Back to School!

School has started again! Okay, really school has been started for 3 weeks, but this is the first time I've had enough energy to write about it. It's not that its a super heavy work load right now, it's just hard getting back into it.
Okay, so first I'll tell you about my commute up. On the first day riding up I met a man named Jose. We both get on the trax at Meadowbrook station. Jose doesn't speak much english, but we get along very well. I've learned a lot about Jose, I think he may be here illegally, but I'm close enough to him that we give each other friendly goodbye hugs when he gets off at Energy Solutions Arena. Sadly, Jose is not the only person who's noticed me riding the trax. Another guy, named Michael, gets on at about Gallivan Plaza. Michael creeps me out. He likes to touch my hands and ask personal questions. I've never felt like I was going to be assaulted after I get off the trax until I met Michael. I KNOW he doesn't usually get off at my station, I've watched him get off earlier a few times. BUT! He's started going with me to my stop.... ugh... so I usually race off the trax to the frontrunner. Then I watch him looking for me.... after he looks for a while he gets right back on the trax! CREEPY! Luckily, Jose has seen Michael bugging me and he usually sits by me to keep him away.
The ride up on the frontrunner is usually pretty eventless....Sometimes I get annoyed by particularly loud people.... how can you be that happy so early in the morning?!
After I hop off the frontrunner I have to run. It's literally a race to the bus! If you get on last, you might not get to get on period.... its scary. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are worse than Tuesdays and Thursdays...
EVERY day of the week I start off the day with Physics..... wonderful physics. It helps get me pumped up for the rest of the day. Its a fun class.... the other day we blindfolded a stuffed monkey and shot at it with some bee bees. The professor teaches it a little differently from VanTassel but its mostly a review so far.
On Mondays, Wenesdays, and Fridays I go to Botany after Physics.... Okay.. Evolutionary Survey of Plants.... whatever.... I am NOT interested in plants.... the teacher is a freak too.... he thinks he's God to some chipmunks in Zion National Park.... He does seem to understand when our brains are full, though... our 2 hour class hasn't gone that long very often.
On Tuesdays I have my Intro to Science Teaching and Secondary Science Teaching Methods class. These classes are one after another and taught by the same Professor. This guy is just a riot, and he inspires many deep discussions about science. I'm finding it very enlightening and am enjoying these classes so far. They're gunna be a lot of work down the line though. On Tuedays after those classes I have my physics lab.... blah... 3 hours of math and excel basically. Luckily I found some guys that seem to like me and we work well together. They're cute, too. They don't understand things as fast as I do, so I have to be patient and explain a lot, but its good practice for teaching anyway. I like Erik and Adam as friends anyway.
Thursdays are just like Tuesdays minus the lab, which is nice.
Lets see.... yeah, besides Hale thats my life.
Its kind of hard, getting used to being without Jay for so many long hours, he has school too on Tuesdays and Thursdays till 9 at night. Not that he stays that long, dork. But, I'm cheating anyway. Right now I'm in his math class sitting next to him.... its bad, but its nice.
Other updates? Well: Jackson is a brat, but he's getting his big-teeth in. Maybe he'll calm down... Gabby was really depressed during the day when we were gone, but gram says she's getting better. Penny's solitary confinement is going well. The ferrets are back in the cage. Lily runs at least 80 miles a night on her wheel. The fish are STILL alive. And Veruca is always hungry. Did I miss anyone? :D
Till next time!
Quote of the Day: "If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes." -L. David Mech 

