Tree Killer

This past fall semester most of my professors didn't require us to purchase textbooks, which was awesome! The flip-side of that awesomeness was that they posted everything we needed to read on the internet, which we then downloaded and printed out (if we wanted to). I prefer to print things out and take hard copies with me to class and highlight/write notes as I read. I am old school, I cannot retain information I read on the computer as readily as I can when it is in my hand.

As an experiment, I collected and kept everything from this semester, this includes mandatory readings, assignments and study materials. I am not certain how many trees had to die for my education, but it does beg the question if buying a book would have been better for the environment...?

Have no fear: this stack of paper was recycled

Christmas 2010

Hubby and I have been off for about a week now and I have tried to take as many pictures as possible before he takes off for Quantico. Here are some of the highlights:

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of you out there a very merry Christmas!!

Eye Infection

I went to the doctor yesterday because I woke up with a sore eye. It felt like I got punched and it was slightly red and swollen. She prescribed some antibiotic drops as well as oral antibiotics for the next ten days. It was her belief that I have an infected sty, which I had never heard of. I wasn't able to go to work today because my eye was swollen shut and I didn't feel safe driving. Here's to hoping my eye improves tomorrow.

Haircuts

Before Hubby leaves on his new adventure, he lovingly groomed the dogs for me. They look absolutely precious!!

Final Grades

Went online this morning and checked out my final grades for the semester. This is the first time all of them have been up at the same time.

Egyptology: B
Paleoanthropology: A
Primate Behavior and Ecology: A
Archaeology of Food: A
Conservation Biology: A

My overall GPA is up to 3.42

The biggest surprise was Conservation Biology and Egyptology. In each of these classes, I felt like I was bringing my 'A' game but could never succeed on the tests. Very much a surprise that I did as well in these classes as I did. I am so happy that I survived this semester and I still don't know how I did it...

UA vs. NAU

A special thank you to my mom and dad, who gave us tickets to the Wildcat game the other night (12/16/10). It wasn't pretty but it was a WIN (63 - 58)! Amazingly, this is the first UA game I have gone to since I began attending the university....

AMEC Christmas Party

I must thank my little sis for coming over to our house and making me beautiful! She is the only person on this earth who would take the time to style my extremely thick and difficult hair. I am eternally thankful!

Dogs in Party Hats

No particular reason, except because it is cute!

My Primate Conservation Video

This semester I was required for my conservation biology course to design a creativity project to be displayed for a single day at the university. I lack creativity in almost every way, but I love working on the computer and I love making music videos, so I combined the two ideas. This video took approximately 3 weeks to make and many long hours. I hope you enjoy it!

Finals

Formal classes are over and finals begin next week. Glad to have a few days to catch my breathe.

Getting my hair cut, dyed and styled tomorrow before Hubby's Christmas party. So happy to get pampered for a few hours!!

Spring 2011 Classes

This is more for my Grandma than anyone else, because she specifically asked for clarification on what my classes for next semester are all about. I don't know how helpful these descriptions will be, however. :)

Biostatistics
Organizing data; distributions, measures of center and spread, scatterplots, nonlinear models and transformations, correlation, regression. Design of experiments: models from probability, discrete and continuous random variables, normal distributions, sampling distributions, the central limit theorem. Statistical inference; confidence intervals and test of significance, t procedures, inference for count data, two-way tables and chi-square procedures, inference for regression, analysis of variance.

Historical Archaeology
Survey of the basic data and methods of research in the material culture of modern history. The New World from first European contacts to the 20th century.

Natural History of Our Closest Relatives
Comparative primate biology, behavior, ecology and evolution.

Contemporary Approaches to Human Biology
Study of humans using biocultural perspective. Emphasis on human growth and development and human population ecology. Includes application of method and theory in the analysis of nutritional, disease and lifestyle factors. Involves scholarly exchange and secondary research

Huge, Life Changing News

I recognize that the news I am about to bestow upon you will probably seem sudden and out of the blue, however, I can assure you that it has been well over a year in the making.

Hubby has been accepted to the Marine Corp Officer Candidate program as a reservist and will be gone for approximately 1 year of training.

I know!! HUGE NEWS!! I am still in state of shock and I will be honest, it was all fine and dandy while it was still "if" and "maybe". Now that it is "absolutely gonna happen" I am in panic mode and I have a stomach ache. At this point there are still more questions than answers (as I am sure is customary with the military) but what I do know is:

1. Hubby leaves the first week of January 2011
2. OCS (Officer Candidate School) will last 10 weeks and is in Quantico, Virginia
3. Hubby will graduate from OCS over my spring break, so hopefully I can go visit him
4. After OCS is TBS (The Basic School) and than additional training in his field of expertise in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
5. I will be staying in Tucson to finish my final semester at the University and there are no plans for me to move with him at a later date
6. Hubby will not be home to see me graduate

I am so proud of Hubby for pursuing his dream and serving his country. There are few more worthy causes in the world! I only wish we weren't going to be separated for so long...