A trip to Vernal.

Endrit and I talked aobut what we would like to do for our anniversary this year. We were thinking that we could go on a road trip or something fun like that over a weekend but in a financial crunch we are postponing that until anniversary 2010. In escence of trying to go to all Utah temples before we graduate and move we are taking a day trip to Vernal. I am so excited! It is nice that for an anniversary we can go to the temple and remind ourselves of what we got ourselves into. That would mean that we only have 3 left. Manti is one that we are going to with my parents and Alex and Brydie. They love that temple but have yet to go there so it takes a bit more planning to get all schedules to mesh. Monticello we will call and try to get an appointment to go there as we go through the town on our way to the family reunion next August. Then there is St. George that we still don't have a reason to go that way but I know that we will get to it. I am just so glad that I am able to get closer to my goal. I am also excited that Endrit is finding moving to Albuquerque is sounding better and they have a beautiful temple there. I just wanted to share.

My New Obsession

My New Obsession

I know that I shouldn't actually obsess over anything. With that I think that some things can be a good thing to obsess over a little bit. I am really trying to get my BMI at LEAST under 25. Honestly it is sad that I am considered overweight. I have a free gym that I walk past every morning and I have been slacking far too much...Lets see how this will go. It definitely isn't the worst thing that I could obsess over. I really hope that I can at least get to 25 by summer...That would mean that I would have to lose 10 pounds. Averaging about 1 pound per week I think that it can be done.
Endrit and I actually went grocery shopping today and we did really good on our food choices. Our fridge is full of fresh fruits and veggies, yogurt, frozen veggies for stir fry and all of the other things that are good. We have cut out sodas, good health thing and money thing. I love being able to go and have an orange when I want. We have bought cases of oranges over the winter so that we would always have fruit to snack on. Apples, bananas, tomatoes, oranges, a few grapes. I am having tomato salad tomorrow with cucumbers and onions and tomatoes. yummy!! I have missed this dish! Tomatoes have just been too expensive to justify buying. I am also going to make shepard's pie this weekend. Tomato soup was on sale.
I am just excited to tackle this lifestyle change so that I can live long and healthy.

Residency?

I officially HATE paperwork. Yes I used the strong word. Endrit had to turn in his paperwork for release of the conditions on his green card and I had to file papers for residency with Utah schools. Good luck to me. I should know in a week or two if I am able to get residency. Who knows when Endrit will be able to find out the status on his application. I have to say going through paperwork will surely be good in the end but when you a re hip deep in it, it isn't so good. Luckily mine didn't cost any money and Endrit's was paid off with our taxes that we have already gotten back! We like to be on top of things...can't you tell :). I didn't have to have mine handed in until July 1 but seeing as midterms are next week and Endrit will be starting new classes this was the day that we needed to get everything off of our plate.
We are surviving school. We both would like spring break to come faster than it is going to come but the semester is almost half over! I can't believe it! Endrit will be helping with the new recruits this March for the next year's grad students. It doesn't seem that we have been here that long.
I was told by my department that December graduation is a no. That means that I will be graduating later than I would have liked to but I am still graduating none-the-less. I am excited to be able to frame that piece of paper. Now I just have to stick it out in school and get good grades. I will be the only one in my year in the entire university graduating with my degree. Now that is an accomplishment!! I was really excited to hear that. There is someone graduating the year before me and the year after me but not in my year! I feel special.
Endrit only has 7 more labs left and he is done with teaching. Talk about exciting! That means that he will be able to help me with my physics homework! All in all it is good around here. A little stressful but good.

Endrit is 25

Endrit is now 25 and luckily he still feels 21. I have no Idea how I will feel at 25. Pictures above is the perfect geek gift for chemists. Salt and pepper shakers. We love them. Actually they are our first shakers ever. Yeah I know that is wierd. It was a good day. He got to take a test in the morning and then we went and ate at Johnny Carino's. Great Italian restraunt we only go to 2 times a year. Also we went with some of the family to Maddox for a few birthdays (Mom, Brydie, and Endrit). It was fun.

