Thesis Defeated

Scott sent me this photo yesterday...

YAY!!! He has officially and successfully defended and conquered his thesis for his Masters in Geology! 

I'm a very proud and happy wife.

Yay for freedom and no more school stress!

Woot! Woot!

Catch Up

I almost completely ignored this poor blog my last semester. So much has happened since I don't even know if I should bring things up to speed. But I'll do a quick recap anyways.

-I got a new calling in my singles ward as the Relief Society President. (Seriously, this had to happen right with my last and most stressful semester?! Good one...)

-I turned 22 in February. 

-I bought a car! A Nissan Sentra 2005 whose name is Richard Parker. 

-I got two new jobs during the last month of my semester. (So stressful but hey, it was a good opportunity.) So I now work at American Fork Hospital, a Sports Medicine Clinic, and Riverwoods Urgent Care.

-I finished all 1500 clinical hours and passed my last bunch of classes. 

-I graduated with a second associates degree. (So lame. Why couldn't it have been a bachelors?)

-I passed my Radiology Technologist boards exam. Do you remember how stressed I was about taking my Limited Practical Tech exam? Well this was way worse. But all is well, I passed.

It's so strange now knowing that when I come home from work I don't have homework or something to study for. I don't have school or tests. My time outside of work is completely my own. I love it. Life is so good right now and I am constantly grateful for it. 

Homework Time

Some Happenings

Here's a song for you.

On some other notes:
I'm reading The Princess Bride.
I'm stuck between two music genres of soundtrack goodness (aka Finding Neverland and The Kings Speech), and classic music from the 40's. (aka The Andrew's Sisters, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra... the works.)
I've decided to listen to a conference talk while getting ready in the morning first before I turn on my music.
I have one test left before the end of the semester.
I received a scholarship for about half of my tuition for summer semester!! (Major major blessing)
I'm still waiting to get my LPT license but things have been made more clear about the working at the hospital and the guaranteed 8 hours a week I thought I would have, is no longer guaranteed. Which means the mall job will be held onto a little longer then planned.
I saw someone die for the first time over general conference weekend while working at the hospital. It was incredibly sad and definitely shook me up. It was one of those moments that brings  to a greater light what is truly important in life. Again, what would I do without the knowledge that I have of the gospel?

Finally, A Break

I survived my test. I feel okay about it, but I won't know for certain until I receive my results in the mail. They told me to expect anywhere from 10 days to 4 weeks for the delivery... which I completely don't understand since the whole test was taken on a computer and probably graded right then. So I'm just going to forget about that test for a few weeks as to reduce unneeded stress.

But blessed Weber State for giving me a wonderful glorious spring break!! I have been needing this. The sunshine. No clinical hours or classes. My week hasn't been this open in a long time! Granted I still have quite a lot of homework to get caught up on since I pushed everything aside for the LPT test. It's okay, it'll all work out  and I'll pass and then start picking up shifts that I'll actually get paid for! Life is a grand thing isn't it?

P.S. 3 late nights in a row have really done me in.

Life

My last semester at BYU-Idaho I lived in the basement of a house with 7 other girls. Lauren was one of those girls. I adore her. She would always sit and eat nutella on graham crackers with me. She was hardly home. She would wake up, go to class, be at school all day, come home to change and then head off to work until late at night. This semester I've turned into Lauren. I am never home. It makes me sad. As much as I know that I don't have a ton of friends, I don't care because I love being at home. But this semester is full of running around from place to place. It's good though. I have a job. I'm doing well in school. I'm doing things that are important to me. Life is good right now. And busy.

Switching

Switching from Teachings of the Living Prophets institute class to Parables of Christ was the best decision I've made so far this semester. This class is going to be fantastic.

Would you like to know something about sectional anatomy? I've always thought that when you are looking at an axial slice (a slice cut through the body horizontally), it's from the view of you looking down. That would mean that at the top of the page you have the front of the body, at the bottom you have the back, the left side is the left side of the body and the right is the right. Well guess what? I'm completely wrong. It's as if you are looking up. So you take the picture and hold the slide above your head and look up at it and suddenly you realize that the patient would be facing you which now means the the left side of the patient is on the right side of the page and the right side of the patient is now on the left side of the page. And you are looking up. Up! I can't even describe how much of a difference that makes. My brain had a serious issue trying to get over that fact and understand what I was looking at in class. Ridiculous.

