finals week update

Finals week begins tomorrow and I'll be taking on my hardest test at 5:30 pm: Abnormal Psychology.
Glad it's the first exam to check off the list.
This is the point where I start getting nervous about how much time I'm devoting to each subject.
I must say that I've devoted an exquisite amount of time to Ab Psych.
I feel like I'm in a pretty good place...so I'm a little uninterested in putting the same amount of work into the other tests, but I'll do what I can.
I accumulated several coupons for free drip coffee from Red Eye Coffee, so that's aided my study habits this past week.
Starting on Monday, I can get one free drip coffee from Black Dog Cafe with a college i.d., so I've really got my caffeine resources figured out.

Ben just wrapped up his final research paper today.
He's writing his final exam tomorrow and then administering it on Tuesday.
So he just has grading and graduating on his docket, as far as school is concerned.

As far as our move-out date...it's pretty much based on the weather.
I am REALLY, REALLY hoping it doesn't rain in South Dakota this week.

If it DOES rain, my parents will be here next Monday (because Dad won't be planting in the fields).
That means transitioning from finals tests into frantic packing, cleaning, squeezing in lunch dates, and accomplishing final goals at lightening speed. A positive that can come from this is that we'll have a little more time to settle back down in SoDak before our wedding festivity circuit begins.

If it DOESN'T rain,  Mom and Dad won't be here until the following Monday, allowing us to move at a more leisurely pace, and maybe hit up a few historic sites that we haven't visited yet.
(Why did we wait until the last minute? Poor planning.)

Regardless, the finish line is in sight, and I think we're both feeling pretty good about it.

el fin

Trying to clean out the cupboards: peanut butter & Nutella pancakes for supper.

Perfect biking weather for this last morning of classes. 

61 degrees with a moderate wind. 

Just had to get through Family Relationships (that even let out 10 minutes early). 

There was a review/question class period scheduled for Abnormal Psych today, but I didn't go because I have heard the questions that people ask in there. Not worth my time. 

I have a coupon for a free coffee from Red Eye Coffee, so I'd much rather go redeem that and study.

Last night we went to the Root Cellar (a Portlandia-esque restaurant, which we enjoyed mocking a little) with Peter and Robin (our engagement photographers) for food and drinks. 

They are hilarious/fabulous people and we hope we grow up to be just like them some day. 

Luckily, I'm meeting Robin for breakfast and thrift-shopping next Friday, so I don't have to say goodbye just yet. 

They're also adopting "The Planty" for us. Thank heavens.

Even though I have a considerable amount of studying and test-taking to do in the next 5 days, I'm feeling pretty amazing right now. 

Guess we need to go to the beach to celebrate. 

HAPPIEST FRIDAY TO YOU!

buds

I bought this plant last spring in hopes of improving my plant-caring abilities.

I kind of suck at keeping plants alive unless they're predisposed to neglect.

I remember that I have a plant to take care of about as often as I remember to take my multivitamin.

Grandma Rita gave me a begonia to pot and keep down in Kansas before we moved. 

It actually made the trip to Florida.

And then I thought it needed some sun, so I stuck it outside...and that was the end of the road for the begonia.

So this lovely plant, know as "Planty" or "The Planty", is about 2.5 feet tall and actually FROM Florida...so it won't have an identity crisis, fall over and die. 

It's actual name is an "Autumn Joy" and it hangs out in a big old ceramic pot on our deck.

I've been very confused by its development. It grew super tall, lost most of its leaves, appeared dormant throughout the winter, then the pink blooms that it's actually supposed to have finally sprouted up NEXT to the super-tall stalk thing (which holds these buds)....

I obviously don't know what I'm doing.

But the important thing is that it's still alive. 

And it might come with us to SoDak if it fits in the car, but it might not. 

Also, I received ONE MILLION mosquito bites from sitting on the deck and reading yesterday afternoon.

I didn't even notice them.

The mosquitoes down here are stealthy and lethal.

