Checking In

Well, we're in Logan. It's really pretty here in this valley and I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy myself this year. Already we have driven to Yellowstone for a day (4th of July) with my brother and sister-in-law and two of their kids. We've also already watched two full fireworks displays. Here's what's going on:

• We don't have the internet at home so I found the local library to access it from. Unfortunately, without a library card (which I can only get with two forms if ID, one of which has to have my Logan address on it) it costs $1 to get onto the internet. That's not a big deal, but the one hour time limit seriously limits what I do to only what must be accomplished.
• What must be accomplished is me getting a job. If anyone can help that'd be great. (I'm thinking of calling my sister's friend Sarah tomorrow for help.) I just graduated magna cum laude from Oregon State University with a degree in Food Science and a minor in Chemistry. I feel that I am a very employable person, but I have no access to job openings in my field in this community so I feel sort of at a loss. At this point it might just be nice to get a job at a fabric store or maybe a bookstore or something.
  
• Our apartment here is GREAT! It's half again as big as our space in Corvallis and it has.....A DISHWASHER!!! Yes, it is the joy of my life right now. The only sad part is that we will be forced to move out at the end of August.
  
• Last night I found out bad news about my uncle, who has had brain tumors for as long as I can remember. Or maybe its just one tumor that's coming back, I don't really know. Anyway, with all the stress of needing to find a job and a place to live in a couple months and now this last night pretty much sucked.
• This morning was a different story. I got up and did my hair pretty and put on a nice outfit and decided today I was going to find something about jobs in this area. That's my goal for the day anyway.

That's about it for now I guess. My time is running out and I still have to change my address on the bank account so I can get a library card. It's somewhere in the $300 ballpark to get a library card if you don't live in the city so I'd better get it before I move out. (It is a deciet to claim you still live inside the city limits for a library card, but there's no way I'm spending $300 just for a stinking card!)

How I Almost Died

And other News:

Well, it certianly feels great to be D-O-N-E done! Last week was AMAZING and I loved it. Too bad I don't have any photos or I'd post some. I have a few stories to tell so I'll start with the least interesting and go to the most interesting (obviously the story of how I almost died is the most interesting.)

First, let me just say that packing is the pits! I used to think we didn't own very much because it's just the two of us and we've been living in this tiny apartment only a year so we hadn't had time to accumulate things. I forgot my expert ability to organize and pack everything away. We've had to go back a buy boxes three times now because we underestimated. On the plus side though, Dan's mom is here and she is an absolute angel! Without her I think I would have gone insane and decided that all we really need is a place setting each and a fry pan and I'd probably have given everything else away. (We have taken about four bags to the Goodwill total. Sorry Heather (Dan's sister) the shirt is already in Goodwill or the garbage, whichever one Dan thought was the most appropriate.) Perhaps the Whiting family inability to throw things away can come in handy when balanced with the Timothy (or is it Laird?) family ability to throw just about everything away. I'm pretty much fed up with packing. Also, it stinks because I know we'll just be doing the same thing in a couple months anyway. Man I wish we only had to do this thing once a year (well, I wish less moving than that, but at this point I'd take it.)

Secondly, Ashland was AWESOME! I think this may have been the best vacation ever and I'll tell you all why:

1. John (Dan's Father) likes to be in charge and plan things. This makes it easy for the rest of us who then don't have to make any decisions. We can just follow along and enjoy. It really is glorious.
2. The financial burden wasn't carried by us. We would NEVER be able to afford this trip on our own. We are blessed to have parents who will do nice things like this for us!
   
3. I bought a mandolin. Not only that I got to take a lesson where the teacher just showed me the basics. She also set me up with stuff to practice so I'll be able to play just about anything if I work hard at it. I'm SO EXCITED! Now I just have to get used to thinking about chords instead of melodies.
4. All the plays we saw were great! We saw Merry Wives of Windsor, A Winter's Tale, Cirano de Bergeraque (sp?), and Two Gentlemen of Verona. All were exceptional. I think I love going to plays and that will probably be the thing that Dan will have to get used to in our marriage. Hopefully we'll be able to find ones that he likes too. He seemed to really like Cirano so maybe that will work out well.
5. I also go a new pair of summer shoes and a new dress both of which are beautiful. I wore my dress to church on Sunday and got lots of compliments on it.

Also in Ashland we stayed at a little B&B which was tons of fun! Each room had its own bathroom so I was happy and a small TV, so Dan still got to be updated on the World Cup events. One downside to the whole thing was the egg surprise we had every morning. All the other dishes of the breakfast meals were great, but I didn't like a single egg surprise dish. It was like they tried to see just how many things they could put in the eggs. Oh well, all the other food we had was amazing (eating was a HUGE part of the trip and probably one of my favorites as well.)

Finally, how I almost died.

One day of the trip someone (probably John as he did make most of the decisions) decided that we needed to do an activity especially for Dan. We had eaten at a lot of good places (which didn't serve ice with any of their drinks and Dan thought that was silly). We had done a lot of good shopping (which is hard for Dan because he doesn't usually spend his money unless its something he has spent a while deciding he needs). We had gone to a couple of really great plays (which didn't really seem to excite him as much as anyone else). Dan had commented on a flier that he had seen at the B&B about a rafting trip and it was decided that we would go. Now I think I need to make a small confession, I really don't like anything that has the potential or percieved potential to be dangerous. I try to relax, but I get this feeling in my stomach that feels like I'm constipated. That sounds gross, but that's the exact feeling. Anyway, I decided to suck it up and go since Dan had done a lot of things that he doesn't really like to do. We were rafting down the water and all was calm for a while. I even played a game on a calm part. Someone stands on the front of the raft while everyone paddles in a circle to try and make them fall. I did it with Dan and he pushed me in. Anyway, we had gone over a couple of, I don't know what to call them so I'm going to call them rapids. Whenever there was a big one that we were going to go over our guide would tell us to put on our helmets so our brains didn't get bashed in. Well, he didn't say it quite like that, but I knew that's what they were for. Our guide had said that most up until the end were "class 2" with a couple of "class 3's." We had gone through them without a hitch so my nerves calmed down quite a bit. I think one of the ones we went right through was a class 4, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we got really splashed, but it was all exhilirating. The last part of the Rogue we were going down before the take out point was a class 4 with a couple of class 3's directly behind it. A mile after those rapids was the take out point. We were told to put on our helmets so I knew we were going into something big. There were two boats in our group going down the river and the first boat made it through the rapids just fine. Then we went. Somehow we got going sideways just before the first drop and immediately I was on high aleart. I forgot all about rowing and grabbed onto the raft in my terror. By the time we hit the drop we were completely sideways and I knew we were going over. I was on the higher side of the boat that flipped over and I have a clear snapshot in my mind of me looking down at everyone on the boat. Because of my death grip on the boat I was not dragged far under (like my mom, LeAnn, and Dan were) I was however directly under the boat. My dad pushed me out from under the boat and then he went out too. Keep in mind we are amid class 3 rapids at this point. So once he pushed me out I grabbed onto the outside of the raft. Then I called to him and he grabbed my hand and pulled to the raft. The fear I saw in his eyes was terrifying. We were both hanging onto the raft and it was bashing us against the rocks on the side of the river. Somehow our guide appeared on top of the overturned raft. He told me that I had to calm down, that my life vest would hold me up and that I had to let go of the raft. Since it was overturned we had to go down the river and make it to the other raft. This was not a claming message and at first I didn't do it. The raft was keeping me afloat. But he knew what was best and I let go. That that moment I hit a rock that nearly knocked the air out of me because I was not in "swimmer's position" with my feet forward. I struggled to get air and to get my feet ahead of me. I thought for sure I was going to drown. Then, when I got in swimmer's position I realized that when the raft had flipped I had somehow lost my helmet. I was going down class three rapids without my helmet! Now I really had to be careful. Just when the next rock came I bounced off it with my feet. Then I saw Dan and LeAnn floating down the river. I clung onto the back of them so that the other raft could come get us. Dan kept us from hitting some big rocks (by gettting hit with them himself, he kept saying ouch or something like that). Then the raft dragged us in and I felt like a fish flopping on the boat because I couldn't get up no matter how hard I tried. John had swam to the other shore of the river where it was shallow. The raft that had saved all of us had to get over to that shore. Once we got there we were much past John so we had to cling to the grasses on the other side as hard as we could. My arms were burning with the effort, but I could see that Dan's were shaking so I didn't let go. When we finally got out of the water our guide found out that we had broken one of the big oars they use for steering. Remember when I said that the rapids were a mile from the take out point? By the time we got everyone out of the water we were at the take out point. The other guide told us that there were "hydraulics" in the water right where we flipped that can pull rafters under really very far (which is probably what happened to the three that were under for so long they had to actually swim to the surface). We were really lucky because there were no serious injuries. On the other hand my sinuses were FULL of water. I was blowing water out my nose for two days after! Also on the ride home I looked down at my arms and found a very itchy rash had developed from holding on to the grasses. When I got home I realized that before I had thought about anything I had brushed water out of my eyes with the hands that had been clinging onto the grass. My eyes itched and then my eyelids started to swell and get that nasty rash. At least we were all alive.

You should really hear everyone's story, but I have to get back to packing before Dan and LeAnn wonder where I am.

