so close

today i turned in my last paper!

i would send it your way, but you probably wouldn't be interested in an outcome evaluation proposal looking at the effectiveness of exposure therapy in decreasing distorted beliefs about fear foods in a group setting with adults diagnosed with eating disorders.  if it's your thing, then let me know.

i also finished my last process recording (oh hallelujah!) and read that book i was assigned to read. all of these things checked off my to-do list means that i am DONE WITH HOMEWORK!  just one more class tomorrow night and my internship next week.  this is crazy!

midterm papers

something about them makes it absolutely necessary for me to be drinking hot chocolate while i try to crank these papers out. maybe it's the distraction of making the hot chocolate.  who knows... but it sure is delicious.  i went with mint hot chocolate tonight and it was heavenly.  

i have realized that i have TONS of hot chocolate... like enough for YEARS. it's the only thing we have enough of to count towards our food storage. so please, if you are needing something that will make your little heart smile, stop on by.  i would love a break from writing to fix you a cup and chat with a friend.

p.s. only one more paper to go.

crunch

it's currently crunch time and will be until december 14th.

papers, papers, papers, and more... papers.

i keep dreaming of the sweet relief that is bound to come when i turn in my last
huge paper and i really want that dream to be my reality... right now.
can't these papers write themselves?

8 more days of madness.

i think i can do this. i hope i can at least.

paper overload

i have so many papers due in the next couple of weeks. aaaahhhhh!

i have two due tomorrow that i have been working on all week and i just finished the second one. i need to go back over both of them to make sure they are somewhat coherent, but i also need a break because i can't see straight at this point.

on a happier note, tomorrow the weekend starts! which means i will have more time to work on my papers. haha. isn't that great?

cancelled

i just received this e-mail from my professor:

Hi Class,
I've received emails from many of you indicating that you're having difficulty figuring out how to apply the assignment criteria to Chapters 1 and 2. This is a great question - because it's rather difficult and my error - I gave us one assignment too many, starting them too early in the book.

I AM CANCELING ASSIGNMENT #1. IT IS NOT DUE FRIDAY. THERE IS NOT A PAPER DUE FRIDAY. NO ASSIGNMENT IS DUE FRIDAY.

Still, read chapters 1 and 2. Come to class prepared to discuss them. Remember, flexibility is our motto.

Cindy


i'm glad i emailed her with my questions (and confusion) regarding the paper... glad my classmates did, too! my week just got WAY less stressful. woot woot!

hola!

i am taking a 1 credit spanish class this upcoming semester along with my regular coursework and i don't know who is more excited... me or jeremy.

i got my books in the mail the other day (thank you amazon!) and that night we started our "spanish lessons." yes, we are NERDS! we went over basic pronunciation, common phrases, pronouns, and then how to conjugate regular -ar, -er, and -ir ending verbs. it was a great success and i am totally going to ace this class because of jeremy! it's going to ROCK! maybe i can really learn the language since i will be able to practice speaking it with someone at home.

I'm a college grad! Part 2

Here I am receiving my diploma (cover). Huzzah!
The real thing gets mailed to me in a couple months.

We headed to P.F. Chang's to celebrate! The food was sooo good.

I graduated from BYU... I can't believe it!

I'm a college grad! Part 1

We enjoyed commencement today (where they talk). I had perfect seats, lined up with the podium and in the 5th row. I couldn't have gotten better seats if I tried. I also ended up with a crooked grad hat for the pics. I will have to fix that for tomorrow's convocation (where we walk).

My parents said they wanted to have a Provo experience.
So naturally we had dinner at J-Dawgs... I had a polish dog with special sauce.




And then hiked the Y after a quick wardrobe change...






And finished the day with some YoZone.
I got Peaches & Cream and Coconut Yogurt with strawberries. Delicious!

I'm ready for the next round of celebrating tomorrow... but after a good night's rest.

last time

today was the last time i will ever go down these stairs in the testing center.

that's right... i am DONE! done with taking tests, done with papers, and done with reading assignments (until grad school, but let's just embrace this moment). i will literally never see those stairs again. wow... this feels great.

i am so excited!

happy friday??

two hardest finals today...

not fun.

they both have multiple essays, which i am
not a fan of. my hand is going to ache and my brain
is going to hurt... twice over. but tonight, when
they are over, life will be great.

but until then...
i am a nervous wreck fumbling
through my notes over and over and over.

i can't wait to be done with them.

last day of classes!

am i sad?

nope!

maybe i will be sad later(i doubt it), but for now i am soooo excited.
i will be done with my classes at precisely 2:50 pm today. i can't wait!! i am so sick of
school right now. especially with all of the huge-end-of-the-semester-
papers i have had to write this semester. they are not fun
and of course i procrastinate until the last week of the semester to write
them because i am swamped with other homework and reading throughout the rest of
the semester. but i am almost DONE! woot! woot!
i just have to revise one more paper that's due tonight at midnight
and then conquer four finals over the next week. i may survive.

you know what keeps me going??

the fact that i graduate next thursday... from COLLEGE!

whoa! real life!

i even made reservations last night for my celebration dinner at pf chang's!
(did you know you could make reservations online??) the reality of it is starting to hit me...
and it feels so good.

