So me and Pat have been in talks about which schools he should apply to for his Master's Degree and these are the top Schools for Paleontology. Starting with Top Ranked School, University of Chicago, then the other schools he's interested in, Harvard, Berkeley, and the University of Texas.

#1
University of Chicago

#2
Harvard University

#3
University of California - Berkeley

#4
University of Texas - Houston

We're really hoping and praying for Chicago. Not because of the cold weather, which we don't like at all, but because the opportunities and benefits far outshine the other schools we've looked into.

Wish us luck! We'll hopefully be applying in December and we'd love all the blessings we can get.

Back to School!

The exclamation point at the end of the title is more sarcasm than sincerity.

Well, I haven't written anything in a while. So...August was interesting (Understatement of the Century!), but the gory details are a little to personal for me to go publicly with so I'll leave it at, Me and Pat are doing okay.

Sorry about the teaser there. Anyway, I started back to school on the 26th of August, which made for an interesting start to the semester. I have to take 18 credits this semester and 18 credits next semester to graduate by April of 2010. That means I'm taking 7 class now and I'll probably be taking 7 class next semester. It stinks. NOT only do I have to take 7 classes, I have an internship that takes up my mornings and I'm in an advanced mediation class. So that means that I am a mentor for all the beginning mediation students. Yay fun.

Well, after spending the $600 plus+++ dollars on REQUIRED text books (Yes, a rent payment.) I got crackin on my homework. Now, if you really knew me, you'd know that I'm not unlike the 4 billion or so people out there who also STRONGLY dislike homework. But, I've been revamping my study and work habits to be more productive and I've figured out that, if I can turn in most of the homework assigned on the syllabi at the beginning of the semester, then I'm home free for the next 4 months. Yipee! So, I've started reading all the books and writing all the position papers for my Race and Minority Relations class, typed all the briefs for my Laws of Evidence class, completed all the tutorials and projects for my Computer Applications class, and pretty much drafted all the assignments for my Business Management class. The only thing I have to do for the rest of the semester is mentor/mediate and turn in weekly postings, and work.

I am, however, really starting to get pissed with my American Government professor. I spent a lot of money on the damn textbook and haven't used it once. Every class period is him (A Liberal Democrat Mormon, which he makes a point of announcing every 5 minutes) on his soapbox attempting to get the class to side with his and Obama's policies. I swear to Heaven above that I might turn into the person on the grassy knoll and shoot his ass. Yeah. I'm that upset. I hate that I'm paying to have someone constantly pursuade me to think a certain way instead of doing his job and lecturing me about the founding principles of this country. GRRRR!

Anyway. Pat's doing great. We were waiting until the end of the summer to see if he could get his old job at the museum back, but no luck. So he has decided to apply to any interesting jobs that come up on the BYU job board. He is taking 5 classes this semester and is so lucky he hasn't had to purchase any books. He sucks. Yeah. So his class load isn't too bad and he is enjoying his last semester of school.

Although, this whole situation puts me in a not-so-happy state of being and I feel bad for anyone who's been around me lately. I love and am grateful that I have a job, but I only work 12 hours a week,, which is nothing AND I do it all with a full class load and outside of school obligations. I'm a machine, as my husband once reffered to me, but that doesn't mean that I don't respond to it like a human. It's been hell on me and really hard on mine and Pat's relationship, but we're working on it and hope that the year passes quickly.

Summer 2009

Alas, I have no pics, and not much of a story to tell about this summer. Seeing as how we both were unemployed for half of it, which left us with no funds for extras.

So....the good part of this oh so sad story is that all of our bills are paid and we have started accumulating a little cushion cash. I'm hoping that this whole "move-in-with-the-parents-so-we-can-save-a-bunch-of-money" plan works out. I know it's only been a month and a half, but remember that I'm also impatient.

Plus, with our student grants and loans, we have been in talks with Pat's brother, Ben, and his wife, Cherie, about taking a trip down to Las Vegas. It's super cheap, super close, and would be a nice little vacay before school really starts.

I think it'll also be neat to go down to the family reunion that the family on my mom's side has. Ahh...the Palmer Reunion. One word: Interesting. But I guess it'll be cool to see all of my family from AZ. I can't wait to hang out with my cousin Kari. She's the best. AND my mom has planned out this whole "Amazing Race" day of events which should be totally flippin' sweet!

I guess that while my summer didn't amount to much, the next few months should hold some very cool and enjoyable events in them.

Temple Work

So I had the opportunity to go to the Provo Temple today with the sisters of my ward. It was so nice to get to know and talk with them. To be honest, I haven't been back to the Temple since I got married, except for my brother-in-laws wedding, and even then, I was only in the sealing room. I know, I'm lame. I feel pretty lame. Anyway, enough pity party.