But don't worry. I'm catching on. The workbook is making sense as I guess and check my way through the slices.

In other news, I leave for Vegas in a month. Which means that my birthday is in a month.

Let's See That Axial Slice

Sectional Anatomy...
This class completely scares me.
I thought I had anatomy decently understood. I passed all of my anatomy labs with flying colors. But this, this is a whole new level of having to know EXACTLY where things are. Having to know that the carotid artery is always more medial and smaller then the jugular vein. Having to know that the sternocleidomastoid muscle is lateral to the strap muscles. Blah blah blah.
Doesn't this sound exciting?

And apparently the anatomy and positioning class and the physics class are both on the same day now. My brain is not going to like Mondays.
I have a feeling that this semester might kick my butt.

Getting Ahead, Trying to

I'm starting to get nervous for next semester. I keep thinking about how I'm going to manage my schedule and so far it just overwhelms me. It doesn't help that I only have half of the details. I keep trying to get ahead on my homework thinking that it'll relieve some up coming stress. (How do you even get ahead on homework that hasn't even been assigned yet?) I feel like the small free moments in my life are going to be consumed with driving to where I need to go. Whether that's Provo, American Fork, or Murray, I'm going to be in the car a lot. Yay..... Last semester seemed so easy. By the end I was questioning all the stories of "my life will be taken over and consumed, and it's challenging", blah blah blah that I had heard. But things will probably whip into shape now that I have 1 1/2 jobs. (The 1/2 is a clinical study that I'm in which means I get to fit in a drive to Murray once a week.) It's okay. I'm so grateful that I'm finally earning some money now. It's been desperately needed and is immensely appreciated. Oh to wonder how life would be if I was actually getting paid for the 24 hours a week of hospital work I put in. 

Feeling Better

It's been interesting the span of emotions I've had from getting accepted into the radiology program. It's gone from ecstatic joy to uncertainty. There's four of us that will be doing clinical hours at the American Fork hospital and when I found out that two of them have shadowed there for over a year and already know everyone I felt discouraged. I felt like they would have a leg up on me and already be more advanced and in sync with what's going on. This morning a few of us got together with the clinical instructor for an orientation at the A.F. hospital and I feel a lot better now. The girl that shadowed is just as lost as I am. Granted she knows her way around the building more but she's just as nervous and unsure.

I realized today that I'm going to love having my clinical hours at the A.F. hospital instead of the Provo hospital. A.F. is small, cozy, relaxed, fun. Everyone is nice and willing to help you out. There's only four students there which means more learning for me with less competition. And it's very likely I could get a job there even during my two year program. They're in need of man power and they depend on the students. I like that. It forces me to get a handle on things that much faster. 

Anyways, I'm just really excited to start. I'm ready to be busy in school work again. I'm ready to start working in a hospital. 

Where To Live

I've been doing a little apartment shopping for when I move down to Provo next year and I'm not fully sure which direction to go. I've lived with 4, 6, and 8 people. I've lived in on campus apartments, off campus apartments, and a house. I've had a washer/dryer in my apartment, and coin operated ones. I've always have had a dishwasher. I haven't always had cable. I've never had my own room.

I've been checking out a few places on vacancy.com and I'm liking the idea of Heritage House. 

Now from my few experiences I have come to find some very necessary details. 

1. Washer/dryer in the apartment is a HUGE plus. I absolutely hate the coin machines. I hardly ever use cash which means I hardly ever own quarters, especially in copious amounts just to wash a load of laundry. Also, who likes carrying their dirty laundry across the apartments where everyone can see? And I swear I'm always cursed with the apartment furthest away from the laundry room. 

So far, Heritage House is looking good, washer/dryer included in the amenities list!

