Grad School: The Decision

Wow. This has been an intense and somewhat stressful adventure. But like all important and life-changing decisions, this one didn't go off exactly as we planned. Such is life. It turns out that we couldn't pick a school by finding out where we both got in--because none of our acceptance schools overlapped! I got into one of our top schools and Matt got into the other one, but neither of us got into both. How unexpected. But we've done a lot of soul searching and pondering and here is our official decision: We're going to the University of Virginia! Matt just accepted the offer on Wednesday.

UVa has extended Matt a generous stipend and he loved his interview experience there. The faculty were engaging and the research environment was stimulating. He found a lab he is really excited about working in and all his bioengineering dreams will come true in just a few short months.

My future will be decided with much more improvisation, trial and error, and pixie dust. Seriously though, the next five years will be one big journey of self-discovery. Since I won't be getting a postgraduate degree at this point, the options have only become more overwhelming. Do I get a postgraduate teaching certificate? Do I become Suzuki-certified to teach violin? Do I find a position at a local non-profit? Do I apply for editing jobs at local magazines and newspapers? The sky is literally the limit.

Amid all the celebration and confusion one thing has become clear: Charlottesville is the right place for us. We'll be back on the east coast--closer to our families, the ocean, and the Appalachian Trail. What more can you ask for? Here's to our new home!

A Busy Valentine's Day (plus an easy cake recipe!)

We had a real adventure this year on Valentine's Day. Since the beginning of the school week is especially busy for me, I got up early to try to get a heads up on all of my homework. As a result, I was really tired all day. After I took a midterm, I ran home for a one-hour break in my day to bake a cake. I decided I really wanted to use our new bundt pan, so I made a classic recipe from my Mom. (I'll put the super easy recipe at the bottom of the post.) Fortunately, our oven cooks really really fast (is it normal to have to shave off 2-10 minutes off of every baking time?) so I was able to get back to campus in time to meet with Matt for lunch and the campus devotional. 

Our Valentine's bundt cake

Man. Then we had five hours straight of class/work/homework until we could finally get home and relax a bit. I have to admit that I was a bit cranky by the time I got home, but Matt was so sweet. He had bought me some fudge (he certainly knows me well!), a copy of Thomas S. Monson's biography (so excited!!!), and the children's song book from our church. Since we are teaching the Sunday lessons for the six year olds in our congregation, this will really come in handy. It was so thoughtful! I bought Matt some chocolate covered cinnamon bears (a BYU classic) and made him some "love checks" that Matt can redeem for kisses and breakfast in bed and such. So cheesy, but certainly Valentine's Day appropriate :)

Once we had a chance to dress up for dinner, we had to catch the bus since we still don't have a car. Ten minutes and $4.50 later, we arrived at Red Lobster. We were trying to use a gift card my grandmother gave us for Christmas, but the waiting time at the restaurant was almost 2 hours! Wow. It was really cold outside and I was freezing in my skirt, but Matt, in his wonderful, eternal optimism was able to find a great place with a reasonable waiting time. We finally decided on California Pizza Kitchen, which was DELICIOUS. Their artichoke pizza is to die for! It was so so perfect. We had a wonderful waiter and 4 glasses of mango and peach lemonade each! Then we were able to go home and devour the cake. It was wonderful. Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays and I am so glad that Matt made it special this year. You know you've found the right person when they help you have fun despite the chilly air and long restaurant wait times. I'm one lucky duck.

At the bus stop :)

Recipe for Lemon Blackberry Bundt Cake


What you need:
One box of lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1 can of blackberry pie filling


Directions:
Mix ingredients in a bowl and pour into a well greased bundt pan. Bake according to directions on the box. To add a bit more deliciousness, I topped ours with a lemon glaze (lemon juice and powdered sugar). And that's it! It's yummy and very moist.

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