Spinster in Training

Some History. . .

Nothing about black Friday shopping has ever appealed to me.  Nothing.  You brave mobs of people, and wait in super long lines just to get mediocre deals on things you'll probably end up with buyers remorse for anyway, and which you probably wouldn't have decided you needed if it hadn't been for the brainwashing ads in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.  People literally lose their sanity on Black Friday.  I can say this as one who worked three years of retail. . . Three years of being the one on the other side of the doors when they open and the crowds rush in.  People ARE crazy!  This year however, I broke with tradition.  My immediate family was all in town for Thanksgiving along with my grandmother and an Aunt and her family.  A few of us. . my mom, a sister, my Aunt and I decided we were going to do a small amount of shopping. 

So, to the point. . .

Fortunately, we were all in agreement as to what kind of Black Friday shopping we wanted to do, and were able to do it all in a little shop in a back yard in a remote area of Riverton.  My purchase, for which I will never have buyers remorse, was two balls of the most beautiful, brilliant, royal purple, luscious llama, lace weight yarn I have ever seen.  It was essentially love at first sight.  ( In addition, I have recently settled on a scarf pattern for it which will be absolutely exquisite. )  Due to end of the semester projects, papers, and finals, this prized purchase had for several weeks, sat atop the mantle begging fondling hands of attention (of which it was not lacking).  However, a few days ago, with classes ended, and atrociously cold weather outside, I decided that it was time to do some cleaning, and finally find my purchase a home with the rest of my stash. 

The stash- As any yarn junkie could tell you, finding a home for a fresh purchase of yarn is no easy feat.  It of course requires, a complete inventory, and reorganization of the entire stash (I'll admit that this may no longer be possible for those with a larger stash than my own, but as my stash is still comparably small, for me this is always a requirement.).  The memory of projects longs finished, the excitement of hibernating projects waiting to be revived.  Yarns just waiting for the perfect pattern. my stash is like a year book. . . chronicling my life of knitting, and my much more infantile life of spinning.  As I was going through my stash, a number of things occurred to me.

1.  I'm pretty sure that my stash of yarn is enough that it would scare away any eligible young man who might be interested in me.  not that there are any. . . but if there were, it would.  Although I am highly allergic and lack a fondness for cats, my knitting habits likely place me well on the path to spinsterhood. 

2.  My yarn stash is the most valuable thing I own.  This is definitely true in terms of assets, and very nearly true in terms of personal value ( the only possible rival being, of course, my fire truck collection). 

3.  If my house were to ever be robbed, my most valuable items are likely safe since I have a hard time imagining a thief who would think of yarn as a valuable worth stealing. 

4.  After the organization of my yarn stash, I have discovered that the tub in which the majority of my stash is located is significantly less full than it could be.  This of course means that I am in need of some more additions to the stash.  As I have no yet achieved SELE (Stash Exceeds Life Expectancy), some new additions are definitely on my list of necessary things once I have found myself a real job. 


On that note- I have some knitting to do. 

PS.  Since I am currently working on one of my dream projects- The Aran Sampler afghan by Melissa Leapman (see below photo), I have decided I need a new dream project, and I have decided on a designer from whose patterns to choose.  

 

I, and many knitters I know view Herbert Niebling's patterns as some of the most intricate, and beautiful patterns ever created.  I believe that along with Shetland lace, they represent the pinnacle of lace knitting.  See THIS link for a sample pattern.  Someday. . .  I plan to be able to say that I have knit a Niebling!

PPS.  I have my camera back, but my new yarn and stash are in Utah, and I am currently in Ca, so again. . . sorry about the lack of pictures.  I know everyone would have loved pictures of all my yarn. . . Or something like that.

Happy Birthday Little One

It's not every day that your baby sister turns 22.  I remember 22.  It was a pretty good year.  My guess is that your 22 will be very different than my 22.  I hope that you have some high hopes, and some big plans for the upcoming year.  Maybe I'll finally convince you to go skydiving with me or something.  Unlikely, but possible. 

I wanted to celebrate the occasion, but apparently you did too, and understandably, your uncool older sister/roommate came in below friends and boyfriend on the list of people to party with on your birthday, so I thought I'd document the celebration for you. 

I even took pictures:



Since our family has never really been great at celebrating birthdays I didn't know exactly what to do, so I bought you a cake and I put candles on it for you. 

