grad school, church and other such things

Where to begin. Hmm…. I have graduated from UNLV. YAY! I feel odd now that I school is over. I am getting everything together to apply for graduate school. I haven’t really told many people about my plans. I wanted to go into research for psychology. It just sounds so cool. And I don’t mind the day to day dealings of inputting data and writing up research papers. Running my own tests and seeing the results of my own work. It just sounds absolutely fascinating to me. But there is a large problem standing in my way. The psychology department wants their grad students to put in two semesters of volunteering in the labs before applying. The volunteering in the lab has a minimum requirement of 10 hours per week. Basically it is a part time job that I don’t get paid for, but I’d still have to find babysitting for. That doesn’t really work for me.

Recently I found a master’s program in Crisis and Emergency Management through the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs over at UNLV that is mostly online and on weekends. The program was designed with working professionals in mind. Okay, so I’m not a working professional, but I AM someone who has a difficult time coming down to campus several times per week (have you seen the cost of Daycare?!). Not to mention that job security with a degree like this is probably pretty good. There will always be natural disasters. Whether you believe in Global warming or the last days (and really, I’m thinking these are probably one and the same) there will be a need for leaders who specialize in emergency management. Also, Isaac said that this is probably a better fit for me anyway. He said that I talk more about emergency preparedness than I do Psychology. He said it shows in the gifts I give people. Which is so true. I have actually made and given first time mothers 72 hour kits for their babies. (I am such a nerd!)
I meet with the head of the program this Friday. The deadline to apply is April 1st. I just hope I can get everything turned in on time. I’m putting this up on my blog because I know that very few people read this. But I probably won’t officially announce my plan to go to graduate school this year until I have actually been accepted. The program starts in July, just in time for me to be in school full time so that I can defer my student loans again. Which means, I won’t have to get a full time job until Enoch is in Elementary School. WOOT! Cross your fingers and pray that I get accepted, ok?

I am still the primary chorister, and I am back to singing with the nursery children too. Did you know that I have had music callings, and ONLY music callings for the past 5 years? Did you know that since turning 18 and entering into Young Women’s, I have NEVER had a calling in Young Women’s? Kinda funny huh? We have a new bishopric in our ward now, and Isaac was called to be executive secretary. I am excited for him. Sunday mornings are even more of a pain now that he has to be at meetings at 6 am, leaving me to get 4 boys ready for church by myself. (Oh and add daylight savings and a head cold to that. This morning was AWFUL!) But I think this new calling will be good for him. He still has his other two callings, and we were told that they aren’t planning on releasing him any time soon.

I am still singing the Chorale. I enjoy it so much. I’ve been going to stake choir lately, and it just isn’t as much fun. The music is roughly the same style, but the atmosphere isn’t as nice. Next week is stake conference, so I only have one more practice left of stake choir to deal with. But I love going to sing in the chorale. My spirits are always lifted by the time I leave. We are preparing for a concert coming up, and also for a tour back east this summer. I’m really nervous about this trip, because it is VERY expensive. But I am excited too. I have never been to Boston, or New York City, Or Connecticut, AND I get to stay with Ben and Jill and their cuties. Ammon is going to come with me too. I am really excited for this trip.
Enoch has started speech therapy and it seems to be going well. He is imitating vowel sounds a lot more now, although his vocabulary is still limited. He has another appointment this Tuesday.
Well, I am going to get off now. It is getting really late. But I am going to try to update my blog more often. Even if no one else reads it, it is probably good for me to record what is going on in our lives. 