2. I really don't mind sharing a room so private rooms aren't a necessity for me but I have found that I enjoy living with a good number of people. (Good number meaning more than 4 but 8 is probably the limit.) Well, Heritage House has 6 private bedrooms, that would be a first for me but I definitely won't argue with those living arrangements. 

3. Bathrooms are very important. They can either make or break an apartment. My last semester we had tons of counter space, lots of mirrors, and plentiful outlets. (Just a reminder that I was living with 8 girls so that was an absolute need.) We didn't have the greatest showers, and essentially it was 4 girls to a bathroom but it was really just one large space. There are lots of fond memories in that beloved space. Do you remember our beloved chair?  Oh the loved memories of staying up late in the bathroom talking, nail painting parties, headbanging parties, music as loud as it will go while you shower, constant singing. Twas a good bathroom.

(I don't think Heritage House will have the same magical qualities but it's okay, we've taken the number down to only 3 to a bathroom.)

4. The kitchen is another area of large importance. I love dishwashers. And sadly, Heritage House doesn't have one. Instead it has 2 fridges, which is great when you live with 8 people, but there's only 6 living there. I think I would much rather have a dishwasher instead. 

5. And lastly the living room, the area of living, plays an important role in social entertaining. The house I lived in last semester was lacking serious proportions for the ideal living room. It was seriously tiny. But no matter. We made due and had a blast anyways. (Picture below shows how we would rearrange the living room for projector movie watching. It was terrible trying to get in or out of the apartment with the furniture this way. You could hardly open the door because the love sac was right in the middle of everything.)

But don't worry, the living room looks acceptable in Heritage House and after dealing with the Sunset Hall living room, I'm sure anything else will be just perfect. 

Anyways, check out Heritage Hall and if you have any suggestions for me on other lovely abodes to live in, tell me!

http://www.vacancy.com/utah/provo-apartments/heritage-house-763-2-priv-fwss-contracts/photos/

Chef-ness

So sometimes I like to try out new things. Well, okay really I try out new things quite a bit. The new thing that I tried out was cooking with my roommate. (Yes I do normally cook, it's not like this was my first time.) But we searched for recipes from different countries, and Switzerland was the winner! We made Rippli which is pork loin ribs that are cooked with potatoes, bacon, carrots, cabbage, celery, tomatoes...just flat out goodness.

Me and one of my wonderful roommates: Becca (p.s. she knows what she's talking about when it comes to cooking. I was her little grasshopper pupil.)

Doesn't that look delicious? Allow me to inform you that it was. 

We also decided to make a dessert, Swiss of course. We made Schokolade Kuchen which is chocolate cake. Can I just say that it was the most bizarre chocolate cake that I've ever made. There was absolutely NO flour involved. Weird. But it was delicious. It definitely has more of a dark chocolate side, but don't worry if you're not a huge fan of dark chocolate. The powder sugar frosting will make up for the lack of sweetness.

I like us and our cooking ideas. Hopefully we get in a few more recipes before the end of the semester. 

For details on how these recipes were made check out our apartment blog. www.stepintotheden.blogspot.com. I'm sure we'll get the post up there in a couple days or so. 

Perfectionism

Oh life, you seem to like to nudge me here and there. You come around and give me little wake up calls, slapping me back to attention. I guess I appreciate it.

I did really well on a test today. I mean it was a slap-happy easy test, ridiculously easy. But I only missed one. One. ugh. I can't believe I missed it. So incredibly frustrating. How did I miss that question?! Completely irked about that.

Well after taking that test I started doing some reading for another class. And of course I came across this quote, "Perfectionism leads to undue stress because perfection is an unattainable goal."
....
Well, I still could have gotten 100 on that test... dah

Taking a Break

Sometimes you just need a day or so where you can be completely and utterly unproductive as far as school work goes. Yesterday was that day. Sure, I tutored in the morning and then went to the computer to start homework, but as I sat there searching, I honestly did not have barely any homework to do!
So of course I'm going to come home, paint my nails, clean the kitchen, attempt some homework which ends up turning into playing computer games and listening to music. I ended up having an hour or so before my night class so I started an episode of Pushing Daisies. Have you ever seen this t.v. show friends? If not, look into it. It's awesome. Well, after my class my tutoring session got canceled which left me an open night! It was filled with the goodness of Lauren and Sara's friends who were so kind to let me hang out with them. I had so much fun.
Anyways, it was just nice not stressing about school work. I fear this attitude has creeped into today...