Since you weren't here, and I didn't want the candles burning the house down, or ruining perfectly good angel food cake, I had to blow them out for you.  Don't worry, I mentally sang you happy birthday.  I did it mentally for several reasons, first, since you weren't here, I figured I might as well sing it in my head where it sounds better than out loud where I would be reminded of my terrible singing skills.  Second, I didn't want to kill the neighbors with said singing skills, and finally because I thought my thoughts would travel faster to you than singing out loud. 

It seemed wrong to sing happy birthday and blow out candles and not eat cake.  Since you weren't here to eat it yourself, I helped myself.  It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

I ended the celebration by watching a few episodes of our TV show.

It was a great birthday celebration.  I only wish you could have been here for it.

With Love,

Your Older Sister

Anywhere in the World

I've recently had a thought.  This semester is in rapid descent.  The middle of the semester somehow came and went without my even noticing.  The middle of my LAST semester as an undergrad.  I think we're down to something like 5 weeks left of classes.  Five weeks of mind numbing lectures and ulcer producing papers.  And then finals.  My last five finals.  The end of sitting for hours on end in the testing center, searching out the best seat (because we all know that the seat one chooses in the testing center is the biggest factor in how well one does on their test).  No more driving to Provo for classes.  No more spending hours and hours in the Smith Fieldhouse.  No more papers.  No more assignments.  No more laps in the RB pool.  I was thinking about all these things, and how strange it would be. 

And then it hit me. . . .

I COULD GO ANYWHERE!!

In all honesty though, the idea of ANYWHERE is a tad on the daunting side.  How do you choose something when your choices are ANYTHING?  All of a sudden the reality of the vastness of the world set in.  It's easy to forget sometimes when you live in Utah.  I'm pretty sure that six degrees of separation in Utah is really two.  Everyone knows someone somehow.  It's actually kind of creepy sometimes. 

I've always liked the idea of taking a map, throwing a dart at it and moving where ever the dart ends up.  I still may do this, however, there are some things that are must haves as far as the place that I end up, so I sat down and started to make a list of the most important things.  Here is my list so far:

1.  Red Fire Trucks

Beauty isn't it?  I may or may not have been guilty of firetruck chasing on the day this picture was taken.

So my friends, in an effort to narrow the scope of ANYWHERE just a little, I ask you, what color are the fire trucks where you live? 

Dear Henry

Dear Henry,

I want to start by apologizing for the trauma you were forced to endure this week.  I don't know if officially becoming a Utahn is more or less painful than becoming an official Californian as I have yet to do the latter, but I can imagine the transition is not free of pain as there is now little to distinguish you from all the crazy native Utahns out there.  Just stay true to yourself.  Those of us closest to you know your proud roots. 

I know it in no way makes up for the trauma, but I do hope that you are appreciating the new gifts you also received this week.  it does seem that the new tires, and alignment adjustment have you in a better mood, as it has taken a lot of coaxing to convince you to that it's OK to drive under 75 miles an hour.  I know it's been a while since you've been able to drive so fast, but just so you know, I really can't afford a ticket for going 20 over in a work zone right now, so while I do want you to enjoy your new found health, could we try to keep the celebration within reasonable limits?   I respect your dream to be a great racer, but now is not the time to fulfill that dream. 

In other updates,  I've been working hard to find you a steering wheel cover before the sun completely eats the top of the steering wheel away, but I can't seem to find one with fire trucks on it.  We may have to just go with something simple, but as it's just now coming into winter, I think I have a few more months to look before giving up completely.  I also promise to continue working to untar your front end as soon as I am out of school and have some extra spare time on my hands.  It will happen, it's just a very time consuming process.  I have also been considering changing out your antenna topper, but haven't yet found anything suitable.  Would you like to take a trip to Disneyland sometime to see if we can find something there?  Perhaps sometime this spring?  Just let me know, and we'll add it to the schedule.

