The Semester of Discontinuance

Well, about a trillion things have happened since I last blogged, so this is my effort to start getting caught up!

So winters out at BYU have always been really hard for me. I think it's the darkness, the way it just seems endless when it's been snowing for 2 months straight and there's no end in sight, the stress of school, and probably a bunch of other stuff. For whatever reason(s), it's just always kind of ridiculous and it makes school darn near impossible sometimes.

That's why this semester, I decided to discontinue. I loved a lot of my classes but decided that discontinuing would be the best thing for me to do right now so I didn't get terrible grades on my transcript. (It's kind of hard to do well in school when you just stay home all the time.) I'll be going back in the fall and everything will be just fine with my transcripts, I'm just taking a little break right now.

Since discontinuing in the middle of March, I have been busy! I switched my major back to psychology, because that means that I can graduate in just THREE SEMESTERS. This is the first time I've really been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is really exciting!!!!! If I can stomach any more school after BYU, I'd like to go somewhere and get my masters in Social Work.

I've also been painting! You'll remember that on our 6 month anniversary Mason got me some paints and an easel. I actually did a little craft with stencils before that that was super easy, and I wanted to keep painting and get better.
Here's the first craft I did with stencils:

I remember I was SO stressed out with picking out the colors for this project. I like the way it turned out! My favorite one is the cream background with the blue flowers, and Mason's favorite is the purple background.
Anyway, fast forward a month or 2 from that project, and I completed my first painting with no stencils! With paint brushes! Here it is:

I know, I know, try to hold your applause, please. ;) Haha totally kidding. It actually looks a lot better in this picture than it does in real life. If you see it up close, you can see the paint is really uneven, there are several places where the shapes are kind of weird, and the blending in the background is choppy at best. But it was SO MUCH FUN painting this! I followed a step by step tutorial on youtube and picked out my own colors. I loved it. I started working on my next painting a few days ago and I'm not using a step by step video for this one, so hopefully it doesn't turn out totally gross looking.

I've also started learning to play the guitar. Mason and I both have an app called Yousician that has cool lessons so you can practice and learn. It can be really frustrating but it's also really fun and when you finally get something that you've been messing up it feels really good.

I also had to find a new job when I discontinued, so I've been working doing transcriptions at a company called Rev. It's all online so I just do it from home. It's getting less terrible the more I do it, and if I really put my mind to it I can make some decent money. I'm thinking I'm going to get a "real" part time job in the summer so I can actually get some social interaction every once in a while.

And I've also been running. Mason, his dad and I are all running a half marathon in about a week and a half. I would love to PR, but I think my only real goal is to get done and then not have to be stuck on the potty for the next 5 hours, like after my last half marathon. Haha. I know you were all dying to know that.

I've visited Michelle and Nate and their fam a couple of times too, and they always help me to feel happy . I LOVE going up there!

(Asa spent a really long time sticking pins through this fabric strip. Then he showed it to me and said he made it for Uncle Mason, who couldn't be up to visit with me. We sent Mason this picture.)

It is inspiring to me to see Mason working so hard to get through this semester. He is so diligent in his school and has some really long days sometimes, but he always gets everything done that he needs to. I'm glad I have him with me as I go through my hard times, and I hope I can be his rock when he goes through his.

Anyway, that's a little of what I've been up to this semester. Here's to the summer when neither of us have class and it's warm outside!

Six Months Sealed! (Getting caught up)

On February 20 Mason and I celebrated out 6 month anniversary! We didn't have school because it was presidents day, so we had an entire day to relax and celebrate! It was so fabulous. We stayed up really late the night before watching The Office, just because we could, and then we slept in a little the next day. I really wanted to go for a 6 mile run, and we did it by the Provo River. It was really nice to have that time to reflect on these past 6 months with Mason. At times it's been a little hard and stressful but it is oh so worth it. There is no one else I would rather spend a day with than him. He is the best thing that ever happened to me and I love him so much!

After our run we headed over to Michael's so that I could get some painting supplies. Painting is something that I have wanted to learn to do for as long as I can remember. Mason is so supportive. In fact, its kind of funny but when we first started dating Mason asked me if I was an artist. When I said I could barely draw a stick figure, he was slightly shocked because he had just assumed that I was an artist because certain aspects of my personality. I thought it was highly flattering!
Anyway, we went to Michaels and I got a few brushes and colors of paint, and Mason surprised me at the last second by sticking a real life easel in our buggy! He is so great and I felt so fancy. I'm currently working on my first painting now!