"Mom Clean"

Well, since I've been done with finals I have decided that it is very VERY important to have my apartment clean for when my sister, mom, and mother in law come. I don't know why, because if my apartment was dirty they would still love me. Actually I bet that if my apartment were dirty when my mom came not only would she help clean it up, she would probably chip in painting the walls too (just because that's the kind of mom I have). Anyway, I spent yesterday helping my husband purge all the clothing he's been keeping for no aparent reason for the last, oh, eight years. The conversation was SO FUNNY. It went a little like this.

Him: "So you're going to throw all my clothes away?"
Me: "No, you're either giong to throw the clothes that you no longer wear away, or give them to the Goodwill."
Him: "But there aren't any."
Me: "What about this shirt?"
Him: "That one has memories."
Me: "It also has an enormous hole in the armpit. Look I can fit my fist through it. Also its stained and I've never seen you wear it."
Him: "Ok, but I got it for wrestling my junior year in high school."
Me: "And what a wonderful year it was. I'm not taking that away. Just the old dirty shirt."
Him: "I guess you're right."

By the end he was throwing things away all on his own! He had 15 work shirts! 15! I told him to get rid of 5. I consider 10 "work shirts" is plenty. After actually looking at the shirts and thinking abuot if he will wear them or not, he ended up throwing away 6 of the shirts he calls his "dirty work shirts" all on his own. I case you were wondering a dirty work shirt is one that is permanently stained and thus gets used for dirty jobs. I do think you need these, I just don't think you need 10 of them. (He is keeping some) I also didn't make him throw away his SEVEN pairs of work jeans. I think that seven pairs is a little excessive, but I already had a little victory over the dirty work shirt situation and I thought I shouldn't push my luck. Just so everyone knows, I'm also getting rid of my old clothing that I no longer wear. Only I didn't wear it out to having holes and stains so I'm giving my old clothing to the Goodwill.

Anyway, back to my insane cleaning. My husband had no idea why I was doing it. I was talking yesterday about the list of things I wanted to have clean by the end of the day today (bathroom scrubbed top to bottom, vacuuming, washing windows, mopping floors, etc) and he said, "We have the whole week after vacation that's free that you can get all our stuff orgainzed and cleaned. You don't have to do it all now." And I said, "But I want it done before everyone gets here." To which he said, "I'm beginning to see that. I guess I'll take the kitchen." What an amazing man! Even in my insanity he offers to pitch in and help out! I love him so much!

I guess this post was more about my husband than cleaning my apartment, but let me assure everyone, my apartment will be "Mom clean." That's the highest level of clean. (Well, maybe Grandma clean is higher, I'm not sure anymore.)

No More School!

I just realized today that even if I get a zero on my finals I will still graduate with C's! Nothing can keep me from graduating now! Not that I'm aiming for C's, but it certainly does take the stress off the whole "finals" thing. (I only have one comprehensive final, the other two are just midterms for the last two weeks of class.) Anyway, I think I'll spend my time tonight cleaning and getting ready for my family to come see our apartment instead of studying. It's so funny that the last week I actually live in the place is the first time my sister and my in-laws will actually see it. Luckily my mom came in and helped me decorate at the beginning of the year so its not new to everyone. Anyway, did I mention that I'm so excited for my family to come?!?! Cause I am.

On another note it was rainy off and on all day today. Not very great weather for the middle of June, but at least we're not looking at a tropical storm. I watched the local news this morning and they said it'll probably be raining on Sunday. With that in mind I wonder if we're really going to have to sit through commencement. They don't actually read anyone's name we walk across the stage en mass and then a speaker will talk for an hour or so after everyone has gone through. Also they don't actually give the diplomas then anyway. So I'm wondering how the attendance will be at graduation on Sunday if its raining.

To Be Sure

Well I've decided something and nobody can convince me otherwise. There are times when people may say to me, "You'd better be sure about what you're doing." And to that I say to myself, "Well, no I'm not sure." So I fret and I worry. I cry and I pace. What if I make a huge mistake? What if I'm doing something wrong? Or not even that, what if I'm doing something good, but not the best thing? It was last night that I came to my decision. Sometimes life isn't about being sure. Sometimes it's about being totally scared out of your mind, being worried about making a big mistake or simply not knowing what it is you want to do. It is at times like these when I pray and get my answer and then come hell or high water I'm in it for the long haul. Even if I'm not sure about the outcome, about my ability to succeed or about what I'm doing.

And The End

Well I just attended my last class before graduation! Now all I have to do is my finals. (That's not a big deal since I know I'll do well on them.) It feels like a huge weight has been lifted and I am joyous to have all my family come.

Here's something odd that has happened to me this week. I'm taking this women's study course and one of the projects was to do a financial analysis of a dream of ours. I decided that my dream would be to be able to have my husband get through his first year of medical school debt free. Since we have a lag year between now and him starting medical school I figured it would be a good idea to set up a savings plan and budget for the coming year. (After submitting the assignment I realized I negelected to put on a few expenditures that we will have so I'm going to have to redo it now.) Anyway, we also had to submit a write up talking about our dream and how we are going to succeed in our dream. Part of the grading was on our description of the dream. For that I included a small description of our situation and of the financial situation of medical students in general. When I recieved the grade back my professor had said, "__0/2__Detailed description of the dream is not included. I want to know about YOUR dream, not your husband's. I suppose your "dream" is to be debt free, but that's more of a practicality rather than a personal dream. What do YOU want to do with YOUR life? Are you going to medical school, too? I'll score the rest of this assuming you are." Like my dream isn't valid so I don't get the points. Like having a practical dream that is tied to my life with my husband is ridiculous. Anyway, I reacted like you would expect a redhead and had a complete scorched earth meltdown. I wrote an email to her, but decided to send it to my mom and sister for review before I sent it to my professor. (I find its always better if I give myself a little time to cool off before I let the heads roll.) Well, my professor didn't really appreciate my email, but she did give me the chance to explain myself and then did regrade my assignment so all is well.

The really odd thing about this whole situation is that today I recieved an email from her to a director or something nominating my paper I wrote earlier in the term for a Culture of Writing prize. I must not have pissed her off as much as I thought!

I think that's all the drama for the week!

Foto Fun

I love being in love with my Sweetie! Yesterday we went out on a date that I had been thinking about all week. My mom had mentioned that I failed to inform all my family about my upcoming graduation. My sister had sent out announcements when she graduated and I hadn't and not everyone in my family knew. I realized that this was probably pretty inconsiderate not to at least let people know. Because my husband and I both thought that spending at least $250 on official announcements we decided to make our own. My sister gave me the idea that for photos we could go to the Foto booths in the mall and get our photos taken all silly to put in our announcements. I thought this was a good idea so that's what we did for our date. I couldn't believe how much fun it was! We drove out to the mall (since there isn't one in Corvallis), but my husband drove on the back roads with the windows open and the radio up. We sung off tune the whole way out to the mall. Then we had dinner at the mall (very romantic I know). I can't think of anything better to eat for dinner at the mall than a corn dog, which is what I had. Then we spent about an hour in the little booth (which was WAY too small for two adults to sit in) taking photos of the two of us. None of them are really any good, but it was really fun! He was making jokes and being funny the whole time. Then we walked around Target looking at the things we would buy for each other if we had the money. After we drove back to Corvallis to go see X-men 3, but the line was SO LONG! I hate to stand in lines and my Sweetie hates to watch movies in a packed auditorium so we opted to rent a video. It was Rumor Has It and we both thought it was lame. I don't care if you don't know how you are, you still don't sleep with some you just met when you're engaged to someone else.

None of what I said above comes close to describing how awesome and romantic yesterday was, but it was. I love to spend time with my best friend!

"runners" high

So when I was in high school I was introduced to the idea of a "Runner's High." The idea that people tried to sell me on was that if I ran long enough often enough I would eventually feel REALLY good while running. Despite all the evidence and anecdotes to the contrary I still don't believe that this happens. Today I decided to come up with my own runner's high. I'm going to entitle it "test-taker's high." These are the conditions to get a test-taker's high (it doesn't just happen because you take a test, or many tests for that matter)

1. Time: Either you have to work really fast because you're pressed for time or if you have no time limit it must take a long time to take the test.
2. Preparation: You must have prepared enough to feel not as though you know everything, but that you could figure things out while you're "in there"
3. Difficulty: The test has to seem rather challenging to you
4. Performance: You have to feel as though you conquered the problems set before you when you hand the test in.

If all four components to the test are there you will experience the "test-taker's high." No I do not have any neurological studies stating that endorphins are released as you do this. No, I don't have multiple personal anecdotes from people all over the country stating this has happened to them. Regardless of this lack of evidence, I declare that it happens! If runners can go around proclaiming they get a high from almost killing themselves then I can state that people get a high from almost turning my brain into mush!

A time for Thank Yous

As I walked in the pouring down rain to class today I thought about this past year of amazing changes. Getting married, transferring school and ending school, along with many other little changes. As I reflected on that I realized that right now is a time for thank yous. I think I will be writing some more formal notes about some, but here goes the first thank yous.

Dear Academic Advisor,
You made my transfer here better than I ever thought it could be. Doing it took a ton of work and I'm really proud of myself, but I know I would never have been able to do it so successfully without your herculean efforts in my behalf. I know that there is no way I would have been able to graduate by the end of this year without your help and for that I will forever be thankful.

Dear Mike (a kid in my major)
Thank you for being able to be yourself around me, while still respecting my values and beliefs. I think it takes a really great person to be able to do that and I feel lucky to have been able to be your friend. You also taught me that sometimes it's OK to confront someone when you need to. I guess a little trial by fire actually did make me stronger. Thanks.