Sincerely,

Your Driver

I Love to See the Temple

I really do love to see the temple.I love that I live so close to a temple that I can nearly see it from my house.  But more than seeing the temple,  I love being inside the temple.  Six hours in the temple can turn any bad day in to a day of joy.  Two hours in the temple can generally do that too, I was just fortunate enough to be able to spend six hours there today, and it was six hours that I greatly needed.  Six hours to refocus my thoughts and feelings on what really matters.  There are few worldly experiences that can come close to comparing with the peace and serenity found in temples.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had when I was younger, to live relatively far from a temple.  Until I was 12, our nearest temple was in Mesa Arizona, a 7 hour drive from home.  Not too far, but not exactly close either.  I fondly remember the biannual ward temple trips.  Although I was too young to attend the temple at this time of my life, I am grateful for the opportunity that I had to come to understand the importance.  No matter the cost, no matter the circumstances at the time, the sacrifice was always made.  The car was always packed, and the trip made.

I am equally grateful for the chance I have now as an adult to live in a place where temples are seemingly everywhere around.  I can see 5 in a normal days commute, and a 4 mile jog can take me up and around the one just up the hill from where I live.  I could go to a different temple every day of the week without ever traveling more than an hour.  I am so so so blessed with such an opportunity to learn and take part in such a wonderful part of the gospel.

I also had the chance today to follow a session where a future missionary was coming for the first time, which has me thinking a lot about missionary work, and the exciting changes that are taking place.  To think that in another year, there could be more than 100,000 missionaries out!!  In some ways I wish that I could go again.  The hubbub from the recent announcement I daresay has many a passionate return missionary in the throws of nostalgia.  I feel like I know so much more about how to be a good missionary than I did when I was a missionary.  I know the gospel better, I have a more sure testimony, and I better understand people and how drastically the gospel changes lives.  Of course, that is the point. . . to keep growing and learning, and applying the things we keep learning.  Just moving forward with faith, and learning to enjoy every step of the journey one day at a time!

Since I seem to be on a Mormon Messages kick lately, and since I still seem to be incapable of taking pictures (in all fairness, my camera is still in my mother's car in California, and my phone is on deaths door step). . .

Those of you who can- find time to go to the temple this week.  For those who can't, find yourself a refuge from the world somewhere (in the mountains, in a quiet place, it doesn't really matter where) for an hour or two.  I promise, whether your life be perfect, great, good, bad or terrible, it will improve it!

Fall Delights

I know that this is from last conference, but it was so good, and a concept I am really trying to focus on obtaining an understanding of in my own life.  Too often I am the little currant bush trying to be a shade tree. . . or perhaps anything that is not a currant bush. 

Conference this last weekend was absolutely supreme!  Too many of the talks were too touching to post them all on here, I'd have to post all 10 hours of conference.  Not that I don't recommend watching all ten hours to anyone and everyone, but no one comes to my blog for that.  I did especially enjoy President Eyring's talk, so I suppose that if I were to recommend just one talk to watch again soon, it might be that one, but ask in ten minutes and I might change my mind. 

On another happy note, to all my New Mexico stalkers, Happy Balloon Fiesta!  I dearly miss waking up on crisp October mornings to the sound of balloons above my house, getting up insanely early in the morning to make the journey to the field before the sun is even a thought on the horizon.  Warming my fingers on a cup of hot chocolate as the first rays of light slink over the horizon, and the balloon trucks show up one by one.  The bustle of ballooners making ready, and the roar of the fans as the balloons start to life.  The roar of the crowd's approval when the wind test determines that the balloons will indeed go up. Hundreds of balloons on the horizon in any direction you look.  And of course, the ever present smell of chile roasting through the city.   I hope you all go and enjoy it and take lots of pictures so I can ogle over them in extreme jealousy.  (Video below for those who have never had the joyous occasion of this wonderful occasion).

HAPPY OCTOBER!

A Tribute to Three Gentlemen

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:

It goes on.

-Robert Frost

In many ways, this summarizes how I felt this summer.  The assault of challenges and ailments seemed at times relentless and without end.  Between immobilizing back pain, taking care of friends, mono, the painful reality of **Scumbag's wedding, and several other events, my reserve tank frequently hit empty.  Fortunately, my life this summer was also blessed by the presence of three gentlemen.  (Yes, feel free to double check that number, but I assure you that you read correctly.)  Contrary to popular belief, gentlemen do still exist, and perhaps are not even that scarce.  These three gentlemen each played a beneficial role in my life, and thus this blog stands as tribute of my appreciation.  With the help of these three men, a summer that otherwise may have been one of the worst of my young adult life, will in all likelihood be remembered as one of the hardest, but most rewarding and fulfilling of any summer.  Perhaps most astounding; many of the circumstances were completely or mostly unknown to these men at the times of their greatest assistance. As summer draws to a close, and some major hurdles cleared, I felt it appropriate to dedicate some time to express my gratitude. 

