Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year
This year for New Years Eve we decided to stay home and have fun with my parents and kids. We broke out the munchies and played some of our favorite games. After we had played Catch Phrase and Guesstures my youngest daughter was reading the names of some of the other games we had out and instead of "Balderdash" she said "Bladderdash." We all had a good laugh at her mistake and then had fun making suggestions about how that game would be played. Our favorite was " 4 desperate people compete in a 100 yard dash to one toilet...one winner and 3 disgraced and embarrassed."
What do you want to be when you grow up?
When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Did your goals change as you grew up, or did they stay the same?
When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.
When I was in my early teens I wanted to be a commercial artist.
Both of those ambitions were quickly and easily forgotten. One goal that I always kept was being a mom. That one I did follow through with, although I only have 3 children, not the large family I planned as a child.
When I was a teenager, I had a different ambition. As a looked at women I knew, my Mom, her friends, ladies in my church, I noticed that the ones who were the busiest were also the ones you could count on to get something done. They seemed to be able to do it all. I wanted to be that kind of a person when I grew up.
I'm not sure if I've accomplished that one yet, I'm note exactly sure that is even a realistic goal, but I do know that I like to be busy and involved and I do think that I function well when I'm under pressure. I hope that I've proven I am someone that can be counted on to get things done.
My new career goal, for when I grow up, is to be either #1 an academic adviser at the college level, or as a close 2nd, a high school counselor.
I am now 72 credits towards a bachelors degree in psychology, and then I intend to get a master's degree in school counseling which will lend itself well to either career.
So I guess life sometimes takes some turns we didn't expect, but sometimes a change of direction can be a good thing.
Did your goals change as you grew up, or did they stay the same?
When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher.
When I was in my early teens I wanted to be a commercial artist.
Both of those ambitions were quickly and easily forgotten. One goal that I always kept was being a mom. That one I did follow through with, although I only have 3 children, not the large family I planned as a child.
When I was a teenager, I had a different ambition. As a looked at women I knew, my Mom, her friends, ladies in my church, I noticed that the ones who were the busiest were also the ones you could count on to get something done. They seemed to be able to do it all. I wanted to be that kind of a person when I grew up.
I'm not sure if I've accomplished that one yet, I'm note exactly sure that is even a realistic goal, but I do know that I like to be busy and involved and I do think that I function well when I'm under pressure. I hope that I've proven I am someone that can be counted on to get things done.
My new career goal, for when I grow up, is to be either #1 an academic adviser at the college level, or as a close 2nd, a high school counselor.
I am now 72 credits towards a bachelors degree in psychology, and then I intend to get a master's degree in school counseling which will lend itself well to either career.
So I guess life sometimes takes some turns we didn't expect, but sometimes a change of direction can be a good thing.
Pup-date
Remember that sweet little black pup Lucy Lu? Well she has grown and right now I think she is mainly a furry food processor with teeth....LOTS OF TEETH!
I started referring to the little ankle biter as the devil dog, but the kids changed it and we now call her "Lucy-fer. " Her day consists of waking up, eating, chewing on toys, pooping outside,
chewing on dirty socks, pooping inside, chewing on clean socks, chewing on furniture, drinking, chewing on us, sleeping (because her chewing was driving us crazy so we put her in her kennel) chewing on papers she pulled out of the garbage, pooping, bothering the cat, attacking our ankles, trying to play tug-of-war with our pant legs, chewing on anything withing 18 inches of the floor, chewing on my kitchen chair legs, and....well you get the idea. It's a good thing she is so soft and cute or we would have killed her by now. It's actually a miracle that no one has tripped over her and fallen on her smashing her to death yet. I'm trying to be patient because I know, having raised two other schnauzer pups before her, that she will outgrow the chewing phase, and will also eventually be housebroken. Her most redeeming quality at this point is that fact that as her fur grows she is turning out to be curly and soft like our Lilly that we lost. I can't bring myself to have her groomed because her curls are so cute!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas
Yesterday was my family Christmas party. My two brothers and I and my sister plus spouses and children for a total of 17 people at my parents home for the day. We have a couple of traditions that we all look forward to every year. The first one is not all that unusual but the second is a bit unconventional.
#1 We start our party in the morning and the first activity involves eating Aebelskivers. My Dad's ancestors came from Denmark and this is a bit of a tribute to his heritage. Aebelskivers are a little round cake similar to a donut and traditionally they have a little piece of apple or an almond in the center. When my mom makes them she puts apples in all of them except one and that one has an almond. The person who gets the almond gets to open the first gift.
#2 The second tradition revolves around this old bra box and started about 30 years ago when I was a child. One Christmas my Grandma wrapped a gift for one of her sons-in-law in this box without realizing what the box said. It proved to be a bit embarrassing and funny when they opened it and read the box. Now every year my mom wraps a gift for someone in the bra box. She usually picks an adult and often a man because it seems to be funnier that way. We all look forward to seeing who will get the bra box and what will be in it. Even though we know it will happen every year, we still all clap and cheer and laugh when someone gets it. This year my 14 year old son got the box and it contained a Hollister shirt. I think this may have been some kind of initiation into the adult world of our family.
