Choices, Choices

Ok.....so this is something I need to decide.

I have a professor who I want to work with for graduate school. I don't plan on going to graduate school until Fall 2014-- a year after I get my bachelors.

So, I have 3 choices.

One: Do Geology 410 spring of 2014 and graduate with my bachelors that June. (Daniel graduates around the same time). I would take a Diatom course this coming spring instead of doing 410 (spring 2013). Then go into graduate school Fall 2014. Classes in the meantime with be going towards my graduate requirements.
One Cons: geology 410 without my friends and the classmates I am use to.

Two: Graduate with my bachelors June 2013. Graduate school Fall 2014. (My current plan) Daniel still graduates Summer of 2014. Diatom course Spring 2015.
Things I am worried about: 
     -That I won't be able to keep up with my education in the meantime
     -That by that time the research I want to do will not be available for me


Three: I take Geology 410 this spring (spring of 2013) and not walk with my bachelors but I will have all the classes done for it. Instead, I will technically be done with my bachelors Spring 2013, but I will continue in school for Fall 2013 and maybe Winter 2014. That way I can take graduate level courses and get most of my coursework done for graduate school. I will take the diatom course Spring of 2014. By the time I start graduate school in Fall of 2014 I will have a lot of my graduate coursework done, diatom course will be done, I will have continued and not fallen behind in geology, and hopefully have a little baby by then. I will graduate from graduate school a year and a half later.

Plans one and three are very similar. The only difference is one I will have my bachelors a year sooner, but I won't have the diploma since I am continuing with school.

Any opinions?

Star Wars Legos

The completed Millennium Falcon and a picture from outside. Enjoy!!!!

Skyping!

I got my ear talked off about legos and Minecraft. I showed my sister and Dirk our apartment and Dirk told me about his house. We also played with our skype effects and the above picture is the result. Elizabeth has no head!!!!! Delilah is absolutely adorable!!!!!


Thanks Liz, Delilah, and Dirk for chatting with Daniel and me!

Done and Done!

Finals are over (for better or worse) and my sister had her beautiful baby girl-- Delilah Marie!

So let me first say how incredibly happy I am for my new niece. The one thing I want for Christmas more than anything is to fly out to MI and to hold that little girl. :(  I won't see her until May or August, hopefully.

Finals weren't bad. I had a presentation on Monday. That went ok. Then my one and only final on Thursday morning at 7am. That test was monstrous, but I only needed a 70% to get an A in the class. I hope I pulled it off. :) Friday I worked a little and fixed the little thing wrong on my hand contoured seismic interpretation. Now I am done! YIPPEE!

That morning I was able to hang with my bestest of friends with only a little bit of school interference on our minds. I have to say that Rachel in particular looked extremely peaceful. Unfortunately, with the school shooting, the day was a bit gloomy. What a tragedy.

Though...I turned to Daniel at one point in the day and said "You know, I don't feel as sad as most people without the Gospel. At least most of them were little children and were not accountable for their sins." Those children will be with our Heavenly Father. Though their Earthly experiences were ripped unfairly from them, they will be in the Celestial Kingdom. I just want to try to see some more of the positive from this terrible tragedy.

We went to see the Hobbit. It was good. The theater we went to was like a furnace for the first half of the movie and they started the movie a good 15 minutes late. And what was with those trailers? The only good one was for the new Star Trek movie. I gagged at the new Stephanie Meyer movie. Why oh why do they keep making movies out of terrible books?!

The Hobbit itself was good. You have to understand going into it that it is not LotR. You also have to understand it is a prequel to the LotR.

I also gave Daniel an early Christmas present. I told him he could open it now or later. I was hinting I wanted him to open it sooner. I think he is glad he did. Now he has time to make the millennium falcon before we head to Washington for Christmas. I have never seen him so excited for a material possession. I know that he has wanted this for years and because of his parents I was able to finally make this possible for him. Thanks Vaun and Margaret!

The final steps

10 steps till I get what I want.


1. To take my last final (almost done)
 
2. My sister to pop out that lovely daughter of hers

3. Visit family in Washington

4. Enjoy Christmas and 2nd year anniverssary

5. Make New Year resolutions

6. Keep resolutions

7. Get through winter semester

8. Think about different insurance

9. Take 6 week geology field course (410)

10.Graduate and move on with bigger better things :)

Structure? Yeah....what about it?

