back in school

School has started again, and I haven't been good about taking more pictures. Here are a few, though.

Brett's working at Guitar Center now. He works Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. It's pretty lame because now we can't do anything over the weekends. But it's good because his work doesn't conflict with mine at all.





Ethan started waking up in the night to eat again. So I thought he might be ready for solid foods. Guess not! We'll try again in a few weeks.

forgotten already

Remember how last night I was talking to my mom about my interpreting certification testing and I got all freaked out because the State is taking longer to get results out and so I think I'll only have one more time to take the test before my certification lapses and I can't interpret anymore?

And remember how Brett and I are really struggling financially and I need to pass the test so that I can still work because he's in school but he recently started working another job so that we can try to pay our bills, but he can't work two jobs and go to school so I am going to be working full time this fall...if I can get any hours, that is. And if I'm still certified, that is.

But then remember how I was telling Brett about it and starting to freak out again and he said, "Or you can get a job bossing people around because you have an MBA." Ha. I had forgotten that I just got an MBA. Granted, many of my classmates are still unemployed and many people are looking for work. But me having an MBA helps my situation more than not having one. Whew!

happy mother's day!

A lot has been going on with us lately...well, not a lot by our previous standards, but quite a lot by our since-Ethan standards. We had our trees trimmed in the back yard, so now we have a super nice view of the valley.
The tree trimmers were all super fit and they inspired Brett and I to want to work out.
Our kitties appreciate the extra sun in our yard now that the trees have been thinned.
I graduated as well. Here is me going to shake hands with my favorite professor.
This is my good friend Janelle.
And Brett and I with my graduation Audi. You can see that both Brett and I are chubby and have a lot to go before we are fit like the tree trimmers. Fat faces!
Most importantly, Ethan has been growing and doing new things! He does fun baby tricks that we like to show off to friends, family, and strangers. Anyone who will listen, basically.



The best trick he's been doing for the past few weeks is SMILE!







Cutest baby ever!

graduation

I will be graduating in a couple weeks, and so I am announcing it to all my friends and family via The Internet.

The David Eccles School of Business Convocation is on May 8, 2009 at 6:45pm at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. I will be graduating with a Masters of Business Administration (or as my mother calls it: Masters of Bossing Around).

If you want to come, feel free. Although I don't know why anyone in their right mind voluntarily goes to a graduation. Hmmm...why am I going again?

I actually have 2 more classes that I will be finishing over the summer semester, so I won't get my diploma until August. But I wanted to walk with the rest of my class in May. It will be so nice to be done!

officially done with school (for this semester)

I just finished writing my last final paper. I am now completely done with school for Spring semester. Now, the baby can come anytime he pleases.

school/work/real life...bah

School started last Monday. I'm still trying to get used to the new schedule, which mostly means taking naps every spare moment I have. My schedule is relatively less crazy than it has been in the past year. I'm only taking 9 graduate credit hours, working 20 hrs a week, and napping the rest of the time.

Mostly I am excited because I have just a little more than 9 weeks to go in my pregnancy. The reason why this makes me excited is because I am taking 4 classes right now and they are all done before my due date. That means I have less than 9 weeks of school left! And then I only have 6 credit hours left to take before my MBA is COMPLETELY DONE!!! Oh, the thrill of that thought.

Our Christmas break was so nice; to have a solid month off of school and work was just plain great. It was pleasant to spend all my time with Brett. Now that real life has started up again, I feel like so much of my time is spent on trivial activities that don't really make any contribution to the "big picture". That, I think (although I really don't have any idea) will change with a baby addition. Our lives will quickly be simplified down to diaper changing, feedings, and soothing infant agony. We will be forced to focus only on the things that are most important to us: family and home. I'll let you know how it turns out.

school...work...and more school...

My posts have been pretty boring lately. No more travel and dessert! But a post is a reflection of my life, and so if I have to sit through an IS class from 12:25-1:45pm, struggling to stay awake, well then you get to read about it.

Last semester I started a new classroom philosophy. Brett and I took a meditation class and I'd been doing yoga for some time, so I decided to put my practice into practice. (hee hee) We talked a lot last semester about being mindful--being aware of what you are doing in the moment you are doing it. No more of this hoping for the future or dwelling in the past.

