Bruschetta!

It is really an easy thing to make.

These are the only things that you need for bruschetta. Fresh mozzarella, preferably fresh basil, tomatoes (I used roma), nice heavy Italian bread.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Chop the basil to small pieces and dice the tomatoes. (I don't have a picture of this, but slice the bread into about 1/2 inch slices. Also, slice the mozzarella as thick or as thin as you like it. Pre toast the bread.)

Put the mozzarella on the toasted bread and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the mozzarella is warm.

This is what it looks like when it is done.
Put a small sprinkle of basil on the bread and mozzarella.

Put tomatoes on top and if there is any basil left, sprinkle it on for looks. And there you have it!! Bruschetta. Serve with balsamic vinegar and EVOO (extra Virgin Olive Oil) to individual taste. If you know that all will like it, mix basil and tomatoes in a balsamic vinegar and EVOO mix before puting it on the bread.

Serve room temperature. I love it!!

Bored and Sick

I am just about ready for school to start up again. I am not good with having not much to do. I have slept a lot the last couple of days because I have gotten sick. I think that it was Quinten's fault. Endrit and I got sick just about the same time with similar illnesses. Poor Endrit because he has to work still while I just take some nyqill and pass out all day snoring away. I have still cooked at least 1 meal a day, but I have not been the good housewife while I have time to be the housewife. Because of this, I am bored. I need to go and get some things for church on Sunday, but I just don't want to get out. We get a new class. I am excited for the new adventure for this next year. I am almost 100% certain we will be in primary until 1 of 2 things happen, I have a child of my own, or we graduate and move out. We love it there. So because I am just not motivated it isn't good that I am not preparing my lesson.

I am excited for this Friday. It will be the first Temple wedding that Endrit and I will be at since our own wedding. I hope that both weather and illnesses go away so that we can have a good time. We haven't been back to Idaho Falls in a while. I guess it would be almost 2 years. Fun times.

New years is tonight and we get to go to Endrit's parent's house to celebrate with them. I get to make bruchetta for them and I am so excited!! I went to whole foods to get some fresh basil because Smith's didn't carry the small packages. I am going to try it a little bit different this time than last time. I will have to take pictures of them and a recipe when I am finished with them. It couldn't be simpler. Fun times...

Friend Visit.

Quinten White has been living in Germany for the last few years and we have been pretty good friends since high school. It was really nice to sit and just visit with him for a few hours before he had to head back to Germany.

I have always been the short person in any group of friends. This picture reminds me of that. So, Quinten, if you read this, thanks for stopping by!

2008

Last night it really hit me that 2008 is almost over. I started thinking about how this year has shaped up. For the most part it has been at least a productive year even if it wasn't an enjoyable year. At the first of the year I was under the impression that I would graduate in 2011. About the same time that Endrit should be starting graduation countdown. Spring 2008 semester was probably the most enjoyable part of the year. I took my first summer classes and I was able to pass physics in 1 summer. It wasn't fun at all but it made me very happy to get them done in a concentrated pain. Fall was the hard part of the year. I wanted to just quit school and take a break. The one good thing that came from Fall semester is that I found out that my graduation date moved up a year to May 2010. With that I had a little more stress to get my letters of recommendation, taking the pre-professional exam, fingerprinting and all the other little things that came with applying for the program. After finals I found out that I was fully admitted.

School has been rough. I know that it seems like the only thing that I talk about, but that is my life right now. Endrit and I have had a good year. We still love each other and are starting to get excited for life after school. He has had his trials this year with his research but the year seems to be ending on a good note.

I am really hopeful for 2009. I will be in the middle of my student teaching by this time next year!! I can say that 3 of my last 4 semesters will be in the next year. The light is getting bigger at the end of the tunnel. I am excited to graduate and 2009 will be a major step in that process with starting my licensing program. There are other little things that make me excited about 2009, but they are just small.

I hope that 2009 brings joy and peace to everyone.

Grades...

Well, grades have been interesting this semester as they are quite often while they are drizzling in. This semester it has been one of joy and total frustration. The genetics class I wrote about here is the one that is frustrating me. I have a D-. I would have believed a C, but not a D-. I recalculated the grades I have and there is no way. None whatsoever that I failed that class. I am going to appeal this. I already have an email sent and I will bug the teacher until I get the grade I really made which is a C at the least. I am thinking more of a B-. It was a hard semester. I am just really frustrated with that.

With all of my other grades, I am getting 2 As 2A-s and 1 B+. Not too shabby. The GPA with the D- is enough to keep my scholarships so I am very happy about that.

I am sure that I will straighten up the grade situation for my Genetics class...I guess more to come later.

Funny Kitty

Endrit and I got some wet cat food for Dexter for Christmas. We always did this with my cats growing up so don't think I am weird. We opened one last night to give to him and he is such a stingy kitty! He has yet to finish it. He knows how to savor food. We are going to have to take the can to Endrit's parent's apartment for him to finish it off. I just think I have the coolest kitty. What animal savors it's food?

Accepted...finally!!!

On Friday of last week I got a letter in the mail that said I was provisionally accepted into the teaching cohort of Fall 2009. The provision I had to give by January 30, 2009 was a professional letter of recommendation from an employer. Anyone who knows me knows I haven't had a job in over a year. I had gotten advised from the secondary teaching adviser to just get 2 of my major area teachers to write letters and not to worry about the employer letter. Needless to say I was a little bit angry when I wasn't accepted because I yet again had bad advising. It has been a horrible battle since getting into University; ISU and the U.

I emailed her with my dilemma and I just got an email back from her. She stepped in with the acceptance committee and plead my case. I am now fully accepted into the program without that provision. The only pending thing is my completion of the pre-cohort classes. That is why I will be extra busy next semester and summer semester. (Can you tell I want to graduate as soon as possible?)

This news has made me really happy. I am glad that I have gotten the news before Christmas. It makes less of a stress during my break from school. Endrit was really happy to hear that as well. He is really excited for me to be a University graduate. It is getting so close and we are both getting really excited about it. I now know that I WILL be student teaching Fall 2009 - Spring 2010.

Oh Happy Night!!

It is the start of winter. The best part about this is that last night was the solstice!! Night will only get longer from here on out...well at least until the next solstice. That really made me happy last night! I am not too happy when night is so LONG!!!

fun with optics

Floating water...yeah so the picture doesn't do it justice. It really is cool. We will bring it at Christmas time for all the nieces and nephews to see. Endrit and I = Nerds and we love it.

Genetics...