In some ways, perhaps this blog is a cheat way of expressing my gratitude.  I am about 85% sure that not one of these three gentlemen have ever, or will ever read my blog.  It's getting harder to determine though as I gather a larger crowd of blog stalkers from various locations.  I am also fairly positive that if they were to read it, they would all be in denial about to whom I am referring.  Despite this, I feel this is the best way for me to vocalize (in a manner of speaking) my thanks.  I have tried verbally, but I always come up short, and none seem to truly believe they have been so influential. Since I know I will never see at least one of them again, at least this will immortalize the impact they have had.  So, without further ado. . . a special thanks to each individually.

Sir Pres:   Sir Pres has set an exceptional standard for home teaching.  It will take an outstanding and dedicated home teacher to equal his example in the future.  Poor Sir, was my home teacher by default, but he understood the real importance of home teaching.  He put up with my bizarre requests, and I feel we gained a genuine friendship over the course of the summer.  I know I can always count on him for valuable insight and wisdom, as well as to keep a level head. 

Sir Teres:  Oddly, Sir Teres was probably the most helpful gentleman this summer, and he would probably be least likely of these three to believe so.  Unfortunately, I will never see him again, and will never have the chance to return the favor.  It is hard to describe exactly even how his friendship was so beneficial to me this summer.  I think the closest I can come is to say that he created a simple environment of fun.  I often feel like the "fun" side of me spends a lot of time buried, and somehow Sir Teres had a gift of pulling that side of me out and magnifying it.  The gentleman tolerated my banter, and threw it back at me.  There were parts of myself that I'd almost forgotten existed, things I'd forgotten that I enjoyed doing, characteristics I'd kept buried for such a long time.  There is no way that I could ever thank him, and he would never believe or accept the thanks.  Regardless, I am grateful, and hope he can understand in at least a miniscule bit, how much I am grateful for our few weeks of friendship.

Sir C:  I've known Sir C for a while.  We first met last fall when I was trying to figure things out with the Scumbag, but had almost no contact with him again until about a month ago.  Again, Sir C probably has no idea how grateful I've been for his help, but I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the last month without his support and understanding of the circumstances.  It has been so helpful to have someone who has had similar experiences and can give empathetic encouragement.  The encouragement as well as the friendly invites to help get me involved again have been just what I needed. 

To these three men, and all the gentlemen out there, I offer my sincere gratitude.  I also offer encouragement to continue being gentlemen.  Believe it or not, it is noticed and appreciated by many of us of the female gender. 

**Please note, especially to all the new blog stalkers I've picked up the last month or so- Scumbag is a name given years ago with the greatest love, and a name of which he has approved and responds.  It is not intended, nor is it to be used as a derogatory slander due to current situations.

My Second Weekend in September

Well, the second weekend of September has come, and I find myself sitting on a couch in the hallway of the Smith fieldhouse instead of camping in Yellowstone.  Yellowstone had been the winning option for my September weekend of freedom trip, but BYU brought my preparations to a screeching halt by improperly disbursing my financial aid.  So, my tuition is paid, my bank account is empty, a fatty check with my name on it is lost somewhere in the wonderful thing we call the mail system, and the fall colors of Yellowstone are a dream that must wait another year.. at least for me. 

So, it looks like I'm up for local options of ways to distract myself for the next few days.  I have an excess of time on my hands since I requested the days off of work, and an extra intense need to fill those extra hours with something.

In the mean time, I thought I'd dedicate this blog post to the reasons I will probably never date again.  This is a post I have been thinking about for a while, and this weekend seemed an appropriate time to organize those thoughts.  I even have a couple of pictures. . . *collective gasp here*  But don't get too excited, the pictures are few, and rather boring.

I actually have my mother's family to thank for planting the seed for this blog.  A few weeks ago, I traveled to Arizona to visit my grandparents and saw some of my Aunts and Uncles.  The next week another Aunt and Uncle came to visit here in Utah.  During this time spent with family, it seemed that various forms of a certain question were unavoidable.  Essentially, family's concern for my welfare boils down to this question: "Why are you not married yet?"  well, honestly, that is an easy question to answer.  Since typically marriage is preceded by dating, the simple answer is that I'm not married because I don't date.  Unfortunately, this seems to beg the question of why I don't date.  Well, with some help from others, I've compiled a list of possible reasons people have told me that I don't, and probably won't date.

