Hello, so I'm here at work...there's nothing to do. All the supervisors are out for the day and I finished my little congressional clean up job early. I worked on making my schedule for next semester, but when you can't actually register, there isn't much you can do with that.
Normally, I'm calling people like crazy trying to update alumni information but we just finished the school of family life (12,000 alumni) and we're waiting on a list from the econ department. For some reason its taking forever. Dawna had me working on updating the internship database (deleting old congressmen who aren't in office anymore) but like I said, that's done.
I'm sitting here staring at Jeff's (my coworker) employee appreciation card and wanting to eat it. It has candy bars all over it. It's employee appreciation week here at BYU and so we all got cards from Dawna. I'm usually in in the mornings so I already got mine, and its at home, missing 3 candy bars on account of I ate them.
Phew, its been forever since I've typed anything on a desktop computer. I miss my laptops chiclet keyboard, my fingers are tired cuz they have to high step it all over the keyboard!
Anyhow, what is going on? Well, I love my husband, but there isn't much more to say about that and its hardly new.
I'm not sure what I wrote about last time but I've been kind of lazy this week. The semester is winding down and normally that makes things more crazy but for me...its making things more boring (if you don't count the research paper Andrew has to write). Since I dropped calculus my life has been somewhat empty. Not the kind of empty that makes me wish I had my calculus class back...never. Just...I have WAY too much free time.
My other classes are pretty straight forward. Go to class, take a 5 question quiz 3 times a week, show up for the midterms. Even my paper for Book of Mormon is done...and its not due for 2 weeks. Maybe a week and a half. Anyhow, boring. I can't complain THAT much...I'm always complaining about how BYU is too busy and fast paced. But I am still having trouble finding worthwhile employment for myself.
Speaking of classes. Despite the fact that they're straight forward...I will still be luck to get any A's this semester. I think I have a shot in Book of Mormon...if the quizzes don't get me. I averaged a C or a D on the quizzes (5 point quizzes kill me) but I got an A and a B+ on the exams so far and I think I'll get an A on my paper...so maybe more like another B to add to my college career -_-
Finance isn't hard really, but the tests are murder. When you study for 3 hours, go take the test, get a D, and the REST of the class says it was hard too...you know there are issues. I blame Jimmer. I hated basketball before but when the TA cancelled the review session so he could watch the game? It's not really his fault mind you...when he asked the class who would actually show up, only like 3 people (out of 200) raised their hands.
I'm glad BYU basketball is over. I guess its sad that they couldn't make it to the finals but still...I'm glad it can't interrupt my studying (which I am actually trying to do for once).
I was spending my days cooking but I've run out of things to cook. We've been trying to cut expenses (ok...I have...Andrew has been throwing DVDs into the cart when I'm shopping lol) and so I'm making a lot of ramen and mac and cheese and hamburger helper. I did get another bag of chicken from costco last time we went so I can mix things up a little...but as far as desserts, I have to really plan those because I don't typically keep the stuff lying around.
Sugar around our house these days comes from apples and oranges. The Rancho market was selling 6 pounds of oranges for 99 cents so we got 5 pounds. We're nearly out, they are DELICIOUS! We also got 2 pounds of apples for 99 cents and a couple of mangoes for 99 cents. Oh, and Andrew threw some chocolate covered raisins in the basket at costco. Not gonna lie, I benefit from them. =P
We've been doing pretty good at not eating out and my doctors bills have FINALLY stopped coming. We're now in the position to start paying off my student loans. Hooray!
So in my finance class we're always talking about saving money and stuff and I'd be lying if it didn't stick with me. So I've got my financial goals and I am proud to say that I worked out a pretty good system to acheieve them all and be ok. We're still working on our savings, I want to have our rainy day fund built up by the end of August. Once that is built up we're starting to save for Japan. We figured out that for the numbers I ran, if we save a certain amount each month we can easily have enough for the whole trip by the end of January 2013. I don't have to disclose how much we have to save, but its completely doable within our budget cuz I am just amazing like that.
So while BYU is busy telling me that I'll never be good enough, I tend to feel like I'm excelling at life. :)
Speaking of BYU, I've brought this entry full circle. I changed my major again...but this time I went back to photography. A year after I decided NOT to do it, I decided it's the best thing I can do. We'll just see if I can get accepted into the program. Just like everything else at BYU (engineering excepted) is Competetive with a capital C. Out of an average of 250-300 applicants, they accept 25 a semester. I apply next Fall...wish me luck!
Anything else?
I need to grow an herb garden. Like seriously. A few other things would be nice too. I'm currently trying to decide where would be best to grow a garden. Seriously, it occupies my every waking thought.