Today was my genetics final. I have been stressing about it for awhile. I did some math wrong about a week ago and I thought that I was going to have to get a pretty good grade on the final in order to pass my class. I did all of the math again today and I had a HUGE relief. I only have to get a 34.25% to get a passing grade in the class. Because that is such a low grade, I am sure that I will get way above passing. I am very happy about this. I did not want to retake the class this summer. It would have been horrible. It is nice to know that I am still good at school. I have only dropped 2 classes and never failed any classes. Ends of semesters give me great joy in the accomplishments that I have. It is interesting that I now have over 100 university credits. There is a lot of information in my little mind now. School is fun. It will be really weird when I am done.

In a couple of years...

I have wondered for a while if it is good to give a gift to a woman to congratulate her for becoming a mother. I have found one thing that every pregnant woman deserves. It is really inexpensive compared to other jewelery found in the store. It is Tiffany & Co. It is called the bean necklace. How sweet would it be to have a bean in the belly and a bean necklace to commemorate it? I just think that it would be so sweet. It ranges with the sizes, but the least expensive is $150. It is beautiful! You don't have to have the engraving showing the opposite side is just clear. It gets more expensive as well. They even had some in Lapis, that is REALLY expensive...Thanks Isaac!...I write this because a woman I know who is pregnant with her first just got this from her husband. It is so sweet! So about graduation time, remind Endrit to look into it. He should remember it even if babies are still a way off at that point. I wanted to share it because it couldn't be more beautiful.

Finals

Bring on the unconsciousness, bring it on!! I am going to be done with finals on Tuesday!!

Consolation prize

Today we had the science fair in class. No one really understood the significance of mine so I didn't get anything, but I did get a consolation prize and it was better than any trophy. I have determined that my knowledge is wasted on the Elementary education students because they just won't understand the complexity of the things that are in my brain. Talk about deer in the headlights.

The shirt is my FAVORITE!!! It is hilarious!! I love it and so does Endrit. We are horrible geeks and I love it. I love it even more because the saying is so true. The geeks shall inherit the earth; like Endrit and I...beware world.


I also got a gram/ounce digital kitchen scale. It had some good prizes. There were books and posters and other things like that. I wouldn't have minded a book, but I got the most prized prize.


I got people mad at me because I got it and I was a secondary major...whatever! I had fun. I thought I would show you all my loot. :)

Finished!

Endrit went and got me one more string of lights. I think that it looks much better now.

My Tree

I finally got some decorations for my tree. I thought that it turned out pretty well. We only have 1 more little gift to buy and Christmas is bought. It has been a really fun year. The lights on this tree are white and red. I need to go and get one more string of lights for the top. It looks a little weird, but that is life. I didn't know that it would take 5 sets of lights for a tiny tree. My mom taught me to light a tree correctly and I just can't seem to not do that. Fun times. I just thought I would share my tree.

Be Green For Christmas!

I should have researched this earlier on in the year to give this little piece of advice. I had not even started to think of a way that people could get Christmas trees. I have to say that this isn't the cheepest way to have a real tree, but it has a really good spirit with it.

When I say "Real Tree" Most people think, have fun, go into the woods, cut down a good young tree to enjoy through the season. Here is an alternative that I just find so awesome

Burlap bag Christmas tree. If you don't know, when you go and buy larger trees for planting, the roots are wrapped in a burlap ball. If you have a large heavy duty metal bucket, you can place that burlap ball into the bucket and keep it watered. With this, yes it is winter and the ground is cold and whatnot, you can still plant your tree out in your yard after the season is over. You can decorate it and jazz it all up. If anything, you have a new tree in your yard to enjoy for years to come.

When Endrit and I have a house I would like to at least try this and see how it works. Since I am the environmental science person in the family, I thought that I would share.

Church bulletins...funny

I thought that these were funny. I hope that any readers will enjoy them as well.


The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan:
Last Sunday: ''I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours'

A Scientific Thanksgiving

I have to do a science project for my secondary science methods class so I had to recruit all of my family to be my little guinea pigs. All they had to do is 3 things...

Dip your hand in water...

Measure the circumference of your hand...

Measure the length of your hand...

Here is the data.

Length had a linear R^2 value of 0.852. Not very good (that is what I wanted so I guess it is bad but good).

Circumference hand an R^2 value of 0.917. Getting better but still not a great value (I wanted this as well).

Multiplying the 2 values together had an R^2 value of 0.935. It is the best. This is what I wanted.



What I did was investigation of volume. Why does it have to be 3-D? Now I need to go and print everything out and put it all purtified onto my 3-fold board. Funny thing is that people in my class thought that I did a "hard" project. He he!!

My birthday presents from Afghanistan

My big brother Isaac is in Afghanistan right now flying blackhawks in the military. For my birthday he really put some thought into what he wanted to give me. I am an Earth Sciences major in University so I love the earth and rocks and minerals. He got me some of the precious rocks from Afghanistan. They are beautiful. Thanks Isaac!!

Finally!

Last night was my last Physics assignment (lab) of University!! It hasn't been as long as it could have been since it was a summer and fall semesters. I guess that it usually only takes 2 semesters, but I am glad that it is over!! I am pretty sure that I will get good grades in most of my classes. Fun for me. I am at the point where I can't wait to finish up this semester, but I am grateful for Thanksgiving break starting tomorrow for me.

12 and 0 Utes Perfect Season!!

Our seats...or lack of seats. We had standing room only tickets. It isn't a big enough stadium to care about sitting at the top.
Half time show flag.
Me at half time...I was freezing!!

Although we blew them out of the water, it was still a really good game! Utah 48 BYU 24

Good game BYU.

Science Fair Project

I need help over the Thanksgiving holiday while I am with the family. I have a little bit of homework for people to do in preparation...

Measure the length of your hand from the tip of the middle finger to the crease your wrist makes. I also need the length of your foot from the tip of the big toe to the end of the heel. (I want this from everyone including the little kids. During thanksgiving I will have you dip your hand in a full container of water so that I can measure the volume of your hand and compare it to your foot and hand measurements. I need to compile data before December 10 when it is due for my class. I want to have as many datapoints as possible so that I don't look like the crazy person that I am trying to get the volumes of hands.

I just wanted to let you all know that I want you to be my guinea pigs.

Fun with Density

It seems like I had a lot to take pictures of today. I have to do a mini lesson tomorrow and I decided (with my classmate) to do the rainbow in a straw with different concentrations of salt in the water. I decided to see how this would work out and I LOVED the result. It worked perfectly. I took a picture to email to my classmate and decided to post it here because it was just too cool.

