Pre-Christmas Boredom...

I'm home for the break...and missing Steve terribly. Guess that's what happens when we're on opposite sides of the US. Good thing we'll have a couple days together before the wedding. I'm going CRAZY!!! At least Steve's lonely, too. That makes me feel a little better. Friday night I made a little felt animal thing (sort of looks like an owl) for the Christmas tree. Last night I made a felt octopus with buttons for the suction-cup things on its legs. Today Dad went to Seattle and Katelyn was at Mercy Flights training...so Mom and I went to church by ourselves. Mom taught a great lesson on being kind in a not-so-kind world in the Mia Maid class. And then I pretty much spent the day making soup and biscuits to take to one of Mom's friends and waiting for Steve to get to Ohio so he could call me. :) And now he's there and calling me!

Welcome Finish Line

I took two tests this morning, wrote a 6-page French paper, packed most of my things, did laundry, moved some of my things to an apartment which will not be ours (the couple living in our apartment didn't manage to move out...annoying), and now I am peacefully sitting in the ESC wasting time. :) We have more moving and packing to do tonight...as well as check-out cleaning, etc. Guess there won't be much sleeping tonight. I leave tomorrow morning. Sad. It will be a strange 10 days so far away from Steve. He's already promised to write tons of mushy e-mail and call everyday. The calling part's a big deal! He's not a big fan of the phone...glad he likes me enough to call...otherwise eternity could be a little too silent for my taste. I must admit I'm not really looking forward to going home. There won't be much to do for the first few days because it's too early for the last-minute wedding details and too late for homework. I suppose Katelyn will be in school most of next week and working the rest of it. But, Christmas Sunday I will get a chance to talk to my little brother! :) He'll be back February 10!!! Good luck with finals if you haven't finished...and congrats if you have! Happy Holidays!

The End of an Era

I took my very last French final today...Madame Thompson's African Lit exam. I felt okay about it, so we'll see if it acually helps my grade...I suppose it's nearly impossible to hurt my grade (merely because there's no way I did worse on the exam than my average in the class). I have two tests and a paper left this semester. Ah, the life of a procrastinator! At this point I'm ready to just give up. We may be moving everything into the new apartment tomorrow night as well, so it looks like I really ought to get that paper done tonight and be ready to take the MFHD test first thing in the morning...I know I'll put off the Psych test until the last minute! :) I leave sometime Friday morning...so I may take it at 8am Friday! Two weeks until the wedding!!!

Last Day of Classes

Well, I'm officially finished attending French classes for the rest of my BYU career. I gave my last presentation in French today as well. I have two more French papers to write and two finals to take, and then I'm finished with the French program. It feels good to have accomplished something, but it will be strange to have all new classes and friends next semester. I don't think I have a single class in the MFHD department next semester either. Oh well. Guess that's what happens when graduation nears. :)

Patience

I'm afraid I don't have much...

I'm waiting for me Psych 111 mentor to return my latest draft with comments/grade...the final is due on the 8th. Naturally, we haven't gotten them back yet...it's as though she doesn't understand that there are at least a million other things to finish this week. Argh. I know for a fact that she understands...she complained to me last week...as she was grading my paper...which she subsequently failed to e-mail me...

May your Monday morning be less stressful than mine is sure to be!

Guilt Trip

I was just thinking that I haven't said anything in a couple of weeks...and then I noticed there were two messages reminding me of that fact. I'm sorry! Things have been a little busy, but there hasn't been a lot to share with the world. Although, I will make an effort to find something to share.

Thanksgiving break was interesting. Steve, Alvaro and I went to my parents' home in Medford, Oregon. We were supposed to leave that Tuesday evening, thus spending much of the week in Medford. However, about 20 minutes after we were supposed to have begun boarding the flight, it was cancelled. We then spent about an hour trying to get a new flight to Medford. We ended up having to fly to Eugene the next afternoon...thus losing an entire day because after the flight we had to drive 2 1/2 hours to Medford.

Needless to say, we didn't have time for much Wednesday night. We watched the recent Batman movie with my sister and went to bed rather late. Thanksgiving day we spent attempting to stay out of Mom's way and running to the store to get things for her...or watching more movies. Friday we went to the County Clerk's office and got a marriage license...it's official! That afternoon I went to the temple. That wonderful experience was the highlight of my break. Saturday was spent cooking, watching Lord of the Rings, bugging Katelyn at Old Navy (she had to work a lot while we were there), discussing wedding details, etc. On Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting and flew back to Provo. We ran into a couple of my brother's best friends from high school.

This last week I went to class, wrote a couple papers for Psych 111, spent time with Steve (not enough...), did some research for Dr. Miller, sent out wedding announcements, and attended the opening of Dr. Olivier's exhibit in the MOA. By the way...you should all go!!! Nostalgia and Technology has taken him several years to put together and it shows. Very impressive. Check it out!

This weekend I shall juggle a few Christmas and graduation parties, write more papers (French feminism and the Proclamation on the Family), do laundry, visit the boys at Slate Canyon, go through my junk in preparation for moving, attempt to find someone to buy my Winter contract, perhaps become hysterical, etc. Can you tell it's December? Things always become so rushed right about now...even without an upcoming wedding.

I'm including the photo we used for our announcements. Enjoy!

Honestly...

I can honestly say that by the time last night's performance rolled around, I didn't care! I can honestly say that we did our best and don't feel at all put out by the results of the contest.

I can honestly say that I am glad Madame Thompson is out of town and I don't have to read for her class. I can honestly say that I didn't read the 'Differences' chapter in Theory Toolbox for Dr. Olivier's class today. I can honestly say that I did not waste so much time that I did not have any left for my homework. I did indeed have some time to spare. I just found other things to be doing.

I can honestly say that I did not feel uncomfortable discussing Luce Irigaray's feminist theories in 451 this morning. I'm not sure what was supposed to be making so many people feel uncomfortable...unless you've never had a Psych class or Anatomy. It isn't pornographic to discuss the human body in context of a theory or biology...honestly, people!

I can honestly say that I intend to waste the rest of the day...relatively speaking. I intend to do a little research on cohabitation in Latin America and the United States (for Dr. Miller's project), go to the Provo Library (to turn things in), read something other than a textbook, study a little for that Adult Development exam, maybe clean the confetti off the floor (sort of threw all the props on the floor when I went to bed...and the confetti managed to escape onto the newly vacuumed carpet), etc. Should be a great afternoon.

The only reason I repeated the phrase "I can honestly say" is that I can't stand it used more than once in a conversation! Which naturally means I ought to get it out of my system.

