I passed, I passed

It has been a long time since I have taken the time to sit down and write something, it seems as though time is flying by and I almost cannot catch my breath. Many of you know that I have been studying for the LEED exam. The exam is really intense and the average pass/fail rate is at about 50% last I heard. I was studying with a group of girls in my class to take it over Christmas break but I ended up having to go in for surgery. When I called the USGBC to get some stuff cleared up that I saw on their website I found out that I had until the end of March to register for the exam. That was such great news. I shared that with some of my professors and now all of them are planning on taking it and one of the girls that was in our study group last semester decided to give it another try. As it turns out if you register before the end of March you can have all the way until the end of June to take it. Well I was so sick of studying and ready to have it over with so I decided I would still like to take if over Spring Break. The other girl that was also going to take it signed up for the weekend of Spring Break as well. So we spent the week in the Library studying and quizzing each other - what a wonderful Spring BREAK. and BIRTHDAY. But it was all worth it. Jesi took it on Friday and I took it Saturday morning - we both passed with great scores. Look, they even put my name on the website, just type in Logan, Utah. As a matter of fact, every one listed here under Interior Design is in school with me. In total there are six of us who have taken the exam and passed. It is such a great feeling to be done with it even though I now have to put my nose to the grind stone and get working on my final project.

Just Some Ramblings

Well, it's official, I'm graduating. I have received four letters in the mail from different companies wanting to sell me announcements, a cap and gown and a whole lot of little trinkets that have my graduation date and school name on it. This semester has been so much better than last semester; is it the fact that I don't have group projects to bring me and my grade down or it's the fact that we are getting ready to put on our SENIOR EXHIBIT (you are all invited, invitations will be coming soon). My goal has always been to make my senior year, especially the last semester, as easy as possible. I can tell that I succeeded at keeping the semester a bit easier when I fell asleep last night at 8 and didn't get out of bed until 8 this morning. Then when I was looking for a clean pair of pants and the only ones I could find were a pair from way back when I got home from my mission. BLAM. They went right on. Of course this is not due to any effort of my own, I haven't been able to go to the gym since November. I attribute it to the fact that I have lost weight because of a complete lack of exercise, as well to one of our new years goals to eat healthier.

Just to keep everyone up on my ankle. I started Physical Therapy last Monday. I have only gone twice a week for the two weeks but have noticed a huge difference in my ankle. I am not saying that I can go running but I can make it up the stairs and walk from the car to the class room without a limp. Today I even caught myself hurry down the stairs, by the time I got to the bottom I told Paul that my foot didn't hurt and that the pain in my ankle, from before my surgery, didn't act up. I don't know that I will ever be able to tell my Dr. THANKS enough.

Splits with the sisters

I signed up to go on splits with the sister missionaries last night. For the longest time I have wanted to go but trying to find a time that would work has been near impossible. When the sign-up sheet was passed around i went ahead and put my name down and told myself I would just make it work. Of course the day I sign up to go with them it seems like every class has a deadline set for that day too. To top it all off I started Physical Therapy this week for my foot and had an appointment that morning as well.

So the time finally came and bless their hearts, the sister that gave me an address and then was giving me directions as well - lets just say the two didn't match up. It was frustrating me because Utah has got to be the easiest place to give directions. I would tell you the name of the sister that came with me but there is no way I can remember it.

We had a teaching appointment at 8:00 but had to find something to fill our time with until then. She had a couple of addresses for us to stop by. The first was a non-member family who wasn't interested. The second was a less active family. While the sister was trying to ask for referrals I thought why not teach the less-active, he had mentioned they had a daughter who was eight and wanted to be baptized. So I just spoke up and asked if the sisters could come back on Monday and give a family home evening lesson. He said that would be great and hopefully that way they will be able to teach the whole family not just the daughter. Then we stopped by another house and made an appointment for the sisters to come back and teach the kids.

At the 8:00 appointment we were teaching an eight year old girl who wants to be baptized. There was another gentlemen there, I believe he was the ward mission leader. One thing I know is that there is a huge difference between teaching an adult and a child but either way, you still need to interact with them. The sister was trying to fly through the lesson so the Brother and I would through in questions to make sure that everything was understood. Because I'm not shy when it comes to things like this I would pipe up every once-in-awhile too. The sister was great at teaching the principles of the gospel but when she asked the girl about past lessons the girl didn't remember. From all our time in the primary and teaching children on my mission I have learned that they need to have something that grabs their attention, so I would always put something in there that would hopefully help the lesson stick in her mind. For instance - The Plan of Happiness - we call it that but what makes it so happy?

To say the least it was a really fun evening and I might go out with them again on Monday to the Family Home Evening appointment. When I first got home from my mission I was a ward missionary and had so much fun doing it. There were people in the ward that my companion said she had been trying to visit with for the longest time, when I got there we were finally able to get in. Most everyone else already knew her and had a great relationship with her already. So our plan was that she knew them all and then I would teach. It was a great calling. I don't know why it has taken me so long to go out on splits but I really enjoyed it and can't wait to go again.

