Today, my sister-in-law and I decided to go shopping! It was way fun. I spent more than I normally would (don't worry, not that much, but normally I'm good at talking myself out of stuff). However, I did not find what I was looking for. I wanted to find some bermuda/board shorts. Dang Gs - we couldn't find any that were quite long enough.



It was good to hang out though. We both got to know each other better. More girl-time will definitely be in the future. Camile enlightened me to Susie's Deals. Eclectic collection - but we found some good deals. I'm tempted to go back to Ross and get one of the dresses we saw. It looked comfy :)



I know you're just dying to know what I actually got - so I'll tell you :) I bought a brown shirt at Target. I got a heather grey long sleeved shirt for layering in the Winter, a cream shrug, and a green shrug from Susie's. Then I used a gift card to get the little sleeve socks to be worn with ballet style shoes. I'm way excited for those because I really needed them :)

Next time, hopefully Chelle and Jenn can come too! That would be way fun :)

Matt's "dream job" is apparently not going to be much of a dream. He still likes the atmosphere, being around bikes, and the people; but it isn't shaping up to be what he thought it would be. After deciding he wasn't quitting band, he asked for the Salt Lake and San Diego games off. Then he found out he can't take any Saturdays off in the summer because those are big sale days. I get that. It makes sense. Summer - best season and Saturdays - best days, but to not allow ANY Saturdays off at all?

Initially, Matt was going to train to be their accountant. Their current accountant isn't planning on retiring for at least another 10 years, but Matt was supposed to train in order to assist their current accountant. Had they done that, when the accountant was in the hospital, they wouldn't have had to do without. It sort of sounded like once he got back, Matt would start getting trained, but I don't think that has happened. Who knows if/when it will.

I'll admit, I blame myself in part for this. As if the cut in pay and three months without insurance weren't bad enough. I wish I'd never given in so quickly to tell Matt to take the job. At least with the bank he could take time off (even if it annoyed his boss sometimes) and we had insurance. I wish we hadn't given up looking for a job in Arizona so quickly. Afterall, Matt is accepted to ASU.

So we're both looking a little bit harder. Matt is moreso looking in California - but I'd still like to move to Arizona. (There are still decent and cheap houses there. We can't afford to live in California. It's only like a 5 hour drive between the two.) Next time, before he takes a job, I'm going to make sure they're fully aware of his band requirements and will allow him the weekends he needs for rehearsals and games.

Considering it has been quite awhile since I've posted, I figured I'd come up with something to let you know what's going on.

Pretty much things haven't changed. I am guessing life is going to get a lot more boring upon graduation. :) Matt is still at Monarch. He loves it. He's actually sold some stuff now, so that's good. Money is always nice. :) He's taking the summer off of school. He did finally matriculate into the Accounting program, so now he can register for school. He thought about taking a class second block this summer, but decided to drop it. His Associate's diploma finally arrived, too. It's bigger than mine was. lol

I'm still editing. It's weird working full-time hours now. I essentially worked 30 hours before, but it was split between here and the RTC. However, I don't really mind it.

As for school, tomorrow I meet with Jack to interview him for our project. The rest of my group is interviewing the other four therapists on Monday. The block ends in three weeks! I need to buckle down and write a research paper for Infant and Child Development. That and two tests are what's left for that class. Finishing up our research and finishing that paper is all we need to do for Clinical too. That should be pretty easy. We've been writing as we go - and it's a group effort. Really, the biggest thing is getting the other paper done. :p Three weeks! eek! Now I'm a little nervous. The graduation application is due Friday too. Guess I need to do that so I can be done!

Matt decided to get Bhuvan's wings clipped again. He was sick of Bhuvan's independence. When his wings are clipped, he's dependent and more sociable. Bhuvan doesn't seem too keen on this idea. He still sometimes tries to fly, and then he falls. However, he has wanted a lot more pets.

Well there's your update for a little bit. :)

This class, which I was sure was going to be the bane of my existence, I'm actually quite stoked for. Today, Cameron went over all the elements of a research paper (which we all already know - but it's nice to go over what he likes to see).

Our particular study doesn't fit the norm, though, because we're doing more of a qualitative study. (In other words, we're not gathering numeric data and having to use statistics and junk.) So Cameron is going to go over what a qualitative paper should look like next time.

After class, I was totally excited to do this study. Oh ya - we're going to see if we can't make the UVU Student Health Services intake form better. Sounds lame, right? We initially went with it because it's pretty straightforward, involves no stats, and can be easily done in the 7 1/2 weeks of the block. Oh! And since it's not a human study - we don't have to worry about IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval! After today, I decided I really like what we're doing. Not because I'm excited about intake forms, mind you. Not even because there are no stats (which is seriously a big deal to me!). Mostly, it has real-world application on lots of levels.