French Idol

Our group officially received word last night that we made it into French Idol. That's next Wednesday at 7pm in the Varsity Theater. We're going to shock and impress the entire French department...and you know it! Well, we'll be the most diverse group anyway...j/k. There are 3 Sara(h)s and Katie...with a special guitar performance from Rob. That's our group! Be prepared to hear some awesome singing, be amused by our skit/dramatic reading, and blown away by our dance performance...I'll give you a hint, Sarah K and I are in charge of the dance part...which means...Tahitian! Doesn't the shaking of our hips just totally impress you? I thought so.

TV5

Definitely the only news worth watching right now...TV5 does a great job of making the news available via the internet. And for the most part it's understandable. (i.e. the audio is clear)
Although, the best option may be to completely ignore the news and pretend nothing violent ever happens...anywhere. Unlikely? I thought so. Best of luck sorting out your opinions.

Africa Night

Last night my African Lit class went to Mme. Thompson's house for a soirée familiale et le mafé au boeuf. Sarah and Rob came over to help me cook that strange, yet delicious, dish. It's made of tomato sauce, peanut butter, eggplant, beef, onion, garlic, ground ginger. Sounds disgusting, I'm sure. But, once it's finished...wow! I must admit I wasn't expecting to enjoy the activity, but it was great. It was strange to be at Mme. Thompson's house. I felt like I should be reverent and take my shoes off or something. Their house is AMAZING. However, it was a pretty casual evening. We ate with our hands...so that should give you some idea as to how casual it was.

Diane announced that she is 7 weeks pregnant. If it's possible, OJ looked more excited about that than when they were engaged. I wonder if their children will learn French or English first...

Housing

I need to sell my Winter semester contract...guess that really is the hardest part of getting married. Every time I find someone that might want it, they decide not to move or that they'd rather live on campus. Come on, I live on 5oo N...that's terribly close to campus. Really. It takes 7-8 minutes to get to the JSB, MARB, or WIDB. And 10 minutes or so to get to the Wilk. There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, three great roommates, a working dishwasher, good management, social ward, wonderful bishop, etc. There's got to be someone out there that has yet to find a place to live this Winter. Well, a girl anyway. I've enjoyed living here, but don't mind leaving...with Superman, of course. Hope this thing sells soon...

Music Emergency

I am in need of new music. The radio just doesn't do it for me anymore. And my CD collection is somewhat French inspired. Which really just means I listen to things other people don't understand or find satisfying. Although, it's good for studying French homework. If anyone thinks of something I may enjoy...please let me know! It really is an emergency!

Mid-morning Thoughts

I'm graduating in April and previously assumed that my last semester would be rather light and smooth. WRONG!!! I registered Monday morning and to my utter dismay my schedule will be worse than any other semester. Ugh. Plus, I'll be married and supposedly being a newlywed is very distracting. I also met with Dr. Miller this morning about his research project. I've now been asked to write a research paper and present on my topic at the MFHD/MFT conference this coming Spring.

So, now all I have to worry about is surviving this semester's workload, plan a wedding, attempt to actually be social with my roommates...and pick a topic for that paper. Unfortunately, I'd rather spend all my free time with Superman. Guess things are just destined to always be busy.

I'm so looking forward to being able to come home to only one person (that I care for immensely) rather than three other girls with emotional highs and lows. And FHE next semester will be WAY less of a waste of time. Don't get me wrong, I love my calling...I just get tired of checking up on every FHE group and making sure everyone in the ward feels included. That's a LOT of people to keep track of...although I suppose being a bishop or mission president would be worse. :)

It's not as though I don't know that life will always be "demanding", but I'd like to feel as though there was a possibility of taking a break. As I've learned in my Adult Development class, retirement is not a picnic...but at least you can pick and choose your activities!

Last night I didn't fall asleep until 3am and then got up around 7:30am. I don't feel in the least tired. I'm sure it will catch up to me. It was worth it though, I had a lot to think about and finally had some quiet time to myself to think and work things out.

I definitely need to get better about that whole journal writing thing. I haven't been consistent with the writing down of my true feelings, thoughts, and impressions. My little brother wrote his weekly e-mail and berated me for merely sending him facts and details. He seems to think I ought to have more to say about things...especially in the way of feelings.

I read SO much in the Book of Mormon earlier this week. I was on a roll...and now the lack of motivation to do anything has extended to my scripture study. I know that now more than I ever I need to spend time honestly studying the gospel. Plus, Superman and I are teaching Marriage and Family Relations on Sunday. Which means I need to spend some productive time with the scriptures to be prepared to share what I have learned about forgiveness as it relates to marital and family relationships.

The Taters

I almost forgot! This last Monday was the ward FHE/Halloween party. Steve and I created these rather silly looking Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head costumes. Good thing we get to wear them again on Monday! It's only worth it to create a costume if you get the chance to wear it more than once...or you could just wear it anyway...
Steve did a LOT of work on these silly-looking taters...nicely done, Superman!

The Fog is Lifted?

Yeah...not so sure about that. Looks like I may be in the fog until next semester. However, it's no longer medication-induced, just regular school stress. Thanks to Prof. Olivier, I don't have to have my Toolbox and paper done tonight. I have until Monday! Which is nice because I have some things I need to get done for Dr. Miller before 11am tomorrow. And then I'll have more of a chance to work on my 451 paper and Toolbox. Although, there is that game on Saturday...that could prove to be a distraction...should I actually go! Sigh. Absolutely NO motivation to do my work tonight. Wish I had time to go to French Club tonight. Dr. Unlandt is giving a lecture on Medieval torture. Perfect cultural activity for Halloween!

Foggy Thoughts

I've been living in a bit of a fog the last few days. I know for a fact that I attended all my classes and took notes, however I haven't any clue as to what we talked about or if I even paid attention. Although, I suppose I had to have paid enough attention to take somewhat understandable notes. I've had this rotten cold far too long...and the NyQuil/DayQuil is beginning to get to me. My home teacher came over last night to visit my roommate and had the most enlightening comment concerning Nyquil: It's like alcohol for Mormons...you get the "buzz", but not the hangover. Hmm...guess this is what being "under the influence" is all about. Not good for taking tests and being aware and prepared in Mme. Thompson's class.

I seem to have gotten by okay so far...only two more days left this week! And Friday there's only one class!!!! It's nice to have Portuguese over with for the semester. Although, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But, not having class everyday at 8am is even better. It's the little things in life (extra sleep) that count the most. Not that big things count for very little...

