A BIG, overdue blog :)

So I'm finally sitting down to blog! It's been a long time since I've really given a good quality post! Ah but life has been crazy in many, many ways lately.

Of course I just had my commencement, which was super fun! Super fun, but super exhausting... but all was good. They had the doctoral and masters students walk first, so that meant that after I got my hood (salmon colored for health ed... looks more like peach), I had to sit for another almost three hours as all the undergrads walked. The worst part was that I had to stand next to the most annoying human being in the world... a girl who I ranted about many times in the past on my blog because I always got stuck in a group with her. Anyhoo, my parents and I went to a grad brunch, then commencement happened, and then we all went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and had a good time. Then we went and visited my gramma at the nursing home.

I posted these on Facebook, but in case you didn't see, here's a pic with me and my parents and my sister, on my parents' front porch. I think that hood makes me look like a turtle! And I wish I was wearing more than kitten heels... however, I was on my feet for hours so I knew I couldn't handle anything with a heel more than 1/2 inch!

Oh yeah, and my parents got me a new purple iPod Nano! The specific one I wanted... I felt like I didn't need all the gadgets of an iPod touch. And my sister got me a new Coach purse! It's just a small black shoulder bag, but it's super cute! I'll have to find a picture of it online sometime.

Which, another bit of stress... my gramma has literally been going back and forth from the nursing home to the hospital like a ping pong ball... like seriously! She'll be at the hospital for a week, then the nursing home for a few days, then back to the hospital for a few days... etc. I don't really know what to think about that anymore! I hate to say I'm kind of numb to it all... but yeah. I can't really figure out how to process it anymore, so I just kind of don't.

And I mentioned before that I had been seeing a therapist at school. That ended in the last week of April, and for the most part I feel pretty good about that. It definitely helped me since I've had such a topsy turvy kind of year. But I am considering still talking to the doctor about anti-anxiety meds, if only for an as needed kind of thing. It has helped in dealing with my stress load, and overall I'm glad I sought help for what was becoming a very hard time for me.

To add to the craziness, I'm still struggling to get my thesis done, and wrap up my last class. Haha, I guess I can't say wrap up because I just started the new class yesterday! But overall I hope this semester will be very straightforward. I sure need it to be! As it is, in June, I will be commuting back and forth across the state to my summer job. And by the way, I'll be there for our intensive May Weekend this weekend! I actually have my sleeping bag in the wash as we speak.

Finally, I haven't mentioned it here, but my sister and brother in law have been having problems lately. My sister kind of sprang this on me at Easter (hence why I said it had been a crazy one), so I was taken completely off guard. My sister and brother in law for better or for worse always seemed to have a completely rock solid marriage... and now...? My brother in law just outright told my sister he wanted to get separated after a seemingly innocent argument they had. He moved out a couple of weeks ago, and yeah, currently they are seeking to become legally separated. I know my brother in law can be a pain in the ass, but yeah, I know he loves my sister so this whole thing has been too shocking for words. My heart goes out to my sister, but I do worry that she isn't always dealing with this in the best way. She totally blew up at me and my mom a couple of weeks back over nothing, and has been going out almost every single night with friends. Sigh... I don't know how to help her.

And as a small note, this is TOP SECRET! I have told no one but my sister! But, for months... years now, I've been tempted to do something with my hair. I love my hair long, but it has been rather blah for a while now, and I have always been way too afraid to do anything! The most adventurous I've gotten with my hair is the time like seven years ago where I put in a temporary rinse that washed out after like 12 shampoos... and my hair is so dark you could only see it in the light! So tomorrow, my sister and I are going to some foo foo salon she goes to down in Warren to give me a bit of a hair makeover! Okay, nothing too drastic, I'm thinking *perhaps* bangs, some highlights, and possibly, possibly, a few layers added to my hair. So yes... I'm actually not nervous and am instead super excited! I'll definitely post pictures here afterwards... but I thought it would be fun to surprise all of my of my friends! I haven't told a single one of them, I just plan on seeing their reactions over the next few days. :)