A dinner revelation

One of the things I've been wrestling with since we got married is meal prep. Once we got settled in our apartment, I started really wanting to be all wife-y and make dinner for the two of us each night. It happened a few times, sporadically, but never with planning ahead and main dishes and side dishes and stuff. It took until finals week for me to realize what my problem was. You're gonna laugh when you hear it, but...

Guys. Did you know that people get recipes from COOKBOOKS??

Seriously. I am ridiculous but I never had thought of that in the two months we'd been married! We got about 5 cookbooks as gifts and they were on the shelf in the kitchen, but in my head I just thought people got recipes from their ancestors (secretly and memorized) or from the interwebs. And my ancestors and I hadn't yet chatted, and we didn't have access to the interwebs at our apartment, and so...no recipes, duh. Which meant no dinner. 

It all became clear, though, when we went to watch the BYU basketball game with some friends at their apartment, and hostess Eryn made a delicious roasted red pepper dip, and I asked, "Wow, where'd you come up with this?" And she answered, "It's in my favorite cookbook!" 

I'm pretty sure my brain exploded in that moment. But I managed to put my jaw back in place and respond with something appropriate, all the while wondering what magical dips must be in the pages of my own cookbooks. 

So the next day I pulled out my Secret Recipes cookbook and put sticky notes on everything I wanted to try out, and we have since been working our way through them all. We've found a yummy kung pao chicken which converted me to the idea of peanut flavor for dinner and we've found a really nasty casserole which Joe was gracious enough to eat almost completely alone. This week's docket includes BBQ hamburgers (I think they'll be like sloppy joes) and taco salad (which is actually a bit of a cop out because I did already know that one, but whatev). 

Anyways, I am loving this. I never thought I'd say that about cooking, but I think what I love most about it is just the chance to learn new skills and see (taste?) instant applications. I feel like each meal I make gives me a new level of competence on some specific kitchen skill (or two or five), and that feels nice. It's like passing a level on Eggbert or something. (Eggbert? Anyone? Anyone know Eggbert?)

So if you're ever hungry, just holla at me. Cuz this girl now makes dinner.

#adults #broccoli

Picture!

This was Joe's Instagram of the first deliberate meal I made. We hadn't yet gone grocery shopping for our (my) new hobby, so I made the cookbook's "Fancy Tuna-Wiches" recipe since we already had all the ingredients. It was surprisingly delicious.

My two things

When we started actual wedding planning (by which I henceforth mean the details beyond who and which temple), I said that the two things I cared about most were the photography and the flowers. I had good reason for this! Photography was important because the wedding photos are what you walk away with after it's all said and done (well, other than the fact that you're now married and you have a ton of cake in your freezer). And flowers--well, I just love them. Few things make me happier than fresh flowers, and this was the one day that it would be completely acceptable for me to carry around a handful of them ALL DAY LONG. Yessssssssss.

And so we began researching those. We searched far and wide and long and it was so worth it. They were both perfect. Check it out:

See how loverly?? I will happily admit that both made me cry. My bouquet made me cry when I saw it, and then again when I had to throw it, and it made me smile at every second in between. And I tear up when I look through the photos also. They're just so purdy!

So yes, they were both worth the desperate searching because I have so much love love love love love for them as I look back. Thanks be to:

a) Tasha of Bloom Floral Design Studio

b) Amber of Amber Dehaas Photography

and c) my parents (for caring as much as I did). 

Finals

I finished my finals on Thursday of last week. They went well, thank goodness.

When we began this semester, I was so not invested in school, and it felt weird, and I didn't like it. Normally, I love college and I love being a student and new semesters feel like Christmas morning! But this semester's beginning was just so stressful with wedding decisions that I simply did not want to make myself do it. I blew off some homework assignments and some midterms (ok just one midterm and one accidental [read: forgotten] midterm). 

It looked like dire straits from there.

Fortunately, I had two excellent professors who taught me wonderful things and were very understanding about how engagements can affect grades and basically snapped me out of my funk. I started sitting in the front of my classes again, I talked to some people and made some new friends, and I even made comments in class! And I set a goal to end the semester with fantastic grades, despite the craziness. 

