sugar bush

Last Monday, we went on a fun spring winter (I’m not even sure which word to use) to the Sugar Bush to see where maple syrup is made. We went with Evalyn’s preschool class. Let me tell you, there is something about going on a class trip with your kid (even if it is just preschool) that screams I AM A MOM. I have kind of always waited for the day that I’d get to go on all of these fun trips and since a crazy wind storm canceled our Pumpkin Patch trip in the fall, this was our first.

  We were extra lucky because Nana came to visit to go on the trip with us. So fun!

We learned (or at least I learned … not sure Eva caught on to anything except the fact that we ate pancakes) so many interesting facts about making maple syrup, went on a tractor pulled wagon ride, a walk through the bush and enjoyed delicious pancakes smothered in real maple syrup.

I derive from Maple Syrup People so this is definitely my kind of treat. Over a week later, Eva is still talking about it – even though at the time, she spent a good portion of the morning whining about wanting to go back on the wagon ride. I just love these kind of fun adventures that bring her so much joy.

I Rock

Sometimes I find myself wandering around the internet – checking out blogs, looking at people’s pins, reading tweets – and I find myself feeling inadequate. Because I can’t do what she does. Or I don’t look as pretty as she does. Or I’m not as talented as she is. Today that happened. I was fiddling around with some things for Eva’s first year photo book and birthday party and I flipped. I had an idea in my head but I could not seem to figure out how to execute said idea. So, instead of being rational and taking a breath, trying again, or perhaps asking for help. I just quit. I deleted what I had been working on and quit. Because I couldn’t do it. Sure, what I was trying to do may have been easy for you or you or you. But it wasn’t easy for me and that made me feel like crap and made me feel jealous of people who are “better” than me.

But, after getting my booty smacked by a few good friends and an unexpected, encouraging text from my hubby telling me how good the cobbler I baked last night was – I realized it’s time to turn this around. Who cares if I’m not good at x,y or z? God gave me talents, skills and abilities. Some of them I appreciate but unfortunately, many of them I don’t.

I wish I was athletic. I wish I could sing. I wish I was more artistic and creative. I wish I was more talented on the computer. I wish, I wish, I wish. But enough wishing. It’s time to stop. Because? I rock.

I rock at cooking. I feed my family good meals most nights of the week. Sometimes we get take out. Sometimes I make chicken fingers. But mostly? We eat good, homemade meals.

I rock at baking. I can make a mean apple pie. My pastry is probably better than anything you’ve ever tasted in your life. My brownies? You’ll die if you eat them. My husband makes sure to keep this talent of mine well-tuned.

I rock at organization and efficiency. I thrive on to-do lists. I think about what needs to be done on any given day and I do it.

I rock at memorization. I have the world’s most ridiculous memory. I can remember bizarre details about events – such as the clothes someone was wearing, the food we were eating or the exact words of a conversation. Sometimes my husband wishes I didn’t have this kind of memory, but it serves me well.

I rock at research and learning. I exceled in my undergrad and graduate programs.Sometimes I forget it, but I am a well-educated woman with a Masters degree in a research field. I have two completed theses under my belt. 

I rock at keeping my house. It may not be absolutely spotless at all times, but it’s tidy, it’s comfortable and it’s our home.

I rock at making my bed every single morning.

I rock at changing cloth diapers. I can get that girl’s diaper off, booty wiped, new dipe on, cover on, clothes back on, diaper rinsed and in the diaper pail faster than you can say POOP.

I rock at singing The Little Birdie song, doing stinky feet and playing with the shape sorter.

I rock at being Eva’s mom.

So, there. I said it. I rock. I may not rock in all the ways I wish I could but I rock in the ways God intended me to. And that’s what matters.

So, come on. Spill it.

What do you rock at?

Hi, Ho,The Derry-O, It’s Off To Work We Go

The day has arrived.

Today I will return to my job as a Teaching Assistant at my University. After dinner this evening, I will pack up my purse (!!!) and school bag, leave the diaper bag at home, and head to campus to lead two seminars with twenty students each. And I’ll do the same thing each Tuesday night for the next 12 weeks.