Itches worse than midwestern mosquito bites. 

I swear. 

I am about to do some serious Abnormal Psychology studying. 

TRYING REALLY HARD to do it now so that my life isn't so painful next week. 

I'm also trying to wrap my head around a lot of change that's going on in the days to come. 

friend collection

(Courtesy of Josh Piper, fabulous photographer & musician)

Sooooo many posts lately...make sure you read them all.
Just had to put up this picture from Christmas because I am thinking of my good friends today. We're all going through some major life changes & decisions right now, so I thought I'd devote a special post to them.

Kezia & Emily are two Bethel friends that are going to be bridesmaids at the wedding.
Kezia willngly spent a semester in Guatemala with me, just because I asked.
Emily was an art major with me (and is actually studying Spanish in Guatemala right now).

Couldn't leave out my Freeman ladies.
This is an oldie from 2007. I guess we need to update.
Alyssa and Natalie are ALSO going to be bridesmaids at my wedding.
We've all known each other for most of our young lives...like Kindergarten. And then we solidified our friendships at Freeman Academy.
Alyssa & I have spent our share of time together because both our fathers are in the farming/pork industry (I think further explanation would be far too complicated). Our significant others are best friends, and so are we. It's so cute it'll make you sick.
Natalie and I love each other unconditionally. We bonded during my senior year of high school when we were the only females on the soccer team.

These ladies are all beautiful, beautiful people. Inside & out. I have missed them all so much while I've been in Florida, and I can't wait to reunite with them this summer.

so dark, so light

After a long, tiring Monday, Ben and I made a little visit to Fermentation Lounge.

I noticed the extreme contrast between my Lazy Magnolia "Sweet Potato Cream" Jefferson Stout & Ben's Victor Brewing "Swing" Session Saison

I promise you that there was nothing "sweet" or "potato" about the stout. 

Well, it was a little sweet, because stouts tend to do that. 

But nothing overbearing. 

Just a good standard stout. 

Yesterday was not THAT long and tiring. 

I was actually fairly excited for most of it.

(Except for Gen Psych where our last chapter is "Abnormal Psychology". I am currently taking an entire class on Abnormal Psych. Don't want to sit through this stuff again.)

But I didn't even need a cup of coffee to get me through the afternoon. 

The Personality test went great, as always. 

Once you've taken 6 tests in one class, the glamour really starts to wane. 

But I must say that I'm pretty glad the professor decided to give more tests on fewer chapters because the textbook was pretty dense.

Personality is a weird subject. 

I feel like I know more than I ever really wanted to about it, and yet I still don't know much more at all. 

Our professor would apologize from time to time because personality data isn't as concrete/tangible as other forms of psychology. 

There's a lot of "This is what we found, this is what we think, but we could be wrong." 

Like I said, a weird topic to wrap your head around in the traditional sense of learning. 

BUT IT'S OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I'm forcing myself to continue reading and studying for my FINALS on April 29 & May 1.

I'm scheduling FINAL lunch/coffee/drink dates: an old coworker on Wednesday and our engagement picture photographers on Thursday (yes, we really love them).

I have my FINAL life story group tonight. Ugh. Going to make me so sad. 

There is so much "FINAL" in our life right now. Guess it has to happen sometime. 

We cannot believe the weather right now. Still nice and cool at night, 70-80's during the day.

Thank you, sweet Lord. 

We're going to get out of here without being insanely ravaged by heat.

Even if it switched to high heat and humidity tomorrow, I would be like, "Where have you been? You were supposed to be here weeks ago!"

Anyway, time to go make my day happen. 

