2008 By The Numbers

Number of days on a ship: 7
Number of ice cream cones eaten on ship: Upwards of 20-25
Number of miles ran on ship: 1/4
Number of pounds gained while on ship: 7
Degrees in Cabo San Lucas on January 10: 82
Degrees in Salt Lake on January 10: 28




Number of miles in the half-marathon I ran in January, a week after gaining seven pounds on a seven day cruise: 13.1
Number of miles I enjoyed running in the half-marathon: 2



Cost of taking the math subject test of the GRE for the fourth time: $130
Number of bananas Mighty Mouse brought to the math subject test of the GRE: 2
Cost of taking one class at the U for having failed the math subject test of the GRE for the fourth time: $984.71
Number of bananas I would've liked to have smashed into Mighty Mouse's face: 100's



Number of softball games we played: 10
Number of softball games I resented: 10



Number of 5ks ran in 2006: 9
Number of 5ks ran in 2008: 1

Number of years we've been married: 7
Number of new furniture items bought since we got married: 2
Number of new furniture items bought in 2008: 2



Number of stores I had to visit before finding an elephant costume for Halloween for a determined three year old: 1
Number of prayers offered in thanks: 1000's


Number of Sundays I looked forward to going to church: 2
Number of Sundays I went to church: 40



Number of months pregnant in 2008: 10 1/2 (I had a miscarriage early on in March and then got pregnant again right away)
Number of weeks I was before I couldn't fit behind the desk in school: 34
Number of weeks I was when I went swimming last: 36
Pounds gained during pregnancy: 28
Weight of baby born 3 weeks early: 8 lbs 4 oz
Days until I was back at prepregnancy weight: 11
Number of days Aunika was in the NICU: 6
Cost of Aunika's NICU stay: Roughly $22,000
Percentage of households in the United States making less than $22,000 a year: 25.24%

Number of diapers we've blown through in a month: 350+
Number of poopie diapers I've changed today: 4





Years since graduated from high school: 9 1/2
Years spent in college: 9 1/2
Tuition cost for two years spent at CEU: $0
Tuition cost for 5 1/2 years at U: $17,422.57
Percentage of households in the United States making less than $17,500 a year: 18.63%
Amount given to us to help with tuition that did not need to be paid back: $0
Amount still owe the U: $0

Number of items on list not completed: 95
Number of items completed in 2008: 5


Here's to a happy 2009!

Chunky Monkey

I can't believe Aunika is already a month old. I remember thinking how long a month was when Josh turned a month old, but with Aunika it has flown by. I've been really busy though, with finishing up school and Christmas, so that's helped.

Here's a picture of Josh when he was a month old. It's eerie how the two look so much alike.

This is a picture of Aunika in her Christmas pajamas. Notice how bowlegged her legs are. That's because she'd outgrown them, but they were so cute, we couldn't resist putting her in them for Christmas. Her feet didn't fit in the bottoms either and her little toes were all scrunched. Good thing Christmas wasn't a week later

Pretty much all Aunika does right now is sleep, so it's hard to get a picture of her awake and dressed. We're not complaining about the sleep though. At least, when she wakes up in the middle of the night to eat, I can put her back down and turn off the light. If she's sleepy, she'll sleep. If not, she'll just lay there until she falls asleep. There have been a couple of times after her feeding at 10:00 or 11:00, we'll peek in at her a good 30 minutes later and she'll just be laying in her crib wide awake. I would imagine with all the noise that her brother makes, it's hard to get a restful sleep. We weighed her this morning at nine and a half pounds. See those chubby cheeks?

I think this might be a hint at a smile. She's trying really hard to smile and I think it will happen sometime this next week.

Santa brought her lots of new clothes including jeans. They're adorable and suppose to fit until she's three months old. She's already starting to grow out of a few things. Girls are really fun to dress even if it's just like a mini-me version. I was dismayed to find that there are ugly things out there for baby girls just like the more grown up version. Why, oh why, do some of these fashions insist on staying around? Though she's built like a little football player (no neck, no hair), there are some things that look really cute.

Christmas Cheer

What's better than opening up presents on Christmas Day? Sitting on the computer Christmas Eve Day and ordering your Christmas present.

