Hello

So it's been awhile since I've posted. Not too much has happened. School is going well, work is good, Luke has been visiting me, and Mushko is having a blast. I've been hiking Redwood Park quite a bit lately. It's beautiful! I'll add a link to pics below. We've also been to the ocean a few times in the past couple weeks. I'm very excited about going to Vegas next month. I've been too busy with school and work to socialize much and can't wait for a girl's trip to Vegas. I've been trying to eat better and exercise more so that I'll look good in a swimsuit - I've lost 5 lbs so far! Luke and I made a salad the other night but I didn't like the leaves. I bought them at the Arcata Farmer's Market and think they were mostly mustard leaves. Next time, I'll stick to romaine or sprink mix - both of those I've liked in the past. Anyway, we put a lot of stuff in it so I'm not sure how healthy it really was. We added chicken, cottage cheese, eggs, corn, and then ate sourdough bread on the side. I added a little bit of ranch to my salad, Luke had thousand island (a lot, lol). Anyway, I think I would've enjoyed it much more had the lettuce been better. I only bought that lettuce because I didn't want to spend too much time in the booth; I had Mushko with me. It was the "bargain mix" or something like that, next time I'll get what I want. Also, I won't bring Mushko. Two people got on me about having a dog in a "supermarket setting." About twenty other people begged me to pet Mushko - several of them even thanked me for allowing them to do so! At one point, four little girls all grabbed onto his face at the same time. He didn't budge. I was happily impressed. I rewarded him yesterday by taking him to the beach for an hour or so (Luke and I jogged with three dogs) and then taking him to work for another six hours. When we got home, he laid on the couch with me and fell asleep with his head on my arm. It was so cute! It's sprinkling a little today so we'll probably go to Redwood Park- the trees block most of the rain. As far as school goes, I must say, I'm an achiever. I get the feeling Luke will punch me if I talk about one more achievement, lol. I'm taking four classes: sociological-technical thinking processes, advanced sustainable management applications, sustainable rural economic development (grad class), and statistical process control and quality systems. In the technology course, we're graded on attendence, homework, and two 15 minute presentations. I've only missed one class, have received 100% on all of my homework, and scored a 96% on the first speech and 100% on the second speech! :) In the management class, we're graded on attendence, homework, and responses to outside lectures - I have an A in this class for sure. In the econ class, we're graded on attendance, homework, three essay exams, and a service project. I have perfect attendance and hw scores. The essays are difficult. We read four very long, DRY chapters and then she picks only four essay questions from the four chapters. If fail to study a section she asks about, the most you'll score is a 30/40 (and getting 10 of 10 on the other three questions is unlikely) which is a 75%! I earned a B on the first exam and will receive the second exam score tomorrow. I'm 99% sure I earned an A on the second exam but we'll have to wait and see. Being a graduate course, this is, by far, the most difficult course. Last, my quality systems course is graded on homework, tests, and a 30 minute presentation. I'm the only female in this class (there are about 17 males and ME) and I definitely have the highest grade in the class. Enough said. :) In summation, I'm almost positive I'll earn an A in each of the undergraduate courses. I hope to earn an A in the grad course too but have another essay exam and large project that will greatly impact my grade. I'm really hoping to earn at least an A-; we'll see! I guess I better go eat breakfast. I miss everyone and hope to see you all soon!