lelia’s graduation!

Alright, I know it’s January, but between making Christmas presents and going on a cruise, I have failed to document a whole lot of things! So, for your viewing pleasure, I’ll be backtracking a whole lot. Prepare yourself!

We had a big life change on December 16th: Lelia graduated university and moved out in the same day. I definitely miss having my best friend living with us! She will be coming to visit soon enough, though!

There were so few grads in December! The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alone filled up the floor back in May, but this is EVERYONE! See if you can spot Lelia (good luck!)

It was pouring outside, so we got creative and stood under the doorway of the Institute building for some photos. You would never know how gross it really was outside!

So fun to see our friends Caitlin and Mike graduate too!

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!!

graduation!

Today Michael and I graduated from Virginia Tech! It's been a long, tiring day, and I am more than ready for some sleep! I definitely wanted to share some pictures before I head to bed though.

Last night was the big university commencement ceremony, but it only lasted about 12 minutes because we were all caught in the middle of a thunderstorm. So much for that (and farewell to my curled hair…)

At least we had fun taking pictures while waiting in line to get into the ceremony.

It's strange to think that school is all over now, and a few simple ceremonies closed that chapter in our lives. After working so hard to get to this point, I think it'll take a bit of adjustment to the "non-academic" lifestyle, but I'll never lose my desire to learn, that's for sure.

Congrats to all 2011 graduates!!!

horsing around

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to take a field trip to our school's equine research center, where we learned about foaling and neonatal care. I was even more fortunate to be able to go with my best friend Lelia!

We had a very long seminar on how to care for and prepare your mare before she gives birth, how to detect when she's getting close to foaling, and then how to monitor the birth to be sure everything runs smoothly. I don't know if I really have any future in equine reproduction, but it definitely interests me. But who wouldn't love the end result? – a sweet baby foal! If nothing else, it will help me out when we're on foal watch in the middle of the night waiting for a baby.

We also got to perform a milk-calcium test, which is basically just what it sounds like- you milk the mare and measure the calcium level, and the higher it goes, the closer she is to foaling, generally speaking. Of course there mares who just don't follow all the rules!

We also saw an intact placenta. It was both amazing and strange! The most memorable thing had to be its veins- they were HUGE! Thinking about what an important role they have, it only makes sense.

One of the other cool things we saw were these preserved fetuses. They were 50 days old at the time of death, but look how distinguishable they are! You can definitely tell what they would have grown up to be!

And of course, I can't tell you all about horses without any pictures! So here are the two stallions they keep at the farm.

This is "Royal", a big old Hanoverian boy.

And here's "Innkeeper". He's a pretty old boy at the age of 23, but he's one of the last living sons of Secretariat! I practically met a celebrity horse. You're jealous, I know.

constants

Lately, I keep finding myself stuck in one moment, wishing that everything could stay just as it is now. We both just started our last semester as undergraduates, and it just doesn't seem real. In less than four months, everything will be completely different. School will no longer be a part of my life, but I have no idea what will take its place!

Maybe I'm unsure of the future, but I do know that:

1. My husband will always be a goofball (please note his peeling skin because he forgot sunscreen!)

2. He'll always know how to make me smile.

3. Juni will always be pleasantly plump (hey, that's just more of her to kiss!)

4. Maggie will always try to eat my hair, and she will always look like a hairy mop. (She'll always love her chin scritches, too!)

5. I will never like hamburgers, so poor deprived Michael will just have to continue to rely on Red Robin.

6. My closet will probably not stay this clean! (this completes another goal for Celestial University!)

So there you have it! Even when life gets uncertain, it's fabulous to have a few constants. Right…

cool award

I feel like the coolest girl in the whole world right now. In fact, if there were an award, I'd definitely win it. Now, I bet you're trying to figure out how you can be this cool, aren't ya? Well let me just tell you…

1. According to the weather channel, it "feels like" 1 degree Fahrenheit outside right now. Instead of being "cold", I'm "cool" by being warm. My secret? Sweatpants under the jeans! Sure, people might think you've been eating too many gingerbread cookies, but who cares if you don't feel that 21mph (or stronger!) wind gust?

Just in case you wanted to try this new fashion yourself, I modeled it for you to be sure you get it right.

2. Last night, one of my girls from Activity/Achievement Days stopped by with her dad, and surprised me with brownies and a little ornament she made herself! That really made my day. I think this one makes me feel more "loved" than plain old "cool". She did a great job on the ornament too!

3. Two exams down, and just one to go! I really can't believe how quickly this semester went, but I sure feel like I've learned a whole lot, both academically and about myself.

11 days!

2 and 12

Only 2 days of finals left! This feels a bit like a sprint at the end of a really long run, and hopefully it will feel just that good once it's over. I am truly excited for Christmas break, because a lot of really awesome things are happening: Michael's brother Kevin is getting married, and so are a bunch of our friends! We'll get to be up at the temple for three different weddings! Isn't that so exciting?

