Life is continuing on for me. The new semester has started, and I am finding that I am learning from my classes. The problem with my major, is a lot of it gets repetitive and I tend not to have classes that challenge me and force me to learn. But this semester, I don’t think I have a bad class among them anymore. I actually did have one, an urban forestry class, where I really wasn’t learning a thing. I don’t need it, so I finally asked myself why I was taking it. And dropped it. Which brings me down to 15 credits–the lightest semester I’ve ever taken. Sort-of. My classes are a little harder.

I have soil nutrient bio-availability, which is a fancy way to say I learn about how plant nutrients work in the soil.  Environmental plant physiology is one of my toughest and I like it a lot because of that. I have to use my analytical side of my brain to work equations relating physics to plant growth.  And I actually have to really pay attention in class and study afterwords to really understand it. I haven’t had a class like this for ages. Senior seminar is predictably boring and I would appreciate any suggestions for a 6-10 page paper for it. Residential landscape design is challenging my artistic side, and I have come to realize that I cannot letter. So I print the words out and trace–which makes it really pretty. I really hope I’ll be good at design–I think I will, I’ve got all these ideas of what I could do in yards from the past three years. It’ll be fun to actually incorporate them into landscape designs.  I have art symposium again, yoga for fun, plant pathology also for fun (hey cultures of bacteria are fascinating), and two institute classes, one with Joe.

So that was really long, but now you know what I am doing. Plus my two jobs which I continue. I get to head up a community education class in March for Extension–so any ideas would be appreciated.

Life is great. It’ll all change after April–I will be done with 16 years of school. That’s most of my life. And I’m actually not necessarily looking forward to it. I like school. But I guess we always have to move on to bigger and better things. And just so you know–Joe is wonderful. Lucky to have married the guy–he’s the best thing in my life.

Yesterday we went hiking in the rain. Only for a couple hours because it was wet, but it was the prettiest hike I have been on in a long time. The snowy landscape was combined with mist. Actually reminded me a little of the coast. Horrible day to forget the camera.

First, went snowshoeing some more so I’ll put in some pictures. We went Wednesday with my sister Emily, and Thursday with my brother-in-law Nate. Wednesday was pretty boring and short. Thursday we had the wild idea to climb up a mountain. Surprisingly we did make it to the top and in only two hours. I guess going with two guys means I end up being very tired–but I kept up.

Second I would like to share a recipe I made tonight. I was supposed to bring dinner to new parents in the ward, and wanted to make potatoes and chicken but didn’t like an of the recipes I had. I found one for potatoes that turned out divine. So I’m sharing it.

6TB melted margarine

3 TB Parmesan cheese

Put in bottom of pan

8 medium red potatoes halved length wise

Place in ban cut side down

Bake 400 F uncovered 40-45 minutes.

I also sprinkled them with Italian seasoning.

It’s getting a little old. It is still snowing in Logan. There is more snow at my parents house than I can can remember since elementary school. So, here are some things to do in the snow.

1) Build snow forts. 2) Sit inside snow forts.3)Go snowshoeing4)Try to figure out why the pole for snowshoeing doesn’t work5)Slide down hillsChristmas was loads of fun. Lots to do with family including playing karaoke, bored games, watching movies,  playing basketball with snowballs, etc. I still have one week of break left, and then it is back to school.

We went snowshoeing for the first time on Thursday. I discovered I am not in shape, sleds are fun, and winter is cold. We went up a trail that wasn’t too steep, and already pretty traveled so it wasn’t too hard. We brought a sled up, and the entire way down either Joe, me, or both of us rode it. Haven’t done it before, and it was fun. Someday I might actually learn to ski/snowboard, but I’m not in any hurry to do so.

I had the nerve to wake up at 4:00 this morning–and all I have to do today is shell corn and clean. Yesterday we watched Iron Man followed by the Incredible Hulk. I hadn’t watched Incredible Hulk yet, and thought it was pretty good. Then I had to figure out what they were talking about in the end. Apparently they have plans for an Avenger movie.

And I am about ready for the snow to end. I would like to drive down to family tomorrow without worrying about dying. I hate driving in the snow even since I was driving up to my grandparents, and slid to the slide of the road. Then, before I could get all straightened out I watched a car hit the median, and slam into another car. So I am constantly telling Joe not to go too fast. I am glad I do have him to drive so I don’t have too.

Christmas Eve tomorrow! Yeah! Christmas Eve is packed with parties and such, and Christmas is pretty boring. I will try to remember to take some pictures of anything interesting, but be warned I am horrible at remembering I own a camera even though I have for years.