I fell back into love with learning. 

When finals rolled around, I was on the brink of A's in all my classes. If I could get an A on every final, I could get an A in every class. If I slipped into B or C range for my finals, I'd slip into B or C range for my grades. And while I consider B and C range to be perfectly fine in college (you should know that I never considered those acceptable for myself in high school), I had set a goal for A's, so clearly that was the only option for this semester.

I won't explain all the studying and mania and game-planning that went into my finals because that's boring, but I will say that, as in previous semesters, I did my darn best and hoped for a lil divine intervention. And guys, I think it worked out. 

Grades won't be officially posted until the last day of this month, but based on what I can see, I somehow got in the 90's for all my finals. It's a Christmas miracle! And I might cry over it. 

So anyways, it's been a great week. And not even just because of grades, but I'll save the other stuff for other posts. Right now I am just so thankful and feeling rather accomplished and wanting my posterity to know that they can do whatever they set their mind to. (Yes, you heard me, their collective mind. Ugh I hate it when I do that but I'm leaving it cuz it's funny.) 


Also, if you're wondering, Joseph killed all of his finals! This is nothing new because he usually kills tests, but we're happy about that too. 

Picture!

That is blurry us in a Christmas tabernacle on Temple Square on Saturday. Does Joe look like Luke Skywalker with his hair at that length? (Say yes.)

Just another layout change

I realize that these things are probably so very dull for most people out there, but maybe one of you is dying to get the ugly Blogger borders off of all your photos. That shadow box thing that makes them all 3D so they won't lie flat on the page? 

Yeah I was wanting that gone before I posted my wedding pics, and we just got the last of them today from our photographer, so they are on the way to blog land! Be excited.

Anyway, I Googled my problem and found a quick fix here.
It took less than 3 minutes to fix and look! Photos can now post sans border!

Just to prove it, a borderless sample photo from the Windows picture folder:

CHA. CHING.

Almost finished!

I am just sitting here, realizing that between Joseph and me (I? me? myself? grammar?), we are about to close the door on a semester filled with the following:

:: a combined 30.5 hours of school
:: a combined 5 jobs
:: an engagement
:: and a wedding

Not surprisingly, our lives have yet to be filled with free time.
Or blog reading. 
I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. 

Have I ever mentioned that we don't have wifi at our apartment? We will, eventually, but we're kind of holding out for Google Fiber.......and living with only campus wifi until it comes. So I can't even blog stalk to avoid homework anymore, and despite the huge blessing that is, it's killing social-media-me softly and quietly. 


But we are so looking forward to this upcoming Christmas break! I personally cannot wait to start some New Year's resolutions that are kind of a long time coming. It's sad but true that some of my long-practiced personal habits (like, say, journaling) went down the tubes in the frenzy of a quick engagement + mid-semester wedding. I basically gave myself the end of the year to settle into a completely new way of life (some call it marriage) before jumping back on board, but I am ready to start NOW. In fact, maybe I will...



I'll keep you posted on our adventures! 

A lament

So I have this problem. 
Russian spammers read my blog every day. 
And it makes me feel uncomfortable.

So I thought I should get a new blog, right?
New year, new blog, sounds lovely...
Might as well try out Wordpress? Right??

WRONG.
Guys, guess what.
You have to pay for everything over there. 
Like if you want your blog to be the colors and fonts you want, you have to pay them $30. 
THIRTY DOLLARS FOR FONTS.

Don't they know these things should be free?
#fuming


Anyways.
I now really have a dilemma because it's not like I can just get a new Blogger blog! 
(Cuz littlebitoflys is already taken, of course.)
Which means I am now so open to suggestions it's not even funny.

Anyone else have a problem with Russia?
OR: Anyone have a Wordpress that they love and want to use to convince me to switch?
OR: Anyone have any other ideas?



Because lil ol me just doesn't want spammers reading all my stuff. 
Waaaah.