I ought to be studying for that Psychology test...but it's not until tomorrow morning and I have no motivation to study at the moment. Although, I have all kinds of terms and concepts running through my head, so it's almost like I'm rehearsing the material, right? Yeah, I thought not.

I managed to organize my week and have just realized I left out that bridal shower. But, I don't feel like going anyway, so I guess I'm organized. Is it bad not to attend a bridal shower for an old roommate that I talk to once a week at church (and only then because she's nosy and teaches the Sunday school class for engaged couples)? Good. Thanks for letting me off the hook. :)

Hayley tried to call my from Italy on Monday...unfortunately I was in class and didn't get her message until it was nearly midnight her time. Guess I'll wait until the weeked to call her back. I hope she's getting along with the new landlord...apparently the landlord of their old apartment wasn't too excited to have them living there. Translation: they never got their mail. What would some old Italian woman have against a few girls from BYU? Maybe she had a bad experience with some rule-breaking BYU students or missionaries in the past.

Alvaro took nearly 100 photos of Steve and I on Saturday. That was probably the highlight of the weekend. It wasn't as horrible and boring as I thought it was going to be! And some of them actually came out well. Although our favorite is the one where I'm not paying attention and Steve's sticking his tongue out. Very flattering. ;)

Steve's little pre-game Brazilian party sort of flopped. I felt bad...but at least his old roommates showed up. Not sure what happened to the rest of those that were invited and promised to be there. I suppose we'll be eating feijoada for the next few days.

I'm listening to a few of Vanessa Paradis' new songs. I must admit I like the English songs better. Which is odd because I generally listen to French artists for their French lyrics. Celine Dion is certainly better in French, as are most of the French rap artists. I suppose Celine Dion is better in French merely because the corny lines don't translate well; meaning the images in French aren't as strange as their English counterparts.

Meaning of My Life

Is productivity really a measure of the meaning I've found in my life? Because if that's the case, I haven't found much today. I had Portuguese at 8am and then the research team meeting was cancelled, my Aging/Adult Development class was cancelled, and my Psych class was cancelled. Which means I spent most of the day working on trivial homework assignments, watching a strange movie that I should have watched with a film major, etc. Kim came home from work early and motivated me to get my laundry done a day early. After that I actually had the spark to get down to the Provo City Library and check out a couple books relating to some things we've been talking about in my critical theory class. Reading outside the syllabus?! What's that all about? Who knows. I may have actually begun to manage my time more wisely. I suppose I feel good about getting homework done and actually learning new things. That's a good use of my time. Spending time with Steve is definitely a good thing. Too bad he's just as busy as I am! I don't feel like I'm doing much good outside my own little life. Probably has something to do with the fact that I no longer have roommates with problems. It's nice, but I'm not always sure how to "bond" with people who don't need to talk to me about their life problems. Good thing I still have other friends. :) In other news...my roommate from LSH told me she's 5 months pregnant. And another friend (French major) received her mission call to Brussels Belgium. Somehow time moves along without me noticing. It's almost the end of first block and I feel like it all just started. I'm really losing any sense of urgeny. That's bad! There's a wedding to plan, a degree to finish, pre-requisites to ace, etc. Wish I had an e-mail from my brother...

Wedding Plans...

Let me just say that I'm very glad my mother is so excited about all the wedding details...because I'm not! :) I'm just not one of those girls that had these things planned out by the time they were Beehives. I'm excited to be married, but not about the actual reception details. The conversations are okay, but the decision parts are difficult. I don't have that mental image of the perfect reception to pull from...I actually have to have an opinion on the spot! So, today I will look through all the invitations that my sister and Mom picked out and try to decide which is best...although at least 6 of them look exactly the same...subtle differences, I'm sure. Too bad my sister isn't here to explain it all to me...we call her the Cruise Director in our family...because she LOVES to plan things. Lucky me! :)

The HBLL and All It's Glory

I've been good today. I went to all my classes, paid attention, took notes, jumped and danced with energy, etc. I also cleaned for cleaning checks...and even managed to clean all of my roommate's assigned kitchen areas as well. I went to FHE and contributed. I did a few things for my calling. I even checked up on my sick roommate. And now I'm in the library not studying. :) Well, I did my Portuguese homework. There's a REALLY LOUD girl on the phone in the stacks. I feel like telling her (not so gently) that the lobby/area by the elevators and stairs might be a less annoying place to have her somewhat private conversation. I really didn't care to know anything she's so graciously shared with everyone here on the 2nd floor. Oh well. That's not a great excuse for ignoring my work...guess I ought to get back to it. I have a quiz in French 456 tomorrow. That requires me to actually finish the reading and understand it. Oh, and don't forget about all that lecture material that didn't make any sense. Sigh. One of these days I won't have to dread French class...oh wait...this is the last one. Bittersweet, I suppose. Too bad Steve has so much reading to get done tonight. I'm not in the mood to sit here in the HBLL and stare at the mostly empty stacks. Maybe I ought to go out and raid a few used bookstores in order to fill these stacks. That would be a most interesting project. Not that I have any money to buy books...besides textbooks that is. Speaking of, there are still a couple I haven't bothered to pick up. Hehe. Okay. Back to work. Seriously! That includes everyone who is reading this and ignoring their work as well.

Le Club

Le Club Francais...bien sur! It's that time of year!!! According to the posters, it's the hottest club on campus. Mostly it's a bunch of crazy French majors making fools of ourselves in front of the faculty and 101/102 students. A few of us from 456 are considering a performance in this semester's French Idol. We'll see if we can pull it off. We're in 456 after all...that means a lot of reading. Anyway, I'm mostly just avoiding my homework. I'm not really in the mood to study for my Psych 111 exam. Pitiful GE course...well, the course isn't pitiful. It's pitiful that I have to take it...

Friday Night, No Concrete Plans, No Motivation

Now is one of those times I really wish we had a TV. I have no hope of finding the motivation to actually get some work done tonight, Steve is hiking with his dad, my friends and roommates all have plans, and I'm here in my room watching snippets of National Treasure and waiting for inspiration to strike. Nope...nothing yet. I suppose I will think about wedding plans, write in my journal (haven't written in a solid/book form journal in several months), annoy my roommate until she leaves, and wait for Steve to call. Ah, the life of the Pepper begins to slow down...isn't life just a great big crazy cycle anyway?

