Goodbye old year!

I went out with my sister this afternoon and we stopped for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I don't go out for dinner often, and even less often do I get to go out with her. It was cold and grey outside so it was a nice treat to go out with her. She brightens my life. :) She ordered this crazy-good drink! A strawberry lemonade. I'm sure we're the last on the planet to discover this drink, but that may be a good thing. I'm already trying to figure out how we can replicate it and make them whenever we want to! It tastes like lemonade, seltzer water with strawberry pieces floating inside. But perhaps there is also a strawberry syrup in there too...I'm definitely going to have to try to make this. Maybe it can be one of my New Years resolutions. ;)

I am proud to say that my younger sister has picked up the habit (or new tradition perhaps?) of photographing things even when it's a bit unconventional to do so. I think our server probably thought we were weird for taking pictures of Holly's drink. But anything for the blogs, right? I know Becca used to tease me for taking pictures of my tea or of the signs on the shops that we went to, but I'm so glad that I can look back and read about and see what happened this past year or so.

Holly took a photography course this past year so I think she has been enjoying photography a lot lately! She took these last couple of pictures.

Well, it's not quite 8 pm and I'm already in bed. Teeth brushed (and flossed...if I learned one thing as a dental assistant it is that it is better to spend 30 extra seconds flossing your teeth than it is to spend 30 minutes in the chair all numbed up for a filling!), face washed, electric blanket on and I'm all tucked in for the night with yarn, my sketchbook, books and the world wide web. I think I'll be busy for the next few hours. :)

I may post about the old year on the other blog but since I have plans for tomorrow, I'll end here and say Happy New Year, blog!

Long time,,,

Wow, was it really August when I last wrote here? We're just finishing finals now! I've been so incredibly busy that I've kind of forgotten this little place. I am sort of sad that I didn't write here this semester...it's been such a time of changing and learning and living. It's been great. After getting over my initial shock of being here (which took a couple of weeks) I started to find that I was enjoying myself. This place is not bad at all. In fact, I kind of love it here. I've had so many opportunities to meet people and make new friends, learn new things, and discover new places. I've learned some stuff about myself too. It hasn't all been peachy, but all-in-all I'm so grateful to be here.

I switched my major. I'm no longer a Human Nutrition and Foods major. Instead I am a ceramics major. That non-major ceramics class = the most wonderful class I've ever taken! I love it so much that I switched my whole major to it. I'm so excited! I am also excited because it's the most spontaneous thing I've done, and it was one of my goals this year to do something spontaneous (I know that's lame, but I'm making strides here. ;). It's funny, even from the first time we got to work with the clay I was hooked! All we did was try to center it, and most of us couldn't do it. I think one guy in our class was able to do it. I remember getting completely filthy, scraping up my hands on the wheel and being unable to get my clay centered and it was still the most fun thing I felt like I'd ever done. I had been calling home and saying how I didn't like it here and was going to transfer home (being a big baby, really) and that night I called home and told my mom how excited I was about this class. Then I got off the phone with her and called my co-worker and told her how awesome it was and that I wished I could switch my major, because if trying to center clay was that much fun then I couldn't even imagine how much fun I'd have if I was actually making good stuff! But then I said I'd never switch my major...that would be impractical.

Well, I guess I'm impractical now. :) I just can't stay away from the studio! And now that the semester is coming to a close (my last final is tomorrow) I am very sad that my first semester is over and I have to go three weeks without being in the studio. Our class party was on Monday and I almost cried when I got home. I'm obsessed.

But that little nagging feeling of being ready to cry hasn't quite left yet. I get so sentimental and I'm sad to leave this semester behind. Firsts are special. First job, first love, first car, first semesters (I realize that may sound kind of strange)...it's always going to have a special place because it was so new and exciting. I haven't cried though. There is really nothing to cry for. I've had a blessed time here and it will be wonderful to go home and see family and friends and catch up on my sleep and hopefully work a little bit. I'm trying really hard to go to RADIATE09 this semester! We'll see what happens!

I've pretty much finalized my schedule for next semester. I'm taking a bunch of art classes and BOWLING! :) Should be lots of fun. Hopefully I'll be back in this space more often. I have lots of sewing to do this break since I won't be in the studio! I am hoping to work on a lot of stuff! :)

Convocation (yeah, I don't know what it means either)

Yesterday we all had to load up (smoosh into) buses and we went to the Coliseum for Convocation. Basically it's a university welcome. Fieldcrest was in section 26 and I sat at the very top! It was pretty cool. This is the stadium empty. We must have been one of the first groups to get there because it took forever before all the other halls and commuters got there. This picture shows about half of the crowd.

