I'm a Science Geek

I am back in school now and it has been a hectic start to the semester. I am quickly remembering what I learned my freshman year: it takes a lot more effort to get As then it does to get Bs. However, this time around I have to get As so I am stuck sitting in the library late into the night, bending over my textbook and scribling chemistry calculations on scratch paper. This probably brings back a twitch or sweaty palms to some of you just thinking about it. I like school but I have found that working backward has its difficulties. For example, in an upper division class, instructors want you to learn to think critically and question what you are learning, but in lower division classes you get a lot of "that's the way it is so just memorize it." So I think the whole critical thinking skills you pick up in your later college career may actually be a hinderance in 100-level classes.

Additionally, this is my first non-BYU college experience. I grew up near the University of Wyoming so I knew in the back of my mind that not all college campuses are like BYU but after living and breathing the BYU atmosphere (aka the bubble) for 6 years, some things come as a shock. One of the biggest has been how many people smoke. It's such a gross habit and I was under the impression that most people were finally heeding surgeon general's warnings and kicking the nasty habit, at least young educated people--not so.

I am looking at a pretty hectic semester so this is my appology for not being a great blogger for the next semster and probably the next 3.5 years--I will try to keep this updated in some degree though.

I've Been Tagged

This is the first time I have been tagged; thanks to Michelle K. for doing that.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was in 9th Grade at Laramie Junior High....ah! that makes me feel young to be able to say that!

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Take a nap
2. Work out
3. Help Matthew pick out a dental school
4. Go to DK Doughnuts for FHE tonight
5. Enjoy my last week of freedom before school starts

Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chocolate
2. BBQ Lays Potato Chips
3. Gardetto's
4. Cinnamon Sugar Toast with a glass of milk
5. Chocolate Lucky Charms

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay for school
2. Buy a house/sweet car (knowing us, that could be one thing)
3. Travel
4. Buy a few Mac computers
5. Oh alright! be charitable in some way...build schools in 3rd world countries

3 of my bad habits:
1. Not leaving early enough so I can arrive on time someplace without rushing
2. Saying too much
3. Not being neat in all I do

5 places I have lived:
1. Laramie, WY
2. Provo, UT
3. New York, NY
4. Orem, UT
5. Boise, ID

5 jobs I have had:
1. Medical Receptionist
2. Accounts and Marketing Manager
3. Kinko's Copy Girl--that's the official title
4. Art Model
5. Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Scooper

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I told my father-in-law that if it rained on Christmas this year that I would never spend another Christmas in Boise again (luckily it was sunny and there was snow on the ground so I won't have to eat my words).
2. I like seeing meadows of woolly sheep in the countryside. I must not be the only one because Rick Steves has an entire podcast devoted to encountering sheep in your travels.
3. Matthew thinks I look like Cindy Lou Who, you know, on The Grinch.
4. I won the Albany County Fair grand champion prize for Heritage Handiwork (aka embroidery) when I was 8 years old.
5. I like to vacuum.

Okay, so now I tag: Eddie, Katherine, Jodee, Holly, & Megan.

Baby Sister for Mason!

I had to include a few brag pictures of my new niece, Madelyn Melissa. She is a sweetie and Mason, her two-year-old big brother, is so excited that she's here. When I called and talked to him the day after Madelyn was born our conversation went like this, "Hi 'chelle! Hi 'chelle! (repeated six or seven times) Baby sister! I looooooove yooooou! (repeated four or five times)." I loved it! It's fun being an aunt:)

The first picture is Grandma, Mason and Madelyn. The second shows what a dainty thing Madelyn is. She weighed a little over seven pounds (which is small for our family...I was a nine pounder!) Both the baby and mom are healthy and happy.

We are excited for when Megan has her baby in April and Rachael has her baby in July. Three new little ones in one year!

Things that I didn't do last year that I am going to do this year

I personally don't like New Year's Resolutions because they so often don't last beyond January. So, to avoid that jinx, I am going to call mine Things I Didn't Do Last Year That I'm Going To Do This Year:

1) I am going to go back to school (starting January 22) and do my best to get straight A's so I can get in to the Idaho State PA program.

2) I am going to use my free gym membership (yeah--that's one of the sweet perks that comes with my new job at the physical therapy clinic!) at least four days per week.

3) I am going to eat more Barbecue Lays Potato Chips.

4) I am going to clean the bathroom once a week (not saying I usually have a nasty bathroom, I just haven't had a bathroom to clean for a while...it's not standard equipment in the Toyota Campry :).

5) Make my 4.5 lbs. of French Chocolate Truffles from Costco last through June. Matthew has absolutely no confidence that I can do this.

My Wounded Car

I am one of the few people I know (among my peers) who still drives the first car they've ever owned. It is a 1998 Saturn SL Maroon with tan interior. It has been a good car to me and continues to run with hardly any problems except those that are inflicted upon it by other drivers. In the 6 years I have owned the car it has been rear-ended twice, keyed and now broadsided by a flying sign. In those six years, I have done nothing to damage the cosmetic appearance of my car. Here's what happened on Friday:

I was driving home from work on the I-84 in unusually high winds. A pickup, about 3 car lengths in front of me and one lane to the left was carrying a real estate sign made of metal and corrugated plastic and measuring about 4'x5'. A strong gust picked the sign up out of the back of the truck and slammed it, broadside, into the front of my car. The sign flipped up, scraped along the top of my car and then carried on down the road battering at least one more car behind me before it hopped the median and rested in the middle of the five lanes heading in the opposite direction.

I was pretty shocked by the event but had the good sense to chase the guy who lost the sign and get his license plate number. We filed a police report and it seems that the guy is decent and will pay for the damages inflicted up on my car. But now, my car has these nice scuff/scratch marks on the hood and top. Sad day!