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