Many people have asked me if I’m ready. If I’m looking forward to it. If I’m dreading it. Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that. It is what it is. I’m not eagerly excited for it but I’m also not stewing and stressing over it. It’s happening. And that's that.

I am looking forward to Evalyn having an opportunity to be away from me a few hours a week. I think it will be healthy for us. Thankfully, most of that time she’ll be able to be with her Daddy.

To be honest, this job is so ideal for me right now. Since I wasn’t working full time when I was pregnant, I didn’t qualify for maternity leave. I finished up grad school a few months before she was born so now I have a fresh, unused degree in my pocket. But I’m not ready to go to work full time. Heck, I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for that – although it will likely have to happen sometime soon(ish). So for now, this set up is perfect. It enables me to bring in a little extra cash while still spending the majority of time at home with my Little. I will be going to campus one night a week for my seminars and the rest of my work can be done from home. It looks to me as though I’ll be able to keep up with it during nap times, but I also know I have a handful of people to call on if I need an uninterrupted morning to work.

So if you have a minute, send up a little prayer for us (me) today as we start this new endeavour.

June Review and July Goals

I cannot.cannot.cannot believe that another month has come and gone! Yesterday was Canada Day and I celebrated by doing - well, the same thing I do most days. The Dude was working so it didn't feel much like a holiday, except that all the stores were closed and the farm was packed with people picking cherries.

Let's take a look and see what happened in June...

1. Defend (and hopefully pass) thesis.

Done! My thesis defense went super well and I was so grateful for all the prayers and support from each of you.

2. Complete all final touch ups, revisions, and paperwork for school. Apply to graduate! Woo hoo (although I don't actually get to attend my graduation ceremony, boo hoo).

I had to do some minor revisions to my conclusion after my defense so I got them done the very next day and printed my copies and handed them in early last week. I have applied to graduate in October and it looks like it's all set. The only thing I have yet to do is figure out if there are any forms I need to submit to the scholarship agencies to let them know I have completed my program.

3. Complete childbirth classes.

We completed our childbirth classes earlier in June. We both felt that they were very beneficial and we learned a lot about labour, childbirth and caring for a newborn. The countdown is on!

4. Welcome a new member to our extended family (any day now, Kris).

This was actually completed in May, but I had written and scheduled my June post the day before. Baby A was born on May 30th, making Little H the cutest big brother on the block!

5. Travel north for the annual Vine family reunion.

I got home on Tuesday night and had a great time. Check it out here! While I was up there, my cousins' wife took some awesome maternity photos for me.

6. Begin "pre-baby" projects - coming soon!

I have started purging and reorganizing our home to make room for baby. You can check out all the projects I have on the go on my sidebar. The big one - redo the nursery, has yet to be done!

7. Stand up in Caley's wedding!! Whoo hoo!

Caley's wedding was so beautiful and such a blast. If you didn't get a chance, check out the pics and recap here.

8. Finish current Beth Moore bible study.

The study finished up last week but I wasn't able to attend the last class as I was just getting home from my sister's. The next one will likely start up in the fall so we'll see if I can get involved with it, depending on when the baby makes his entry into the world.

June was a big month for us. Other than what is listed here, there were many other happenings that took place ... We took a short weekend getaway together after my thesis defense, I met SnoWhite, the garden is growing, we have some new baby chicks, and the FD left his previous job and is now self-employed as a sub-contractor doing a variety of renovations! It was busy, it was stressful, it was chaotic and it went by quickly. Here's hoping for a bit of a rest during the month of July.

So what's on the schedule for this month ....

1. Visit with our friend's from Ohio.

2. Visit the in-laws.

3. Replace carpet in baby's room (um, this is actually not on my list. Hint, hint, FD).

4. Set up baby's room - arrange furniture and start adding all the finishing touches.

5. Condense and purge scrapbooking/crafting/board game cabinet. This is going to be a daunting task. I keep thinking about doing it and finding a reason why I should wait just a bit longer. Yesterday I opened it, took a look at it for about 5 minutes, closed it, and walked away. IT.MUST.GET.DONE.

