Busy, busy, busy

Hi all!

Once again, it's been a while! I have this problem lately... I have so much work to do with my thesis and my statistics class that I feel guilty if I spend time working on anything else. I know that it's a bit ridiculous to feel that way, but nevertheless, I do. So, blogging has fallen by the wayside. I have another busy day of thesis work ahead of me today, but I wanted to at least check in and give you a quick update on what I've been up to these last few weeks.

First, let me say that my trip to Sanibel, Florida was absolutely the best possible trip at the best possible time. I could write a number of posts about that trip alone, but unfortunately, I don't have time. Let me just say that I boarded the plane feeling stressed out, frazzled, like I was burning the wick from both ends, but I got off the plane feeling rested, relaxed, much happier, and TAN. haha Sanibel has some sort of special power over me - one that makes me think deeply and reflect on parts of my life that I neglect during my busy day-to-day life. I hope that this is a trip my mom and I can continue to take together, no matter what happens to come up in our lives.

Luckily for me, we got back to Nebraska just before my official spring break started. I used the week to gather my thoughts and write the first chapter of my thesis, which has now been scrapped by my advisor. (I'm in the process of re-starting today.)

After spring break, I left again, but this time headed for Washington State University in Pullman, WA. I had visited the campuses of the other three schools I had applied to, and felt that a visit to WSU was necessary in order to help me make a fully-informed decision about which PhD program I'll attend. The trip was very informative and has definitely helped me organize my thoughts about my decision. Although I have not officially told any of the schools about my decision, I'm getting close. I feel pretty good about the school I *think* I've chosen, but want to just sit with the decision for a little while to make sure that I still feel the same way. As soon as it's for sure, I'll let you know!

These whirlwind weeks culminated yesterday with the 10 mile State Farm race. I ran the same race last year and finished in 1 hour 50 minutes 32 seconds, so my goal this year was to beat that time. It was a HARD race with a very muddy trail. I was tired and hurting at the end, but I finished in 1 hour 46 minutes 52 seconds, beating last year's time by 3 and a half minutes! Considering the muddy conditions, I feel great about that. I also feel pretty confident that I can set a new PR in May's half marathon and maybe even make my goal time (which, for me, is a pretty challenging one).

Alright, enough blogging. I'm off to work on my thesis. I need to turn in a detailed outline of my first chapter so that my advisor can make sure it's right before I start writing. These next couple of months seem like they'll be pretty busy and stressful (I think you'd be hard pressed to find a graduate student who isn't stressed out in the middle of "thesis time"...), but I'm going to try to carve out some time each week to post at least a short update. I enjoy writing this blog very much, and think that most of you enjoy reading it. Plus, I'll just chalk it up to writing practice (in case my thesis isn't enough).