Lydia's fun

Life is good, no one is sick. Lydia is growing every day. Today she learned that she can make art on the floor just by throwing her food down, that our dog and cat make great targets, and that food makes a good face cream and Shampoo for her hair. She also learned that a good way to scare mom is by climbing up two flights of stairs and then hiding under the bed when mom is not looking. She is learning some words like mommy, daddy, hello, bye-bye, kitty, and puppy. But her favorite word would be no-no as she shakes her head with a big grin on her face.

What a Day

I feel that I had an interesting, productive, and very long day today. Classes started at 8 this morning, and went through most of the day. All throughout the day I was constantly worying about when was I going to get time to study for my American Heritage exam, and when was I going to take the exam?

I pretty much studied every chance I got of more than 15 minutes, because any less than that is not productive. I also took a few pictures arround the BYU campus as I was going from class to class. This picture is of the SWKT building. I don't actually have any classes there, but I spend time there in the American Heritage lab that is in the basement, as well as in the computer lab that is also in the basement there.

I did get a welcome break at one o'clock today when I went to the cafeteria for lunch with my good friend Todd Reeder. He had some extra money left over on his meal plan and, in an effort to show me the benefits of said plan to get me to get one as well, paid for my lunch. According to him, lunch on the meal plan basically translates to about $4.50 per meal. It was like going to a chuck-a-rama all you can eat buffet with burgers, salad bars, main dish bars, desert bars, tons of drink varieties, and an ice cream bar to boot. Seeing as how I currently usually skip breakfast and lunch, and just eat dinner when I get home at the end of the day, I must say that I am tempted, especially after discovering that the cafeteria food really wasn't half bad.

My last class of the day was Electrical Engineering 301, which I am struggling in. I actually understood what we talked about in class today for a change: converting between base 10, hexadecimal, and binary systems. After class I met with one of the TA's, to get help with other concepts that I am having trouble with for a few minutes, and then finally got to spend some real time studying for my A-Heritage exam. I wanted to take the exam today because I had missed it yesterday, and I don't want to take it tomorow as I already have a full day planned, and it will cost a $7.00 late fee to take it then as well. Anyway, I got to study from about 3:30 to 7:30 for the exam, and was astually able to bone up on quite a few of the things that I thought were going to be on the exam. I finally reached the point where if I studied any longer, I wouldn't have given myself enough time to actually take the test. So I headed over to the testing center where I encountered one of the longest lines there that I have ever seen. I didn't even actually get into take the test untill about 8:20. Seeing as how the testing center closes at 10:00, 1 hour and 40 minutes was cutting my test taking time a little bit closer than I would have liked. I got out of the test feeling much better about it than I had about the first one, and even got an 83% on the multiple choice section, which constitutes about 1/2 of the test grade. I also feel that I answered the short answer/essay section a lot better than the last one, so I'm optimistic about my grade going up in the class. Here's hopin!

And so the Bloggs begin

So, it is the end of the day and I am disappointed in the total progress that I was able to make with my school work. I did finish the work that was required for two of my classes(EE 301, and Physics 220), but I didn't get in the study that I would have liked for my American Heritage Class. I have a mid-term that runs through Thursday, but that I have to take on Wednesday, and I feel woefully inadequately prepared for it. On the bright side though, I have a friend that I have been working with in one of my classes, and we seem to work very well together getting better grades together than either one of us would get individually. We have both signed up for classes for the winter semester at BYU, and will share 3-4 classes depending on how things work out; deffinately something I am looking forward too.

Our daughter Lydia has recently mastered the art of climbing the stairs, which is both Hilarious to watch, and worrisome to contemplate. Where we use to be able to leave the room for a minute or two without worrying about her getting into too much trouble, she now has the ability to go places hitherto inaccessible to her. I even tried to put up a kiddie gate to keep her from going upstairs, but she slipped through the crack that I had left under it for the pets, and surprised me while I was working on the computer. She thinks it is the funnest game to play hide and seek with us, and squeals in delight as we chase her up the stairs and all around the house. Now, if only she would learn that it is better to go down the stairs backwards instead of head over heels, we'd have it made.

My first Blog

So, for the first time, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of our good neighbors the Oehrings and start posting our own personal blog/journal. This being my first post, I am unsure where to really start, and how to make this site the most that it can be. Thus, please be patient with the site as I will continually update it as I learn more.

Current events: I am currently a professional senior (eternal student) at BYU in Provo Utah. My wife and I recently bought the duplex that we have been living in since about May of 2006. Our daughter Lydia just had her first birthday on the 21st of October.