Locks of Love

Yeah...so I felt adventurous today and had Endrit give me a little 11 inch trim :) A little girl will be so happy to get a red wig from Rachel hair!! I love cutting off my hair for locks of love!

23

I wanted cake. It is my birthday week and I am going out of Friday so I decided that it was okay to at least have the cake a little bit early.

I honestly love my birthday now. On the actual day of my birthday it is Endrit and I's 6 month anniversary. This year it is 3 1/2 years of marriage. I really like having it like that. I promise when we set the date, that wasn't the reason.

I still am not feeling too much older. Being healthy is a good reason why I feel younger than I did when I turned 21. I am not sure if I can say that when I turn 25. I know that was a big one for Endrit. I still have a couple of years before I can feel a little bit older.

Fun times.

Fighting off sickness

I have felt like I have a cold coming on for the last couple of days. I really don't want to get sick this week because it is the whole my birthday weekend/Josh's wedding that I may or may not see him/BYU v U game. There are just too many things that I would like to do and being sick is not on the list.

I only have 1 physics 2 lab left and I am officially done with Physics!!! I couldn't be more excited than I am at this very moment. Well, perhaps I will be happier when I am done with my last lab come this time next week. We get to think about absolute zero and thermal expansion. It won't be too bad. The semester is winding down and I am getting thoroughly excited about it.

There are also gifts for Christmas enough in my house wrapped that I ended up putting up our tree early. Endrit got a couple of my gifts and wrapped them and I have 1 of his wrapped and then we have gifts for my mom and dad and his parents and Rick and Janet under the tree as well. We are still missing the family gift and 1 gift for me and 2 gifts for Endrit and we are done. Sheesh that seems like a lot, but they were great deals so it didn't strain our pocketbook. I don't think that the family gift will be wrapped and put under the tree because we will just have to use it when it gets here. We got a surround sound for our TV. I am sure it will be set up and left there in use. We are starting to have a very technologically updated apartment. That is Endrit for you. We don't spend much money on excess things so that when there is something that we want, we are able to get it. I enjoy the deals that he is able to find. We love Ebay and have never been ripped off.

I am just getting excited for the holidays and having a couple of weeks off of school. I have a friend getting married in January that I have been invited to the sealing and I am sure that it will be a great experience for Endrit and I as it will be our first live sealing we have been to other than our own. Life is good and we are happy.

Tact

It is interesting that some people in this world have absolutely no tact. You try to be nice and everything that they say comes out mean and tactless. Today was the primary program so I put on a cute outfit and had to babysit the primary during sacrament meeting. It is not an easy task when half of your class has special needs with behavioral problems. It was fun for sure.

I saw a lady from the old-folks-home that we used to do sacrament meeting at and I decided to say hello. I knew that she was a crotchety old lady so I knew that the conversation wouldn't be too good, but I am a nice person.

I asked her how she was doing and she burdened me with her bouts of sickness and all these things that were too much information and I just told her that I hoped that She would get better. The next part of the conversation I never expected to happen. Her first question for me was "Are you pregnant?" I have to say that I chose my clothing well and had no more of a pooch than I usually have. I told her no and I didn't care about that question, but the next one holy cow!! She said "Oh so you have just been gaining weight?" !!! Wow...I can hardly believe it. The first one showed little tact but the second one...NO tact. First of all I have been loosing weight for the last 6 months. I think that I am starting to look pretty good, but heck if I look pregnant I will just have to kick up the effort. I was even wearing black which is the most forgiving color. Why do people say things like that? I am just so shocked that she felt it good to say something like that. Anyway...

The primary program was awesome. All the kids were good and only a few didn't know their lines. It was different than I am used to because they didn't do it by class and several people were in more than one group which made it that much worse so I am just not sure. We were right on time limit...well maybe a minute or two over time but it was successful so I am happy. I think that I have to do sharing time next week and I am not too excited about that, but it is fine.

I officially love the U of U

Once I got in-state status, I found out that I am eligible for grants that I never knew existed. It is nice that I am getting rewarded monetarily for getting good grades (and being poor :P). I am overwhelmed by the amount scholarships and grants I have gotten this school year. I am so grateful because as hard as this semester has been, if I didn't have the funding, it would have been so much harder to stay in school for both of my degrees rather than just one of them. I am not joking at all with this either. If I didn't know that I had the money to go to school over the summer I can't say that I would. Summer semesters don't qualify me with grants so that semester is all out of pocket. Being an adult is harder than most people know until they get into the situations that they are in. Luckily, Endrit and I have learned to deal with school. I swear if we weren't getting older, we would stay in school forever, but alas, we have to grow up and have the next level of adult life with jobs and kids...but not just yet :)

Everything I Needed to Know About Dating I Learned From a Disney Movie

Snow White
In life there is likely to be an abundance of dwarfs and a shortage of tall princes.

Beauty and the Beast
Beauty is more than skin deep; allow time to get deep.

Cinderella
It’s good to be fashionably late and to leave the prince wanting more.

Sleeping Beauty
The situation will likely be better when you give yourself time to sleep it off.

Peter Pan
Wendy may have fun with Peter Pan, but eventually she will decide it is time to grow up. If only Peter would grow up too.

Little Mermaid
Men never know what you are trying to say until you speak up.

5 weeks left

There is only 5 weeks left in this semester. I couldn't be more excited to be able to move on to the next semester. I have field methods that takes me out into the beautiful geology of Utah every Friday. I couldn't be more excited to have the last hard science class out of the way. I hope that it will be an enjoyable class.

As of right now...I have 1 year 5 months and 28 days left until I graduate...can you tell that I can't wait for that to happen? I am very glad that it is under the 2 year mark. The one year mark will be awesome though. I am just too excited for that day to come. It is 9 months 7 days until I start my student teaching. (Don't think I knew these off the top of my head, I had to go and look at them. I am not that crazy!)

Better Late Than Never

I can't believe how long it takes the financial aid department here to qualify people for certain grants. Here I am coming upon the last few weeks of school and I get an email saying that my financial aid status has changed. There is nothing wrong with that, I had been expecting a grant for quite some time. The year before I got it before the start of November so I counted myself out of the running this year. I go and look at my financial aid and finally one of my biggest grants finally came through. I am on my last year with the SMART grant. It is the best grant that I have ever been able to qualify for. And it only is on the basis of need and major so there is little to no discrimination. I am quite happy that I have that check coming to me in the mail. It will make our savings account more than presentable :)

School

I know that I have posted a lot of woe is me things regarding school, but this semester takes the cake. It is almost unbearable! There are a few days that I have enjoyed the classes and whatnot, but I am so done with this semester I could puke. My teachers like to show that they are superior to the students (duh! that is why you are teaching us!) and they have tons of busy work and show no expectation of quality before you have to hand in an assignment. I have bad teachers across the board. In every class the teacher is less than sub par. I know that it is so close to being done with, but motivation is being completely tossed out of the window as of right now. None, zero, zip, nada. That is all I have to say about this semester.

