*ahem* I do believe it’s time for a little bragging on behalf of Adam:

Oh yes, I’m married to an MCAT-ass-kicking-machine!!!
So, for the unfamiliar MCAT scoring can be very confusing. Here’s more info:

Four separate scores are derived from the MCAT, one for each section and the total score. Each score that you achieve on the multiple-choice sections (Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences) is based on the number of questions you answer correctly. This raw score is a reflection of your correct answers only…The scores for the multiple-choice sections—Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences—will be reported on a scale ranging from 1 (lowest) to 15 (highest)…Your raw score on the Writing sample will be converted to an alphabetic scale ranging from J (lowest) to T (highest)...In addition to scores for the individual sections, a total score will also be reported. This total score will consist of a combined multiple-choice score conjoined with the Writing Sample score, e.g., 42T. {via the AAMC}

So, just to clarify, Adam got a good great score. I am not surprised, but I am proud, very proud. He is very smart and he worked very, very hard.
And now, I’m pleased to announce the start of a new series of posts which will be ongoing for the next million 8 or so years here on Domestic Dork:

Seeing as this is the inaugural post in the “Med School Mama” series I’ll give you some background info {for those of you who don’t already know it}. Adam has a bachelor’s in film. In his final year of classes he realized the film industry was not where he wanted to spend the rest of his working days. He spent some time in construction before deciding to go back to school. For the last year and a half he’s been taking pre-med classes with the intention of attending medical school. It was a big decision that we made together. We both knew that if he was going to pursue this dream I would need to be on board. Well, I am. And I’m doing what I can to help, starting with making the application process a little smoother.
Applying for med school is kind of a big deal. It’s exciting, and scary, and expensive and stressful and confusing. Different schools have different requirements. Some schools want your MCAT {Medical College Admission Test} scores to be this good other schools want them to be that good and some schools don’t care at all about the MCAT. This summer the med schools begin accepting applications for school beginning in fall 2011.
There are 17 accredited medical schools in Canada {versus 132 in the United States}. The Quebec schools were easy to eliminate.It didn’t take long before the list of schools Adam was interested in applying to was whittled down to 5 {though we’re not yet completely ruling out the others…except the ones in Quebec}. They are {in Adam’s current order of preference}:

1. University of British Columbia
2. McMaster University
3. University of Calgary
4. University of Alberta
5. University of Toronto

Basically, this is how the application process goes:












We’re not even to step one yet and already we’ve done plenty of the “cross fingers and try not to freak out” bit. See, we had to wait about a month before we knew how Adam scored on the MCAT. Since he did well we’ll move on to applying. If he hadn’t done well he would have had to write the test again and we’d start applying under the promise of sending in his scores after the retest. The MCAT is a big pain. It’s not cheap to take {$230 ouch!}. Plus it required that Adam drive to Edmonton. And, of course, it’s an important and loooong {5 hours!} test that required a lot of studying. So we’re both happy he won’t have to re-do all that {Adam especially is happy about that fact}. But either way it’s time to start preparing for the application process. So look forward to more Med School Mama posts. Next time I’ll show you how I’m helping Adam keep himself organized!
And again, a big, fat congratulations to Adam! Way to go, Love!

{Note: UHEAA is the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority aka The Masters of My Student Loan Debt}.
Dear UHEAA,

Thank you for you recent letter informing me that my first student loan payment is due. I’m glad to see that your employees are in fact capable of using the US Postal Service. After they never sent the forbearance application as promised {you know, the form that would have kept this payment from being due in the first place?} I was worried they didn’t know how to send mail.
I must say, I’m a bit baffled. You see, the bill you sent says very clearly that you only except checks from US Banks. In case you didn’t notice my address when you sent me the bill, I’m in Canada {that’s the country above the United States}. I have a Canadian bank account {because it would be highly inconvenient to drive 4-plus hours and cross the border every time I need to do my banking}. So you surely understand why I called you today to ask what I should do.
And just FYI, “figure it out” is a really crappy answer to provide to someone who is trying to give you money. After all, why do you think I called in the first place? Could it be because I’m trying to “figure it out?” If you won’t take a credit card, and you won’t take a Canadian check maybe YOU ought to figure out what payment you will accept. Because I’m not about to pay for a money order if you’re not able to guarantee you will accept it.
In closing, thanks for nothing.

