Procrastination

I started and finished two and a half papers between last night and this morning. Oh boy am I pumped.  Sadly, I still have an eight page paper to complete and a few journal entrees to finish by tomorrow morning. That eight-pager is going to kill me. I haven't even thought about what I'm going to write for it.  

Tomorrow is dress up day.  I have two presentations that I really don't give a crap about. Apathy feels really good right now. I can't believe I just thought that thought. The high school version of myself would have gotten up on a soapbox about that kind of statement.  

I got to see Lucy last Saturday.  I like her. She barely fusses, but when she does, you just have to talk to her a little and she gets really quiet just to listen.  I could learn a thing or two from her, I think.

I have let my brain wonder a little bit today. I have some ideas for wedding invitations, but they mean that I'll probably have to start making them now to get them done in time to send them out next year. Yeah right. 

Home.

I have (if you pretend that today is not happening) two more weeks until summer vacation. mmph. There is just so much to do in between now and then, but I don't really want to talk about it.

What I do want to talk about is everything that is going to happen after that. I am determined not to waste a second this summer.  I have a list of about 40 books to read.  I'm hopefully going to be working 40 hours a weeks at the computer labs so I'll get plenty of time to spend reading.  I've already started in on my list... Which isn't good because now, I have a choice between reading a good book and working on my projects for class. I seem to choose "book" more often than not.

I read Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver last week.  She's the same author who wrote Poisonwood Bible, which I have not read, but probably will now.  I loved the book.  It is about three characters all living in a small town in the Appalachian mountains. It gave me an awful craving for trees and summer and honeysuckle.

This week I'm reading My name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok.  It is about an Orthodox Jewish boy with a gift for drawing.  It has been painfully easy for me to identify with the main character, but I haven't been able to put it down.  This book might rate high on my list when I'm finished with it. I got it at the library, but I don't think I would mind owning it at all.

I am taking a photography class next semester, so my plan for this summer is to practice with my camera a bit and get used to using it again.  I regret letting the hobby go after I got out of high school.  I'm not a very bold photographer, but hopefully I'll get enough practice this summer so I can go into class with a little bit of confidence.  I'm going to force myself to carry the thing around with me every where, despite my fears of people thinking I'm a fake who only takes pictures of her pets to post them on Facebook. Yes I really do fear that judgement... ha.

Yesterday Kevin and I went to take a look at the place I'm going to be living next year.  It is a cute little one bedroom duplex in the Village.  The kitchen and bedroom could use a little work, but I love the living room, and can't wait to have a refrigerator that is all my own.

  

New

Yesterday morning, my darling new niece, Lucy Jo Fay gave my sister and brother-in-law quite a day. "Little" Lucy weighed in at nearly 11 pounds! No wonder Cara's belly was bigger than when she was pregnant with Sam.

Kevin and I took off to meet her yesterday afternoon. I wasn't able to go and see Sam until he was four days old, so I was pretty happy to have the chance to see Lucy when she was brand new. She has chunky legs and a teddy bear face, and she was so tired from all the work it took to be born that she just slept in my arms the whole time I had her. We'll see what kind of personality develops, but I have high hopes. Cara thinks that she got the nose that my mom and I are so lucky to sport.

It was so strange because I'm used to being around busy little Sam. Even Kevin's niece is starting to be pretty active. I forgot how tiny and sleepy newborns tended to be. Kevin was nervous about holding her, but she just wanted to cuddle up. I'm looking forward to when she gets wiggly and a little more interactive, but I like being around her now, too.

Here's a picture are Kevin, Lucy and I together. Don't mind Kevin's black eye. He got hit with a Frisbee a few weeks ago. Poor guy. I loved when Lucy put her little hand on my chest- just a tiny little baby hug.

Today Kevin and I are celebrating our second anniversary. I feel really lucky to have some one that has been my best friend for such a long time. Two years just doesn't seem like enough. I can't wait to collect more.

I don't really know how Kevin plans on celebrating. This week is a pretty busy week for him, but before I left for work, he told me to wear something kind of fancy-ish. We'll see what he's up to.

10 things I can't wait for any more.

1. Yesterday, Kevin and I went to Lowe's to get gardening supplies. Yes yes... that was fun and everything. However, my favorite part of our Lowe's trip was the walk to the check out counter. We had to pass the paint aisle, and I may have spend 15 minutes picking out paint chips that I thought we great. Now all I need is a new house to paint. Just a few more months... ugh.

