Relaxed.

I'm so glad to say that I feel more relaxed than I have in about a month. I had a great weekend at home. It was my last weekend at Salamonie, and it was cold, rainy, and quiet. Mom and dad came out and ate dinner with me on Saturday night which was a lot of fun. I got some studying done, which was even better. But, thankfully school is on a down swing at the moment. We all have about a week to catch our breath before we start in with the next round of research papers, presentation, and such before Thanksgiving break. The icing on the cake was that class was canceled last night! So, I had a nice nice of relaxing and working on my Halloween costume! Great times. So, the motto for the week is relaxation. This weekend we are having a Halloween party, and I can't wait to just be able to have fun and be in Muncie ALL weekend. I mean I have some work to start doing, but I can do it on my own time. It'll be wonderful!

Bittersweet.

I want so badly to hate the middle of October. It is a bittersweet mix of beautiful fall leaves, cooler temperatures, thoughts of Thanksgiving and Christmas added with the stress of midterms, papers, and a general sense of anxiety produced by the mid semester rush. Fortunately, the leaves, the weather, and the crisp fall leaves make everything better and I am left with only a mild dislike for this part of the school year.

Speaking of midterms ... they are almost over. I've finished a paper, a video session, and two tests already. I have one more exam and a paper to do this week. Then freedom for a couple of weeks before gearing up for finals. How time flys! I can hardly believe we're talking about having a Halloween party already! It's insane how fast time goes. But, it's been a blast so far -- minus the 3 hour psychopathology midterm I took last week. haha. Yikes. Talk about intense! But, I think I kicked it's butt, so it's all good.

I went home this weekend for my second to last weekend at the reservoir. It was a good weekend. I helped mom and dad outside and got to see Craig and the boys on Saturday. Saturday night was very eventful at work. Never a dull moment at Salamonie - even on a Saturday night in late October. A man fell about 20 fee while swinging across a revine and had to be air lifted. We had two stray dogs, but no firewood to sell to the cold campers. And to top things off the entire property's power went off around 8:30. Talk about freaky. Apparently someone ran into an electrical pole on 124. Yikes. It was a whilrwind night for sure. Next weekend is my last weekend. I'm very excited, but it's weird to think that it's the last time I could work there. Bittersweet.

So, things are going well. Just the usual crazy schedule, but still having fun!

Fall Camping Trip 2008

A bunch of my fellow first year classmates and I decided to go on a Fall camping trip. So, being the experienced DNR employee that I am, I reserved two campsites for us. We had a blast! We stayed in a HUGE tent that Kirstenn was kind enough to let us borrow. We made lots of s'mores and hotdogs and went hiking. It was actually the Celebrate Fall weekend at Salamonie, so there was a hay ride and lots of fun fall/Halloween stuff going on. It was pretty chilly, but we survived under mounds of blankets and a bit of snuggling. All in all it was a wonderful weekend, and we really got to know each other a lot better and had some great bonding experiences. We're already planning another trip for the spring and maybe that time the guys can go. Below are some pics from our adventures.

Us in front of our HUGE tent! It took all 8 of us plus Kirstenn to set it up! haha

The chef. (My roommate)

Saturday afternoon. Lounging around the fire.

Hiking!Getting ready to play some cards!

Another week down.

It has been a fairly uninteresting week. I've been battling a head cold along with my roomie and it seem like the rest of our cohort. I spent most of Tuesday on our couch watching TV, drinking lots of water, and resting. Fortunately it really helped me feel better yesterday. I feel even better today! Thursday's are always long days, but tonight a bunch of us are going to Puerto Vallarta tonight after class for some Mexican food and MARGARITAS! I'm very excited.

I'm meeting with my professor tomorrow to discuss his experience working at The Cancer Center here in Muncie. I am considering a career working with people diagnosed with terminal illnesses, so we're going to discuss some career options. I'm also excited to hear more about what he does because it's something I feel compelled to do. I know that I don't have to have everything figured out right now, but there is a part of me that is dying to figure out what I want to do with my life and my degrees. I'm slowly starting down that path. More on that after Friday.

This weekend I'm headed home again to work Friday and Saturday night. Saturday morning I'm headed to Atlanta, IN with the fam and and some close friends to hit up a fantastic fall festival. It's been SO long since I've been able to go with them to one of those. Before I was always rowing. So, that should be a great time! Sunday I'm celebrating the twins' 1st birthday. Crazy huh? Can't believe they turned one last weekend. I'm very excited to see them. I got them two little Ball State baseball hats that they can wear for a while. I can't wait to see them on! hehe. Anuty Marla is very proud of her two beautiful nephews. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

The Last Lecture.