Well, so far the best money I spent on a Christmas gift this year was the $5. I spent on my lttle 1 yr old nephew Caleb. I got him a little car that looks like the race car on the Disney Cars movie. When you shake the car it makes a noise like an engine starting and revving up. Then when you put it on the floor it drives forward. The car made a noise while he was opening it and his eyes got big. Then when he got the car open and saw what it did he squealed with delight and played with it over and over again, and appeared to be amazed every time it did its thing. I'm glad I have little nieces and nephews because my kids aren't that small any more and there is something fun about having little ones around on Christmas.
#1 We start our party in the morning and the first activity involves eating Aebelskivers. My Dad's ancestors came from Denmark and this is a bit of a tribute to his heritage. Aebelskivers are a little round cake similar to a donut and traditionally they have a little piece of apple or an almond in the center. When my mom makes them she puts apples in all of them except one and that one has an almond. The person who gets the almond gets to open the first gift.
#2 The second tradition revolves around this old bra box and started about 30 years ago when I was a child. One Christmas my Grandma wrapped a gift for one of her sons-in-law in this box without realizing what the box said. It proved to be a bit embarrassing and funny when they opened it and read the box. Now every year my mom wraps a gift for someone in the bra box. She usually picks an adult and often a man because it seems to be funnier that way. We all look forward to seeing who will get the bra box and what will be in it. Even though we know it will happen every year, we still all clap and cheer and laugh when someone gets it. This year my 14 year old son got the box and it contained a Hollister shirt. I think this may have been some kind of initiation into the adult world of our family.
Well, so far the best money I spent on a Christmas gift this year was the $5. I spent on my lttle 1 yr old nephew Caleb. I got him a little car that looks like the race car on the Disney Cars movie. When you shake the car it makes a noise like an engine starting and revving up. Then when you put it on the floor it drives forward. The car made a noise while he was opening it and his eyes got big. Then when he got the car open and saw what it did he squealed with delight and played with it over and over again, and appeared to be amazed every time it did its thing. I'm glad I have little nieces and nephews because my kids aren't that small any more and there is something fun about having little ones around on Christmas.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Confessions
Confession #1
I bombed one of my finals...Okay not entirely, I got the lowest grade on any exam so far in my college career. In my defense, I did study, but I also found out the night before the test that someone I'm close to has cancer so I was a bit distracted. (I thankfully did well enough on the rest of the stuff in that class to balance it out though and still meet my goal for the grade I wanted.)
Confession #2
I haven't actually seen my husband since... I'm not sure, I think it was maybe Tuesday night. It's crunch time at Angels for Christmas so I'm spending a lot of time there. When I get home at night he's already asleep, and when I get up in the morning he's already left for work. I do talk to him on the phone once in a while, but I'm starting to miss him. Thanks honey for being supportive and understanding! Only a couple more days!!
Confession #3
I haven't wrapped any gifts for my kids and put them under the tree yet. Yes I have bought some of them, but I still need to finish my shopping and start my wrapping. I usually like to get my Christmas shopping done early, that hasn't happened this year.
Confession #4
I like to go skinny dipping in my hot tub. It's outside in our back yard. It's nice and peaceful late at night when it's dark. If I'm careful, and lucky my neighbors won't see me and laugh!
Well, I feel much better now that I have all of that off my chest, I think I'll go to bed.
I bombed one of my finals...Okay not entirely, I got the lowest grade on any exam so far in my college career. In my defense, I did study, but I also found out the night before the test that someone I'm close to has cancer so I was a bit distracted. (I thankfully did well enough on the rest of the stuff in that class to balance it out though and still meet my goal for the grade I wanted.)
Confession #2
I haven't actually seen my husband since... I'm not sure, I think it was maybe Tuesday night. It's crunch time at Angels for Christmas so I'm spending a lot of time there. When I get home at night he's already asleep, and when I get up in the morning he's already left for work. I do talk to him on the phone once in a while, but I'm starting to miss him. Thanks honey for being supportive and understanding! Only a couple more days!!
Confession #3
I haven't wrapped any gifts for my kids and put them under the tree yet. Yes I have bought some of them, but I still need to finish my shopping and start my wrapping. I usually like to get my Christmas shopping done early, that hasn't happened this year.
Confession #4
I like to go skinny dipping in my hot tub. It's outside in our back yard. It's nice and peaceful late at night when it's dark. If I'm careful, and lucky my neighbors won't see me and laugh!
Well, I feel much better now that I have all of that off my chest, I think I'll go to bed.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Let it snow!
My son has been watching the morning news while he gets ready for school. He lives to ski in the winter and wants to see the weather report to see if we're going to get more snow. Actually he wants to know if The Canyons is getting any snow.
I on the other hand live in the wrong part of the world. I don't ski. I don't like cold. I only like to look at snow from the inside of a window, and not a car window either. I don't like to spend any amount of time out in it. But, in the right circumstances even I will admit that it is beautiful, and I know that we do need it for the water. Yesterday was one of the snow days I didn't mind. I went up to the main campus for a Christmas luncheon for regional campus and distance education people.
The lunch was held at the Alumni House which is right on campus but from inside you would never know it. It snowed lightly during the event, and looking out the windows, you would swear you were out in the middle of the woods. All you could see was trees and snow.
And, let me give my compliments to the chef!
The food was wonderful. I have had several opportunities to attend events where campus catering provided the food, and I am impressed. Everything was both beautiful and delicious.
I on the other hand live in the wrong part of the world. I don't ski. I don't like cold. I only like to look at snow from the inside of a window, and not a car window either. I don't like to spend any amount of time out in it. But, in the right circumstances even I will admit that it is beautiful, and I know that we do need it for the water. Yesterday was one of the snow days I didn't mind. I went up to the main campus for a Christmas luncheon for regional campus and distance education people.