2. Carl and Carolyn had a baby on Monday. I want to go and see him this weekend. I also want to go and see my new niece/ nephew when they get here in a few weeks. Babies are everywhere, and I'm starting to love it.
Side note: I like babies and everything, but ten-year-olds are a different story. Some random kid pinched me for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. ten year-olds are definitely something I can wait for.

3. Going back to gardening, We are doing a lot of container gardening this summer due to all of the moving that will be happening. Kevin is in charge of most of the veggies, but he has allowed me to use a few of our pots to grow flowers. I'm picked out seed to grow cosmos, morning glories, and daisies. they are going to be lovely.

4. School is out in just a month and a half. I'm not quite to the point of burn out, but I feel it coming. I should be writing a paper about legal prostitution right now. Or studying for a test. Or looking up forums on line for parents with teens. Or writing journals on alternative news sources. Or studying for that other test. Or recruiting participants for a focus group. Or coming up with a location to present another paper that I should start soon. Instead, I'm watching The Office online, and writing this blog.

5. It is almost shorts weather. We had a few days this week where it was appropriate to be less clothed than normal. I have yet to actually wear shorts because my legs are "Ultra Premium Dove White" according to the Val spar paint chip sample.

6. I gave Milo a hair cut yesterday. He looks cute... but he looks like a dog... not a puppy. I miss shaggy Milo.

7. Our friends, Johnathan and Jeanette were supposed to come and visit this weekend. Our plans fell through, but it makes me even more motivated to arrange a weekend with them.

8. Every time I call my mom, she busy doing something to her house. It is going to look so different the next time we go down to Zionsville to visit.

9. Ellen is probably going to Portland Oregon this summer. I'm so jealous. Sadly, I probably won't be able to visit, but I'm looking forward to Skype cooking with her.

10. I've made it my goal to start using my camera again. It is a nice one, so it is silly that I never take it out of it's bag. I hope to sign up for a digital photography class in the fall.

Morel Hunting

Spring Break is officially over. It was a pretty great week, I guess. My parents are moved into their new home. It's a nice house, and I think they both have a lot of good ideas on how to improve it. The backyard it the best part. It's huge, and it has a great little area for a lot of gardening, and a swing set that reminds me of the swing set Cara and I used to have. It will be fun watching Sam and any other future grandchildren my parents have play back there. I think Milo and Moses will love it, too.

I worked early in the morning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, So I didn't get to sleep in too much, but I was able to nap a lot and read a bit (less than I had intended... sad). I'm glad summer is almost here. I feel like I have some major reading that I want to do, but school just seems to get in the way of that. If you have any suggestions for me, I'm all ears. Oh also, for those married people out there, Kevin and I are looking for a... pre-marriage preparation book that we can read together. I've look on Amazon a little, but most of them don't have any customer reviews, so I have no idea what is actually good. Let me know what you think.

Yesterday, Kevin and I went to Greencastle with his dad to hunt mushrooms. We went to a few places that Kevin's dad called the "deep woods," but we weren't convince that we were really that deep. It was quiet, though. We were looking for black morels, but I guess it was just a little too early for them. We found exactly zero mushrooms, but we did manage to dig up a sassafras root. Kevin and I are going to make tea with it later today. It smells so good.

I'm back at work in the computer lab this morning. All of the hiking from yesterday left me a little sore and waking up wasn't that easy, but I would consider it a pretty successful Spring Break.

My friend Carolyn might be having a baby today. She went in bright (actually it was still dark) and early this morning. They are keeping a blog updated with new events, and I have a feeling that my day will mostly consist of clicking the refresh button on that Web site. Oh, baby.

Update.

I have no idea what I'm going to write on here, but I haven't actually posted anything in a long time, so I thought I should give it a shot.

I'm getting a new niece/ nephew in a few weeks. My current nephew is entertaining, and I'm just not sure if his cuteness can even be matched. I've already warned my sister that it may be hard for me to not play favorites. We'll see if this new kid proves me wrong. =)

My parents sold their house. Next weekend I'm going to Indianapolis to help them move. It was a strange thought when I realized that I'm going to have to look up directions to my parent's home on map quest the next time I go to visit them. They have been living in that house since I was three years old, so it is odd to imagine them anywhere else. They did a great job turning the house into a really wonderful space to live in, so I'm looking forward to see what kinds of things they come up with in a new space.

Speaking of moving, my roommate and I just realized that our lease is up at our house in two months. I have really loved living in this house, but the thought of moving is exciting. I'll love living in a house that is all mine when August roles around.