Wade and I sorta made the basement count as our Christmas present this year. You know, like a very expensive fireplace was my present and an insanely expensive audio system with big screen televison is Wade's. However...

That's no fun.

So, I emailed Wade a comprehensive list of items I would enjoy getting if he felt in the mood to give me a little something something. Nothing too big. But on the top of the list was an indoor bicycle trainer. These cool dodads allow you to hook up your bike, inside, so you can continue riding it during the cold, wet seasons. Seeming as I'm set to do a triathlon in April and I've just had a baby, I need all the time on the bike I can possibly get and the weather doesn't cooperate this time of the year, usually. And I do have that newborn.

Also, as I was perusing possible 5k races and triathlons for this coming spring and summer, I came across this insane winter triathlon that's held up in Snowbasin. It's not really a triathlon because it technically has four events: Ski mountaineering, snow shoeing, snow running, and snow biking. I really want to do this in 2010. So I need something to keep me in shape on my bike since biking in the snow is not the easiest thing to do.

So today, Wade said to order the bike trainer as my Christmas gift. Awesome. I totally got exactly what I wanted. And since I still have two more weeks before I'm given the go ahead to start exercising again, there's no hard feelings that it's not here in time to open.

I'm reminded that the last three Christmases, my gift from Wade has had a similar theme. I got a treadmill and punching bag one year, a waterproof casing and headphones for my ipod so I could use it to swim laps last year, and a bicycle trainer this year. A lesser woman than me would sense this theme and hold it over her husband's head when tempers flared, but I asked for each of these items and so he's only making my wishes come true.

I still need a road bike. For the summer. Hint. Hint.

#2 Get a Bachelor's Degree

I told myself I wouldn't obsess over when the professor would post the final grade for the lone class standing between me and my degree. Yet, I found myself checking the internet obsessively.

Lucky for me the grade was posted this afternoon and I'm now the proud owner of a piece of paper signifying that I did indeed jump over enough hurdles and through enough hoops to finally be rewarded my totally useless degree in mathematics.

It's not totally useless. Just the other night, I was asked to rely on it to split the cost of a birthday meal between six of us. We each paid $1.50. (It was a cheap meal).

In any case, it's mine now and I can cross that off my list.

He Said That?

Welcome to a new series on my blog. Basically this is a run down of the funny/witty/strange things muttered by my 3 year old. The purpose of this series is to show how much more incredibly smart, witty, and poignant my darling three year old is than yours.

Okay. Not really. The real purpose to to chronicle the funny/witty/strange things that Josh says so that when he becomes famous, I can embarass him with antecdotes from his childhood.

First up is a discussion Josh and I were having about what to get Daddy for Christmas.

Me: Josh, we need to get daddy a present for Christmas. What should we get him.

Josh (after giving it a few seconds of deep thought): I know. A sword.

To the casual observer, this wouldn't come across as all that funny or witty, but for those who know Josh, he's not a big sword kid like other boys his age I've seen. He doesn't turn every long, straight object into a sword. So the very notion that he came up with a sword as a good present for daddy signifies that he actually thinks that is what daddy would want for Christmas. Of course, the rest of the story is that he then ran to tell daddy that he was going to get him a sword for Christmas. So scrap that idea. We need to work on our secret-keeping skills. I was really looking forward to seeing the look on Wade's face when he opened up a sword on Christmas morning.

In the last 8 days, we have seen Santa Claus no less than three times. As a clarifying note, Wade and I sorta like to tease Josh. We think it builds character. So last Saturday morning was the first visit with Santa. We coached Josh the night before, asking him what he was going to ask Santa for for Christmas. A scooter and playdough. Saturday morning, Wade takes Josh over to the church for the annual Ward Christmas Breakfast and subsequent visit with Santa. When they returned, I asked Josh what he had asked Santa for.

Josh: Candy.
Me: Candy?
Josh: Santa only had candy so that's what I asked for.

No gnashing of teeth because there weren't any toys. Just very matter of fact. Santa showed up to the church with candy canes and so that's what Josh asked for.

That night, there was another visit from Santa. We sat Josh down and explained that you had to tell Santa what you wanted so he would know what to bring you on Christmas. After his visit with Santa again, he explained that he wanted a scooter and play dough. We asked Josh if he clarified which kind of scooter he wanted. A look of panic crossed over his face.