The lunch was held at the Alumni House which is right on campus but from inside you would never know it. It snowed lightly during the event, and looking out the windows, you would swear you were out in the middle of the woods. All you could see was trees and snow.
And, let me give my compliments to the chef!
The food was wonderful. I have had several opportunities to attend events where campus catering provided the food, and I am impressed. Everything was both beautiful and delicious.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The End
Finals may be over (sigh of relief) but if you're like me the semester doesn't really feel like it's over until you see your final grades.
The waiting part is worse than the studying part of taking finals.
I am still anxiously awaiting one grade.
But, so far so good. I met my goal in my other classes.
Life has not slowed down much though. I am happy to be finished with classes because there is so much to be doing for Angels for Christmas. This Saturday and next Monday are the days that the families will be coming to pick up their gifts so we are very busy shopping, sorting, and wrapping. I have been so impressed with the generosity of this community. It is amazing to see the gifts come flooding in, from clothes shoes and coats, to scooters, mp3 players, bikes, dolls, and even car seats and cribs for babies that need them. I love being involved in this project, seeing all of the gifts pile up on tables, watching youth groups come in and wrap, and knowing that all of the kids in my area will have gifts this Christmas even if their family is going through a tough time.
The waiting part is worse than the studying part of taking finals.
I am still anxiously awaiting one grade.
But, so far so good. I met my goal in my other classes.
Life has not slowed down much though. I am happy to be finished with classes because there is so much to be doing for Angels for Christmas. This Saturday and next Monday are the days that the families will be coming to pick up their gifts so we are very busy shopping, sorting, and wrapping. I have been so impressed with the generosity of this community. It is amazing to see the gifts come flooding in, from clothes shoes and coats, to scooters, mp3 players, bikes, dolls, and even car seats and cribs for babies that need them. I love being involved in this project, seeing all of the gifts pile up on tables, watching youth groups come in and wrap, and knowing that all of the kids in my area will have gifts this Christmas even if their family is going through a tough time.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Finals time
Contrary to how it might seem, if I haven't posted for a few days, its not because there is nothing going on and I don't have anything to say, its the exact opposite. (You should know that I never run out of things to say!) It actually means that I'm so busy I haven't had time to get on the computer and write it all down. So, here is a quick run-down of what The last few days in my life have been like.
FRIDAY- I went to the main campus for a regional campus representative meeting and while I was in Logan I ran a few errands. I got home about 4:00, changed clothes and checked in with my kids before leaving for the Brigham campus with my Hubby for the staff and faculty Christmas party. The food was done by USU's catering so of course it was wonderful. After the party I had a class at 8:00 and I had to do my final presentation. I actually don't mind doing presentations, I think they are kind of fun, but since I had been running all day I hadn't had time to go over it right before the class so I didn't feel like it was as good as it could have been, but I'm happy it is over with.
SATURDAY: I tried to get a few things done in my house before going to a baby shower for my niece and then leaving for the game in Salt Lake. The game was great even though we didn't win. I was very impressed (and proud) when I saw how many USU fans were in the crowd. We definitely outnumbered and out cheered the BYU fans. I think I'm getting old though. I found that sitting in the student section was a little loud for my liking, my ears were ringing, and I had a headache by the time the game was over.
MONDAY: Finally a day to stay home (mostly) I did laundry and studied for finals all day. Monday night my parents came to my house for a turkey dinner and then we all went shopping together to but gifts for the Angels for Christmas family we adopted. It was great to get all of my kids involved. My 10 yr old especially enjoyed picking things out for the 2 yr old girl in the family. She insisted on being the one to pick out the cute clothes for her and debated for a long time about what kind of toy to get. (the girl had not requested a specific item, just a toy). My daughter ended up deciding that for a little girl, you can't go wrong with a baby doll with blankets and bottles and other accessories.
So for the rest of this week I'll be studying a lot and taking tests, much like everyone else on many campuses. Good luck everyone!!
FRIDAY- I went to the main campus for a regional campus representative meeting and while I was in Logan I ran a few errands. I got home about 4:00, changed clothes and checked in with my kids before leaving for the Brigham campus with my Hubby for the staff and faculty Christmas party. The food was done by USU's catering so of course it was wonderful. After the party I had a class at 8:00 and I had to do my final presentation. I actually don't mind doing presentations, I think they are kind of fun, but since I had been running all day I hadn't had time to go over it right before the class so I didn't feel like it was as good as it could have been, but I'm happy it is over with.
SATURDAY: I tried to get a few things done in my house before going to a baby shower for my niece and then leaving for the game in Salt Lake. The game was great even though we didn't win. I was very impressed (and proud) when I saw how many USU fans were in the crowd. We definitely outnumbered and out cheered the BYU fans. I think I'm getting old though. I found that sitting in the student section was a little loud for my liking, my ears were ringing, and I had a headache by the time the game was over.
MONDAY: Finally a day to stay home (mostly) I did laundry and studied for finals all day. Monday night my parents came to my house for a turkey dinner and then we all went shopping together to but gifts for the Angels for Christmas family we adopted. It was great to get all of my kids involved. My 10 yr old especially enjoyed picking things out for the 2 yr old girl in the family. She insisted on being the one to pick out the cute clothes for her and debated for a long time about what kind of toy to get. (the girl had not requested a specific item, just a toy). My daughter ended up deciding that for a little girl, you can't go wrong with a baby doll with blankets and bottles and other accessories.
