A picture is worth a thousand words so here's a great story!

Graduation

*OOPS* I thought I had posted this entry over a week ago but I guess I just saved it instead. So, today I got into my blog to add a new post and discovered what I had done, but I now have a picture to add to it so I guess it works out OK in the end anyway!

Yes, this is me...in 1986. This was also the last time I wore a cap and gown and participated in a graduation ceremony. This week I went to the Grad fair here in Logan and purchased my cap and gown and tassel for graduation. I will be walking in the commencement exercise at the Brigham City Campus on April 16, 2010. Can you tell I'm excited? (FYI, I found it amusing that the care instructions in my graduation gown say 'do not dry clean. Do not wash." I guess they were only intended to be worn once)

Exams

I had two exams last week and I have two more this week and since I have exams on my mind I thought I would share some of my exam taking strategies with you.
1. Don't cram! It is better to study 15 minutes a day for the week before the test than to spend 3 straight hours studying the night or morning before the exam. I try to start reviewing my notes a week before the exam even if only for a few minutes at a time. If I have more than one exam to study for I alternate, half an hour on one subject and then half an hour on another, and then back to the first subject again.
2. Find a study strategy that works for you. I like to rewrite my notes in my own words. I also like to explain what I am studying to someone else. My hubby gets a lot of psych lectures late at night when I review things in my head before falling asleep. If I can't talk to someone else I pretend I am and talk out loud to myself. Sometimes I read my notes to a voice recorder and then listen to them while I'm driving to and from school. It helps if I can make the information personal or relevant to me also.
3. Don't over-think. when I take a multiple choice exam I like to go fast. I make sure that I am reading each question carefully so that I understand what is being asked and if I have an answer pop into my head I look for that specific word or phrase in the choices. I go with my first thought and don't second guess my gut instinct. I have found with multiple choice exams if have studied I either know the info or I don't. I just go with my gut, because if I know it I will be right, and if I don't I have a 1in 4 (or whatever) chance of guessing it right. If I think about it too much I will probably get it wrong.
4. If I have no idea on a question I may leave it blank and come back to it later, but I never reread my answers once I've marked an answer. If I change an answer I am usually changing from a right answer to a wrong one. When I am finished I just recheck to make sure that I have answered every question; I don't change anything.
These strategies have worked pretty well for me so far. I have a good track record and haven't failed an exam yet :) Only six more exams to go until the end of the semester. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Look what I've got!

4 SOFT, FLUFFY BUNNIES!

We have a mama rabbit; her name is Usagi which is Japanese for rabbit. She is a mini Holland lop. She lives in a pen in our backyard. Our friends have a mini Rex but they didn't have a very good pen to keep him in for the winter so we invited him to keep company with Usagi for the winter.

About six weeks ago we were pretty sure that the happy couple had babies because Usagi was pulling fur off her sides and belly which meant that she was making a nest for babies. But the parents dug a grand burrow in the rabbit pen and put the babies underground so we couldn't see them...

That is until Tuesday when the mama decided the weather was good enough and the bunnies were big enough that she brought them up and filled in the entrance to the burrow. Now they live in a small dog house in the rabbit yard, except of course when we bring them in the house to hold them.

What a wonderful way to usher in spring and what a wonderful surprise for me to enjoy during spring break!

My favorite professor

Do you have a favorite professor, or are you someones favorite professor...why?!
(Perhaps I should say instructor instead of professor because some of my favorites have actually been grad students.)
You know the ones I'm talking about, the one that makes you want to take another class just because they teach it. Now, I'm not talking about the one who is really good looking or the one that is so easy on you that you can get an "A" without ever showing up for class although they are out there. I mean the ones who get you excited about the subject they teach, make you want to show up for class and help you really learn the subject matter.
Let me tell you about what makes a great instructor in my opinion. Keep in mind that most of the classes I am taking are in the social sciences area and this might not be realistic for all classes.
I like an instructor who does not just lecture every class period. I like variety. Lectures are fine some of the time but I also like classes with guest speakers. I have watched youtube videos and movie clips that demonstrate what we are talking about. I also have had classes where we got into small groups to discuss an assigned question, classes where students have an assignment to give part of the lecture, and classes where we do a poster presentation and walk around to ask questions of our classmates.
I also like creative assignments. I write a lot of short (3-5 pages) research papers. I like instructors who ask something different of me, such as a poster or a presentation or power point to demonstrate what I have learned.
I enjoy classes that help me see how what I am learning fits in my life. I know the class instruction is sinking into my brain when I start noticing people and things around me that remind me of something that I learned, and when I can see how real life fits with what I am studying.
Of course it never hurts to have an instructor who is entertaining to listen to and makes you laugh occasionally. The perfect instructor will show an interest in me personally. By this I mean they will remember my name when I see them on campus and make me feel like my success in their class matters.
I know this sounds like a tall order but guess what, I have had many instructors who have managed to live up to this. In fact I always have at least one every semester, and this semester I have several.