6. Send FD away on a boy's fishing trip and spend some girl time with my mom and sisters.

7. Attend my baby shower.

8. Get a hair cut (can't tell you how badly I need this one).

9. Organize freezers and freeze cherries for the winter.

10. Begin harvesting and preserving veggies from the garden.

Wedding Bells Were Ringing

First of all, thank you all so much for your words of congratulations yesterday after I passed my thesis defense! Let me tell you, it feels like such a HUGE weight off my shoulders. After my defense, my committee took me out for lunch, then I went home and relaxed for the afternoon before going for a celebratory dinner at M&Ls and heading to bible study for the evening. What a great day!

Warning: Picture heavy post!

I may or may not have mentioned that this past weekend we were in the FD's hometown to celebrate his cousin's wedding. His cousin, Caley, is my frousin. That's because she's more my friend than his cousin.

We arrived Friday afternoon and got to work on setting up the tent and everything else for the big day.

Then we had a BBQ for the rehearsal dinner and practiced the good old wedding processional in the pouring rain. It was actually kind of nice because it meant that the rehearsal wrapped up very quickly and we were all back to Caley's place just after 8 to spend the evening pampering ourselves and getting rested up for Saturday.

On Saturday, the hair dresser and makeup artists came to C's house to get us all ready. That made for such a relaxing day! It really cut down on the busyness of going going going everywhere. We got to sit around and watch chick flicks while we were waiting for it to be our turn.

After I got my hair and makeup done I stopped for a little munchie and I tried to convince Caley that the outfit I was wearing would be just fine for the wedding.

We all got to choose our own style of dress for the wedding. Thank goodness, since I was just barely pregnant when we bought them. I ended up choosing the same one as one of the other bridesmaids but we looked a wee bit different in them. Can you guess which one is me? (Em - I stole this pic from you ... oops).

Around 3:30 the limo arrived to pick us up so we (well, the rest of them) drank some champagne and headed to the wedding. We were a few minutes early so we did a little drive by the ceremony site, and I stood up out of the sunroof and screamed the whole way past. Leave it to me to cause a scene.

The ceremony was beautiful and the sun came out and began to shine just as soon as Caley stepped foot out of the limo. Could not have been more perfect! I don't have any pictures of the ceremony because, well, I was somewhat preoccupied and the Dude left the camera in the truck, but I do have a few that we snapped in between ceremony and reception.

I got a picture with all of my nieces and nephew on E's side:

The reception was held in a tent at the same location so there was no crazy chaos trying to get from point A to point B. That's just how I like it.

The reception tent was decorated white red, white and burlap. They used cupcake bouquets to double as the centerpieces and as dessert. It was so fitting since Craig had used cupcakes to spell out "Will you marry me" when he proposed!

The food was delicious, the speeches were great, and the dance was so much fun! I "officially" welcomed Craig to the family with a gigantic kiss on the lips. He was so embarrassed but I think he needs to get used to it. This family likes to kiss!

We were about to call it a night when the limo arrived to pick up the lovebirds, until we realized that he locked his keys in the car and had to call for help! An hour or more later, they were finally in the car and ready to leave for their honeymoon!

The next day, we decided to hop over to my sister's to meet our brand new niece. She only lives about an hour from the FD's parents so we could not be up there without going to see her. Let me tell you, she is absolutely perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect! And now that he's a big brother, Little H does not seem so little anymore! He is growing up!

And one last thing to share ... There is a house en route between my sister's house and my house that we affectionately refer to as "the teddy bear picnic house". Every time we drive there, I think I should stop and take a picture but I always feel way too rude to do it forget. This time, I did it! Click on the picture to make it bigger if you can't see, but, their entire yard is decorated with teddy bears. All different shapes and sizes. Just sitting around chillin' out. Crazy, right?

And the verdict is in....