Dear Tahmiene (pronounced Tah-mean-a)
Thanks for being my friend even though I wont go out to the bars with you. I know we didn't get very close, but it is always nice when you know there's someone you can sit next to in class. Also thanks for teaching me more about the value of working hard for an education.

Dear Linda (the department secretary)
I know you must have spent countless hours working behind the scenes on my behalf and I thank you.

Dear Sweetie (my husband)
Thanks for being patient with me when I get stressed out or lazy. Thanks for actively loving me so I know everyday how much I mean to you. Thanks also for all the million little things you have already taught me and for those that you will yet teach me.

Dear Mom and Dad,
Thanks so much for the support you've given. I worried about how it would be to bring someone new into our family, but now I can't imagine what it would be like without him being part of us. Thanks for teaching me not only that "boys are like that sometimes," but also that the boy I chose should be and is better than "that."

Dear John and LeAnn (my husband's parents)
Thank you so SO much for the love and support you have given us this past year. I love that I feel like I'm a genuine member of the family and not just an add-in. I also love that the guest room features engagement photos of Dan and me. It's almost like the room is ours. Thanks for always defending my Sweetie. Thanks also for helping guide us through decisions about what's in the future.

PS. Also thanks for letting me call you John.

Dear Katie,
Thanks for being my big sister. Thanks for speaking your mind when you think that I'm making a mistake (even if I don't agree). Also I learned from you that sometimes things are hard and that's not necessairly a bad thing. I can work through them to get to the good part. Also thanks for being a food enthusiast (even if you're not as dorky about it as I am).

Dear Professors
I know it's your job and all, but thanks for teaching me. It is largely because of you that I can stay motivated and intrigued about the subject of food. You do a good job.

Dear the group of kids that are in all my classes with me,
Collectively you've taught me the value of standing up for something. You each have something you stand up for and through your questions and our conversations I have learned that I too have something to stand for.

Dear Julie and the Heat
Thanks for taking the time to call me this year and tell me all about what's going on. Suddenly being alone and not really knowing how to make friends when I'm married was sort of a shock. I would have been despirately lonely this year without your support.

I think that's good for now. There are so many more people I could and should thank, but time is precious right now so I should spend any more here.

I wanna swear

I just finished the two hour test for my pilot plant class that was entirely on Excell. As I was leaving after having emailed it to the TA I realized that I copied the page wrong so it didn't change the cells that I wanted. The explination of the mistake would take longer than I want, but the agnoy of knowing what you did wrong before it has even been looked at is really VERY frustrating.

Compliments

Unlike getting compliments from complete strangers. It is really nice when someone that you work with everyday gives you a compliment, especially when you feel like you might throw up from smelling too much diethyl ether. It's always good to get a lift when you need it.

Mmmm.......Cookies (And other news)

Well the extra long weekend was AMAZING! I had tons of fun and I don't care how stressed I get this week it will still have been worth it to go home. Now I only have two more weeks of class and then finals and then I'm done for FOREVER! Highlights of this week include:

• On Monday my mother-in-law started baking LOADS of cookies for us to take home! She loves us tons. Plus, can anyone guess what kind of cookies she made? That's right, chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. The two best cookies ever.
• I made a really cute skirt on Saturday I think (it may have been Friday, I just packed in so much fun that I can't remember what we did each day. It's all a blur.) I wore it to church on Sunday. I love it.
• I got my hair cut this weekend. Now it is just past my shoulders (which may not seem short for some of you, but I did get a good 4-5" cut off). It feels so light and breezy! Plus this way I can just pull it back if we go camping or anything this summer.
• Sadly I had to throw away our Ranunculus. When we got home they were CRAWLING with aphids. I literally couldn't see any plant left, just aphids. I was just going to shake them off but the poor little plants wouldn't have made it. Plus, I don't want the aphids to get to my herbs, which are coming along nicely.
• Going to Logan seems more and more concrete every day, which I love. On Sunday my dad called one of his friends that lives in Logan and works for a food company down there. He said he'd ask around to see if anyone was hiring so I might actually get a good job in the food industry, which I had previously given up on. YEAH!

Well, I have to go to class now so that has to be it. I hope everyone has a great day today!

Snickers, Peanut Butter Cups, Skittles

Today in Relief Society the lesson was about being more Christ-like. The teacher gave a wonderful lesson about how we need to be Christ-like and think of others more. I loved the lesson. At the end she gave out little baggies of candy with a little saying on it,

"Wouldn't it be nice if we looked at people and candy the same and liked them all? And didn't just pick out the prettyor smart people or red and blue candy."

To which I thought, "But I don't like all candies. In fact I hate ones with nuts." When I told my husband the quote he said the same thing. Maybe we need to work on liking all candies.

P.S. I love the candies she gave out in the bag. They're candy coated chocolate chips and they taste like sixlets.

Be Nice

Well I've been thinking about this for a couple of days now so, although it's not really all that exciting, I thought I'd take the time to write it down.

Lately it seems like the two words I've been saying the most are, "be nice." Perhaps this is because the group of kids I'm around all day at school. They're not very nice to each other. Some of this is joking, but some of it is just plain mean. Also the harshness I've been seeing people write to each other on their blogs seems to be creaping into my view. I just wish people would take a step back once in a while and realize the impact of their words and their attitudes on others. I know that sometimes people are joking around and being sarcastic, but that negativity slowly creeps into their interactions, even when they're not joking. It's a disease. I'm working really hard right now to be nice to everyone, but it does seem so hard when the people I interact daily seem to be so negative. Don't get me wrong here, the people aren't bad. I actually really like and enjoy the group of people I've been pleased to associate with. I also enjoy the opportunity I get to read other people's opinions on their blogs. It's just hard to take the bad with the good sometimes. So anyway, my thought for the day today is just to be nice.

Memorial Day

On Thrusday we're leaving Corvallis! Yeah! We're going to go home and have a four day weekend! (I like to refer to this as my spring break since I spent my spring break taking care of my wonderful nieces and studying Physics). Anyway, as I was sitting in class today my thought process went like this:

Chromatography is very important. ....I need to make sure I have everything done before I leave on Thrusday so I don't feel guilty about leaving....and size exclusion is very good if what you want to separate are different sized particles....maybe I should make a list of everything that must get done....Ion exchange is very good for use in separating out proteins....Ok, now for my list. I forgot about needing to get in my food processing lab data! I also have a lab due tomorrow that I haven't even started yet!........the batch type process for chromatography has been phased out and is no longer even used in industry. Ok, well if I just schedule out every hour of my week this week I think I may still be able to take the test and turn in both lab write ups and write my learning module before I leave......

Yes, I'm pretty sure that food analysis today was a waiste of my time. The reason for this is not merely because I didn't listen (which as you can see I was listening at least half the time), but also because we went over chromatography very in depth last term. Sometimes I think my professors don't talk to each other. On the plus side I'm excited out of my mind to be having a vacation! I can't wait for Thursday to come!

Chocolate Chip

Well, thanks to all those who voted in my King of all cookies survey. You all confirmed my husband's stance that the chocolate chip cookie (all sorts of variations) are the archtypal cookie and thus The King of all Cookies.

Spring

Well it's been record breaking hot here in Oregon this week. That's a good thing for me just in case anyone was thinking I'm complaining. (Record breaking was 94 degrees on monday) Anyway I was just thinking how Spring is amazing! I love it, even though it gives me allergies that make me want to die. I have four weeks left to push through to graduation. I really REALLY want to just coast to the end, but I'm not quite to where I feel comfortable just coasting. I want to coast and still get marginally good grades. This is only the case since I've already been getting pretty good grades. I have a hard time stopping now. So we'll see. Probably in another week or so I'll go into coasting mode. Probably once it's June. In June I'll coast.

A mistake

Getting out of bed today was a mistake. I'm sick and my head is about to explode. That didn't start until half way through my first class. I felt so stressed and so physically exhausted in my food engineering class today I almost started to cry. The tears started to well up and it took everything I had not to look like a baby in front of the class. I still have one more class left at 2 pm and I am determined to go because we're going over one of the homework problems that I couldn't figure out. I should go, but I'm worried that what my teacher says wont make any sense like this morning when he was talking about tube in tube concurrent flow heat exchangers. I don't think I should have t0 figure out engineering when my brain is about to ooze out my nose. The only positive of today is that we got back our food analysis tests and I got the high score of 93%. I'm so sick though I can't really enjoy it. Uugh!

96%

Although I did not brag in class today or to any of the other students in my class I just want to announce that I got the highest grade on my food packaging midterm! I wanted to brag somewhere.

The King

My husband and I were having a debate about cookies the other day. I'm not going to say anymore about the debate other than it was about cookies because I don't want to sway any of your answers, but I thought I'd open up the forum to more opinions than ours. The question to be answered is:

If you were to say that one cookie is The King of All Cookies, what would it be?

I'm interested to hear your responses.

OSU in the Springtime

My favorite thing about spring here is not that we finally get to see the sun. It also isn't that the rhododendrons, which are twice my height seem to be covered with fountains of pink, red, and white flowers. It also isn't that people around here are happier. My favorite thing about spring here is that they open the windows in the music building. I'm not sure if that's because the cooling system isn't very good or just that they like the fresh air, but I love it. As I walk or ride my bicycle past the building wonderful music is pouring out of it. You can hear it all around and even into the quad in front of the library. It's like a little piece of culture as I go about my business. Sometimes it's a jazz band, other times it's a choir, today it was some sort of xylophone music. I love everything I hear.