Whooo Hooooo!

So, this semester has been super-duper-incredibly stressful and difficult. I went into the semester thinking it was going to be the easiest semester I have ever had…..but soon realized that because of one of my classes my semester was going to be (pardon my French) absolute hell.

You might be thinking I am over exaggerating how stupid this semester was, but I am not….I am not even going to go into any detail of it because I have talked about it so often with my fellow students that I am sick of the subject. It was terrible.

Note my word use of “was!” It’s over!!!  I officially have done all the insane labs, research, papers, presentation, quizzes, homeworks, EVERYTHING! I am done. 

The professor decided that we do not need a final and asked our forgiveness for some of the things that were ridiculous that he did (like 5 hour lectures and keeping us over time and not giving us breaks during this time). 

I had talked to my professor yesterday for a long while asking him questions I needed answers to in order to give my presentation today (which went well!). We talked about the class itself and I explained how there was so much information I wanted to present on and so little time. In that way I understood why he always kept us over and had “marathon” lectures. 

I explained how I am quiet in his class because I absorb and learn by watching and listening. I apologized for always looking bored in his class, but reassured him that I love geology so much. So much that having kids and going to graduate school right away are nearly equal to each other. If I didn’t have the gospel, I wouldn’t be able to make a decision. Fortunately, Daniel and I have made the decision and I don’t have to wonder what is right….though at times I think of the other option and want it just as badly. 

Overall, I am glad that he apologized and asked our forgiveness. Especially that we don’t have a final. Though, I still feel so wronged by this experience that it may take time for me to truly recover. 

In the end…I did learn in his class. Not as much as I normally would learn. I did especially love the research we each had to conduct and write about. My group did the mouth of Provo Canyon. I didn’t quite enjoy the group part, but I learned so much through that paper. 

I have a seismic project and presentation left. I am a bit nervous about this, but originally I had that and the structure final to work on. Now…just the presentation and my groundwater final (which I love that class and know I will do great!)

I don’t know what the point of this entry was. Mostly I think it was a way for me to realize how grateful I am that structure is done and also realize how much I did learn from the class and the experience itself.

Day 2 whoo!

Day 2 on the diet plan.

We had an egg sandwich for lunch. I woke up too late for breakfast.

For dinner we had a bean and potato side (boiled together with salt and bacon). For the main meal we had turkey with some gravy over it.

Between meals we had carrots, wheat thins, vanilla wafers, snow peas, and celery.

I even have room for a small bit of Tillamook ice cream!!!

And I am still slightly under all my daily amounts.

This coming week will be hard to find time to exercise seeing as it is pre-finals week. But once finals week rolls along, this new program will officially be underway. I am hoping to lose 5 lbs by the time winter semester begins.

Making room for baby....and no...I am NOT pregnant

My husband and I have recently started a diet and exercise program. It will be interesting how things turn out. haha

Hmm.....well it's kind of odd because I am a geology major where I often hike. But the key is I mostly hike in the summer when I can see the outcrops (no snow). During the fall and winter I dedicate myself to school, often sitting in front of a computer for the majority of each day. I am hoping that this program will motivate me to find the time to be active during these months that I am in school. That way I can stay healthy and be ready for my 6 week field course that I am taking in May and June. Also.... my husband and I would like to start a family after I graduate. All in all....that's why I decided to start this program.

This coming winter semester I am taking zumba!

I will probably update my progress on the blog occasionally. The title of my weight loss profile on myfitnesspal.com is "Making room for baby."

So.. the semester is firing up and we only have a few weeks left. This means I am stupidly busy with homework, projects, presentations, exams, and research.

But I still love life! (As long as I can talk to my husband about something other than school and work for 5 seconds!)

So what's new with me?

Daniel and I are finishing up decorating and unpacking our apartment. I hope this will be done by Friday because I am leaving for a Groundwater trip until Saturday night.

My brother (Samuel) and his girlfriend are coming up from Arizona for a few days over Thanksgiving break. I am hoping our place is done so we don't have random boxes and pictures laying on the living room floor. :)

Our favorite Peruvian place closed. :(   We went there once and it was bliss! Then they closed. *tear*

It snowed! Daniel and I have been taking mini walks in the snow together. I remember when we were still dating and we were walking at night in the snow and he turned to me and told me how beautiful I was all bundled up. :) That's what I think about every time it snows.

