Because I said I would...

I promised some of my friends in Utah when I visited them recently that I would update my blog. Apparently they noticed that I haven't written in a while...so I guess there are still people that will read what I have to say. I don't usually have that much to say, actually, because my life feels mostly uneventful. So here is a list of things I have been doing since I moved to Washington.

• Finish the clinical assignments for my internship
• Went to Boston (Natick, actually) to help John and Dakin before they moved
• Studied for the RD exam
• Passed the RD exam
• Ate a cheeseburger and fries to celebrate becoming a dietitian
• Put the finishing touches on my resume
• Applied to a few jobs
  
• Played with John, Dakin, Luke, Zachary, Elizabeth, Donna, Mark, Mia, Sam, and Nate for about two weeks
• Drove down to Fremont
• Held Madeline for the first time
  
• Went to the beach
• Got my eyebrows threaded
  
• Ate at China Chili's
• Attended Madeline's baby blessing
• Commenced the drive back to Camas
• Ate at In'n'Out
• Arrived back in Camas
• Received certificate proving that I am now Katherine Stovall, RD
• Applied to more jobs
• Interviewed at Adventist Medical Center
• Left for Utah
• A whole bunch of other stuff (visiting friends, canyoneering, family reunion)
• Broke my phone
  
• Road trip across southern Utah with family, during which we drove to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and stared at multiple rather large clouds that settled into the canyon.
• Flew back to Washington
• Discovered that in a two week period no new jobs have been posted in the Portland area
• Got a new phone
  
• Began writing a blog post
  
• Realized this list was too long
• Stopped writing in list form

Anyway, now that all of the summer vacations are over, it is time to really figure out what I am going to do with my time. Because there is only so much job searching/applying you can do in a day before you run out of new things to look at. Maybe I should look into the possibility of selling plasma again...Hmmm....

And then there were three...

Weeks that is.

Three weeks until I am done and gone. Out of Utah. By April 1st. Or at least out of my apartment. The details are still a little fuzzy, like the thoughts in my mom's head. But she is getting better, and starting to make her plans.

I really can't wait.

Not that I haven't enjoyed my time in Utah, but I can say with absolute positivity that I don't want to be in Utah, doing basically the same thing that I am doing now (except getting paid to do it) a year from now. I at least need to do the same old thing in a new location.

Of course a lot of the anticipation for the end of the month is because I will then be done with my internship, done with my assignments (dare I dream?) and be able to take a deep, carefree breath of freedom. Until then I don't have much time for breathing, let alone blog-writing. But I excel at procrastination with good intentions (like getting back to work the second this post is done).

So there will be no trouble filling my time for the next three weeks. I have been wondering how I will fill my time once I am in Washington. Did I mention I was moving to Washington? Back with the folks...are my parents old enough to be called "folks"? My dad always referred to my mother's parents as "the folks." They were always old. At least in my lifetime.

Right, filling my time after the move. I always just figured I would find a job. That's what you do when you are done with all your education and training, right? But sometimes I worry that I too often make choices because "that is what you do." Well, okay, maybe not that many of my choices have been like that. But it is something I fear. I really don't want to look back on my life and realize that I missed some great opportunities and experiences because the thought never occurred to me to take a different path than the obvious. Or because I was afraid. Fear is one of my weaknesses. I really don't like to be uncomfortable.

So my thoughts have been swimming around my head, never having a chance to settle because fireside speakers, sisters, or webinars get me to thinking..."What do I want to do with my life?" Maybe I never thought about this enough because I always assumed I would just pass the time until I got married and had a family. Lame, I know. My time has been well spent for the most part- getting a degree, completing an internship. But now, for the first time, really, my life is completely open. Other than the few thousand dollars I owe my parents, I have no obligations.

And I have always wanted to travel. Badly. So now, instead of finding a job right away, I am very seriously considering finding an international volunteer opportunity, at least for a little while. Maybe the summer? Even the practical side of me thinks this is a good idea (except for being flat broke), because it would look good on a resume and a grad school application, and it would help me know if I want to pursue a career in international health and nutrition. And maybe by the time I get back the job-market will be a little more exciting. Maybe not, but at least I will have sweet memories to bring comfort through the horror that is looking for a job.

So where should I go? I have found programs that send people to Peru, Argentina, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Kenya, Uganda...and many other places. I don't think it even matters. I would be happy to go anywhere.

Anyway, I think I am going to make a trip to Best Buy, and use some more money of my gift card. Don't worry. I will come straight home afterward and get right back to work!

Time for Some Narcissism

Just a reminder to everyone to be extra thankful today, because it is my birthday. Who couldn't be thankful for the day that brought me into the world, seriously? I sure am thankful for my birthday. And I know all of my siblings were grateful for my birthday, 23 years ago, when I ruined Thanksgiving. And then again, six years later, when I asked for Little Caesar's Pizza for Thanksgiving dinner.