I am also going to have a lot of opportunities to practice my photography. I'm doing a photoshoot with my buddy Lelia, then GiGi's bridal portraits, and then her and Kevin's actual wedding! I'm pretty nervous for that last one, but I'm still really excited.

Hopefully I'll get to do a lot of fun crafty stuff too… but I can't really tell or show you yet, since some of those things are Christmas presents. Yesterday I found  a pattern for making "Toothless" (from How to Train Your Dragon), and I definitely can't wait to try it. It looks a bit difficult, but it'll be a good challenge.

Also… Two years ago today was the day Michael proposed and put a ring on my finger. Love you sweetie!

And, last but not least, Juni would like to remind everyone that she is NOT fat.

12 days till Christmas!

La fin [the end]

Tonight my French professor had all of us from her Oral Proficiency class over for dinner. Each of us brought something, and overall we had quite a nice variety of foods. I'm not one to brag, but I do make some preeetty delicious brownies. So that's what I brought, and my prof even asked for the recipe! She makes a pretty mean whipped cream herself =)

We all joked around about our favorite professors' little quirks that we love so much… And retold some of the stories from skits we've had to act out over the years. We were all laughing so hard, but on the inside, I think we were all a little sad too. This was really the last time we'd all be together. Mostly everyone else there is graduating this semester. I'll still be here, finishing up my dual degree, which is honorable in itself, but it doesn't always feel quite that way. When you see everyone around you moving on to bigger and better things, it's easy to say "Gosh. I'm still just an undergrad!". Anyway, it was a great last memory to have with some of my French buddies.

In my post yesterday, I mentioned that I was sick… well, I woke up this morning and felt nearly completely better! There must be some magic fairy that goes around at night healing people. But last night, when I wasn't feeling so great, I watched about an hour and a half of Hannah Montana. Yeah, I just admitted that. I seem to do it only when I'm sick. But the best part of it all was that my best friend was sitting right beside me the entire time. (By the way, I'm sure that watching Hannah Montana isn't exactly his idea of fun. That must mean he loves me a lot <3 )

it’s over!

So, the school year is finally over! I say finally, but really it flew by so quickly. I took my last final today, and luckily it was easy. I didn't get to study too much for it, because yesterday I came down with some kind of bug. Yuck! Seems like since we've been married, I get sick easier.

My little study buddy helped me out some…

And look who came through the post!

work work work

This week is quite busy so far, but that is nothing out of the ordinary these days. Michael has this huge project due this week, so his partner has been over and they've been living, eating, and breathing this assignment. I had a midterm today… and another one on Thursday. The only day I'm "allowed" to go out and work with my sheep is tomorrow, but sadly I think it might have to wait until next week =(

Maggie's incision is almost completely closed now. I'm glad we could help my little girl. Lately, I've been putting their blanket down in the kitchen and letting run and play in there, since it's bigger than their cage. They also haven't lived together since Maggie's surgery (3 weeks ago), so they like to have supervised playtime.

Tonight during their dinnertime, they got so excited that they knocked over their playpen gate! Here's a video:

On another note, my wandering eye gets me into trouble. Today I found a sweet little guinea pig that people are trying to get rid of… in the pictures she looks so frightened and I just want to go pick her up, bring her home and spoil her. She's just 6 months old and is already so unhappy. And I get unhappy because I can't rescue every pig. I can't change the world. I wish I had infinite time, money, and resources. Poor little pig.

sheep, pigs, and a test, oh my!

Ever ride a bike down a huge hill, knowing you really need to use the brakes, but it feels so good to go fast that you just… don't? The weather today was beautiful, and yes, I was riding my bike, full speed down a hill. Spring is in the air, and I know that despite all my "grown up" worries (school, jobs, etc) there's still some kid left in there. OK, probably a lot of kid. It's just fun to let go once in awhile.

Today I had a huge exam. It was so hard, and I studied so many hours for it. I might not have done well, but at least I did my very best. That's all anyone can ask.

Last night, I got "my" sheep for the Livestock show that happens next month! Basically, I get to train it, bathe it and sheer it, then parade it around a ring and hopefully win a ribbon. I am so excited. I did this 2 years ago (missed it last year since I was in Switzerland) and had a blast. My sheep was "Bubbles", and we ended up 4th in our class. Not the best, but now I am more experienced so we'll see how that goes.

Here's a picture of sweet little Bubbles just for you to enjoy:

In other news, Maggie went back to the vet today. This could be the last time, unless I want her checked up on next week. Her staples are out and the incision healed, but it has to stay open to be flushed, so the vet cut it back open. Now I'm in charge of flushing it and filling it with this white goop, until she looks like a "jelly doughnut" (vet's words, no lie!). Anyway, I'm glad my little buddy is OK and still here with me.  If we didn't do the surgery, she would be gone and I would be very lost.