It's That Time of Year

Date: Wednesday, April 18

Time: 5:00 pm

Location: Riverside, ID

Temperature: 50*F (maybe...)

Wind chill: -35*F (possibly colder.)

Wardrobe: thermal underwear, two hooded sweatshirts, winter coat, hat, two blankets.

Occasion: Snake River v. Bear Lake softball game

Devoted Fans

Getting ready to go bat

And even though Haley's right ankle currently looks like this (due to a nasty encounter with a hole while coaching first base last week)

Her coach still put her in to play in center field.

Haley asked me not to post those fielding photos because she's making a pretty weird face in them (for a closer look....click here.) On her behalf, I should include the disclaimer that the face she is making isn't her fault. It's genetic.

And besides that, she's been doing it her whole life.

Photo Montage

Hunger Games Premiere

My Lab

Samantha's Bridal Shower

Elder Smith's Easter Eggs

Birthday Girls

My mom and Haley both have birthdays the last week of March. We celebrated as a family when they came down to Utah for General Conference last Sunday. Suzy and I made the birthday cake.

Bleeding Me Dry

According to 'The Free Dictionary,' the idiom 'to bleed someone dry' means 'to use up everything someone has available.'


I donated blood again last Thursday. That makes 3 out of 6 times. Halfway done!


But between you and me...the actual loss of blood isn't draining me nearly as much as the stress due to and preparation for my oral exam. Which will take place this Friday. Which is giving me ulcers. Or nightmares. Or both.


Which probably seems silly, since anyone that knows me knows that talking is one of my favorite and most developed hobbies. So an oral exam seems right up my alley. *deep breath*


The exam involves me and three old guys with PhDs sitting in a conference room for as long as it takes to determine whether or not I have any idea what I'm talking about. Any topic that was covered in any required class I've taken in the last 5 years is free game. Which makes me wish I'd spent much less time asleep in molecular biology and much less time flirting in genetics.

*more deep breaths*

I'm sure it will be fine. The consequence for failing is just getting kicked out of my program. No big deal.

Maybe I should bring the old guys a bribe....

Plan F

Sometimes I let myself get a little bent out of shape about how far my life has deviated from my original planned course. Let's recap the plan, shall we?

The Original Plan:
-Go to BYU.
-Major in art.
      a) never take another math class. ever.
      b) avoid science classes like the plague.
-Travel the world (most specifically, go to London).
-Get married.
-Graduate.
-Start a family.
-Stay home. Raise children. Be an artist.

How It Actually Went Down:
-Go to BYU.
-Major in Physiology and Developmental Biology.
      a) take calculus. get first ever B. but not last.
      b) 83.5 science credits and counting.
-Decide to go to medical school.
-Change mind about medical school. Decide to go to PA school instead.
-Travel the world (study abroad to London. trips to Paris and Barcelona).
-Change mind about PA school. Decide to work after bachelors degree.
-Change mind about working. Apply to physiology masters program.
-Break up with boyfriend of 3.5 years.
-Graduate.
-Get accepted to physiology masters program.
-Break up with pre-med boyfriend.
-Break up with civil engineer boyfriend.
-Decide all boys are lame.
**Present Day**

A recent lament of mine prompted my roommate to post the following on my facebook wall:

So I counted. And I'm officially on Plan F. I'm actually feeling pretty excited about Plan F.

(Which is one of the reasons that I have this ominous feeling....like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. If it sounds good and I feel excited about it, historically speaking...it's not for me. When did I become such a cynic?)

So here it is.  Plan F:

I am going to get a PhD.

I'll be spending the summer investigating labs around the country that do obesity/metabolism research and deciding where I want to apply/who I want to research with. Applications are due in December. The goal is somewhere East Coast.

Maybe when I get there I'll meet Mr. Right. Maybe not. At this point, I don't really care because I'm just psyched at the idea of a doctorate. I haven't decided whether or not I want to do a postdoctoral fellowship (necessary if I want to have my own lab someday) or just be done after PhD. I've got plenty of time to decide though.

So there you have it. My new life plan. I think (hope!) it's a keeper! And with it, my new motto:

The calendar hanging in my bedroom. Design from here.