How could any of my siblings forget to be thankful for me when this picture is on display all month long in our family calendar, in 9x6 size, no less



Anyway, I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Twenty Bucks Richer

I have already told this story many times, but I just love it, so I decided to add it to the cyberspace archives by blogging about it. Because apparently that is how I document my life nowadays, which is pretty sad for several reasons. Moving on.


On Saturday I went on a little adventure with my friend Gavin, my canyoneering guide. We hiked to the top of Rocky Mouth Falls, just south of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Sandy, and then rappelled down the waterfall. It was so much fun, and such a beautiful hike! The rappel had to be done in two parts. We went down to a small, shallow pool about a third of the way down the falls, and set up the rope again for the second part. While I was waiting, I looked down at the rock I was standing on, and there was a $20 bill laying by my feet! Seriously, I found $20 in the middle of a waterfall.

Now, I acknowledge the possibility that it was mine and fell out of my pocket. But I don't think I've been to the ATM since I moved out to Utah 2 months ago. So if it did fall out of my pocket, I don't know when or how it into those shorts. Either way, I walked away from that rappel richer than when I started.

So I bought myself a delicious Cafe Rio lunch. And a cheap movie ticket. And lunch again today. And I still have $5 left.

My Day Off

I started my rotation at Nebo School District on Monday...sort of. I was told in my email from the foodservice director that he had a morning meeting, and so I should come at one instead of in the morning. When I arrived on Monday afternoon, I found out that he was sick, and really not doing well. They didn't think there was anything for me to do, so I was told I could just go home, and that I didn't need to come in the next day either. And I don't have to be at the office until 2 on Wednesday. So after arriving in Spanish Fork at 1, I was back in my apartment before 2, with 48 hours until I needed to be at work again. So what have I been doing? Researching, watching online lectures, taking quizzes, and really getting a hard start on things for this rotation.


Yeah, I wouldn't believe that about me either. I have spent the last two days watching tv, surfing the internet (including bloggin), shopping at Ikea, and working out at the gym. I did look over my schedule for the next month and the assignments I have to complete for this rotation. And I even read a few pages about menu forecasting while I ran on the eliptical. So I didn't completely waste my time. But mostly, yeah, it was wasted.

Picture Purge

I just recently found Suzy's request for summer pictures in a blog post. I spent a lot of my summer hanging out with Suzy and her kids, babysitting, painting, and teaching piano. Jacob, Ryan, and Alison are super cute, and a blast to hang out with, so I definitely didn't mind. It was a good way to spend my last real summer, since (hopefully) I will be in the beginnings of my career next summer. So here are some pictures from my summer with the Young's. Unfortunately I didn't document everything, and some pictures were taken with my phone, so I apologize for the poorer quality of those pictures.

At the Alameda County Fair.

Ryan and the fish he caught at Sunol.

The group that went on to explore the river in Sunol.

Playing games at Daniel's birthday party.

Jacob, Daniel, Karen, and Ryan.

This is what happened when I fed Alison some yogurt.

Our hike to Mission Peak. This is as far as we got, but I was pretty proud of those kids for making it to this point. At least they got to see the peak.

*Insert Captivating Title*

I am sitting in the Orem WIC clinic, on my lunch break, trying to find time to fill this hour. "How about a blog update?" I said to myself. So here I am.

I started my internship last Monday, so tomorrow will mark the end of my second week. So far it is going fantastically, except for the random moments of panic when I think that it is only two weeks down, and a LOT of papers, training, awkward counseling and presentations, case studies, emails, and general confusion to go before I can take the RD exam, find a job, and end this madness. But really, I am enjoying it. There is a lot of down time at the WIC clinic, so I find plenty of time to do some research and work on various assignments. Which is nice. It has allowed me to take time when I get home to settle into my new place. Tuesday marked the day that I was officialy settled, as I put together the IKEA nightstand that I had stained and placed it next to my bed that evening.

Some things that I have noticed over the past two weeks:

Mountain Dew is quite the popular beverage among the working LDS woman. Both WIC clinics that I have been at have had 12-packs in various flavors available to the staff. Just donate a quarter and take a soda. Good thing Mountain Dew isn't a strong temptation for me.

There are way too many cute kids and babies out there. One of my favorite things to do here is sit in on the certification of a newborn or a midcert of a 5-8 month old and smile at the babies.

I had a dream the other night that I was a new mother. I was determined to breastfeed my baby, but was struggling because I had to be away from the baby too often for some weird dream-world reason or another. No I wouldn't think anything of it, because I have read and heard a lot about breastfeeding in the last two weeks, but this is the second dream in the last 6 months that I have had where I was a mother struggling to breastfeed. What does that mean?

The previous owners of the condo I am living in clearly didn't vacuum, like, at all, because the first time I vacuumed my room, I had to empty the canister 5 or 6 times. I guess the carpet is pretty new, because mostly what I was getting was a whole lot of fluff. I think my new pet peeve to replace hairballs on the couch (we have a leather couch!) will be fluff-balls on the floor.




I thought I had made more observations that that. Oh well.