Reason #1:  My Wardrobe
I have one aunt in particular (yes, you know who you are) who desperately aspires to help me improve my dating potential.  When I came home from my mission, she took me out shopping, and I came home with a bag full of hooker man-catcher shoes.  Since the first three pairs obviously haven't been doing their job, I received a fourth pair of man-catcher shoes on my latest visit to Arizona.  I now have a shelf in my closet that looks like this:

Did you know you are supposed to remove price tags from shoes?  This is a knowledge I gained just recently as a bridesmaid in a wedding.  But, I digress.  I hate to admit, but it is likely that the reason that the shoes have been unsuccessful at their intended purposes has little to do with the shoes themselves, or rather the reason has nothing to do with the above pictured shoes, but rather these:

The above pictured shoes are my daily wear shoes.  Note the Red arrow, or rather note the hole the red arrow is pointing to.  Pair these with a t-shirt, and a good pair of basketball shorts, and you have 70 % of my wardrobe. My other pair of daily wear shoes. . . for slightly cooler weather is a pair of old mission shoes.  Classy, yes I know. 

Reason #2:  An Uncle disagrees with the theory that the problem is my wardrobe is the problem, and instead insists that the problem is this:

I'm not sure any more explanation is needed here.

A friend's husband however disagrees, and believes that it is the combination of #1 and #2.  So...

Reason #3

BASKETBALL SHORTS + SPINNING WHEEL = DATE FREE LIFE

I guess there is something about the combination that is too much.  Men can handle one or the other, but not both?

Reason #4:  I am too independant

This is actually probably the number 1 or 2 reason that people tell me I don't date.  If I can do it on my own, I will do it on my own, and if I can't do it on my own, I'll probably do it on my own anyway, or at least try to.  I don't really have any problems doing things with people most of the time, but I'm not going to wait around for someone else if I want to do something.  I'm not sure exactly why this makes me undatable, but as I said, it is one of the more common things people tell me I should change if I want to date.

Finally,

Reason #5  Please see either this or this post for an explanation.  

Several men have told me that I am intimidating, or that I seem very cold.  Apparently being a "robot" can cause problems.  One has to portray a desire to date in order to date, and I'm not exactly sure how to portray that desire, and in all honestly, often times, I'm not sure even how to feel that desire.  

Anyway, I'm not sure  I agree or disagree with any of these reasons, I've just compiled the list.  Let me know if there is anything that needs to be added, and I'll be happy to expand.  

In the mean time, I hope that everyone has a great weekend!  I am going to go buy myself some ice cream and perhaps go on a hike.  

Time Is a Ticking, The World Is a Spinnin. . .

And I am still in need of a destination. . .

I am planning a celebratory trip for the second weekend of September.  I potentially have from the 5th to the 10th to spend anywhere I choose.  The problem is that I am having such a hard time deciding where to go.  I've had some great suggestions so far.  Some are on the table of consideration, and others have been nixed due to a lack of feasibility.  Unfortunately, nothing yet has stuck out as irresistibly desirable...

SO, the poll remains open, if you were to solo vacation for a weekend where would you go?  And, what would you do while there?  Or, if you live in a place worth vacationing to, tell me abut it.  Locations in Utah will probably be immediately withdrawn from consideration unless they are really really good options.  Likewise, locations in Arizona, and California will be considered, but would probably need a good deal of selling. 

I may update in a week or so with a list of places that have made it into the final round of possibilities. 

Brainstorm. . . Ready. . . .set. . . GO!

Dear Provo, It's been Swell

I sit here, and there is nothing to say, and yet, there is everything to say. I have not been this sad to leave a place in over 8 years (and I have left my fair share of places in the last 8 years), and yet, there is a part of me that feels that I am not moving far enough away.  For the first time in a long time, I was perfectly content to stay put, and now I have left... Sort of anyway.  I will have two classes down here in the fall, and my internship runs a few more weeks, but overall, the time has come to say good bye. 

Realizing that my time in Provo was coming to an end, and restless from spending most of the summer cooped up dealing with health and other issues, I've spent the last few weekends in a flurry of last minute fun.  I have been to Bear Lake, a ward camp out at Strawberry reservoir, and ended with the ultimate trip to Zion national park last weekend. As per usual, I have no pictures to share with y'all.  Perhaps I will see if I can get some from someone else.  It's unlikely that I will, but there may be hope for some of you picture people out there.  At least I know that there were some people more motivated to take pictures of everything than I was on the Zions trip. 

