Can I get a green check mark?

When I log onto my student home page there is a summary of my requirements for graduation. There was a day when I first started college that I thought I would never see 4 little green check marks and the requirements saying "met". Well in a few short months they will all say "met" with a little green check mark next to them. Can I get an Amen and Hallelujah! This is what it looks like right now when I log into my student account. I am only 6 credits away from meeting the University's requirements and 11 credits away from the social work requirements.

Requirements Summary
Name	Status
BACHELOR UNIVERSITY REQS	Not Met
BACHELOR UPPER DIV REQ	Met
500 SOCIAL WORK	Not Met
BACHELOR RELIGION REQS	Met

Yeah, it feels good. It feels reeeeeally good.

Who knew
I would graduate from BYU-I DO
With a degree,
Before I was thirty Two?

Nice poem huh? Yeah, I just made it up right now. I'd say I'm pretty good at poems. And that ladies and Gentleman is what 4 years of higher level learning gets you. Superior poem making skills! (and 4 little green check marks of course)

Pigs must be flying

Okay so here's the deal.... the first week into the semester I got a phone call early Sunday morning. It was the bishopric asking me to come in and see the bishop in 30 minutes. (I was totally still lying in bed when I answered the phone. ) I went in to find the bishop and see why he would call me in on the first Sunday of the semester. "Deborah, we would like to call you to be the Relief Society president of Relief Society A" is what the bishop said when we sat down in his office. As soon as I heard those words I began to laugh out loud. After I realized he was serious and probably scared away any confidence he had in me I stopped laughing and accepted the call.

Is it wrong that I am a little over whelmed? Thinking about everything I have to do with school and my internship and everything I should be doing with Relief Society has me a little anxious. I am finding that really....there are not enough hours in the day and I do have my limits. Is it bad that I stick to my limits?

Dear former and current Relief Society president friends of mine,
I could use some thoughts and pointers. How do I get it all done and still feel like a half way decent pres? Sometimes my girls just look at me like "are you crazy?" either that or "I have no idea what you're talking about and please stop trying to be funny because it is not working". Ohy. I wish I could....well figure out a way to get more motivation, more energy, and more hours in the day.

(And I thought 2 jobs and 15 credits was bad)

Is it bad if I sometimes find myself questioning if this call was inspiration or revenge for gray hairs I may have caused my bish?

Weddings and Feng Shui

This weekend was fantastic but also ultra busy. A dear friend of mine got married in Colorado and I made a weekend trip out there. It was so good to see her and she was a beautiful bride! I drove out there Friday but got a little later start and encountered pretty bad weather so I didn't get there until after 10 pm. The next day we did the wedding thing and then I went home the next morning. It all seems like a blur really but I had a great time! When I got home I put together a book self that I have been wanting for pretty much ever. And then rearranged my living room to fit it. I absolutely LOVE how it all turned out. For a college apartment it's not to bad and we all love just sitting in there now. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

The happy couple

The beautiful Bride and Me

My completed project (don't worry, I will add more to the shelf gradually)

The living room (please excuse the cardboard box)

We Love the shelf.....Hate the TV stand. (Alicia, I need your wonderful Ideas on how to fix it)

Fun Videos

I am blessed to have a teacher who loves You-tube. It is one of his favorite teaching methods. Here are a few of my new favorite videos I have come across.




Who doesn't love this Old Spice one?



This one just makes me smile



This one is just funny

Shame Buster Challenge

This semester my favorite class has definitely been my group class. I am learning to run group therapy sessions! In class every week we have a group therapy session and a class member takes a turn running it using a different theoretical model. The class period before the actual group we receive home work to prepare for our group and to teach us the model. This last week the model was the rational thought model where we examine our irrational and rational thoughts. Our homework was called the shame buster challenge and we were to pick something that makes us very nervous or embarrassed and do it. I had a hard time deciding what to do because I really don't get embarrassed by to many things if I know I have to do them. After many class periods of thinking about this assignment rather then what was being discussed I finally came up with something!

Before the group leaders gave us this assignment in group class they asked us to think of something that we have to do that makes us really anxious. Again I had a hard time with this but did come up with something. That something was dating! I get so upset and anxious inside at the thought of going on a date or being in a relationship. I know that to many of you reading this it is coming at a huge shock. This is coming from the girl who when she didn't have a dime to her name to buy food, rather then getting a job, got a date every night during her freshman year of college. Or when she lived in Provo, her roommates made fun of her for all of the men in her life wanting her attention. I used to love dating and socializing and thought it was a game.

This is a recent development and I am just as perplexed as you. But nonetheless when I have to go out on a date it is like taking a favorite toy away from a two year old. I totally throw a tantrum in the privacy of my bedroom to my sweet roommates. It doesn't matter who I go out with. It can be a good friend that I have known for years. If it is a "date" this 25 year old girl freaks out and starts to pout. Okay so with this in mind I decided that my shame busting challenge would be that I had to find a complete stranger that I am attracted to and ask them out on a date.

I had two days to get this done and I was running out of time. Finally my friend Brittany and I found a guy and discovered he did not have a ring on his left hand. As soon as that discovery was made Brittany turned around and booked it the other way. I turned around and told her how much I hated her, gathered all the courage I had, walked up to him and asked him to dinner. HA It was soooo awkward and if I hadn't taken up so much of your time I would go into detail about studdering over my words and not even knowing his name or introducing myself until half way through our conversation. The people in my class thought it was great and that my shame busting assignment was finished. But it is faaaaar from over. Now I actually have to go out on a date with this kid on wednesday!

But can i just tell you even though I was mortified after doing it I realized that I DID IT! And I did it with out a stitch of make up on my face. Here is a glimps of what I looked like that day.

This was the fruit cup I had to pretend I was buying just to have an excuse to be in the cafe he was in buying food.

My Awkward face I know I had.

Yep....I've still got it if I can get a date from a complete stranger with no make up or hair done.

The fun theory

As I have grown up my parents always include one thing in their descriptions of me. It goes something like this, "Deborah is all about fun." When ever there was a chance to have a good time I often dropped what I was doing and headed out the door to get in on the action. I remember one comment made to me in frustration went some thing like this: "Life isn't just about fun, Deborah". Well I propose that it is. If things are fun there is much one can accomplish.

Exhibit A:




*Now I must put in a disclaimer that through my life experience I have learned there are many important and serious things that do need attention. But if you always focus on those things, where's the fun in that? ;)

Fun Videos

In one of my social work classes my teacher's favorite teaching tool is youtube. He always finds inspiring videos for us. Here is one that I love. Trust me.....You'll love it too. It's just one of those videos that make you think. It helps you remember that you really can do anything with the Lord's help no matter what the world tells you.