So I'm off...

On Sunday I'm heading out to Florida (Napels) for work. I will be working on a project located in Abu Dhabi, so it should be a good experience. But it only gets more exciting. I will be in Florida for a couple of weeks. Then I'll be here in Phoenix for a week, with just enough time to complete a submittal for a project here. (Actually I'm hoping that it's enough time). Then it's off to St. George for Thanksgiving. Then I will promptly be returning to Florida for three more weeks to complete the improvement plans. When I return to Arizona I will have enough time to unpack my stuff before I head home to California for Christmas. So there goes the next two months of my life. I'll definately have to keep you posted on stuff... and I'm sure I'll try to get some pictures of the Gulf Coast since it's only a couple miles from the office there. It's going to be fun.

It will sure make the 13 weeks of waiting go faster.

So I'm done and the verdict is...

... I'll let you know how I did in 13 weeks when I get my results back.

So for any of you who didn't know I took my Professional Engineering (PE) Exam this past weekend. I drove out to California with a friend on Thursday. Friday morning I headed down to Del Mar way to early to be ready to take the Civil portion of the PE exam. I've decided that it's hard for me to sit for a 8 hour exam. I just don't have the patience any more. But honestly when it was all done on Friday I felt okay (much more relaxed than I'd been on Thursday). Needless to say I was exhausted on Friday night. I think I barely made it home before I was ready to crash in my bed. Saturday morning was round 2 the Seismic portion of the exam (specific only to California). It was probably the hardest of the test. Fortunately it was only 2 1/2 hours long (still a long time for a test). Saturday afternoon was the last portion of the test the Survey portion (specific only to California). It was only a 2 1/2 hour test, so not too bad, and I think that I did okay on it as well. So overall not a horrible experience, a little anticlimactic... but I'll just have to wait the 13 weeks until I get my responses back.

A Break...

So thanks to a good friend at work I got tickets to the Sun's Basketball game last night. The Sun's played the Charlotte Bobcats (I don't think I've ever heard of the team). The game wasn't really all the exciting until near the end when the Sun's almost lost it. We ended up going into two over times and the Sun's were finally able to put it away 111 to 108. It made for an enjoyable evening and a nice break from the studying that I've been doing lately.

Draw closer to Him.

So yesterday I went to a wonderful fireside where I was privileged to her the words (and see the works) of a wonderful artist, Greg Olsen. For those of you unfamiliar with his artwork he has created some wonderful images of the Savior. During his talk last night he talked about the need for us to become as little children and the need for us to draw closer to our Savior. He reminded us that the relationship that we have with our Savior is a family relationship. He is our elder brother. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that he is my brother and treating him more like the removed God he is to other Christians. Last night was just a good reminder that he is my elder brother and because of that he loves me very deeply. Brother Olsen also reminded us that Christ was human. He came to earth to feel everything we feel... joy, hunger, pain, excitement, fear, sorrow, etc. And because of the Atonement he has felt and knows everything that we will feel. So don't only does he love us, but he can carry us through our struggle and pains, and he wants to share in our joys. Basically it was just a good reminder that He cares!

Geocaching

So this weekend I did something that was really fun... for any treasure hunters out there (or anyone who ever wanted to be a treasure hunter) this is for you. It's something called Geocaching. Basically what happens is someone hides a small box, post the GPS coordinates for the location and you have to go out and find it. Usually when you find the box you sign in and sometimes you trade for something in the box. For example we had a little squeaky frog that we traded for some really cool national parks trading cards. I think the joy is really just in the search. So really for any of you who are treasure hunters out there it is fun... and I think you should try it!

BYU Football update...

So although the game on Saturday wasn't terribly exciting... I'm still excited to report that my BYU cougars are still ranked number 9! Now all we have to do is get through the rest of the season and maybe they'll be heading my way for a bowl game. One projection has them coming to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale. That would be a perfect end to a perfect season in my mind. So go cougars!

My garden experiment!

So I've FINALLY finished the backyard! I'm so excited to see it all come together. Friday morning I went out to buy some plants. I got some star jasmine and new guinea impatiens for the side yard. I found some starters for tomatoes, red peppers and yellow peppers that I planted in the middle planter. Hopefully they'll make it before the frost (which here in Phoenix doesn't usually happen until late December or January)
And I planted some seed in the other planter... peppers, onions and cilantro.
So I realized this weekend that I have very little gardening experience, so it will be interesting to see how well all of these plants do. I guess it's never bad to learn a new skill, so I'm excited to have the opportunity to do so.

We'll just have to see in a little while it I can get any fruits from my labors!

Fall is finally here!

So I finally got a new wreath for the door... I love the fall. Here in Phoenix that means that the weather is finally under 100 degrees and you can be outside again.