This last week has just been insanity, I completely moved out of my place in Provo on Monday, have have been pretty transient this last week.  Since it was the last week of classes, finals, graduation, and my internship and job were all down here, I actually have probably spent more time in Provo than up at the condo, but it has been ridiculous trying to live out of my car whilst all my belongings were 45 minutes up the road.  I said a lot of good byes.  Some of them permanent, some of them just temporary, but each a little difficult.  Some definitely more than others.

Someone (namely my mother) forced me to don this ridiculous attire, sit through a boring, though quick and to the point, graduation and shake a bunch of strangers hands so that I could get a cover that should eventually house my diploma.  I managed to avoid such foolery in high school by graduating early and leaving the state, and had hoped that by changing schools half a dozen times, and taking my time in finishing college, that she would forget the requirement, but alas, the motherly gauntlet was thrown down, and I Submitted myself to tradition. 

These pictures were graciously provided by my parents.  I actually had pictures taken with my own camera, but an unfortunate oversight ensured that the camera became a stowaway in my mothers car, and is now well on it's way back to the central valley.  OOPS! 

Well, I apologize for the boring post.  I am not feeling particularly witty today.   Perhaps my exploits in Arizona next week will provide some good fuel for something more interesting.  In the mean time, I just wanted to keep the Fam, and the few others who consistently read updated with something. 

Blogger Discrimination

Some back-reading may prove useful in understanding this post. . . This post would be a good place to start.


The other week I was reading my sister's blog, and found something I found worthy of comment.  Likely I planned to make some sort of sarcastic  remark.  It is hard to remember the details, but nonetheless, I clicked over to the comment page.  After carefully crafting a perfectly sarcastic, or perhaps adoring (my sister does have a new baby) comment, I scrolled down and found myself faced with one of these:

Oh the frustration!  I do not believe I have ever managed to successfully type one of these on first try.  Carefully, I examined the letters.  I methodically typed and compared, typed and compared.  When I was satisfied that my answer matched the wavy, blurry, indistinguishable text above, I triumphantly hit the "Publish your Comment" button at the bottom of the page.  Alas, when the page refreshed victory was not to be mine.  Determined not to be beaten by the computerI set out to try again, but this time, I became distracted by something which I had never before noticed, and which completely floored me. 

Well guys, I guess that the computer has me figured out.  Perhaps it had me figured out before I had me figured out, as those letter/number things have always bested me.  What I can't figure out, is why it is necessary for the computer to discriminate against other "robots."  My blog comment was never published.  I guess that I will never be able to prove my humanity to blogger, or to the rest of the world for that matter.  A friend sent me this picture a while back, and said she thought it was appropriate for me. 

If only I could count how many times I myself have asked this question.  I might be offended, but how can one be offended over the truth?

A Resurrection

I don't know that I have even thought about this blog in months.  I check my sister's blog for updates at least three times a day.  She doesn't update nearly that often, but stories of the crazy things my nephews do, or pictures of my new niece are always a bright spot in the day.  Since the idea of my own kids at this point seems so incomprehensible at this point in my life, I make do with reveling in the joys of just being Auntie Red.  On my sister's blog, I always scan the list of blogs she follows to see if any of the people I know have added updates.  I have watched as my blog has fallen from the top of the list of updated blogs, to the portion of the list that should be entitled DEAD blogs without much remorse.  It has been over a year since I posted anything genuine on this blog.  What a strange thing it was this afternoon to have the sudden desire to revisit this old dead blog. 

I spent some time going back and reading through old posts. . . Talk about a strange walk down memory lane.  Let us be honest, I have rarely updated this blog with much consistency, aside from the months leading up to, and then the letters home from my mission (if those even count, since my mother actually posted those).  However, the blogs also have provided an interesting view of me through time.  Perhaps not for anyone else, but for me.  Some things change.  Some things don't.  Sorry to admit it, but I still don't take pictures.  If anything, I take less pictures now than I did when I started this blog.

