Papers

I am not fond of writing essays.  I can, and I have plenty of opinions to spout, but it's been so long since my AP Lang class that I spend the whole time fretting about how badly I'm writing it... or just not writing it.  Hmm, that doesn't work out so well.  I've actually done ok with the procrastination vs homework war so far, although my memory is proving to be just as bad of an enemy.  Use my planner? Good idea, now where did I leave that...

Classes are pretty good so far.  I love economics of geography, even though it has the most homework so far.  I love econ in any form, so I can forgive the details :).  Biology... well, I think molecular biology is pretty neat, genetics are fun, and organisms are interesting so what is my class about? Evolution and sustainability.  I wish I was joking.  I tried to drop it, but turns out it's required for my major, so I guess I get to suffer through it.  Sigh.  Linguistics is pretty interesting so far.  I was warned about the teacher, but so far it hasn't been bad at all.  She has some different viewpoints, but I think it's kind of fun to challenge the conventional wisdom about language.  Drawing class is incredibly intimidating.  I am somewhat of a perfectionist, so drawing large objects for a grade is more than a little stressful.  Lets just say my first graded drawing took me two and a half hours to finish, and at that point I may not have been satisfied, but I was DONE.

In other news, living here has been tons of fun, and I love love love having my own kitchen :).  I've been cooking almost every day, and kinda wish the store was closer :).  My roommates are awesome, and I think this will be a fabulous year.  I do miss everyone in Sweet Home (and a few in Corvallis/Bend) but I really am enjoying myself here.

Ok, time to finish my paper ;)

Solitary Confinement

  As a result of the extremely contagious "Saginaw Sadness" as Larry calls it, I can't be around people until Thur night/Fri... Sigh.  It's been interesting to be upstairs for three days straight, but sadly, I haven't actually gotten as much done as I thought I would.  In fact, I haven't cleaned my room, finished my sewing projects, or even unpacked.  Hmm, I don't seem to have learned have I.  I did reread Pride and Prejudice for the 100th time though! And catch up on blogs (without bringing mine up-to-date, that will have to come later), talk on the phone for hours, waste time on Facebook, and crochet a hat :)
  Hopefully I will get to go to Boring  2 for the weekend... I won't be contagious anymore!!! Wahoo, I'm psyched.

July

I've still got two more days before I completely miss posting in July, so hopefully I finish this tonight.  I have had an incredible month, starting with a trip to Cali to see Grandma and some well-loved family members of mine.

 

Taking the train down.  I think it's the first time it's actually been on time, and we got there early!

 

My "burger" at an awesome place in Roseville where we got to customize everything.

 

It's the attack of the crochet club! This is in front of a yarn shop, and apparently appeared overnight.  Go yarn bombers! :)

 

Mom in front of her favorite roses :)

 

 Fireworks in Sacramento at the mall.  The traffic was so bad Mom and I got out and walked around for a while, but they were pretty :)

 

Ben's awesome "bear den." Berkley is pretty neat, and has awesome food on every corner, but I don't think I could live there.

 

What the start of every meal looked like- "Quick, take a picture!" Haha

 See!  See!

 

What we did on looooong car rides...

 When we weren't being a little crazy ;)

Cute :)

 Really yummy, especially the asparagus.

 A fun visit to Auntie June's :)

 Mmmm

 I want more!!!

 And my latest project (no, I didn't make it, I'm just fixing it)

  Oh, and I don't have any pictures, but my room has a lot more floorspace than it did.  When Mom and Dad (and Lara) were here they helped me move a lot of my stuff over to Monmouth, and then we took apart one of the beds.  It's yet to be seen if I can keep it uncluttered now, but it's been nice to be able to move.  I sure does seem empty around here though :-/

  The Oregon Jamboree is this weekend, so cops and crazy drivers everywhere in this normally sleepy corner of the universe.  I'm not going, but I did some volunteering at the craft fair, and so got to witness some of the madness first hand.  And now preps tomorrow, and Saginaw coming up fast!

