hello, tuesday.

rainy tuesday.

is it raining where you are?

it always rains here lately.

and it ALWAYS rains on the days i have photoshoots.

but all the sunny days, i don't have photoshoots.

how mean, huh?

actually, now it is snowing.

yep, snow.

that's REALLY mean.

anyway, what else is there to do on a rainy/snowy morning other than play words with friends with husband.

(i'm totally winning.)

you see, it's the second day of husband's physics class.

i should also mention he started a new job yesterday and didn't get home until 11:15.

anyway, this physics class has homework due every single day, and he didn't get to work on it until 11:15 last night.

we spent a few hours doing the problems, but my brain couldn't go back to 10th grade and remember trigonometry.  i told my 10th grade self that i would never need to use trigonometry again.  and i was right, except that i would need to use it for husband's physics homework.  who knew?

after only getting to problem 6 of 14, we decided it would be a really long semester if we couldn't even do the first assignment.

so he dropped the course and signed up for another one.

and then spent the next hour reworking his entire college career semester by semester.
and making sure to take trig before physics.

school is frustrating.  just saying.



so i mentioned he just started a new job.
i also got a new job, but i don't start for a couple weeks.


we just like to do extremely stressful life changing events all at the same time as a big happy family.

moving.  two new jobs.  school.  having a baby.





just kidding.  no baby.

but that definitely would be another stressful thing to add into the mix, eh?



well, i'm going to go clean.

happy tuesday!

so...

so get this...

i got this message today in my facebook inbox from a girl i don't even know saying that she has my diploma at her apartment 

(which happens to be the apartment i also lived in at college.)

i swear i changed my address with USU, but they still sent it there.

good thing there are good/smart people that wouldn't throw something like in the garbage just because it isn't theirs.

and good thing there is that little thing called facebook.  she probably would've never found me.

oh, and get this... her parents live in the same neighborhood as us!

she's coming home this weekend for general conference and said she would bring it to me.

what a doll.

and what a funny story.

good thing i'm finally getting that piece of paper that says i took a whole bunch of classes while working my butt off!

the final day.

i just want you to know that today is:

my final day of school ever ever ever

EVER!

i'm finally done with this internship.

the internship that almost killed me.

seriously.

almost did, i swear.

you could say i'm pretty darn happy this day.

pretty darn.

lincoln, can we go out tonight to celebrate??

school school school.



can't wait until it's over.


i should be free from it next week.


then i will be back to blogging.



sorry, little blog.

ticking time bomb.

hi.


we are 24 days away from the wedding, people.

and i'm kind of starting to stress.


okay,

more like freak out.


at night i remember all these things i still have to do and i don't really know how to get them all done.

i've been so focused on school and finals and finding a job and moving for the past two weeks, that i haven't thought about the wedding hardly at all.

plus, all my possessions are still packed in boxes and i have no idea where anything is.  and i can't find a single free day to get organized.

being disorganized severely stresses me out.  i can't think or accomplish anything.

holy moly, i'm stressed.
sometimes i sit there and wonder what i ever thought about before the wedding.  i honestly can't remember.  it's been that long.

i once learned in my marriage and family class that some of life's top stressors are
marriage, change in work, begin or end school, and change in living conditions.

i am currently participating in all the above.

but look on the bright side... at least i'm not dealing with "jail or imprisonment," which also happens to be one of the top stressors. 


24 days.
yikes.

i hope it stops raining by then.  it's been raining for days around these parts.  oh, and snowing too.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so i have to brag a little... because i'm quite proud of myself.
i got my final grades back today.

i say that's pretty darn good for taking 21 credit hours, working 30 hours a week, planning a wedding, and living 80 miles away from my fiance.  pretty darn.

the B kind of put a damper on it.  but it was probably the hardest class i've ever taken.  and she doesn't give out A's.  i've only known one person in the entire history of the world to get an A out of her class.  so i'm fine with a B.

but yeah, baby!  i'm pretty proud of myself. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

okay, i need sleep.
i don't want to be a baggy-eyed bride!

graduation.

us with lincoln's dad.

can you find me?

my roommate from last year.

sara.

one of my favorite people ever.

another roommate from last summer.

krista.

also one of my most favorite people ever.

me and dad... both alumni of usu.

me and madre.

that's a true aggie kiss right there.

the final final.

well, peeps.

this is it.

no, not the michael jackson movie.

i have one more final.

it's a friday final.

aren't those are the worst?!

who has finals on friday of finals week?

anyway, it's a doozy.

like, WAY hard.

probably the hardest final i'll ever take.

isn't it kind of weird that my final final for the rest of forever is going to be the hardest final i'll ever take?

