Shoot I forgot I had Another Blog!

... Just kidding :P

I've been fighting that bloggers guilt for quite some time. Life has gotten away from me.

I wrote in MCAT Aug.17th... it was epic. My impressions? "Man alive! I hope I did better than I did last time!" We'll see in about a months time.

So I'm in full swing applying for medical school, again. After writing the MCAT in Edmonchuck I starting to prepare myself for the idea of applying in Edmonton- cause if I were to get in you betcha we're movin'! I still feel lost in Edmonton but that's what you get for visiting once every 5 years or so.





I'm also doing photography like a mad woman- but it's awesome. Finished a wedding- it was an amazing experience. We had a good day found a wonderful location for pictures and the couple are just warm people. I'm a sucker for weddings even when they're stresswad central but this was such a great experience for me. Here's a taste.. for more check out my photography blog Glowing Photography

Oh and I have a super awesome photography sale of greatness! You should message me for the details... because its a secret sale :D I'm almost all booked though so don't delay!!!

This month I also finished tutoring my fab Math students. I'm happy to report that they passed! One actually did pretty darn well. I'm kinda sad to see them go, they brought routine to my life and a reason to clean my house every Thursday morning. I'm now looking for new clients in the tutoring department. I have a kijij ad called I tutor it! 'Cause in reality if its a class you can take before post-secondary chances are I can tutor it and have likely tutored it before :) I love seeing people achieve. It's literally heart warming, education really changes peoples lives. Especially my upgrading alumni who are in a way looking to prove to themselves that they can do it, they really have inspired me to have a better attitude about learning and what a privilege- no blessing- it is that I have the education I do. PS. thanks to everyone who has ever contributed to a scholarship fund.

So yeah that's what I've been doing during this radio silence... I have soo many things I could blog about... lately I've been really into art and design so I feel a project coming on...or maybe I should just finish some old ones. Oh and I've been watch/reading more third wave feminism stuff and its so worth talking about but those will need to wait for another time.

Leave comments! 'Cause they make me feel less like I'm talking to myself... maybe I should make a vlog... then I would really be talking to myself... might wake the baby though...hmmm

The worst shopping trip ever!

In a break day from working and studying (although I read a chapter tonight) I went out this morning to buy groceries, sounds simple enough right? NOPE!! Any mom knows that shopping ...and well life, is more complicated with children. Usually I do alright, the odd loss of patience, once I decided that it would just be better to go home then brave another planned store, nothing like today.

I was in Walmart for almost 4 hours today :(

Zipporah started off the day at 6am which was not my cup of tea, but I decided, "Hey, if I'm up lets be productive!" By the time we checked out our local whole foods market and got some goodies at the dollar store (Is it sad that my retail therapy involved $2 foam sandals?) it was maybe 10am as we were rolling into Walmart. And while I generally find Walmart sorta evil and generally avoid shopping there I find them a more kid friendly option because: the food is cheaper AND they bag my groceries AND they don't make me feel bad if I didn't bring my own reusable bags.

Anyway so we start off ok until we hit the second isle and Zipporah decides that she's too sleepy to carry on and she screamed at the top of her lungs!!! I've dealt with a screaming child before so I tried to play it cool. I was trying all angles, maybe I could calm her down, maybe we could abandon our cart and leave, maybe she'd just fall asleep. Anytime I thought I should just give up and leave she'd settle long enough for me to think it was doable and go back to my cart. I must have been a sight to watch! I was hushing a 13 month old, herding the 5 year old and constantly gathering my things to leave getting half way out of the store and then heading back. Anyway she fell asleep but only in my arms, despite my efforts to make her a little nest in the cart.

So I recalled seeing  on Pinterest that you can fold a hoodie to make a baby carrier (check out the video!) . So in true, "Jane of All Trades" style I MacGyver-ed a makeshift baby carrier out of my hoodie to continue the grocery trip. The only problem was is that the hoddie carrier would only hold tight if I didn't bend at all which meant that I kinda had to just drop all my groceries into the cart. So here I am clanging canned fruits and veggies into the cart with a baby tied onto me with a hoodie, but don't worry... it gets "better"

So just before we hit the refrigerated foods I felt all warm and wet down the front of me...that's right! I got peed on!!! Somehow in our hoodie entangled stroke of genius, her diaper had gotten all bunchy and performed seriously sub optimally.


My only luck for the day would be that there was a sample kiosk handing out free diapers and wipes (because in an effort not to ALWAYS have my hands to full I left the diaper bag in the car.) I somehow manged to get this hoddie contraption off me and changed her diaper. My shirt wasn't as wet as I had thought it would be and the samples wipes where scented so I used them on her and then on my shirt. Put my hoodie back on like a sane person and continued to shop with a cranky 13 month old who hadn't had a long enough nap and a 5 year old who picked up every other product in the store and tried to put it in our cart. Amazingly the only unplanned purchase Abbi contributed to was a box of blueberry egos about the same size as she is. (I said unplanned not unnoticed)

So here is the good part of the blog! Since Mommy almost had  a nervous breakdown in Walmart we came home and played on the slip and slide for the rest of the afternoon!