Good

You know what's really nice?
Going to the temple Saturday with all the roommates home.
Want to know what else is nice?
Sleeping in the living room.
Guess what else?
Hot showers.
And blow dryers.
And having a crepe party tonight.

D&C Predicament

So I'm taking a Doctrine and Covenants class right, because I am trying to gain a greater love/appreciation for this book of scripture. My religion teacher that taught D&C in seminary, I wasn't too fond of. It was his first semester teaching and I was too above him to try and deal with his teaching method, which I did not like very much. So I did not read or pay much attention in class. How sad right? Well last year I did read the Doctrine and Covenants on my own and I used the books, Doctrine and Covenants Made Easier, which I loved. But I still didn't feel like I had a very good grasp on the overview and history behind the sections. So I decided to take it as my last religion class here at BYU-Idaho.

So this is my little miff about this class. We are at midterms and guess what section we are STILL in? Yes, section 2. Do you know how many verses are in that section? 3. Yes, 3 verses. Now it is on the Abrahamic Covenant which is completely vital and necessary to go over and will come into play in multiple areas of the Doctrine and Covenants... but we have spent 5 weeks on this topic. That's 10 hours of classroom time. I know that there's a lot of depth to this subject but I had a hard time following how my professor was teaching. He likes to take very round about ways of answering questions. By the time you get to the actual answer you have no idea REALLY what the answer is, and you've forgotten the question. Fantastic. So I guess this is all frustrating to me because I came into this class wanting to soak up D&C and so far we've been reading from every other book except D&C.

But then I take a step out of me, myself and I, and realize that yes my professor knows so much more than me and if this is something that he feels worth talking about for 5 weeks, then I should pay better attention and get off my high horse and humble myself down a bit.

It's not like I'm not even wanting to go learn about the gospel, it's just that I had a different scenario built up in my mind and I'm getting something completely different. I don't enjoy it much. But alas, that is life and I must learn to compensate and improve in whatever situation I am dealt.

Hockey

I went to my first hockey game over the President's Day weekend. Can I tell you that I absolutely loved it. Who knew I enjoy watching hockey? A large group of us drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to see the Jackson Hole Moose play Saturday night. We all picked out what guy we were going to play for and I chose #54, Joe Walls. Yup, my boy Walls owned that game! I was very proud of him. I kind of wanted a picture with him but I was too wussy.

But before the game we strolled through the town and came across the park which had some fantastic snow sculptures! I was impressed and delighted. 

These boys make me laugh. 

Day 26 and 27

A photo of where you live

Ha yeah that's slightly embarrassing...But I live on the lower level of this house! We call it the den, but it is also lovingly referred to as the cellar, bomb shelter, cave, etc...

Day 27
A photo of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Day 23 and 24

Sorry, yesterday was a busy day.
A photo of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Day 24

A Recipe

The best cake ever: Chocolate - Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 small choc. pudding, instant

3/4 cup water

Mix ingredients gently. Do not over stir. Then add:

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 C. sour cream

Fold these two ingredients in and pour in bundt pan sprayed with pam (or to be safe, cover with crisco and then light layer of flour). Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool slightly before getting cake out of bundt pan. Add glaze on top.

Glaze:

2 T. butter

1 sq. unsweetened chocolate

1 C. powder sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 T. hot water

Melt butter and chocolate and add remaining ingredients. Let drizzle over cake. 

Day 17

Your favorite website.

So I would post a link to the website except I'm on the school's computers and they block facebook until 5, and I spilled water on my laptop keyboard so who knows if that'll recover. I haven't checked yet. So I'm stuck with the schools internet system.
But, if you're on facebook, look up the group "seen @ byu" and just browse through the photos. Also, check out the photo descriptions, they sometimes make the photo.