Shells

On Sunday, BF and I went to FBM's to help prep for their Mother's Day celebration. While I was at the bakery, the boys went grocery shopping. I later took off to celebrate with my family and then went back for a 2nd dinner. =P

Later on, BF told me that at the seafood department in the Chinese supermarket, BF's Godson exclaimed to BF, "Look! Turtles!" =O

When BF realized what Godson was pointing at, he stifled laughter and said, "No, [Godson], those aren't turtles. Those are clams."

"Cyams?" (Godson is slightly gliding his /l/s + he's missing one of his front teeth.)

When BF was telling me this, I reacted in two ways. In my normal-person mode, I was laughing so hard b/c it was funny and cute. In my future-SLP-mode, I thought it was fascinating to hear a classic example of a child learning vocabulary and overextending classifications. Out of professional curiosity, I had to ask, "How did you explain to him?" I mean, I don't blame the kid; both have shells.

"Well, I explained to him that those clams weren't turtles. Turtles have arms and legs." How cute are they both. :)

So after a full fun day of Mother's Day festivities, we came home and as usual, I approached Lil F's tank to greet her..."Hi Clam!"

BF was not amused. But I was. :D

I really believe that...

• music sounds better in BF's car, especially Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  
• Elsa, my Passat, drives better when she's clean (at least on the outside).
• if I buy a (nice) pair of pants that I can barely fit into, I'll be motivated to lose weight to fit into them.
• Lil F still thinks she is little, even though she just measured a whopping 6.5 inches tonight!
  
• gym memberships should cost less since there is a national campaign to decrease risk of obesity, stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular diseases.
• (This is moreso a late realization...several years later) French Fries are one of my favorite foods (never mind that I just mentioned stroke and other cardiovascular disease).
  

Just thought I'd share some of my random thoughts from my lovely Monday (or "Sunday for Cheryl," as my classmates might call it) full of errands, a smidget of research, 24 Hour Fitnessing, eating, and a little R & R in between.

Better than I imagined

I am still loving life Post-Praxis! I find myself doing things that I haven't done since I can remember. I.e.,:

• I've watched 2 Dodgers games (on TV). I don't even like to watch baseball!
• I am actually watching TV.
• I've gone on 3 walks in the neighborhood and got to see the dozen of duckies quacking away in the grass on one of the walks.
• I've gone to the gym 2x now.
  
• I've read for leisure.
• I went bowling and broke 100 twice. :)
  

Lastly, doing all of those things without guilt! It's great.

Post-Praxis

I haven't felt this relaxed in months! It is finally "Post-Praxis" time!

This AM, BF dropped me off at USC to take the Praxis. It was extremely comforting that almost half of my classmates took it at the same time in the same room (LK, AL, CHK, BSILF, RW, and KC). BSILF even gave me a little prayer to pray and a brand-new "best-eraser-on-Earth" that I totally used for good luck.

I can't say I feel totally confident about "failing" to pass (i.e., getting at least a 60%). The tables kind of turned around question #30. Around #42, I started panicking that I wasn't halfway done yet, and I was reaching the one hour mark. The rest was kind of a blur. I'm just hoping that the really gnarly questions with terms I had never heard of were the "fake" questions. Then again, I was convinced that every other question was a "fake" one...

While we plowed through the fastest 2 hours of testing, BF and BSILFH went bowling nearby as a Pre-Praxis-celebration. Afterwards, BSILF, CHK, LK, and I met them at El Cholo in K-town for our first official Post-Praxis celebration. It was a deliciously fun time! Just sitting there, listening and chatting w/ my classmates made me realize how much I love (most of) them.

I thought about that some more when I sat down to catch up on e-mails. Over the past few days, I've received a few e-mails from my wonderful classmates, wishing us good vibes and well wishes on taking this exam.

It makes me realize that we are so close to being done...and then we'll all go our separate ways. It is both exciting and sad. What can I say? I always suffer from separation anxiety. On the bright side, I am so happy to have met such wonderful, intelligent, and thoughtful people and am positive that I will stay in touch with many of them.

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As usual, I get really sad/sappy when I am under lots of stress. This week has been no exception to my tear-fests:

1. I wanted to cry when one of my new PTs cried (for good and sad reasons).
   
2. BF's good friend is going through a very unexpected, rough time.
3. BF's other good friend's brother's wife suddenly had an embolism and was in a coma. Doctors gave her a 10% chance of recovery if she came out of the coma. Today, they layed her to rest. I have never met her but judging by how wonderful I've heard the family is, I am sure she was a wonderful woman, wife, and mother. May she rest in Godly peace and may God bless the family.
   

Pre-Praxis

Daddy just called~

D:So, your exam's tomorrow? Well then I better tell Gramma to get up earlier to pray for you tomorrow.
C (LOL): What! Don't tell Gramma to wake up any earlier! She's been praying for me for months now!
D: Okay, well she's here so hold on.
G: So your exam's tomorrow?...What time is it?...You better get there early b/c the campus is huge...You better go to sleep now!...I love you...Go to sleep now!...Wait, and don't forget to pray before your exam.

Dude, like I could forget to pray before this huge exam. Like Gramma, I've been praying about this for months (or at least the past 6 weeks)!

I know, I know (Mark & BF), we (BSILF and BSILF) will be fine!
Positive Energy!

ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

The strangest thing is that for the first time, I'm not doing my insane cramming. Heck, I even made ice-cream tonight. WTH is that about?

Oh, I know, that will be for Post-Praxis celebration!

Okay, going to begin my insane cramming now...Shh, don't tell Gramma! I'm supposed to be in bed by now!

Another One of Those Days

I just got home from another "one of those days." I got a nice pep talk from bro on my way home and then got an IM from BF when I got home, "hurry! Go to yahoo.com"



Of course this brought a smile to my face. Long-term goal: I can't wait to swim with sea turtles. Short-term goal: I can't wait to finish reading Voyage of the Turtle post-Saturday!

723

723 has been the repeated number in discussions for the very much anticipated date of 4/28/07.

I have officially finished reading 723 pages of the Bohemoth Blue Book! (Sans a few chapter-end quizzes which I will go over tomorrow.)

Post-exam, the new magic number will be...600. We need a 600 (60%) to pass. I have never longed for 60% as much as I do now.

.·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·.

To dispell any myths that the future of America lays in the hands of underachievers~

On Friday evening, BSILF, CHK, NB, and I attended an Honors and Scholarship Awards Ceremony. That was definitely one of my prouder moments in life, and I was extremely happy to share it with Guh, FBIL, and BSILF who received a very special, well-deserved award. Congratulations to us under-achievers who are aiming for (at least) 60%!