Ok I'll stop complaining now and go to work. 
Have a lovely Friday!!

Reasons to love this day

:: Nailed my turkey three times today at the annual family turkey shoot.
:: Been singing "I bless the raaaaains down-in Aaaaaaafricaaaaa" all day long.
:: MY CAR ACCELERATES AND CHANGES GEARS AND IT HAS NEVER DONE THAT PROPERLY IN ITS ENTIRE LIFE AND IT WAS THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR OF COURSE AND IT'S A LITERAL THANKSGIVING MIRACLE. And my dad is a car wizard and I am thankful for him.
:: Hot chocolate date with my love when we get home tonight.
:: Blankets and heaters make a good combo.
:: Wedding photos. We have them. 


Ah, so many pre-Thanksgiving blessings. 
Today is a day to love.

Please enjoy this turkey:

And guess who took another personality test?

Joe and I just did a personality test because it sounded more fun than writing a paper.
It was. I'm positive.
I'm obsessed with these and I always think they're fun.
I think I've done this one before, and maybe I posted about it? But whatever.

So. 


I am INTJ: Introvert, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging.
Joseph is INFJ: Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging.
So we're, like, almost the same person.

You can read into those 4 adjectives as much as you want, but we just found a LOTR interpretation to help us out:

Probably I'm just gonna leave it that size and you'll have to click on it to make it bigger because otherwise it'll take over my whole blog. But Joe's Galadriel and I'm Elrond and that's all you need to know. Based on the pictures, I think that means he's a princess and I'm a grumpy fart, but I suppose I've never seen the movies so I could be wrong. But now I have more interest in finally seeing the movies! So something good did come of procrastinating that paper after all. #winning

[There is something wrong with life because I just referenced the movies as if the books had never existed.]

Ok anyways, here's where we took the test, if you're interested: CLICK HERE.
Let me know what LOTR character you are!! It'll be fun. I'm positive.

Day of fri.

Hey look, it's Friday!
Fridays are one of my favorite days of the week. 
It used to be that Thursday was always my favorite.
But this semester I have to work later on Thursday than any other day, which means it is slowly sinking to the bottom of the "favorite days" list. 
The good news is that basically every other day of the week is on that list!

Mondays are great because it's Family Home Evening day, which--it turns out--just means another date night.
Tuesdays are great because it's my day off of work, so I come home at 6:00 instead of 7 or 8. 
Wednesdays are fine but I guess they don't really make the favorites list. They're average.
Fridays are great because it's date night! Ain't nobody don't love a good date night.
Saturdays are great because it's make-a-yummy-breakfast-and-go-to-the-temple day. And then after that we have the whole day to do chores and fix up our apartment.
Sundays are great because of church, and family, and nice big dinner, and dessert. 

So yeah, it's pretty much always a good day.
I feel like that's a healthy way to live life, but maybe that's just me.

Please enjoy some Friday forget-me-nots:

And have a happy weekend!

Doodle

There's something that I've learned about myself since coming to college and it is this: I cannot doodle to save my life. Give me a pen and a paper and I will...take notes, write a letter, make a cootie catcher, or any number of things that do NOT include doodling. 

But if I class really is boring enough that I have to doodle (read: I am falling asleep), I will draw shapes. Geometric shapes. Usually in a concentric sort of way, so like this:

And those are usually the only ones I draw. Triangles, squares, circles. The end.
[I have a theory about how this might be a math major thing, but it is currently unproven so I won't bother you all with the deets. 

But I'm pretty sure it's a thing.]

Anyways, you might wonder why I'm bringing this up. 

It's because that was my header inspiration! I figured that if all I can art is geometry, I might as well use it to my advantage. I made it in Publisher with smart shapes, the Pantone color wheel, and fonts that I enjoy. Done and done. 

I haven't mentioned that there is a new header yet because I've been deciding whether or not I like it. And I love it more than my last one! (Which is good because I loved my last one except for the fact that it was off-white when everything else was stark white.)

So it turns out that my computer doodles are about as creative as my real life doodles. 

