Adventure Is Out There

You know, its shocking how personal wins and losses feel for a fan. I am glad we made it to the Sweet 16, but find myself to be in an emotional funk without any clue as to how to cope with my disappointment of not progressing to the Elite 8. Who do I think I am kidding? Why do I feel entitled to the win? Do I work out endlessly on the court with the boys in jerseys? Is my name or face going to be attached to errors during the game? Have I gone to more than 2 games this season? These are all rhetorical questions of course. I'll move on. The sun is teasing us here in Provo. Threatening to come out and warm us with it's effulgent rays, then it hides again. In the space of several hours you can be sweating in your car and then walking up a hill in snow. Leave it to Poo-tah. I'm also SO done with school. Not literally, or figuratively even... just mentally. After all these years of education I think my brain is finally filled to capacity. No more room, sorry finals.

Its been ages, but I feel like I have a legitimate list of excuses as to why I've waited so long to post. To put it simply: I've been swamped. With lots of trial and error I've fallen into a groove that I can roll with. School. Church. Gym. Family. Social. Me time. (Unfortunately I cannot say- 'not in this particular order'... because I think this is pretty close to the truth) A little anecdote to prove my point? Okay. So my father loves my mother VERY much. As they came closer and closer to becoming empty-nesters, Bob made sure each child understood that flying the coop was a permanent maneuver. No more than one phone call to mommy a week. Think independently. Solve your own problems. I followed this outline the best I could. However, with recent demands on my time the phone calls to my mother have been increasingly difficult to make. I got out of a fireside last night and saw a voice mail from my mom. My only thoughts- "busted." I listen to the voice mai...

I don't have a whole lot to report, other than the results of the tie-dye and progress of the quilt. I feel like a proud parent, I'm pretty sure its almost the same thing. Kate Peterson and I looked up how to do advanced tie-dying...custom heart design courtesy of google.com At this point its just 60" x 60"... the plan as of right now is to end up with a 90" x 90" That's all for now. Thanks for following!

Literally. Like, my hands have been not only dyed, but Tie-Dyed. An entire myriad of colors. Our activities committee planned an evening of Tie-Dying for the ward. We all brought various white items (including aprons, ball caps, tee-shirts, sweat bands, etc) and we made them technicolor! It was a blast, but left most of us looking like we either were horribly bruised or victims of severe frost bite. I was asked to demonstrate for the entire group and thus was exposed to the most pigment, because I was asked to help several others once I had finished my two projects. It turned out to be a great activity. Kudos to Eric and Jen for planning it. I also spent the afternoon looking up coupons and discounts for fabric to begin my fabulous quilt project. After scrounging up a 50% off one cut of fabric and an overall 15% off entire purchase discount, I left Joann's $34 richer than I should have. The fabrics and general layout are depicted below. More details will be documented as the projec...

The first half of my summer was spent in lecture halls and labs for 9 hours a day, wracking my brain over complex concepts involving intracellular membranes and genetic disorders. I promised myself a trip involving lots of sun, frivolous reading, friends, laughter, and as much family as possible. I spent time in Arizona, Idaho, Arizona again, and California. It was lovely. Simply lovely. A few gems: Annie and I floated the Salt River, and I just so happened to come face to face with a 4 foot long snake swimming right at my face. I also taught Jessica's kids the importance of using Reese's peanut butter cups in place of Hershey's bars when making s'mores. And while laying around on the beaches of San Diego I didn't read a single book that I swore I would. Now I'm back in Utah, trying my best to NOT make plans and enjoy this time to be still . A few projects for my wide-open summer, in no particular order: Make a queen sized quilt. This is obviously just a ...

So, as you all may very well know... Utah has had the absolute most depressing weather during Spring months. And if you ask me, it had no business dishing out such miserable conditions. I would normally decide to be angry and hold a grudge, but after a day like today, its hard to be mad at all. Basically I've had an ideal week. I *hopefully* coordinated my last Ward Home Evening on Monday. It was a huge success. I separated the kiddos into 3 groups and had them make newspaper floats for a mini FHE parade. The winners received cinnamon rolls... and the losers got homemade oreos and rock-hard snicker doodles. Exibit A: The treats This group decided to duplicate prom night... which always ends with your date kneeling down, and proposing? Its Tony Stark... in his infamous IronMan suit, with flames bursting out of his backside. My first guess: Trojan Horse. (In all actuality, they were aiming for a Swan... almost?) I have an insane gauntlet of classes this Spring and spend 10 hours in...

Now that we are safely into the month of February, the birthday wishes have finally died down. While I am so very grateful for the love expressed in all the Birthday wishes- it made me feel like a high maintenance weenie, to put it simply. Birthdays are special things. You get presents. Everyone is inexplicably kind. The sun shines a bit brighter. Your step has an extra bounce in it. You are at one with the universe. There is also the unique opportunity to reflect on the year. 21 was a fun, albeit rough, age for me. This next year I think I am going to take time for the little things I love. For example: I love bubble baths. As much as any toddler. I love Crest White Strips. My friend Taylor keeps telling me they won't make a difference on my teeth, but for some reason I smile more on days that I've worn them. So I continue on with my habit. Maybe its because I never got to wear braces or retainers, so for 20 minutes a day I get to pretend like I am an awkward preteen. I lov...