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.)