Daniel got a new job related to his Computer Science major! He is actually doing something that I am interested in. I plan on specializing in hydro-geology. Daniel is working on hydro-geology software! He came home talking about porosity and transmissivity and I love that!!!

I am still completely addicted to Christina Perri. She needs to come out with more music!!!!!

Mostly, I am just doing the school thing. We did go to our new ward this past Sunday. And it was HUGE! So many people! My mom says that if I can't find a friend in my new ward then I have a problem. Thanks mother. :)

I love you all!!!!

Coring for Diatoms!

Over the weekend I spent time coring down to the surface of the landslide in order to get the organic matter directly above the landslide in order to date it. We are also using the diatom and pollen record from the cores to create a climate record since the landslide.

 Above and Below: The mega landslide we are working on. The first day went well and we collected two cores. Brian lost a silver handle down one of the core holes, but we were able to retrieve it. It was hard grueling work, but incredibly fun!!! I have videos of the process, but for some reason they don't want to upload and I am too tired to work it out so that they work.

 Below: On Saturday our core got stuck about 6ft under. :( Also on Saturday was the beginning of hunting season, so it was just a little nerve wracking not wearing orange in an area where there were a bunch of hunters.

 Below: Trying to drill around the stuck core to try to get it out.

 Below: Eric ended up digging for it with a  tiny shovel. It was hard ground. He was definitely a trooper

 Below: Ryan was sad that coring didn't work out that day. It is his research after all. I felt bad for him. :(

 Below: Taking out excess dirt. More dirt faster!!!!

Below: Kevin augering around the stuck core to try to loosen it.

 Below: Trying to pull out the core!

 Below: He got it!!! They unstuck the 400 dollar core! They deserved a huge juicy steak....instead we went to Wendys.

 Below The dark spot is the covered hole. It is a beautiful place to work......we were about 8500- 9500 ft above sea level.

Senioritis

Well, I still have some of the pain and it's been two weeks since I've seen the doctor. I have improved so much though! I can do the dishes, unpack our belongings, go to class, and even go out into the field!

Today....I don't know how I feel. I guess senioritis is setting in-- especially since I wasn't able to do school work when I was motivated to do well. I might be tired of school for now. Graduate school is definitely in my future, but I will wait for Daniel to graduate a year after me and then we will decide which schools to go to for further education.

I guess it's starting to hit me that my undergraduate career is almost over! After getting a Chemistry Associates and a Geology Degree, I don't think the time is quite so wasted.

If I am being completely, 100%, bluntly honest....I feel like my education is nearly complete (minus the masters). I think over this long period of going to school and everything being fairly the same every semester I have decided I am ready for the unexpected. A huge change in what I am use to. I told Daniel...a little out of tired anger that I never wanted to be a stay at home mom. Well.....that isn't true. Deep down...or not so very deep down....I yearn to have adorable little Gunnells tag along by my side calling me "mom".

I do want to go to school for a masters....I do want to eventually get a job to help support my family....but I also want to spend some time teaching my children about life and more importantly about the gospel.

When will this day come? Haha....well, I really don't know quite yet. But since I am graduating soon it's something that is always in my mind.

I feel almost 100% again!

For the past 2 months I have been having chest pain. It makes it very difficult to be a geologist when I can't just run up a mountain whenever I want to!!! I have seen the doctor and am getting it taken care of, which is nice because I feel like I can do something about the pain instead of always thinking of ways to get better.

I have been struggling this semester getting my homework done because I feel tired and the pain makes it hard to concentrate. Today is the first day I feel like myself again. I feel like I could run a marathon ....or run up stairs to campus haha.

Daniel has been amazing through this, being ever so patient and caring for me. This being the first day I could concentrate in class means I have to catch up on every one of my assignments. I still have to take it easy, but it's time to crack down on life.

Here it goes!!!

Clean Clean Clean and Clean some more

Wow...moving has been exhausting. We really deep cleaned our new apartment and we still need to do that for our old Wymount one.

I am really enjoying our new place, but right now I am exhausted and behind with school work.

We still have our office to arrange and to put away all our clothes. Our kitchen, bathroom, and front room are nearly finished.

I'm so tired.