On with the week!

in with the new

Just as I'm starting my last week of classes, I'm already setting up for next year's.
I just finished registering for my first semester of grad school classes (see below).
It is the most simple-looking schedule I've ever had in my life.
The interesting part: ALL 3 hour classes.
I'm not completely fearful of this. I've taken once-a-week classes before, and I'm already used to prolonged studio art classes. You kind of NEED that amount of time when you're doing art, so I'm not completely surprised that classes follow this structure. When we visited the Jazz History program at Rutgers we went to a 3 hour John Coltrane class. It's not so bad.
Not exactly sure what the balance of academic lecture vs. hands-on art-making will be.
It IS kind of intense-looking, but I'll evaluate it further once we get started.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
9 am-12 pm	Theory & History of Art Ther.		Art Materials, Process & Application
1-4 pm			Career Development
6-9 pm				Theories of Counseling/Art Psychotherapy

I'm also really excited because I got into the weekend workshops that I wanted:
Child/Medical Art Therapy (Nov. 1-3) 
Veterans' Issues/PTSD (Oct. 4-6).

Unfortunately, the Veterans' Issues workshop is being held the same weekend as Bethel's Fall Festival.
Going to miss it AGAIN. :(
Maybe 2014 will be in my favor.
But I AM really happy to start my first semester off with these workshops because they're two topics that I'm most interested in.
So even though I THOUGHT about taking a different workshop, I decided that learning more about these subjects/making more informed decisions about MY FUTURE CAREER ought to trump verenike.
At least I have 2 weekend options for Schmeckfest.

Gahhhh! I'm so excited for school/Milwaukee/Wisconsin/Midwest culture/sausage/cheese/beer/Taylor (who lives in Madison, WI)/Chicago nearby/etc.!
I'm also elated that my last Personality exam is in 3.5 hours.
I don't know how I fall asleep at night.
The near future looks nuts.

Have a decent Monday!

sayonara, classes

It's almost time to burn (but likely recycle) my notes and resell my textbooks!
One week of classes to go.
I'm so ready for it. (!!!)
The beauty of FINALLY having a test-free week was that I actually had time to read for my classes instead of fretting about taking ANOTHER exam.
As a result, I'm ready to take a quiz in Family Relationships AND my Personality Psych final.
It will be SO nice to check that class off of the list and focus on the last three.
By the end of finals week I will have taken 17 multiple-choice exams, 2 five-question quizzes and 2 short writing assignments.
Coming from Bethel, where you having plenty of opportunities to work on your paper-writing skills, that just seems weird. But it was a hassle-free way to earn my missing Psych credits, and for that I am grateful. I'm pretty sure I learned something too.

We haven't started packing yet, but I might begin sorting and boxing a few things up at the end of the week. I don't like the idea of living in an empty shell filled with boxes, so I'm trying to hold off until finals are out of the way.
Our move-out date might be moving up depending on the weather and when Dad can plant, but regardless, we'll still be moving sometime between May 5-12.
IT DOES NOT FEEL LIKE WE'RE MOVING. THIS IS GONNA BE CRAZY.

I will leave you with some recipes that we've tried out recently, and they were AMAZING:
Shrimp & Grits
(I didn't add the cream, but we DID add a dollop of plain greek yogurt. YUM!)
Squash & Chickpea Moroccan Stew
(If it says you should add yogurt for garnish, YOU USE IT! Absolutely MADE the dish.)
Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili 
(Doesn't have to be vegan...I used pork bone/vegetable stock.)

cinderella shoes

I never pictured myself going so literally "Cinderella" for my wedding shoes, but here we are.

And seriously, I am NOT pretending to be a princess on my wedding day.

I just love these shoes.

because they sparkle

A LOT.

And although I don't necessarily like to admit it, I can kind of be attracted to sparkle.

It's hard to admit because sparkle can either be "pretty" or "gaudy", which can get my artsy self into trouble sometimes. 

But it can also be "fun", so that's what I'm going for. 

Plus, they're super comfortable (there's great cushioning on the bottom) and they're just well-made shoes (which cannot be said for all flats). 

People who buy flats know that sometimes you have to choose between "stylish-made-out-of-cardboard" and "dr.scholls-with-no-fashion-sense". 