Football...

I usually have not gotten into football because I was never part of a sporting team that actually won consistently. I was sick and I missed the game tonight but oh how I wish I could have been there. It was awesome!!! 13:10 for Utah. We are still unbeaten. We won against the team that BYU lost to. Nothing against BYU, but it is nice that we can say that before the rivalry game. Endrit is going to be so hoarse when he gets home. He called me Yelling because he knew that my news coverage of the game was at least 1 play behind live. Our defence was awesome. We won it in the last 2 minutes. Not the best offense, but TCU is said to have one of the best defence in the BCS. I honestly thought that we would loose this game. Welcome Utah to a bowl game! I am excited for our team!

Chapter 10 - Wedding

Endrit's parents were taken to Rick and Janet's house the night before the wedding so Endrit and I didn't have to take them to the temple too early. It was nice that we had people coming up from Salt lake and Weston which is a few hour drive so the wedding was at 11:30. Endrit and I were able to get up and visit with each other about our wedding and how it was amazing that we would be sealed for all eternity by noon. We were more in love than we could ever have been but we were starting to get bored. We packed up my dress and his suit and our temple clothing and headed out the door about 8:30 to just go and walk around the temple grounds. We were supposed to be there at 10:30 so we only got there about an hour early.

My wonderful aunt Gloria got there a little bit after us so we had a great time hanging out with her before we had to go inside. My parents called me before the wedding luckily because they were traveling and didn't know if they were going to find an internet cafe that had international calling. I was glad that they did. It was nice to talk to them. I told them when we should be out of the temple after the wedding for them to give me another call. It was definitely an emotional day for everyone involved. My Mom showed a picture of me in my dress to a lady in Ukraine and told her I was getting married that day. It touched that lady enough to at least start investigating the church.

The wedding itself was awesome. We had a wonderful sealer. Alex was my witness and Rick was Endrit's. We had wonderful people there that we wanted to be there to witness out marriage. The sealer took us aside outside the room before the people filed out to congratulate us and told us that was the best wedding he had ever performed. That we had wonderful work to do and that many ancestors were there to witness it as well.

We went outside to take pictures and my parents called again. I talked to both of them for a little while and handed off the phone to the aunts and uncles that came to the wedding for them to be able to talk to them on how it was. I have a cherished picture that shows me on the phone with my parents that I have written an essay about because not many people cherish such a wedding picture.

We went to the luncheon right after the wedding and spent more time with the family and friends that were able to come. It was nice to get some food in us. It was such an emotional day that Endrit and I were exhausted so early in the day. We started to help clean up the gym and were told to just go and relax. It was nice to be able to see all the people there and we said goodbye.

On our way to our 1 night honeymoon, I told Endrit that I didn't feel any different. We had been engaged so long that I didn't feel married. I knew that I was married but I didn't feel different and married was supposed to feel different right? He told me that he had the same feelings. It is one of those things that you sign a paper, you have someone say you are married and it is done. It was definately a weird inbetween that we both felt. All we knew was that we were happy that we were together.

Chapter 9 - Reception

We had been planning our reception for a long time. We were only having one and it was going to be in Weston. It was going to be the day before the wedding because I just wanted it out of the way so that people wouldn't look at us weird like I have seen with every other reception that we had gone to. I just don't like the dumb questions that newlyweds have to endure all night.

Endrit and I...or possibly just I wanted to have pictures of us in the dress and suit to put on the tables for the reception. I agreed to meet with Brydie, my sister-in-law the morning before the reception so Endrit and I had enough time to take the pictures, head a half an hour to Logan, do 1 hour printing and come back and have time to get ready and set up the reception. Luckily I had the Stewarts that were my savior through all of the wedding process. They were my alternate family and I truly love them and all that they did for me. I found out that Brydie was with them getting sheet cake and I have to say I truly turned into what bridezilla is supposed to look like. I just wanted to go to the church and take pictures. I wanted more time! Brydie was so patient and kind and we took pictures in street clothes, wedding attire and Endrit and I were gone to logan with about 3 hours to spare before the reception. Thank goodness for the wonderful people that set up the reception more beautifully than I could imagine. I walked in, put the pictures in the frames, got into my dress and had a few minutes before I stood in my "line" with just Endrit and I.

We had many friends and family show up from around the area. From Pocatello to Salt Lake people came to our reception. I even had my brother and sister-in-law fly in from Kentucky. I was lucky to have them there. There were a couple of things that bugged me but they were minor and I have subsequently gotten over them but I was just touchy at the time. I didn't get away from sly remarks about the wedding taking place after the reception so we wouldn't get "confused" but it was a great night. At the end of the day I sold the table cloths that I made to the decorator for her use and I packed up the dress and cleaned up then Endrit and I went home where he slept in the front room, I got the bed and we had a great night's sleep.

Chapter 8 - 2 Weeks Before the Wedding

The last 2 weeks before the wedding were somewhat traumatic for me. Great but traumatic. At that point both Endrit and I were prepared and willing to enter into marriage knowing that we would work out anything that would arise. Wedding prep had taught us that. Endrit went through the temple that weekend 2 weeks before the wedding because he would be unavailable the next weekend and everyone knew that we would be good for the last 2 weeks. It was an amazing experiance to be the one that was previously endowed. Usually, LDS men are missionaries and come home and get married to women who have yet to go through the temple. Endrit and I were just the opposite. They still had me come to the brides council before the new girls went through the temple for the first time. The girls sat on the front row and the Mothers sat right behind them. The girls asked where my Mom was and I told them in Ukraine. I told them my story and circumstances and had everyone in the room in tears. No matter what happened during the wedding planning, at that moment, every single girl there was truly greatful that their parents were able to be there. It was an amazing moment for me and the other girls in the room. It is becuase of these experiences that I do not hold anything against my parents for knowing that the Lord wanted them to be in Ukraine while I was getting married.

The temple was an amazing experience to see the man I love take upon him the promises of the temple and truly be worthy and able to make those covenents. I know how the men feel as their bride gets ready for eternal marriage. I am so happy to have had this opportunity.