Frustration Reigns Today

Mostly I'm annoyed with myself. I have not had the tiniest amount of motivation this week. I have a paper due in 451 tomorrow (as well as my "theory toolbox") and I haven't thought much about it. Translation: I haven't started it. Also, I need to finish all my 456 questions and I've finished 6 of the 13 sections. Not a good start. And I have a Portuguese quiz tomorrow...and some workbook assignments to complete. I think I will not be sleeping tonight. Steve's Dad may want to do something tonight...and we have to meet with Bishop Daniels at 8am to talk about the upcoming wedding. ARGH. Why am I such a procrastinator when there is actual work to be done? Why can't I procrastinate the little things instead? Such an obvious answer...

Nothing in Particular

Today was rather interesting. Portuguese went well and I'm sure we learned several new verb conjugations...I was sort of day-dreaming. Oops.

French 451 was...well...different. We discussed Bataille...rather, Prof. Olivier discussed Bataille and we all stared at him with blank faces. the new question is: Would you rather be in a continuous or discontinuous state? That's something I'll have to ponder. According to Bataille, I am a discontinous being with the potential to join with another discontinous being and enjoy a brief moment of continuity. And then my child will be a discontinuous product of that moment of continuity. That's what I got out of the discussion. Feel free to correct me!

French 456 was equally enlightening. We watched a brief clip that Mme. Thompson had filmed in Senegal of children in class. It's a different way of learning/teaching, but the children seem like any other children in school. We then discussed chapter 8 of L'enfant noir and the realities of death as a result of circumcision at the age of 14 in a traditional Senegalese ceremony. Naturally, we discussed female "excision" as well. That particular class discussion ended in a sort of awed/dismayed/alarmed state.

I then spent some time with Steve and generall wasted the last hour or two! I think we'll make tacos for dinner and then get some things for the party tomorrow night. And I probably ought to take a look at those verbs I managed to ignore this morning in class...

Announcement du Jour

Now that it's public knowledge...

Steve and I are officially engaged. We're hoping to be married on December 28th in Medford.

If you're feeling left out...we're sorry! We just didn't want to make a huge deal out of it. And it's not as though any of you are surprised!

Missionary Letters/Updates

I received a letter from Sister Chambers today. She's enjoying her time in Argentina and think it's funny that she alternates city/country every transfer. It's strange to think that I'm old enough to have so many of my youngest roommates on missions. Time flies when you're having fun! Well, at least it does when you've been at BYU this long.

T. Joseph Chambers entered the MTC today and is bound for Georgia Atlanta Spanish speaking. The greatly quoted young man will surely shock us all as he puts aside his Japanese skills and picks up Spanish. Expect great things!!!

Katelyn's "friend", Shawn Schlosser, received his mission call this last week. He's headed for Arizona Phoenix in November.

I still haven't heard where Sister Seegmiller was transferred to...which means I have no idea where to send this package that's been sitting in my room for a couple months now. Neither of her sisters know either. Guess we'll all wait patiently for that weekly e-mail.

Sister Lyman seems to be MIA as well. At least we know she made it to Winnipeg!

Elder Schwanke should be e-mailing tonight. I'm excited to read what he has to say about the secret we shared with him today. I'm sure it will be something like this: "I'm so happy for you! I'm sure things will be great for the two of you. Read your scriptures!" I love my little brother.

Sister Hall returns from South Africa in November, so we can't expect her to find much time to write. Last I heard she was learning a lot from her companion and teaching many children.

If I left anyone out of the update...let me know!

Random Comments

Not much to say...but I guess I ought to write something! I got THE FUNNIEST package yesterday from Kay. She sent me a scarf she knitted...I guess it's a late birthday present, but I can't use it until it gets cold. :) The reason it's so funny is that she sent it in a tampon box. That was a VERY strange thing to see in the mailbox! Leave to Kay to think of re-using a tampon box to mail something.

I just came home from Break-the-Fast. It's going to be an interesting ward...it's mostly people from last year, a few from this summer, and even fewer new people. The clubhouse was locked, so we all crammed into apt. 15 and then spread out onto the front yard. Bishop seemed to enjoy himself.

Friday night we had a little get-together in my apartment to welcome Derek home. It was fun to see some of the most recently-returned guys from freshman year. I was surprised that Ross came. But, he's like that...you never know what his plans are. Derek doesn't seem to have changed too much. Well, he's grown up, but still Derek!

I didn't go to the football game yesterday, but we lost anyway. I suppose I'll have to have a little more school spirit this year and actually go to some of the games. I haven't been to a football game since freshman year!

Classes aren't going to be as scary as I thought. I love my Portuguese class and feel relatively comfortable in French 456. I thought Madame would terrify me, but it's okay so far. 451 will take a lot of thinking, serious thinking. I ended up in Psych 111 with Sarah C. It's a GE, so there are a LOT of freshmen. But, it should be okay once we've finished with all the administrative stuff. MFHD 334 will be enlightening...it's Adult Development and Aging...all the great things we have to look forward to! I'm also taking a "be brave" class...modern dance!

I've got to get some cookies in the oven before Steve finishes with his meetings for the day. It seems that we will always have callings that require multiple meetings on Sundays. It's hard because he always finishes just before I start for the day. Oh well. Somehow we always figure it out without too much harm being done. ;)

Vacations Are Exhausting!

I spent the first week of break at home in Oregon. It was nice and relatively calm. The weather at home was pretty gross-108 degrees when I left. That Monday we went to see the tiger sanctuary. I bottle fed a tiger!!! It was an impressive place with some majestic animals, but I'm not sure I'd want to live or work out there. Dad needed to get back to fire camp in Agness that Wednesday. So, Tuesday after I visited the dentist, we drove to Gold Beach. That's a three hour drive into California and back up the Oregon Coast. The weather was amazing! It was only about 70 degrees and sunny! No rain!!! My mom, sister, and I spent a couple days on the beach watching the sea lions rolling in the waves and looking for displaced starfish. It was a great way to spend a few days of the break. Friday the 19th I flew back to Provo and dropped some things off in the apartment. The next morning I took off again for Ohio via Chicago. We ended up spending about an hour in a 'holding' pattern before finally landing in Cleveland. Apparently the weather was a disaster and the roads and runways were are rather flooded. I imagine Steve had a little fun trying to get to airport, though he says it wasn't that bad. Ohio was great. We spent a lot of time in the lake or on the lake...depends on whether or not the canoe was sinking or floating. Monday we went to Anna and Michael's band show. I enjoyed it, but they seemed to think it was awful. I guess that's how all performances go...the audience likes it and the players see the mistakes. On Wednesday Steve and I went to Kirtland and visited the temple and historic village. I'd never seen an ashery before, so that was fascinating. The temple is beautiful and we had the opportunity to go up to the top floor and see the classrooms. Thursday Steve and I went up to Cedar Point to take pictures with roller coasters. Well, the pictures were just a bonus for Kayela. I'd have to say my favorites were Millenium Force, The Raptor, MaxAir, and Wicked Twister. Pretty much we had a blast! And I never got sick, fainted, or screamed. Well, not entirely true. We did begin to feel a little dizzy after the second trip on The Raptor at the end of the day. I suppose that's not uncommon after 8 hours of vestibular chaos! Oh! I saw fireflies for the first time!!! I can now check that off the list of things to see before I die. I also became the Fire Goddess. John and his little friend invented a game on the tramp that involved them jumping around while I threw a volleyball at them. The volleyball somehow became a ball of fire and I became the keeper of the fire and later the Fire Goddess. John's a funny guy. He created a shark out of sand that ate me while I was stuck/buried in the sand. And he never tires of swamping the canoe. It was all a blast. And it was great to get to know some of the Robisons. Steve is definitely not the quietest in the family...can you believe that? Well, I can because I know he talks, but there are a few of you who are still not convinced. If I failed to add any details, let me know. And Hayley, I'm sorry I didn't update this sooner so you'd know what's going on! Garrett comes home around February 14th!!!