This was when we were about to get started. It took forever to get everyone in there and ready to go. It was pretty boring waiting. It seems that most of the people on my floor are freshman and they are some of the most immature people...they were all talking about all the partying that they did the night before.

Basically we had to sit and watch a little video that they made of someone trying to get to the coliseum because "it starts there." Then the basketball coach got up and said a few words as did one of the philosophy professors and the new president and the SGA president and the mascot and some student athletes and...you get the picture, right? Basically we heard praises sung in honor of WVU for about an hour before we were allowed to go home. Oh, we got these tee shirts for free:

The reason was one of our student speakers was giving a talk on WVU traditions. One of these traditions is the "Lets Go Mountaineers" chant. Another is the "Country Roads" song. When the girl mentioned Country Roads I swear a bunch of people started squealing. They said that whenever you're at a game and we win the WVU fans all link arms and sway back and forth while singing Country Roads. And then they made us put on our WVU tees and practice. People were getting really into it. The row in front of me was really into it; all of them were holding hands and singing and swaying...my row not so much. The two girls next to me were singing it, and they're from Kentucky and Philly, I don't know the song and the guys next to me just looked at his feet. Oh well. Maybe some of this Mountaineer pride will rub off on me before my time here is up.

Classes start today. I have Trig and Ceramics tonight! Wahoo! I'm glad I got into the Ceramics class. I almost got into Ballroom dancing because there was an opening, but I had a time conflict with my social psychology class. Bummer. I'm also taking Uni 101, Chem 2, Chem 2 lab, and a minor course for Family and Consumer science. For some reason I thought I was taking 7 courses, but I'm only taking 6. I would have liked to pick up a piano class, but I had a major restricion so I can't. I guess it gives me time to work though. I need to go out and find a job. I think getting through this first week without working though will help because it will help me figure out how much time I need to get around places.

I'll write again after my classes.

Dorm room:

Well, this is almost everything I brought with me to school. We packed up the car on Thursday afternoon and this is mainly what came with me. My laptop case isn't in there, and there may be one or two other small things that I didn't pack up. But yes, the sewing machine did come with me and so did some other crafting stuff. I have to bring some stuff with me, right? :) So this is my room. My home away from home. It seems so weird. But it's nicer than I thought it would be. I get the bottom bunk! And I get the dressar that's farthest away from the beds. I practically have the whole room to myself because my roommate is pretty much living with her boyfriend this semester. It's kind of nice because I don't think we really click. At all.

This is my desk. I've never had a desk before so it's kind of nice to have one now. I have my mini-fridge next to it too. This is my roommate's desk. She brought shelving and everything. She seems like a very organized person. Maybe I'll learn something from her. I'm not exactly the most organized person. That door is our bathroom. I was so happy that I didn't have to share a bathroom with a bajillion people. Call me snobby or germaphobic, but I am much happier with my own bathroom!

These are my roommate's fish. They are live-bearing fish and they eat their own young. When I first saw them there was a little baby fish swimming around. I didn't see it again till this morning. I thought it had gotten eaten, but it looks like it's surviving still. Though I'm not quite sure how. I don't know if my roommate has actually fed them since she put them in here.
So college life is quite an adjustment. I'm not sure I actually like it. And even though I'm not going to parties, you can't get away from some of the wild crazy stuff down here. Last night I went out with Courteney, which was fun. It made me feel more relaxed about being here. She showed me the Rec Center and where to catch the bus to get to class and things like that. I found my PRT station yesterday. I went out and caught the PRT downtown to the MountainLair and had someone show me where my classes are going to be. But I'm changing my class schedule so it will be a little bit different. I dropped physics and I'd like to drop accounting. I want to pick up a music class or dancing class, but so far when I tried to register it won't let me do anything.

We're going out this afternoon for something called Convocation. It's a University welcome and is a requirement for University 101 which I'm not taking this semester but will apparently need to take in order to graduate. Honestly, I feel like I'm just going to try to get through this semester and if I don't like it by the time I finish I'll transfer back home. I miss my family and the dogs. And my friends and my car and knowing how to get everywhere. I didn't think I'd feel homesick but I do. I'm glad I'm going home this coming weekend. It will be sort of a relief.