The traumatic part of the story is that I was meeting Endrit's parents for the first time 1 week before the wedding. We were picking them up at the airport and that is why Endrit had to go through the temple the week previous. I was so nervous because not only did I have to meet his parents, we were taking a week long road trip from Salt Lake to San Diego to visit one of my Mother-in-law's cousins and then back to Pocatello through the Grand Canyon with only 1 day to spare before the wedding. I was getting back the night before the reception...cutting it a bit close.

The San Diego visit was weird. I saw my Father-in-law have a cigarette and a beer right in front of me when he was supposed to be following the word of wisdom. I couldn't eat and I felt so bad for Endrit because he now knew why his parents were not endowed and therefore not able to come to the wedding. It hurt me so much to see this happen because they would be the grandparents to my children and I want good examples for them. They saw me cranky because I was tired and we couldn't find a hotel. His parents made fun of him because we stayed in the same room as his parents because of obvious reasons even when they offered to pay for a separate room. They didn't understand that we were good kids going against the customs of Albania. We almost crashed and we had a great time at Grand Canyon. We stopped at Hoover Dam. Basically the stops that my parents had taken me on while moving from Arizona to Utah to Idaho back to Arizona and back to Idaho. It was a fun trip and we were worn out when we got back into Pocatello right on time Thursday night. It was tiring, I gained weight because of traveliing food so high in sodium, but it was a really nice way to figure out about this family I was marrying into. It saddened me but I thought I could help them gain the testimony they needed.

Chapter 7 - Cleave unto Each Other

After I went through the temple my parents left on their mission. I could still talk to them and I did on a regular basis to keep them up to date on the wedding and such. It was kind of hard to do wedding things because basically it was done except for sewing table cloths and putting the rest of the announcements together. The dress fit like a glove, we registered for Endrit's tux that he didn't even wear, it was just all planned. We were able to focus on school and mentally prepare for what eternity meant. There were definite ups and downs when it came to who was invited to the wedding. I can remember the heated emotions where I thought that someone who didn't even matter was inviting everyone and their dog to my wedding. Both of our parents were not going to be there so we would have whomever we wanted in the room...Right? I wanted Endrit to Invite who he wanted and I would invite who I wanted. It would work out. It didn't happen that way with the invitations, but somehow it happened that way when it came time for the wedding. There were still empty seats and my anxiety stayed under control.

We had to depend on each other for everything. Something had to be planned, we had to do it. Emotions that needed to be dealt with, we had to work through them. Getting Endrit's temple date, we had to work together. Finding an apartment and moving in, we had to do it together with the exception of the couch and bed that Alex brought up. It was nice to just have him there for me because I learned what marriage would slightly entail. We worked and shopped together and we dated and had a good time getting to know the other person better. We were still ambivalent for marriage because of his culture shock and my being so young! A realization came about at the temple for me before we were married that I will tell later on why it was really good for me to have a long engagement.

It was one of the trying times that Endrit and I had because of "bridezilla" which I think I was a tame lizard like zilla but others might beg to differ. I only remember 2 subject areas that I had outbursts in. It wasn't the whole wedding, just the guest list and the before reception photos. I handled the latter better. But through this all, Endrit and I became more inseparable and excited to be married for all eternity.

Chapter 6 - Farewell

My parent's mission date moved to February 23, 2005. If my parents couldn't come to the actual wedding, I was going to try my hardest for them to see me go through the temple for the first time. I talked to my Bishop of the singles ward and he told me that he would, but he didn't feel that he knew enough about me to make that decision. He sent me to my Home ward bishop (My parent's bishop who knew me for a long time) for him to make that decision. If you don't know, they don't like to have bride or groom to go through the temple until it is a week before the wedding because of separation issues or the possibility of breaking the law of chastity in the wait until the wedding. I knew that it was a long shot but I had to at least ask. Endrit accompanied me to the church where I had my interview. The bishop talked to us together to see how we were as a couple. He talked to me for a little while and proceeded to ask me the temple recommend interview questions. In the end he signed it and set my date to go through the temple for February 19, 2005. The weekend before my parents left for their mission. I went to talk with my stake president who also had to sign my recommend. I learned that the Bishop had called the stake president to ask for council for my situation. He wanted to make it where my parents could be there for at least one big step. The stake president wisely stated that if the bishop were to sign a rocommend, he would sign it as well. So, sitting in my Stake President's den, I got my first temple recommend and I was able to go through the temple with my parents at my side the weekend before they went on their mission. a Full 3 months before my wedding date.

It was a wonderful experience of trust on Endrit and I's part to indeed get married in the temple and be worthy of doing so. It was bittersweet because I knew that it would be a long time before I would see my parents and it killed them and me to have them miss my wedding.

Chapter 5 - The In-laws

The 4 week program that I am talking about came like this. (It ended up being a 5 week program to announce the wedding date)
Week one: "Hey Mom and Dad, I am dating this girl"
Week two: "I am really interested in this girl"
Week three: "I think we might get married"
Week four: "We are engaged" (no mention of the wedding date)
Week five: "We are getting married May 21, 2005"

His parents were excited until the week 5 announcement. It is definitely not custom to have such a "short" engagement. They wanted more time to be able to come to the United States and possibly move here. I was taking their son away from them and making him abandon his culture. I don't think that they understood what has to go into an LDS temple wedding and why LDS engagements are usually shorter than 6 months. He was so defeated by the end of that conversation. We knew that we were not going to change the date of the wedding. It was kind of sad because I had the dress, the ring was being made, and we were going to be taking our announcement pictures 2 days after the conversation. He was kind of mopey and I don't blame him one bit. I was a bit mopey as well because my parent's mission call kept on getting moved forward and I was gaining more knowledge that I wouldn't have my parents at my wedding.
Just before we took our wedding pictures, his parents called him. It is no easy feat to be able to call to or from Albania. It is expensive and sometimes it doesn't go through. They called to tell him sorry about not being supportive. They were really excited that he had chosen his life partner and they trusted him in who he chose. It made both of us smile and I am sure that is why our pictures turned out as good as they did.

I have to say that I knew the reasons why they were upset. They had not seen their son for several years and I was taking him completely away because with marriage to an American there was little to no chance of him moving back. They would go by faith alone in how good the match was because they would only meet me 1 week before the wedding.

I couldn't just leave this with my real in-laws. I also have what I call my host-in-laws. They are Endrit's host family from when he was a foreign exchange student. I have to admit that they drove me crazy! Think of what in-laws are portrayed to be and double it because of my mind thinking "but they aren't your REAL parents" I almost threw the ring back at Endrit and gave up. Instead I walked out of the situation, drove my car for a while around Pocatello and cooled off. I wanted to marry Endrit and if it was needing to go through Rick and Janet's family, it would have to be worth it.

