Yay for school...Boo for being sick.

Apparently I decided that grad school would be funner if I started out sick.
There was no vote.

Or at least I don't remember there being one between myself and...yeah that is it.

Other than being sick from traveling it has been FOREVER since I have been ill.

Not the case yesterday, and today.

I woke up with this headache, tummy-ache and nausea.

I get bad headaches so I thought to myself, "Take a ton of ibuprofen and it will go away".

True and False.

Headache gone.

Nausea and tummy pain stayed.

And got worse.

By the end of the day I was curled up in the fetal position in bed wanting to die.

No worries though.

School was awesome.

I get to go back today.

And even if I get sick afterwards, 

it will all be worth it.

Because I'll be in school.

Learning things.

And making Historical Archaeologist action figures.

Because my syllabus tells me to.

And I can do that in bed.

Awesome.

Project 52

Care Instructions:

Cold Wash

Gentle Cycle

Line Dry

Life doesn't seem to follow Care Instructions does it?

Not this week anyway.

I LOVE SCHOOL...no mocking please.

I love, love, love being a grad student.
It is almost like a reward for making it through a lifetime of public and general schooling.
I mean really, college was pretty great, but it does not compare to what I am doing now.
Really.
Ok, I haven't attend my first grad class yet but I will on Monday.
What are some of the benefits of my graduate student status that I love?

1. They gave me a grant...just for being in the program.  Now this won't happen every semester but it sure does feel nice at the moment.
2. They gave me a job.  Several in fact.  Bless the Anthropology department.  Apparently grad students get first dibs.  I started working at the Office of Public Archaeology this summer and am a TA for the Intro to Archaeology class in the fall.
3. They are paying for some books I need to TA.
4. They pay you more.  True story.
5. You get to go into locked doors that say "grad students only" because you are one!
6. The parking is fantastic.  I can park in a covered parking garage...all year.  I tested it out today and it was wonderful.  I can also park right next to the pool...true story.  My life just changed. :)
7. Professors love you.  Mainly because they get to use you as slaves, but also because I think they respect that you are trying to continue your education by going that extra mile.  (That extra mile really is being their slaves, but I like my professors so I don't mind.
8. I am doing what I love.  I no longer HAVE to take random math credits or physics.  I have already done it.  I did my time.  I get to pick my thesis.  I get to pick what I study...roughly :).  
9. They give free donuts and bagels out every Thursday morning.  I love my baked goods. :)
10. I love school and get to be there for a bit longer.  I have never been to a place that I feel more at home than when I am on campus.  Even more so than the home I grew up in, my home now, or my bed.  I love, love, love school.

So, I get to start on Monday...yay!

Weak Sauce...oh I am, I really am.

I got back from Syria a few months ago 25 pounds lighter than when I left.  I didn't notice that much of a difference to be honest.  I mean I fit into jeans that I had not worn since high school but...eh.  In all seriousness I did not notice to much of difference in how I looked, it was all about how I felt.  I spent 8 weeks on a rigorous physical schedule (they call digging back-breaking work for a reason), a HUGE amount of food (Syrians know how to feed a body full), an environment where I could soak up knowledge, and a massive dose of happiness.  The combination of these things made me one happy girl on my return to America.

I decided that with the start of grad school the only way to keep on top of things would be to try to continue those 4 previously mentioned variables that made my time in Syria...heaven on Earth.  So:

1. physical exercise
2. listening to my body
3. mental stimulation
4. and making sure I'm allowing time to do things that make me HAPPY!

It started out really well.  I started everyday studying my scriptures, worked out for at least 30 minutes, started a new creative project, and ate whatever my body needed (notice I said needed instead of wanted).  Then I went to Kanab on another excavation and broke the habit a little bit.  I mean my job is pretty darn physically demanding so I consider the 8 hour workout I got adequate and I ate pretty good, but 2 of the 4 goals kind of fell to the wayside.

This last week though with the little juan coming home from his mission, taking kids to the southern city, everyone else starting school, having a visit from an exhausting 'relative' (Aunt Flow :))...I could go on really, but needless to say, this week I broke my healthy happy habits...all 4 of them.  Oops.

So today my bloated belly and I did pilates, started working on a school schedule (because really organization makes me happy), and am trying to get back on track.

Now if I could face the reality that I have to start running next week...I don't think I can.

 :(

That is why I have Otis.

To kick me in the shorts. :)

Guess we will see if I can keep up with this!!!

Take that!!!