That's all. ok. Bye. :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Episode 43: In Which Jessica Goes to Church Alone and Visits Sister Albrecht
So yesterday was Sunday. Andrew had to work...cuz they put him on the schedule. So, I got up, made him breakfast while he was getting ready, and sent him on his way with a toast and egg sandwich and a glass of milk. Then I went back to bed.
When I woke up later, I realized I had forgotten to make Andrew lunch...and then I felt sad.
I got ready for church and I rode my bike there since Andrew had the car. It was a nice day...but lonely cuz I was going to church all alone.
Church was good, except that I learned that you should always choose the back pew when you have the chance, or the devil child WILL sit behind you and WILL kick you in the head. That's two weeks in a row!!!
We learned about Matthew 13's the parables of the sower and the wheat and the tares. I learned that wheat and tares look exactly the same except that if you ingest even one tare, it'll kill you. That's pretty intense. I agree with the sunday school teacher, that parable just got a lot a bit deeper.
Relief society was ok. I think black ladies make the best sunday school teachers. This week's teacher was different from last week's, but they were both black and both hilarious. We learned about the Word of Wisdom...which I could work on in terms of the "dos" of the Word of Wisdom. That is the plural of "do" not the spanish number two by the way.
Finally church was over (that meant that Andrew was coming home!) and I went home. I had just finished changing when Andrew came home. After going to church alone, it's ten hundred times happier to see your husband's face. :)
I finished some thank you notes...yes, I'm still writing them. *sigh* Don't judge me.
Then we headed out the door to go to the Albrecht's house. Sister Albrecht is home. I thought she had come home from Japan ahead of President Albrecht but then I learned that sad truth. She's been home for a few weeks now. She came home to help her daughter who was having complications with her pregnancy, and was home when the earthquake hit. The priesthood leaders in Japan won't let her go back now...so she's stuck in America.
Suddenly, going to church without my husband didn't seem so bad.
She invited all us missionaries over last night and gave us a run down on everything that happened in the mission as she knew it. She passed out copies of the transfers (what missionaries went to what mission and which ones went home) and an excerpt from President Albrecht's journal the week of the earthquake.
I don't know anyone in the mission any more so I didn't take the lists, but I read the journal entry in bed last night. Reading it made everything so much more real to me than the news ever could. I could picture it perfectly, my lively city of Tokyo, a deserted ghost town...and it made me really sad. I was reading it out loud to Andrew and I had to stop several times and get a hold of myself.
There is some good to this though. The church has begun opening up the missionaries apartments to displaced families from the Tohoku Region. And Sister Albrecht, even though she wasn't there, saved the mission with her food storage. :) They had enough to feed 160 missionaries until they were full for at least 2 days. And they still had leftovers. President says it was much like the feeding of the multitudes with a few fishes and loaves of bread. At first they didn't think they had enough for everyone to have even one serving, but many people got seconds and even thirds.
No one knows how long President Albrecht will stay in Japan, or how long the mission will be closed. He's probably there until at LEAST conference because he's helping in the Church office building with President Stevenson. But we don't know past that. In the meantime, the ward missionaries have taken over the teaching of investigators. Once the mission opens up, this will help the mission so much because the members will have an idea of what they are capable of as a ward.
So...that's good news. I'm still sorry I complained about going to church alone though. At least Andrew and I are still in the same country...
When I woke up later, I realized I had forgotten to make Andrew lunch...and then I felt sad.
I got ready for church and I rode my bike there since Andrew had the car. It was a nice day...but lonely cuz I was going to church all alone.
Church was good, except that I learned that you should always choose the back pew when you have the chance, or the devil child WILL sit behind you and WILL kick you in the head. That's two weeks in a row!!!
We learned about Matthew 13's the parables of the sower and the wheat and the tares. I learned that wheat and tares look exactly the same except that if you ingest even one tare, it'll kill you. That's pretty intense. I agree with the sunday school teacher, that parable just got a lot a bit deeper.
Relief society was ok. I think black ladies make the best sunday school teachers. This week's teacher was different from last week's, but they were both black and both hilarious. We learned about the Word of Wisdom...which I could work on in terms of the "dos" of the Word of Wisdom. That is the plural of "do" not the spanish number two by the way.
Finally church was over (that meant that Andrew was coming home!) and I went home. I had just finished changing when Andrew came home. After going to church alone, it's ten hundred times happier to see your husband's face. :)
I finished some thank you notes...yes, I'm still writing them. *sigh* Don't judge me.