My mind will be more peaceful next Tuesday because 2 huge assignments will have to be done and we would have turned our old key over. I can't wait for that day. 9 more days.

Piano Guys and Claustrophobia!!!!!!!

Left: My camera broke when I went to Death Valley a year ago. That camera lasted many years, but I finally got a new one! I feel like a camera is essential for a geologist. When I looked at cameras I was amazed with all the improvements in technology there has been since 2007!!!! This is a picture of Daniel, my love, in our car. I de-virginized my camera taking this picture.

 Above: Daniel and I went to see The Piano Guys about 2 weeks ago. We love them! I like that they take wholesome music and give it a classical cover and implement landscapes and humor in the process. If you have never heard of them, then check them out on youtube. At this concert it down poured. We were SOAKED! Wet and cold, but the music and company was good. I love having these mini adventures with Daniel.

Left: The sun was beginning to set, but storms were rolling in and rolling out while we were sitting, already soaked right before The Piano Guys began their concert. The concert was at Thanksgiving Point in Utah.

Right: The piano and cello used by The Piano Guys. You can see the stage is drenched!

 Above: So...I like to post what my place looks like so that my friends and family in Michigan know what I live in everyday. Well.....I never posted our place in Wymount and my mom has never seen our place...so....here it is mom! We are moving in 3 days so our place is a disaster! Looks like a war zone! Daniel's cousin Jaren got a TON of boxes from KFC and he and his wife threw them into our apartment. I am grateful to all those who gave us boxes because now we can start packing!  I still need to pack all those rocks that are on the bookshelf. I have a pretty neat collection. :)

 Above: The other view of our front room. We had Taco Bell today so we wouldn't make any dishes today. Those are also our new computers! So messy. :( Daniel is working hard on his computer science program that is due tomorrow. Good Luck my sweet lovingness!!!!!

Above: I love our microwave cart. Without it this kitchen would have been crammed and we would have had no counter space. Look at all those boxes!!!!!!! All our dishes are stacked and washed, I just need to pack them. That will be a today activity. If anyone is wondering....our refrigerator is directly across from the stove and yes.....you can't get into both at the same time.

Left: Our bathroom. It also has a box. haha. It is also very small. Daniel and I will have a bigger bathroom in 3 days! It was so hard trying to share the tiny mirror above the sink. Especially since Daniel is so tall!

Above: This room is so crammed! Packing is underway.....but this mess is still from my research trip with Penny and our trips to Washington State and Michigan we got back from a few weeks ago. I guess it doesn't matter because with moving we have to pack it all up anyways. By the way, we are willing to sell that TV and the red couch if anyone wants it. The red couch was bought new and we used it for 6 months. 

Above: Our third room. I didn't take any pictures of our actual room where we sleep....it's a huge clothes mess that we need to sort through before we move.

Above: Daniel with his new computer. He is sooooo adorable in this picture!!!! Oh my goodness so cute! He is working on his program all week so I took the bullet and have done all the packing. Which I am happy to do because I feel like we will be even happier where we are moving. Wymount (BYU married housing) was a nice place to live, but we are excited to live in a place that isn't so cramped. Also, all the pictures look really bright, but that's because of my awesome new camera I mentioned above!!! Our Wymount apartment is actually very dark. It feels like we are living in a cave. And we have tons of spiders...we even had a black widow at out head of the bed a couple weeks ago!!!!

Anyways, we are super happy to move. So far the packing hasn't been so bad. I am glad we don't have more stuff!!! I will post pictures of our new apartments in Maeser Place Apartments south of BYU campus when it is all in order. Hopefully before we move out of that one!!!! hehe, no promises though. :P

Henry Mountains, Oh how I miss you-- Part Two

 Above: So, Some days I never had any shade. This is what my body language and face looked like during one of those days.

Below: We were super tired and hot that day, but for some reason we were like "lets climb up this small sandstone cliff!" When Penny climbed it she needed a push up and she had to shimmy herself up the outcrop....pulling her shirt in the process haha. It was a gorgeous view when we both got up. Penny had to pull me up. However, by the time we found a safe-ish way down we were very very tired and still needed to finish collecting data. Penny is so dedicated to her work. I am sure I was coming off very unwilling, but hopefully supportive in her endeavors. We later found out it was 110 degrees Fahrenheit by the time we got back to Ed (our Jeep).