 And a couple more:
-smacked myself with a hammer for the first time
-bought a doll house
-tried (and loved) gellatto
-ate a lot of frozen yogurt
-played volleyball in 90+ degree weather
- locked my keys in the truck (and had an awesome conversation with a random stranger while waiting for grandma to rescue me)
- learned to sing alto an octave up
- decided to learn to play the piano
- registered for too many classes (Ahhhh!) haha
- I can't think of anything else

I'll try to update a little more frequently this month, and hopefully even eloquently or something ;)

Happy Mom? Haha

My month in pictures

Right now I ought to be packing, cleaning, preparing, and sleeping- in that order in fact.  What am I actually doing? Procrastinating on my computer... sigh.  Well. I suppose something had to induce me to blog again.  Rather a lot has happened since my last post, but you'll just get a few highlights ;)

 

A couple drawings I've done for kids at the club (Ones I remembered to take pictures of that is)

Grandma and I at the strawberry festival

It's a Mila! :)

Yummy pigs in a blanket for a potluck

What I did with the extra dough... so unhealthy but oh so yummy :)

Driving to Mt Ranch- the Dutch Bros was a must ;)

 Tips for assembling one of the yummiest desserts ever:

Start with amazing strawberries, washed and blotted.

 

Slice them up your favorite way.

 Pile them around a thick slice of angel food cake.

 Drizzle with heavy cream... or whipped cream if that's what you like.

Sugar and drizzles of chocolate would be nice too, but this is fast and simple.

 Oh yeah, and delicious :)

The "display" wall of my room, can you tell I work with kids? (and am a kid at heart ;)

And my latest project... teaching myself to crochet.  It's fun! :)

Next up, last day of school tomorrow! The kids are crazy! I'd like to run and hide, but I don't want to miss saying goodbye :)
Oh, and Parma, thence "should be packing"
Sigh
Ps- The pictures aren't in chronological order, except the strawberry picts :)

Partly Cloudy

  Have you ever felt like crying, but not been sure why? I did today, and I'm still not sure why.  It was silly, because even though there were some disappointments, I had a truly lovely day.  This morning I got up at an unreasonably early hour and drove to Monmouth for the transfer student registration.  I even got there early, because there was no traffic at all and it wasn't rainy.  The talks were very helpful and informative, and there was an impressive amount of one-on-one help for registration etc.  I'm all registered for classes (although I might be tweaking  my schedule a bit) and it seems I'll have a pretty light load.  Afterwards, I found some cute things a mall, and retrieved a Craigslist purchase.  Well, I picked it up, getting it home was another matter.  You see, a bought a bookcase from a nice lady who is moving to Florida, but I didn't remember to bring anything to secure it in the truck, and it was threatening to rain.  I did eventually manage to wedge it in the cab, but it made for an interesting drive home :)

Things that didn't work out:
1. My cookies- no clue what I did wrong, but they weren't any good
2. The second half of the registration fair- I got delayed, and missed it completely
3. Hanging out- no one was around (and no kitten)
4. The purchase- I managed to not have exact change, and had to drive to the nearest store.

Things that did:
1. I drove all around and didn't get truly lost once! (even if I wasn't always quite sure where I was)
2. I got registered
3. I did find some adorable things
4. I met some really nice people
5. I have friends and family who love me
6. I have a Father who keeps me through everything in life- good and bad, up and down, and I can always lean on Him :)

Looking forward to meeting tomorrow :)

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations 

also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience

Rom 5:3

But let patience have her perfect work, 

that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing

James 1:4

So Buzzzzzzzz.....

  Sigh, I can't quite decide if I like working this much or not. On one hand, it means money to travel this summer, and start school in the fall.  On the other, it means I'm tired, and miss out on privileges I really enjoyed.  I miss going swimming with the Garret cuties in the morning, and miss my kids at Foster.
  I am getting a lot of new privileges though.  I've subbed 7 days in the last three weeks, and met about a hundred new students (don't ask me how many names I've actually remembered though). Just Monday I got a reminder of how many lives we touch, without even realizing.  A girl came up to me at the club, and told me that I was her little sister's idol, and that she had been very upset because she was sick that day, and couldn't come.  The little sister had spent Friday with me, and because there weren't many kids we played Mancala (we tied), trivia games, and just talked.  I had no idea how much it had meant to her, but it kinda made my job seem more meaningful :)

On a side note: I finally finished my application! Now to find time to send it.
But more importantly, bed- morning comes very early :P