So for the rest of this week I'll be studying a lot and taking tests, much like everyone else on many campuses. Good luck everyone!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Angels For Christmas
Last night I spent the evening at the old Kmart building in Brigham City where we had a group of young women wrapping gifts for Angels for Christmas. I can't wait to get finished with my classes and be able to devote more time to Angels, there is so much that I could be working on there right now and I'm looking forward to getting more involved. The gifts are, thankfully, starting to come in because I think we a pretty close to having 1000 kids to provide gifts for.
And the winner is...
The little black girl pup!
My daughter finally has her long awaited little schnauzer puppy.
She was 5 weeks old on Monday and the mama dog is tired of feeding the babies so my sister-in-law brought her to us this morning and she's all ours.
My daughter has named this little cutie Lucy Lu and we already love her. She's so tiny and sweet and such a baby still that all she wants to do most of the time is snuggle in someones arms.
Unfortunately I have plenty to do right now other than playing with puppies. Like most students I'm up to my eyeballs in school work this week. I turned in one paper today and now I need to finish the paper and presentation that are due Friday night and immediately jump into studying for finals. One more week and the semester is over...time flies when you are having fun!
My daughter finally has her long awaited little schnauzer puppy.
She was 5 weeks old on Monday and the mama dog is tired of feeding the babies so my sister-in-law brought her to us this morning and she's all ours.
My daughter has named this little cutie Lucy Lu and we already love her. She's so tiny and sweet and such a baby still that all she wants to do most of the time is snuggle in someones arms.
Unfortunately I have plenty to do right now other than playing with puppies. Like most students I'm up to my eyeballs in school work this week. I turned in one paper today and now I need to finish the paper and presentation that are due Friday night and immediately jump into studying for finals. One more week and the semester is over...time flies when you are having fun!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Festival Tree
This afternoon Student Government donated and set up a tree to be sold to benefit the new hospital being built in Tremonton.
The event, which is similar to The Festival of Trees, will be held at the new Calls Country Nursery building in Elwood (9880 North 5300 West ... South of Crossroads)
You can go see the trees and enjoy the entertainment Dec 3- 5 (Wed- Fri) from 1:00 - 8:00.
The admission is $1.00 per person or $5.00 for a family.
There will be a silent auction for the trees that will end Friday at 8:00pm
We didn't have a lot of notice, so it was a fairly quick project to take on. If they do it again next year, it would be fun to plan ahead and get students involved in making some really cool ornaments. Despite only having two weeks notice, I think it turned out pretty good. We decorated it in Aggie Blue, and went with an Angel theme to represent our Angels for Christmas project that we're working on.
It was fun and I'm happy with how it turned out, so now back to working on my project that's due Friday night!
Thanksgiving
How was Thanksgiving for everyone? Is the holiday a chance to relax or an opportunity to catch up on school work and study for finals?
For me it was a little bit of both.
We traveled to Twenty-nine Palms California to spend the weekend with my in-laws, but I did spend some time on the internet doing research for a project I'm working on. I also devoted Saturday afternoon to turning a rough draft into a final draft for my FCHD class.
Twenty -nine Palms is about 1 1/2 hours from Palm Springs. It is in the middle of the desert. As we were driving home we found this interesting sight and when I took a picture of it my kids said, "put this on your blog!" I have no idea why this "shoe tree" exists or who started it or why, but it is quite a sight to see out in the middle of no-where.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Angels For Christmas
Our Angels for Christmas project is now in full swing.
This is what I did for our student government this week...set up the AngelTrees on campus so that our students and faculty can get involved in buying gifts for our angel children. Each angel on the tree represents one gift.
As of this week we have 188 families in our data base. There are probably another 20 or so to enter in, and there is still over a month before Christmas. That translates into about 580 children, or at 5 gifts for each child about 2800 gifts. These gifts will include four items the child needs such as clothing, coat, shoes, etc. The fifth item is the child's "wish."
As I sit and enter this information I feel so blessed that I am in a position to help and buy gifts for some of them, and that I have the means to provide not only the necessities, but so many luxuries of life for my kids. Sometimes reading these applications just about breaks your heart when you see children who need basic necessities of life.
I also appreciated all of the wonderful people who live in my community and are willing to help us. There are companies who buy and wrap gifts for dozens of children, others who donate money, put up an angel tree or a drop box to collect gifts for us. There are also many families and individuals who adopt a child or a family of children and provide the gifts for them. This reminds me what a great community I live in. This project would not be possible without so many generous people who are willing to help. If you would like to help your family get in the Christmas spirit, consider getting involved with "Angels." There are many ways that you could help, and there is a lot of need in our county this year.
New Pup
As you know if you've been following my blog, my youngest daughter lost her beloved pet Lilly the mini schnauzer a couple of months ago. Well, although Lilly could not truly be replaced, we are getting a new puppy. I know there is a certain amount of insanity here. After all I'm very busy and puppies take a lot of time and attention. Needless to say, my children have all promised to help train the new pup and I have found that bringing a new member into your family just means more love. My wonderful sister in law has two litters of pure-bred mini schnauzers that are 3-4 weeks old right now and has very kindly offered one of them to my daughter, so we went to visit the pup on Sunday afternoon to try and pick one out. With 7 soft, snuggly little pups to pick from it's hard to pick one.