My landlord for next year is Kevin's boss, so I'm (mostly) going to be able to paint and do whatever I want to the place. If it is a good living situation, Kevin and I plan to stay in it after we are married, so I'd like to really make it our own. I honestly don't remember what it actually looks like. Jack (the landlord/boss) showed it to me while he was in between making deliveries for the restaurant, so it was a quick walk through. I remember that it is small and cozy, and I remember this random tiled counter top that would be a great place to put Moses' food bowl, but other than that, I just know I really loved it. I wish I could remember more so I could start prep-planning things.

Kevin and I have been spending a lot of time at the Heorot (a local bar in downtown Muncie) in the past 6 months. They have an ungodly amount of beer in that place, and their challenge is to drink 100 different kinds of beer in 6 months. Kevin and I decided on a whim to try it, even though we didn't like many beers when we started. We finished of final beers last Sunday evening. It was such a wonderful night, with a lot of our favorite Heorot buddies there to witness. Hopefully in a few weeks they'll get our names put up on the bar for all to see.

Animals are healthy. Moses just turned 2ish! We think she's officially out of her teenage angst phase because she likes cuddling with us again. Whew... I don't know if I could even handle a real teenager. Milo is getting old, too. Every time I look at him, he seems like he has less and less puppy in him. He's staying with our friend Tim this summer (who will be able train him much better than we can). I'm hoping (without really talking to Kevin about any of this) to get another kitten after the summer is over. If any one comes across and orange male kitten, let me know. I'd love to get a bigger cat, to contrast Moses' tininess, and to handle Milo's abuse.

Lets see... Most of my classes are good, the others are boring and repetitive. I'm almost finished with my Sociology major, but I still have a year to go.

My job is going well, I guess. I don't know how it couldn't, though.

Wedding planning is non-existent. During the first few months of being engaged, I could stop thinking about it. Now, I have realized that my wedding is over a year away, and I just don't really care to worry about it. We'll probably look at locations this summer but until then, I'm just enjoying being engaged.

Valentine's survey

This is a few days late for Valentine's day. but Shel had this up on her blog, and I liked it, and I haven't posted a blog in awhile.  Enjoy.

1. What are your middle names? Marie and Lee
2. How long have you been together? Well... We've known each other for almost two years. We have been together a little bit here and there since that point. Ha.
3. Do you have any children together? Someday.
4. What about pets? Moses the cat and Milo the dog.
5. Did you go to the same school? Yep.
6. Are you from the same hometown? No.
7. Do you live in the same town now? Yes!
8. Who is the smartest? Kevin.
9. Who is the most sensitive? Sensitive to what?  Probably me...
10. Where is the first place you went to eat as a couple? China Express probably.  He made me eat lo mein and white rice together.  It is now my favorite meal.
11. Do you wear matching clothes? I'm sure we could wear each other's clothes fairly easily.
12. Where is the furthest you have traveled as a couple? Indianapolis? or Maybe Greencastle?
13. Who has the craziest ex[es]? Him.  I don't have enough exes to have any crazy ones.
14. Who has the worst temper? Kevin
15. Who does the cooking? Mostly me, but he makes a mean fried rice.
16. Who's more social? Usually him.
17. Who is the neat freak? usually me, but when he gets in the mood to clean, he's hard to stop.
18. Who is the most affectionate? I think we are equally affectionate.
19. Who is the most stubborn? Him.
21. Who wakes up earlier? By choice? Me.
22. Where was your first date? Kevin's House.  We made spaghetti and climbed a tree and took a walk and watched 10 Things I Hate About You. It was the best date ever.
23. Who said "I Love You" first? Kevin did.
24. How did you spend your 1st year anniversary? I don't even remember.
25. Who has the bigger family? I don't really know, and I'm not going to count.
26. Who is younger? Me,
27. Who is the life of the party? Neither of us. Ha!
28. Who do you hope your kids turn out more like? I don't know how to answer that.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? We don't wear pants yet.
30. What's your favorite thing to do together? Going to the Heorot... or doing a crossword puzzle.
31. Do you have the same political views? Usually.
32. Who has the most stuff? Me.
33. Who controls the remote? We don't even have a remote. We're old school.
34. Who does the driving? Me.
35. Who takes out the garbage? Him.
36. Who does the cleaning? He's the dish doer, I keep the rest of the house picked up, usually.
37. Who does the laundry? I guess we both do at this point.
38. Who is the funniest? Me.  or Him.  I don't know.  

Happy Valentine's Day.

I'd like to live in Athens... Ohio.

