Grateful for...Week Two

Here's the second round of thankful fors...

8.  Sisters and fun weekends we spend together

9.  Family that lets me come visit and do my laundry for free at their houses

10. Covered parking spot so I don't have to scrape my car in the morning

11. Professors and mentors who believe in me

12.  Class getting out early

13.  Gluten free grilled ham and cheese sandwiches

14.  Long phone calls with best friends

15. The fact that snow melts... even if it's going to be winter and snowy for months, at least I know that sometime in March...or April... or perhaps May... there won't be snow in Logan.

Occupational Hazard

I got to talk to this awesome person tonight!!

Yes, it's an old picture...but still one of my favorites!!

Seriously, we were so overdue for a two hour phone call and it was perfect!!  I love that no matter how far apart we may be living, or how long it's been since the last phone call/skype session, we can always pick right back up where we left off.

But tonight, I noticed something different about our conversation.  And I blame grad school.  We concluded it is just an "occupational hazard."  But seriously, as she would talk, I was super conscious of what I was saying and how I was responding to her.  I think it's because we just had to an assignment where we had a mock interview/session with a "client" and then had to transcribe a portion of that interview.  We then went through the transcription and marked every time we used a minimal encourager, summarization, reflection of feeling, advice giving, etc.  All those therapeutic techniques are now on my mind and as she told me all about her exciting adventures, I kept analyzing what I was saying.

You're using too many minimal encouragers...She can't even see you shake your head...That was a good reflection of feeling...Should you really be giving advice here?  And then I actually said "You're talking in the past tense- I felt ___ and I thought ___.  Does that mean you've changed your mind?"

Seriously!?!?  I mean, I guess it's good because these things are sinking in and I'm definitely more aware of them, but... not how I pictured it going!  So, this serves as your warning for our future conversations... It's an occupational hazard and you never know when those skills are going to pop up.

Tuesday Thought

Whew!  After a super fun weekend with my sister and her kiddos, I'm back and all caught up on my assignments.  I even put away all my laundry today... which never happens within 2 days of washing them.  Haha.  I've got some good posts coming up, but after today's productivity I decided just to post an awesome quote I saw on Pinterest today...  Pretty much sums up how I feel about my first semester of grad school!  And I am SO glad I took that risk!!  I've learned so much about what I can do these last few months... and know that next semester holds even more adventures!

Life is good!

I hope this works, I'm posting from my phone tonight. I'm so glad it's the weekend and am loving hanging out with these cute kiddos!!

Seriously, is there anything better than this?

Grateful for... Week 1

So everyone's Facebook and Instagram are popping up with things they are grateful for every day in November.  I thought about doing that, but decided this blogging once a day is enough for me to focus on this month.  That being said, I do want to focus on things I have to be grateful for this month.  So for today's NaBloPoMo post, here are 7 things I am grateful for... one for each day this month.

1.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have to be in Logan and at USU.  Grad school is hard, but it is definitely a privilege and opportunity to be here.  And despite the long hours, hard work, never-ending reading and endless to do lists, I really do love my program and what I'm studying.

2. I am grateful for productive days when I can cross of lots of things on my to do list!

3.  I am grateful for Sundays, when I can take a break from all the worldly things and focus on what really matters and have time to take care of myself.

4.  I am grateful that there is a Sonic in Logan, and I can get my Coke Zero with Cherry!

5.  I am grateful for a paycheck every month!

6.  I am grateful for friends and family members that take such good care of me, and are such a support to me.  I am grateful for fiends in my cohort who understand exactly how I feel when I'm stressed with a professor or assignment or whatever it may be.

7.  I am grateful for my niece and nephews...and even more grateful that I'll get to see them tomorrow!!

Good Things to Come

This is one of my favorite Mormon Message videos.  I just love Elder Holland and all of his talks!

No matter what we might be facing, if we trust in the Lord, He will watch out for us and bless us in His way and His time.

the WISC

I feel like I should do some kind of funny post... or meaningful post... or anything really.  But the truth of the matter is that I'm a grad student, and my life pretty much revolves around school, grading, lots and lots of articles, thesis work, presentations, meetings, etc.  This week my focus has been on the WISC-IV.

The WISC-IV an IQ test for kids ages 6-16.  In one of our classes this semester we have to get certified to administer this (as well as the WAIS- the adult version).  Since my kiddo is coming to the psych clinic tomorrow to be tested, I've spent a lot of time with my WISC manual preparing this week.  And am now I'm going to relax and get ready for bed, because you should always make sure you get a good night's rest before any major test... whether taking it or giving it! :)

Blogging Hiatus Recapped

So, seeing as how I had a super long blogging hiatus, I figured I'd do a super quick recap of major things...

February:  Went to California with my sister.  Saw Wicked with my Mom in San Francisco.  Ate at BJs. Loved riding the BART!  Worked a lot on my rec therapy blog.  Lots of relaxing.  Lots of reading.

March:  Visited Logan for the first time.  Grad school interview.  Loved my job at PCBH... kept working on my rec therapy blog.  Waiting, waiting, waiting for answer about grad school.

