A Graduate

ai nɑʊ hæv ə dɪgri ɪn komjunɪkeʃən dɪsɔrdɚs ænd dɛf ɛdjukeʃən!

(IPA for: I now have a degree in communication disorder and deaf education!)

(Senior class) 

I lived! I made it to graduation!

I've had a remarkable education experience, and I'm sincerely grateful to have to received a university degree.The most exciting part of this final semester was the opportunity to be a student clinician. It was the best way to finish my B.S. 

What's next? I applied to the masters programs in Utah and got in, but before I even decided which one I was leaning towards I hit the annual spring slide. Every spring my body gets to a point of exhaustion that makes all my dysautonomia symptoms worse. This spring was hard in new ways one of which was gastroparesis. Because of that, and with the help of some mild coercion I decided to take a year off before going to grad school.

I'm kind of nervous about it. I don't like putting off the rest of my education I'd rather forge ahead and hope good health catches up with me. However I'm starting to think that maybe that isn't how things work.

My doctors have been very reassuring though as the above prescription demonstrates. :)

My biggest fear is that I'll be either too idle, or I'll get caught up in other activities and not give rest/rehab an opportunity to work. Balance is such a tricky skill to master.

Really it's a relief to know that I can rest for a while, and maybe not being in class will give room in my life for other great things!

Skiing

I got to go skiing this weekend. I went with my roommates, and a volunteer organization called Common Ground. It was amazing. They used something called a bi-ski. 

It was so  fun, and was something I never pictured myself doing. I'm feel so lucky to have gotten to go.

Thanks roommates, and thanks Common Ground.

Christmas

It is Christmas time!I love the Christmas season. It is easy to be cheerful when so many people are serving others and our focus is centered on the Savior.

Do you love the Christmas tree? It was an early Christmas surprise from my roommate. It makes me smile every time I see it.

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." Christmas Carol

Crafts

Summer Crafts:

Baby quilt: We did this quilt for a cute little cousin who has had a tough year.

The button flowers were my mom's idea and are scattered throughout.

Vanity: Brittney bought this a couple of years ago fully intending to fix it up. (I was so jealous) Brittney is now on a mission and left it the garage.With her permission I started to work on it. I soon realized that it needed a lot of fixing before I could get to the beautifying. I also had to deal with a large number of spiders and creepy spider sacs. I was freaked out by the arachnids, but with the help of some spider poison( Click here for Simpsons clip) I showed them who's boss.  

Viola!

Don't before and after pictures feel so satisfying?

 

Printer Desk: Next I wanted to make a desk for my printer. I got it at Savers It was in good shape except for some loose legs that Josh fixed for me. I wanted it to look Shabby Chic.

 After a little work it looked kind of terrible. The spray paint was bad and came out like it was fake snow. I was kind of nervous I had ruined it and was not excited about having to sand it again. 

 It was all worth it though.The finished product looked better than I had hoped.

I had other projects planned but, some summers are just too short.

Floating the Provo

 We went down the Provo river today. It was amazing. Camile and Mom paddled like seasoned pros. Josh, Ellie, and I were in the same tube. We took a wrong turn and ended up going over a mini waterfall. I pretty much did a swan dive into the swirling depths, and Josh and Ellie did a magnificent tandem cannon ball all while keeping a hold of the raft and both paddles. Wow!

OR, We hit a couple trees 1/4 of the way down, popped the tube, and ship wrecked into some pointy rocks.

Whichever you prefer

So Wrong

Riley the Puggle is not normal.

 (She loves to eat chew sticks on her back while she holds them with her paws.) 

Sitting has been a very difficult thing for her to figure out. She rarely sits like dogs are supposed to. That's OK though we still like her.

Summer Break

This used to be me...until today.

I just came home from my last class of the semester, and only have one quiz and one final left to take.


This is kind of bitter sweet for me. I'm going to miss school for the next couple of months, but the summer break will help me feel so much better physically. Plus I'll get to be near my fantastic family.


 I feel like I accomplished SO much this year. I'm never sure I'm up to the challenge, but everything worked out wonderfully.

sentence diagram

I had to take a linguistic grammar class and I was dreading It. I am no good with English grammar. (Simpsons quote click here)Guess what, I accidentally rock at it. Who new I could have fun diagramming sentences? No I didn't learn how to spell or use punctuation properly. I did learn to understand how a sentences is formed in your mind, and then how to explain the process you used to rearrange that same sentence when you said it out loud. 


I have also completed two semesters of ASL. I feel like I have improved a great deal. One of our more challenging projects was to compose a poem in ASL. That meant you had to rhyme hand shape instead of words. Tricky right?  My poem was on fishing in case you were wondering.

I also completed a semester devoted to the ear. It was so interesting. The cochlea and vestibular apparatus are amazing bits of anatomical architecture.

Next on the docket, summer break. I've got big plans, but I will save those for another post.