Then we headed out the door to go to the Albrecht's house. Sister Albrecht is home. I thought she had come home from Japan ahead of President Albrecht but then I learned that sad truth. She's been home for a few weeks now. She came home to help her daughter who was having complications with her pregnancy, and was home when the earthquake hit. The priesthood leaders in Japan won't let her go back now...so she's stuck in America.
Suddenly, going to church without my husband didn't seem so bad.
She invited all us missionaries over last night and gave us a run down on everything that happened in the mission as she knew it. She passed out copies of the transfers (what missionaries went to what mission and which ones went home) and an excerpt from President Albrecht's journal the week of the earthquake.
I don't know anyone in the mission any more so I didn't take the lists, but I read the journal entry in bed last night. Reading it made everything so much more real to me than the news ever could. I could picture it perfectly, my lively city of Tokyo, a deserted ghost town...and it made me really sad. I was reading it out loud to Andrew and I had to stop several times and get a hold of myself.
There is some good to this though. The church has begun opening up the missionaries apartments to displaced families from the Tohoku Region. And Sister Albrecht, even though she wasn't there, saved the mission with her food storage. :) They had enough to feed 160 missionaries until they were full for at least 2 days. And they still had leftovers. President says it was much like the feeding of the multitudes with a few fishes and loaves of bread. At first they didn't think they had enough for everyone to have even one serving, but many people got seconds and even thirds.
No one knows how long President Albrecht will stay in Japan, or how long the mission will be closed. He's probably there until at LEAST conference because he's helping in the Church office building with President Stevenson. But we don't know past that. In the meantime, the ward missionaries have taken over the teaching of investigators. Once the mission opens up, this will help the mission so much because the members will have an idea of what they are capable of as a ward.
So...that's good news. I'm still sorry I complained about going to church alone though. At least Andrew and I are still in the same country...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Episode 42: In Which Jessica Basically Realizes That She Fails at Blogging...among other things
Long time to no see right? Yeah...no joke. You probably think I forgot I even HAD a blog. Oh wait...I kinda did.
See...Something about studying calculus makes you forget that there is a world outside math homework.
Well, long story short, after getting an F on both exams so far, I gave up and dropped the class. It wasn't worth my GPA...or the tears I shed over it night after night. (I'm not kidding, ask Andrew, I think I cried myself to sleep at least once a week)
Since I had all that yucky calculus, I didn't really have much time to do anything else worth blogging about, and so even though this is my first entry in like 2 months, it will still be short. I'm sure you're all relieved. If you're even reading it.
The past couple months included a trip to Arizona and many many many kitchen disasters. I'm surprised I'm not dead. Also, Andrew went skiing I think...twice? His dad came down at the end of January so Andrew went skiing at Alta with him. I stayed home and cleaned the house and wrote Thank You notes. (which STILL aren't done).
I stay home and clean the house a lot...only I haven't done it the past couple weekends because Andrew has Saturdays off now so I have better things to do. Even though I keep telling him he's going to clean the house with me on Saturday...we never end up doing it. *sigh*
I WILL...no wait I won't clean the house this weekend. We'll be in Salt Lake all day. Andrew wants to go to the REI garage sale in Sandy and while we're up there we'll be going to Cost Plus World Market to get Toriani syrups. Andrew is into mocktail mixing these days, and I encourage him because I get free italian cream sodas. :)
Also, my friend Teresa is getting married on Saturday. :)
Speaking of marriages. That is why Andrew and I were in Arizona. We went down for my friend Ali's wedding. While we were down there we took care of some long overdue fighting with MCC too. I graduated high school in 2005...my Associates degree is now going to read 2011. Gosh I feel like a loser. =P
And of course we ate at Bahama Bucks...cuz they don't have them here. It's ok though cuz we have the Cocoa Bean so it evens out.
It was nice to kind of get the weekend away...and we came back sunday night so we still had monday to relax. Still, I had to study for calculus while I was down there and I had an accounting assignment due so we couldn't just forget the world. In fact, we spent so much time getting assignments done early so we didn't have to do them in Arizona, that we were dead tired by the time we actually landed. The two days preceding the trip we stayed up until like 3am just doing homework/packing.
So yes, it was fun. But really not worth the hassle. From now on, I'll just leave the long distance travel to winter and summer breaks.
Other than that I've just been playing around with destruction in the kitchen. I have a lot of extra time since I dropped calculus so I'm known to say "hmmm, I want lemon squares. I have time" when really, I've just overestimated the time I have. Then I make retarded mistakes like using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar for the lemon filling. In case you didn't know, powdered sugar combines with egg whites in the worst way...meaning they turn rock hard. I had to send Andrew out in the rain to get the more eggs. I would have gone but we got hit by the white stealth car of death (seriously, white with no lights in a SNOWstorm! what the crap!?) at the end of February and only Andrew is allowed to drive the rental car. Plus had I left in the middle of my cooking, more disaster would have struck, I am sure.