This little girl is my daughters first choice. She's solid black except for the white spot on her chest. I think the deal was sealed when the pup nuzzled her neck and licked her. The rest of the family was impressed with a little boy pup who is called a "phantom" because of his markings (he's the one with the light beard in the first picture above) so watch in December and see which pup we end up with!
I told my sis-in-law that I'd help her try to sell the other 6 pups, so if you know anyone who wants a pup just shoot me an email and I'll send you more pics. I'll even deliver the pup to you when it's old enough if you don't live too far away.
Registration
From where I stand I can see the end of the semester.
My how time flies when you're having fun!
I have 4 more exams, one research paper and one project/presentation still to go.
I have been anticipating registration for a while now and the moment of truth came this week. I always get excited registering for the next semester but I often have some tricky decisions to make. The predicament I face is not only if I can get the classes I want but also how many evenings will they take me away from my family and can I rearrange my kids schedules to get it all to work? I'm very lucky because my parents live about 7 minutes from my house and are very helpful and supportive. It would either be a lot more difficult or I would have to take twice as long to get my degree if I didn't have the support of my parents, hubby, and kids. So, Ive ended up with 16 credits next semester. I will have classes 3 nights of the week that start at 8:00 and end at 10:30....its a good thing I'm a night person! I will also be going to the Main campus in Logan twice a week during the day.
FYI, I actually counted and the Brigham City Campus is offering over 300 classes next semester, and not only that, but we will have new classrooms, and labs finished for the new semester also. It's cool to see the campus growing and being able to offer more to the local students and the community
My how time flies when you're having fun!
I have 4 more exams, one research paper and one project/presentation still to go.
I have been anticipating registration for a while now and the moment of truth came this week. I always get excited registering for the next semester but I often have some tricky decisions to make. The predicament I face is not only if I can get the classes I want but also how many evenings will they take me away from my family and can I rearrange my kids schedules to get it all to work? I'm very lucky because my parents live about 7 minutes from my house and are very helpful and supportive. It would either be a lot more difficult or I would have to take twice as long to get my degree if I didn't have the support of my parents, hubby, and kids. So, Ive ended up with 16 credits next semester. I will have classes 3 nights of the week that start at 8:00 and end at 10:30....its a good thing I'm a night person! I will also be going to the Main campus in Logan twice a week during the day.
FYI, I actually counted and the Brigham City Campus is offering over 300 classes next semester, and not only that, but we will have new classrooms, and labs finished for the new semester also. It's cool to see the campus growing and being able to offer more to the local students and the community
Monday, November 10, 2008
Still Having Fun
Have I mentioned lately how much fun I'm having?
Do you know that feeling you get when you are really excited about something...it starts in your stomach and works its way up, it feels kind of like going down a big hill on a roller coaster except not quite as strong (and it happens when your feet are planted firmly on solid ground)
Think back to Christmas morning when you were a kid, or the day before you are leaving on a fabulous vacation.
Do you know the feeling I'm talking about?
Well, I keep getting that feeling and its because I love what I'm doing. I am excited every day to go to school, I love my classes, and I love all of the cool stuff I get to do with student government and all of the people I get to interact with.
Does anyone remember that game shop back in the 70's where they would put a person in a glass room with money blowing all over and they had a certain amount of time to grab all they could? Well I feel like I'm in that kind of situation. I'm here for a certain amount of time and I am trying to stuff all of the knowledge I can into my head. Sometimes I think I hurry so fast that some of it falls back out while I'm busy collecting more. I don't just mean my classes either, they're great, but also just the people I'm around. I love to watch people, ( sorry if that weirds you out or makes you nervous) I spend a lot of time thinking about why they do the things they do and act the way the do. I am learning ways to improve myself by watching others around me.
I think it is especially fascinating, and enlightening to watch people who are very different from me. If I have a particular weakness, I observe people who are strong in that area and try to learn from them.
As far as things go with my classes, the geology exam turned out great. Thanks to the wonderful world of extra credit I actually got higher than 100% even though I missed several questions...I love it when that happens. I'm happy with the outcomes of both of the exams I took this week also. AND....guess what?! I don't have any exams this week...YEA!!! This means I might have time to work on my research paper for my FCHD class.
Friday morning I went up to the Logan campus. I went to a lunch put on by Psi Chi which is the honor society for psych majors.
http://www.usu.edu/psychology/psichi/
They have agreed to let me be one of them. (I actually did apply to join.) I'd like to know what anyone else out there in cyber-world thinks about honor societies in general. Are they useful or just a waste of time and money? I had one (that will remain un-named) that pursued me so ambitiously that it felt more like I was being chased by a multi-level-marketing maniac. I figured that if they wanted me more than I wanted them that it was probably not worth my time, oh, and they also wanted $75. I joined Psi Chi because they did NOT actively recruit me and I heard membership looks nice on a resume. What do you think?
Do you know that feeling you get when you are really excited about something...it starts in your stomach and works its way up, it feels kind of like going down a big hill on a roller coaster except not quite as strong (and it happens when your feet are planted firmly on solid ground)
Think back to Christmas morning when you were a kid, or the day before you are leaving on a fabulous vacation.
Do you know the feeling I'm talking about?
Well, I keep getting that feeling and its because I love what I'm doing. I am excited every day to go to school, I love my classes, and I love all of the cool stuff I get to do with student government and all of the people I get to interact with.
