Summer's finally here

Well, it's been a while since I posted. No real excuse just haven't had much to post. This week, I have been trying to get more work on my thesis done but it is definitely hard when the weather has been so nice. And it's also easy to get distracted by all those daytime shows that I have missed all year! But I did finish my results section (a draft at least) and have done some more work on my lit review. I have a meeting in the morning (yes, on a holiday if you can believe it!) with my supervisor to go over my progress thus far.

Last week started the softball season for the South Meadows team. Amanda and I began our stint as scorekeepers/babysitters and as she put it, also as cheerleaders/suntanners!:) It was an enjoyable couple of games and it'll likely be fun again this week (if it doesn't rain!). Thursday, I was also able to attend a Vipers baseball game which was also fun. It's always nice to be able to get out with friends and enjoy this beautiful Calgary weather! Today, I attempted to go to church and afterwards small group in High River, but upon getting on the C-train soon found out that it wasn't running downtown due to repairs. So, I was stuck and began walking home (and got blisters as I was wearing flip-flops!). I probably could've headed down to small group by finding a bus but it would've probably taken a couple of hours each way and I just wasn't in the mood. I actually did a little more work and went for another walk so it was still an enjoyable day.

Anyhow, I don't know what else to say right now. Hope everyone enjoys their day off (I'm not complaining; I do get to work at home, after all!).

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Just a quick post to wish my mom a great Mother's Day! Wish Kristen and I were there to share it with you but at least we'll be able to share your b-day as a family! A girl at church today read a poem she wrote for her mother and I had to tune her out a little (she was crying as she read it:()because I was sure she would make me cry if I listened to it all! But it made me remember all of the verses/poems we had to memorize for the Mother's Day pageants at church! Love you!

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

That's the question I need to answer for my friends who are getting married. They are creating a wedding website and want each of the bridal party to write up a biography with answers to a number of questions they have posed. But you see, I'm a pretty simple girl I think. I was always called the responsible one of the group (to keep everyone from doing stuff that was WAY too crazy) so now I'm not sure what to write for this question. Any ideas anyone?

It's been a pretty busy week. Friday I had a workshop all day; it was on Emotional Intelligence and it was actually quite interesting. The highlight of the day, though, was going to STARS ON ICE with my friend Lanis. It was spectacular! It is amazing what those skaters are able to do! Very enjoyable. Saturday, I worked of course in the morning and then just relaxed for the rest of the day. Sunday was a busy day- began with church, lunch with friends, and softball practice, and ended with small group and a BBQ in High River. I am really enjoying the small group and getting to know more of the church members in a more social environment. Amanda and I also had a lot of fun jumping on the host family's trampoline with their two-year-old twin boys! Much fun was had!

Since Monday, I have been focused on thesis for the most part. I had a number of meetings with the professor who has been helping me with data analysis, wrote my methodology chapter (a draft anyways), had a meeting with my supervisor and also went to an afternoon workshop yesterday regarding registration as a psychologist. So many hoops that have to be jumped through just to be able to work! Craziness! Today, I am just here relaxing again and hoping to get some more writing and reading done. We actually have some good results! Yay!

Anyways, that's it for now. I will write again soon- it's so easy to get busy with other stuff and forget to post. I am sure I have forgotten something. Take care!

Oh, I saw these comics on Giselle's blog and just had to steal them from her! They made me laugh, Giselle, and they certainly speak to our way of life as grad students! And there's nothing wrong with being a geek!:)

Doctor's Diagnosis: Sinus Infection

So, I finally caved and headed to the university's medical clinic. And sure enough, I have a sinus infection. So the doctor gave me some antibiotics and recommended Sudafed as well, so that's what I'm taking. It has been getting somewhat better but hopefully this medication will clear it up for good!

I also had a meeting yesterday with the psychologist supervising me for the LDA social skills group I am running. I was a little nervous, but we actually didn't talk much about the program; he just wanted to check with me about how much money I was looking to get (a very weird question to answer but we worked it out and it's pretty good money!). Most of the time was spent going through my resume and discussing the possibility of doing my provisional placement with him! I couldn't believe it! I had thought the night before that it would be really cool if I walked in and he offered me that opportunity but did not really expect it to happen. But it did! He said they would be able to pay me more the CBE, offer me the chance to work with preschoolers as well as school-age children, and I could continue doing social skills groups, and possibly get some counselling experience! It sounds like the perfect job to me but I know I have to do a lot of thinking, research, and praying before I accept it wholeheartedly! Prayers are appreciated! I certainly came home with a big smile on my face though knowing that God has opened one door for next year- just have to see if it's the one I'm supposed to walk through!