Sincerely,

Holly The-Woman-Who-Is-Trying-To-Give-You-Money-That-You-Won’t-Take-From-Her Shumate

Are you a mom?

Yes?

Then you know all about “Mommy Brain.” It begins in pregnancy. Brain gets fuzzier, memory takes a vacation. It doesn’t improve much after giving birth because your mental resources are depleted by sleep deprivation and (if you’re a SAHM like me) having a person whose vocabulary consists of “AAAAAAAAH” as your only conversation partner for the majority of your day.

You know what’s even more fun than “Mommy Brain?”

“Mommy Brain” and ADD.

I have always been forgetful. When I was a little kid my mom used to pin notes for my teachers onto my clothes. It was the only way the teachers would get said notes. In fifth grade I got detention {twice} for forgetting to do my homework.* And the distractibility! Let me tell you about the distractibility! Lets say I ask a question. By the time the answer is given I’ve been distracted and totally miss it. Then, like an idiot, I have to ask again. Seriously. It can happen at any moment. I can be mid-sentence and…Oh! Did I tell you we are picking up our digital photo disk from the photographer tomorrow morning?

I’m really happy with how this last photo session went. I’ll be sure to post some pictures over the weekend! I can’t wait to get them printed and in frames so we can hang them all over the house.

Anyway, have a great weekend! We’re headed to Calgary tomorrow to get passports for Bear and Lu. I’ll be back and posting again Saturday!

*Don’t even get me started on what I think of teachers who dish out the same punishment for innocent forgetfulness that they do for fighting/stealing/other rule breaking activities.

By virtue of being “poor”* sometimes I am a very cheap frugal person. So, rather than spend $200+ on a playpen I opted for this used crib for $50 (yes, it meets safety guidelines). Since it’s not for sleeping I snagged a crib bumper for $8 to prevent little chubby legs from getting stuck between bars (though I have no personal knowledge of how much such a tragedy would make Lucy cry…nope, none at all).

Lucy digs it (when she’s not desperate to be held). She likes to peek over the top of the bumper to watch what we’re doing and to play peek-a-boo.

We dig it because though Lucy isn’t crawling yet but she’s definitely mobile enough that she needs to be contained from time to time. And our family room looks a lot less cluttered without her toys and play mat all over the floor.

Remember how I had leftovers of those art cards? Well, now I’ve found a use for them. Art cards + 3M hooks + clips = instant baby art gallery!

Of course, I could have saved even more money if I stuck with this improvised playpen (Girla approved)!

What things have you improvised when you were short on cash or time? Tell me about it in the comments!

*That’s the life of a student (or in this case, the life of the family of a student)!

I've recently fallen in love with TED.

TED is amazing! TED is entertaining, thought provoking, inspiring, stylish, and funny.

TED is a website. You can get the nitty gritty details of TED (Technology Entertainment Design) here. But the basic concept is that it is an "annual conference [that] now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." Those talks are then posted online so they can be viewed free of charge. To me it seems a sort of free "Life University" via the Internet (which is great because I get to go to "class" in my pajamas).

Just when I think I've seen the video that can't be topped, or that I'm running out of talks that look interesting I discover yet another amazing lecture by some genius I've never previously heard of but now am on the verge of worshiping. The talent and intelligence of TED presenters is enough to make anybody feel small, but in a really good way, the way seeing a mountain, or the night sky, or some amazing marvel of engineering or design makes one feel.

This is learning at it's most entertaining!

So it is with great excitement and pleasure that I present some of my favorite talks:

Johnathon Harris: the Web's secret stories Harris has created an amalgamation of art, information, and interactivity that explores the human condition in a creative, and entertaining way. He presents several of his amazing projects in this talk including "We Feel Fine." I feel inspired!

Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the "Sixth Sense," game-changing wearable tech Oh boy! I want one of these when they leave the prototype stage! This piece of technology, at the price point at which they're presenting it makes me feel like the world is about to make a great leap into "the future" science fiction has been referencing for years.

Johnny Lee: Creating tech marvels out of a $40 Wii Remote I love a good hack (Ikea Hacks have piqued my interest for some time now). But as an aspiring digital artist these Wii Remote hacks absolutely floored me (and the hacked glasses definitely got video-gaming Adam excited). The doors this opens to starving artists (or wannabes in my case) are numerous considering a tablet can cost hundreds of dollars and limits an artist's gesture room enormously.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson's answer is "yes."

Adam Savage: My quest for the dodo bird, and other obsessions You may know Adam from MythBusters. If this talk is any indication, he's at least as ADHD as I am. He provides an interesting glimpse into the way his (and my) mind often works.

David Merrill: Siftables, the toy blocks that think The educational and therapeutic potential for this invention is immense. I also look forward to seeing this used for purposes other than play.

Anand Agarawala: Bumptop desktop is a beautiful mess This is one of many TED presentations that give an indication of the direction that computer user interfaces are headed. Intuitive, organic movements will likely replace point and click systems within my lifetime.

Adam Grosser: A new vision for refrigeration Here's a TED presenter putting his genius towards making the world a better place for everybody. The product may be simple but the implications are far reaching.

Dean Kamen: New prosthetic arm for veterans This talk is inspiring while also forcing us to consider to what other problems are we not applying our full creative and innovative abilities?

You should know that there were even more I wanted to include. But it seemed prudent to keep this list smaller than other lists I've mentioned. And while this list is definitely heavy on geek innovations TED is certainly not limited to technological topics. Religion, philosophy, even musical performances can be found in abundance. I promise, there is something there that will interest you. And I think regular visits to TED will do you good. A little inspiration now and again keeps the serotonin flowing. And, as "they" say "knowledge is power."

And I'll leave you with this because it's how TED makes me feel.

I actually kind of like it when businesses start decorating for Christmas a little too soon. Christmas is my favorite holiday so I feel all happy and giddy inside when I see the decorations come out. Then again...I listen to Christmas music year round so maybe I'm just a messed up anti-Scrooge.

If the way I handle my cats is any indication of my parenting skills then I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. On the one hand I can't seem to keep my cool and refrain from yelling at them when they are naughty for the fifteen-hundredth time in a day. On the other hand I have refrained from causing them serious bodily harm even if they've deserved it.

I really, honestly enjoy puns and word play.

I'm starting to like the "New Facebook" (for the most part).

I have never taken a single chemistry class.

I don't miss college classes (with the exception of some religion courses), but I do miss a lot of the high school classes I took.

I can't decide whether or not I want Adam to get rid of the bee nest under our porch. On the one hand I'm really scared of the buzzy little guys. On the other hand they haven't yet bothered us and I feel "mean" wanting to kill them.

I am jealous of Jen because her blog posts always strike me as superlatively entertaining compared to mine.

I ask Adam to read a children's story to Lovey every night. But really, I want the story just as much for my own entertainment.

I notice when people make public speaking faux pas in Church talks. The mistakes bug me. But the fact that I get so annoyed by bad speakers makes me feel guilty.

I love doing craft projects in a group setting because I usually do a really good job and when people "ooh" and "aah" over my results it makes me feel like a million bucks.

Sometimes I mix up the numbers 7 and 3.

I still don't have the times table memorized (I don't know what 7x7 or 7x6 is for example).

Sometimes I want to send a secret to Post Secret. But I don't have any secrets worth the postage. I'm not sure if that means my life is awesome or boring. Maybe it's both.

My in-laws are so cool that sometimes when I hear an in-law horror story I think "are they making this up?" because I just can't imagine in-laws being so lame.

Sometimes I look at those Facebook engagement/wedding groups/photo albums for people I don't know (friends of friends) because I just like to look at the pictures.

When I was a kid I secretly wanted to be in a tornado (even though they scare me).