Finals and Fiestas

This week is Finals Week at BYU. Which means that (during a Spring or Summer term) we have only one Reading Day in prep for two days of finals. I find it a bit silly that we even have a Reading Day during Spring/Summer. Don't they know that most of us will play that day because: a) the weather is too nice, b) we have a life, unlike Fall/Winter, c) we probably have at least one professor who has already given us our final, d) we don't care enough at this point due to nearly 12 months of classes in a row. As for my finals, I took Language Development in class last Thursday and my lab exam Monday morning. My Old Testament exam is take-home and is currently sitting on the coffee table in the living room. I have been to both 3-hour reviews for the lecture exam...which I can take anytime between now and tomorrow at 6pm. Last night I helped Superman get some things ready for his little Portuguese party tonight and then we went to Scott's for Brooke's "going away" party. It was nice to see everyone, but I wasn't feeling that socially motivated. I don't think Steve was either.

I REALLY need to get my cleaning done!!! And make room for Kim...she comes home this Friday!!! And I'm sure there are last minute errands I could run rather than merely waste "precious" study time. And pack...I'm going home for a week this Friday. And then I'll be back in Provo for about 12 hours before I fly to Ohio to visit Steve.

Yesterday was my last day working in the MARB. It was strange to hand over my keys at the end of the shift and walk out knowing I'd be back in the building an hour later for a review session. I may not work in the MARB anymore, but I'm sure I'll have classes in there and I still have church there.

Day 1 of Finals: Not going productively so far. Then again, it's only 9:30am. I plan to head up to the Bookstore around 11am and (hopefully) get some money for my Language Development book. I need to make a stop by the Widstoe around noon to pick up my lab exam. I'll need to drop off some books at the HBLL as well. Studying the first two sections of lecture material is also in order. And I'm sure Steve will call after his Portuguese exam and want to do something. And then Alvaro will call and want to cook things for the party tonight. Guess I ought to eat some breakfast in preparation for the "busy" day. And get dressed. I love procrastination!

What I Really Do at Work

I bet you didn't know that I'm actually paid to clear the 4th floor of the MARB...clear the ghosts out, that is. Every morning at about 6:15, I strap on my handy Supersuction unit and attack the 4 rooms on the 4th floor. Unfortunately the unit has to be plugged in, so I can't chase any ghosts. I have to make sure the cord is long enough to reach all the corners...of the chalkboards! Okay, so I don't actually hunt ghosts. But, I do wear the Supersuction unit and clean the chalkboards...which blows chalk dust into the air...creating ghost-like clouds. And the 4th floor is actually haunted...the air ducts make a strange whistling sound. It's not creepy during sacrament meeting or classes, but it can be a little unnerving at 5am when the lights aren't turned on yet and you're all alone unlocking the doors. Only one more day of work! Man...now the Ghostbusters theme song is stuck in my head. It could be a long day.

Harry Potter

I finally finished it!!! I am rather apathetic about the plot...the end wasn't nearly as "dramatic" as it was made out to be. In fact, it almost seemed a bit abrupt. Too bad. Not my favorite book of the year. However, if I don't read anything better before December 25, it will have to do. Book Five made it on my list of favorites...so I guess that's good enough for Harry Potter.

My Weekend...and Tiger Updates

Thursday the 28th: I didn’t go to work because I was exhausted. I’m not getting much more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night. And it’s been that way for three months straight. I went to my lecture and spent most of the time not paying attention to the visiting professor. Lisa (lives in my old apartment) had broken her wrist Tuesday night and came to class on Vicadin and Loritab. Wow. That was a fun conversation and it made the class go by fairly quickly. I then walked home with Steve to have lunch. And then we both went back to campus for class and he went to the lab to work on steroids or something. I didn’t have my evening class and spent the afternoon doing laundry and hanging out with Jon. At 6pm Steve and I went to Café Rio with his dad. Alvaro had an ELC choir concert and we went after dinner. It was so much fun! They did about 16 songs from Broadway musicals. And they were GOOD! Alvaro and Samantha (from France) had a duet/spotlight at the end. Very good. We then went to The Creamery to get some ice cream. Steve’s dad seems to enjoy chocolate quite a bit. Well, maybe not more than Steve, but it’s still pretty funny to watch a grown man put a TON of chocolate syrup on his Chocolate Devastation ice cream. And then we all decided to try it. Wow. Too much chocolate!
Friday the 29th: No work and no class. Not sure what I did all day. Honestly, I can’t remember. I think I watched Arrested Development, cleaned the apartment, took a long nap, read Harry Potter, and waited for Steve to come home. We walked to the Provo Library to check out The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again. We had to take it back on Wednesday, but we hadn’t finished it. We then proceeded to finish it less than an hour later. I convinced Steve to watch Ocean’s Twelve with me. It’s better than Ocean’s Eleven and I guess now he understands why it’s so funny.
Saturday the 30th: I went to the lab to help Lisa learn all the veins and endocrine system details she missed while she was in the hospital. I then went home and worked on my blog and generally wasted more time until Steve called and wanted to play. We went to Jon’s to return the first disc of the first season of Arrested Development that I had borrowed. Jon came back with us (he lives less than one minute away) and we watched Intolerable Cruelty. I thought I would hate it, but it was hilarious! Steve can’t stop quoting random lines. It’s been a great source of amusement for several hours. Steve’s dad called on his way back from his hiking trip in Nevada and wanted us to have dinner with him, Steve's uncle and cousin. So, we all went to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner and ate too much. After dinner Steve and I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with Alvaro. He has a test over the book in one of his classes tomorrow. He had preciously decided he hated the book and couldn’t stand anything Harry Potter related. We convinced him that it wasn’t so bad and that he might like it if he gave it a chance. I think watching the movie helped because now he understands the plot and even borrowed the second movie. Our work there is done.
Monday/Today: I've been to work...cleaned the 2nd and 4th floors of the MARB...so lonely. I went to lab and managed a 10 on the quiz. Bravo! And now I'm home cleaning the jucky lab smell off myself. I plan to actually get around to taking a nap and finishing Harry Potter. Both are absolute must-completes. Hopefully Old Testament will be less confusing that last Thursday. Although, it's always fascinating. FHE tonight...going swimming...seemed like a good warm-weather activity. I need to come up with something fabulous for next week...any ideas?
Tiger Updates: Dad spent yesterday morning "talking" to tigers as they encouraged the tigers to co-operate. How can you convince a huge cranky feline that the smoke, tankers, and sirens aren't a threat? Purr at them! Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Mom's afraid Dad's having too much fun with this fire...I'd agree. Wish I were there!