My best friend, Lindsay sent me a belated birthday present that truly touched my life and warmed my heart. It was a very appropriate gift seeing as that she has touched my life in so many ways in the 10 years we have been friends. The gift was a book titled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow. If you haven't heard of Randy Pausch I'll tell you about him and his incredible story. He was a Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and eventually given only a few months to live. Well, he entered a program at Carnegie Mello to do a last lecture. He decided to do it before he passed away as a way to share some of his life lessons with his children and people all over the world. So, anyways, I'll post a link to the actual lecture, but the book is incredible. It summarizes his lecture and gives some background on his life and family. Check it out. I can only hope that it touches your life as much as it has touched mine.



http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm -- This is a link to the book, the lecture, and about Randy and his family. Check it out!

And I just want to say that I grow more thankful every day for the amazing friends and family that I am blessed with.

Martian Child

For those of you who have not seen the movie Martian Child, I suggest that you do so. It is a fantastic movie about a little boy who believes he is a martian from Mars. John Cusack stars in it along with his sister and Amanda Peet. It's very moving, and quickly becoming one of my favorite movies. It's just very touching. :)

On other fronts -- not much to report. Things are moving right along. Classes are good. Tomorrow i meet with my professor to set goals for my pre-prac experience and what I want/need to do to be the best counselor I can be. Things are still going great. Here's to another week in grad school!

Oooooh, I learned a great deal more than I knew before about the Paralympics. A very special event that I am actually hoping to write a research paper on for my into to rehab class. More to come on that later...

2 weeks down!

Week two has officially come to a close. I'm still loving it. I'm meeting more and more people all the time. We're working on expanding our group of pals. It's been super hot this week, but other than that I have no complaints. I made it through our pre-practicum baseline video session. 10 minutes of role playing the therapist while being recorded so that we can discuss and set goals with our professor. Fun times let me tell ya! haha. We were all dreading it, but managed to survive and think that it was not at all as bad as it seemed. I think most of us actually had fun doing it. We'll see when I see my video... haha. Thursday was a long day, but that's to be expected with 2 classes. We all made up for it by hittin the Bee's after class for drinks and food. It was a grand time and we even had 3 new peeps join us!

Well, I'm headed north to work this Friday and Saturday night then back Sunday for our department picnic and loads of reading. :) Good times in Muncie!

P.S. If you read this blog could you please leave me a comment. I'm just curious if anyone actually does. haha.

First Publication!!

I just got word today that my very first ever publication has been submitted and is now under review by a very prestigious APA journal - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It is a piece that I was very luck to have my name attached to. I helped collect data and review and theorize and such. So, that's very exciting! Next thing is my thesis to be published. Whoa! Needless to say I'm a very happy camper.. not to mention luck and very grateful for being able to work with such great researchers who have become close friends. The HirtLab rocks!

First week of grad school and Labor Day

I just want to say that I SURVIVED! haha. I never had any doubt, but my first week of grad school is over with, and I had an absolute blast. I started my 'nanny-ing' job for some good family friends who are professors here at BSU. I pick their two girls up from school, bring them home, help with homework and such till Jonathan and Theresa get home. I got to go to the barn where they keep their horses for the first time last week, which was awesome. I don't have a ton of experience with horses, but I'm excited to learn more about them. Spending time with the girls has been fun, and I think it will be a really great thing to give me a break from school work and such. Children can be so refreshing when you're caught up in a world of overworked and stressed grad students!

So, classes were really great. I really like all of them. I'm taking Intro to Rehab Psych, Psychopathology, Theories and Techniques of Counseling, and Pre-Practicum. I don't know that I have a favorite class, but Thursdays are definitely my favorite day of the week! Having class from 2-9 makes for a long day, but I met some really awesome people who have the same two classes. We've decided to make a weekly study group/hang out between our classes and then we ended up at Applebee's for drinks and some food last week. This Thursday is drinks and then movie night at Justin's. So, it's been a great adventure.

In my pre-prac class (a class designed to get you ready to see clients in Spring semester's practicum class) we started with role playing on the first night of class, which scared us all I think. But, the funny thing is, we all ended up loving it after we broke the ice a little bit. This week we have a 10 minute role playing session that will be recorded and watched with our professor to see where we are all starting out. I'm a wee bit nervous, but I know it'll be a blast.

Labor Day was pretty uneventful. I went home to work at Salamonie all 4 days, and what an adventure work was. Talk about busy. Yikes. We had a few mini crisis as well, but nothing TOO out of the ordinary. I got to hang with mom, dad, Toby, and Ann which is always great. Great food too! So, I had a blast at home, but it's good to be back in Muncie starting week 2. Wish me luck! haha.

Change...

"Change; we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But here's the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Oh, sometimes, change is ... everything."

I think this speaks to my life and how I'm feeling at the moment...

Lazy Saturday.