At 10:00 this morning, I stood in front of a small group of individuals and gave a 20 minute presentation on my thesis.

At 10:20 this morning, I began the first round of questioning from my committee.

At 11:20 this morning, I began the second round of questioning from my committee.

At 11:35 this morning, I was asked, along with the audience to leave the room while my committee engaged in deliberation.

At 11:40 am this morning, my advisor congratulated me with a big hug and welcomed me back into the room as "Master Lucy".

Thank you all so much for your prayers, well wishes, and encouragement as I prepared for my thesis defense.

I have a few minor revisions to make but the papers are all signed and I am done grad school!

Hooray!

Crying Over Spilled Milk

Whoever said there is no use crying over spilled milk must not have witnessed what took place in my refrigerator the other day.

Because there is use in crying over spilled milk.

Especially when you are 6 months pregnant, preparing for a thesis defense, super duper stressed out and it is spilled chocolate milk.

April Goal Review and May Goals

It's hard to believe it's that time again ... I think I say that every month ... but here we are, at the beginning of a new month.

April Goal Review

1. School goals: Tidy up thesis based on advisor's feedback, send first draft to committee. Begin planning and preparing for defense. Mark final presentation, final checkpoint, and major assignment. Complete all TAing duties.

Done,done, and done! All of my TAing duties are officially done. My thesis has been approved by my advisor and all committee members. My edits are done and my final draft is ready to go. I am in the process of securing an external examiner and setting a date for defense.

2. Faith Goals: Begin a new Beth Moore bible study with women at church. Continue keeping up with the text project.

I have had the opportunity to complete the first few weeks of the "Beloved Disciple" series with Beth Moore. I have been so encouraged and uplifted by spending two hours a week with some of the most wise, God fearing women I have ever met. It is wonderful! I have almost completed 1 Corinthians with the text project and will be moving on to the book of Mark soon.

3. Fitness Goals: Begin a yoga class. I am really pumped about this one! Continue briskly walking at least 3 times per week.

I am loving my yoga class. The instructor is fabulous and although it's not specifically a prenatal class, she just recently had a baby of her own so she helps me to modify some of the poses if necessary to accommodate my changing body. I have been walking almost every day.

4. Plan/attend three wedding/baby showers for friends.

Done, done (didn't blog about the shower for Jacob and Becky), and done!

5. Get the garden worked, potentially start planting some things depending on the weather. *This is definitely more of a FD goal ... I serve as more of a supervisory role in terms of the garden. At least until it's time to harvest. Then I get in there like crazy.

The garden is worked. Potatoes are in and strawberries are in! The rest will be planted throughout the month of May. I will start taking some garden pictures and tracking our progress this month.

6. Do some spring cleaning: wash windows (which isn't hard since our basement apartment only has one patio door for a window), scrub all floors thoroughly, organize FD's closet, start purging in the spare room (i.e. baby's room).

I did do some major spring cleaning in preparation for the shower I hosted here, but I didn't do much in the baby's room. After my defense is done, that will be my task. But, windows, doors, baseboards, walls, ceilings etc., were all washed and cleaned!

7. See our little one at our 20 week ultrasound!

You betcha!

8. Celebrate Easter with my family.

We had a great weekend with my family. You can read about it here.

Goals for May:

1. Send thesis to external examiner. Set defense date. Prepare and practice for defense presentation.

2. Plant the rest of the garden.

3. Host a wedding shower.

4. Watch the SERIES FINALE of LOST!

5. Decide if/when/where we are going take prenatal classes.

6. Attend a good friend's wedding.

7. Attend a friend's personal shower.

8. Exercise at least 3 times per week.

Woot Woot!

This was a big week for me.

First of all, on Wednesday, I submitted my thesis to my committee members for review. The end is drawing near!

Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, I taught for the final time this term ... and possibly forever. I have been a TA for the past three years, and it seems so strange that this era in my life may be over.

Now, I get to enjoy the next few days off until I pick up my student's final proposals to grade next Wednesday. They will keep me busy for a few weeks and by the time I am done with that, I should have received feedback from my committee and will be able to jump back into the final stages of thesis work!