Thought of the day: "God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a "to-do" list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings." ~Rick Warren, Author of the Purpose-Driven Life (Check out the rest of this article at my church's blog- very interesting!)

Sinus Infection or just reacting to the changes in weather?

That is the question! I have been sick for the last couple of weeks but haven't had the time to go to the doctor's. I take after my dad in that way- not one to go to the doctor at all! I prefer to work through it and hope it goes away! And it's been a busy couple of weeks! Today, I finally had the chance to sleep in and I'm feeling somewhat better. But I think I will head to either a doctor my friend recommended or to the university's medical clinic tomorrow to make sure this goes away for good!

So what have I been up to since my last post? Well, Wednesday I had to go back to see a child I did an assessment on to finish it up. The evening was spent at the African Children's Choir. First off, I must ask if anyone else is like me- when other people are coming for a visit, I make sure my place is spic and span; however, living by myself, I can let the place go a little bit especially with my hectic schedule! Well, this happened this past week (with the busy schedule and feeling under the weather) and as I wasn't expecting anyone, I didn't take great care to clean up. However, Peter and Amanda arrived early to pick me up for the concert and wanted to come in to use my bathroom! Ah, panic!:) I cleaned on the weekend though so if anyone comes, I won't be as embarassed!:)

The African Children's Choir was amazing. I saw them last year and was blown away by them. I am certainly feeling myself being drawn towards going to Africa some day. I thought of going this summer with a few people from my church with a mission project known as the ZIM project. But with school and such, I felt that it wasn't the right time. Really hoping it'll work out for next year!

After the concert, I headed to 17th Ave to meet up with some classmates and professors to hear our professor's daughter sing. She was great (check her out at jennandrewsmusic.com) and it was nice to hang out with this group outside of class. I came home kind of early though as I had to do some work to prepare for a meeting on Thursday with my thesis supervisor. After meeting with her, we decided that I will aim to defend on August 2 and spend the rest of August preparing my thesis for publication. That way, I won't lose my grant (which stops once I am completed). Very exciting but daunting as well. It also means I will not be able to work for the LDAA after all (although I'm going to offer to help out on the days they do outtrips and such). Thursday evening, I completed my assessment report. Friday, I was fortunate to go out to lunch with my practicum supervisor and the other girls/supervisors from my practicum site. It was a nice lunch and she gave me a beautiful card she made with a gift certificate to Chapters. I was told to spend it on books other than school books (something I hardly do!:)) so it will be fun to spend some time in the bookstore. I think I would like to buy some of the classics (like some Jane Austin books or something). I will let you know what I end up buying.

The rest of the weekend I continued to feel under the weather. I spent most of Saturday (after working in the morning doing the social skills group) on the couch dozing and then watching the Chronicles of Narnia movie (care of Amanda and Peter)- very much enjoyed it! I had been wanting to watch it for ages but was so busy all term, I haven't watched many movies at all! On Sunday, I rented Pride and Prejudice which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday, of course, I went to church. I really enjoy my church. As I mentioned in an early post, we had a cool service last week. We did an Emmaus walk which is basically the walk that the disciples took after Jesus died. They felt lost and alone and were unsure of what to do. So, there were basically stations that we could go to that took us through a similar walk. At one of the stations, everyone was asked to write a time when they had truly experienced God. It was quite cool reading what everyone had written. I also very much enjoy the sermons at my church. Our pastor is just so laidback and open; it really is a church for "real" people. Lately, he has been showing clips from movies before his sermon which help to place the sermons into a real context. Yesterday, he showed a clip from "Bruce Almighty" and talked about how to deal with disappointment in our lives. Very enjoyable. Then, we had a brunch as a church. There was supposed to be softball practice but it was so cold yesterday (it was snowing a little!) so thankfully they didn't have it. Still feeling sick, I just came home and watched the movie.

Almost done!:) Yesterday, I had a meeting with a prof that is helping with data analysis and will also be on my committee. Then, I had my family workshop in the evening. I work with kids who haved moved to Canada from Sudan. They are so much fun but very rambunctious as well!!! It's going to be interesting to see how the next few weeks go with them.

Anyways, that's it (I think) for now. Today, I slept in and am just going to do some work from home. I will try and write again soon!