I am nothing if not consistent.

Monthiversary

Today marks our first monthiversary of being married.

I feel like a lot of newlyweds say they are surprised by how quickly the first month goes. 
Joe and I think it just feels like we've been married forever. We talked about it.
I'm not sure if this comes from the fact that we've known each other for years. 
Or if it's because we were together so much of the time when we were engaged. 
Or if it's because our individual ways of living before we were married have fit together nicely.
Or if it's just because we have things on the walls and food in the fridge, all of which is now ours. 

Whatever it is, we don't really care.
We just both love that we can be together all the time. 
And that that will be the case forever and ever.


I love being married.
I love having a permanent companion, confidante, and best friend.

But mostly I just love Joe.
I love him the most of all.

Cops and photos

Tonight I was pulled over for the first time in my life.
I can admit that sometimes I speed a lil bit when I am late.
So I guess I had it comin. 
(But don't tell Joe I said that.)

Anyways, the cop was super nice and let me off with a warning. 
So that was fortunate and I'm very thankful.



I'm also thankful that our wedding photos are ready for us to pick up this week!! Eeeeeeeee! I will share soon. I think a series of wedding deets is on the way, but maybe I'm just saying that for fun. But here's an excerpt from the super long letter I'm sending to Shaundra! (Back story: best friend, left on a mission the day before we got engaged, both of us are sad she wasn't here, but if she had to be gone at least it's on a mission.)

"Hair and Make-Up: I asked Jenna to do my make-up. It was a good life choice. In the week before, however, she and Bri insisted on doing something to fix up my eyebrows, and these virgin hairs did NOT like being plucked. So that part was a bad life choice. Except now I have actual eyebrows instead of bushes! I loved the way my make-up turned out. My hair, obviously, was a sock bun, because who doesn’t love a 5 minute hairdo for their wedding?? Actually it ended up as that because we tried a few other things with both Bri and Jenna in the weeks before and nothing worked well cuz my hair is impossible to curl. But in the end I really really loved my sock bun cuz it was just normal me, and it was easy to redo later for the reception, and I didn’t have to get up super early for a hair appointment, and I highly recommend DIY wedding hair."

[I feel like I write the way I talk on my blog...but I guess it's even a little more exaggerated in missionary letters. How authentic!]

Here's a picture, so you can know the hair I was talking about:

Aight, that's all I got for tonight! Happy Sunday!

Homework

This was an assignment I did last night for my SC ED 353 class, Multicultural Education. As you probably know by now, I wish I had more skillz with the graphic design[z] because even though I don't actually know what that comprises, I'm obsessed with it. So I practiced those skillz instead of writing a paper. The project was open to creative interpretation and creativity was a requirement, so even though it took a bit longer to do it this way, at least I didn't have to prove my creativity with creative word choice! Plus I kinda like how it turned out. 

If you're wondering, turns out that it's kinda scary to try to 1) delineate real, true, core beliefs, 2) relate them to your teaching philosophies, 3) sum it all up in a limited number of words, and 4) actually turn it in. Especially in a class all about acceptance of those who share beliefs that do not line up with yours... Kinda feels like: "THIS IS MY SOUL HEREEEEE! ack."

So I thought it'd be a good idea to post it on my blog for the whole world to see as well. Might as well go the whole hog*, ya know? 

Thus, here are my core beliefs.


*Is that even a thing? Anyone? Buhler?

Back to blogging

Hello everyone!
I am deliberately not going to make excuses for not blogging. I got married? The end.
It's much easier for me to just blog like I never left. I'll add lil tidbits of my life over the last few months while I blog the stuff of the now.


As for the now:

:: Joseph and I are living in a cute, one-bedroom apartment in Provo. We have two chairs and a TV in our living room, a card table in our kitchen, and a bedroom set that we love. That is the extent of our furniture, and we feel so blessed to have it.

:: We eat lots of cereal and peanut butter sandwiches. BUT last night our family night activity was grocery shopping (eeee!), so now we also have produce and a full pantry. Blessed.