Anyhow, so I made fried ice cream and navajo tacos one night...that didn't really end in disaster, unless you count the left over chili that I was using...that I made from scratch but didn't soak the beans long enough. =P
I also made tostadas, which went pretty smoothly aside from having to scrub the oil off my skillet for 2 hours and using almost an entire box of baking soda to do it. Oh yeah, and don't forget I had one of those time overestimating moments in which I decided it was a good idea to make spanish rice...and then I got jalepeno oil up my nose and it burned so bad that I was crying and couldn't see or think straight. So after calling Andrew in to clear the sink of dishes, I proceeded to turn the oven off and leave the burner on when I mean to do the opposite, and then put my oven mitt on top of the still hot burner. Luckily I was standing right there so there was no fire, just a lot of smoke and my burner STILL smells funny despite my trying to clean it.
What else happened? Oh yeah, well I made spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and homemade breadsticks the other day. They were delicious. I'm amazing sometimes. The next day I was in the kitchen and was surprised it was so warm (our kitchen is FREEZING...like, so cold that we don't even eat in there...we just eat on the floor in the living room) Well, to my horror...I had left the oven on ALL night and ALL day. *sigh* I'm lucky we still have an apartment.
I think that's the last thing that happened. Things like this never happened when I was single...being married must make you a magnet for destroying the kitchen. Yet, I keep going back. Go figure. =P
I subscribed to "Entertainment" a shoot off of the Cook's Illustrated magazine. It has a recipe for French Silk Pie in it....oh boy do I want to make it. But I need heatproof bowls first. All I have now are pyrex bowls and plastic bowls. I might make a lot of mistakes, but putting my pyrex bowls on the stove will NOT be one of them.
Let's see...anything else?
Well, the last couple days have been crazy. My dad woke me up on Friday morning at 6:20 to tell me there had been a huge earthquake in Sendai. I was so out of it that I mumbled something to andrew and then went back to sleep. Neither of us understood. Then suddenly, like 10 minutes later, I shot straight up and exclaimed "ANDREW! THAT'S WHERE NAGASE SHIMAI IS!!!"
He was still too tired to understand...but I tried phoning her. Of COURSE it didn't go through....but that didn't stop me from calling her like every 10 minutes the entire day. I was glued to the Japanese news, which I was streaming live all day. I didn't even watch the news that much when September 11th happened.
Finally at about 10pm I was able to get through to Nagase shimai's cell phone. I was able to confirm that she and her family were ok before her boyfriend called and she had to go. She's staying at her boyfriend's family's house right now. I'm not sure where they live...but its not underwater.
That's my good news for the day. Now I have to go study like crazy for an Accounting exam. What fun. I just love mid-terms. Andrew and I are so buried in homework right now its insane. Well, him more than me. I have some tests coming up, but nothing compared to him. He has programming, and physics, and a research paper to write...poor Andrew.
I just study and in between studying I nearly blow up the kitchen so that he has something to eat when he finally takes a break from studying. I can't wait til this semester is over. It's officially over in a month tomorrow. Phew!
...So much for short.
See...Something about studying calculus makes you forget that there is a world outside math homework.
Well, long story short, after getting an F on both exams so far, I gave up and dropped the class. It wasn't worth my GPA...or the tears I shed over it night after night. (I'm not kidding, ask Andrew, I think I cried myself to sleep at least once a week)
Since I had all that yucky calculus, I didn't really have much time to do anything else worth blogging about, and so even though this is my first entry in like 2 months, it will still be short. I'm sure you're all relieved. If you're even reading it.
The past couple months included a trip to Arizona and many many many kitchen disasters. I'm surprised I'm not dead. Also, Andrew went skiing I think...twice? His dad came down at the end of January so Andrew went skiing at Alta with him. I stayed home and cleaned the house and wrote Thank You notes. (which STILL aren't done).
I stay home and clean the house a lot...only I haven't done it the past couple weekends because Andrew has Saturdays off now so I have better things to do. Even though I keep telling him he's going to clean the house with me on Saturday...we never end up doing it. *sigh*
I WILL...no wait I won't clean the house this weekend. We'll be in Salt Lake all day. Andrew wants to go to the REI garage sale in Sandy and while we're up there we'll be going to Cost Plus World Market to get Toriani syrups. Andrew is into mocktail mixing these days, and I encourage him because I get free italian cream sodas. :)
Also, my friend Teresa is getting married on Saturday. :)
Speaking of marriages. That is why Andrew and I were in Arizona. We went down for my friend Ali's wedding. While we were down there we took care of some long overdue fighting with MCC too. I graduated high school in 2005...my Associates degree is now going to read 2011. Gosh I feel like a loser. =P
And of course we ate at Bahama Bucks...cuz they don't have them here. It's ok though cuz we have the Cocoa Bean so it evens out.