A plan? What plan?

I thought we had a plan for next year, but as it turns out that's just what my husband told me to get me to stop worrying about it or something like that. I found out a couple days ago that my father-in-law's PA called Loma Linda again, (which is what I wanted him to do in the first place, but my husband wasn't sure he wanted that) and when he called the guy there chuckled and said he was "working on it." I'm not sure what that means, but what is really important in this story is that hearing that seemed to perk up my husband. Like he would really want to go to LL if he were accepted. So net result, we have no plan. We wont have a plan until at the very soonest the end of the month. Oh well, at least I have tons of stuff to do until then!

Getting the Grade

Well I spent 11 hours on Saturday writing the "paper" for my Women's Study class. Actually it's writing on a web site. Well actually it's just adding the paper in a multiple page format onto my blog for the class. The part that took me the 11 hours on Saturday was just the writing though. Oh the agony! It made me want to bang my head against the wall, even though I really enjoyed the topic before writing about it. When it's done maybe I'll link to it for anyone to read, although I'm not sure how many of you are interested in knowing about vacuum impregnation of fruits and vegetables with nutrients, or edible food packaging, or women in China. (Yes all three are in the paper.) At any rate I spent so much time on Saturday writing the thing! I was really upset because it was moderately good weather and my husband got to go climbing and it was mom's weekend this weekend so there were mom's all over campus and mine wasn't there. So I spent some of that 11 hours pouting. Today I got on blackboard and found out that the prof used the stuff I have submitted so far as an example for the class! That's kind of exciting!

On the plus side I got my pilot plant midterm back today. I got a 90.5% on it! Then I was looking at my answer and how I got marked off on something and that I thought it wasn't fair. The question said, "Interpret your answer if you....." so I went up and asked the professor what he meant by interpret and he told me to find the final spore count of the can after the process. I did that. Then I was marked down for not writing that "the process would not be sufficient for legal standards." I did, however, write that the final spore count would be 2.2x10^-9 (which doesn't meet legal standards.) Since the prof had told me during the test only to find the final count I felt I shouldn't have gotten points taken off. He agreed and now my score is: 92%. Ok so that wasn't that big a deal, but I just like to be right. OK? Long story short, when I graduate in 7 weeks you can all trust me to process your canned food and not kill you. I know what I'm talking about.

I made it

Well, this week I had three midterms, two lab write-ups and one research paper to do. What a week! It's Saturday and I'm in the library writing my research paper. I'm a little behind, but as its for my online course and it's due date is "during week 5" I consider Saturday to be part of week five and I'm calling it good. My husband is out climbing and I'm pouting because I have to be inside writing a stupid paper. Well the paper isn't stupid, just the fact that I have to write it is stupid. I HATE writing. Oh well.

Yesterday we went looking at cars and it made me sort of upset. We have $8,000 from the insurance when the Jeep was totalled. I figured this is a lot of money and we wont have any problem finding a car. Here's what we want (and by we I mostly just mean Dan):

• Four doors (that one's my preference)
• Hatch-back or wagon style (Dan's preference)
• Toyota matrix or something vibe (but yesterday we looked at a VW wagon that was really pretty)

Other than that we're not that picky. Dan doesn't want automatic and I don't care either way on that one. I just want to look at it and think that I'm driving a pretty car. I gravitate towards the blue ones. There was this one yesterday that was a steele blue color and it was magnificent. Anyway whenever we go to look at cars enevitably a salesman comes out to talk and when he finds out the money we're planning on spending its almost like they want to walk away because they know their commission will be lousy. Kind of depressing. I know that Dan's totally given up on buying one at a dealership because we don't have enough money. Oh well.

Yesterday we went to a little party that Dan's workmates/friends were throwing. As we would be eating their food I thought we should bring something. I whipped up a little cherry pie (I just used the cherry filling you buy at the store for the middle). When I brought it over everyone gushed over it and said how it's been so long since they've had a pie from scratch and how amazing it was. I just said thanks instead of giving up the secret that the only thing I did was make the crust. At least they liked it!

Something wonderful

Yesterday as I woke up the first thing that went through my head was, "Dum, du, dum, dum duuuuuuumm. This is the day I have two of the hardest midterms I've had since coming to OSU. All in one day. This can't be good." But then I went and took a shower. When I got out I had this thought go through my head, "Something wonderful is going to happen to me today." I just couldn't shake that feeling. Not even after handing in my first test feeling a little down trodden with a sore finger from writing as fast and furious as I could. I still felt something wonderful was going to happen. And you know what, it did! Was it that I did awesome on my two tests because I'm a genious? Well, no. I mean I probably did decent and I'll be satisfied with my grades, but awesome? I think not.

I got home after working for 2.5 hours on my second test of the day absolutely exhausted! I just crashed on the sofa. When my husband came home (keep in mind that he had a midterm that morning) he said, "If you'll make out a list I'll go grocery shopping for us." My heart was practically singing! Then he topped that off by saying, "I'll pick up a $3 pizza from the grocery store too so you don't have to cook." Right then and there I knew he loved me. What made the whole evening wonderful though was that he did all the laundry last night! He stayed up to do it while I went to bed! Now that my friends, is romance! He is my something wonderful.

On My Way

I just got my grade back from independent study for my physics class! I got a B! YEAH! I'm well on my way to graduation!

The Roses are Red and Other News

Let's start with the other news:
This weekend my husband recieved a letter from Loma Linda saying that he's been put on the unranked waitlist and we may or may not get an acceptance anytime between now and, get this, AUGUST 3rd. Surprisingly I took this news much worse than Daniel. I flipped my lid. This is merely because I've been holding off on my plans until we figure out what's happening with him. After calming down and discussing it at length for two full days and also a little prayer we came up with our plan of action. (We have a plan!) We're definitely going to plan on going to Logan in July. Dan wanted to take his name off the waitlist today, but his parents prudently pointed out that there's no reason to burn the bridge right now. The official deadline for applicants to declare where they're going is May 15th and the most movement off of the waitlist onto the acceptance list will be within that week so we'll wait to the end of that week and then Dan will strike the match and we wont look back. Here's the reasoning behind the plan:

• Dan can get research experience this year which will make him a much stronger applicant than last year.
• After going through the process once he sees where he may have not presented himself the strongest and can correct that next year.
• We'll have time to take off and just work and be together.
• In my mind, medical school is a big comittment. I didn't want my husband making that comittment just because it's the next step in his plan. He should be excited and anticipating doing this. He's not excited about Loma Linda. He didn't want his dad's PA to call to see if he can influence the comittee any. That seemed weird to me because I know that if it were for UW he would TOTALLY want him to do that.
• In 30 years from now taking one year off wont be that detrimental to us. In fact we may look back on this year as one of the best things for us.

That's just a few of the reasons and they're not explained very well, but it's what I could get out right now. I can't tell you how excited I am to have a plan!

In other, other news:
I was in class (full of seniors majoring in Food Science) when the topic of discussion was on Ash content in food. Keep in mind that we had already discussed the processing of ashing the previous lecture. The process goes like this. Burn the food product so that no organic matter is left in it. Then determine the difference in weight from beginning to end and that's your ash component. (Sorry for the explination, but it's important to the story.) The conversation this particular day went a little like this:

Prof: "We are always talking about ash this and ash that, but what is Ash? Does anyone know?"
Girl #1: "Carbon."
Prof: "No. Carbon is burned out as part of all the organic matter."
Girl #2: "Carbohydrates."

To which everyone laughed. These girls are SENIORS in food science and they don't know that organic matter by definition is composed of carbon. Also they don't know that CARBohydrates are made up of carbon! I couldn't believe it!

I have to go to class now so I guess I'm not going to post on the flowers on campus.

Ball of Bugs

I love that my husband does the dishes! He doesn't do them all the time, but he pulls his weight in that category. I'm so fortunate! The only drawback is that when he's done doing the dishes he takes the washcloth rings it out and leaves in on the side of the sink in a tight ball. I inevitably find it hours later or the next morning smelling of bacterial growth. Why doesn't he hang it up to dry? I don't want to criticize him because he just did the dishes. I want to encourage that sort of activity. It drives me nuts that he does this though. He's taken microbiology, he knows what can grow in a warm, moist environment. It's really gross. Do I just be quiet and learn to live with the fact that everytime he does the dishes I will just need to take that washcloth and put it in the laundry? Should I bring this up to him? I know it's really not that big a deal. It just grosses me out.

Crash

I realized yesterday that I've felt more stress than I thought I did. This is because yesterday I finished everything that really would keep me from graduating. After class I got home and crashed. I fell asleep at about 4 and didn't wake up until about 7, and I still had no trouble going to sleep at my regular time. I feel so liberated.