First of all, we're not just doing research to do research or get a grade. We're doing it to improve the Student Health Services. Plus, I can see such a task being useful if someone were to go into consulting or occupational psych. Knowing about different intake processes and what they're used for will help if any of us go into practice, especially private practice. It's not only designing an intake form, but realizing what variables affect the design of the form. For example, the Student Health Services (for therapy) is designed for short-term care. They probably get depression and stress related stuff most often. Their needs are going to be different than like a residential treatment center, where clients will be there 6 months, 1 year, 2 years - and probably with a lot more severe issues.

Mostly, I think I really like knowing that the research we're going to do can have a direct benefit somewhere. We're doing it specifically for an organization. We're not just doing research to find out about some random thing (which *can* have practical implications, but typically less directly noticeable).

Also, we'll be able to present it to Jack, who's the director of the Student Health Services, which will earn me a sweet APA reference on my vita - again, should I decide to go to graduate school. Granted, I'm still screwed if graduate school makes me do quantitative research. I think the Statistics for Behavioral Sciences classes at UVU need re-vamping. I got lucky. My teacher sounds like one of the few who even touch SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences). I was the only one in my group of four in my Research Methods class who had used it... but I didn't know what to do with the data! Then once we figured that out - we had to figure out how to interpret it!

UVU thinks students shouldn't get calculators (regular math classes, not stats) or use software to do their math. They want you to understand the methodology behind it and not start with short-cuts. I get that, but the real world uses machines - and larger sample sizes with more data.

Well that was a fun tangent. Right, so screwed if I have to get into that again. But it looks like my advanced research credit will be nicely filled.

Just wanted to share my excitement about intake forms lol.

Grades were posted yesterday. I was right - A, A, B, and E. I have decided they went with E because F has a lot of negative stigma about it. You see E and know you failed, but it doesn't hurt as badly. :)

Matt got C-s in his two major classes. I think a C in Ethics, B in Human Sexuality, and some other grade in whatever other class he took :) Point is he passed all of his classes.

I started summer semester yesterday. In Clinical Research, my group is going to design an intake form (and maybe a progress tracking form) for the Student Health Services on campus. I like not having to A) do surveys and gather data, B) go through the IRB, and C) deal with SPSS. This should be a pretty sweet research project - especially since we only have 7 1/2 weeks to do it in. We are first gathering intake forms from lots of places, including the Health Center. We are also going to talk to the therapists there to see what works, what doesn't, and what they need to know from an intake form. We'll probably talk to some other staff too who don't work at the center, but do have practices. Then we will design said forms and do our paper. Ta-da! Done! Then, we shall also present it to the director - and that becomes a sweet line on my vita should I decide to go to graduate school.

Infancy and Childhood Development (the other class I'm taking) seems pretty standard. Three tests and one APA paper. Now I just have to decide a topic ASAP and do the dang paper. I still hate papers, btw.

Work is going well. We have one project that is keeping us pretty busy - and allowing me to work in the day time between my day class and my night class. I still work evenings the days I don't have class, but twice a week isn't too bad. And I'm scheduled 30 hours a week now. Yay for more money!

Matt is really liking Monarch. He goes for rides a lot after work since I'm always gone. I know gas is cheaper for the bike, but that doesn't mean we need to use more of it to make up the difference! Oh well. He enjoys himself.

Matt on his first day at Monarch

I start school again tomorrow. Clinical Research with Cameron John, and some other class that, judging off of comments on Rate My Professors, should be an easy A (have to replace Archaeology with something...). Hopefully I'll be able to pass both classes this time :) Then, I will be done FOREVER! Unless, of course, I decide to do grad. school. However, I am in much need of a break. It's kind of weird to think that I will be entering the stage of life where all I do is go to work and come home. Weird. Hopefully my house will get even cleaner then!

In other news, we've looked at some houses here in the county. Actually gone to visit them, that is. There are a few that I wouldn't mind (note, these are mostly townhomes or condos, one twin home we liked too). But, we can't make an offer yet because Matt still needs to talk to the mortgage guy about the change in jobs. HOPEFULLY that happens today. (It's been like a week.... grrr.) Even then, we probably won't buy anything because we are poor. The real goal is to get my car paid off.... then I would like to get another vehicle paid off before we buy... but Matt seems to think my car will be enough. We just have to figure the best way to do that.

Anyway, that's pretty much all for now by way of updates.