This is the first lazy Saturday that I have been able to enjoy in a while -- not to mention probably the last. I am truly enjoying just lounging around the apartment and being a bum. I only wish I could be a bum for about 10 more days instead of starting class on Monday. Well, scratch that. I'd go crazy. I can't wait to dive in head first to my new classes.

There is nothing quite like the first week of classes. It holds the promise of so much for the year to come. New adventures are everywhere and are just waiting to be taken advantage of. It gives me chills just thinking about it. And yet, I still feel a bit like a wee freshman staring a huge unknown world in the face. But this time I can look at it and smile instead of cower and be frightened. Bring it on!

Amy and I went to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 last night. Such a great movie. It made me very thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family I have in my life. And, while not very many of them are actually here with me right now I know they're still there supporting me every step of the way. So, here's to the promise of a new start -- new place, new people, new friends, new classes, new adventures!

Back in shape...

So, I've pretty much been takin it easy and given up any sort of regular exercise routine since I stopped rowing. Talk about the stupidest thing I've ever done. Now I'm 100% out of shape and overweight -- yuck. I've been fighting an inner battle ever since I stopped working out to try and start again. After a few unsuccessful and pitiful attempts to get started again, I just went back to not workin out. It's so weird. To do it with a team is one thing. I am great at pushing myself and I can handle getting up at the butt crack of dawn to work out to the point of exhaustion. But, without that team part it is just SO hard to do. I know that I need to do to get back in shape, but actually getting out there to do it is so difficult. Something that I think most people in this world struggle with.

But, I just got back from about 20 minutes of joggin mixed with a bit of walking. Baby steps. And all the time I was thinking this totally sucks, but it'll be SO worth it! So, here goes nothing. A new chapter of my life is unfolding even as I write this, so I made the decision to add getting back in shape to entering the world of being a grad student in Muncie.

Words of encouragement are welcome! I need all the help I can get with this one.... Time to shower!

Muncie, Day 3

It's official. I'm all moved in, unpacked, have a BSU student ID and a parking permit. Our apartment is decorated and put together, and I must say that it feels very much like a home. I'll have to post some pics soon. The yellow walls really are fabulous though. It'll be great during the drab winter months I'm sure. :)

Today has been a lazy day. I slept in and have been lounging and reading. Amy and I finished off the decorating this morning, so we're pretty much ready to start classes. I'm having dinner with Theresa and Jonathan Thursday night and then Andy and her mom are coming up from B-town on Friday to visit me! I couldn't be more excited! Especially when right now I feel I'm lacking friends - minus my roommate - and it will be wonderful to spend some time with someone close to me. I'm very excited to start class and meet new people.

I think that's all for now. I'm off to make some dinner and watch Bella with Amy. :) Tomorrow is another day!

P.S. Congrats to the USA women's rowing team! Way to go ladies!

MUNCIE!

Ok, so I pretty much have neglected to update this thing all summer. What can I say? Things have been busy? Well, they actually were, but I think it's mostly just the slow dial up internet we have at home. Anyways...

I'm currently sitting in my new apartment in the midst of just about everything I own. It's thrown about my room - part put away part just a mess. Yikes. I've actually stopped unpacking to decorate. haha. I'm starting to get hungry, but I'm not ready to wander to the kitchen to see what kind of scraps I can scrounge up for a dinner. Perhaps a bowl of cereal will suffice.

On the drive down here this afternoon after saying bye to mom, dad, and Toby, it struck me that I'm a 22 year old graduate student. I am indeed an adult who can hold down a full time job, and is moving to a completely new place to start a Masters degree. Crazy! I guess sometimes I just don't really remember that I've actually completed a college degree.

So, I'm in Muncie, and I have a week to set up shop and get aquainted with things. I'm excited!

Canada!

It's 6 AM. My car is packed. I'm drinking a cup of coffee, and I'm ready to hit the road. I'm off to meet Craig up in Coldwater, MI and then begin our adventure up North to meet mom and dad. Be back sometime later this week. Ciao!

Summer Update.

Well, now that it's been almost a month since my last update, I thought I'd write a few lines about what's been going on. First off I'd like to say that while I was swimming today I got bit on the big toe by a deer fly and now my whole big toe is swollen. haha. SO not cool!

Other than that, mom and dad are in Canada getting our camper ready to pull home. We're selling it and giving up our oasis on Manitoulin Island. I'm more than a little sad about this. I've spend most every summer up there since I can remember. I have so many great memories with my grandparents and wonderful friends we've made over the years. It's hard to give up, but I know deep down in my heart that I will go back some day. The time is not right for the family to keep it with the lot rent and terrible gas prices, and I understand that. But Canada holds far too many precious things for me to leave it for good. So, Craig and I are meeting and heading up to help tear apart the deck and shed next week and saying farewell to Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada for a while. It's not really a vacation per say, but I'm excited to get to spend time just the four of us. It's been quite some time since we've done something just the 4 of us. I'm also excited about the 13 hour car trip with my bro. I feel like we've missed out on the small details of each others lives the past few years, which is certainly natural, but it'll be really great to have the chance to catch up, have some QT, and just talk. We'll have a blast despite the hard work of tearing things down.