Does anyone remember that game shop back in the 70's where they would put a person in a glass room with money blowing all over and they had a certain amount of time to grab all they could? Well I feel like I'm in that kind of situation. I'm here for a certain amount of time and I am trying to stuff all of the knowledge I can into my head. Sometimes I think I hurry so fast that some of it falls back out while I'm busy collecting more. I don't just mean my classes either, they're great, but also just the people I'm around. I love to watch people, ( sorry if that weirds you out or makes you nervous) I spend a lot of time thinking about why they do the things they do and act the way the do. I am learning ways to improve myself by watching others around me.
I think it is especially fascinating, and enlightening to watch people who are very different from me. If I have a particular weakness, I observe people who are strong in that area and try to learn from them.
As far as things go with my classes, the geology exam turned out great. Thanks to the wonderful world of extra credit I actually got higher than 100% even though I missed several questions...I love it when that happens. I'm happy with the outcomes of both of the exams I took this week also. AND....guess what?! I don't have any exams this week...YEA!!! This means I might have time to work on my research paper for my FCHD class.
Friday morning I went up to the Logan campus. I went to a lunch put on by Psi Chi which is the honor society for psych majors.
http://www.usu.edu/psychology/psichi/
They have agreed to let me be one of them. (I actually did apply to join.) I'd like to know what anyone else out there in cyber-world thinks about honor societies in general. Are they useful or just a waste of time and money? I had one (that will remain un-named) that pursued me so ambitiously that it felt more like I was being chased by a multi-level-marketing maniac. I figured that if they wanted me more than I wanted them that it was probably not worth my time, oh, and they also wanted $75. I joined Psi Chi because they did NOT actively recruit me and I heard membership looks nice on a resume. What do you think?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
HOMECOMING
GO AGGIES!!
I admit that I'm not really a big football fan and I've never been to a USU football game, that is until now. I went to the homecoming game with my family and actually had fun. It was perfect weather and even though the Aggies lost it was a close game. I think we just might go back next weekend and watch another game.
Saturday was also my 17th anniversary and the end of a very busy week. We celebrated homecoming week at the Brigham City Campus with an activity Friday night and a tailgate party before the game Saturday.
Our Friday night activity was at Nelson's Corn Maze in Perry. We had a pretty good turn out of students and their families who came to go through the maze and eat doughnuts and hot chocolate.
One of the highlights of the tailgate party was a man named Charlie Perkins who recently made a huge donation to our campus. It was a privilege to meet him and I noticed that the kids were all drawn to him; he was always surrounded by an assortment of children, especially little girls. I think that kids recognize goodness in a person without even thinking about it. Had I not known anything about Mr.Perkins, I would have known he was a good man by the way the kids were drawn to him.
We left for the game complete with painted faces, foam fingers, pom-poms, t-shirts, mugs stadium blankets, and all kinds of cool stuff donated by USU Community Credit Union who was our sponsor for the tailgate party, so my thanks go out to them for an awesome party! http://www.usuccu.org/
So, that description of my weekend only begins to tell you what my week was like. Besides getting ready for those events, we are already very busy with Angels For Christmas, I spent about 18 hours working on it, and I'm having so much fun with it that I'm probably neglecting other things I should be doing, like studying for the two exams I had this week. Fortunately my marriage and family relations class involves what for me is largely common sense and duplication of things I've learned in other classes, so I was able to get an A on it with only a minimal amount of review right before the class. I guess I'll find out later how I did on my geology exam. I did manage to squeeze in a one hour review session with some other students right before the exam so I hope it helped.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The last couple of weeks I've been spending lots of time getting started with
**Angels For Christmas **
which is a huge undertaking, but I'm so excited to be on the committee and be involved with it. Can you think of a better way to get in the Christmas spirit than by spending a couple of months making sure that all of the children in your community will have a good Christmas? This is a great project and not only helps make Christmas a happy occasion for hundreds of kids, but also creates the opportunity for anyone in the community to get involved whether they want to adopt a family and shop for gifts, or buy a single gift for one child. Last year Angels For Christmas provided gifts for over 800 children in Box Elder County. There is something that anyone can do to help out. If I've inspired anyone to want to help now is the time to start thinking about it. We will have a website with more information in about a week, but if anyone has questions now, you can email me.
**Angels For Christmas **
which is a huge undertaking, but I'm so excited to be on the committee and be involved with it. Can you think of a better way to get in the Christmas spirit than by spending a couple of months making sure that all of the children in your community will have a good Christmas? This is a great project and not only helps make Christmas a happy occasion for hundreds of kids, but also creates the opportunity for anyone in the community to get involved whether they want to adopt a family and shop for gifts, or buy a single gift for one child. Last year Angels For Christmas provided gifts for over 800 children in Box Elder County. There is something that anyone can do to help out. If I've inspired anyone to want to help now is the time to start thinking about it. We will have a website with more information in about a week, but if anyone has questions now, you can email me.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Vacation
This week I did something that I usually go to great lengths to avoid doing.....missing classes.
I just had an opportunity I couldn't pass up, so I missed two classes in order to spend 4 days at Lake Powell with my family. To give credit where credit is due, my hubby works at Thompson & Son Cabinet and his boss took us and a couple of other families that work for him to his houseboat, he even provided the boat for water skiing, wave runners, and all of the food(which was wonderful.) We all had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect, 80's during the day and not too cold at night, and the water was 70 degrees
My kids played in the water, made sand castles and mud pies, and tried out the knee board.