I had a really good time and loved being with wonderful women. I don't know about you, but I always get nervous when I go to the Temple because I'm so afraid I'll mess up and completely bungle something so important. And then I go and realize how much I psych myself out. It's laughable, really.

So I went and did initiatories today. It was exactly what I needed right now in my life. To be reminded of my role in Heavenly Father's grand plan. To remind me that, while my husband is the Patriarch of our family, I am the Matriarch. Him Priest, me Priestess. And that without one another, we wouldn't be able to achieve much of anything. Kinda moot, ya know? I always say that God has a quirky sense of humor. TRULY!

I also was reminded that I'm a good person and am blessed for being able to carry out a good work. To be able to enter into Heavenly Father's house and do his holy work. That I'm worthy of his love.

I'm always reminded of the many ways Heavenly Father blesses my life.

My 5 Things...

This was actually pretty difficult to do. It's this faulty memory of mine. Gall!


5 Things I was doing 5 years ago

So I was 18....

1. Graduating from college.
2. Moving to Utah.
3. Hiding in the back.
4. Learning to play indoor soccer.

5. Being a nursery teacher.

5 Things on my To Do list

1. Graduate!!!

2. Lose weight.
3. Make oodles of money.

4. Have 3.5 babies.

5. Get my wisdom teeth pulled. :(

5 Things that I would do with a Million dollars

1. Pay off student loans!!!!

2. Buy some clothes and shoes.

3. Buy a house.

4. Buy a NEW car.
5. SAVE.

5 Places I have lived

1. Arizona
2. California

3. Utah

4. All over Arizona

5. Okay, so it's REALLY the 90-million places I've lived.

5 things I hope to be doing in 5 years

When I'm 28...

1. Making lots of money.

2. Having my 3.5 babies.

3. Owning my own home.
4. Being married to a Dino-Digger.

5. Living my Life!!

Fourth Of July!!!

Friday, my family all went to see Transformers, and since me and Pat had seen it when it came out, we went and did our own thing. We decided to take some baked beans, juice, and potato wedges and corn dogs down to the creek by my parents' house. Just chill. We get everything together and buy the wedges and corn dogs and get to the creek. Well, after eating the beans and wedges we start on the corn dogs...

*Now, if you knew Pat, you'd know that he LOVES corn dogs, especially the ones we buy at the local gas station. It's a definite splurge. So he's like a little kid who waits until the end of the week to use his allowance to buy his favorite treat. Yeah.

So....I take a bite of one corn dog and it's a Jalepeno corndog. I know most people, especially those of you from Arizona, would just shrug and keep eating it....Like I did. However, my husband has ulcerative colitis. He can't have anything spicy, like peppers, or it will set off a colitis episode and put him in the hospital or possibly kill him. Yeah. Pretty serious stuff.

Well, he took a cautious bite of another corndog and it was jalepeno too. I thought that maybe the other 2 (There were 4 total.) were regular. I bit into those and they were also jalepeno. It was a major bummer and sucked because they were in regular packages. Pat's hopes for a corndog were dashed. Yup.

So we decided to go back to the station and swap them for regular ones only to discover that they didn't have any. We just got our money back and drove home. Talk about a ruined outing. We ended up just watching movies all night.

This 4th of July we didn't do anything SPECTACULAR because it rained. And it was all clear on Friday and Satur-DAY. Then the rain clouds rolled in and it came down hard. Yeah. No fireworks.

We did cook some bbq pork chops with mashed potatoes and corn. It was really good. We played games all day and relaxed. By-the-way, my sister Candace is in ALL of the pictures. It's on purpose. You know how there's always that 1 person who's in all of the photos,all-be-it inadvertently? Yeah, we had fun.

Oh, and then we beat up my sister Clarissa. Just for the hell of it. *Tee hee*

LAKERS KICKED THE MAGIC'S TRASH!

Yes. That's right. NBA Finals were last Sunday and the Los Angeles Lakers won. Booyah! It was a pretty good five games. The Orlando Magic put up a good fight, but I think Kobe Bryant wanted that trophy more than they did.

Pat's brother Dustin was in town with a couple of friends. We were already over at Ben and Cherie's for the fourth game of the Finals and they came over to watch the game with us. Pat got to have a boys day on Saturday while I helped my mom with a garage sale she was having. Much fun to be had by all. Sunday, we all got together again to eat dinner and watch the fifth game of the Finals. It was awesome!

So yeah. I have become an official LA Lakers fan. Yup. And if you knew me, you'd know that I'm not a big sports WATCHER, I'm more of a PLAYER. Or a CHEERLEADER. Whichever suits at the time.