 Left: Black Mesa behind me. It's a large igneous intrusion!This was one of the views we had when we climbed up from the previous picture. I love the desert!

Right: I just think this picture is pretty. I loved the landscapes I saw everyday. I could never bore from them. In fact, next time I go back, I want to just relax and take in all of the nature and sites I saw but didn't have quite enough time to appreciate.

 Above: So....this was at one of the many outcrops where we heard rattlesnakes. We heard them very often, but at this outcrop I actually jumped up and jumped down an outcrop because it sounded like it was right behind me. Penny says she saw something move from right behind where I was sitting! Well, we saw this under a rock and instead of getting close we decided to take a picture of what we thought might have been a rattler under a rock and check on the computer later. Well.....obviously it isn't a rattlesnake, but it kinda looks like one......at least from far away.

 Above: Where's Waldo????? or where's Sarah!?! HINT:  I am in the direct middle of the picture in yellow. It was the only shade I could find, so naturally I was attracted to it. Penny took her first field poo ever near this outcrop. And yes, I made fun of her for it, relentlessly.....though I came close to many a field poo over the summer. Note the igneous rock above me in the picture. It's part of one of the many finger-like lobes on the Maiden Creek Satellite Intrusion.

 Left: Secret Nap Gorge! Beautiful igneous rocks.

 Above: Maiden Creek with Black Mesa behind it!

Left and Right: Our spot locator ran out of batteries so we took a trip to Richfield and bought ourselves some neat cowgirl boots! We met two funny old friends, which I will talk about later, maybe in part 3 of these blog entries. But this was taken in Torrey next to the fake sheriff! We also took a brief trip to Capitol Reef this day. 

Left: Chimney Rock near Capitol Reef. It was fun being back in one of the areas we explored during my field course GEOL 210.

Right: The rock was still hanging!!!!! I told penny we needed to see the rock and the reptile prints. At first I couldn't find them, but I said "let me look around this last corner" and I found them!!!!

 Above: Reptile Castes in the sandstone. Really Neat! I was glad I knew where to find them so I could show Penny!

 Above: We were looking for shear zones on Maiden Creek and we found one! This is Penny pointing at her baby!

 Left: We had chocolate which melted from when we made smores. It was Penny's first time trying smores!!!!! I hear smores are good with bacon, but I don't know whether to believe my sources. Anyways, on this day I ate the chocolate and it was really gooey. I decided to get it all over me and put on a crazed face for the camera. I look like  a proper munter.

Who ate all the pies?!?!

 Above: Penny turned around to get something from Ed and when she turned back to the outcrop I had already climbed to the top! It was a fun climb....I later found out that there was a MUCH easier way up....oh well, I still had fun.  We heard a rattlesnake hear and also saw snake trails in the sand.

 Above: This was on our drive up to our campsite. We saw this view everyday. The Mountain is Mount Hillers. Maiden Creek and Trachyte Mesa are Satellite Intrusions from Mount Hillers. In this image of the mountain you can see the storm rolling in. We often had clear blue skies for part of the day and rolling thunderstorms the latter part.

 Left: rattlesnake heaven I'm sure. Luckily we didn't have any problems. But look at all those nice cool crevasses they can hide in!!!!

 Above: This is Guff Gully. Guff is slang for fart in England. :)  You can imagine what we did a lot in this area!!!

Below: Also Guff Gully. I was writing down measurements in what shade I could find.

 Right: I thought I would fit right in the hole....but I guess I am larger than I thought. It also took a lot of effort to balance and get myself up there. Don't know if it was worth the effort.

 Above and Below: The shear zone on Maiden Creek in Guff Gully. The red on the compass-clino points north.

 Left: Contact of the igneous and sandstone in Guff Gully.

 Above: Evidence of a fault!!!

 Left: We decided to get a hotel one night because it was a nasty thunderstorm. We even saw a truck book it off Mount Hillers going about 60 mph on a gravel road. While we we getting off the Mountain we stopped and saw a tarantula on the road. It hated the flashlight I was pointing at it and scurried towards us.

Right: Picture of the storm brewing at night.

Above: A work picture showing the deformation bands we were measuring. I really like this picture though because of the angle it was taken at. It just looks cool. I don't know if you could tell, but geology ROCKS!!!!