When I was looking for shoes I meant to look for "classic", not "shiny", but these were the best combination I could manage within my price-range.

That sounds like I just "settled" on them. It's more like, I knew what my options were, and after weighing my search time, price, style etc. I just realized that these were the winners...at a 25% discount.

They just kinda waved their hands at me and said "We are your wedding shoes! Take us home!"

So I am pleased with my purchase.

By the way, I'm showing you these because Ben gets to see them anyway. I need to break them in if I actually want to wear them for a whole day in July. 

Kind of a weird side note, but while I was browsing Facebook today I saw that someone had posted a picture of a victim of the Boston marathon bombing...without several appendages. 

And several weeks ago someone had posted a picture of that college basketball player who broke his leg...showing the broken leg.

It just made me realize that there is a reason why I'm not a nurse. 

People really need to leave that stuff off of Facebook because it physically makes me feel ill. 

The problem is that I see the picture, but I'm still kind of fascinated so I don't look away or scroll down...and then all of a sudden I feel a little warm and woozy. So it's kind of my own fault.

I really hope that I could keep myself together in the time of a crisis, but based off of the evidence...keep me away from blood, guts and gore because I just may faint. 

Even mentioning it right now makes me queasy and lightheaded...

Ugh.

This is coming from the person who had to lay down on the science classroom table after all of the color drained from their face while attempting to do their own blood type test for Biology. 

Mr. Spangler had to finish it for me. 

Anyone else? 

Just me? 

Ok. 

I'm alright with that. 

Anyway...

I just got my oil change and a nice tune-up on my car at noon. It's all ready for the trip up north.

We "might" go to the beach tomorrow, depending on the weather and our motivation to get out of bed. 

ONE WEEK OF CLASSES LEFT.

There are many large 'sighs' coming from Ben and I. 

We know there's still quite a bit to do, but we're SO CLOSE to the end.

Happy weekend, y'all.

pb&j

I know that I have only spoken of the famous "Lip Smacker" burger and sweet potato fries from Monk's, so here is some proof. I've been reading for class whenever I can and grocery shopping and cooking seems like a huge inconvenience at the moment, so we hit up Monk's with Frank.

I went for my final haircut with Mary yesterday. Super wonderful and sad at the same time. I asked her for advice on wedding hair and she recommended pretty much the exact same hair style I had in mind, which confirmed my choice. She's the best and I will miss her.

3 months, 3 days until the wedding

1 month until I get to try my dress on again.

5 weeks, 3 days until my double-bachelorette party with Alyssa

3 weeks, 3 days until we pack up and move out

9 days until classes are over!

Plus precisely one million things going on in between all of that.

the final performance

I'm going to procrastinate just a little bit before I get back to my studying.

Ben took Dorothy and Emily to the airport this morning while I had to attend my classes.

I'm still a little wiped out from the weekend. 

Ben's recital went splendidly. He has put so much work into these last 2 semesters so it was nice to see the final product. He did a great job and I loved the tunes that he picked. 

This weekend we showed Dorothy and Emily some of our favorite places and restaurants in Tallahassee: Pho 7, Bruster's Ice Cream, DSW for shoe shopping, Lucy and Leo's Cupcakery, Kool Beanz for a celebratory dinner, Publix grocery store, Saturday morning farmers market, Bada Bean for breakfast, Joe Mama's brick oven pizza, etc. 

Due to much, much rain on Sunday, we didn't get to go to Wakulla Springs to see the manatees. :( So sad.

But as it so happened, I was held up in bed for most of Sunday morning and afternoon due to a horrible migraine/sinus headache. It was SO painful and made me feel SO sick. I was able to recover by late afternoon and join in on the indoor activities. We were so happy to have Dorothy and Emily visit before we make our trek home. 

Final Big Band outdoor performances.

2 weeks of classes left! 

And my Personality Final Exam is one week from today!

Meanwhile, I'm already thinking about registering for classes at Mount Mary next Monday. 