Josh: I want a Cars Scooter.
Us: But what if Santa brings you a princess scooter?
Josh: Oh no. I want a Cars Scooter not a princess scooter.
Us: Maybe we'll have to write him and tell him.
Josh (relief washing over): Okay. I write him and tell him.

Friday night, we went to a party at Wade's work where Santa was there again. This time Josh climbed up on his lap, spelled his name for Santa so he would remember and told him exactly what he wanted. A Cars Scooter and playdough.
Disaster averted.

For the record, we wouldn't have planted the Cars Scooter idea in Josh's head if we weren't certain that Santa had a Cars Scooter, despite what my mom may or may not feel towards our teasing our son. Again, it builds character.

Lastly, we went to Wade's parents on Friday night. Wade's brother was asking Josh how old he was.

Josh: I'm three.
Brother: When will you turn four, Josh?
Josh: On my birthday.

Duh.

Stay tuned for the next installment where Josh has an emerging interest in death, church, and stuffed chickens.

And the Signs Point to...

Some people believe that the only way to assure that you pass a class with the required grade needed to earn your degree is to score well on the assignments and tests. To them I say, where's the fun in that?

In the class I took this last semester, our grade breakdown is as follows: weekly quizzes (8 out of 11) are 20%, two midterms each count for 25% and the final is worth 30% of the final grade. Speadsheet calculations throughout the semester can be used to determine what score you need to achieve to guarantee your success. (Example: If I score 100% on the final and then after the test, the teacher is involved in some multi-car pileup that I happen upon and I administer life-saving CPR, I'll pass).

I've taken math classes where I have flat out failed--and not in a oh-she's-really-close-to-60%-on-the-test-so-I'll-just-bump-her-up-a-few-notches kind of way but more like well-she-did-spell-her-name-correctly-and-if-I-give-her-25-points-for-that-then-she'll-be-just-over-50% kind of way--every test and still pulled a C or B or even an A in one case. This assures me that there really are people who got even less than me on the tests. In some classes, I didn't think it was possible.

I've also taken classes where the teacher has stayed pretty much on route with the traditional grade scale. And it's a lost cause for me.

And then the teachers who never give anyone below a C because they make the class too hard on purpose.

I'm not sure where this particular teacher sits on the grading policy spectrum. The only thing I have is a pretty good idea of how I did on weekly quizzes (not good), how I did on the first midterm (close to average, but then it seemed like everyone who pulled the average down dropped the class immediately after the test), how I did on the second midterm (average for the undergrads, but will the grade depend on the graduates too?). To pass with a C, using the standard grading scale, I would have to score a perfect 100 on the final and still need a miracle.

So, this time, I'm looking to outside signs that point to me either passing the class (I need a C) or not because clearly, the numbers are not adding up to me passing. I prefer to think that these signs are divine intervention.

Possible Signs that I Passed the Class:

• The biggest stress of the semester revolved around the baby. However, she was born on possibly the most perfect day regarding final scheduling. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is.
• Despite being "out of school" for a year, I still knew two people in the class. Though their expertise (or lack thereof) didn't afford me much advantage (wait, the guy who is doing a lot worse than me may be to my advantage afterall), I did make sure to answer their questions loudly enough for the professor to hear. Example:

Friend>> How's the baby doing?

Me>> Oh, she's doing great. Even after the ONE WEEK STAY IN NICU, you know Newborn INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, she's been a real champ, though I'M NOT GETTING A LOT OF SLEEP. Studying has been pretty brutal. Basically I've been getting up at 5:30 IN THE MORNING so I can have some peace and quiet.

Friend (slight wide-eyed look from the loudness of my voice)>>Who has your kids today?

Me>> My mom took BOTH KIDS today. It's hard for her, you know, having to take care of both a THREE YEAR OLD and a NEWBORN, with being blind and deaf, but she'll be okay. The neighbors are around to help her.

(My mom isn't blind or deaf. Well, technically. I just threw that in to garner sympathy points from the professor).