Rant about Studying

Studying is driving me nuts! Everything feels so familiar until I try and answer questions then then I struggle, really rather badly. On top of the frustration with learning the topics themselves comes the battle to even study in the first place. I'm a pretty pro procrastinator so having the motivation to study isn't easy to come by, combine that with my husband, 2 girls and a fun loving dog and I'm surprised I've even half cracked a book. Frequently I end up studying very late at night and then I can't even keep my eyes open. I know its not optimally effective.

So I've mapped out what I'm considering a 40 day challenge which outlines the sections that I will need to study and the reading that I feel I need to do to be ready before the night of my exam- in about 40 days to be exact :P I planned things out and set some goals. The main goals I've set is to achieve a minimum of 10s across the board (which is a moderately competitive MCAT score) I would love to think that I can get 15s in the Verbal Reasoning and Biological Sciences but 10s seems like a more attainable. I mean I shoot for those perfect 15s but if I get 11 I still want to walk away considering that a HUGE success. I'm so hopeful that some kind of magic will happen and I'll get an exam suited to all my strengths but I know that's unlikely to happen. I will as my blog title suggests need to become a Jane of all things sciencey or at least MCATy.

I was SOO freaking close to getting in this past year (in fact, parts of me clings to the fantasy that everyone on the waiting list will decline and I'll get some amazing last minute phone call...its not going to happen, but I can't seem to get the thought out of my head) that I really waiver between being super motivated for this year and being just frankly pissed off! Getting my application scores back pretty well summed things up for me. My application scored pretty well on everything (like high enough to get in) except the MCAT and while I did ok at interview I didn't make up for the MCAT difference and I didn't shine like I had hoped that I would have. I acknowledge that I could improve in all areas and I do endeavor to... but yeah, "MCAT you are my nemesis!!!"

Welcome

So this is me starting a personal blog and it's my first blog about.... well.... myself. I've blogged about other stuff before and hopefully you are familiar with my photography blog HERE. But alas I've felt the need to rant about myself (sounds rather egocentric, I know) I thought I would indulge myself in ranting to seemingly no one while generally accepting that people, whether they know me well or not, will read this (at least I think they will).

Anyway, so I’ve dubbed myself a bit of a “Jane of All Trades” for a while now and although I don’t actually think I can do everything, I do admit to having more than a few activities in my schedule.

My plan is to write about myself and what I do in hopes of  1) understanding myself better 2) finding and connecting with like-minded people 3) encouraging others to feel good about themselves and all the “trades” that they are up to

Here is a list of what I’m currently up to:

• First and foremost I am a Wife and Mother. I have enjoyed the last 11 months staying at home with my girlies but one way or another that will soon be coming to a close for a season.
• I consider myself a “life long learner” I finished my Master’s degree in Neuroscience… oh you know 11 months ago :P and while I’m not currently formally studying anything I have on more than one occasion found myself still reading journals (*shudders* it’s like I like it)
• I am also at the end stretch of my first med school application cycle (I hope there isn’t a second but the verdict is still out… the waiting IS KILLING me!!!!)
• I have a photography business and while I love maternity and newborn photography I - no shock here- do a little of everything :P I had a shoot a week ago and I’m planning another in a couple weeks
• I strongly support other people (especially women) to be as educated as they can be so I currently have 2 students that I’m tutoring in math 20… they are preparing to KICK butt on the final!
• So many of these bullets deserve a future blog post of their own but this one especially, I’m currently enrolled in driver’s ed… yeehaw!! If all goes well I should be a REAL licensed driver by the end of April. No one should have their class 7 for 8 years :(
• I volunteer as I am invited to at church, helping to organize all the women to visit each other and form sisterly bonds and a new assignment assisting in the Nursery which means teaching/entertaining/playing with around ten 18 month to 3 years olds for 2 hours every Sunday :)
• I’ve also developed a rather messy craft habit in which I shred old clothes and bed linens and crochet rugs and hats out of them… that and beading earring and necklaces… and making hair accessories...ok I love crafting.
• Oh and I own and on semi- regular occasion choose to cloth diaper my infants. 

So here are my answers for people when I give them this information…yes I do sleep. I make most of my family’s meals from scratch. I employ no Sherpa, Nanny or maid (although that would be awesome! I’ve always wanted a Sherpa). My husband and I do like each other and we frequently talk. I love my children and we make time for singing songs and craft projects on a pretty regular basis. I’m not crazy, or a serious perfectionist. I don’t often feel run off my feet or overwhelmed and my elusions of being super human ended several years ago. I’m just me…doing all the stuff I do.

We should talk about all the stuff that I usually do but have cut back on or enjoyed in the past… next time!

So if you are out there reading this, leave me a comment so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself and subscribe to hear more of my stories of being a "Jane of All Trades"