My Emotions

Lately I seem to be a little more emotional. Songs, shows a good book, it doesn't really matter what it is. There are those sad story lines and ones where the little guy pulls through at the end. My parents love the Hallmark Made for TV shows. One night I was staying at their house and we sat down and started a show that was half over. By the end of the show we still didn't understand what the entire show was about but the three of us sat there on the sofa at the end of the show sniffling, trying to not let the others know that we were all tearing up over a show where we didn't even know the whole punch line. Once we got everything under control ANOTHER one came on. I don't remember what either one was about, just the fact that the three of us sat through it all. About half way through the second show I had to get up because there was not stopping the water works and I had to grab a tissue. I got up and grabbed the whole box and brought it too my parents, I knew they needed them too.

Paul has been giving me a hard time lately. When we sit and watch movies or shows he tries to guess just how long it will take me before I start tearing up needless to say we have a couple of tissue boxes around the house. I really don't know what it is but these stories about people that have had such a hard life or those ones that end up beating the odds. I have never been like this until lately, am I the only one? Let me know if I'm not the only one.

For instance today we were watching The Biggest Looser. I'm sure you have read about how I like this show because it really is there to help the people, show them what they can do at home to really change their lives at home. Usually I don't watch until the final, that way I can get the whole season in one show. During the whole show Paul would turn and look at me to see if I was whipping away tears. I was doing pretty good until the end. There was a lady that was really working hard and doing everything she needed to do, unfortunately her friend that was there with her didn't do anything and they were the ones kicked off. What do you think happened - I got all teary over it because the lady wanted to stay and was working so hard at changing her life.

Merry Chrismas Paul

For Christmas Paul wanted to get HD service to go along with the HDTV we got last March, so that's what he got. He's been waiting for a long time to be able to watch the Super Bowl in HD. Tonight it finally happened. I have to admit it was pretty cool, everything was so clear, you could see the smallest little details. With the set up we also have a DVR. Can I tell you how much we love the DVR. It is wonderful because we can set it to record our shows then we can watch them when we have time, no more running our lives around prime time. When we get around to watch our shows then we can fast forward through all the commercials, it is wonderful. One evening last week we got home earlier so we sat down to watch a show together. It drove us crazy to watch live TV because we couldn't fast forward through the commercials.

Speak Now

The theatre department at Utah State puts on a play of one acts every year. This is so that those who want to participate without the stress of a main stage show can and also so that they can try doing something different then what they are used to. For instance, Paul is a Technical Theatre major so he gets to design sets but his favorite is lighting design, but in this show he could have the opportunity to act. In high school Paul found a one act that he really liked and this was the perfect opportunity for him to act perform it. I read the play and thought it was really cute but I am TOO shy to get up on the stage and perform in front of people so he needed to find a theatre girl. He asked a freshman, Gwendolyn. They told me that I could not come to any of the rehearsals because they wanted to keep it a surprise for me.

A friend of mine came up to visit on Saturday night. Paul's mom and sister-in-law came up to watch Paul and then my parents called in the afternoon and said that they wanted to come up and see Paul. Gwen was a little nervous about doing the scene with Paul and having me there so they asked us not to sit in the front row. When Katie, my parents and I got there Vonda and Brandy were already saving us seats on the second row. The first row was completely filled up except for the one seat in front of me, and Gwen spent a lot of the show at that corner of the stage. At one point we both looked at each other at the same time, I have to be honest, it was a little awkward and we both looked away. If she would of known who all the people were around me, I'm sure she would of been even more nervous.

I remembered to tell Katie and my Parents how the scene was going to end but I forgot to mention that at one point Paul takes his clothes off to try and make a rope out of them. Needless to say, they were all a little shocked. The play turned out really well. It was so much fun to watch Paul act. A number of the main stage actors came up to him afterwards and told him that he did really well, had a good stage presence and very clear stage voice. I thought that I would share some of the pictures with you. ENJOY.

I watched both showings and the first one was a little weird but they both did such a wonderful job.

I love spending time with Bailly

Bailly came up this last weekend to spend some time with us and so that she could play with her friends Andrea and Bizzy. She has grown up so much from when she used to first come and stay with us. We used to all sleep in the bed but since my foot is not 100% yet and Bailly moves around so much in her sleep, Paul slept downstairs and left us to the bed. It is so fun when she comes up. While we are in the car getting closer to our house she always askes if "we are in the mountains yet?" She loves the idea that we live in the mountains. Then we get to spend the whole weekend doing make-overs and watching movies and cuddling on the sofa. When she comes up we always try to make a craft with the girls, they love it and it gives them a chance to be creative. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the girls frames but here is what I did.