Once again I have to Catch up

I'm really not very good at remembering to post on this blog. It sometimes pops into my head that I should write this or that down. By the time I get to my computer the thought is gone.... its very sad.
So, I've decided I'll do a quick recap of the summer. I hope I remember everything I want to write down. It was a totally awesome summer, after all.
We'll start with Tarzan. In June Jay took me and Gabby down to Saint George to see Tarzan the Musical. Of course Gabby couldn't go see the show, but she came for the trip. We stayed in a hotel room, which is always fun. The show was a lot of fun. The singers, most of them anyway, were great. The set was fun, though really spread out. It started to rain, the toucan is an outside theatre, at the last part which really added to the drama. The next day we went on a long walk down the Virgin river. It was very hot, but very interesting. We had to turn around after we were attacked by some fire ants. After we ran away from them, yes we did run, I got to use my Sawyer Extractor for the first time on our bites. After that we went to Zions National Park. The ride there was super rainy, we drove down a road that turned into a river. :D Luckily, by the time we got there the rain had stopped and we got to see the canyon. Because we had Gabby we couldn't do very much there, but we went for a walk that the dog was allowed to go on. We saw a deer and the very swollen Virgin River. Ok, if you ever go to Zions and go through the little town just ummm I think south of the park, you gotta stop at this pizza place. Not because of the pizza though....Ther eis a smoothie and milkshake shop directly behind it. Order the Muddy Virgin, you'll LOVE IT. Ghiradelli (spelling?) Chocolate, chocolate frozen yogurt, dark chocolate chips.... OMG SOOOOO YUMMY
Mid-July we took a trip to Denver to see Carrie and Jayde. In the car we had Brandy, me and Jay, Gabby, and the holy terror, Miya. It was a fun ride. Miya actually did pretty good. We drove to Cheyenne with jay's parents, who were on their way to Ohio. That was fun. We stopped and ate and socialized for a bit. We got to Carrie's late in the afternoon. She made us her wonderful stew for dinner, then we went swimming. Swimming feels so good after a long drive. The next day we went to the Colorado wolf center. IT WAS SOOOOOO AWESOME. There are a lot of rescued wolves there and you get to go on a tour around the facility for I think ten dollars. not bad, right?
BUT, after the first tour I was surprised, by my hubby, Carrie, and Brandy, by getting to go on the VIP tour. On the VIP tour you get to go in with some of the wolves and pet them. AND GET WOLFIE KISSES. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE!!!! THANKS SO MUCH GUYS. The wolves had odorless breathe, thanks to their raw meat diet, their fur was a lot rougher than I expected, I think in the winter their coats might be softer.AND THEY WERE SOOOOO FREAKIN CUTE. Another note about the wolf center. I heard my first wolf howls there.... well, you know, the kind you're actually present for. They were pretty.... though I think some wolfies are really awful singers... After the wolf center, we went to The Garden of the Gods. It was super crowded and super hot. We had to walk uphill to get to the main part.... talk about tiring. BUT! Once we got there it cooled off and started raining. The thunder was very nice....I've decided that I have to move out of Utah.... I really think our thunderstorms stink. The rest of the week was just as fun! We went to the Denver Zoo, Rocky Mountain National Park (WE SAW MARMOTS, The Aquarium, A butterfly Museum..... a great week. There are lots of pictures on facebook and my shutterfly account (I'll post the link to that) If you want any, just ask! Carrie took us on a very pretty ride home. I hope I remember the way....
The summer after that was pretty quiet. We had to get Jay's brakes fixed, I think the long vacation did them in....
We did go camping for Raspberry days. That was a lot of fun. We took up Jesse and her boyfriend, and Selina. Steven took up some of his buddies. We got soaked the first night. The second day we went to the craft fair and played in the lake (after getting really muddy and gross)We discovered that Gabby can swim out and save us if we needed her to. Miya is useless in that area... After that we went and played cards at Hidden Haven... lots of fun.
Gabby had an allergic reaction to something and got a bunch of sores on her nose. An expensive vet trip later and she was wearing a cone and taking medicine.... that was fun.
I FORGOT to mention Jackson. For my birthday Jay got me a little black kitty. He's a good cat, our Jack Jack. He cuddles me most nights and wreaks havoc all day.
Anyway, back to the summer. Selina, Brandy, Jay, and I went on a beautiful hike. We hiked up the backside of Timpanogos. Talk about a hard hike. It took us I think 16 hours and we couldn't move the next day. I was seriously in tears by the end, my legs had cramped up on me. The DOGS were dragging, laying down ever time we stopped. We had to convince them to get up when we continued on. WOW! It was a lot of fun though. Jay has a more detailed story that I think he should post on his blog.
Since then, I've had to go to the dentist... he's really doing a number on my mouth.... sigh and our pocketbook. Selina had a birthday and a very fun birthday party. Oh, I also forgot to mention that we were playing Dungeons and Dragons with Jesse this summer. It sounds dorky, I know, but it can actually be a lot of fun. But we've had to stop for now.... darn school
MORE TO COME ON SCHOOL NEXT POST!
Anyway, I really enjoyed my summer off. I got to spend a lot of time with Jay, which is always great. We did a lot of fun things this summer. If only it could have lasted longer. I'm sorry if this post sounds hurried and a little unorganized. I'm trying to get it done before my next class! :D BUT, I really did need to document my amazing summer for you guys. Let me know if I missed something and I'll add it on.
Till Next time!
Here's my shutterfly webpage for pictures: http://brookeandjay.shutterfly.com/#:albumId=41

Some random whining

It's the best week of the semester! The week before FINALS!!!! AHHHH! Not really sure how to cope with them this semester. Tomorrow I have my lab safety final, I really don't care what happens with that. Yeah, I read over my notes, but that class is ridiculously ridiculous. (That phrase just made me think of Professor Lupin and his charm against boggarts....)Then on Monday there's class. Tuesday... 2 finals, Human Physiology and Evolution. Wednesday... last 2 finals.... Genetics and Botany. 5 finals. In three days... kinda. It just makes me shutter. I'm not good at studying for two things at a time. So, we'll see how that goes. Wish me luck! :D
I'm a little sad the semester is ending. I did end up enjoying all of my classes at at least one point during the semester. Luckily I can adapt like that. :D I've really started to admire my professors. I want to do undergrad research with ALL OF THEM, but really don't have the time, yet. I have too many other classes to take right now, especially this fall. I do need to do some independent research for my major at one point. Maybe I'll get time then.
I think I'm jut rambling now. Forgive me. I think its just the effects of the last week....
Hopefully once summer comes I'll have more time to write... maybe even more content to write about.
I do have something to write about!!!! I got a scholarship from Weber's College of Science... no idea how much its for yet, they haven't told me. But I went to the awards ceremony. :D
Well I guess I should get back to it.... ok that's a lie. I'm going to go watch survivor. Adios!
Quote of the Day:
"Wolf Credo

Respect the elders....Teach the young...Cooperate with the pack
Play when you can...Hunt when you must...Rest in between
Share your affections...Voice your feelings...Leave your mark."