So last night I set off my fire alarm in my room. I took a shower and when I came out of the bathroom I left the bathroom door open and the steam set off my fire alarm. I was pretty embarrased! I had originally thought that everyone's alarms were going off because someone pulled the fire alarm but, no, it was just my room. People were coming out of their rooms to see what was going on and two of my RAs came in and told me to start fanning the alarm and then they said to open my window the next time I took a shower.

So now I'm a little bit afraid to take a shower! Ha ha!

Courteney is taking me to the Bible study she goes to on Tuesday night. We're also going to try to take a yoga class at the Rec Center. It should be fun. The rec center is really nice.

Oh yeah, one last thing: I got my braces off on Wednesday! No more metal mouth! Except I do have to wear my retainer for a year so that's not really fun. But it's still better than braces. I'm pretty pleased!

Catching up...again!

So it's been a little while since I last wrote about what I'm up to. I finished working last week. Whew! After a busy summer it's nice to get a little break. Though to be honest I haven't exactly been spending my "break" resting a lot. I've been up early a lot and going to bed late and staying busy during the day. It's good though.

Today I finally got a chance to visit with Elizabeth before we go back to school. She and I got breakfast and then went bowling. It was a lot of fun. I've decided that I really like bowling! I bowled a 63 and she bowled a 64. Sweet! What's even sweeter is spending time with a christian friend. She's a special girl.

Ick...bowling shoes! We brought socks so we wouldn't have to put our bare feet in those. lol.

I used the pink bowling ball!

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done by next Thursday afternoon. Mom suggested that I write up a To-Do list. I'm not sure if it will help very much but here it is.
Here is the "finish packing" part. I've thrown out a bunch of stuff, given away quite a bit of stuff and still I have all kinds of junk floating around my room. Why? I realize that I'm a bit of a bargain shopping addict and I seem to think that if it's a really good sale I shouldn't pass it up. I plan to break myself of that addiction. All the money I could have saved if I hadn't bought this thing or that thing...even if it was 75% off or whatever. Oh well. What's done is done. No use worrying about it now.

Here's the quilt I've been working on. I had to rip out a bunch of the stitches I did when I was machine quilting it because I messed up the back. I've learned my lesson: Pin, pin, pin, pin, pin. And then pin some more! I'm pleased with the way it's turning out though. It's lined with a really big piece of fleece so it's heavy. It should be nice during the winter.

A little something I put together on Sunday. A fun, quick, easy project. All I'm going to say is I love Michael's craft store! They have the most awesome pendants there.

Various "thank-you" cards for my co-workers. They threw a goodbye party for me and gave me some very sweet gifts.

Okay, so Dr. Hartman started taking pottery lessons awhile ago and I've been asking her about it a lot since then. I wanted to see her work and she said it wasn't very good. Well, last week as part of my going away gift she gave me these 2 pieces of pottery that she made. I love them! I think they're beautiful and I'm so glad that she decided to give me some of her work.

I mean isn't that color beautiful? I've been loving this color lately and now I have handmade pottery in that color! Awesome!

A week before I leave! I'm getting a bit nervous! So much to do, so little time. What if I hate it there? What if I love it there? What if I do badly in my classes? What if I miss all kinds of great things that are going on at home? What if Olive doesn't know who I am when I come home?

There are lots of little things that are stressing me out. At my mom's advice I'm trying not to focus on them. I'm trying to give those worries to God and trust that He will provide for me. I must admit that I am going through a bit of a tough time with trusting God. Just because He loves me doesn't mean that things will be smooth. In fact, it could mean that I'll face lots of obstacles. We've been talking about rejoicing while suffering at Bible study and it makes me realize that I don't want to suffer. That sounds so obvious, but part of being a Christian entails some suffering. Being lonely, being looked down upon. Well, those aren't the most severe forms of suffering. Not like the people in the New Testament and today in other countries who were/are dying for their faith. Sometimes I wonder if I could do that. I want to trust God completely and live my life ready to give it up for Christ because he gave up his life for me. It's interesting though because everything in me balks at the idea of rejoicing through suffering. Everything our society teaches goes against the idea, yet I know that I need to not be afraid to face difficult things for Jesus' sake.

I guess it's something I'm working through.

I'll write again sometime later. It may be after I've settled into school. Oh my gosh, next week at this time will be my last night at home!

Baby girl

Here are new pictures of my niece. She was getting ready for her nap. She gets swaddled before she goes to sleep so my sister was changing her and getting her ready to be swaddled and I insisted on taking her pictures.