Dr. Moon sent me a list of classes to sign up for:

- Art Materials, Process and Application

- Theory and History of Art Therapy

- Theories of Counseling and Art Psychotherapy

- Career Development

And then we have to sign up for 1-2 credit hours of workshop electives. These workshops occur on specific weekends throughout the fall. They run Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday.

I'm trying to sign up for:

- Special Topics in Art Therapy/Veteran's Issues

and

- Special Topics in Art Therapy/Child Art Therapy/Medical

We'll see what's available because 2nd year grad students get first pick over 1st year grad students. 

I won't have ANY classes scheduled on Friday, which is lovely. 

Tomorrow I have my last haircut with Mary. I might be the only person who understands how truly tragic this is. 

Ben graduates on May 4. 

I'm already trying to decide what book I should read during the 4-hour graduation ceremony.

I am already enjoying our final weeks in Florida. 

recital link

Ben's recital poster, which he has received many compliments on.

To watch Ben's recital tomorrow (SATURDAY) at 4 pm EST (3 pm CST) follow this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ben-harder-s-masters-recital

Hopefully it works.
I would say call me if you have trouble with it, but I don't know if I'd be of any help.
I'll be checking with Paula to see if it's working, so hopefully that means it will work equally well for you.

I am very excited for Ben and I can't wait to hear the tunes.
And we're especially excited to have Dorothy and Emily here for the weekend!
We're picking them up from the airport in an hour.
I think they'll appreciate the sun and 75 degree weather.

Hope you can tune in, otherwise have a great weekend!

101 days

101 days until the wedding! I just checked the website and I saw the countdown. It's like, a tradition or something, to announce 100, but I'll probably forget tomorrow so y'all get 101.

Paula and I have been spouting text messages back and forth about the deficit of cute flat shoes that don't cost $5 million. We should design affordable cute flat shoes for tall people. Especially Paula because she's 5'11 and 3/4. So let me know if you guys have any good websites. I DID see some possible ones at Dillard's yesterday, but didn't have the commitment to purchase them. Need to go back to try them on.

I went home, made some coffee, took some allergy medicine and a little more ibuprofen. I now feel like a million bucks (which is how substance abuse starts, but I promise I'm not there yet. Just had a test on substance abuse. Still fresh in my mind.) I also sat in the sun on the deck in my swimsuit for 30 minutes (Just to break your ice and snow-covered hearts). The sun is brutal down here. Gotta break my skin in slowly. I'd rather be white than red.

I'm now struggling with my clothing options for school. Biking in unbearable heat and then sitting in unbearably cold classrooms. Might be driving more in the afternoons. Only 4 more class days to figure it out. (Still not counting my Friday classes bc they are a piece-o-cake.)

summer welcome

I'd say that summer weather is more or less here. Spring was nice while it lasted. 8:48 am and currently 61 degrees, but it feels worse because of the humidity. Going to be 86 today. Bleh.

I hear the Midwest, on the other hand, is getting another dose of winter. It's been awhile since that has happened, but it pleases me to no end because it reminds me of when I was younger. And because I don't have to deal with it...yet.

Instead, my allergies are flaring. Woke up with pain and pressure in my face, making me especially tired and unmotivated. Ibuprofen already taken. Will probably take some Allegra D when I bike home after my 10 o'clock. And then coffee for good measure.

I attended Ben's class yesterday just to see him teach because I NEVER have; even when he was student teaching. I've seen him lead big band, but lecturing is a little different. He did an awesome job. I would have enjoyed the class period as much as if I was actually taking it. That is my unbiased opinion. But I am biased, no doubt.

Excited to check this day off the list.

good morning

I can't describe how beautiful it is right now. It's 8:40 am and I am glad I left early because now I can sit outside for a bit and enjoy 59 degrees in a t-shirt. The air is cool, but the sun is HOT. Summer is definitely upon us. Supposed to be 82 today. I am going to miss this...but only sometimes.