Lazing in sunshine

  There's nothing nicer than the smell of fresh mown grass and sunshine, well, almost nothing.  Summer is approaching, and the days are getting warmer, sunnier, and just plain better.  Tuesday I had a two hour break between subbing and my third job of the day, and spent it sprawled in the bed of my truck, reading in the sunshine.  It was glorious :)
  This was my first week working in the actual Boys and Girls Club, and it worked out pretty well.  I'm in charge of Power Hour/the homework room, so it's much less stressful than the chaos of the games room...
Eeew, spider on my bedside table!!!
Dead spider in my trash can...
Now back to our regularly scheduled program :)

  Um, I went and visited Grandma and various friends and family in California during my spring break.  It was fun, and relaxing, and just wonderful in general.  It was windy and rainy all but two days while I was there, but I spent those two days at the pool, so that makes everything better :)
  Last week I did my own taxes for the very first time, and decided that I <3 Turbo Tax, it's amazing! I'm currently working on applying... still... I know, but I'm getting closer!  I also worked three jobs most of this week, so I haven't been lazy, just tired.  Oh, and the best part of switching locations *sarcastic applause* I'm not immune to the kids, and now I have a cold.  Yippee.

We also had a lovely visit the last couple days from Keith and Barbara on their way back to Alaska.  It was so nice to see them again.  I'm sure they'll be happy to be home, and their Wednesday meeting misses them :)

Life is busy, life is good, life is full of love and laughter, life is better because of friends and family, life is for eternity :)

In like a lion

I vaguely remember something about March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb.  I'm not so sure about that, but we've had our fair share of both types of days this month.  There were the days when I woke up to scenes like this

Sunlight streaming in my bedroom window

or wandered outside to see this

But then there were the other days, the days where the rain seemed unending, and the cold leaden sky gave no hints of spring's approach.  On those days a cozy fire to curl up in front of, a cup of tea, and a good book make all the difference.

(sorry abt the quality)

And then there was yesterday.  I woke up from my between meetings nap to the sight of the huge old oak in front of the house WHIPPING back and forth in the wind.  The wind was so strong it blew down trees and power lines all over the state, and left it littered with plant matter.  Entire cities were out of power, and in fact, I heard about 70,000 houses total lost power in the storm.  Our power was out for about 16 hours, and unfortunately since we are on a well, we didn't have running water either.  I feel bad for the power companies, they must have had a horrid time of it, and I think they still are having trouble, because the lights flickered a few times tonight.

Anyways, I finally did an update with pictures, and now I shall retire to bed feeling accomplished ;)

I guess some things we don't grow out of

  Things like making crazy long packing lists every time I'll be gone more than a couple of days.  I'm currently "packing" to go to Cali for spring break and see my grandma and cousins and all.  I can't wait, but I am a bit disappointed by the weather forecast.  I mean, really!?! Rain, rain, more rain, and temps barely higher than here.  Sigh, oh well, It's not like I'm going for the weather :)

  Another thing I haven't grown out of... MOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! Haha, I woke up really sick on Thursday, and that was my first instinct.  Actually, come to think of it, I called her a lot that day, poor mom.  It's not just getting sick either, can't figure out my taxes? Call mom.  Something goes wrong? Call mom. :) I think we talk as much or more now than we did when I lived at home, and I for one am enjoying it thoroughly.  I kinda hope this is one that I don't grow out of. <3

  The fact that I'm writing this instead of packing or sleeping like I ought to be is ample proof of the third thing.  Now this one I wouldn't mind growing out of, but it doesn't seem to want to happen any time soon.  Oh well, I guess I can't have everything.

Bragging

  I'm so proud of my little sister!  My older sister and I have always struggled with procrastination, and its been a trial both in and out of school.  The latest of our family to join Dad at the high school, however, is experiencing none of these difficulties.  This morning she asked me for help on an essay... an essay that isn't due for a month.  She'd already done her other homework, because she gets up early on Saturday morning to work on it.  Wow, I wish I'd done that... maybe I can learn to be as responsible as a 15 year old :).  She also just came in second at state for declamation, at STATE! This is the girl who doesn't like talking in front of people, and now she can't wait to do it again next year.  I am SO impressed :)

Growing up, a little

I'm feeling accomplished today, I knocked several things off my to-do list that I'd been avoiding :)