I tried unsuccessfully to water ski. Here is the proof, that I tried ...and failed!
We slept up on the deck every night watching the stars and listening to the coyotes. This was one of the funnest vacations that we've had in a couple of years, and as mush as I don't like to miss classes, it was worth it. I even took a couple of pictures of the landscape that I thought would be good examples for my intro to geology class.
I just had an opportunity I couldn't pass up, so I missed two classes in order to spend 4 days at Lake Powell with my family. To give credit where credit is due, my hubby works at Thompson & Son Cabinet and his boss took us and a couple of other families that work for him to his houseboat, he even provided the boat for water skiing, wave runners, and all of the food(which was wonderful.) We all had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect, 80's during the day and not too cold at night, and the water was 70 degrees
My kids played in the water, made sand castles and mud pies, and tried out the knee board.
I tried unsuccessfully to water ski. Here is the proof, that I tried ...and failed!
We slept up on the deck every night watching the stars and listening to the coyotes. This was one of the funnest vacations that we've had in a couple of years, and as mush as I don't like to miss classes, it was worth it. I even took a couple of pictures of the landscape that I thought would be good examples for my intro to geology class.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Student Appreciation & Mid-term exams
Last week we had a student appreciation activity. Several of our instructors were sporting aprons and serving Arby-Q sandwiches, chips and drinks. When I saw this coming up on the calendar I asked my adviser what I needed to do to for this activity and she said "it is student appreciation, just show up and be appreciated," so that's what I did. It's kinda cool having your statistics teacher hand you a sandwich instead of an exam right? Plus, my favorite food is anything I didn't have to cook, so they definitely served my favorite.
This week I had my first two midterm exams, I can't believe how fast they snuck (is that a real word?) up on me. My first one was in my geology class, I haven't got my grade yet, but I felt like I did pretty well. My second was in my marriage and family relations class which is my favorite class that I have this semester. We graded the exams in class which was great because I walked out knowing how I did; no waiting and wondering. There are only 8 students in this class, I'm sure that wouldn't be possible with a huge class, but anyway, I'm happy with my grade. Now the next exam will be on Friday Oct 3 in my perception and psychophysics class, I'm a little bit more worried about that exam. I love the class and I'm learning a lot of cool stuff. The instructor is Heather Chapman who is great, you can tell she knows her stuff, and she's a good teacher, so the class is fun and interesting, but there is just sooo much new stuff to learn in so little time, I'm having a hard time getting it all to stay in my head.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Peach Days
This is me and Jeremy (our VP)
Here are a couple of pictures from USU BC's entry in the annual Peach Days Parade!
Hansen Motors here in Brigham loaned us this really nice truck which we filled with salt water taffy and cute little pip-squeaks from the Little Aggie day care program. Jeremy and I, along with some other students and some of their older children walked along each side of the truck and handed out candy.
We all dressed appropriately in our USU BC shirts and decorated the truck to match. The weather cooperated perfectly and I had a lot of fun.
The best part was seeing how many people watching the parade were wearing USU shirts or hats, and hearing people yell "go Aggies!" as we walked by. I must admit that I was definitely influenced in my candy distribution by anyone who who did this.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Welcome Week
Here's the best and worst from my first week of the new semester.
BEST:
1- Spending time hanging out at school, passing out calendars, meeting and welcoming students, helping them find their classes, and giving out free USU Brigham City window clings, which as you can see, look awesome in your car window!
2- I always love starting new classes, except for the part where I put all of my assignments for the semester on my calendar (it tends to look a little overwhelming from this end of the semester.) One of the things I love about the Brigham City campus is that the classes are small and I get to know the other students in my classes. This semester I am taking Intro to Geology, Marriage and Family Relationships, and Perception and Psychophysics.
3- As a recipient of a scholarship that I received through the Women's Center and Re-entry Student Center, I had the privilege of attending a reception on the Logan Campus. The reception was held in the Ballroom named for Evan Stevenson who was in attendance at the event.
Evan and Jean Stevenson.It was a really neat experience to hear from speakers who represented recipients, donors, and the people who read the many scholarship applications. According to Patricia Stevens, the Director of the Women's Center, this year there were 71 recipients who received a combined total of $150,000 in scholarships and $25,000 in tuition waivers. As a scholarship recipient it is so great to be able to shake the hands of some of the people who donate money to make the scholarships possible, thank them in person, and hear them tell about their lives. Patricia Stevens said, as a donor speaking to the recipients, "I hope you see yourself in us because we see ourselves in you." I know that this evening is an inspiration to me and I hope to someday be able to give back to the community that is helping me to gain an education and improve myself. http://www.usu.edu/womencenter/ http://www.usu.edu/reentrystudent/
and sadly, the
WORST- Thursday I missed my first student government meeting because of a sad thing that happened at home. While I was at school our two beloved mini-schnauzers got out of our yard and were hit by a car. Maggie came home from the vet after two days with a front leg that is paralyzed, but we lost our beloved Lilly. So here is a tribute in pictures to our silly Lilly the curly schnauzer who brought so much joy and happiness to our family in the last 3 years. She will be very missed by all of us, but especially by my ten year old daughter who loved her the most of all.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Training
One of the first things I got to do as part of my new position was go to a two day training at the Logan campus for the Student Government Presidents from all of the regional campuses. http://distance.usu.edu/?campuses
This was not only very helpful, but I got to know some great people from the other regional campuses,and it was also lots of fun.
