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!

Just Listen

I may or may not have read this book in 24 hours.  I guess that's what happens with YA fiction...and a delayed flight followed by a lazy day at home! :)

Overall thoughts of the book:  I enjoyed it.  I was a little hesitant with the YA part, but I was also in the mood for an fun, easy read.  This fit both categories.  I'd also heard recommendations about another one of Sarah Dessen's books, and a few people suggested YA fiction when I've asked for books.  So I figured I'd give it a try.  I'm glad I did.  It was in part about a girl in high school figuring out who she is, what role her past will play in her future, and how she fits in socially and in her family.  I really like emotional dramas, and this seemed to be right up my alley.

Falling to Heaven

So the second book on my list was "Falling to Heaven" by James L. Ferrell.  I was super excited to read this book.  I was first introduced to James L. Ferrell when I read his two books, "The Peacegiver" and "The Holy Secret" during my second transfer in the mission field.  My mission president gave me both books and assignment to read them each twice...before the next transfer meeting.  It was an amazing experience and I've read "The Peacegiver" several times since then.  I absolutely love that book!

So, when I saw his newest book "Falling to Heaven" at Deseret Book a couple of weeks ago, I immediately bought it.  I read about three-fourths of the book on Saturday and finished it up tonight.  It's a pretty simple read, but really deep and profound at the same time.  It's different than the Peacegiver, and that's something that I struggled with initially.  The writing style is different, the way he approaches the subject seems different.    It wasn't what I expected.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the book.  It was about how to find happiness in this life, and he talked about things in a new way.  It was really interesting, and it makes me want to go back and really study--not just read--the book.  I particularly liked the end, where he talked about living a "confessional life" and being honest with those around us.  He talked about how the key to finding happiness is falling, and it reminded me of a quote from his other book about the Fall of Adam and Eve and how that related to the Atonement.  I'd definitely recommend this book, with the warning that it might be different than you expect, but totally worth it!

Sunday Thought

I love this!!  Don't you?!?