I'm planning on enjoying my weekend by snuggling with my brand new niece.

Have a great weekend y'all (he he he, I said y'all.)

February Goal Review and March Goals

Welcome, March! Please bring Spring with you. Thank you.

February was a big month here in our household! Now it's time to go back and see how I did with my goals amidst the excitement of telling all our loved ones that we're on our way to becoming parents.

1. School goals: Mark my student's first assignment in a timely fashion (i.e. within one week). Mark their presentations within 24 hours of seeing them. Complete analysis and begin writing discussion chapter. Mark midterms. Wow, busy month!

First assignment has been marked, recorded and handing back. Presentations are marked and results given. My analysis is complete and a draft of my discussion chapter will be e-mailed to my advisor this afternoon. Midterms were marked over reading week (last week). I will record their marks and give them back to the Prof. to hand back to students later this week.

2. Travel to Ohio to stand up in our dear friend's wedding. And do some other super fun exciting stuff while we're there. ;) ....you'll have to wait and see what we've got planned.

We sure did! Check out this post to see a recap on the wedding weekend which also included A SUPER FANTASTICAL BLOGGY MEET UP WITH SHAINA AND JENNY!

3. Get back on track with menu planning. And not only planning, but menu plan following. January has been weird. And crazy. And my menu plan following and organized grocery shopping has suffered as a result.

I have done pretty good with this this month. I haven't been posting my menu plans as I normally do but I have been making them and trying to stick with them. The reason I got off track in January was because in the early weeks of my pregnancy, cooking was the absolute least appealing activity. That, combined with the tired factor, and I was not in the mood to whip up any amazing meals. I have gotten back into the swing of meal planning, organized shopping and cooking, although our meals have been more subdued than normal.

4. Spend a weekend with Little H while his parents go on vacation.

We had a great time!

5. Continue to exercise at least 3 times per week (usually more).
Hmm ... well ... ugh. Okay, so major fail. The weather has been my excuse. I like to be outside. Snowy weather does not bode well for that. So, therefore, my exercising has suffered. I will get back on track in March!

6. Complete bathroom renovation (I will be posting more about this soon).
Done, done, done. Although this really should not have been on my goal list as I did basically nothing, except watch. The Fabulous Dude did an amazing job with it! Check it out here.

7. BEGIN WATCHING SEASON 6 OF LOST! WOOT WOOT!

I have been watching each episode with my friend, T. She moved last Friday, though, so starting tomorrow, the dude and I will be watching at home. I am so excited that we seem to finally be getting some answers ... kind of?

8. Organize our bedroom closets and dresser drawers.

Wow. The last time I thought about this goal was probably on February 1st when I wrote it. I definitely did not do this. Except I did clean out and rearrange E's tshirt drawer. At this point, I think I will probably wait to do the complete overhaul until when I need to revamp my wardrobe and swap out my regular clothes for maternity wear.

What's up For March:

1. School goals: Finalize discussion chapter, begin conclusion chapter, mark 3 presentations, mark student's second assignment, complete and finalize thesis reference page (for someone as organized as I normally am - I have done a horrible job keeping my reference page up to date as I have worked my way through writing the chapters of my thesis. This is going to be a messy, messy job.)

2. Finish the book of Acts and begin the book of Romans through the Text Project to stay up to date with my through the new testament in a year goal.

3. Welcome a new niece or nephew into our lives ... any day now!

4. Spend a weekend with my mom, sister, SIL, and many girlfriends from church being uplifted at the Beth Moore conference.

5. Begin preparations and planning for our 2010 garden.

What have you got going on in the month of March?

and we're done...

I just returned home from leading my last seminars of the semester! It is so hard to believe how quickly it went by.

Although some of them will come see me in my last few sets of office hours over the next few days with frantic questions about their final proposal, and I will spend about 572 hours with them on paper marking their proposals, our face-to-face, in class interaction is done.