Going to be a busy week, but I'm so excited. Dorothy and Emily will be here on Friday. Only 6 more busy days of class over the next 3 weeks. (I don't count my 2 hours of class on Fridays. Those days are easy.)

skewed

Made it to Friday. Yay!

Found out I got a 93.5% on my Personality exam, which I thought I did much worse on

and a 87% on my Ab Psych exam, which I thought I aced.

(And by aced I meant 1-2 wrong. I understand that an 87% is NOT a bad score.)

Cramming obviously skewed my perception a little.

Learned my lesson.

Going to start studying for Gen Psych today!

Yesterday I made black bean brownies (as seen above).

I didn't tell Ben the secret ingredient. 

They're different than normal brownies, but they definitely fulfill your sugar fix.

Today in Family Relationships my professor brought in a video of her son who was born in December. 

He is actually very adorable and the video was of him swinging at the park, but she told us that she wasn't going to put the sound on because she's babytalking to him and she "sounds like a retard". 

For the duration of this semester I have not liked this woman, for many reasons...

she often shows up to class late (and never apologizes),

she sticks to gendered stereotypes when explaining information,

she talks about her baby constantly,

but this just sealed the deal. 

How can a college professor who's a Marriage and Family Therapist with a Ph. D. think that it's ok to use that word in that way?  

Cursing is one thing that would definitely be considered a little unprofessional, but to use a derogatory term like "retard"...

I do a lot of deep breathing and self-talking in that class. 

Only 3 more weeks.

And on to happier things...

I got a phone call yesterday that my wedding dress came in! 

It's in Sioux Falls, so I called them today and scheduled an appointment for May 16 to come in and try it on.

The ladies that work there are the sweetest. 

The employee who set my appointment was so excited for me.

Nothing in particular going on this weekend, which is a great.

Time to get things done.

mid-cram

Oh the beautiful weather we're having. 

Not today though.

Looks like rain.

I am currently "mid-cram".

I successfully crammed and absolutely knocked out the Ab Psych test. 

That really boosted my confidence.

About to go on a three hour (but hopefully less) cram for my 3:30 pm Personality exam, which should be easier.

Don't hold off studying until the last minute, kids. 

It hurts your brain.

One more Gen Psych exam on Monday and I am home free until finals. 

What a joy. 

Ben's recital is precisely 10 days away. 

I'm very excited for him. I think he will do a great job and will really enjoy playing one last hurrah with his FSU buddies.

He's wants to stream the recital online, so once we have that information set up I will post it on here so that you can watch him. 

April 13 at 4:00pm.

Right now I'm debating my mode of transportation to get to school for the test. 

Rain is coming, but Spirit Way garage right by the Psych building is reserved for an athletic event. You can try to park there, but it's hard. 

Attempt to bike in what will eventually be rain or park on the other side of campus and trek? 

Ugh. Anyway.

Have an enjoyable Wednesday!

full steam ahead

I wish I felt the urgency to study right now.

My brain knows I should, but my will is resisting.

I have 2 exams tomorrow...and I am cramming. 

I hate, hate cramming. 

But I did NOT do a good job of avoiding it this time around.

Part of the problem is that I thought I had a Gen Psych exam on Wednesday.

But the Gen Psych exam actually isn't until Monday.

Ab Psych and Personality are on Wednesday.

Ugh.

So I spent the weekend on Gen Psych and not on Personality, and thus...cramming is born. 

So wish me luck. 

I actually just returned from a quick run to the post office, dry cleaners and grocery store, telling myself that it was ok to take a break.  

I would much rather be working on wedding stuff right now. 

Ben had his FINAL Big Band concert last night.

And they actually got to have it at the amphitheater with temps in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky, which was lovely.  

But of course I was trying to study during that too.

What a rush the end of the school year brings. 

Everyone is just doing the best they can with the last drops of motivation they can muster, all while flying by the seat of their pants.