SWAMPED

in papers

slightly overwhelmed... ok, completely overwhelmed

until i went and volunteered at the women's shelter

almost didn't go- worried about time

went anyways and so glad i did

wow...my worries are small

life is good

service will do that to you...

every time!

grateful my husband loves and respects me

realized that i can conquer school

and anything for that matter

got to go... lots to do

still wondering if there's enough time

wish me luck

some days,

i think school just might kill me. but alas... i will most likely survive.

i think that this has been one of my hardest and most stressful semesters EVER, fitting i suppose since it is my last (of my undergrad). i have so many papers to write... ugh! a couple that have to be in the ten page range and then some smaller papers in the three to five page range, too. i hope i can get them all done. i would much rather have tests than papers.

while we are on the subject of papers... i need your help! i am combining my sports paper and my deviance paper into one paper (with the permission of both professors of course), so that i have two big papers instead of three. i have to write a proposal about what research project i would do if i got a big grant, but multiple research questions are swimming (or maybe drowning) in my head.

do you have any ideas??

what would your dream research project be concerning deviance and sports?

i asked jeremy and he said that he would never have a dream research project.
so helpful sweetheart.

a tad bit taboo

i am loving my social deviance class.

today during class we spent an hour and 15 minutes talking about guns and rape. both are interesting topics that people don't really discuss that often. i will tell you, rape victims have a lot to conquer. i learned today that only half of rapes are even reported to the police and 15% of those are ruled unfounded for various reasons (victim delays reporting, previous relationship with the offender, victim too embarrassed/afraid/traumatized/young to cooperate with the police, etc) and then the investigation stops. it is so sad. by the time the victim rounds up enough courage to report it the police and recount every detail of the traumatizing event, they are questioned about the validity of their claims every step of the way. i can't even imagine. and to top it all off, rape victims are sometimes blamed for it all. crazy!

we ended the class with discussing what could be done to decrease rape occurrences. i suggested learning self defense. learning self defense would help women to fight off an attacker and it would also help women present themselves with confidence to avoid looking vulnerable. we also talked about ways to decrease the stigma placed on rape victims, they are not to blame. by reducing the stigma, maybe more victims would report the crime and get the help and support they need in overcoming such a tragedy.

for some reason, i love discussing topics that others tend to shy away from, maybe that is the sociologist in me. other serious topics on the docket are domestic violence, white collar crimes, substance abuse, suicide, mental disorders, and sexual deviance (which includes a number of topics).

i am excited to learn. should be a good semester.

senioritis.

i have it.

it's true.
it's horrible.

i avoided it in high school, but it has hit me hard this semester.

there has been some serious slacking done on my part considering my education. i keep dreaming of the relaxing summer and year of no school ahead of me. you see, i found a tutorial for a frilly skirt (isn't it so fun?) and i want to make one... now! but anytime i try to think of some free time to make it, my head is flooded with books to read, tests to take, and papers to write... and i don't like it. not one bit. but instead of focusing on getting my homework done in a timely matter so i have free time for fun projects, i distract myself with unimportant and boring things. no beuno.

i have not been finishing all of my reading assignments and i have definitely been procrastinating studying for tests... like the one i want to take today, but may have to wait until tomorrow... because i still need to go over countless theories on deviance! ahhhhh! have no fear though, i have until tuesday to take it. but then i have another test next week.

some quick adjustments are in order before the academic world begins to haunt me. so here is what i will do to combat this deadly disease:

• do readings the day they are assigned, NOT the day they are due
• get started on a paper at least a week and a half before it is due
  
• don't wait until the last day to take a test, let's shoot for the 1st or 2nd day
  
• limit internet time to 15 minute sessions (a.k.a. don't peruse blogs for hours on end)

if i do these, i just might have time to make that skirt before the end of april.

now if you will excuse me... i have some major studying to do.

hoping for A's

done with finals!

yay! i can breathe.

no research projects, reading assignments, presentations, papers, or hiking up those dang stairs by the duck pond for two weeks!

tomorrow will consist of first of all, sleeping in, then comfy pajamas, hot chocolate, maybe a movie, cleaning, painting my fingernails bright red, and possibly a bubble bath. i can't wait. well, i'm not super excited about the cleaning part, but i like a clean house, especially before we go out of town. VEGAS for Christmas...
woot woot!

now i just need jeremy to take his tough genetics test so he can join in the fun with me!!

good luck babe!

2 down, 2 to go

there has been too much of this going on lately:

so i got together with some other ladies and did this instead:

a craft party during finals week... that's what i'm talking about