Admitted to School

I found out yesterday that I was admitted to school here at BYU-Idaho. I am so relieved. I can finish so much quicker here. I will start in January, so I still have about 4 months left of work. I told my boss today. I was dreading that since I will have only been here a year by the time I go back to school. But, I need to do what I need to do. I should finish most of my classes by this time next year, then do an internship in the fall. I won't go to grad school until the following fall. Don't know what I will do during that time, but I'm sure I'll stay busy.

My mom is coming to town this weekend. I am excited to have some alone time with her. We don't get much mommy-daughter time. There's usually nieces around, which I don't mind. It's just nice to have undevided attention sometimes. Not sure what we'll do, other than help Mark and Shayla, but it'll be nice to have her.

I helped Mark and Shayla move some of their things last night to Rigby (15 minutes from Rexburg). Their house and yard are nice. In the basement there is a purple room and a blue room. The walls have definately got to be repainted. Nasty.

TIRED

Sheesh, I feel like a broken record. I'm so tired, I'm so tired! It gets redundant just saying it. But I am so tired! Yesterday at FHE I felt faint from fatigue. I had eaten dinner and everything. I think it might have to do with my allergies. They have gotten really bad the last few days. I feel congested and my eyes feel heavy. My neck is tight. Man, I sound sad, don't I?

School starts again in a few weeks. I am excited to be back on the normal schedule. The summer break has been pretty boring for me. Not many people to talk to. And that is a huge portion of my job. . . talking to others, helping them with anything they need. I love that part of the job. So, I'll be glad when everything gets back on track.

My mom, and possibly dad, are coming to visit me this weekend. I was thinking about going home, but my cousins are moving (she is 7 months pregnant) and I wanted to help. So the parents are going to come and hang out. I am excited to have some alone time with them. I tried talking a brother into coming, but he 'gets' to work on Saturday. Some holiday weekend.

That's about it of my "exciting" life.

Canoeing

I went canoeing on Saturday with my branch. It was a cooler day, but we were okay. I was in a canoe with 2 brothers who were insistent upon drenching anyone around us. Sort of reminded me of my own brothers. I had fun, except the time we tipped on accident in a shallow area. I got scraped up pretty bad. But scars help tell the story better, right? After our float down the river (which was beautiful), we had a BBQ in Driggs. Just as soon as we were done, the skies opened on us and poored (yes I mean poored) rain and hail. Interesting thing was the Rexburg didn't get any. Sheesh! At least the fields between Rexburg and the Tetons got wet. It was a fun day.

School

I've decided to go back to school full-time starting in January. That is, if anyone will accept me. It seems that my associate's degree is a hinderance to me because I have so many credits that don't go towards anything else. I have petitioned with BYU-Idaho to accept me, and I'm even applying to BYU. I would rather stay here in Rexburg, but I will go wherever I need to in order to finish my degree. If I am accepted here, I can finish in 3 semesters. If I end up at BYU, it will take longer becuase they have a few different requirements. I am excited to have finally made a decision, though. It feels right. I need to get on with my life. I have a good job, but I don't want to stay in this position until I retire. I want to continue on with my education up through getting a PhD. It will be a rough next couple of years, but I am ready!

Decisions

So, I'm trying to decide if I want to go back to school full time. If I do, I could finish my degree in about 3 semesters. Going back to school would mean working part-time, going into major debt, and having no spare time. But, I would finish my degree A LOT earlier than if I only took 6 credits a semester for the rest of my life. I would love to be able to teach about child development in a highschool or college setting. I wish the decisions could be made for me. I'm just afraid that by the time I am done with school, I'll be too old to do anything with the degree.

I went home over the weekend. Whitney (niece #4) is getting so much more alert. She still didn't want me to hold her for very long. She likes her mommy and daddy more than she does me. Sariah (niece #1) starts school next week. She is very excited to wear her new school clothes. Bekah (niece #2) is becoming taller and taller. She's going to be really tall! She is becoming more friendly to me all the time. She still likes her grandpa and uncles more than me, but at least she'll sit with me now.

Irony

I had somewhat of an ironic experience this morning. I check deseretnews.com every morning for news from the UT area. In all honesty, I have been expecting President Hinckley to pass away sometime soon, because of his age. It was a bit ironic that when I checked the web page this morning, President Faust was the one who has passed on first. Only 87 years old. I say 'only' because President Hinckley has a good decade on that. President Faust seemed so young at heart. Even though he's had back problems the last few years, I had no idea that his health would be declining so quickly because of his age. What a marvelous man he was! A great teacher and leader. The one talk that I can most quickly recal must have been from a Priesthood meeting where he talked about his wife, daughters, and grand-daughters making donuts for the men for when they came home from the meeting. I will miss his inspiring words during General Conference.

President Faust

President James E. Faust, 87, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a general authority for nearly 35 years, died early today.

A news release from the LDS Church said he died at his home of "causes incident to age," surrounded by his family. The time of death was reported as 12:20 a.m.

Bruce Olsen, managing director of Church Public Affairs, said this morning that President Faust's "gentle manner and depth of knowledge, which was an important part of his ministry for nearly 35 years, will be missed."

"He was a true Christian who spoke and wrote with wit and wisdom," Olsen said. "Many members of the church loved his unique way of teaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ at General Conference."

Allergies

Went to an allergy doctor this morning for testing. They poked me 85 times in my back with different things I could be allergic to. They then used needles to insert different allergins into my arms (only the ones I didn't react to on my back). I now have holes all over my body. I almost got sick while the nurse was using the needles on my arm. I had to lie down so I wouldn't faint or throw up. I am allergic to all forms of grass, one type of weed (not the smoking kind), one type of tree, cats, dogs, and nicotine. I was hoping for some kind of reaction to the food tests. No such luck. The doctor did prescribe some allegra (generic brand) and said that might help with the digestion of the food. I hope he's right. I was at the doctor's office for over 3 hours. Not fun. They didn't poke me the entire time. A lot of it was just waiting. Now the bills come. Joy in the morning.

New Blog

I thought I would start a personal blog so I can send it to friends, as well as family. No one probably will care much about it, but I can use it as a journal of sorts. I am planning on scanning some old pictures and posting them on here for fun. (I am very bored at work lately.)