Refresh

Last weekend was AMAZING! And it gave me enough energy to catch this blog up with my life. So here goes:

• I realized this weekend that I was more excited to see my family than getting out of Corvallis or anything we were doing. The amazing part is that I was thinking of them as my family, not my husband's. I was excited to see everyone and just listen to their stories and hang out.
• The wedding was so much fun! Definitely not traditional, but when thinking of the bride and the groom, nobody would expect traditional. The weather was great and we just sat around on the river bed with a camp fire and ate amazing food. The downside is now I have to clean everything I brought because the smell of camp fire smoke filled my entire bag. The upside is that they had a side dish that was DIVINE! Pastry crust on the bottom with a cream cheese mixture above that and topped with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. It was so good I made myself sick on it. Thinking back I should have asked for the recipe, but as I didn't know anyone there or who fixed it I wasn't inclined to ask.
• I have finally come to grips with not knowing about Loma Linda. The Logan plan is a good back-up and I like it because it's safe. Loma Linda could be fun though. The only downside is that I have no idea how to look for a food science job in California. On the other hand, I don't really HAVE to get a food science job. Maybe it would be nice to take some time off like genius, that way I could get my footings under me before I decide my next move.
• I was watching the food network yesterday (I only get to do this when my husband is busy with something else. For some reason his love of food only goes so far as eating it--not preparing it or knowing anything else about it. Maybe that's why he's so forgiving when I get thinking about other things while making dinner and mess it up.) Anyway, I was watching the food network yesterday and I decided that a new knife would be great! We got our knives that we have now for our wedding and they're nice, it's just that they're serrated which means that it doesn't cut just up and down. It's a hassle and I wish I had a really sharp knife for chopping veggies and the like.
• Today the weather was is so nice that I wore a dress to school. This is great! I love it. All except for the part that I burnt my chest just walking from my apartment to class. I guess it's time for SPF 50!
• I was thinking about money the other day and how I don't like to spend any of it now that I'm married and sometimes I blame it on me being married. I realized this weekend, that's not true. I wouldn't be blowing money on fun stuff right now even if I weren't married. Granted when I was single it was easier to just blow $40 on a really REALLY cute shirt, but I only did that if I had the money. I knew if I did that how long it would be to the next paycheck and if I could make it on the money left over. If I didn't know all that stuff I wouldn't buy it. That's just how I was raised. You only spend money if you are really sure where its coming from and that you have it already. That's how my whole family is (well, not my dad, as much).
  
• Speaking of how I was raised, I think my sister is right about my need to do everything for this class because it's a list. I love lists. I love checking things off lists. The best thing is to put everything you do in a day on a list and then checking them off. The worst feeling is not getting to check something off. It gives me just as much satisfaction to check of, say, "eat breakfast", as much as "write 10 page research report."
• Now that the sun is out I'm bringing my houseplants out to see the sun (I have a cactus, a spiky plant that I don't know the name of, a primrose, and ranuculs). They all looked cute on the front steps of our apartment. One of the best feelings in the world is to discover some new growth on plants that you've been taking care of. My mom sticks with flowering plants, but I like my cactus just as much as my primrose, maybe a little more since it has been with me longer.
  

That's about it for now I guess.

Leaving

This weekend I'm leaving Corvallis!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has made me so overcome with joy that I'm going nutty. I have about three things to do on campus and I'm going to blow them off to go home and pack. Also I'm going to clean. Here is my opinion on the condition to leave a house/apartment in. I hate coming back from a trip to a messy house. Usually I don't even want to be coming home at all so coming back to a mess that I have to clean up is the pits. That is why the day I leave for a trip (big or small) I run around like a mad person cleaning everything. My husband is not of this same frame of mind. What are your opinions?

Wine Pairing

So in sensory evaluation class today we have a guest lecturer talking about wine pairing (that means what wine goes with what food). I informed my prof that I don't drink and she said, "That's ok, just go and enjoy the session." This means that I don't have to drink. That wasn't really my concern though as I knew I would be drinking whatever she said. My question is who would think that someone that doesn't drink and is never around alcohol would "enjoy" a lecture about wine pairing? I have no idea what it means to have a wine tannin be over-powering. How does a "nutty" wine taste? Or a buttery wine? I know what grapes taste like and I know what butter tastes like, but I assume that's not really what the wine tastes like. If it were, that would be gross. Now we're going in for an activity, which I assume is drinking wine, describing it and eventually matching it with food. At least I can eat the food so I guess all is not lost.

Mediocre

I'm taking this class pass/fail because I need the bacc. core requirement to graduate, but I don't need any more credits than I already have. You'd think this would make me relax about the class. It's a 100 point class so I only need to get 70 of the points. I thought this would be great because I wouldn't have to work as hard. Now I am finding out that I have this insane drive to do the checklist of things the professor posts each week. This would mean that I'm getting a 100% so far. I sometimes have to stop myself from doing the work and tell myself I'll get the same grade if I get a 70% as if I got a 100% so I should just slack off. It surprises me that I'm having trouble slacking off. I would never have predicted this outcome.

Is it really that odd?

So I was waiting for my lab to start today in the student lounge in our department with a group of about six of my classmates. A friend there that likes to bring up my religion brought it up again. This wasn't a big deal. Today though somebody started talking about how one of their Mormon friends got married and she couldn't go to the ceremony. Then someone said, "I heard that once you get married you wear special Mormon underwear." To that I replied, "It has nothing to do with getting married, but yes we do have special underwear." After that comment complete silence filled the room. I then said, "It's not that wierd, I'm wearing it now and you wouldn't even know unless I told you." Complete silence again and then a girl said, "Awkward moment." Then we just changed the subject. Man that made me feel really weird and then frustrated at my inability to explain myself. I knew they all thought I was some sort of sketchy person that wore weird undies. After thinking about it though I still think they shouldn't have thought it was so weird. Like Heather, my friend said, nuns wear special clothing to show their devotion to God and their covenants with him. I also though about the Jewish religion that wears special clothing to show respect for and devotion to God. The Sikh religion has five different articles of clothing that they wear as part of their religion. I'm sure that none of the kids in the room are bothered by any of those items. They understand them because they've encountered them before and they can see them. The only thing that makes them think its weird for me is that they've never seen it. So my devotion is on the inside not the outside. Is that really all that odd? I don't think so. Do you?

Because I don't.

Drivin' Me Nuts!

So just about every major life decision has been dropped in my lap in the last year. I got married last summer. Also now we need to decide what we're going to do about moving, going to medical school, taking a year off, having a family, and on top of that I need to take 19 credits successfully, and finish my extra work in order to graduate.

None of this would really be all that bad if I could just make the decision and live with it. The problem comes in the indecision. We found out yesterday that we probably wont hear anything from Loma Linda until the middle of May! The national deadline to declare what school you're going to attend is May 15th and we wont even hear from Loma Linda until the middle of May. Plus, we're deciding if we want to take the year off and spend it in Logan so Dan can get some research experience. That would look good on his application next year. One minute I want to go to Loma Linda and he wants to stay in Logan. Just when I decide that it may be a good thing to go to Logan, he's really wanting to get accepted to Loma Linda and head there! And I'm supposed to go to school like this? I don't think so.

Anyway I don't have time to think about all that today because I have tons of schoolwork to do. Maybe the school work is keeping me sane. I can't think about how I have no concrete plans for my life after June because getting to June will be hard enough.

The Goal

I just read my sister's post about goals and it made me think. I may not necessairly know what my sister's goals are right now, but I am always inspired by her drive for them. My goals right now are pretty concrete, I know what they are and I know why I made them that way. My frustration is that I'm not as driven. I have these great goals, but right before I get to the finish line I'm ready to give up and scrap the whole thing. I feel like since I got back from Spring Break I've worked as hard as I possibly can both academically, and emotionally, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. I can't float up for a breather because if I do something wont get done and not doing just ONE of those things could be the difference between achieving my goals and failure. I hate this situation. I like my work, I like my goals, I like where I am, I just don't like the pressure to be so driven. It feels like I might miss something pretty important on my way to success. I'm not sure what that it, or even if it exists, but I'm still upset about it. Oh well, at least it's semi-sunny today and I'm wearing a cute outfit.

Who wants that anyway?

Well yesterday my husband got a rejection from Creighton. Who wants to go there anyway? We're down to the last straw and I'm starting to get nervous.

The Computer

So I'm taking a women's study course. I have to if I want to graduate. At first I wasn't really happy about this for many reasons. I will list them below:

• It's only a bacc core class and I don't feel this particualr category should be mandatory. That or I feel that they should have taken something from my BYU credits and said I didn't have to fulfill this requirement.
  
• I know that my personal views on what I want to do with my life and what is the best course of action as far as the family/carrer decision is concerned are drastically different than the major population of the women's study program, if not OSU in general.
• I would really rather NOT debate these views with agressive people. I have learned, especially in the last few years in college, it is better to steer clear of the agressive "debators" when talking about subjects they are passionate about. Perhaps also it is best to steer clear of the debate when its something I am passionate about.
• I have to post comments on the disscussion board for EVERY CHAPTER. This means I have to write personal insights, which leads me to believe that there will be no avioding a debate about my views.

So these are all negatives to this class, but I am keeping an open mind about it too. There are several things that have caught my attention and I am looking forward to. They are as follows:

• Our textbook is all about questioning whether being technologically advanced really means having an advanced society. This is a question that has been presented to me before, but never really vocalized so clearly and precisely. I'd like to hear more about these theories.
• Also we have six projects to complete that use technology in different ways. At first I was unhappy about this, but then I realized that these will be easy projects and they're just designed to get us into the technology and explore. That's easy enough. Plus, they're things I either already know how to do or have always wanted to know how to do.
• The text has a whole section focusing on technology in the home. In the introduction it talked about how there has been great advances in home technology ( something as basic as the washing machiene) to help with housework, and yet women still spend as much time cleaning the home now as they did 50 years ago. Why is that? I'd really like to know that answer.

So anyway, the jury's out on this whole class. I'll tell you what I think later. I probably shouldn't have used bullets for this, but oh well.