I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this girl. She makes life so much more interesting and beautiful. Oh, and I made her laugh like 4 times! It's one of the few times her parents have ever heard her laugh and the very first time I ever heard it. I love being her aunt.

Antietam

Last Friday Holly and I went out to Sharpsburg to walk around Antietam Battlefield. We have only been there twice and we didn't get to walk around a whole lot. This time we were able to go down a few trails that we'd never been down before and we were also able to enjoy the same places we had visited the last couple of times we'd been there.Now I understand why they're called the Blue Ridge mountains.

Artwork engraved or etched (I can't remember which is which) and hung on one of the monuments.

Burnside Bridge

Flowers by the visitor center.

A sign we saw while passing through Shepherdstown. This is SO typical of Shepherdstown.

The weather has been SO beautiful lately! I'm sad that I have to go back to work because I can't spend my afternoons outside. Luckily for me I have tomorrow afternoon off! I have an orthodontist appointment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my dentist will tell me I can get my braces off in the next month! I've worn braces for almost 2 years now. I'm so excited to get them off!

Life in general

So this week was crazier than most. Holly was in Ohio visiting Jacqueline and Matt and Olive (they're planning to come home next week!), the patients at work were insane...insane as in 'I-think-they-escaped-from-the-mental-hospital-today-to-come-make-our-lives-that-much-more-difficult...I mean interesting-insane. And Mom, Dad and Adam (and me too this weekend) have been working on this blasted fence ALL week long. And I blew my diet. Grr! But this is a new week! A chance to get back on track!

Diet-blowing aside, the weekend was still fun. I had Friday off because Dr. H is in Arizona for the week being a bum and lounging by a pool (her words, not mine). Lucky! So I went with Mom, Sharon, Katie, and the Curtis kids to an agility dog show. It was really interesting! The dogs looked like they were having so much fun. I don't think our dogs would make very good agility dogs. I was surprised at how fast (and how slow!) some of the dogs were. One dog completed the course in 36 or 37 seconds!

Here are a few pics we got of the agility show:This is a Bernese Mountain Dog. There were two, one of them fell and hurt its leg. :(I don't know if you can tell but it's jumping over a hurdle. I was trying to get an action shot but my camera is very slow.

Saturday Holly came home and it was the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! We spent the afternoon and evening with the Freys and Curtises which was a lot of fun. Andy brought some fireworks which the guys set off and then we enjoyed the neighbors pretty spectacular fireworks show. They were really good! It is always so fun to spend time with those families. The kids grow so much every time I see them but the girls still either sat on my lap or right next to me for the whole fireworks display. I felt so loved. :D We just really missed Matt and Jacqueline and Olive.

Today was not so fun. We were stretching chain link fence all afternoon. And then I came in and cooked dinner (curry) for the family while they finished most of the stretching. We had an actual family sit-down dinner. It's been a looong time since we've all sat together for dinner. It was nice.

Speaking of food, I got this magazine at Martins called Clean Eating. It is a cool magazine. There are a few recipes in there I'd like to try out (like stuffed peppers and bean salad). I'd recommend it. The magazine that is.

I have a busy week planned! Sort of! Nothing set in stone but I intend to be busy! Holly and I want to go to either Harpers Ferry or Antietam. I'll be glad to make it to either one but we'll try to do both!

Happy 4th of July!

From the mountains....

To the prairies...
To the oceans white with foam...
(photo taken by my sister, Jacqueline)

God bless America. My home sweet home.

Homemade Whole-wheat pizzas!

So. I spent what seemed like all day making this homemade pizza because I have heard that pizza can actually be a healthy meal if made right (fyi: I heard this off Biggest Loser. This isn't just a gimmick so I can eat pizza, haha!). Truly, it didn't come out that great. It looked good. It smelled good. Something in the crust was just lacking. Crusts are the hardest to get right. I used a recipe that I found online. It can be found here. I am wondering if maybe the reason it tastes different is because I always use olive oil. Do all pizzerias make their pizzas with olive oil? It seems like the proper way to make a pizza but I wonder if it would make a difference in the overall product.

Well anyway. Since Holly is in Ohio with Matt and Jacqueline and Olive for the week the only people at home who are eating bread are Adam, Dad and myself so we're stuck eating all this pizza. Who knew eating pizza could be such a chore? I am planning to make curry tomorrow. Hopefully that will be better!

Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we diet!

I've been on this diet for a whole week now. It started out tough. I've been very emotional lately for whatever reason(s) and I was pretty miserable on Saturday and Sunday. By Monday, however, I was feeling pretty good. I had energy (which was a good thing because we had an extra doctor at work on Monday) and I wasn't starving or craving candy/bread. On Wednesday my co-worker dropped a hershey kiss into my pocket and said, "there, that's a pick-me-up." My other co-worker offered to share her fruit roll-up. I didn't accept either. Well, I didn't give back the hershey kiss. Instead I threw it in my purse and it's rolling around down there somewhere and probably melting each time I get in the car and getting chocolate all over the bottom of my bag. But I don't think about those things.
I did start to eat grains again on Wednesday. I just couldn't handle meat and eggs again in the morning (if I eat eggs too many days in a row I get an upset stomache) and I just needed something fast so I ate some of my favorite Fiber One cereal (the biggest losers eat that stuff! It's the stuff losers are made of. :p) and because we were literally out of lettuce I brought a sandwich to work with me. Whole grain of course and it was only 100 calories so I didn't feel too bad. Since then I have been eating grains every once in awhile. I feel much better. Energetic and not at all deprived even though I'm not eating desserts. Every once in awhile I think I'd like something sugary, but it's not as intense as it used to be and I can say no.
So far this diet has been a positive experience in a few ways.
1. For one I feel like I'm a little more in control. I am exercising self-control and it makes me feel good to know I can say no to tempting things.
2. Another good thing is I am eating more veggies and trying different dishes I wouldn't normally try just for the sake of variety.
3. I am in the kitchen more making food (like the salad I made and I tried boiling and mashing cauliflower like potatoes which didn't turn out exactly as I hoped. But at least I tried!) so I know what is going into the food I make and I have control over what I want in it.
4. I've been able to make healthier choices in snacks. Instead of eating chips and dip I eat carrots and a little bit of dressing. Instead of peanut butter crackers I eat celery sticks with all natural peanut butter. I still get the flavors I like but with fresher food that has nutrients and fiber in it. Win win win!
5. I do feel like I've lost a couple of pounds which makes me happy! I'm hoping to be significantly lighter by the end of the summer. I'm not sure how long it will be before I start to eat sweets again, but I hope to make this change somewhat permanent. Less desserts and more vegetables and meat and things like that.
6. I've been able to identify a few bad habits I have concerning eating and I'm working towards changing those habits. If admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery, then identifying the problems makes me feel like I'm in the second or third step towards being healthier. How many more steps do I have to go?

So. That is a narrative on my first full week of this diet. The diet that I hope to change into a lifestyle, not a passing phase. Like I've said before, I don't really believe in dieting if you just plan to go back to the old way you used to eat. My goal is to find a way of eating that fits with my lifestyle so that I can feel good and keep up with the things I need to do.

Summer Reading

So far this summer I've made two trips to the library. One of my goals for the summer has been to read fun books before I have to go back to school and read chemistry, physics, trigonometry, accounting, and social psychology books all semester long. I'm going to live it up as long as I can and get my fill of fun, silly, entertaining books this summer.

In order of being read:

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall. A very cute story about sisters who, with their father and trusty dog, go away to a cottage owned by a snobby woman with a young son and spend a few weeks out of their summer there. It was an easy simple story. Meant for kids but I don't let that stop me from reading them. :)

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This has long been one of my favorite books. There is something about Francie Nolan that I identify with. Something in the way Betty Smith writes makes me say to myself, "that's how I feel...I just didn't know how to say it." This book also opened my eyes a little bit to humanity and how complex people are and how beautiful and precious life is. It's a little mature for young readers but I think everyone would enjoy this book at some point in life.

10 out of 5 stars.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire. My friend saw the musical/play last year and said it was wonderful. Since then I found a copy of the book that inspired the play and I was able to start reading it last weekend and it was awful! It was dark and depressing and very immoral. I couldn't even finish it. I am sure that the musical is probably a little more lighthearted than the book, or at least I hope so. Not a book I would recommend.

I'd give it 0 of 5 stars.

Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran. With all the talk of Iran in the news lately my interest has been a little piqued. This book is about three sisters from Iran who end up living in Ireland and own a little restaurant. It said on the back of the book that there were lots of recipes included in the book so I thought I'd pick it up. It didn't give me any insight into the Iranian culture and I was sort of hoping it would. I wasn't entirely pleased with it. I'm not sure if I'd even try the recipes in the back. Maybe a couple. I also found it just a little conflicted and strange.

