Random Thoughts during the Final Weeks (of school)

Could these last few weeks of the semester possibly go any slower?  I mean, really.

Ok, so it's really not that bad, but I have almost no motivation left for homework.  I have an awesome schedule where I go to classes all day Mondays and Wednesdays (and one class on Fridays, and an evening class on Tuesdays), and I just work all day Tuesday, Thursday, and half of Friday.  It's great, because if I didn't have days where I don't really have classes, I think I'd go crazy.  I love the days when I just work all day because I feel more motivated and I feel like I'm actually doing something important.  Not to mention my coworkers are all so fun to work with.  And I'm so grateful for a boss who values me enough to petition BYU to let me stay here for the summer, even though I'm graduating.  (Normally BYU student employees can only work for 2 weeks after their graduation.)

Speaking of work, there are all kinds of changes going on there.  The whole organization (OIT- Office of Information Technology), which is the largest non-academic organization on campus, is going through a massive reorganization, and as part of that, my chunk of the office will be moving into a different department under a new manager.  I love my job, and I'm sure some things will change a lot (including the location of my office) but I'm excited.  I'm so glad I get to stay while all these changes are going on.  And I'll even get to train my replacement over the summer!  Lots of things to do!

I love looking at blogs of friends who are pregnant!  Soon-to-be-moms are so cute!  I have to admit I'm a bit jealous, and I hope I can be cute like them when I'm expecting.  I was curious about some things though, so the other day I decided to do some research on how much a baby costs.  Holy cow!  Babies are expensive!  I mean, diapers, a crib, carseat... that stuff adds up fast!  But then there's all the money that goes into the hospital stay and labor and everything too.  Good grief-- I don't know how these people do it!

Ok, but the things on my mind most: learning (or thinking about learning) the ballet terms for my final, doing the final draft of my 10 page paper on Hitchcock and Poe, doing the first draft of my 12 page paper on Tolkien symbolism, and writing 2 more picture book manuscripts, mastering the front walkover, and getting up the guts to try a front handspring on the vault.  Ugh.  Oh well, only two full weeks of classes left and then I'm done!

And the countdowns:

• End of Classes: 19 days
• Aaron's Birthday: 23 days
• Mom and Dad visit: 26 days
• Graduation: 28 days
• Anniversary: 51 days
• Harry Potter: 238 days

The Diagnosis

Well, many of you are aware that I have been suffering with this for a while, but I finally have a diagnosis for my problem that has been causing many late nights and long days.  I have Senioritis.

It's a fairly common problem, but I think its power is underestimated.

The symptoms:

• Boredom, even with projects to do
• Too much (much too much) HGTV watching
• Extreme procrastination, causing late nights immediately preceding due dates
• Hitting the snooze button too many times, and then rushing to get to campus on time
• Strong desire to cook, probably also caused by an abundance of new recipes
• and more

Aaron has even called me "Mrs. Senioritis" which tells you that this is a very real and very serious thing.

But, even though I have a diagnosis, no one has been able to offer me a cure.  This is slightly problematic since I should be spending the next 33 days doing research and writing two well-crafted research papers.  Looking forward to it?  I think not.

Birthday Weekend!

So this past Sunday was my birthday! I had such a good weekend with my sweet husband and some great friends. And I got to talk to my parents and siblings. More on that in a minute...

I think I must be getting old. I mean, I know I'm still young, but I remember the days when a birthday was a significant change in who we were! "No, I'm not seven, I'm EIGHT!" That's a big deal! I passed 21 and I don't think I have any more landmark birthdays until I get to be over the hill. How did that happen? Weird.

Anyway, on Saturday Aaron and I went out to dinner and we also bought me a new dress! It's so pretty! I don't have a picture of it yet, so that'll have to come later.

On my birthday, we had a bunch of people over (3 other couples) and had a murder mystery party! I had planned on taking pictures of everyone dressed up, but I completely forgot until after everyone was gone. Sad. But it was so much fun! It took place in the old west, and it was full of scandal, theft, and of course, murder. All of our characters were so quirky and exciting and we had such a good time trying to figure out who the murderer was. Turns out, I was the mastermind behind most of the crazy things that were going on. Awesome.

So I kinda cheated. I opened my presents the night before my birthday. Oops! I couldn't wait. My mom is awesome. She spent a lot of time and made me this GREAT pig wall hanging! After all, pigs are my favorite animal... (I'm secretly looking forward to having a baby girl so I can decorate her room with all my pig paraphernalia that's currently in a giant box at my parents' house...) This thing is awesome. Check out all the quilting detail!
My parents also gave me the best cookbook in the world, which is great because now I won't have to keep asking them to email me recipes from their copy! And a book of table runner patterns, because my mom knows that a table runner is one of the top projects on my list of things to make/do once I have time.
My in-laws sent me this cute bag that Karen made! It's so cute and I can't wait to start using it!
And I'm terrible. Aaron gave me these for my birthday, but I picked them out myself. I guess that's what happens when we do ALL of our shopping together. I didn't even give him a chance to pick something out himself. But he did buy me my awesome new dress that I don't have a picture of yet. Best husband ever.

Ok, so I just have to say that I have serious senioritis right now. Ugh. Less than five weeks (34 days) of classes left and I'm having a hard time staying motivated. Aaron's so good at helping me though. He stays up with me on my late nights and helps me de-stress on the weekends.

Only 43 days until I graduate!