I always feel a bit sad on this day. I feel like by the time we reach the end of the 12 week semester, I am just at the point where I am really getting to know my student's and am in a position to really provide them with the assistance they need, and then the semester is over, I say goodbye to them, wish them luck and get ready to meet a new batch of students in the New Year.

I was lucky to have two great classes this semester. One of them, especially, made waking up before dawn every Wednesday morning just a little bit more enjoyable.

As much as I sometimes hate marking their work, and sometimes want to shake them when they do their assignments wrong, I love my students and have had a blast with them this term! After a night of restless sleep, a very early morning, and a largeeeeeeee coffee, I sent them off with well wishes and good luck for the remainder of their papers and exams and I felt a little twinge of sadness.

Oh ya - and I'm also ready for it to start snowing. I'm pretty sure I have never said those words before but seriously - enough with these warm temps, bring on the white fluffy stuff (but only in the middle of the night when I don't have to be out and about, please).

Please tell me this is a joke...

I start TAing next week. So, this week I'm getting all my stuff prepared.

I got my class lists yesterday. I made my attendance sheets tonight.

I have 15 students in one class, 18 in the other.

In the class with 18 students, I have three Kristen's, three Kirsten's and a Kristine.

I am horrible with names to begin with.

Please tell me this is a joke.

Thanks!!

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the prayers and good lucks! I passed with no revisions. One of my committee members had a few things to say about some theoretical issues in my project but methodologically, I'm good to go. I really really appreciate all the comments you left for me today! Love you all.

P.S. Watch out later in the week for a giveaway!

Will you say a little prayer for me?

Today at 10:00 a.m. I will be giving my proposal defense. I'm not too worried about it but I would still appreciate prayers that I will be able to speak clearly and that my committee will like what I have to say! My hope is that I will get approved with no/minor revisions and that I can get my ethics application in by the end of next week so that I can take a few weeks off until school starts back up full swing. I'll check in with all of you later today and let you know how it went.

Wikipedia Courtesy of Michael Scott...

I have recently started watching The Office. Since we don't have cable, I tend to be behind on shows because I only watch them once my sister-in-law buys the seasons on DVD and allows me to mooch from her.

Yesterday, I encountered what might be the funniest Michael Scott quote, IMHO. It might not be quite as funny to the rest of the world, but to me, a grad student who works with first year undergrad students, it is quite funny.

"Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information".
- The Office, Season Three, The Negotiation.

(source)

Thank you, Michael Scott. I guess this just teaches me that I need to go easy on my students when they make a case for why they used Wikipedia as an academic source.

This Girl's Got Game ... and Some Other Stuff

Thank you for being so respectful of my wishes today and only posting really really boring and uninteresting stuff on your blogs! You are now free to post about whatever you wish. I managed to work most of the day without stopping for any blog reading breaks. Okay, I'm lying. I read a few posts here and there.

But, let me tell you ... I've still got it in me! I managed to pump out the entire draft of my proposal by 2:00 p.m. today. 23 pages of magic. I'm pretty excited and feel like I have at least somewhat made up for lost time. I also managed to get a few questions answered from the ethics board, narrow my recruiting options down to two organizations and prepare for some upcoming meetings. I forgot what it feels like to be (academically) productive. It feels gooooood!

In other news, I quit biting my nails! That's one item off the bucket list. I haven't been biting for about 1.5-2 months. I am quite proud of myself. I find that if I keep them prettied up with some clear polish that I am less likely to bite. Right now, they are all residing just above my finger tips which is a huge accomplishment for a girl who has lived 20 plus years with the shortest bitten nails in the history of the world. The problem is after years and years of biting they are very brittle and weak so they break very easily. Do any of you have any suggestions of what I can do to strengthen them? Right now I'm using Nutra Nail Green Tea Nail Hardener which is working okay but I'm having to re-apply every two days, which just isn't cool. Suggestions, please!!