The other night Kevin and I went out for drinks with some new friends.  One of the girls we were hanging out with just moved from Ohio to Muncie for graduate school in dietetics.  She raved all night about the town she live in - Athens, Ohio.  Both Kevin and I took some interest in her ramblings because it is 1. A college town, 2. Fairly liberal for being in the Midwest, 3. Close enough to our families, but far enough away to seem like an adventure, and 4. A town with high community involvement.

Fast forward to the next morning. Kevin had to go in to meet his undergraduate biology advisor to make a plan for his next few semesters.  He declared a focus in botany, which his advisor had a lot to say about.  Apparently, he is the head of the biology department here, and got his PhD in botany. Where did he get his PhD, you ask? Oh, that would be Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

This town and this college have very quickly become topics of interest for us both.  Right now, there are a lot of things that are up in the air for us as far as plans for the future go. And when it comes time for Kevin to decide on schools for graduate studies, we'll definitely want to go where it is best for us. However, right  now it is fun to daydream about Athens, Ohio.  I don't know if we'll actually end up going there, but the thought of it all has gotten me thinking about possible future occurrences.  I'm looking forward to whatever happens.  

a great sick day

Sadly, I woke up this morning with the beginning signs of the flu.  Not so sadly, I was able to see the inaugural address online while I was laying in bed.  Here are some of my favorite parts of Barack Obama's Speech.

"The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our GDP, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every wiling heart; not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."

"America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity... Your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy... To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

A story from my childhood.

The past couple of day have reminded me of a horror story I wrote when I was little. I'll do my best to re-tell it here.

I was walking home from school one day when I saw a little baby bird that froze to death, and way laying in the middle of the sidewalk. Seeing it made me so sad and I started to cry. It was so cold out that day that my tears froze, and my eyeballs froze, and I died right next to the baby bird.

Later, my sister was taking the same path home from school. She saw the baby bird, and she saw me. It made her so sad, and she starting crying. It was so cold out that day that her tears froze, and her eyeballs froze, and she died right next to the baby bird, and me.

My mom was waiting for us at home, but when she started to worry when we didn't come home. So she took the path that we always took between school and home. She saw the baby bird, she saw my sister, and she saw me. It made her so sad, and she started crying. It was so cold out that day that her tears froze, and her eyeballs froze, and she died right next to the baby bird, my sister, and me.

When my dad got home from work that night he was surprised to find an empty house. He wondered what had happened to us, and he decided to take the path to school to check to see if we were there. He saw the baby bird, he saw my mom, he saw my sister, and he saw me. It made him so sad, but he never cries, so he didn't die.

The End.

Now really... I'm going to go get started on all of that reading...

procrastination isn't going to work.

I have about 250 pages of reading to do for this weekend. 200 of those pages are from one class. I'm trying to come up with good excuses in my head for why I don't need to read all of these pages, but I think I am out of luck. I feel sick to my stomach thinking about what would happen if I allowed this to pile up any more than it already has. Thank you, Week One, for thoroughly kicking my butt. Week Two- "You have no power over me!" (bonus points if you can name that movie.)

I made potato pizza for dinner last night. I didn't get a very clear verdict from Kevin, but I thought it was delicious. And what was even more delicious was the fact that I had all of the ingredients available in my kitchen. I love it when that happens. Kevin and I have plans during the summer to go an entire month of eating nothing but pizza. We decided that It was probably the most versatile of all dishes, and we are convinced that we won't get tired of it. If you have any good/ different (preferably both good AND different) pizza recipes, tell me about them. I want to start putting a notebook of recipes together.

I have about fifteen bazillion friends who are pregnant right now or recently had children. I'm really not kidding. Congratulations to Cara, Shel, Kirby, Darcy, Kendra, Carolyn, Bria, and Whitney. And welcome to the world Chloe, Oliver, Aaron, and Dominic. I think we are in the middle of another baby boom.

brr

The high today is zero degrees in Muncie, Indiana... in case you were wondering.

first week back.

-My Business Communication professor told us that she was reading the Twilight series.  I cannot believe that an educator with a PhD would 1.) waste their time with those books, and 2.) claim that they were "good reads." However, the most ironic part of this story is that we are not allowed to wear hats in her class because (and yes I did write down her exact quote because it amused me so much),  "This is a business class, and wearing hats in an environment where you are learning to be professional and to exemplify higher education, hats just don't seem to fit in." Barf.

-I have a professor that I kind of had my freshman year.  I actually dropped his class back then after the first day because he made me so angry.  Now, I think I kind of like him.  I think it is funny how much we change in our college years.

- I may have no real free time during the days.  however my nights and weekend are wide open and I am way happy about that.

- My car broke down. Twice.  It was fun. I have to go pick it up tomorrow.  I hope it works this time.