The Pope, The Love, The Let Down

Well, I haven't posted this past week because I was up in Puyallup looking after my two nieces while my family was in England. I will have to say that it was TONS of fun! I enjoyed myself immensely. I realized that you don't have to have things planned to have fun with kids/pre-teens, you just need to be creative. One day we went to the park and found a little stream. We decided it needed boats to float down it so we went home and made boats a couple of days later out of cardboard, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, popsicle sticks (yes we had to eat two popsicles each and that's why it took a couple of days to make the boat), glue, and wax paper. They were great fun!

Also I learned the real reason that Santa lives in the North Pole is to escape from the hammer head sharks. They can attack people and hurt them a lot/kill them, but they can't live in cold water. Naturally it follows that Santa is one smart cookie for living in the North Pole.

I also forgot to post earlier that I found out my friend Holly is getting married to her highschool sweetheart in September! YEAH! I hope I can attend!

Just a little tidbit, I found a lovely photo of the pope on my brother's fridge. Kind of confusing, but whatever.

Lastly, my husband heard back the final decision from UW the other day. He's an excellent candidate, but the competition was tough this year so they can't accept him or put him on an alternate list. What a let down! My initial, and childish reaction was, "UW is stupid! Who wants to go there anyway!" I almost cried on my train ride home, but I was surrounded by very chatty women so I didn't really get a chance to worry too much. Today, after digesting the news, my Sweetie said to me, "I didn't really feel like I was going to get in there. When I went to Loma Linda I really felt good about everything." So obviously we've moved our sights to California. (Not my favorite, but I'm pretty sure it's better than living in Nebraska. Although I've never lived in either place.) It would have been better to know about his thoughts and feelings earlier so I didn't invest so much energy in UW! I had already made plans in my head and I had to put them aside. Still I know that we're doing the right thing with our life and it will work out for the best no matter where we go. The worst part of the whole thing was that my family was out of the country so I couldn't call any of them!

Speaking of the train I was supposed to get from Tacoma to Albany at 7 pm last night. Guess what time I got in. 10pm! Yes, I was on the train from 2:30 to 10 yesterday. This is because we got stopped by all conceivable traffic. We stopped 5 times for freight trains to pass! Also we had to stop because a bridge had been lifted to let a tug boat through. For about an hour we had to go around 10 mph because we were following another stupid train. And to top it all off we had to stop because there was a woman laying on the tracks! Well, I'm glad we were able to stop on that last one, but all the others I could have skipped. At least I was sitting by some fun and interesting people! Plus there was a lounge car where I bought some cranberry juice.

To end on a good note, I realized when I got home how much I love my husband. Last night he was pretty much as down as he could be, and yet he was still the greatest person ever in my eyes. He is so great! I love him so much and I'm so glad to know I made the right decision when I married him!

The Mandolin?

So I ended up getting some money for my birthday. Quite a bit more than I thought I would actually. I have enough to realistically LOOK at purchasing a mandolin. I decided I wanted to learn the mandolin a while ago, but figured it would come in the future, after all the other things I wanted. Now I have enough not to fully purchase one, but I bet I could look around and I would only have to save up for a couple of months or something like that. Plus, my sweet, sweet husband said, "Well we did just get our tax returns." When I brought up the idea. I'm super excited, but here is what's keeping me from right out doing this.

1. I really want to buy a new pair of shoes to wear with my new Sunday outfit my sister bought me. Brown, leather, nice for Sunday. I haven't looked around yet, but I'm sure that would take up a big hunk of change.
2. If I get the mandolin I will really need to be serious about learning it. Yes, I would do it, but it is a pretty big commitment.

So here's the question. Are those two hang-ups justified or should I just move ahead with the mandolin idea?

So Blessed

Yesterday was my birthday and my family did what they always do. They make a big, big deal about the whole day. It's like Valentine's Day just for one person. When it is a person's birthday it is the day for everyone to tell them how much they love and appreciate them. Also, that they are happy to have that person as a part of thier life. I think more than anything that is my favorite thing about birthdays in general (not necessarily my own, although it was pretty nice). I like to make a big deal about that day for people. I like to call all day long and continually sing happy birthday.

It reminds me of when my sister and her boyfriend were with us on a family trip during his birthday. He's not technically part of the family (yet?) but we all LOVE the kid (I guess he's not technically a kid as he is older than me). So anyway, we spent the day doing things that he really wanted to do in Seattle, we went to pike place market, and to the original Ivar's on the pier for lunch and my dad bought him a hat with original "artwork" on it with something to do with ear doctors. Also we had one of those guys that make balloon animals make him a balloon hat. There were a ton of other things. We continually burst out into the happy birthday song so that everyone would know that it was his special day. I don't know if it overwhelmed him or not, my sister said he liked it. It was just good to let him know that we appreciate him and that we love him not only for who he is, but also for how happy he makes my sister.

Going back to the title of this post, I am so blessed to have a family that thinks this is important. My mom called me about 20 times my dad two separate times from my mom and my sister 2 times and my brother even sang on the voice mail for me. My husband made me a pancake cake and we ate it together in the morning. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I am so blessed to have a family that loves me so much!

Carried Away

Last night I fell in love, again. My husband and I had to go grocery shopping. We were in the car and he was singing along to his CD and we stopped at a red light. Right then he looked at me and sang the rest of the song just for me. It was some romantic song and we were sitting there in the soft red glow of the stop light and I just fell in love again. It's cheesy, I know. Later that night he turned to me and said, "You are the most beautiful woman I know. I love you." Who wouldn't love a man like that? I am so blessed! I love him bunches and bunches.

Ah-ha!

I just found out that one of my finals is optional! (Translation, I'm not taking one of my finals!) That means that for the six classes I'm currently taking I only have two finals! Only one of those finals do I really even need to study for. Man I love OSU sometimes!

Sake

I think that after graduating from Oregon State University I will know more about alcohol and alcoholic beverages than the vast majority of drinkers! My class last friday was about Sake (rice wine) and I learned all about how it is made and what is in it and why people don't like it unless it's really fresh. I'm also learning about wine and a little (very little) about beer. I find it to be very interesting, even though I'm not going to consume any of it.

Yet another reason

Today for the last lab of the term for my food formulation all we did was make our own flavored dairy blend! They just gave us all the ingredients and said have at it and the best one wins! (For anyone who doesn't know an example of a flavored dairy blend is a fruit smoothie). Our group never quite got the beverage tasting quite right. It tasted like grape laffy taffy, which is good if you're marketing it to kids. That's why we called ours pirate juice. My favorite came from another group that did a strawberry lemonade smoothie! It tasted like those italian ices. The last bit of class we got to taste everyone's! No grades, no pressure, just fun.

Wow

Well today I have gotten the worst grade on a test since I think my sophmore year. The worst part is that I KNEW what I was doing, but I got freaked out because the time and just lost my mind. I got it back today and just hung my head because it was that bad. Oh well. One week until I'm done with that class. Plus, the other two tests so far I've gotten a 94 and 82 percent. No worries.

Kitchenaid

Dear Kitchenaid,
I am very dissapointed in you. I can't believe that my mixer cost $89 to fix and still isn't even fixed! When I called your customer service line all they could say was that my problem shouldn't be happening and that something was wrong but that you could do NOTHING! I don't believe that it only had a six month warranty! I don't care what model you sell if it's going to cost as much money as I'm sure it did I don't think you should only cover it for six months! Now I can't do the one thing that I really like to do with the mixer! I should have just saved the $89 and spent it on an appliance that a different company would stand behind! Why did this happen to my mixer and not my mom's or my sister's or my mother-in-law's? What a load of crap!

Sincerely,
Unhappy Customer

The Squirrel

We live in the first floor of the apartment complex. The windows are at ground level. We have a bird feeder that sits on the ground right outside of the window. It's great. We see birds all the time. Last week I opened the blinds to see a squirrel munching on our birdfood. I tapped on the window. The squirrel ran away. I did this with the squirrel for the next hour. Finally he didn't come back again.

Until the next day.

So I moved the bird feeder to inside this bush so he couldn't find it.

He found it.

All the bird seed is gone. I was very angry with the squirrel. I spent days making sure the squirrel wasn't getting the food. I think he stole it at night. I decided to stop putting out birdseed for the squirrel.

Jump forward to today. I woke up and looked outside and there was snow on the ground. The only good thing you can say about Oregon weather is that it doesn't snow. Until now. It's the worst kind of sloppy, dripping off the trees down the back of your neck kind of snow. It melted. Then it snowed again this afternoon. The weatherman says it's going to do this all weekend.

At first I was just upset for myself. Then I thought of the squirrel. Outside, in the snow. Now there's a pile of birdseed outside our window.

Conundrum

I just got back the grade for my lab notebook. I knew it wasn't going to be that good because I actually forgot part of the way through the term that I needed to be taking notes in it. Consequently I had to go back and fill in a lot of holes. Well, my grade was worse than expected. Much, much worse. While looking at the rubric for grading (which was not handed out before the assignment, and thus I find to be a mean, mean trick) I see that I got marked down for things I CLEARLY included in my notebook. I can go through and highlight sections of included information and whatnot. Should I:

1. Go in and argue for those 8 points back, even though my grade on the notebook would still be bad. These 8 points could mean the difference between an A and a B (I don't count -/+ since that was never counted while I was growing up).
   
2. Figure that getting a B in the class is just fine since all I have to do is graduate. Let the whole thing go and ignore the headache. Plus I hate to be the person that argues for points back. It just makes me feel like a leech.

