January 15, 2010

I suppose all good things must come to an end (as the saying goes).  School starts next week.  Now, some may argue that nothing “good” is really ending; school can be great too, right?  I guess you could argue that.  Right now, I won’t, but I am really happy knowing there is nothing that I need to study for this weekend.  Last weekend of that.  So, all in all, it’s been a great break.

                However, when I say the word “break,” it’s not really a complete break.  You see, at Regis, the entire class is put into different research groups at the beginning of the 3^rd semester and you stay with that same group.  You have a professor and a topic, and the rest of your time at Regis is spent working on this project in addition to regular school work.  And even though we didn’t have school the last few weeks, several groups have been making some sort of progress with their project. 

For example, I’ve been putting in data of about 30 patients into an Excel sheet that our research group will use to assess an outcome tool we’re designing.  Our project focuses on acute care settings.  A classmate, on the other hand, will be door knocking tomorrow morning (Saturday morning, that is) to find new recruitments as part of their aerobic exercise research project.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m complaining.  This is part of graduate school.  It sometimes makes days a little more crazy than usual, but it’s great experience and it makes life a little more interesting.

While visiting family in Price, Ashley and I took Daisy and my parents' 2 dogs out for a run in the hills. Just call me the Dog Whisperer. Yeah right.

Although it was chilly, we spent most of our time outdoors, from feeding Grandpa's cows to bringing in firewood.

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December 30, 2009

Here Spencer and I pose with a hippo at the Denver Zoo Christmas Light Show. Lots of fun.

Another Christmas has come and gone.  Like the majority of my classmates, we went home for the holidays.  The only eventful part of our 8 hour drive to Utah consisted of watching Spencer torment Daisy by putting treats by her nose then hurrying and eating them himself instead (Usually, Daisy is in the very back of the car, but this time she got to sit right next to Spencer, which also meant she was breathing down my neck from time to time to get a better view of what was ahead on the road).

                Christmas morning has become more and more exciting as Spencer is getting older.  He’s slowly getting the idea about Santa and so he was really excited to see presents magically appear in the front room.  I’m most proud of the stick horse I made for him.  The other day, while reviewing what textbooks I still need to buy for the upcoming semester, I think I should have asked Santa for some of those books.  Oh well . . . . I really did need that remote control helicopter that I’m waiting for either Spencer to eventually break or Daisy to bite while in the air.

                So, amid 4-wheeler riding, sledding, feeding Grandpa’s cows, and reading NON-textbooks (it’s such a relief), it has been a nice break so far.

Just having fun after a week full of stressful tests.

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