April:  Got an acceptance phone call from USU's school psychology program.  Accepted the offer!  Realized I'd be starting school in the fall.  Began praying for a mild winter in Logan!  Drove with my sister and her kids to California for a week.

May:  Family vacation/reunion up Sundance Canyon.  My parents, siblings and all the 3 grandkids all up in two cabins for a few days.  Fun times... except for the flu that we shared...  Love my sisters!!

June:  Visited home in CA again, this time for one of my mission companion's weddings.  So fun to see friends, even if it was a quick trip!  Lucky to see my brother and his family while there!

July:  Work, work, work.  Saving money for grad school.  Slowly started moving things to Logan.  Got my apartment key.  Fourth of July fireworks with my niece and nephew.  Lots of playing with the niece and nephew before I'd have to move.

August:  Quit my job as a recreational therapist at the psych hospital.  Drove to California with my sister. Went to the Galt Flea Market. Sister lunch date to BJs. Root canal.  Moved to Logan.  Officially started grad school!

September:  Grad school is officially underway.  Settling into life in Logan.  Getting back into the student mode.  Weekend in Provo for my niece's birthday!  Remembering how busy school can be.

October:  Attended two funerals in three weeks.  Saw the Lord's tender mercies in being able to visit my grandparents (after not seeing them since school started) and be with my Grandma before she passed away.  Enjoyed General Conference.  Super busy with projects, papers, and grading for school.  Blessed to be with family a lot this month.  Mission reunion.  Cute picture with twin!

Overall, it's been a great year!  If you would have asked me on January 1, 2013 where I would be today, I would never have guessed that I would be where I am now.  Yet I know that I am exactly where I need to be.  So many things have happened this year - wonderful things, fun things, silly things, hard things, sad things, expected things, completely unexpected things - but every thing has been for a purpose and provided me an opportunity to develop more faith and trust in the Lord.

Logan - 2 Life Anchors

When I first moved to Logan, I was a little disappointed that there is not a Target or a Costco here.  Really?!? I (somewhat) jokingly said I had made my decision too soon and without all the information.  I then realized that there's also not a Zupas.  Yet as I've spent the two months here in Logan, I realized that Logan has the most important things and I have fallen in love with the Logan Temple.

You can see the temple from almost anywhere in Logan.  I love the fact that I can look out my bedroom window at night and see it all lit up.  It is beautiful!

So then today was Stake Conference.  It was a regional broadcast for stakes in Northern Utah.  Elder L. Tom Perry was there and spoke.  He began his talk by mentioning how beautiful Cache Valley is with the snow we woke up to this morning.  I was silently laughing because I was *not* pleased to wake up to snow (I even decided I would be okay giving up my one extra hour of sleep if that meant it wouldn't snow yet!).  Anyways.  Elder Perry talked about how wonderful Logan is, with the two anchors it provides us.  The first was the temple.  The second is the "A" on campus.  He talked about how these two things could be our anchors--being in the temple and receiving those ordinances and promises, and then furthering our education.  It made me realize yet again what a privilege it is for me to be here for graduate school.

So, the moral of the story is, even if I haven't completely fallen in love with Logan, I do love these two anchors that I have here-- the temple and the my graduate program at USU.  And that's really all that matters. :)

Grading

So, I'm a TA for two different undergrad classes this semester.  I've never really considered going into academia and being a professor, but it's been a good experience and a great source of income. ;)  Most of the time it's pretty good, except when it comes time to grading big projects.  Like I've spent ALL day (okay, ALL week) doing.  I've definitely learned what kind of assignments I would give if I were to be a professor.  And assignments that take 30+ minutes to grade each, with a class of 32 students, would not be included.  So, in honor of my grading burnout tonight, on day 2 of NaBloPoMo, I present some of my favorite grading memes...

Or procrastinate...

Said no graduate TA EVER!

I wish... instead they just emailing me asking for comments

We do

All that being said, I usually don't mind the grading... The classes are interesting and overall the students are good too... But these weeks where I spend more time grading than anything else can be a bit exhausting....

So I'm using my extra daylight savings hours to watch Netflix and get some extra sleep!!  

NaBloPoMo... Again

Well, folks, it's November 1... and that means it's once again NaBloPoMo.  I realized this a few days ago and debated about whether or not I would participate again this year.  I know it's been months...since I posted and I don't have much free time these days, but I decided tonight that I want to try.  Even if I don't make it 100%, something is better than nothing, and it'll help me focus on the little, important, tender mercies each day instead of the chaos that can be the life of a grad student.

Oh, ya, did I not mention that?  Ya, it's been THAT long since I blogged.... oops.  But, I'm in grad school now, up in Logan at Utah State University in the school psychology program.  It's a great program!  And in honor of my grad school life, I'm going to share a link that my awesome friend Steph shared with me earlier this week...

Grad School Barbie... seriously, read it... it's hilarious (or maybe only for me since I had just walked out a thesis meeting when she posted this to my Facebook wall).

http://joannarenteria.com/2011/12/13/i-was-considering-grad-school-and-then-i-saw-this-hilarious/

I promise I don't look this creepy!

Either way.  Happy Day 1 of NaBloPoMo!