all done

Well, I made it through another semester. If all goes well I will have two more semesters at SLCC and then I can move on to higher education. Hooray learning! This was my happy school is out for a few weeks face:

Last week we celebrated my brothers birthday. We successfully surprised him too! A few texts to some of his friends, who in turn shared the message with more friends, added up to a house full of happy people. KC is a very sweet man and everyone loves him. I find that whenever I am with him I am full of joy. He makes life better.

Also last week Camille came to visit. She was only here for a few days so we really tried to jam everything in.

Baby Emily is so calm and good. 

We visited my Grandpas house while she was here. It feels so different there now. Just a shell. Years ago, when I would walk into the house I would be flooded with memories of mattresses on the living room floor for big cousin sleepovers and the smell of pork roast and mashed potatoes or the sound of the AC blasting. Now when I walk in I feel sort of empty- I expect to recall those special things but they aren't there anymore. I think maybe the memories were never in the house to begin with. Maybe they've always been inside me and I can call upon them anytime I want.

The yard is overgrown. The Lilacs are shriveled. Roses will bloom still, whether we tend to them or not. I wonder if it makes my dad sad to see his home like this. I wonder what will happen to it.

so close!

1 more bowling class
4 more intro to psych classes
4 more lifespan development classes

This semester was so much fun. In the past, at this point in the semester, I have usually been stressed to tears. This time around I feel confident and happy. I'm studying things that are actually interesting to me and the knowledge I'm gaining will hopefully aid me in my future career.

I only get two weeks off between this semester and the summer session so I plan to use that time wisely.
I will:
- go on a girls trip to southern utah
- celebrate mothers day, my dads birthday, and Sarahs birthday!
- finish reading Bonk and a couple others i've started
- put things in the Etsy shop I created and get that organized
- ride my bike to and fro
- relax
- get wild


hope your spring is off to a good start. xo

april and feelings

April is a beautiful month. Spring comes to town but keeps a moody arms distance. It snowed this morning on my way to school, but as I peek out the window now I see blue sky and puffy white clouds. I've been accompanied by a low melancholy mood for the past couple of days. I found out that Megans dad died on Monday and I feel brokenhearted for her.

Hug your parents.
Hug your siblings.
Hug your friends.
Forgive people. Forgive forgive forgive them.
Forgive yourself.  Let go.
Love the people who are worth it and disengage with those who do not deserve your energy.



I'll have a happy note for you tomorrow, I promise.
hugs

probably not your flavor

with the craziness of work and school and family and friends I like to make certain that I have time for non academic reading. me time. me and book and hot tea time.

I recently finished these books...

First- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

This book kind of rocked my world. Death is such a taboo subject in our society, so it felt really good to read about it and think about it without feeling like I was going to upset someone. She shares scientific research on topics like beheading, embalming, car and plane crashes, and a variety of cadaver study procedures. Mary Roach is a great writer and as soon as I finished this one I moved right on to another one she wrote called Bonk. If you're fascinated with death and dying and what happens phsyically (not spiritually, she doesn't touch that) with our bodies you should definitely read this!


Second- Rob Delaney. Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. 

Okay so that's the silliest book title I've ever laid eyes on but this book was fantastic. I fell in love with Rob Delaney on the internet a couple years ago. He's funny. He's funny as hell guys. His book is a compilation of stories from his life ranging from childhood mischief to heartbreaking adulthood realities. He made me laugh. He made me cry. He made me laugh so hard that I cried and then continued to cry because it felt good. He is extremely vulgar though and none of his stories can be shared without at least 10 really horrible words that you'd never say in front of your mother (or even your cat).  I want to hug you Rob Delaney.


What are you reading? Should I read it too?

busted

This eye opening article was circulating around the internet today:

http://www.lifebuzz.com/just-stop/

... and it resonated greatly with me.

several of the things on the list stood out to me but one in particular was:

#5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

Finding out who you are is a lifelong process full of forked roads and changing scenery. So how can you truly be yourself if you're constantly on a journey to find out who that is?

Start with what you know.
Start with the basics. 
Start by being honest with yourself when it comes to your needs and feelings.

Chipping away at nagging self doubts, negative people, and self destructive thinking can be a slow process but you have to start somewhere.


I hope you're loving who you are today.

hugs

I can't lie

I'm here to tell you that my murdery tendencies have struck again. I killed the basil plant. I didn't want to. Maybe I knew I was going to from the start? Probably. It was destined to die.

ALL of my other plants are still alive and growing, I am happy to report. I had to take my darling ivy plant over to my moms house to live because apparently most ivy is toxic to kitties. My mom will take good care of it and I will visit him (flo - rida) frequently.

I wanted to share a recipe with you today. Measurements are rough and to your taste so I don't know if this really counts as a recipe but I've been shoveling so much of it into my mouth I felt like I had to tell you.

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic:

Serves 2-3 depending on how far you are willing stretch your stomach in one sitting.

1/2 head cauliflower
2 cloves roughly chopped garlic
1 small lemon, cut in half
extra virgin olive oil- about 2 tbsp 
salt and pepper

• Pre heat your oven to 400
• Chop the cauliflower into small florets
• Toss with olive oil and garlic in a good size bowl
• Transfer to a baking sheet and spread the florets (thats a funny word) out evenly. 
• Cut your lemon in half. Use one half now, squeezing the juice all over your cauliflowers. 
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
• Bake for 15-20 minutes
• Use remaining half of your lemon to add more sexy flavors to your cauliflower. 
• Taste and add more salt if you think you need to. I'm not the boss of you
• I couldn't make this bullet point go away so please forgive me okay thanks.
  
  
  
  
  
  I can only show you a photo of the pre baked cauliflower because my desire to eat it was stronger than my desire to have a pretty photo for you. 
  Did you know that cauliflower is very high in Vitamins C and K?  It is. Cool huh. It's also a part of the cruciferous family (cabbage, brussels, bok choy, broccoli) and some studies have shown us that these veggies can help prevent certain kinds of cancer. Honk my horn. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I hope you try it. 
  
  hugs.

and all you see

The sunrise was beautiful today.
I desperately wanted to crawl back into bed after my shower. Anything before 7 AM can be tough, ya know? I quietly get ready for the day while Curtis snores and the cats stretch their legs and yawn. It's inviting. It's tempting. But I've got places to go, quizzes to take, work to do.

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

I gently kiss a snoring manfriend on his cheek and sneak out the back door as quietly as I can. 


I had forgotten about the previous evenings snowfall and hadn't budgeted time for my car to warm itself. Parked next to me is Curt's frozen car and I know he'll be awake soon to take Leila to school. I know he'll frown and mumble curse words when he sees that this is not easy, fluffy, wipe away snow on our cars- this is crusty, stubborn, iced over snow.
While my car purrs loudly, I clear the ice chunks from his windows. My scraper is bigger than his, and I like him a lot.
I smile knowing that it will make his morning just a tiny bit smoother. If scraping the ice off your partners car isn't true love, I don't know what is.



This morning I aced the lecture quiz in my human development class. 22/20 points.
Also, this morning, I discovered that I received 100 points on a rough exam I took right before spring break.
I'm high on good grades, guys.  I'm completely buzzed on studying and applying new knowledge to real life experiences.

happy tuesday friends. i hope you're high on something sweet and natural too.