Actual "Facts"

http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0729/local/stories/01local.htm

Inside scoop with Dad: Tom Cruise donates money to a woman named Nora Rueben who "saves" the animals and sends them to the compound to be "free". Apparently this woman is a "channelor" to the stars...
There are 20 tigers, 9 lions, too many monkeys, and a few leopards. 100 animals total.

Now that sounds more like Southern Oregon! Well, the Californian-invaded parts anyway...

Fire Season in the South West Oregon District

Had an amusing chat with Mom about our dear valley yesterday. Southern Oregon is a very RANDOM place. Sigh. I don't always feel so proud to admit I went to high school there. I won't say I'm from there...but I lived there for 6 years...7th-12th grades.
Even though Dad retired in December, he still gets hired periodically for consultation or contract work. Apparently he was hired this week as a Deputy Incident Commander (something like that). He's currently helping out with a fire near Klamath Falls that involves a very interesting piece of land. This area is generally known for the many lakes and pelicans, but not for much else. Maybe potato farms...and water disputes. Anyway, this week it's known as the wildlife preserve/zoo that happens to be burning. Some lady from California rescues exotic animals from cruel owners and moves to Oregon to live in a huge compound. The 700+ acre fire is threatening this compound...and the lions, tigers, and monkeys have to be evacuated. I guess this summer the animals will lose their compound rather than a group of cult-like hippies hiding from the government.
Last summer there was a home within city limits that burned. (Grants Pass, maybe?) Well, part of the yard was on fire. The fire crossed the fence and became an ODF problem. When firemen went into the yard to confront the owner after the fire, they were astonished to find a full-grown and angry Bengal tiger sitting on the porch. They had previously hosed down the yard from the other side of the fence, scaring the tiger with the power of the water. It took nearly two weeks to serve the owner a citation for the endangerment of public property via the fire. No one wanted to walk past the tiger!
Have you ever heard of a "fire bug"? It's a person that enjoys playing with fire, not an arson necessarily, more like a small-time pyro. Two summers ago a little boy decided he wanted to see what would happen if he set the wings of a large moth on fire. The moth flew away with burning wings and started a large wildfire. Dumb kid. He's now the official Fire Bug.
I often wonder if it's really that hard to pay attention to the fire danger announcements. You'd think that if you lived in an area prone to large wildfires in the summer you'd be more careful about your outdoor activities and the state of your yard, i.e. the safety zone around the house. Not so.
Have fun! Enjoy the peak of fire season! Just remember to be careful and obey the rules. Best of luck to everyone fighting fires this week. Thanks for your hard work!

Extra Sleep

Just wanted to share with the world how GREAT it feels too sleep for more than 4-5 hours a night! I didn't work the last two mornings and managed to sleep past 4:30am. A miracle! I'm feeling much more myself...hopefully I didn't scare too many people while I was on that sleep-deprived roller coaster. Oh wait...that was sophomore and junior years as well. Sigh. Guess very few people know the real me. Such a sad waste.

The Semi-Official List of Places Steve and I Want to Visit

Disclaimers: It doesn't count if it's an airport or if one of us has been there before. The list can be added to. There is no order of importance.

Canada, France, Japan, Brazil, Venezuela, China, India, Morocco, Botswana, Cambodia, Turkey, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Portugal, British Isles, Egypt, Israel, Belgium, Maritius, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Czech Republic, Thailand, Russia, Antarctica...and all 5o states.

Are there any must-see places we've forgotten? Probably...

The MARB was inspected today...hope we passed with flying colors! Although, I'm sure there are things we've failed to do for several weeks and I'm also quite sure it was painfully obvious to the inspector. Sigh. Sometimes it's hard to have the presence of mind required at 5am to get everything done the right way. We try our best, though.

Happy Be-lated Pioneer Day!!!

Hotel Rwanda

I took my afternoon nap a little early today...and naturally had weird dreams. I seem to have weird dreams whenever I nap. Does that happen to anyone else? Anyway, I dreamt that Superman and I were driving this big van/truck thing down a deserted road in Rwanda and failed to stop at a checkpoint because we weren't paying attention. We were stopped at the next checkpoint by the army (not sure which) and asked to get out for an orientation meeting and a vehicle check. At the orientation meeting we met with several Belgians and one of them was wearing green stripes like Steve (is that his name?) on Blue's Clues. He looked very Swedish, but spoke excellent French. In my dream I knew him through mutual friends online. It was sort of disconcerting to meet up with someone I know in a dream...even though I dont' actually know him! We were then loaded onto buses headed to different cities and villages. I have no idea what we were doing in Rwanda, especially now. The only thing I can think of is that last night Superman and I made a list of places in the world we need to visit before we die. We talked about Africa and decided that we wanted to visit Morocco, Egypt, and possibly Botswana. Rwanda was not mentioned...but I have seen Hotel Rwanda a few times in the last 5 months. And I almost always dream in French when it's applicable. That's pretty much where the dream ended. I suppose we'll have to consider Rwanda for the list...despite the obvious dangers. Quick note: Hotel Rwanda is an excellent movie. However, if you don't feel like watching a depressing and dramatically accurate story on film...watch something else!

Not Much...