In even more other news, I can't stop eating chocolate. I always have some dark chocolate in the house for when I have a craving. Usually a bite or two and I'm satisfied. I just cannot kick this craving over the past few days. I've drastically depleted my dark chocolate stockpile and now I'm sitting here with a small bowl of chocolate chips. Please don't judge me.

I'd also like to say thanks for a few awards I've received in the past little while ...

Thanks to Cristina and C for awarding me with the Lovely Blog Award! Thanks, Gals!

And Brittany was so gracious as to present me with this:

Thanks, I love your blog, too!

The bowl of chocolate chips is now gone. I feel sick to my stomach. Perhaps I've kicked the craving.

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Please do not write any hilarious, interesting, thought provoking, delicious or creative posts today. You see, I really need to spend a lot of time completing a draft of my thesis proposal in order to meet my self-imposed deadline by tomorrow's meeting with my advisor. It would be very rude of you to distract me with your witty humor, fun weekend recaps and yummy recipes. Please respect my wishes.

Yours truly,

Lucy Marie

Thesis Proposal?!?!? WHAT thesis proposal?

After completing my first year of grad school and all my course work in April, my main tasks for the summer are to 1) complete a directed reading and major paper with my thesis supervisor, 2) write, submit, review and defend my thesis proposal and 3) submit my ethics application for my research project.

1) I am about half-way through the directed reading with my supervisor, simply because there are scheduled weekly meetings and weekly tasks. I have not begun writing the paper that goes along with the course.

2) In terms of my thesis proposal, the most I have done is gone through that paper from
you know where and deleted the parts that are not relevant to my actual research (which was about 3/4 of the paper). So, I'm left with a few pages of mish-mash that might be relevant to my research with a certain amount of tweaking. I have a ginormous binder of articles, notes, and rough drafts that I have collect over the past three years to be assimilated into one tidy proposal.

3) Moving on to the ethics application, I have downloaded the template from the university website. The end.

There are just too many other way more exciting, way less work-like things to do around here. There are just too many friends to be hung out with, kids to be played with, babies to be held, breads to be baked, foods to be made, clothes to be washed, dishes to be done, movies to be watched, TV shows to be caught up on, gardens to be weeded, walks to be walked, beaches to be laid on, boats to be cruised on, blogs to be read ... and you get the picture.

I usually don't struggle with time management and independent motivation. I can usually set goals for myself and get them done. Over the past month, not so much. I generally work better at home but I think that I might need to make myself pack up my junk books, laptop and notes and head to my office on campus for a few years days.

Maybe I should rethink my educational and career goals and just stick to being a full-time stay-at-home blogger ...

I need serious help.

Q&A - Answers Part Two

The questions have kept coming and so will the answers. This is a blast. You can see my answers to the first round of questions that readers asked me here. As long as you keep asking, I'll keep answering.

Holly asked: "What are you doing your graduate work in, and what are your career plans when you're done?"

Answer: I am currently working on a Master of Arts degree in Child and Youth studies. What exactly is that, you ask? Well, I'm not sure. It's an interdisciplinary department that explores children and youth through the lenses of psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, women's studies etc. My research kind of takes on the sociological/cultural studies/media/women's studies approach and looks at "Smart Girls" in high school. Specifically, I look at how two dominant ways of speaking about girls (as either victimized and oppressed and as empowered and confident) shape their experiences in their classrooms. It's all quite interesting to me. My career plans? Don't ask. I really don't have a clue what I'm going to be when I grow up. The program is not an education degree. After my undergrad degree in Child and youth, most people go on to teacher's college but after working as an assistant in a JK/SK class and doing placements in primary school, I decided teaching is not for me. There are many options available with my degree but I haven't really narrowed in on where I want to go. So, we'll see where the Lord takes me once this step is done.

Anon asked: "What is your favourite Sunday of the month? The first, second, third, fourth or if you're lucky, fifth?"

Answer: Well, that's obvious. The fifth one of course. Thanks for asking.

Anon asked: "Who do you think is a better person? Katie or Amy?"

Answer: Depends on who is the one asking all these strange questions. Whichever one is asking, the opposite one is a better person.