Feel free to leave your own confessions in the comments section.

You know what totally rocks my socks? Hearing a rumor that sounds too good to be true...and confirming that it IS true!

http://www.health.alberta.ca/ahcip/AHCIP_premiums-elimination.html

That's an extra $88 a month that can go towards our student loans.

Add:
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Lund, Sweden
and
Bangkok, Thailand
to the list of places which have been exposed to this blog!

No word on whether the inhabitants of those cities think I'm as interesting and hilarious as I think I am.

If I ever manage to get a reader from each and every continent I think I'll have to make a cake in celebration. Maybe I'll do a recreation of the nightmare which was this art project* (yummiest waste of time ever). Or maybe I'll do something simpler seeing as I'd rather consume one of these cakes than be forced to recreate that monstrosity.

So far I've gotten the following continents:
North America,
Europe,
Asia,
and
Australia

I still need South America, Africa, and Antarctica (which will be a tough one unless some scientists or penguins take a sudden interest in my life).

*Yes, I know there's a big chunk missing from the cake. It's on purpose. It was supposed to be meaningful. Of course, the meaning I was going for was not "this project deserves a D." C 'est la vie.

I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. When I'd register for classes at BYU I'd have two criteria:

1. The professor had no horrible, terrible, awful reviews on ratemyprofessors.com
2. The class was at 11 or later.

OK, so admittedly I wasn't so rigid that I wouldn't take an earlier class if it was all I could get. But really, I am not a morning person. So imagine my surprise this morning when I not only got up with Adam (who gets up at six to be to work by seven) but stayed up after he left. And imagine my greater surprise when I enjoyed it! I made myself a hot cup of "yummy" (Postum, hot cocoa, and hazelnut creamer), reclined in my comfy glider, and surfed the internet a bit. It was great. I also washed the crock pot we borrowed last night so I can make my elk roast the easy way.

Another thing I find I like about the morning is that I get to see the rooster on my home page. You're probably thinking "huh?" right about now. See, my home page is what loads when I start Firefox. And on this page I have a little scene that changes depending on what time of day it is. It features a cute little fox and his other animal friends. Some of my favorite scenes are at night (like the fireflies). But one of my favorites (that I only see if I actually get up in the morning) is the little rooster. He's cute. And he makes me happy!

However, the sleepiness has caught up with me (had trouble falling asleep again last night, and was also woken by a purring furry thing (of the Lily variety) on several occasions). So after I finish this post my plan is to start the roast, walk over to a neighbor's to borrow their phone (so I can call the missionaries and let them know that yes, we still plan on feeding them), and head back to bed for some serious napping.

I interrupt this post for a quick complaint: I HATE THAT MSG IS IN ALMOST EVERY STINKIN' THING FROM THE GROCERY STORE! I'm not even sure why Canada and the US allow that trash in our food to begin with. But I'm finding more and more that when I check the ingredient lists there it is, lurking. And does the government require that it be clearly labelled as what it is? No. No, they do not. Just because the ingredients don't say "monosodium glutamate" does not mean your food item is MSG free. See here and here to know what I'm talking about. Just this morning I discovered it's in my veggie builloin cubes. I've also seen it in cheese nips, just about every canned soup known to man, and salad dressing for goodness sake! So keep your eyes open.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled post.

My home-made tortillas were a big hit with Adam last night. I made over a dozen of them but between our chicken salad wraps last night, Adam taking left-overs for wraps in his lunch, and me having them slathered with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar they're all gone. I'm happy as a clam about how much Adam liked them. He may never want store-bought again. And he didn't even get to try them while they were still warm! Some day I'll have to try making corn tortillas (but right now we have no corn meal).

And now I have to get going or my roast won't be done in time for dinner!

(Just FYI Pomp & Circumstance was not actually played at Adam's graduation today...quite frankly I think my HS graduation was fancier/more dignified. Oh well. I guess if we wanted dignified we should have gone to the big devotional yesterday.)

Adam's graduation ceremony begins in less than an hour! I'll post pictures later! I'm so proud/excited/relieved!