It was nice to kind of get the weekend away...and we came back sunday night so we still had monday to relax. Still, I had to study for calculus while I was down there and I had an accounting assignment due so we couldn't just forget the world. In fact, we spent so much time getting assignments done early so we didn't have to do them in Arizona, that we were dead tired by the time we actually landed. The two days preceding the trip we stayed up until like 3am just doing homework/packing.
So yes, it was fun. But really not worth the hassle. From now on, I'll just leave the long distance travel to winter and summer breaks.
Other than that I've just been playing around with destruction in the kitchen. I have a lot of extra time since I dropped calculus so I'm known to say "hmmm, I want lemon squares. I have time" when really, I've just overestimated the time I have. Then I make retarded mistakes like using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar for the lemon filling. In case you didn't know, powdered sugar combines with egg whites in the worst way...meaning they turn rock hard. I had to send Andrew out in the rain to get the more eggs. I would have gone but we got hit by the white stealth car of death (seriously, white with no lights in a SNOWstorm! what the crap!?) at the end of February and only Andrew is allowed to drive the rental car. Plus had I left in the middle of my cooking, more disaster would have struck, I am sure.
Anyhow, so I made fried ice cream and navajo tacos one night...that didn't really end in disaster, unless you count the left over chili that I was using...that I made from scratch but didn't soak the beans long enough. =P
I also made tostadas, which went pretty smoothly aside from having to scrub the oil off my skillet for 2 hours and using almost an entire box of baking soda to do it. Oh yeah, and don't forget I had one of those time overestimating moments in which I decided it was a good idea to make spanish rice...and then I got jalepeno oil up my nose and it burned so bad that I was crying and couldn't see or think straight. So after calling Andrew in to clear the sink of dishes, I proceeded to turn the oven off and leave the burner on when I mean to do the opposite, and then put my oven mitt on top of the still hot burner. Luckily I was standing right there so there was no fire, just a lot of smoke and my burner STILL smells funny despite my trying to clean it.
What else happened? Oh yeah, well I made spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and homemade breadsticks the other day. They were delicious. I'm amazing sometimes. The next day I was in the kitchen and was surprised it was so warm (our kitchen is FREEZING...like, so cold that we don't even eat in there...we just eat on the floor in the living room) Well, to my horror...I had left the oven on ALL night and ALL day. *sigh* I'm lucky we still have an apartment.
I think that's the last thing that happened. Things like this never happened when I was single...being married must make you a magnet for destroying the kitchen. Yet, I keep going back. Go figure. =P
I subscribed to "Entertainment" a shoot off of the Cook's Illustrated magazine. It has a recipe for French Silk Pie in it....oh boy do I want to make it. But I need heatproof bowls first. All I have now are pyrex bowls and plastic bowls. I might make a lot of mistakes, but putting my pyrex bowls on the stove will NOT be one of them.
Let's see...anything else?
Well, the last couple days have been crazy. My dad woke me up on Friday morning at 6:20 to tell me there had been a huge earthquake in Sendai. I was so out of it that I mumbled something to andrew and then went back to sleep. Neither of us understood. Then suddenly, like 10 minutes later, I shot straight up and exclaimed "ANDREW! THAT'S WHERE NAGASE SHIMAI IS!!!"
He was still too tired to understand...but I tried phoning her. Of COURSE it didn't go through....but that didn't stop me from calling her like every 10 minutes the entire day. I was glued to the Japanese news, which I was streaming live all day. I didn't even watch the news that much when September 11th happened.
Finally at about 10pm I was able to get through to Nagase shimai's cell phone. I was able to confirm that she and her family were ok before her boyfriend called and she had to go. She's staying at her boyfriend's family's house right now. I'm not sure where they live...but its not underwater.
That's my good news for the day. Now I have to go study like crazy for an Accounting exam. What fun. I just love mid-terms. Andrew and I are so buried in homework right now its insane. Well, him more than me. I have some tests coming up, but nothing compared to him. He has programming, and physics, and a research paper to write...poor Andrew.
I just study and in between studying I nearly blow up the kitchen so that he has something to eat when he finally takes a break from studying. I can't wait til this semester is over. It's officially over in a month tomorrow. Phew!
...So much for short.
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