you don't even know.

i'll spend more time stressing about it than studying for it.

which isn't a good thing.

i also have to have all my cleaning done and stuff moved out of my apartment two hours after this final is over.  and i also have to be at work at the exact same time my cleaning is supposed to be done.

needless to say, i will be MIA from this blog for the remainder of the week.  i hope you understand.

but i will have glorious graduation pictures for you next week if i don't end up in the hospital because i gave myself ulcers from stressing about the aforementioned final.

in other news...

after friday i will see lincoln every single day for the rest of forever because i will officially not live 80+ miles away from him.  yay for that!

i also found a job.  yay for that too!

and the best news is.....

there are only

wait for it

30 more days

left until i marry this boy.

he's not going to be happy that i posted this picture, but i think it's hilarious.  it describes him perfectly. 

he's the goofiest kid i know.  he makes me laugh every day.

this picture was taken after we had been dating for about a month.  back in september.

30 days people!  until we are married!!! 

do you feel like this has been the longest 5 months of your life hearing me talk about it?

me too.

well, now you only have 30 more days of hearing about it.

we started out at like 182 days, so now 30 sounds WAY better.

30 sounds doable.

i can do 30.

also, in a span of two weeks i have 5 bridal showers.  i was looking at my calendar the other day for may.  isn't that nuts?  whoa.

may is going to be cahh--raaazzzyy!

so much to do still.

thanks for all your sweet comments on our engagement photos.

and welcome new followers.

and uhhh.......... bye.

oh, sweetness.

can you hear that?

do you hear that noise?

what is it?

oh, it is the sweet sound of

freedom!

i can't even express to you how relieved i feel right now.

my two huge projects are in and i am a happy camper.

i haven't even taken my final tests yet, but i feel an extreme release of stress.

there is a substantial difference in my mood right now than two days ago.

i feel like skipping down a street and swinging around a pole and clicking my heels.

that's how happy i am.

this week was not my favorite.

for one, my internet hasn't been working for about two weeks in my apartment (until last night). 

talk about frustrating.

i've been stressing about finding a job.

but today is friday.

and friday is fiance day.

 before we were engaged.

yay!

in other news, i did a press check this morning for our invitations and they look AMAZING!

i'll tell you who did them and show you a picture some day.

and also, one of my big projects was an estate plan,

so i had to write a will and all that good stuff.

part of the assignment was to write my own obituary.

i totally cried.

it was the saddest thing ever.

we had to write it if we were to die right now.

i got to the part about talking about lincoln and i had huge alligator tears running down my cheeks.

gah!

anyways, 

happy happy day!

i survived the homework.

now, i just have to pass the tests.

have a wonderful weekend!

i feel...

what a week already!

and it's only wednesday.

help me.


i still have two huge projects to finish by friday.
that's been somewhat of a struggle because the internet in my apartment has decided to quit for the last two weeks of class.  it's awesome.

oh!  and did i mention that's it's snowing?
it's april 28, and it's snowing.
i especially fell in love with the snow this morning when i was walking to the shuttle and a big pile of it fell off a telephone wire directly on my head.  that also was awesome.

i've also been searching/worrying about a job once i move from this snowy place to a place down south.  the positions have been few and far between.  if any of you know how to land an interview, let me know.



2 more days of class... 2 more.

will i survive?

if you don't hear from me by saturday, i may have died.




cross your fingers for me.

18 more days

i feel like i complain a lot on this blog.
and i'm sorry if you think so too.

but maybe complaining isn't anything other than observing.

right now i'm observing that i am burned out.  tired.  done.

i can hear my dad asking, "is your candle burning at both ends?"

yes, dad.  it is.  the candle is burning at both ends, and it is almost extinguished.
i think my dad would ask me this question every year of my life.
this is nothing new, people.  my candle is always burning at both ends.


i'm so tired.  like, really tired.  tired.  you got that?  tired.
school is killing me.  and i kind of want to give up.
but i just don't have it really in me to actually give up with 2 weeks left, but i really really want to.

i'm done with the 8 hour assignments that make me hate two column formatting with a passion.
(two column formatting will turn you into a crazy person.)
i'm done with the group projects.
i'm done with the 7 page papers.
i'm done with the quizzes.
i'm done with the exams.

sadly, i'm not literally done with all these things.

so. much. time. and. energy.
i have no more.

i'm having a hard time really enjoying where i am right now.
and i know i should.

but maybe i don't really want to.
and that is making everything else harder.

again, i'm far from perfect.
sometimes i make things harder than they should.


there is just so much to do.

and there is just nothing i can cut out.