:: Our schedules line up nicely so that we have breaks at the same time and class at the same time and work at the same time, for the most part. Some call it magic, we call it a blessing.

:: We are madly in love and life is wonderful.

I'm gettin married in the morning...

Here's the thing: 

I am getting married tomorrow to a wonderful man whom I love with all my heart.

!!!

Life be real good.

Dis lil blog of mine...

Next piece of big grateful news:

new blog layout!!

Really it's back to an old blog layout until I get more time, but those dang dynamic views were fighting with my computer, and I couldn't see or respond to comments! Which was very problematic since I get so many comments on my multitude of posts. (Joke.) Anyways, it was surprisingly easy to switch back, which was nice! So kudos to Blogger for maintaining my preferences. 

But no kudos to dynamic views. 

Ah well, win some lose some, as I always say. 





Well, I wish you all a lovely weekend. We have a very busy month-plus-one-week ahead over here, and then I will be married! So please forgive my infrequent posts for now, but I'll be back on the bandwagon with my new little family in tow in no time at all. 

We be all official and stuff.

Alright alright alright, I would be severely remiss if I did not acknowledge the current blessings in my life after that last post, so let me redeem myself here, starting tonight with... 

engagement!

I'm pretty sure every human who reads my blog has met this boy I love named Joe, but on the off chance that I have readers who have not had the pleasure, please enjoy a picture:

He proposed two weeks ago with two hand-written songs, two Costa salads, and two tickets to the play that brought us together (AIDA). Oh and a ring!! For me, it was a done deal when I saw the Costa, but I still made him ask the question. And you're darn right I said yes.

Since we got engaged, life in general hasn't been all butterflies and rainbows, but our time together has been pretty close. I stress out easily, it turns out, but he calms me down. I postpone reception decisions, and he reminds me of what really matters. I hate making phone calls and applying for jobs and other hard to-do list items, but he helps me buckle down to finish what I start.

And these aren't the only things; they're what came immediately to mind from recent days. 

I just can't wait until we're a little family!

But don't worry, you'll hear from me again before then. I have other big blessings to blog and big life changes, what with school and work starting a new schedule, so stick around and I'll come spill the beans on those as well.

For now, tonight, I am feeling very blessed.

And life is good.

I will try to fix you

Wooo I got engaged!! And also my sister had a baby!! I will post about it another time.

Right now I just need to get real for a second.
It's incredible to me how life can create such emotional extremes at such rapid rates.
Life lately is better than it has ever been before.
And yet, this is what I need to post to capture tonight:





Chris Martin on the inspiration for "Fix You":

She came home from the hospital after her father passed covered in tears. I started crying and kept asking her ‘What can I do for you? Tell me how I can help.' And she looked up at me and said ‘Just hold me..cause you’re the only thing that can fix me right now.’

Current events

It's probably a good thing that I'm more of a "thoughts, feelings, and moments" blogger than an "events" blogger, because there have been a million great events lately that I have taken no pictures of and written no words about, yet I can feel ok about that! (Not really.)

So yeah, I'm tempted to just whip up a list and call it good, but I think I'll also add some pictures from Joe's phone. Yeah, that's a good idea.

Today marked officially one month since Joe came home from Mexico. 
In that month, we have done the following activities:

1) Manti Pageant

2) July 4th festivities
3) hiking
4) wedding reception[s]
5) summer seminary
6) hiking
7) bowling

8) hiking

We were in a cloud, guys. IN A CLOUD.

9) MoTab Pioneer Day concert
10) temple trips
11) shopping for books and clothes and other things
12) Salt Lake day trip (Temple Square, City Creek, Gateway, Planetarium)
13) bug collecting

13) lunch dates and dinner dates and movie dates and other dates
14) Sound of Music
15) firesides and churchy things
16) FFHE
17) minigolfing

And we've done some other stuff that I'm just not remembering. 



For a thoughts and feelings moment: I think this boy is wonderful and I feel like life has never been better. Stay tuned for more where that came from, whenever I hop back on this bloggy blog again. 