Following our fun trip to Michael's, we went home and it was only 4:30 but we were both starving so we decided to go out to dinner. Mason put on his cute green button-up shirt and told me that where we were going for dinner was going to be a surprise. I love surprises, and I love it when Mason does sweet things like get dressed up for dates and open my car door. I know he doesn't do those things because society expects him to, he does it because he really loves me. It's so sweet and so flattering.
We went to Olive Garden! It was my first time going there and it did NOT disappoint. Our waiter was a little weird, but it was SO NICE to go out to a nice restaurant and just be together and eat delicious food with unlimited bread sticks ;)

After that we came home and watched Netflix to our hearts content. It was lovely.

It was a perfect day. We did so many wonderful things and most of all it was just fun to get to spend so much quality time together. Mason is my favorite person ever and I am so happy we get to build our lives together. 6 months may only be a short time in the grand scheme of things, but it is a big deal for us. I look forward to celebrating years and years of marriage with him in the future.

Here's a few great memories from our first 6 months I've loved having with my sweetheart:

Getting hitched, obviously!

Running my first half marathon!

That one time he DYED MY HAIR for me! He is so brave. This was also the day I cut his hair for the first time and it actually turned out ok. I'm glad he was there for me when he dyed my hair because I may or may not have bawled my eyes out in the shower afterward and been in dire need of emotional support ;)

Making this little gem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emBY-u0qvGw

 Seeing him play with my nieces and nephews, especially Asa. He's going to be a great daddy one day!

 waking up SO EARLY on Christmas morning at the Waites and being so tired but also so excited!

 Our drives down to Las Vegas to visit the Parkes fam. We never fail to have great conversations on those trips, and I love them.

 Going to the aquarium with Maddie and Tony in Las Vegas!

Cooking with Mason is so fun. He has a gift.

The trip to Death Valley with the fam.

And of course, our 6 miler we did on our 6 month mark.

Winter Semester 2017

First day of school! It was cold!

These are just my ramblings about things pertaining to this semester thus far, in no particular order:


Mason and I are both enjoying our classes this semester. My favorites are my chemistry and animal diversity classes, and Mason is liking his computer science class (he's minoring in computer science! He's so cool!) and math. We are both working really hard in school and at our jobs. Mason is a TA again this semester, but he got promoted to be one of the HEAD TAs and now he is making the big bucks. And by that I mean like $11.45 an hour. Wowee! I'm back working custodial in the Life Sciences building, which is kind of a drag sometimes but it works with my schedule so I'll take it.

One thing that's been really good this semester is that all of Mason's classes start after mine. That means he can help me get out the door to go to school every single morning, which is a good thing because sometimes I just have no desire to go. Especially since going entails walking a mile in the cold before I'm even there. He's been really nice and kind and supportive and has helped me out a lot.

Mason is also taking a class this semester about grad schools, and the application process and stuff like that. Crazy thing is, his professor is the therapist I sometimes meet with in the Wilk! Mason is starting to really like that class too, and I think it's cool that he got to meet Dr. Rice. Sometimes we think about where we want to live while he's in grad school, and the other day we were daydreaming about moving to Australia. Why not? We're young and crazy and our lives are OURS and we can do whatever we want with them!
...that was just a daydream though. We haven't really researched any schools down there and it would be crazy because it's literally the opposite side of the planet. But we're not ruling anything out just yet. :)

In addition to school and work and homework and all that jazz, Mason has also been good about getting up early and exercising. (I planned to do that too this year, but it hasn't really happened yet. And my food baby can prove it.) He goes down to the little "gym" area we have in our building and runs on the treadmill or rides the stationary bike. And he's very good at keeping track of everything he's done. He created a spreadsheet--his favorite thing! I think it's really cool and admirable that he is so organized about things he cares about.

A cool thing happened to me the other day. So usually after I take a test in the testing center I immediately take out my phone and check my score and then I base my feelings off of that number. However, on saturday I took my first chemistry test and, because it is all going to be hand graded by my TA, I am not going to know my score for probably about a week. And I feel good about it. I don't feel good about it because I think I got 100%, in fact I'm not even sure I got an A. But I feel good about it because I worked really hard and I studied and paid attention in class and did my homework and then I worked my fanny off in that testing center for 3 hours straight, and when I was behind and the testing center was closing in 20 minutes and I still had 5 problems to do I DIDN'T GIVE UP. And I feel proud of myself and I know that I did my best and so no matter what grade I get, I feel proud to have worked so hard.
That's cool because I never feel like that! I always just check my grade and I am NEVER satisfied. So it was a new thing and I really liked it.

We are excited to see what the rest of the semester brings!