I have the remainder of the week to decide so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Ferocious

Last weekend was Vert Fest, a climbing competition on campus, which is put on by Dickson Rec. My husband, being a worker for the rock gym, was involved in setting the routes for the competition. This meant that he wasn't home Thursday or Friday.

On Thursday he was planning on going into work at noon so he could get off about 7 to study for his midterm the next day. This would have been a great plan if there were other people working with him and if the people the night before had taken down holds. Well, nobody had done anything when he got in and nobody else came into help him work for five hours. He was alone, taking down holds and putting up routes for five hours. Because of his sense of responsiblity and comittment (which I admire very much) he stayed unitl the job that needed to get done was completed on Thursday. That meant he was working until 10pm on Thursday. This got him angry because he didn't get the time he needed to study for his midterm. He called other people to come in, namely the guy that was supposed to be there with him, but that guy didn't answer his phone. So he called a girl that he works with that said the other guy had a midterm he was really stressed about the next day so he wasn't even answering his cell phone!!!!

Now hearing this of course made him angry, because he had a test the next day too, but he was in doing his job. When my husband told me this story I was immediately very angry with the kid. I think he took advantage of my husband's sense of responsiblity. That kid knew he had this midterm since JANUARY. He also knew when vert fest was. He should have planned for both. When I was talking to another kid at the gym about this he said, "Yeah, but that's (insert kids name here)." That is not an excuse! Apparently that kid is so undependable that the people around him expect him to let them down. Well, my husband got over it and went to work the next day just fine. I on the other hand sort of don't really want to talk to this kid ever again, which is a real problem because when we go climbing he's always working.

So I realize that I get very defensive of people I love. When I feel people are taking advantage or hurting the people I love I get angry and don't really like those people anymore. Well that's not true, but it really does ruin the opinion I have of them.

The other day my sister told me about someone that hurt/is hurting her right now and doing something I feel is very selfish and stupid. It reminds me of what happened to me in high school with some of my friends. This makes me very upset at this person. I realize that Kaite might figure it out with this person, but I think they're stupid for treating her this way.

Countdown

So if I discount the rest of this week. And finals week (which for me is really only finals DAY).

I only have two weeks left of this term!!!!!

Not that I don't enjoy what I'm studying. Actually this term has been one of the most interesting terms I've ever had. Ever! Next term I bet will be just as good. The real excitement is that in total I only have 12 weeks left of my undergraduate carreer! (Again not counting the two finals weeks.) I am so close to my prize! What I will do with that I have no idea, but it feels good to know that my work for the past, hmm, 16 years of my life will finally have a crowning accomplishment. I will be a college graduate! Now all I have to do is just get it done!

One Year

The summer after fourth grade my family moved. I think this ended up being one of the best experiences I went through as a child, although at the time I didn't really like it. I can always hear my mom say, "Give it a year. Then it will feel like home." A year seems like a long time, but after a year you're no longer the new kid, you have friends and you know where everything is at school. Your bedroom actually feels like its yours, and the yard starts to grow in right.

Going to college was sort of the same thing--only I had forgotten about the "one year" rule. It was never until the second half of the school year that I finally felt at home in my new living situation. I guess I'm a little slower than others in that it took me until the second half of the school year to feel like I had friends wherever it was I was living (except of course for those that stayed with me the whole time.)

Transferring schools this year is yet another prime example of the "one year" situation. The whole first term I felt really bad about not being at BYU for my senior year, even though I agreed to it. I tried, with varying degrees of success to just deal with it and be happy. I realized this weekend that I finally feel as though I fit in at Oregon State. I have friends in my major that I study with and I know where to go for most things I need. Although I'm not going to graduate with a group of friends as close as my sister did, I do know people that I can sit by and talk to.

The kicker really is that I'm moving in just four months. After that who knows where I'll live? If we get into UW then I'll live in Pullman for less than a year and then in Seattle. At least in Seattle I will live there for about three years. I wonder if there's a way to speed up the "one year" rule?

Accomplished

I woke up at 6:30 AM this morning like I do almost every weekday. My mind was tired because it was working on my homework all night. I've had this happen as long as I can remember. When I go to bed with schoolwork yet to do, my mind churns with the thought of it. Even when I fall asleep the figures and statements still run through my head. I had a paper to write. This paper has been on my mind all week, but I haven't had time to do it because other homework assignments, and a midterm today to study for have been more pressing. It is due by 5 PM today. I was nervous I wouldn't get it done so I thought I'd just get up and go to the library to finish it right off. That's when I found out how different this morning would be.

This morning I was at the library at 7:30 AM, right when it opens. My walk surprised me because the sun was out. I saw all the flowers blooming on campus and I arrived at the library relatively free of stress. I checked out a laptop so I wouldn't have to be in the computer section which is always noisy because it's not a designated quiet area and inevitably I end up stuck next to someone that wants to chat on their cell phone for about an hour.

This morning I went up to the sixth floor. I think I was the first person on the sixth floor today. I found my way to the south east corner of the building, as far away from the entrance as you can get. It is there that I found my glory seat. It is quiet and I'm alone. I am sitting right now looking out onto the bluest sky I've seen this term. I saw the sun rise. The geese flew in their perfect v towards some unknown watery destination. The flag flying above city hall has gone from the rosy hues of the morning to the sharper image waving in the breeze. I enjoyed this while writing, but best of all I look apon this picturesque scene after having finished my paper. Yes, it's only 10AM and my paper is done. Abstract to conclusion.

Now as I sit and listen I hear the sounds of the day have started. There are big semi trucks roaring along the street below, motorcycles and cars rush up and down the street in their hurry to get where they need to go, and some other students have come up to the sixth floor to study. Their quiet page turning and pencil scratching can just be heard above the sound from the trucks below. I have much yet to do today, but I think I just might take this little moment to relax. Breathe deep. Enjoy.

Best and Worst

One of the best things about Oregon State is the huge amount of laptops they have at the checkout desk in the library that you can check out for a couple of hours like a book (only it has to stay in the library). All of them have wireless internet acess and are really nice. I think that's one of the best things about OSU.

One of the worst is that for some reason the people that planned the campus thought it would be a good idea to build the main campus downwind from the barns for the agricultural students. Also the agricultural students find it necessary to air out the barns about once a month and the campus smells like cow poo for 3 to 4 days.

Gutherie

My husband and I played some songs at the institute talent show. Banjo and fiddle. Now all these bluegrass people are coming out of the woodwork.

That night we talked to this other kid from the institute who knows about this little place in Gutherie that has a one room school house that is converted to a music hall. Every friday night people from all around just come together for a bluegrass jam session. All the musicians pull out their instruments and sit in a circle and take turns shouting out songs to play or even just start playing them. The other musicians join in and you're welcome to join in too. If you don't know a song you can just sit and watch everybody else play. There are other people that come and just listen and dance and generally have a good time. Everyone brings refreshments to eat and be eaten by others.

We went with our friend last Friday. I didn't bring my instrument because I'm a sissy and just wanted to see what it was like before jumping on in. I sat next to the gossip of the hall that goes every week and had a blast learning about her and just about everyone else in the room. There were so many different types of people, professors, plumbers, electricians, young couples, kids, and grandparents. I danced with a little 3 year old boy and also waltzed with an elderly gentleman. I even got in a little clogging on one of the songs. I have never been winked at so many times in one evening! It was great! I loved it!

So my question is who doesn't like this sort of thing? The lady I was talking to said that some wives of the musicians don't go because they don't like it. What's not to like? Just go and enjoy!

Take That!

So I'm taking this food formulation chemistry class where we take apart a juice beverage and analyze all the macro components and then eventually put all the information together to synthesize a formula for a replicate. So in this class we have TONS of extra reading to do and extra study to do. There was so much that I felt overwhelmed. In the first week of class I asked the the professor how important that extra reading was and he said, "You would need to do it if you want an A in the class or on the tests." Interpretation to my ears, "No." I decided not to do the extra reading. Because of this I studied the class notes really hard before the test and expected to get about a B on the test. Today I got it back from him and I got a 94.5% and he said, "I can really tell you studied Maggie." I said, "Yes I did," because I did study, just not the extra outside readings--and I still got an A! Take that!

On Another Note

Once a week for two weeks now I have been awakened at 5AM by the people living in the apartment above us having sex. Yes, that's right. They're not quick about it either. Their bed is so loud as to wake me up. Last night the bouncing went on for an hour! They really need a new bed. One that doesn't sound like small children jumping on a rusty trampoline.

Oh nuts!

Everytime we go grocery shopping we pass the aisle with the planter's honey roasted peanuts. I always make a comment about how much I love them, but we never get them because well they're just treats and we don't need them.

All day yesterday I was wondering what my Sweetie would get me after our two talks about presents. He's been so busy lately when would he even have time to get me anything? Well, he certainly does know me well! He had gone grocery shopping on his own! (A gift in and of itself.) And purchased me two types of cold cereal and honey roasted peanuts!

These presents may not seem like much to all of you readers out there, but considering our lack of money right now it almost made me cry. He really thought about getting me something! It was way better than candy, flowers, or anything else really. His presents are always winners!