blogging? no.  this is my refuge.


how do i not anticipate the end of this?... because i'm going crazy.
crazy with anticipation.  to never have to take a final again.  or do homework.
and to live within 5 miles of lincoln.
the days seem to get longer as the end approaches.
because of the crazy anticipation, i'm thinking.

on monday, a friend in my major asked me to take some graduation pictures for her on campus.
it's been hard for me to really focus on actually graduating because of everything else going on.  as we walked around on that beautiful warm night, i thought about how much the experiences here (at USU) have changed me and how much i love this school.  it seems like i was here such a short time, but forever at the same time.  a part of me will really miss it. 

but most of me is ready to move on.  is that okay?


probably the most delicious thing right now would be a big fat vacation.  i desperately need one.

who has senioritis?  raise your hand!

did you know?

did you know...

in about 5 weeks i will be graduating from college.

well, sort of.
i'm "walking" in about five weeks, but i have to do this practicum/intership thingy in the summer.

i kind of forget this is going to happen.
i'm GRADUATING!

no more tests, papers, assignments, projects, finals...
for the rest. of. my. life!

i should probably be anticipating it more, but i'm kind of anticipating june 5th more, so i tend to forget about my school life ending forever.


i've gone to school straight since i was 5 years old.  it's kind of mind boogling it's going to end. 
but i couldn't be more ready for it to end.

i'm ready to move on to different things in life.

i have BIG plans for my photography after i graduate.
i'm pretty excited about this.
you should be excited too.

did you know...
i really value education.  and i believe everyone who has the opportunity for education should take it.
i love learning.  the only part that really drives me nuts is having to be accountable for that learning... with tests and assignments.  but i suppose that helps us learn and retain the information too... or whatever.

i'm just really excited to close this chapter of my life.
now i will be able to learn and read whatever i want!  and not be accountable for it. 
oh man... it's going to be great!


now, i'm hoping that everything will go as planned.  being a transfer students totally screws up all the requirements you need and everything.  i just don't want to be the character in those horror stories you hear about... when people find out they have more classes to take the last week of the what they thought would be the last semester of their life.  that would be the pits.  i probably would sit on the ground and cry and quit without ever getting that piece of paper. 

but let's not think about that...


so did you know...

that i'm getting a degree in family finance?

people often say, "what do you do with a degree like that?"


well, i'm not really sure what i'm going to do with my degree, but today i'm offering my knowledge to you.
i know money is sometimes a taboo subject.  and some people think it's boring to discuss.
but i love talking about finances. 

so here's my hope... that you lurkers will come out and ask the questions you have about finances.  please dont' be shy.  this won't only help you, but it'll help me apply what i learn in school. 

having trouble finding a budget that works for you?  i know some...
having trouble finding a good savings account right now in this economy?  i know some...
want to pay down your debt faster?  i know some ways...
do you have questions about credit or your credit report?  i could tell you...
have you started a retirement account yet? i could show you why you should...



maybe this is totally lame and no one will reply... but i hope you will.  don't hesitate, please!
it's basically free counseling!!

you can email me [jaybphoto{at}gmail{dot}com] with your questions and i'll keep it annonymous if you would like.
then i'll post the answers on this blog.


you never know, someone might just be wondering the same thing. 

one more day of freedom.

sorry y'all.

i've been busy hanging out with this guy.


we only have one more day before we have to go back to school.


that really, really bites.






this is how we feel about it.




haha, just kidding.

this is the face we made after i told lincoln to act like he was a character in a scary movie.



why?

i don't know.




but this semester is seriously going to be scary.


me:

21 credits.
30 hours a week at work.
planning a wedding.
and being 1.5 hours away from the fiance.



call me crazy.

and i'll agree with you.


not sure how i'm going to last.





but wish us luck.

headin' south with the birds.

image via sabino

today is the one of those days i wish i had more than 24 hours to accomplish everything i need to.

i'm heading south this week for a conference with my peers and professors.

which makes me feel extremely old
and nervous,
and grown-upy.

i'm not sure how to do these things.

yikes!

anyway, i have SO much to do to get ready for it and i might be developing ulcers.


i've scheduled some quotes to share with you this week while i am soaking up some warm sun rays south-ward and learning about finances.

i hope you all have a great week!


and if any of you have a time stopper i can borrow, i would really appreciate it.

My Brain!

Oh my gosh,

Econ is so hard!!!

I do not understand it at all.

That is all.

Happy Tuesday.

I will...

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

I will pass my Stats final tomorrow.

(WISH ME LUCK!)

Oh ya, thanks Jas-face for all the tutoring in this subject. You're the coolest Statistician I know.