Chapter 4 - Mission Call and Dad's Birthday

I was in the middle of my first University finals week and I was definitely not having the best time in my life. It was my Dad's 50th birthday when my parents got their mission call. I was almost in a panic when I heard where they were going. At the young age of 19, my parents were going half way around the world to Ukraine for 1.5 years. If their call was in the United States it would have been a little less traumatic for me.

I was young and without Endrit displaying any interest in proposing and making sure that I knew he would be around to take care of me and my parents literally being over a day's travel away I was starting to feel abandoned. I knew that I could take care of myself as I had been doing for months, but until that point I always had someone to talk to and be there if I needed to have someone take care of me. Even though I had only been dating Endrit for 4 months I wanted to at least be engaged before my parents left to have that stability.

We went to my parent's house after finals were over to celebrate my Dad's birthday. It was a fun time. I cornered my mom to ask what I should do about Endrit's culture to wait forever to get engaged. At that point I didn't want to pressure Endrit to get engaged because of the fear that he would break it off rather than go onto the next step.

My parents were as worried as I was about someone being there to be able to take care of me. At that point I was having major sinus troubles where sometimes I would pass out and stay asleep for hours upon hours. They wanted to make sure I was taken care of while they were half way around the world. My Dad didn't really know what to do. My mom and I just told him to take Endrit aside and ask what his intentions were.

Right before Endrit and I were going back to Pocatello my Dad finally pulled Endrit aside and took him into the office for a private conversation. They were not in there for too long but my mom and I were still on pins and needles. Well, maybe she wasn't but I definately was. Was I about to be engaged? I wanted to be so badly. The door opened and Endrit walked out with a happy look on his face and my Dad gave me a thumbs up. We walked out the door and my Mom told me to give her a call when I got home with kind of a wink wink hint hint kind of tone.

Even though my Dad gave me the thumbs up, I was nervous as I got into the car. Happy Birthday Dad! Your youngest is getting engaged.

Chapter 5 - I'm Engaged!

It wasn't long after getting into the car that I decided that we needed to talk about what my Dad asked. We were barely pulling out of my parents driveway when I asked. He told me that I already knew what my Dad had talked to him about. I was getting frustrated at Endrit by this time because I just wanted to know if I was engaged or not. It was definitely a different conversation because up until that point we had only ever hinted that marriage may be in our future.

I am going to back track for a funny story that I just remembered that fits into why I say marriage was only hinted at. Endrit was in a Soccer league in Pocatello that had some long drives to Idaho falls at least 2 times a month. We always drove together so that I could go and watch his games. We were running out of things to talk about so I started talking to him about what my dream wedding would look like. He would talk the same. It had happened on several occasions that we would agree on color choices and minor wedding details but we would always say "When I get married". One day I was just wanting him to propose and I slipped and said "When we get married". Endrit told me later that was the first time that it ever went through his mind that he would marry me and that I was ready for marriage. This was in the early parts of December 2004. Probably just a few days before we went to my parent's house.

Endrit told me that my Dad had told him that I was ready to be engaged. He asked if this was true and I told him yes. I asked him if he was ready to be engaged and he said that he hadn't had much time to think about it, but yes he was. We agreed at that point we would not be telling anyone but my parents fr the time being because his parents didn't know that he was even dating me. I agreed to waiting to announce to everyone including siblings. At that point I had a brother in Afghanistan, and no ring whatsoever so it was a whatever for me. Plus we didn't know when we were going to get married. We were planning for May but that is all that we knew at the time.

I told my Mom that I didn't want people to know and she agreed that she wouldn't tell any of the siblings. She asked when the wedding would take place and I told her May. It was kind of a sticky situation for Endrit and I because my parents had a mission call and his parents didn't know that I existed. I knew that I wanted to get married, but marriage itself was scaring me to death. Endrit was the same way. We were glad that both of us wanted to have a longer engagement. If you can call 6 months a long engagement. What I was excited about was; planning the wedding.

I took Endrit to my jeweler and picked out a ring that Endrit and I both loved. It had to be made so I just went back to my apartment and I called around for dress shops to pick out my dress. In late December my Mom took a trip to Pocatello to help me with my dress shopping. She was going to buy it for me. I was a weird bride and took Endrit for the 3rd opinion tie breaker. He had fun because his Mom is a European designer and he grew up around women and dresses. It was funny because he ended up being the vote that broke a tie, in my favor :). It was a little bit weird because His parents still only knew that he was interested in someone at the time I had the dress. They were still on their 4 week program of engagement announcement.

Happy Dance!!!

I took my PRAXIS exam on October 14. I knew 2 of the 3 scores right then and there, but the third score had to be mailed to me. Well I got it today. The minimum score I had to get in each of the three areas was 173. Writing was definitely the worst subject but I still got a 177!!! In each of these areas, a possible score was 190. So my lowest score was 93%. I am definitely excited about this. It was the last thing that I needed to hand in my department application. come Monday I will officially have my application done and sent in for my student teaching!! WHOOT!!!

Reading 184/190
Writing 177/190
Math 186/190

Average 182/190

Chapter 3 - Getting to Know You

We started dating in late August 2004. I was 18 (almost 19) at the time and he was 21. It was the first time in my life that I hadn't known a person for years before we started dating exclusively. That isn't saying much because of the limited experiences of dating that I had. All I knew is that I found Endrit intriguing and he fit into the box I had made for my perfect man. Or perhaps my box morphed a bit because of my most recent life experiences and growth. It didn't take too long to get to know the basics of each other by staying up until the wee hours of the morning. This is the first time that I started to know about the drastic cultural differences between us.

He grew up with different ideals when it comes to the timeline of marriage. He was actually waiting until graduate school to even think of getting married. That was at that time 2 years away. This is why I was the first girl that he had ever dated. In Albania, 2 years of dating before marriage is somewhat short. He wasn't even thinking about the prospect of marriage when I had pretty much decided that we would probably get married the next summer. I was just waiting for the proposal. I had been praying from day one if I should continue in this relationship because my ultimate goal was to get married. Those prayers turned into prayers of if Endrit specifically was going to be my future husband. The answer was apparent to me to be yes before I ever turned 19 in November.

I think that I was wanting a quick dating to marriage because I was scared that my parents put in their mission papers. I also think that Endrit was thinking that we would probably have a 2 year dating before marriage because of the same reason. He was waiting to have my parents come home.