The first thing we did, was to spend the afternoon at the USU Ropes Course. http://ropes.usu.edu/ We had the opportunity to do a lot of fun and challenging activities that were all designed to teach us teamwork and leadership skills. So here are a few pictures...
This is my automatic reaction to looking down for the first time while standing on a log that is suspended about twenty feet in the air.
The objective here was for the two people on the log to hold onto the end of their ropes, meet in the middle, pass each other, trade ropes and continue on to the other end of the log, remember the log is swinging from cables and is suspended 20 ft in the air. (Just for the record, I am afraid of heights!!)
This is how you get down after completing the last objective.
This was a great exercise in cooperation and teamwork that involved two people climbing this swinging ladder made from boards that started about 3 feet apart and progressively got farther apart as you climbed higher. The only way to accomplish it was to work together and help each other. This is Sarah Anderson on the ladder with me.
This is a 40 ft climbing wall, by the smile on my face, I would guess that I am not very far off the ground yet.
Here is proof that I actually made it to the top!
This is the way down from the top...Totally fun once you convince yourself to jump off the platform.
I don't have any pictures of the scariest activity but it involved climbing a ladder and then a pole to 35 feet in the air where I would stand on a platform roughly the size of a bathroom scale (OK it was actually about 18"wide and 30" long) and then leap into the air and try to grab a trapeze bar that was swinging from a cable. Of course I was in a full body harness and there was no way I could fall, but that fact didn't register to the self-preservation part of my brain that is looking down at how far away the ground is.
So, I don't actually have any proof of this, but I think that one of the objectives in this rope course was to teach us that even when you are scared to death and doubt your own ability to do something, if you will just take the leap and give it your all, you'll find that you've got what it takes.
Background
I though it would be good to tell you about how I ended up here (in life, at USU, and in Student Government)
First things first. I am considered a "non-traditional student." This means I am not young and fresh out of high school. I decided it was time to continue my education when I was 38 years old. When I was in high school my favorite class (actually, the only class I liked) was psychology, and I always had a goal back in the depths of my mind to return to school and study psychology. When I started here at USU Brigham City, I knew what I wanted to study, but unfortunately, not what I wanted to do with what I learned. Thanks to Susan Williams, an academic advisor, and her Career and Life Planning Class, I was able to explore and research options and do all kinds of fun evaluations that helped my sort out what type of career would work well with my interests, goals, values and job expectations. ( I highly recommend this class for anyone ) http://brighamcity.usu.edu/htm/students/advising
So, in my first two years here at USU Brigham City, I found that I not only loved going to school and learning all kinds of new stuff, but I also loved the school itself, the atmosphere and the people. I wanted to be more involved with the school and the students (probably a good indication that my career choice is a good match for me.) A friend suggested that I should get involved with Student Government and then this summer I was on the schools website and saw the application. The process I went through to get here involved filling out an application and then being interviewed by a committee. Less than a week after my interview I was standing at the front reception area at USU BC, and Jill Rasmussen the director of Student Services walked in and introduced me as this years Student Government President.
My Vice President is Jeremy Barber, who I am sure will be awesome. Plus, the icing on the cake is that this is a scholarship, so not only do I get to do all of this cool stuff, but I also get help paying for school. So I am very excited to dive in and get the school year under way!
First things first. I am considered a "non-traditional student." This means I am not young and fresh out of high school. I decided it was time to continue my education when I was 38 years old. When I was in high school my favorite class (actually, the only class I liked) was psychology, and I always had a goal back in the depths of my mind to return to school and study psychology. When I started here at USU Brigham City, I knew what I wanted to study, but unfortunately, not what I wanted to do with what I learned. Thanks to Susan Williams, an academic advisor, and her Career and Life Planning Class, I was able to explore and research options and do all kinds of fun evaluations that helped my sort out what type of career would work well with my interests, goals, values and job expectations. ( I highly recommend this class for anyone ) http://brighamcity.usu.edu/htm/students/advising
So, in my first two years here at USU Brigham City, I found that I not only loved going to school and learning all kinds of new stuff, but I also loved the school itself, the atmosphere and the people. I wanted to be more involved with the school and the students (probably a good indication that my career choice is a good match for me.) A friend suggested that I should get involved with Student Government and then this summer I was on the schools website and saw the application. The process I went through to get here involved filling out an application and then being interviewed by a committee. Less than a week after my interview I was standing at the front reception area at USU BC, and Jill Rasmussen the director of Student Services walked in and introduced me as this years Student Government President.
My Vice President is Jeremy Barber, who I am sure will be awesome. Plus, the icing on the cake is that this is a scholarship, so not only do I get to do all of this cool stuff, but I also get help paying for school. So I am very excited to dive in and get the school year under way!
Ready, Set, Go
Hello, and welcome to my life!
This is my first post in what will be a chronicle of my junior year at USU. I am the Student Government President for Utah State University's Brigham City Campus. As part of my responsibilities, I am supposed to keep a blog for the year. This means that if you are following this, you will hear and see a lot about what is going on at the USU Brigham campus, and a little bit about my life in general.
This is my first post in what will be a chronicle of my junior year at USU. I am the Student Government President for Utah State University's Brigham City Campus. As part of my responsibilities, I am supposed to keep a blog for the year. This means that if you are following this, you will hear and see a lot about what is going on at the USU Brigham campus, and a little bit about my life in general.
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