Appreciation

Before (June 2009)
and After (Feb 2010)

There is nothing like going without something for a while to make you appreciate it more when you have it again. This is why I have to talk about my living room again. Living in a constant construction project is not fun but is worth it in the end. We are enjoying our new room so much and it isn't even entirely finished yet.When the room was all torn up the kids usually went to their bedrooms when they were home. Now the whole family just hangs out in there and it's so nice to have everyone together. I can't wait to finish the rest of our projects!

He did it!

The other night I hugged my son before bed and it seemed that her was taller... again!
So, I had him stand up to the wall where I mark my kid's heights. He is now officially taller than his Dad. He passed me over a year ago. Judging by the way he eats I don't think he is done growing yet. Perhaps one of these days his upward trend will slow down a bit and let the rest of him catch up. I am having a hard time finding pants for him because his legs keep getting longer but his waist stays the same. I have mixed emotions about this. Of course as a parent you want your kids to grow up but it's also hard to see it happening so fast. It seems like yesterday he was just a little pipsqueak. Sometimes I miss my cute little boy.

Are we there yet?

I think the semester is about halfway done.
I am ready; I want to be on the downhill end of my last semester.
I am ready to graduate.
I am ready to spend a summer enjoying my kids without anticipating registering for fall semester.
I am ready to be done taking exams, but mostly I am ready to be finished with the hardest class I have taken yet in my educational career. The class is scientific thinking and methods in psychology. Now, if you are a psych major I don't want to scare you. It is not actually the entire class I am having a hard time with... it's just one big project that I have to do in this class. The teacher is very good. I would recommend him. We do some great in class activities to help us learn concepts we are studying.I feel like I understand things I read in the text and during lectures and class discussions. I even got 96% on the first exam, but my brain seems to shut off every time I try to work on my research proposal project. I have spent many hours, actually many days researching and still my mind is blank. I am reaching the point where I don't care if I get an "A" in the class, I only care that I don't fail so I can graduate and I won't have to take this class again. So I'm counting the days until May 6, the day of my last final!
(According to my count tonight, I have 40 days of classes before finals week.)

Project update

I finally have a living room. The floor is done and we finished painting Tuesday morning. Well actually it's not entirely finished, but it is livable. I still need molding, curtains, lights, and I need to hang pictures and stuff, but at least I no longer have sawdust on my floor, and I do have furniture. It feels good to have a room again.
Of course you remember that my project expanded into the kitchen and it is not done yet, but having this much done feels wonderful.We had fun picking the colors for the paint. We had a collection of paint samples spread out on the floor along with upholstery samples and laminate samples for the kitchen counter tops so that we could coordinate everything. In the end we ended up with paint colors that are all named for foods. The main neutral color in the living room is called snicker doodle. That color will be in most of the kitchen also. The dark red wall in the living room is called cherry chocolate, and we will be painting one wall in the kitchen a green called hint of olive.
Last night my whole family sat in the living room until way later than we should have because it was so nice to have our room back again.

Psychology of Gender

I LOVE THIS CLASS!
This is my one elective this semester. After registering for all of the classes I needed to graduate, I still needed 3 more credits. Psychology of gender looked kind of interesting and it fit in my schedule so I decided to give it a try. I look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays because I get to go to this class.
Let me tell you why:

For one thing, I never know for sure what the class will be like. I like the instructor... it is taught by Camille Odell. (I tried to add a picture, but it didn't work, maybe I'll add one later) There are some lectures, we watch videos, have class discussions, watch interesting stuff from youtube, and have guest speakers and panels. Mixing it up like that makes class more interesting.

Next, the topic is fascinating. I don't think there is anyone over the age of 6 who has never thought, "why do guys (or girls) do that, or think like that." There is always an ongoing debate about the differences between men and women, and what causes the differences. This class is a place to explore those questions. I find myself thinking about the material covered in this class frequently as I go about normal life, or in my other classes. The stuff we talk about in this class seems to apply to everything else, because no matter where you go, you interact with people and gender comes into play.

One other thing I like about the class is that we explore questions that we don't know the answers to, and questions that may not have a right answer, but just opinions. We have writing assignments where we get credit for expressing our thoughts on a given subject instead of having to come up with the right answer. I have to admit that I like getting credit for giving my opinion on things. Sometimes I feel like I have run out of intelligent thoughts, my classes have used them all up, but I never seem to run out of opinions :)