Need a Moment of Sanity

Its the middle of the semester, that's for sure. It feels like there is hardly enough time to breathe, let alone write in a blog that no one else sees anyway. :D
My Botany essay is killing me, and the rest of the homework is piling up because I'm trying to focus on the essay. Starting to worry me. My poor hubby doesn't even have time to do his homework and that worries me as well.... so much worrying, so much I should be doing right now.
But I seriously need to step away from the not-so-amazing world of plant survival and the interesting world of DNA for a moment of Brooke time.

I've had a good week this week, I think. i got quite a bit of my essay done ( NO NO MORE TALKING ABOUT THAT) and Jay and I both took a mental health day on Tuesday. The walk around the Jordan River was just what I needed to clear my head. I'm so excited for spring. I can't wait till its warm enough to read a book outside, or just sit and watch Gabby run around at the park. I can't wait till I have time to do that! :D But slowly but surely its coming. We're on the downhill side of the semester.

I've decided not to get a job this summer. Last years job I ended up working for the sole purpose of paying off the hospital bill I got working there. Plus I want a chance to go camping this summer. Although we took a couple of vacations last summer it felt like Home Depot impeded on all of them. Except Yellowstone, sweet sweet land.
Well I should get back to my genetics homework. Transcription, DNA to RNA and all that jazz. Love ya'll hope to hear back from ya!
Quote of the day:

"The gaze of the wolf reaches into our soul." -Barry Lopez

Some Bad News

The last of our rats, Pearl, died on Sunday night. We think the other rats we took in might have given her something, since they both died. But, Pearl lived a good 2 years. I think that's good for rats... not sure. And I saw on Sunday morning that she wasn't doing very well so we put her in our warmer room, in a smaller cage so she could get some food and water easier. I gave her lots of cuddles before she died, which she seemed to like. So... sigh, we don't have any more rats or mice. Very sad.

Otherwise this weekend was a pretty good one. Jay stayed home on Monday. He was sicky in the morning. I wasn't feeling to great either, that time of month, so I didn't complain much. We slept till 10, which was SUPER nice. I really love my hubby.

TODAY, was a snow route day for the buses in Ogden. Which meant a long walk up the hill for my class, and a long walk back down for the bus. My feet are currently freezing, just waiting to get home to my nice warm, Yellowstone wolfie socks.

Well, till next time....

Quote of the day:

“You can shed tears that she is gone,
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her only that she is gone,
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what she'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”

I need to write more!

I am awful at this whole blogging thing. I just forget, I guess. Anyway, let's try again, shall we?
I'll start by saying that I have started a new semester, like many of you have too.  I'm taking Genetics, Plant Form and Function, Human Physiology, Lab Safety, and all the associated labs. Oh! And an online Evolution class. I always forget that one. It seems like this semester is going to be "okay." I can see Future Brooke bogged down in homework, which scares me, but I can do it. No one said 16 credit hours was easy! Genetics is going to be m challenging class of the semester, but for the most part I'm looking forward to learning new things. Chromosomes and genes are VERY interesting to me....
I feel kind of sad because it feels like Jay and I are lengthening our leashes on each other, giving each other a little more room to breathe. It sounds like a good thing, but it doesn't feel too great. I do like having alone time, but I get plenty of that at school (when my good buddy Laura isn't around). I don't think it's anything to worry about, I bet its just a very delayed reaction.... a ummm, falling apart from the "newly wed" state.
Our pet collection has lost a lot of it's bulk in the last month. First, we actually gained two rats, which was fun. We named them Francis and Marie, Then our pet mouse, Rose,  "died. We think she was just old, about a year and a half. The internet gives them 2 years max. Then, just this last week, Marie and then Francis died. We don't know what happened. Marie's death was quite gruesome, which lead us to think there was a fight. But Francis's death involved no blood.... so we don't really know what's been going on. We still have Pearl though...
I did cry for the recently lost though. Gidget and Doozer wouldn't leave my thoughts one night and I ended up missing them really badly. Brandy gave me a good bit of "advice": "You know if the garb you wear in Heaven is white robe's I bet their the softest out there and I bet their great for ferret naps." Words of wisdom, words of wisdom....

Well, that's all for now. Hope to hear what ya'll have to say. Love ya!

Quote of the Post: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch the fierce green fire dying in her eyes... There was something new to me in those eyes-- something known only to her and the mountains. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch. I thought that because fewer wolves more deer that no wolves would mean hunter's paradise, but after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."
~ Aldo Leopold 
PS I've done that quote before but it's my favorite!