My scale must be broken

So I asked for a scale for Christmas. (weird request, I know) Anyway, I hadn't used it much, but a couple weeks ago I decided to satisfy my curiosity. BAD IDEA. I found that I had gained a horrifying 14 pounds (Can you say gross? Say it with me, GROSS!) since I've been married. This isn't the good "my muscles are getting stronger weight" either since I'm pretty sure I can feel my arms jiggle sometimes while I'm working - gross again. With that awful number nagging me, I decided to start trying to work out at home and eat better. And I'll tell you, working out without a gym is hard to do!
So if you can imagine, I've been trying every other day to jog/run in place for about 30 minutes and then do various exercises for the next 30 minutes all while watching entertaining tv shows. Now, I'm not really used to having an exercise routine other than what we'd do for conditioning during cheer practices. So the first day I basically tried to do everything I could think of in the same amounts as I did when I was cheering and tumbling (AKA in-shape). Needless to say I felt like passing out right after and pretty much couldn't move the next day. I woke up one morning and nearly fell over trying to straighten my legs and then Matt asked me why I was walking like a penguin.

To buy or not to buy

So I recently got a letter in the mail showing the pictures taken by the professional photographer during graduation and giving me the option to buy them.
I handed it to Matt and asked him if I should purchase any. He looked them over and said, "I dunno, if you want." I replied by telling him that I wasn't sure because I looked sorta nerdy in them. His response, "You are nerdy."
Ha! well there you have it I guess. Straight up nerd here.

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard

No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here?
And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy, And sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing,
its always better when we're together Happy anniversary Matthew!

I've Made It

So after 10 semesters of college (two of those being part-time summer semesters), countless tests taken, even more papers written, and constant time consuming homework, I am now proud to say that I am part of the University of Utah Alumni!

Utah man sir, a Utah man am I. Utah man sir, and will be till I die! GO UTES!!!

Graduation was pretty much all I expected it to be, hectic, exciting, slightly boring and a little nerve wracking. That being said, it's safe to say I ended up with a slight stomach ache in the car ride over. For those of you who don't know me well, Nervous/Stressed Stacie usually = Upset Stomach Stacie.

Although I had tried my hardest to make sure everyone attending knew where they should be and when, things did not work out as I planned. This made for an even more chaotic experience. Combine some people being later than expected, with us not being able to contact other attendees, plus all of them expecting me to remember all the information I had given them weeks before, tends to be a slight frustration. The nervous stomach didn't stay for long though. Luckily Matt was good at trying to keep me calm. Besides, I would much rather deal with the stress than not have anyone come to support me. So, thank you everyone who came! Including my brother who was nice enough to fly out just for me :)

The ceremony itself was actually pretty close to what I expected. It lasted about two hours with a few speakers and then they announced the graduates by name. The thing I found the funniest was that no one around me seemed to know who the main person speaking was or his significance. Oh well, obviously someone older, wiser, more educated and capable of carrying out a graduation, whoever he is.

We finished off the day with a number of pictures and a dinner at the place of my choice - Golden Corral. (Insert joke about me being nerdy here.) Sorry, I know there are a ton of restaurants to choose from but I am a buffet LOVER and I figured this would be easy for everyone coming to get whatever they wanted.

All in all it turned out to be a memorable day. Now I'm just waiting on those teachers to get crackin and post grades. The really strange thing about all this is that I took my last final the morning before graduation. Which means, until grades are posted and I have passed all my classes and fulfilled all credits, I don't have the guarantee of graduation. But, I do have a little thingy waiting to hold my diploma when it comes in the mail :) Obviously I'm counting on everything working out.

Now that it has been a week since graduation, the most common question is "so how does it feel to be done?" And my answer is, it still has yet to REALLY hit me that I have no more exams, homework, classes, etc. In fact, I currently feel like I could be ready to take on another semester of classes and I have even been looking into getting my masters. Luckily, I realize this is slightly insane, so I'm not dwelling on it just yet. And even though I'm not in school, Matt and I have been joking that although I don't have my typical homework, Matt has been giving me "homework" of his own. Since it's getting closer to him applying to dental schools, I've been doing my best to research, help him write his personal statement, and other random things I can do to get the ball rolling.

Well enough of my blabbing. Before I go, just a quick thanks and shout out.
Thanks to my parents who took care of the financial burden of my schooling, I really appreciate it and I know if I had to do it on my own I probably wouldn't have finished.
Thanks to Matthew, because you gave me the motivation to work hard at school and the confidence that I could make it through. Before you started to push me academically, I had no want to even attend college. Hopefully I can do the same for you in those years you're getting through dental school.
And thanks to the rest of my family and friends, because during many points in my college career, you were motivation and often gave me chances to vent about my struggles.

Now for the more entertaining part. Pictures!

My friend Sharon was flew in from Philadelphia to attend her boyfriend's graduation ceremony. Luckily, I had just finished my commencement as his was about to start so Sharon and I randomly ran into each other. Of course we had to get a picture. I was so excited to get to see her :)

It's coming and there's no stopping it

So for a few weeks I've been admiring my gown as it hangs in my closet "de-wrinkle-ing" and it seems so strange that this is the end of my college days. Everything so far feels the same as a normal semester. Get the last few papers finished, attend the final classes, start studying for finals and eventually I'll finish those and be done! For some reason it still hasn't hit me yet. I think because I am so used to ending spring semester and having the summer break, that it feels just like the same ol' routine. It is definitely going to be strange when Matt starts school in the Fall and I don't. But soon he'll be finished too...does this mean we have to grow up now? Or...are you thinking I should have done that already? Because many days I do not feel like I am prepared for the world out there. Am I really old enough and experienced to handle all of the situations to come my way? Well I guess now I ought to be and even if I'm not, I'll hopefully learn as I go.
1 final, 3 papers down. 2 finals to go!
6 days, 12 hours, 11 minutes, 53 seconds til I am a University of Utah college graduate!
Ready or not, here I come