• As I was parking the car, I looked down to find $15 wedged between the seat and the console. Imagine your elation when you find a forgotten $1 in your jeans' pocket and multiply that by an exponential factor of 15 (because the elation of finding $15 is more than 15 times the elation of finding $1. See how this math stuff works?)
• The cheat sheet we were allowed to bring into the final actually held some useful information pertaining to the test.

A note on cheat sheets: For every class I've taken that allows a cheat sheet (formulas, theorems, knock-knock jokes that are allowed to be used on the test), the information I so carefully chose to include on my lifeline has never helped me very much. An occassional nugget of information may lead me in the right direction, but I have never had the proverbial experience of glancing down to find the answer staring back at me from my carefully constructed cheat sheet. Usually, they're just an exercise in how small I can write and it actually be legible.

In a stroke of pure geniusness that surprised even myself, this last cheat sheet I included scaled down copies of the solutions to the previous two tests (there was no rule that said they couldn't be on there). On there, I found the outline for 2 of the 5 problems from the final (basically, the problem but with a few minor changes). I was so shocked at my ingenuity, I could only stare in bewilderment for a few minutes before madly scrawling out the (hopefully) correct answer on the test.

Please hold your applause for later.

• On my way to campus, I was conjuring up images of something horrificly embarassing happening during the test. Like springing a leak because I hadn't fed the baby in a long time and hitting the unsuspecting asian kid sitting in front of me with a stream of milk. Or falling asleep because of severe sleep deprivation. Or not being able to find a place to park. Or not being able to answer any questions on the final and having to walk out with my head hung in shame. None of these came to fruition, so clearly that's a sign.
• The obvious look of relief that passes over the professor's face every time he sees me should give me some bonus points. I didn't make him deliver a baby during lecture. That should be worth something.

Possible Signs I didn't pass the class

• $10 of my newly acquired fortune will have to go to pay for the parking ticket that I received. I had bet on the weather being a deterring factor for the parking militia, but I was wrong. Probability is not an exact science, folks.
• I did technically fail both tests and a host of the quizzes. However, so did at least half of the undergraduates and a fair number of graduate students. I think.
• While I could do two of the five problems, that's only 40% of the test. I still needed 60 more points and a car accident to assure my dipolma.
• Sixteen weeks later, I'm still wondering exactly what I would ever use any of this knowledge for. Not a good sign or a good motivation factor for studying.

The number of signs pointing to passing the class is greater than the number of signs pointing to failing the class, and thus, by this (highly methodical) reasoning, I say I pass.

Book Review Friday 12/12/08

Book: Change of Heart
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 430

Every once in a while I come across a book that starts out fairly benign. I pick it up and read when I have a few minutes here and there and then somewhere in the middle of the book, it becomes unstoppable. I drag it with me in my purse in hopes that I will find a minute--any minute--to continue reading it. Housework goes undone. My life is put on hold until I can finish the book.

That's what Jodi Picoult is doing to me. This is the third book I've read of hers and, like the others, I became entranced somewhere in the middle. Each book is different, yet the same. The material is never the same, but you know that a curve ball will be thrown and out of left field comes the missing piece of the puzzle. Each book picks a controversial subject and builds a story behind it, countering your very own belief system and questioning how'd you react in that same situation.

This book was a little different in that I had guessed what had happened before it was revealed. But I was still as compelled to find out how it all happened.

Shay Bourne is accused of killing one of New Hampshire's finest--a police officer--and his seven year old step daughter. Consequently, he's sentenced to the death penalty, New Hampshire's first in nearly 70 years.

Maggie Bloom is an ACLU lawyer who is trying to overturn the ruling of the death penalty as inhumane. She takes on Bourne's case in hopes of getting the courts to side with her and commute his sentence to life in prison.

Father Michael, in a twist of fate, is reconnected with Bourne as his spiritual guide through the final months of Shay's life. Father Michael is tormented as to whether he should reveal his previous involvement in Bourne's life or let bygones be bygones.

June Neason is left to pick up the pieces after her husband and daughter are killed by the hands of a monster, especially with a newborn daughter to care for. Now, 11 years later, June is grappling with the slow death of this daughter and only a heart transplant will save her.

Told from various viewpoints, this is definitely a page turner that will keep you on your toes as you weave through the story. Intertwined within the story is an interesting religious discussion that was intriguing to read.

Another great read by an author that is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.