We are still going strong in school. We are waiting for our Dec 2010/May 2011 graduations. It seems like we will be in school forever. I have finally sat down and made a semester by semester schedule and it seems like it shouldn't be too bad. I just have to hope that the Education department has things revamped by my graduation time or I will have to wait an extra semester to graduate because of student teaching. I really wouldn't like that. Oh well. It really isn't up to me. All I can do is hope for the best.

Endrit has 1 class left to take and then he will be the researcher that he really wants to be. He is doing some interesting stuff, but don't ask me to explain it yet. I don't understand. All I know is that he is happy that he gets to research.

We are doing well.

Walking on ice...

I walked across campus today and figured out that my life right now parallels the physical feelings that I felt as I was walking down an ice covered incline. Right now life isn't necessarily the best. I was frozen and unstable as I walked down and all I wanted to do was go home, put my warm and fuzzy robe on, sip hot cocoa and watch a good movie. I then got to thinking that is exactly waht I want my life to be like right now. Going to school is anything but warm and fuzzy. It is cold, windy and bites at your sanity. Instead of watching and being happy for everyone around you doing well and seeming so happy I see people and fell like I am always a step behind. I can't follow the plot because I haven't gotten the understanding that I need.
With the slope I had to walk up to go to class I was brave and walked right in the middle of the ice and knew that I wouldn't falter. I watched every step carefully and had faith. Walking back, disheartened by my lack of understanding in my class I had to walk down the hill. Conciously I noticed that it was much harder to walk down the hill than up it. You can't walk on your tippy toes to be extra careful with your steps. This is the point I am at right now with schooling. I have gotten done with over half of the time that I need to be in school. I am now on the downward slope. If I look at my schoolwork and dread it and let it pile up the more weight I have to carry and the more easily I will fall down. I have to conciously take it one step at a time. There are classes that make me want to fall down and give up but I have to remember that it is one step at a time. There will be minor slips, but eventually I will make it down the hill to sweet scholastic freedom.

The days can become long...

School has started and of course I am not in school mode quite yet, but I have gotten tons of stuff done by this time that I didn't even think about having done in the past. Well I have found out that upper division classes are insane!! They take up so much time from day one! I have to have chapters 1-5 and 10 read by wednesday in one class and I have read 4 chapters of history. I have a 7 page paper due Wednesday and a 7 page homework assignment due on Thursday. I have to read the declaration of independance and the constitution. It is absolutely crazy!! I am not even telling all the hours that I have to put in with classroom observations and tutoring as well. I guess that it makes me slot out time better.
Endrit is starting his teaching today so that makes both of us not being able to get home until about 7:30 tonight when we get everything done. I am already thinking that it is going to be a more time consuming semester, but I think that I will like it a lot more than last semester. Please pray that I will continue to be motivated to get everything done before it is due so that I will have a relatively stressfree semester.
Have a nice day.

SP 08

It is official...school has started again. I have gone to one of my 3 classes for the day and I am regreting that I am taking 3 credit 2 day a week class...the classes are 1.5 hour long and my attention wains at about an hour. I will see how much I love the 4:35-7:05 class that I have tonight...that was the only time that it was offered at all.
I am still in limbo because my petition has yet to come back to say weather or not I can get a masters instead of just a bachelors. I am thinking that I will be getting the bachelors. It sucks, but it is something that I can't fight forever. I really need to work out my schedule so that I can know a projected graduation date. It would be nice to know semester by semester class schedules.
Endrit is haveing a break of a semester he has 2 classes that he needs to take but one is for the first 7 weeks and the other is for the last 7 weeks so he only has 1 class and labs to teach this semester. Last semester he was having 3 classes and 3 3 hour labs a week so it is relaxing for him and he gets to research which makes him extra happy.
I am in my second semester of my minerology (hell) class and I will be oober excited to get that over with. I got a really good grade in it but it was a stressful class. All signs point to it being better this semester.
yet again it is school stuff because that is all that I can talk about because that is my life.
I guess that there is one thing...Endrit and I teach the 5 year olds at church and one of them is a developmentally delayed ADD boy and I love teaching the class!! It has only been one week, but I think that everything will be good!