The little juan got back from his mission last Thursday.

I saw him Friday.

Took him back to Cedar City on Sunday.

When we got to the house he was supposed to live in we had quite the rude awakening.

The landlord had pulled a 'bait and switch'.

Rather than having a room upstairs that was decent he was put in the basement.

In a room with no ventilation, furniture, or...really anything.

The basement was absolutely disgusting.

Like, needing to call the health department disgusting.

After deciding there was no way he could live there, the padre and I took the little juan and checked into a hotel.

The next morning the little juan got ready for school after going through his boxes in the back of the van.

And came to breakfast like this:

He still has a problem not wearing a tie everywhere. 

♥ ♥ ♥

So we dropped him off at school for the first time in 2 years. 

Cute.

While he was at school we found him an apartment, I paid his deposit, Steph and I moved him in, and the padre dealt with the landlord who tried to screw us.

I think my favorite part of their conversation went like this:

the padre: "The room is uninhabitable, there is not even any ventilation!"

the crook: "What? He can open the window!"

the padre: "In the winter?  What about heat?"

the crook: "If he keeps his door open all the time the heat from the other rooms should heat his room just fine."

(His door is RIGHT next to the basement entrance door.  The one that has quite the draft.  I hear heat travels well out of trashy front doors.)

When the padre realized he wasn't liable for the contract because there was no signed contract, the kid started threatening small claims court and played the victim.  He was "...sooo offended" that we thought the place was trash.  I can't even describe how bad it was.

So there you go.

He avoided our calls for the rest of the day.

Until the padre told him we weren't liable, would have nothing to do with him, and were heading back to Provo.

Then he called back immediately and left a message.

Which was never listened to because...we don't care.

Love to you lazy, crooked landlord.

You can stick it where the sun don't shine.

And I hope you learned your lesson.

Never to mess with the House of Nuts.

So I drove home late last night,

24 hours after we were originally supposed to leave.

I'll miss the siblings desperately but I was relieved to leave the southern city.

Good luck siblings!!!

Love you.

♥ ♥ ♥

Project 52

Overwhelmed a bit.

Can you tell?

Seriously so blessed.

School is expensive.

duh.

It's been something I have been worrying about for the last little bit.

The job that I have now is amazing but may not last very long into the semester.

They just don't know.

Which is always stressful.

A girl has got to eat.

And pay for school.

In all honestly, I would choose the latter.

I love school.

If I didn't have to eat I would probably forget to because I would be studying new and exciting things.

So I have been stressed.

I technically have another job lined up in case the one I have falls through, but it is with a friend and I don't want them to feel obligated to save my rear.

I am ridiculous like that.

So, after work today I got this email offering me a TA position for the Anthr 110 class.

Which is something that I have REALLY wanted to do.

It is the Introduction to Archaeology class.

I would really rather TA and archaeology class as opposed to the anthropology one.

I'm biased like that.

So, that made my day.

I found out, during my last week of work that I will have at least one job in the fall.

Maybe two.

A girl has got to pay for school

:)

The pursuit of happiness.

I got back from Syria and left for Kanab within a week.

I actually packed my bags for work from my suitcase.

Good times.

Suddenly we were told we couldn't go out in the field for a week.

...then two...

...then three...

...then four...

Thankfully we are going into the field tomorrow.

After a month off.

Sometimes things don't work out exactly like you think they will.

Every time that happens though

I have always had the opportunity for something amazing.

It started about 2 weeks ago, and I am still trying to keep it up.

(hopefully I'll be able to figure a way to make it work in the field)

The first thing I did was set a goal.

I wanted to study my scriptures every morning.

Because these last few weeks have been exceptionally hard and I needed some light in my life.

So I bought a journal to write my thoughts in.

And I set my alarm 30 minutes earlier.

And I have done it for two weeks now.

I wish I could say that it made the world perfect...it didn't...but my perspective was so much better.

I was happier.

My next goal was to go to the temple once a week.

It has only been 2 weeks but I have gone both weeks.

In fact when I went Friday morning I was the first person to go through.

Which is weird being all alone with the temple workers, but really they are super chipper in the mornings.

:)

It also meant that I got in and out in about 15 minutes.

Which was crazy!

So there you go. 

It has really made a difference for me, these 2 little goals.

I am grateful that I have been able to start these goals this week, it would have been so much harder to start and maintain them in the field.

So, good times ahead!

Adios!

Project 52

This week has been a long jumble of nights running in my sleep.
Over and over and over again.
My legs are killing me.



zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Building things and dirty windshields.