Speaking of having a blast... I've had a great two days off. The sun was shining nice and hot. Ann, Toby, and I have been enjoying the pool finally and catching some rays. Today we repotted the beatiful plants that we got from so many loved ones when Grams passed away. They look beautiful, and there are about 15 of them for my new apartment next year. Speaking of, Amy and I found a great two bedroom apartment to rend in Muncie on our search. And we did search. We spend almost an entire day looking and not having a whole lot of luck, but the last place we tried was just what we needed. We move in August 2nd! I can't wait!

Still no luck with an assistantship, but I'm still looking and applying and keeping my fingers crossed.

Work has been well a rollercoaster. We've had our fair share of storms this spring. It's been a bit freaky actually. I almost think Mother Nature is making up for the lack of rain and storms last summer. I am a fan of a good storm, but when servere, tornado producing weather continually seems to present itself on Friday nights when campers are trying to set up and enjoy a weekend camping it gets a bit old. Two weeks ago we had a houseboat flip out in the water and a camper blow over and was destroyed. Last weekend we lost power from about 7PM Friday night until about 11:00 AM Saturday. Not fun. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for calm weather for a bit. The flood damage down south is absolutely devestating. Mother Nature.... don't get on her bad side! It teaches us to appreciate what we have because in a moments notice it could all be gone or under water.

That's all for now!

Rainy Nights.

Well, the weather has been kinda crappy the past few days. I worked 4-midnight last night, and it rained almost the entire night. I think that the gate made $36.00 in 8 hours. That's just sad. Luckily Kirstenn was working night accountant and kept me company for most of the shift. We tried to watch Grey's but the TV was cutting in and out. So, needless to say I was bored out of my mind. It's sunny right now, and looks absolutely beautiful outside. So, as soon as I'm done writing this I'm headed out for a nice jog. Can't pass this up since the rain is due to set in tonight and will be sticking around through Monday! UGH. Stupid rain.

On other fronts - I'm going to Muncie with my future roommate, Amy to look for an apartment. I'm very excited to finally nail down a place to live. I'm still looking desperately for an assistantship. Umm, I think that's about it...

Oh sweet summer...

I know it's been too long since I updated last, but things have been a little crazy. I know, what else is new, huh? Well, I'm officially moved back home and settled in as much as I can be. I had my last final on Friday, graduated Saturday, moved out of my apartment Sunday, and started work Monday morning at 8. Wahoo! Welcome to summer! haha. Since then things have been much more calm. I've been working full time at the reservoir again. Summer number 5 baby! Oh yeah! It's been really slow since camping season hasn't really started up yet. Soon enough!

So, I've been trying to relax my mind, read as many books as possible, and have some fun. That's all for now. Boring, I know, but when something interesting happens I'll let you know!

GRADUATION!

It's hard to believe it, but I graduate today! WAHOOO!! Here's to 4 amazing years of my life and to many more to come!

Triumphant!

It's official! Defense Day is OVER! I defended my honors thesis @ Noon yesterday, and I couldn't have had a better day. Defense went so much better than you could ever expect. I actually had fun doing it. There were some great ideas thrown around, and I'm excited to see what directions we can take this project in the future! It was such a wonderful experience. One that up until about 11:45 I wasn't sure I really wanted to take part in! Buuut, once everyone got there and started asking me how I was and stuff I relaxed. To make matters even better we were celebrating our last lab meeting later that afternoon, and that was such a great way to end my day. Ed was amazing and brought pizza and breadsticks for us, and even brought a "Congratulations Marla" cake for all of us to enjoy. We had a blast.

It's an amazing feeling to be done. Well, I mean I still have to make the small revisions my committee suggested and then take it to have it bound. But the biggest part is OVER. It hadn't really hit me until this morning when I woke up. I was just exhausted last night, but today I feel like I can breathe again. It's a huge weight that's been lifted, and yet at the same time it's such an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. I don't say this too often, but I'm proud of myself for the way this year has turned out. :) I'm so excited to see what I can accomplish at Ball State in the next two years! WAHOO!

So, graduation is edging closer every minute. It's still a bittersweet feeling for me, but I'm so excited for summer. I think I've planned things so that I will get to say my goodbye's to everyone before I head out on Sunday and then start work on Monday! So, it should be an emotional week and weekend, but I'm excited for it.