So, I decided that I was going to work on being mindful during classroom lectures. My typical classroom mindset is all over the place. I'm planning my to do list, I'm doing the homework for my next class, I'm texting friends and family, I'm eating, I'm taking notes, and if I'm lucky, I'm listening to the lecture. I decided that I was going to cut out all the other stuff, even the note taking, since all my professors post Power Point slides for each lecture. All I would do during a lecture is sit there with nothing on my desk, listening.

This was extremely difficult for me to do. I felt unproductive; I felt like I should be doing so many other things. But, I payed attention and I retained some information. I believe that I had to study less at the end of the semester because I had listened during class lectures. I was able to pay attention to discussions other students were initiating. If the teacher called on me, I wasn't caught off guard, I was paying attention and could contribute something intelligent.

I am still trying to work on being mindful during class this semester. Although, when I start to dose off in the middle of class, right after lunch, in a Power Point darkened room...I pull out the laptop and post a blog.

one problem with business school...

I am allergic to smells, I swear I am. I can't wear smelly lotion or perfume, and any strong smells in my environment make me sneeze and cough and my eyes puff up. So generally in my classes, I know who the smelly people are. By smelly I mean cologne mongers, not boys-that-don't-shower. I avoid sitting near these people (I avoid the boys-that-don't-shower, too, but surprisingly there aren't very many of those in my classes).

Unfortunately, I had 7:30 class this morning and double unfortunately, I was late. Because I was late, I had few seats to choose from in the classroom, and so ended up sitting by a smelly man. It's very annoying, and I feel it is so inconsiderate, because I am going to be sneezing and sniffing and paying for this for the rest of the day. Down with smelly boys!

the first week of school

The beginning of a new semester always throws me off. Especially since my professors have started emailing the class before the semester has actually started, with homework and readings to complete before our first class. Who knew that having email could bring such negative responsibilities with it! Of course, I never do the pre-semester homework, and so I feel slightly overwhelmed and behind from day 1.

Professionally, a lot of things are happening in the coming year for me. The one foremost on my mind is my interpreting certification. My Level 1 Certification will lapse in October 2009. This means I now have one year remaining to pass my test. Since my boss at the University asked me to learn a new interpreting system last year and I started graduate school at the same time, my focus has been somewhat spread out, and unfortunately diverted from this priority (the Level 2 Certification). Over the summer, I met with several mentors to work on professional development and getting closer to passing my test. I will continue working with those mentors. I also told my coordinator at the University that I couldn't do much work in the new signing system this semester, because I want interpreting to be my top priority right now. Happily, I got a lot of hours, and the vast majority are classes which require me to interpret (I'm only doing one cueing class every other week). I feel confident and excited about taking the test this year.

So, although I am still taking classes toward my graduate degree, I feel that my focus is shifted away from that, and so I am only taking 13.5 credit hours this semester. hee hee. I realize that I say only 13.5 graduate credits, but this really does seem like a light load--especially compared to my 18 credits per semester last year. The classes I am taking are interesting and my professors seem great so far, so I am excited about proceeding on with them.

We haven't had a lot of time to chat about it, but as far as I can tell, Brett is enjoying his classes as well. He's getting a bit stressed and overwhelmed because he feels behind already, but I think he'll do really well and enjoy his classes a lot. He's trying to figure out if he can fit an ASL class into his schedule for his non-technical credits. I really hope he can do it.

Because this blog has been pretty information intensive, I'll leave you with some kitty photos to make it a little more interesting.

school

I've officially started my final year of graduate school. Because last year went by so quickly, this summer during the rare times that I actually thought about school, my thoughts were "I'm totally already done. Last year went by so fast, this year is going to be over before I know it. It's so over, I'm done." A small voice is telling me that I'm in for a rude awakening next week when classes start.

I went to "Second Year Orientation" today. Mostly I'm just glad it was only one day, unlike "First Year Orientation" which lasted a week and included manual labor. Today was mostly several hours of them telling us how bad the market is right now and that if we didn't started our job search yesterday, we're past all hope and we'll be waiting tables for the rest of our lives. Well, I already have a job, several jobs, in fact--how do you like that?

I took Joel's First Day of School picture from his blog because I think this is one of the best I've seen. His expression is perfect; it shows precisely what we all are feeling in anticipation for the upcoming semester. Good luck to everyone!