:)

I listened to this song enough times today to accidentally use a British accent in subconscious honor of Ellie tonight.

THAT PIANO. DO YOU HEAR THAT PIANO.

(The chorus piano, not the bridge piano.)

Oh! Speaking of piano: guess what Joe went and did yesterday? He remembered a brief freak out I had last week at the mall over the Downton Abbey theme music, and he bought and printed off the sheet music for me while he was working. And then he just showed up with it at my house. So now I have this:

Isn't it lovely?

Isn't he great?

Yes and double yes.

Indecisive

Something is severely wrong with my blog and I don't know what happened!! Maybe I'm freaking out about it. Can anyone out there still see that cute flower and yellow/blue color scheme I once put up here, or is that gone forever and ever? 

I guess it's time for a blog makeover. 
Maybe I'll ditch the dynamic views once and for all. 
GASP.

Maybe not.


But maybe because then it wouldn't have to try to load all those posts at once every time.
But maybe not because then my page views would tank. #vanity
But maybe because I feel like dynamic views are more prone to technical difficulties, like all the time.
But maybe not because then I lose the shnazzy features that make me feel like I know HTML and stuff.


I realize this argument is ridiculous. 
Whatever.

As found on the line!

You would all do well to be friends with my sister Jenna. She finds the best of the internet funnies and sends them to me (as many of you already know). Here are some recent faves from our classy internet exchanges:

"Whatchu know about wearing a wolf on your noggin?"

Aaaaaand a video right.... HERE

My new favorite GIF

Alrighty, it's been a great week and half of shirking all responsibility in favor of playing with Joe all-day-e'ry-day, but I am getting back to real life now, and with that comes BLOGGING. 

Posterity, you're welcome.

To start off, I'd like to share a really great series of pictures which my good sister Mariah captured on the 4th and turned into a GIF tonight:

By way of brief explanation, he was feeling the top of my head because I told him it felt really hot after sitting in the sun for a whole parade's worth of time!
I have no clue why he was looking at Mariah while he did that...
(This is awkward.)
Anyway, the last pic was from a whole bunch we took while waiting for fireworks.
But don't these go well together??

Yes, like peanut butter and honey.

An update

That one missionary came home on Wednesday and now I can go back to calling him Joe. 

It's difficult to describe how it feels to have him back.
Sometimes at work I still feel like there's no way he's anywhere close. Yes, he's definitely still in Mexico. BUT HE'S NOT.
Sometimes I think of a text to send to him and then remember that he's on a mission and I can't text that. BUT I CAN. 
Essentially this can be summed up in the following sentiment: what the heck??

But really more than that, 
it's just wonderful.
No words, not yet.

I'll keep you posted.

Look Ma, I'm on TV!

1:45-1:55

10 whole seconds of fame! (ok really more like 4)

Isn't work so cute? We have lots of cute stuff, you should all come in and buy it, except also you should buy a wrap of flowers so I can make it for you. Cuz let's be honest, that's the funnest part of work. 


Ah, I love my job.

Quote for 25 June 2013

“I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, 

I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, 

I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone.”

- Johnathan Safran Foer

Tomorrow.

(!!!)

Memorial Day [assignment]

For my floral design class, we had an assignment to visit Utah cemeteries on Memorial Day and write about it. This is because Utahns are apparently nutso in the way they [we] celebrate Memorial Day. I guess the rest of you don't put tons of flowers at every grave of every person you've ever known??

Yeah, I guess we celebrate it incorrectly. It is originally (and technically) a holiday to remember those who die in service to our country, but we extend that to remembering, well, everyone. But at least it's pretty! And we may honor everyone who has ever passed, but we still do have special services for veterans and for those who have died in service. So then again, I'd say we just celebrate it extra. Supersize-style or something.

Anyway, part of the assignment included taking pictures, so here I am to share those.

Some people will just put potted plants (as in, from their porch) at a grave and then pick them up later:

And some people go Pinterest-style and paint Mason jars and use wildflowers...
I do love the look of this yellow yarrow though.