Anon asked: Where does your sister fit into your description of best friends? Or is she in a class all on her own?

Answer: I have no idea what this really means but I'm going to go with a class of her own. My sister is bizarre and she can't be compared to anyone else. But she does rock my world.

Kristin (my sister) asked: "If you could do one thing with your nephew what would it be?"

Answer: At this moment? Snuggle and dance with him. I miss that lil gaffer so much. Eight hours is too far apart. At any time during my life? I would love to take him to the zoo someday.

Snow White asked: "What is your favorite ingredient to cook with? What's your most loved cooking tool in the kitchen?"

Answer: My favorite ingredient is mushrooms. I put mushrooms in nearly every main dish I cook. If the recipe doesn't call for mushrooms, I find a way to add them. I'm sure you're not surprised about this answer if you read this post. A close second is cumin. It is my absolute favorite spice. Oh yeah, and chocolate is pretty grand as well (as I devour a Dark chocolate mint lindor from my secret stash). My most loved cooking tool in the kitchen...? How dare you ask me to choose just one. I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of any of other things. I actually use most(all) of my "special" kitchen tools and appliances. I think that's just because I have tons of cupboard space and so everything is easily accessible. In our old place, a lot of my not-so-common kitchen tools were in storage and I hardly ever lugged them out. But here, I have everything within reach. So, my most loved ... I think I have to go with ....

...the bread machine. To the rest of my precious kitchen tools/appliances/gadgets, please know that Mama still loves you.

I hope you all have a fantastic Easter weekend. Enjoy your time spent with your family and friends and don't eat TOO much! We are spending the long weekend with the FD's family. He was going to go on his own and I was going to stay home to get some more work done but a few nights ago our 2 1/2 year old neice called to talk to me and said "I love you to my house now". I think the translation is "I'd love for you to come to my house please". Who can say no to that cuteness?

A Lesson and a Grow-Op

First of all, thank you all so much for your encouragement, prayers and well wishes for my presentation last Friday. Unfortunately, it did not go as well as I had hoped. Of course, my nerves got the best of me causing me to stumble over words and get dry mouth syndrome (I'm really going to have to get that under control before my real defense!) My professors also asked me questions I did not expect and suggested way more changes than I anticipated. So, the task before me is daunting. I thought I was about this close to being finished my final paper and now I realize I am actually only about this close. I have a telephone consultation scheduled with one of the professors (the more approachable one) tomorrow which should be helpful. Needless to say, I was quite discouraged on Friday and came home with a very heavy burden weighing on me.

However, God spoke to me over the weekend and taught me a very important lesson. I have come to realize that even if I don't get an A in the class (which I likely still will), it doesn't really matter. I get SO caught up in it all so easily. But in the end, who cares? If I don't do well in this class, I still have a wonderful husband, fantastic parents and siblings, amazing friends and a supportive church family. I can still cook food, bake bread, scrapbook, pray, be a mama *someday I hope*, take care of my home, walk with my God, grow, learn, enjoy nature and the list goes on .... There are so many things that I enjoy and am good at that don't have anything to do with academics. And when it boils down to it, those are the things I want to cling to. This doesn't mean I will never get stressed about school again or that I am going to stop trying hard but I have gained a little perspective after a discouraging experience followed by an encouraging weekend spent with my mom, my husband and my church family. I have always been good at school but that is only one part of my identity and it does not, and should not, be all that defines me. I want to be first a child of God, second a faithful wife, a trustworthy friend, an encouraging sister.... My academics/career comes so far behind all of those things and I am slowly learning that.

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things". - Col. 3:2.

On another note, we have a sweet little grow op set up in our laundry room. Gardening season is fast approaching and so we've recently started our tomatoes in doors in hopes that they will be strong enough by mid-May to be transported outdoors. Last year we bought tomato plants but this year, we decided to try from seed. This year we are the fabulous dude is planning on increasing the size of our garden so we can enjoy more fresh veggies when the harvest comes. Maybe this year I'll be a better helper.