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 :)

Mediterranean food

What do you do for fun?
At my house we eat.
We love to try new restaurants, but my hubby loves to cook, so we also try making a lot of different stuff. Last week my youngest daughter was involved in a world's fair at her school and she did a display about Greece. I think this got us thinking about our favorite Greek foods, so we decided to cook a feast of Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern foods. Here is a list of what we had for dinner today.
Hummus -Lebanese national dish made from garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Ful - an Egyptian breakfast food made from fava beans, onions, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
(both of these are pureed and eaten with pita bread)
Pilafi- Greek lemon rice
Couscous- a tiny round pasta eaten in several Mediterranean countries.
Dolmathes- Greek- grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of meat and rice.
Pastitsio- a Greek baked pasta dish with layers (like lasagna) topped with a bechamel sauce and cheese.
Spanakopita- Greek spinach pie.
Tabouleh- a middle eastern salad made mainly of parsley
Tzatziki sauce- made from yogurt and cucumber- this can be eaten on pita bread or as a sauce for other foods.
Calamata olives and feta cheese.

Pets (part 2)

Meet our cat Maui. Most of the time I would swear that there is absolutely nothing going on in his head, but he has some rather strange behaviors that I don't understand.
He likes to lick photographs.
He loves to eat honeydew and cantaloupe, and he goes nuts trying to get my make-up remover. If I sit the jar down without the lid on he will lick it.
He also tries very hard to get the lids off of prescription bottles. He once chewed his way into a pill container and we had to take a take a pill away from him. (Is he a druggy?)
He seems to have this innate ability to know who doesn't want him, and he will desperately try to sit on their lap.
He prefers to drink from a running faucet and will sit in the bathroom sink and wait for someone to turn it on.
His favorite place to sleep at night in on someones head.
He is so domesticated that he doesn't know how to eat anything that is not in "kibble" form. This means that if we give him a scrap of meat, or a piece of fish or melon, and it is too big, all he does is lick it. If we want him to eat it we have to cut it into very small pieces.
Maui is my 19 year old daughter's cat and he seems to know this. She is his favorite human. My daughter lives in Herriman but usually comes home on the weekend. I think Maui knows the routine...she is home for a couple of days and then packs her suitcase and leaves again. Maui has a small green beannie frog that he used to carry around when he was younger. He has not touched it for 6 years. Last week my daughter left in the morning and I left for an hour. When I got home I found Maui sitting in the middle of my bed next to his green frog and one of her beannie cats. He had carried them both up from the basement. What was he thinking? This was obviously a deliberate act...something of his, something of hers, both placed where I would see them with him sitting there claiming responsibility. This is one of the reasons why I would like a class on pet psychology!

Pets( part 1)

I have taken lots of psychology classes over the last few years, and even though I am graduating this spring :] there are still more I wish I had the time to take. There is one class that I would like to take that just doesn't exist at USU. I would like a class on PET PSYCHOLOGY! There are many times I really wonder what in the heck(if anything) is going on in the head of my cat or dog.
I watched the movie "Up" with my daughter last weekend and laughed at the dogs on the movie that wear collars that speak what the dogs are thinking, and wished I had one of those collars for Lucy. I think it might be comical to find out what she is thinking. She still sings for us when we come home, and we have added a few more items to her bag of tricks. She now also "talks" on command. If I say "talk to me" or ask her "do you like popcorn?" She will say what sounds like "num, num, num." She will also stands up on her hind legs and turn in a circle (dancing.)
Lucy loves to play with toys. She has several small beannie animals that she carries around the house. She begs us to throw them so she can play fetch. Her favorite toy is a squeaky bear. She will play fetch with it also but she seems to have a ball carrying it around in her mouth squeaking it or rolling around on the floor with it. I think she might have a sense of humor because she can be a real tease. She will bring a toy to me and touch it to my hand and then pull it away before I can grab it. She will do this several times and then drop the toy at my feet so I can throw it for her. I would love to know what this pup is thinking!

Sundays

I love Sundays! It's the only day of the week when I don't do any homework.
When my 12 year old was little she hated to take naps, especially on Sundays because everyone else in the family was home and she wanted to do what they were doing. I used to trick her into taking a nap by saying " I am really tired and I can't fall asleep by myself. Will you please come and lay down with me just until I fall asleep. You don't have to take a nap, I just want you to snuggle with me until I fall asleep and then you can get up." Of course she would always fall asleep before I did so she would get a nap also. I still like to take naps on Sunday afternoon and I still say the same thing to her. She giggles and says "noooo, Mom you know I will fall asleep too." But even though she is onto my tricks, she still gives in and curls up on my bed to snuggle with me. There is a certain amount of giggling that goes on before we fall asleep, but we both end up with a good nap in the end. Yesterday she was waiting for me to fall asleep first so she could sneak away and she would whisper " Are you still awake?" I said "Yes, I am, but I will tell you when I fall asleep so you can leave." That started a new round of giggles. As expected, she was the first to fall asleep.

Back to work

Well one week down and fifteen to go. Although my infant lab does not start until next week, all of my other classes are well under way. I have my first short paper due on Tuesday and have already had one pop quiz. So far I really like all of my classes. I will admit that I am scared of one of my classes...Scientific Thinking and Methods in Psychology, but the instructor seems like he will be pretty good so hopefully I will make it through without completely bombing it. I was also nervous about my Abuse and Neglect class. I was afraid that it would be very upsetting and I would just want to cry through every class. So far so good, but we have mainly just covered historical info and theories so far and we haven't really got into it yet, so I'll let you know how it goes later. I am loving my infancy and early childhood class the instructor is very energetic and enthusiastic and quite entertaining to listen to.
One downside to this semester is that all of my classes are so short! I am used to taking classes at a regional campus where a class will meet once a week for 2 1/2 hours. I miss that. I have classes this semester that meet three times a week for less than an hour each time. It always feels to me like we just got started and the class is over. I feel like I spend as much time hiking across campus as I do sitting in classes.

Ready?

The new semester is just around the corner and although I don't feel ready to dive into it I know it won't wait for me. I did do a few things to get ready. I have my text books and I submitted my application for grad school. I am not looking forward to driving to Logan 5 days a week in the winter, or walking around in freezing cold weather and maybe snow and slush but I am excited about some of my new classes.
This is what my schedule looks like for spring semester:

M-W-F:
Infancy and early childhood
Health Psychology
Scientific Thinking and Methods in psychology
Abuse and neglect in family context

T-Th:
Infant lab
Psychology of Gender

Happy New Year

Well, as you can see, I took a break from blogging for a little while. Actually I took a break from everything while I was between semesters, that is everything except working on my house. No, it is still not done, but we have made progress. It all seems to go a lot slower than I would like. My kitchen has a new wall. The electrical in the kitchen is also finished and we have been designing our cabinets. We have also finished the mud in the living room and textured the walls and ceiling and primed them. Someday I will have furniture instead of sawdust in my living room!