Others go for simple and sweet:

Most commonly, people will have a mixture of traditional funeral arrangements and potted mums:

I have no clue who is buried here. We were required to include a picture with our face in it at the cemetery.

My favorite this year was just a bunch of hydrangea and peonies thrown together:

Isn't it such a pretty holiday? My friend from Texas was all weirded out by it, but it's just part of life for me since I've lived here forever. I think it's a possibility that funerals and death in Utah are generally more welcome and open of a topic than in most places (?). I know that talking about death has never phased me, which I attribute to my knowledge of and faith in (and gratitude for) the plan of salvation. Also, funerals are never too somber of an event, in my experience, and in many cases are a great celebration of the life of whoever has passed on. It's just part of Utah culture (by which I suppose I really mean LDS culture, as Utah is gradually becoming more and more diverse) to mourn for a small season and celebrate beyond. This life is not the end! Families can be together forever, so death for you and death for me are nothing more than a crucial step toward that. With the perspective of eternities before this life and eternities beyond, separation from those we love by death is really, truly temporary. And so we celebrate what we had while we had it. And we put flowers on graves to reminisce.

Now I'm curious if it really is a "Utah thing" or not, so holler if you do this where you live. Or if you don't do this. Or whatever. How do you celebrate Memorial Day?

2013 Summer Goals

Well, folks, you'll be happy to know that I survived finals. 
I've been so busy for the last 7 weeks that I thought I would for sure come out on the other side of spring term with millions of things to blog about and so much to say and so many pictures to post.
That is apparently not the case since finals were actually finished on Thursday...
And I've had a pretty serious case of the lazies since then. 
(It happens during the first official days of every summer. I've learned to embrace it.)

But I do have a few summer goals/projects that I want to share on here for accountability purposes. As of tomorrow, my real summer starts, and I have a whole boatload of stuff to do. WAHOO.


:: Start a habit of pre-blogging. That is, write my posts in advance, when I feel like writing, rather than at 11:30 PM on the day I wanted for the date stamp. I feel like there's a "scheduled post" option for a reason, so I'm hoping I can make this work for me. Then again, I may just learn that my style of blogging doesn't pre-blog! But at least I'll have tried it out.

:: Deep clean and re-organize everything. Mostly my room at my parents' house since I'd like to move out or get married or both within the next year, and now is when I'll have the most free time (this as opposed to in the middle of winter semester when I get engaged or something). (And don't anyone go getting all excited because I said "engaged;" we are speaking hypothetically here, and I'm being prepared just in case.)

:: Take a few volunteer opportunities. I'm not really sure what these might include other than NSO again right before school starts and my normal church-y activities, but maybe something will fall into my lap? I dunno. Really this is a goal to do NSO. I can admit that.

:: Write real letters to my missionary friends. The rule is: Each friend gets at least one letter this summer. The friends include (but are not limited to): Madi, Amanda, Chelle, Brett, and Kelsie. And probably some others which I have missed in this top-of-my-head list.

:: Worky worky work. My new schedule is rockin. That is all.

:: Finish that ding-danged quilt I started one time. And do other creative and cute things.

:: READ. So far my list includes only like 3 Charles Dickens and this book which I recently got from the library. There will be more to it than these when I get a little further into summer. Maybe I'll re-read all of the Harry Potter series! (I say that every year.)


So yeah, there's my summer. One of my goals for the past year or two has been to be better about making and keeping goals, and I think I have learned that there are two time frames--weekly and seasonal--which work well for me and the way I think about things. If I have a short-term goal, I give myself a week and it works out. If it's long-term, usually a season is a good fit. And both of these are demarcated so nicely that I can say either "yes I did that" or "no I'll have to try it again" at the end! 

Also, I think there's a good chance that I'll be posting something about changes over the last couple years in the near future. Two years is also a very definite time with which to measure progress...


Picture: 

I guess it's a gypsy proverb? Are gypsies organized enough to have proverbs? Was that a judgmental question? Anyways, YOLO or something.