“It takes no more time to see the good side of life than it takes to see the bad”-Jimmy Buffett

My glass is always half full. My parents were wonderful parents. My dad gave me several nuggets of wisdom. One of them was that the only thing that is absolutely yours is your education. Another is that it is as easy to view the cup life handed you as half full rather than half empty.

When I first got married it was hard for me. It was difficult for me to establish my place in my marriage. I kept believing that I "needed space." However after a mere 1.5 years that worked itself out. I used to revel in the time that I could spend by myself, but last night tired as I was I had a hard time sleeping with out my husband snoring happily and loudly as it were by my side. That kind of dependence I thought I never wanted. However there is magic there. I could list millions of reasons of why I love my husband, but it all boils down to he was perfectly crafted for me.

Yes he has a crazy family, was married before and is imperfect as the rest of us. But none of that matters because he is perfect for me. I also think it helps that my marriage is going awesome. I am terribly absent minded. The absent minded professor hasn't got anything on me. Well hubby always remembers where my stuff is. That may seem little but to someone who loses stuff all the time it is great! I could name a million of those little things that locked in place that make this marriage work.


Say the weather is getting you down, but you are having a bad day at work. I live on this beautiful peaceful lake. I can take a cup of tea and sit out there, and reflect. There are wood ducks, and Cranes, turtles, muskrats, and otters to watch. It helps me to be happy. But when I was unhappy at school I couldn't focus on any of that stuff. The thing with my department the thing with my health overshadowed my life.

A lot of it was me I think. I hadn't ever lived with someone before, and I wanted to keep all this independence and stuff and still be married. I guess I really learned that you can't have both. Either you are married or you aren't. There is no LITTLE BIT MARRIED.

Working all day helped me to get organized and get studying on my exam. I spent roughly 3 hours studying today. I have mapped out 9 major constructs that I must study. From those nine constructs I am able to map out a battle plan. It allows me to work in a systematic way. I appreciate the ability to sit down and diagram what I have to accomplish and then tick off my progress. Additionally it is not worrisome and does not feel quite as overwhelming when I have a color coded map of goals. Did I mention I color coded it? I wanted to ensure that I had a "plan" of attack. I don't work well with chaos. An unorganized comp schedule was not working well. I ascertained what the major constructs and articles were. I obtained the articles, and then I used all the information I had to determine all the information I did not have. I then employed my research skills to allow me to fill in those gaps.

I keep regular records of what I have covered, and what needs to be covered. I also am keeping a database using Endnote of the references I intend to use, and the ones I have read versus the ones I have skimmed.