Other things change vastly.  Since starting this blog, much has happened in my life.  Much is on the verge of change.  My days in Provo are numbered, and the number is 9.  While I have had mixed feelings about Provo over the years, it has been the only place that has really been home since I was 16.  It is bitter sweet to be leaving.  It is time of course.  I finally found a ward I am comfortable with, I finally started to get to know people in my classes.  I am finally involved albeit slightly.  So, it is time.  Time to learn how to do it all over again. Aside from my mission, it has been a long time since I have been really sad to leave anywhere.   Perhaps it is this change that has prompted the sudden desire to resurrect the old blog.  Perhaps not.

Along with all this change, this summer has been an interesting and thought provoking one for me.  I started the summer diving into social activities with a vigor it might be safe to say I have NEVER experienced before. Then I spent a portion of my summer so busy I was lucky to get a night's sleep.  I slept where and when I could.  Then I got mono.  I'm still trying to figure that one out.  For the last three weeks I've slept when and where I can, but for a completely different reason.  I have had a lot of time to think and ponder the last few weeks, and perhaps- barring any major thinking blocks, I will share some of those thoughts here in the future. 

In the mean time, I just feel the need to express my gratitude for my Savior, for the hope of the Gospel, and for the wonderful people who daily make this challenging life a life of joy.  I am so blessed! This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. . .

Two Weeks In

The weather is still having troubles deciding if it's winter or spring. I have mixed feelings about this. . . I know we need the moisture. I am not particularly fond of drought. Drought brings forest fires which in turn bring lung issues, 8 months of coughing, and a whole slew of other health problems. If only we could get our moisture through rain instead of snow. . . maybe I should move to the Northwest coast. Why does winter have to be so cold? Too bad my blanket is still too small to be useful to protect against the winter that will inevitably come.

School is going full swing now. I took my first test today. . . in my lab that didn't meet the first week of class, over all the material that would have been covered in the first week of lab, and the material covered last week. . . at least I finally feel caught up in the class. Yes, I did spend the holiday yesterday in the lab studying. I am trying to actually put effort into being a student this semester. It is an interesting experience. I should have tried this sooner. . .

Sadly, my efforts to be a real student translates into the essential abandonment of my blanket. It has been sitting in the corner of my room virtually untouched since school started two weeks ago. Contrast: In the two weeks of break, I completed seven panels, and sewed six of them together, along with finishing up a lace scarf I was working on. In the two weeks since I've been back in school, I have completed 7 rows of one panel. Essentially one-tenth of one panel. At this rate, I'll long be an old lady before it is finished. Hopefully I will have more time in the upcoming weeks. I don't want my blanket to feel abandoned. . . though until I have a place of my own, it's not likely to get too much use even if it is finished (Yes, I am going to be selfish with my blanket). Since that is unlikely to happen for a few years, I guess it's alright that the blanket is going slowly right now. I still hope to finish it by the end of the summer. I don't have any pictures of them sewn together, but here are some teaser pictures:
PS. I'd be sorry for those bored by knitting pictures, but I am just proud of myself for having pictures to put up at all, and this is far more interesting than pictures of me studying would be.

Welcome Winter

I guess winter has finally decided to arrive. It snowed last night. I had been enjoying the nice spring time weather. Temperatures in the high 40's. Sunny days. . . It isn't very often that winter semester at BYU starts with people wearing shorts on campus and studying out on the grass. That is usually reserved for spring, summer and the beginning of fall semesters. Snow is over-hyped.

Dear Winter,
I hope you don't plan to stay too long.

Speaking of winter. . . winter semester started three days ago, and I kind of feel like I'm already three weeks behind. Maybe this will be the semester I learn how to actually study. I received an email on Wednesday afternoon that didn't really help the feelings of being behind:

Students,

The lab has started this week. Unfortunately you are already behind because the Tuesday classes missed the material this week.

Positive way to start the semester isn't it? This same class is also being dropped from everyone's schedule on Monday, so I have to go in and get it re-added. I guess they want to make sure only serious students take the class.

I have a feeling that the amount of time I'm able to commit to my dear blanket this semester will be severely less than I had planned for. I haven't touched it since Monday when I started sewing the pieces I have done together, so my hopes of having it completed by the end of the semester are fairly slim. I just hope it doesn't feel abandoned. I guess it wouldn't be my first project to feel that way. . . too bad I wasn't able to finish it prior to winter finally deciding to show up. It would be really nice to curl up in a nice, warm, Italian wool blanket to do my studying.