I don't even Mind

Well it's Saturday. Do you know what that means? Yep! You guessed it! I'm studying in the library. Normally this would really bum me (and it sort of does), but I don't even really mind right now. These are the reasons why:

• Yesterday my husband and I took half the day off and went up to the temple in Portland and picked up my Kitchenaid mixer from the shop and spent the afternoon together.
• Also yesterday we played for the institute talent show. He played his banjo and I played the fiddle for "Cripple Creek" and "Cotton Eyed Joe." We rocked! Also we talked to a guy in the other ward that just got a mandolin for Christmas and next weekend we are going out to "The Grange" which is this old one room school house that people in this area get together and play bluegrass. I'm a little nervous about doing this as I'm not to confident in my fiddle abilities and I don't know any songs, but the kid said that the old people there are more than happy to help you learn the standard songs.
• I cleaned my whole apartment on Thursday. Sort of a Spring clean type of thing as I also went through my closet to sort out the clothing that I no longer wear to give it to the goodwill. If I'm not wearing it then it really should go to help someone else. Normally I would give it to the ARC, but I don't know where one is or who to call to have it picked up so it's going to the goodwill.
• I didn't study for my test on Monday all that much this week so I have to study to even think of passing it. This reminds me of when I was at BYU and would spend a Saturday studying organic chemistry for hours just to try and pass a test.
  
• Nobody is in this library on Saturdays so I actually have a chance of finding a quiet place to study. Which I would normally have no hope of finding since there are only two designated quiet areas in the whole stinking library. The rest of the place people chat uninterrupted. It drives me nuts.

So all in all I'm not too bummed about having to study today. Plus I'm studying interesting stuff. All the components on how to formulate a juice beverage that matches one currently on the market. Its pretty cool.

Passion and Presents

My husband and I had a short talk the other day. It went a little something like this:

Me: "So are we going to get each other Valentine's presents or not?" (Sort of a negative tone in my voice meaning that it would be ok if he said no.)
Him: "Oh, Umm...no."
Me: "I didn't figure we had the money to spend on that kind of thing."
Him: "Yeah."

That was the end of it. Or was it?

The more I thought about it the more I wanted a present. Not something huge, just maybe some flowers or something that says he loves me. Then I felt guilty because I wanted a present. We really don't have the money. I mean we could get by with spending a little, but it would probably be better spent on other frivilous things. Like food, and hot water.

So anyway the more I felt guilty the more I really secretly wanted a present. Then I thought that maybe he would be totally romantic and get me something anyway. (Katie's boyfriend is always doing that sort of thing for her! Maybe my husband will do that for me!) Then I came to reality and realized he's not really into presents. It isn't a big deal to him. He doesn't really care about me giving him a present, but he might just decide that I should get one. The more I thought about this idea the more I liked it. It lifted my spirits! I was loving him more already! Until I realized that although he may have spontaneously decided to get me a present for Valentine's before our talk, after there was no way he would do it. I realized that pretending he might do it would just set me up for failure and make him really mad because we had already agreed on no presents. So here I am, wanting a present, feeling guilty, and now depressed that my husband wont be so romantic and get me something anyway.

Yesterday I decided something that I consider very mature of me. I decided to stop all the fallderall and just tell him that I really do want a present, no matter how selfish it sounds. The conversation went like this.

Me: "I know we said no presents, but I actually would like something."
Him: "Ok"
Me: "I know we don't have a lot of money to spend so it can be really little. Like less than $5. Just so that its something. Do you want anything?"
Him: "Not really"

The differences between the two of us are rather amusing sometimes.

100 %

I made myself a goal on the second week of school this term. That goal was to have 100% attendance for one week of class. That means going to all my classes. This may not seem like a big goal to many of you (my sister), but for me it is. When I have deemed something not necessary I have a very hard time actually going. Like today for example, my recitation was going over a homwork set we turned in last week. I got a 100% on the homework set so going over all the questions again is not necessary.

It is now the fourth week of the term. Up until now I have not reached my goal. One week I got a migraine in the middle and the other well, I sort of forgot I was taking one of my classes. This week I decdied it was my week to shine. Today was almost my downfall. I stayed up pretty late studying last night for a test today and I was incredibly tired. I didn't want to go to my recitation because I felt my time would be better spent sleeping. As a motivational tool I told myself that if I finally reached my goal of 100% attendance I would make some homemade brownies tonight as a treat. YEAH for me! I just went to my final class of the week (in which we took a test so its not like that was an option). Now I get to have some brownies! When I told my husband he said, "Does having 100% attendance for four weeks earn me some brownies?" I told him no because 100% attendance wasn't something new and different for him.

Italicized

Today I'm wearing my "Bring on the Heat" T-shirt, hereafter it will be referred to as my lucky shirt. Today has been a great day! I got to sleep in all the way until 7:30 this morning! I also had absolutely no complications during my chemistry lab today! I used atomic absorption to correctly tell the concentration of copper in my unknown sample perfectly the very first time! No little wizard picture on the computer telling me to go back and do everything again to figure out my mistake! NOT TODAY MISTER! 100%! A+! First try! I had a good lunch consisting of an open face pork sandwich (leftovers from last night's post roast) with gravy drizzled all over so that it soaked into the bread. Yumm! Then I got a little nap in. When I woke up and walked back to my class I felt on top of the world. Not just good. You know how some days you feel as though you could conquer the world while wearing high heels, make it look incredibly good and still have time to relax and enjoy? I was feeling like that! Then when I got to my class I was faced with yet another reason I like to be a food science major. We had cheese samples in class today! Also I got a chance to wear my new Valentiene's socks with hearts on them. I just got my Valentine's Day gift package from my mom yesterday! I got to eat the Sweetharts and wear the socks and wear my lucky shirt! Man this is a good day!

I also forgot to add that I got to have a good little chuckle out of Heather's quote of the week. Also I just saw this kid across from me in the computer lab totally picking his nose. He was a whole knuckle deep! Oh man that is awesome. (Note to self, don't ever use that computer and wash your hands as soon as you get home.) What a great day!

Thanks to Ronnie

TOMORROW IS GROUND HOG'S DAY!!!! Anyway, thanks to all the information I recieved last year from my ground hog's post I sounded REALLY smart about this little tradition today when my professor brought it up in class. We have a lot of students from Asian countries so when he says something he thinks they wont know he stops and asks the class if they don't know it. (EX. "Does anyone not know what "in the ball park" means?") Today he wished us a happy ground hog's day tomorrow and then he had to make sure everyone knew about it. I told the class about Phill and General Beauregard and also about the tradition and everything. It was for that reason I decided to thank everyone that added to our ground hog's day discussion last year and to wish you a happy ground hogs day again this year!

Wanted

One person to study with. Must want to study in big chunks of time rather than small intervals. Must also enjoy going to the library. Must have learned to have the exact same study style as me or similar and compatable. Must be available immediately.

If I don't start studying more I fear I will hit this wall of things that need to be done. Right now I'm not swamped, but I will be.....soon. The problem is that I like to study with people. I'm a socially driven person I think. Even if I don't really talk to the other person all that much, it's good to just have them go with me. Then I can't leave when I want to give up because I'm with them. I like to study in the evening. Preferrably after dinner. I also like to study somewhere other than my home. Preferrably the library. That combination doesn't really work here because I feel really vulnerable walking home alone in the dark. I just feel as though there are a lot more opportunities for me to get raped/abducted/killed around here. Especially when I have to walk under this big evergreen that drapes over the sidewalk. In the day its a natural arbor. At night it transformed into rape central. I had better figure this out soon.

Happy Birthday

Today it is January 24 and my husband is turning 24! YEAH! I woke up all on my own at 6 AM (half an hour before the alarm) to put up the home made "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banner across our kitchen/dining area. Then when the alarm went off he just rolled over turned it off and went back to sleep so I let him sleep in until 8! We finally decided to get up and while heading to the bathroom he saw a little trail of Happy Birthday Sweetie signs on the floor leading him to the kitchen and the big banner! While he showered I made him his pancake cake and after breakfast he opened his presents. That part wasn't as much fun as it normally would be because he already knew what all of them were. Anyway he's in taking a test right now but I think I'm going to go home and make a special lunch or something for him. Yeah for my Sweetie!

Problem Set 2

Silly fool that I am I decided to wait until the night before I have to turn in my homework assignment to start it. (In my defense I was cleaning and getting errands done instead. It's not like I wasn't doing anything productive.) Anyway, I don't really like to do homework on Sunday (not because I think it's morally wrong or anything. I just don't like how stressed it makes me feel on a day that I feel I shouldn't be.) so I stopped doing it and said I would get up early today and finish it before my first class at 9. Well that plan was working well. In fact it worked brilliantly. The only problem I have run into is number 7. I have figured out every other problem but #7. I just can't seem to get it. This not only stresses me out as the assingment is due at 10 and I have a class before that, but more than that, it annoys me. This class is easy and the rest of the problems on this set took me about an hour total. I just seem to have one more unknown than I have equations to find them all! I hate it when I can't figure out something I have already deemed easy. It is so frustrating!

Can't you See...

That it's just rainin. Yes everyone, today it rained so hard I actually turned back to get an umbrella. Usually the rain is so light it's more like a mist that's falling. Today it was real rain. I might have been depressed except for my new enlightened attitude toward how beautiful Oregon is. On the other side I've had that Jack Johnson song stuck in my head for two days. That's what the mental association does to your brain.

So my husband's birthday is in four days. I'm pretty excited to make him the pancake cake. Also I think I'm going to get him a metronome for the banjo. I know it isn't the most interesting gift, but I think he'll like it. Now I just have to find a store that sells a happy birthday sign.