The weekend was pretty good. A little hot, but good. Saturday we had the triple birthday party for Sarah K, Brittany, and I. Superman and I made a castle cake. Whoa. Way too much sugar!!! The canons were the best. We made them out of candles and peppermint patties for wheels. Had a great chat with Thirdmango and Ryan. It was nice to see everyone again...even though we all got together the weekend before. It just doesn't happen much. Which means we need to do it more often! Sunday was my 23rd birthday. Wow. I'm officially getting too old to still be at BYU as an undergrad. Bof. C'est ma vie! Superman made dinner and let me take a nap Sunday afternoon. It was heavenly. :) Monday morning came a little too soon. But, it was a great mail day! I heard from our red-headed friend in Montana and my old roommate in Italy. Mmm...Italian birthday chocolate. I had two midterms Monday morning, but it didn't ruin the day completely. FHE was a little silly. The ward went up to Lindon to have a "Watermelon Challenge". We ended up rolling the melons down the hill rather than actually playing watermelon football...guess we'll save that for next weekend. Superman, David, Katie, Shanna, and I carved a couple watermelons. Well, Superman and I carved...they ate the "guts". Katie ended up with one of the carvings on her head/face. I'll have to remember to post that photo. Yesterday was long, but not without joy. I managed an "A" on my language development exam. Had another chat with Thirdmango...thanks for the visit! And I passed cleaning checks. Sigh. It's the little things that make life pleasant. Today I will take a great and refreshing nap, read Harry Potter, swim/splash in the overcrowded pool, and generally waste the day. :) Happy Wednesday!

By Popular Demand...

I suppose if I were really that independent I wouldn't fill these things out merely because someone asks me to. Oh well. It was amusing for a bit!


A- Age you got your first kiss: 11…does kissing your fishing buddy on a camping trip behind a rock count? If not, 19...Freshman year...enough said.
B - Band listening to right now: Good Charlotte
C - Crush: Superman!
D- Dad's name: Jeffery Gray
E - Easiest person [people] to talk to: Superman, Hayley, Thirdmango…boys in general are easier to talk to than girls
F - Favorite band at the moment: Straylight Run
G - Gummy bears: I prefer the worms…with Goldfish
H - Hometown: Medford, Oregon
I - Instruments: piano…I played the violin during elementary school
J- Juice: raspberry lemonade
K - Kids: What exactly is the question? I don’t have any children, yet. I want children someday. I think it would be a blast to have lots of little boys.
L - Longest car ride ever: Medford to Provo…11 hours. Although, I took a train from Portland, Oregon to Fargo, North Dakota…about 36 hours.
M - Mom's name: Meghan Ann
N - Nicknames: My parents call me “Sara-Poodle”, sometimes Superman calls me “Wonderwoman”, Hayley calls me “Jellybean” or “Gaffer”, in high school my friends called me “DB”.
O - One wish: To see fireflies…only one more month!
P - Phobia[s]: Being picked up.
Q - Quote: “As well as fleeing from misfortune one must shy away from good fortune.” –Johan Huizinga
R - Reason to smile: Dancing and Superman…or dancing with Superman…
S - Song you sang last: Mamma Mia!
T - Time you woke up [today]: 9:06am…much better than the usual 4:35am
U - Unknown fact about me: I worked in a living history center/home as a piano student from 1910 for 5 summers.
V - Vegetable you hate: I used to hate radishes, but now I hate mushrooms.
W - Worst habit(s): Going to bed with my contacts in.
X - X-rays you've had: Left tibia, teeth.
Y - Yummy food: Sushi, sashimi, takoyaki, socca, pisaladiere
Z - Zodiac sign: Cancer

My Most Embarrassing Moment?

I’m not really sure if I have a most embarrassing moment. I can think of plenty to say about the strange things I’ve done or said, but they just don’t seem to warrant the term “most embarrassing”. Perhaps the grade I received in Botany or the time my pants ripped on stage while performing the Sailor’s Hornpipe deserves such a title. I’m sure I’ve been more embarrassed because of things I’ve said or talked about. The sophomore year quote board may shed some light on that. Embarrassing conversations and comments seemed to be my lot in life at that point…probably a result of extreme stress and lack of sleep. Emotional chaos tends to create situations in which embarrassment is inevitable. Perhaps embarrassment is measured by the responses of others…how long it gets talked about, whether or not it is officially recorded on a wall or in someone’s journal, a photograph published on the internet or sent to a missionary friend, the blessing of a new nickname, etc. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember who asked me about my most embarrassing moment. Hmm…guess they’ll just have to read this to get an answer!

1. This has been removed to protect the innocent! Sorry! It's pretty bad...

2. The time I told Superman’s older brother what I thought about his photocopied self: Never tell your best friend/boyfriend’s (who at the time was on a mission) older brother that he looks better in real life than in a photocopy of himself. I’m sure I deserved the look I got!

3.Dance performances can be humiliating: When I was 9 years old I often performed the Sailor’s Hornpipe solo for our Scottish Dance troupe’s gigs. I will never forget the sound of my pants ripping that somehow managed to overpower the bagpipes. Still embarrassed just thinking about it! During the first performance of BYU’s lu’au this last March, my lavalava managed to fall almost to my ankles. Not as bad as the pants ripping, but still awful.

4.Conversations: If you really want to know what strange and probably socially unacceptable conversations I’ve had, ask Thirdmango or Superman. They would definitely know best!

Just for you!

My 20 People and Their Random Facts...

1. Steve
2. Jon
3. Kayela
4. Katelyn
5. Garrett
6. Kim
7. Masha
8. Scott
9. Sarah K.
10. Diane
11. Sara R.
12. Bronson
13. O.J.
14. Robert
15. Kyle
16. Lisa
17. Sarah from upstairs
18. Eric the Red
19. Freda
20. Rob (the dinosaur)
Who is #8 going out with?: No one at the moment…at least that's what I’ve been told.
Is #9 a boy or a girl?: Girl
Would #11 and #2 make a good couple? Probably not. They’d drive each other nuts! French is her native language…English is his. Enough said.
How about #18 and #4?: Considering he’s married and she is my 17 year old sister…no. Although, he did take her to a BYU dance when she visited last year…before he met Susan, of course.
What grade is #17 in?: A junior at BYU.
When was the last time you talked to #12?: Last Saturday at our ice cream/dance party.
What is #6's favorite band?: Rascal Flatts?
Does #1 have any siblings?: He has one older brother, three younger brothers, and a little sister.
Would you ever date #3?: She’s a girl! And my roommate/best friend! And a missionary! Would you ever date #5?: He’s my little brother! And a missionary! I would, however, date someone a lot like him. Oh wait. I am!
Is #16 single?: She just got engaged to Matt and they will be married next June after he’s finished with basic training.
What's #15's last name?: Christensen
What's #10's fantasy?: To marry O.J. in Florida next month!
Would #14 and #19 make a good couple?: Actually…yes! Weird. I guess I’ll have to introduce them!
What school does #20 go to?: BYU
And #1: BYU
Tell me a random fact about #11: She’s from a French speaking island southeast of Madagascar (Mauritius).
And #3: She once thought I died in my sleep because I slept in past 9am. She didn’t panic, just poked me to see if I was cold.