It has been a pretty good week.

I've been working, which I love, because having a job is awesome.

My family decided to have a bit of a holiday this week.

Nothing official, just time where we take a break and hang out together doing stuff.

It has been nice, and relaxing.

No pressure or set schedule, just fun.

Like on Tuesday when the cita and I went to IKEA.

I bought the best desk ever.

The cita found a computer chair 50% off.

And we ran around the bottom floor of the store having fun.

Well...I ran the cita around.

:)

I spent the rest of the afternoon in constructing heaven building the desk.

I love to build things.

Like the table saw I put together today.

:)
Speaking of fun times, the padre and bug visited me at work today.
When I walked out to my car a few hours later I found this on my windshield.

Fun times, more to come.

Project 52

Here is 2 of 52!

Click on the photo to see the description.

The End.

This week.

This week has been great!  

On and off that is. 

More on than off.

:)

I've been working at the museum this weekend on a Fremont basket.

Which is awesome.

And took me 3.5 days.

It was pretty heavily encrusted with dirt and plaster.

Here are some pictures, it is so much cooler than it looks in these shots.

How it started:

How it finished:

So, I love my job.

Why?

Because it is awesome.

One of those clicking things.

It just feels right.

And because we have a Indiana Jones Potato Head,

and random pieces of awesomeness.

We also had the most awesome thunderstorm ever.

I sat on the porch with Deruda and watched the lightning strike across the valley.

It was amazing.

It also got really, really close.

Close enough that it hit the telephone pole behind our house.

AWESOME!!!

There was a little explosion, sparks, smoke, and the loudest crack of thunder I've ever heard.

The bolt was soooo close.  

It went right over the top of our house.

So cool.

Here are some pictures of the sunset after the major part of the storm.

Beautiful.

I also went to the temple on Thursday.

It was lovely.

Have you ever noticed that the fountain in front of the temple looks like the temple?

I think I may have mentioned this before but it is still true.

In closing let me bestow upon you a wonderful video of T-dog singing "Under the Sea" from Disney's The Little Mermaid

Under the Sea @ Yahoo! Video

Adios!

5 fingers.

This evening I realized that I could count the number of people I talked to today on one hand.

I mean really talked to.

There are only 5 fingers on your hand.

In case you were wondering.

And I didn't even use them all.

So what did I do today that required so little human interaction?

I worked for about 5 hours in the lab,

I came home, read, and drew,

I did some ballet,

I made some dinner,

I wrote on my blog,

and now I'm going to bed.

I live an exciting life at the moment folks.

No worries...it will be.

Just wait until the end of the month.

Here is what we have on the docket:

1. August 16th--back in the field...hopefully.  We have been postponed for a month now.
2. August 18th--my little sister heads off to university.
3. August 19th--my little brother returns from Peru.  I won't actually see him until the 20th if I'm in the field but, it has been two years, twenty-four hours isn't going to kill me.
4. August 22nd--the 'just returned' little brother heads down to university to join the little sister.
5. August 23rd--those 2 yeahoos start school and I head back into the field.
6. August 30th--I finally start my first semester of grad school and boredom and lack of things to do will certainly desist.  I will have more than I can handle...hopefully.  I like to be very busy.

I can handle a few more days of invisibility and silence right?

I mean it won't be this way forever.

It won't even be this way for a month.

Yeah, I think I can do this.

Project 52

A lot of my friends and photographers that I admire have picked up on a project where they take a photo everyday of the year.  

I think this is really cool,

and thought that I may try it out.

But despite the awesomeness of the 365 project I decided I wanted to do it a bit differently.

Rather than days I would do weeks. 

Which, for a year, is about 52, give or take a few days.

I think about this project like I think about weighing myself.

I do not want to weigh myself everyday.

In some random class I took they told us that we should weigh ourselves only about once a week to document an accurate change in our weight.

This year is bringing on a lot of changes for me.

I can feel it in my bones.

So I thought, in order to accurately document that change in self-portraits, I would do it once a week.

Take a picture that I feel epitomizes that week.

Why am I starting on August 1st?

Because for me, that is when this new chapter in my life is kind of beginning.

There you go.

Here is 1/52

I'm doing this project in Flickr which is an awesome site.
To go directly to the project set click here (at the moment there is only one photo in it).  It also gives a description for the photo.
To see my photo stream (small as it is) look to the right in the blog sidebar and click on the link.
So, there you go.
Adios!