Graduate School

I knew that graduate school was going to be hard. I knew that it was going to test my patience. I knew that it wouldn't necessarily be the funnest time for Endrit that would also need to include weekends. In the beginning it was "some" weekends Now it is every weekend. There is nothing wrong with this per se, but it is starting to burst my bubble. It used to be that I could get out of town at least once a month. Graduate school started and it is seeming less and less frequent. Endrit feels a need to prove himself to his boss by being there every second of every day. I have to tell Endrit that we will take off a Friday in December to go to St. George and he almost has a fit and asks why not just have a day trip...to St. George. I am sorry but it is over 4 hours each way. Day trip idea, not going to happen.

I have been bugging him about a trip to Albania ever since we have gotten married. I want to go there and at this point I am in NEED of an extended vacation away from home. I know that we woudn't have to pay a dime for anything because his family would be too excited for us to be able to be there. So, if you see Endrit, try to make him take me on a vacation. He needs one to get some rest from work and I need a distraction from school. At this point I am going off of 3 week breaks between the semesters until graduation. I guess I am in a poor me mood and I just want to get out of "life" for a while.

In an Aquaintence's Blog

"I am not the cause of your sadness. When I am upset, it's easy to blame others. However, the true cause of my feelings is with in me. For example imagine yourself as a glass of water. Now, imagine past negative experiences as sediment at the bottom of your glass. Next, think of others as spoons. When one stirs, the sediment clouds your water. It may appear that the spoon caused the water to cloud--but if there were no sediment, the water would remain clear no matter what. The key, then, is to identify our sediment, recoginize when being stired and actively work to remove it." ~Ashley

I just really liked this analogy and thought that I would share.

Chapter 2 - Summer 2004

When I graduated high school I moved out of my parent's house almost immediately. I only stayed the couple of days longer in order to do baptisms for the dead for the last time in that ward. Actually I think it the last time I was able to do them. I loved my parents but they taught us to be independent and ready to leave the nest when it was time.

I loved where I moved. I had a wonderful first roommate We became instant friends. I met wonderful people in my singles ward and I made the decision that I was going to go to church every Sunday. At that point it wasn't an option not to. I had decided in high school that I would be faithful.

I was still going out with my friend from high school in a long distance relationship where we shared many long phone calls. Over the course of the summer I met the few guys that were still unmarried and older than some of my brothers. I met others that just moved in. I wanted to be a normal freshman and date a variety of people. The guy I was dating allowed me to go on dates with other people just as long as they knew "I had a missionary". I went on a few of dates. One turned out to propose after 2 dates and I shunned him out of my life after that.

After that experience I decided I was going to screen my dates better. I knew of Endrit but I didn't pay attention to him because I knew he had not gone to the temple therefore never went on a mission. I thought that I would only marry a person that was a returned missionary. I knew that it wasn't a deal breaker, but that was what I had been taught since I could remember. I was also taught that I should marry a good man no matter his missionary status so I decided that it didn't matter enough for me not to become friends with him. We went to a ward softball game together and we have been inseparable ever since.

I had lost my summer job and told Endrit that I needed one to pay rent for the semester. He was able to find me a job in the Chemistry department which was in the same building that he worked in. We saw each other multiple times every day. It has been the best job I have ever had in my adult life. It was nice to know that Endrit cared that much about me even though I was dating another person.

I broke it off with my boyfriend a week before he left on his mission. We were drifting apart and I saw that I was much more interested in Endrit than him. I didn't want him to think I was going to be waiting. I went to see him the Sunday before he left and so that he would not think about marrying me while he should be fully thinking about the wonderful people of Russia, I told him that it was my intent to not wait for him and that he should know that I would be married before he came home. He knew that Endrit and I were now in a relationship because I told him we decided it was exclusive that Saturday. He tried to discourage me from dating him because of the same reasons why I had reservations to start. No mission, foreign, etc. I told him that I had a right to date whoever I chose and he agreed. We parted ways and Endrit came in the forefront.

Chapter 1- High School

You may be wondering why I start my engagement/marriage story with high school since I never met my husband until I went away to University. It was such an important stepping stone in my life, especially with one unique man that I have the utmost respect for even to this day. It all starts with seminary and Brother Allred. I believe it was my sophomore year of high school which would put it in the year 2002. I was struggling with the LDS church, a lot. I knew that I wanted to believe. I only had good friends that were on the seminary council and would go to the pre-seminary invitationals before school. Even with those friends that were so strong, I found myself not understanding why I was unable to do certain things that were seemingly small like drinking coffee. Why should a religion restrict my eating and drinking habits? I really didn't understand at all but to appease my parents I consistently stayed enrolled in Seminary.


Poor Brother Allred was so kind and patient while I was horrible. I would bring my cup of cappuchino to class with him fully knowing what it was I was drinking but to my dismay I wouldn't get into trouble just as long as I had it downed before the bell. I don't know why, but since he was accommodating, I always had it done before the beginning of class. I did everything I could think of to get kicked out of his class for at least a day. I had been able to do this in each of my other classes up to that point and one after that. I even had a bishop tell me that I should study seminary at home instead of going to the early morning seminary because of my protests regarding the teacher. I mean I constantly did everything to not go to seminary on a consistent basis.

He never kicked me out and he was able to teach me. He had me be a sceptic of the church where another friend of mine had to find answers to my questions from the Book of Mormon. He knew what he needed to do to get some of the teachings in my head.


I think about this wonderful man on a regular basis and tried to write a letter to him but he had moved. I was really sad when I received the letter back. Many after school hours were spent talking about gospel principles with him patiently answering my sometimes off the wall questions. That is the time when my little testimony seed was planted.

I didn't know it at the time, but when I moved to little, tiny Williams, Arizona I ended up being the only LDS girl in the entire high school. 2 out of 5 of the LDS boys were my cousins. One was too young and the other 2 already had interests in other girls so I went completely dateless the entire year which was probably good for me. There was this one boy at Grand Canyon, but that was too far away.

Williams was probably the best thing that could have happened to me after the tutelage of Brother Allred. I was forced to either believe and gain a real testimony, or make up my mind that it wasn't for me. I was able to see my options and I chose to learn more and be a good examples to the girls in my ward that were still in Jr. High and struggling to understand the supposed restrictions that the Gospel places upon the young people. It was there that my testimony grew and I knew that I would not falter.

We ended up moving back to Weston before the end of that school year. It was nice to move back to where I had friends and a good opportunity to go to prom. I missed Williams and the great testimony that I gained from the wonderful people there. I had to hold strong to the testimony that I gained there because I was back in the place with 90% LDS people. Surprisingly enough it is easier to be good LDS in a non LDS place than in a predominately LDS place.