Anything else you'd like to know?

Happy Bastille Day!

Not much of a celebration...mostly just work and classes. I suppose I could create some sort of blue-white-red dinner tonight. You can't be a French major and not at least attempt to celebrate the 14th of July! I'm sure I'd get more planning done if I weren't so tired and distracted! I was so excited at the beginning of the week...and now it's nearing the end and I haven't slept enough to think straight. That makes classes quite a challenge...especially evening classes. Oh well. Tomorrow is Friday and I have the whole day off after work. Maybe I'll celebrate tomorrow between naps and laundry. Although, we're having that triple birthday party Saturday night. Maybe we could just add Bastille Day to that...somehow it doesn't seem ethical. Besides, who can resist extra parties? Last weekend our ice cream party turned into a French department party. So, we could just claim it was an early celebration...
Hello to my friends in France: Jean-Claude, Beatrice, Aurore, Florine, Violaine (even though she's currently staying with my family in Oregon)
And to all my French department friends: Sara, Diane, Sarah, Sarah, Bronson, Katie, Becki, In other news...tonight we get our MFHD 355 tests back. Ugh. Not looking forward to that. I'm sure to be ashamed and humiliated. C'est la vie!

Little Brothers Are the Best!

I'm sure that older brothers are great, too. I just don't have one. So, little brothers are the best. At least mine is. He's currently serving in the Japan Sendai mission. Only 5 or 6 months until he comes home! Man, his Japanese has really improved! I'm jealous...mine has gone down the hill and then some. Too bad. Maybe I'll be more motivated to work on it after I finish watching the videos he sent. Anyway, back to little brothers being the best. He's the only boy in the family and sandwiched between myself and Katelyn. He's a great kid despite having been tortured for 18 years by two sisters. :) It's difficult to dislike my brother. He tends to be blunt, but rarely offends anyone for too long. Such a talent! Every week he e-mails his thoughts on life, the mission, his companion, our family, the gospel, and then nearly always gives us a lecture/talking to. This week he's big on being prepared to teach the gospel. He has Katelyn and I reading Preach My Gospel and reporting to him. I must admit, sometimes I ignore his little lectures, but this time I think I'll give it a shot. He is rather convincing and incredibly sincere. It's no wonder he manages to find people to listen to he and his companion. It's hard to ignore his simple, yet very detailed, testimony of the Atonement. I envy the girl that steals his heart. Garrett's great! Excuse me...Elder Schwanke is great!

MFHD 355 Exam Tonight!

It's hard to describe why Language Development (MFHD 355) is such a good class. It appears to be a very complicated class, but in reality it isn't. The key to doing well seems to be paying attention to the tangents provided by the professor and not the actual lecture material. The class is small; only about 3o girls...and no boys. Naturally. The professor takes the first 20 minutes to call roll...he writes us all down on a seating chart everyday. It's a very complicated process. If the class were only 50 minutes this would be awful. But, it happens to be 2 1/2 hours! We've all agreed that if we were to sign the roll and proceed with the lecture we'd be happier. Perhaps we'd even get out a little early! The fascinating thing about this class is not how it runs. It's the way he teaches! He's not only scatter-brained, but he tends to teach material from his other classes and not the material from our class. He usually brings a list of terms and page numbers for the material we are supposed to cover and then announces that we MUST read about those terms for the next class period. The next class, we are presented with random facts and studies pertaining to some other aspect of language or brain development that has very little to do with what we read and did not understand. Sigh. I think he needs to retire. Honestly, he seems to feel that feeding us whatever comes into his mind is equally important to our academic enlightenment as the pages in the book we don't discuss. Somehow, we all learn the material...it probably leaks into our brains in the middle of the night. The first exam is tonight...it's bound to be a novel experience. In other news...I managed an A on my physiology exam yesterday. There's hope yet for those of us in the humanities! Not that I am ashamed to be a French major.

What Happens When a New EQP is Called...

I finally remembered what I was going to share while I "talked" with Jon this morning. Superman moved into my ward this term and has since caused several rather embarrassing moments. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it now! Anyway, the real story is that the EQP handed out the home teaching assignments last week thinking he had everything under control. Wrong! Robert (FHE brother) came by Friday afternoon to tell me that he was my home teacher and asked if I knew where Superman was. And then he said the funniest thing ever: "He's my companion." My only reaction: "Weird." Poor Robert! I'm not sure he really understood that I didn't mean "weird" that he was my home teacher, just that Superman is as well. A similar conversation occurred when Robert located Superman and informed him of their home teaching duties. Superman's reaction: "Weird. This could be strange." Again, poor Robert! I'm sure that he is now fully aware of the little problem. My conversation with Superman over what ought to be done was equally amusing. According to Superman, our dating situation is a "pre-existing condition" and ought to give the EQP enough reason to change their home teaching assignment. Apparently dating me is a disease...pre-existing condition, my eye. Well, I suppose it is. There's just got to be a better way to say it! Other strange results of this ward and new callings...I am the FHE grandmother, also mother of a group...thus I have two "husbands": one is also my son and the other is the grandfather and father of the other group. So complicated! My children are then also my grandchildren...this includes Superman. If he were in the other group he would be my grandson, but not my son...or maybe he would be my nephew...now I see why many wards refrain from calling FHE group leaders "parents"!

Memories of Strange Days and Even Stranger Nights

Mom was right; taking pictures of funny moments makes life worth living. If you can't document the brightest moments of college life, than what are you in college for? And why would you ever want to forget Sarah in leather pants, Rob in pink stripes, Bryce with bows in his hair, Sara and Sarah creating dances to memorize botany terms, etc? For that matter, where would the many wall decorations, apartment quotes, and shrines come from? You certainly can't create a shrine to a long gone friend in New England or Brazil without the best (and sometimes worst) photos from their pre-hiatus lives! No one will ever forget Jon eating all those bowls of Marshmallow Mateys or his miraculous personality-changing hair cut. It's definitely better to be the photographer...or the editor! New goal for the week: Take more photos!