much time! Somehow I find a way to waste it, though. (*Cough* *Facebook* *Cough*) Today I think I'll vacuum out my car, and maybe wash it again (even though I did that a few days ago.. Unfortunately, it rained dirt yesterday). After that, I'll take a nap.

Any suggestions for tomorrow? Here's my list so far: babysit for an hour in the morning, have old roommate and her husband come play games in the evening... and that's it.