Call Western
Buy tickets
Return library books

Now only these left:
Do taxes
Clean Room
Write up week
Finish various sewing projects
etc... still daunting :P

  I would also love to actually get eight hours of sleep, but something tells me these are mutually exclusive goals. I must be getting old, I'm starting to reminisce about how easy life used to be, and wish I'd realized the value of naps ;)

  You know, I realized yesterday that it was my first valentines day since I started dating that I'd been single.  It was fun to work at the school, and remember the years where valentines day meant a sack full of candy and a passel of "best friends." The dread of giving a card to that one kid you never liked, and the tingling excitement of giving an extra-special card to the cute guy who sits near you, hoping he notices, but being scared he will at the same time. It was all so simple then, but of course, not to us :).  I guess it's still simple though- love from friends and family... and LOTS of chocolate ;)

Weary

  Tonight, I'm the sort of tired that makes coming up with a unique title more work than it's worth.  I worked the games room at BGC for the first time today, and even though it's only 3 hours it wore me out.  Seems to be a theme lately really- always tired by the end of the day, but dealing with kids that are out of control makes it that much worse :-/
  On the plus side, I made plans for spring break... Cali! I'm taking the train down at the end of March to stay with Grandma F for a week, and see my cousins and all. I'm really looking forward to it :).  Oh, and I drove the white truck for the first time today, it takes some getting used to, but I like it.  Jealous yet Amanda? ;)

A semi-productive existence

There are a lot of things in life that I enjoy having done, rather than doing.  Work for one, and exercise.  In the past two weeks I've done a lot more avoiding of aforementioned items than actually doing them, but yesterday I finally buckled down, and am very happy I did.  I am now caught up with my lesson reviews (supposed to be a weekly report of how each lesson went etc), and have planned my lessons up to the middle of March...Yay!!! There possibly was a victory dance involved.  I have also started taking walks on the farm- rain or shine they are surprisingly enjoyable :)

I also got caught up with organizing my photos.  If you haven't yet seen the rest of my trip photos (I even captioned them on Facebook) these are a few from Alaska:

Lara's birthday dinner- A scrumptious prime rib roast

Special meetings are over now, and I had the privilege of getting to three- Lebanon, West Albany, and Medford.  I am especially appreciative of the Nelsons and the Garretts who gave me rides and house-room so that I could get to more special meetings, and to a workers lunch :).  It's been a very special two weeks.

Right before winter break, I finally got a library card, and it came while I was gone.  I checked out a bunch of books online the very first day, and then promptly lost my card.  I was so disappointed that I even cleaned my room twice in an effort to find it.  Imagine my excitement when I moved my bed on Monday, and realized it had merely fallen behind the dresser- I even had the day off! I was about to go rushing off to the library when I remembered... I had the day off because it was MLK day, MLK day is a national holiday, ergo, the library wasn't open... sigh.  I have to admit I moped for awhile, but then remembered that I had something fun to do after all.  While I was in Medford last weekend, Shelley and I went shopping and I found the awesomest 3-D puzzle of the Tower Bridge in London.  So I spend an enjoyable day putting it together, and finishing a book I bought the weekend before in Corvallis.

The finished product

<3

And as reward for my productivity this week, I've promised myself a trip to the library on Friday! Yippee!!! :D

Havaii

No, that's not a spelling error, that's the traditional pronunciation of "Hawaii." Due to a pronounced lack of letters in the original alphabet taught to Hawaiians, however, it is spelled with a w not a v.  You learn something new every day- including that if you want to teach 7-12 year-olds to hula, it's best to start with the hand motions, and forget about the feet.  Today was my first day back-to-work after an amazing two week vacation, and I discovered something.  Teachers don't want to come back anymore than the students do! Seriously, waking up at 6 this morning was brutal.  I still love my job, it'll just take me a little while to get my act together again :)
  Speaking of vacation, Hawaii was AMAZING.  I could happily move there, just give me a reason :).  It was warm, and sunny, and I even got used to the humidity.  It was also beautiful, and relaxing, and beautiful, and sunny, and warm, and... sigh, I miss it dreadfully already.  To keep this from becoming a blow-by-blow account of my incredible trip, I shall instead post a plethora of pictures