Our hopes and wishes of snowshoeing are closer to being realized this year. I didn’t even know it was supposed to snow until Liz opened the door and we found six inches of fluffy snow covering everything. Here I was thinking it was going to be a warm night. Yeah snow! Yeah no school! I did alright in school. I wish that husband and wife could share GPA’s. Liz’s 4.0 would do me some good. We both are excited for next semester, Liz’s last semester and one with more classes associated with my major. Barring some crazy weather I guess we don’t have to dream of a white Christmas but we can play in one. Yeah SNOW!!!

This is the view from the back window

It is a great time of year. School is almost over, work is very slow, and Christmas is coming. Emily came home, and she’s the same as always. It was nice to actually have my whole family together for the first time ever. Joe finally met my lost missionary sister. The weather has still unfortunately been very mild. I’m hoping for snow storms so that I can go snowshoeing. I’ve got to try out the new snow boots I bought.

Finals this week should be fun. Joe is studying almost as much as he can. I’m not too worried, but I do want to get as good as grades as possible, so I have been studying. Also spend my time getting mad at computers that never seem to work, and reading a little. Lately I’ve been planning out my days, and trying to stick to the plan. I’m actually getting a lot done. Highly recommend it.

I’m almost done with Christmas shopping. Only have 1.5 presents left. Kinda fun to spend money without worrying if what you bought was really worth it. I’m also excited for a three week break: not sure what I’m going to do with it, but it will be nice between hectic school semesters. Any ideas, feel free to comment.

And for your viewing pleasure, random pictures:

I am in a landscape management company. For an assignment, we did a bid on a landscape. The landscape was on a nice home, with lots of flower and shrub beds. I did the numbers, and the cost of maintaining that landscape came to around $40,000. That is why people do it themselves.

The lawn care was only around $6,000. Cleaning the paved areas was $900-but mostly because this house had a parking lot. The most expensive aspect of this were the annual beds, a lot because you have to buy annual flowers. That was over $15,000. Perennials were another large expense–$8,000–maintenance only, no new plants. Another large expense was mulch. So my gardening tip of the day–

Lawn is cheap and not hard to maintain with the right equipment. Perennial and annual beds are pretty but expensive. Paved area is the easiest to maintain.

That is why we are drowning in lawn. Although for real low maintenance switch to patios, and vigorous groundcovers.

One more thing–I have the hardest time spelling ‘perennial’ and ‘varieties.’ I’m constantly using them too. I’m glad I have good spellcheckers, but someday I hope to actually learn how to spell.

Okay. It is about 9:00 and I am thinking of going to bed. I do not believe it is normal behavior for college students to go to be that early, even if they are married. But I love going to bed at a decent hour, and I love getting up and what most people consider and undecent hour. I have been going to bed consistently before 10:00 my entire life. That even counts the year spent in college dorms, and the year dating Joe.

Most of you wonder why I would like to get up at 5:30. Some of you might wonder how I actually do it–I never use the snooze button. First I will say–read Power Sleep by JB Maas. Great pointers of sleep in there. And now for my tips and thoughts of early to bed and early to rise:

1)Do it consistently. This means don’t sleep in too long on the weekends. Set an alarm for the same time every morning. And actually wake up with it. Snooze buttons should not need to exisit. I find the more consistent I am the less I actually need the alarm.

2)By waking up early I am able to accomplish more. If I stayed up I would probably watch movies, work really slow on homework, and do nothing of significance. By waking up early I am able to read scriptures, exercise, eat a good breakfast, and do a little homework all before I have to go somewhere.

3)Naps are still good, but actually sleeping 8 hrs each night is the best–so set a bed time. Don’t plan stuff past the bedtime. Getting tired is not an inconvenience to whatever you are doing–it is a sign you need to sleep.

4)If you can’t do it, don’t stress it. But do establish good sleeping habits if you can. Occasionally a late night is fun–but it will be a lot less tiring if you’ve been sleeping consistently normally.

5)If it’s habit, it’s easy.

There. I don’t think there is a lot of point to this post–most people are pretty set on their sleeping habits, or are Mom’s of small children, or like my husband working at the wee hours of the night.

I turned in my graduation pack to the Dean’s office today. Strange that I am going to be done with school. Registration for next semester was this week. I signed up again for yet another 18 credit hour semester–I just can’t say no to classes. I love to learn and go to school, and so I end up taking more than I actually need to graduated. The semester next year is–Plant Physiology, Soil Nutrient Availability, Residential Design, Plant Pathology, Urban Forestry and Yoga. I only need the first two classes to graduate, but I’m excited for the rest.

Joe and I went down to the U to visit the Physical Therapy Department. Very informative, and makes me feel better about admittance. It’s more like a job application than a school application in a lot of ways. It would be fun to go there–be close to family. We’ll see next year–I’m just hoping to get in somewhere right now. Though I really like the career my husband has chosen.