This was the first time that I realised that I wanted to be married in the temple for time and all eternity. That I was prepared to commit my life to the LDS church and prepare for the time when I was going to be married in the temple.

Happy Birthday Father in Law

Yesterday was my FIL's birthday. It was interesting because he turned 54 and he was born in 54. I thought that this was interesting because my Dad will have the same type of birthday this year as well. Well FIL told me that there was another interesting point with this birthday. As of now, he has been married for half of his life.

That got me to thinking about how old I will be when I am married half of my life. I was kind of stunned when I figured out that I will only be 39. Endrit will be 44. It was an interesting realization that I will be so young when that time comes.

I don't know why I wanted to share that but it was some random thing that I found out.

Getting Slightly Frustrated

Let me first say that I am overly excited that I am doing my project this week rather than one of the last weeks of class. I don't think that I could handle much of a wait longer than the one that I have already had for this project to get over with. My outline wasn't up to par for my instructor and I had to re submit a revised outline. I will be working overtime to get the paper done but I think that it will be a good paper nonetheless. I will be recruiting my group-mates to help me once I have put it in concise order so that it doesn't really look like I pasted 4 papers together into one. It will definitely be interesting but I think it is totally doable.

It is the start of the 10th week of the semester. That means that there are only 7 weeks left until I go into finals week. I am excited about that. I register for next semester's classes on 11/11. I love being a senior because I get the early registration dates. Lucky me! I hope that next semester is better than this one but I am not hopeful because I will still be in boring and practically meaningless education classes. I will definitely be happy when I am done with this class I am working on.

Who knew that the 5th year of school could wear you out so fast?

I don't know why

I don't know why my emotions switch almost weekly if not more about how my graduation date is so close and then it is so far away. Right now it is more in the so close category because I am scurrying to get my application for student teaching into the department. I only need to do a couple more things on it with signatures and stuff and I am handing it in!
I got my last set of transcripts today.
I got my last letter of recommendation today.
I have my statement of professional intent most of the way done.
I have written my affidavit on why I have no job right now therefore no letter from a job.
I have the application mostly filled out minus the signatures that need a witness.
I have my major sign off sheet completed it just needs to be signed by an adviser.
I need to get my official PRAXIS scores and I am done.
With all of these things completed or extremely close to completion, at least my student teaching is seeming to come up so fast. I am excited that if I only didn't have to get a licence I would only have 4 classes to take next semester. I have 2 semesters (one which is a summer) and then I am teaching in schools and preparing to have that blissful day of graduation. By the way, any family that is reading this, I do expect a party in my honor the day I graduate :).
It has been a busy day trying to get everything done. I can't believe that I have been in school long enough to finally be at this stage. It is getting really exciting for Endrit and I, if not a bit nerve wracking.

Little loose ends update

There are a few topics that I have started and then I got busy and I didn't resolve those topics and so I am going to just have a little bit of an update.

I think I just burst a vein in my elbow. It no longer hurts and there is a huge bruise. I know that I didn't hit it on anything but I know that I put a heavy bag on my shoulder in the same position my arm had to be in for it to hurt really bad.

I am about 2 weeks or so away from putting my application in for my admission into the teaching education program. I am getting really excited to get into the classrooms. If I really like it and I get a job offer I may just teach until Endrit is done with school so that we can have a good savings account. There are many things that could change that option but it is still on the table if I want to do things that way. I talked to my academic adviser and she told me that it was really good that I am getting my application in early. I thought that she might call me an over achiever and not to put it in until after this semester but she wants it ASAP. I feel good that I am on top of things

I am almost half way done with the scuba diving book and workbook in order for me to be prepared to get into the dive tank. I am getting a little bit nervous about it, but I am sure that it will be fun and great and I will have all the knowledge that I need in order to be prepared when that time comes.

I like that I chose to be the first group to give the presentation and hand in our paper. I wanted to be able to get it done and relax for the rest of the semester. Luckily this presentation is on Education. It makes it nicer to study when I am actually interested in the subject. I will be done with that on the 30th. Lucky me.

I have started to write my story, but I am now getting stage fright. I am not that great of a writer and my story deserves to have it's true meaning brought out. There are some parts that I feel is really important but at the same time is a bit TMI for the average reader of this blog. Who knows. I will write an edited one and then keep another one for posterity I guess. Embarass people after I die I guess. I should have the first enstalment "High School" proofread and posted by the end of the week.

Endrit is working on being the first author of a publication. He has only ever been second or more because he wasn't the primary author. Now he will be. It is a nice step for him. I am excited to say that my husband is a writer and a chemist and the smartest person that I consistantly associate with. He is an awesome provider for our family.

It is getting really cold, but I love the smell of decomposing leaves. It is the best smell in the entire world. Even better than rain. The smell of wet, fallen leaves is what I am talking about. Earth's recycling. I love it but it is also sad because that means my least favorite season, winter, is just around the corner.

I am still waiting for the last PRAXIS score to come in but I am feeling more confident about it all the time. It should be here by this time next week. It may take longer than that but I took the test at a not so peak time.

I think that is about all for now. I am just going to school and for the most part enjoying it.

Facebook Chat

I think that I introduced Isaac to Facebook chat. I was bored in my night class and he was online si I chatted with him for a bit. I was able to chat with him for a little while again today and it was nice because he is unable to call me because of connection difficulties. It is nice that I can still talk to him for a bit over the internet. I know that he chats with Mom and Heidi as well.

A great blog

I was on another blog that I frequent and I learned of a wonderful woman who was writing about her whirlwind marriage and divorce and it intregued me. It has nothing to do with anything in my life, but at the same time it is good to be able to read a story to see what you should be watching for and the things that you could prevent even yourself from doing to preserve a marriage.
http://10019musings.blogspot.com/2008/02/part-i-beginning.html
That is the first chapter of her story. It took me 2 days to read it. It isn't long, I just don't have too much time. She is a very great writer.
I think that I will start to write about how Endrit and I were able to sucessfuly navigate the time of engagement and marriage without parents present, newlyweds with the added year long illness that complicated it and the struggles that life still bring our way in going to school. I have wanted to do this, because time fades memory. There is going to be other added things down the road, but I think that we have a pretty good story.

Acute Brusitis

I had to go to the doctor today because my elbow has been hurting like crazy since last night. They think that I may have acute bursitis. I think that it is better than having the cartilage pop in my elbow. If it doesn't get better by next Wednesday it will be x-rays and cortisone shots. Lucky me. I just hope the prescription works and it doesn't come to that.