1 or 2 out of 5 starts.

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke. I read these books a long time ago. Since the movies came out I decided to repay them a visit and they are so much better than the movie (big surprise, right?)! Just a sweet and simple romance novel. Janette Oke definitely writes some of the cleanest and sweetest Christian fiction. I have another book that I checked out by her too. I read Love Comes Softly in an afternoon so I am sure I'll have read the other one soon too.

5 stars.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I think this is probably considered a classic and would imagine that most people have read it while in high school or something. If not then go get a copy at the library. It's really good. It's about a little girl named Scout and her brother Jem and they live in Alabama during the 1940's. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer is who is given a defense case for a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. It's cute, sad and gives a lot of insight into what a small southern town was like back during the days when people were still very prejudiced against people of different colors. One of the things about this book that I enjoy the most is that the people seem very real. Kind of like in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. You read this book and (especially if you have ever lived in the south) you know people like this.

5 stars.
And this book...so awesome! I got it recently and I really want to make some of the clothes in it. Once I lose a few lbs. I know that's not really a reason to wait to sew, but I think I'll enjoy sewing so much more if I've dropped a dress size or two. I'd also love to sew the kimono dress from Weekend Sewing (which is a book I don't own and am resisting buying because I own too many books!). I might just see if I can find a pattern for a kimono style dress.

7(ish) Layer Salad

The recipe for this salad came from my sister's Mother-in-law who is an amazing cook. We had this salad at her house over Memorial day and I haven't gotten it out of my head.I put myself on a rather strict diet. Not entirely sure how long I'll make myself be this strict but I'm hoping to break some bad eating habits and create some new good ones. The diet I am putting myself on is basically just meat (fish and eggs and cheese included), veggies and perhaps 1 half cup of no-sugar-added apple sauce or a glass of skim milk every day. I hope to keep it up for the whole week and perhaps start adding in It's boring. I hate it. I miss junk food. But I'm going to do it anyway and I made this salad today to have something yummy to bring to work with me. I think there are more than 7 layers in this salad. I practically have a whole produce section in here.

So this diet has been a little rough these past couple of days. For starters I wasn't feeling well anyway...being a girl can be kinda tough sometimes..like once a month. So as I said last week I was really emotional and I'll be honest, I'm an emotional eater. I think I get an endorphin release from sugar. So since I've still been feeling kind of emotional not allowing myself to have comfort foods has been tough. But it's good too. I really need to break those kinds of habits now. That's one of the reasons I want to study nutrition in the first place. I want to learn strategies on how to eat healthily while leading a busy life. Cause I don't think my life is about to get any less hectic in the coming months and I'm certain it's going to be very stressful.

I don't really believe in dieting. I believe in finding a lifestyle that is healthy and doable. The only reason I'm doing this is because I do want to lose weight and I want to try and regulate my hormones a little bit before I leave for school. I'm ready to get off my emotional roller coaster. I think the ultimate goal though is to create a healthy, manageable way of eating and living. I am a firm believer that exercise is a huge part of being healthy.

When I was younger (and much thinner) I did ballet for 3 years. They were probably 3 of my favorite years. I was crazy about dancing. I can't really describe how it made me feel except to say that it was like my drug. I think I must have been creating beta endorphins like nuts because dancing made me so happy. There is just something about moving to gorgeous music that makes you feel absolutely wonderful. And it was so fun dancing with other girls who loved dancing too because it made me feel a camaraderie with them. It was like I got to be a part of it all. And being part of something beautiful made me feel beautiful. I needed to go to dance class once a week. If I didn't I would get really sad and depressed and bored. It sounds dramatic, it sounds silly, but dance was my first true love. An obsession actually. And when I started college I couldn't keep both up. I knew I had to let go of dancing. I had started my first job (which I loved) and was busy taking 5 classes at college and had made new friends and was enjoying myself. I missed it though.

I still miss it. I want it back. I don't know if I ever can get it back. But I know that I need to find other things to keep me busy and entertained besides food. I'd love to find some sort of a dance class to be involved in. Who knows? 20 isn't that old. Maybe I could find some sort of class for adults. WVU does offer ballroom dancing and swing dancing classes...maybe next semester I'll sign up for one or the other. That would be so fun.

Anyway. The whole point of this post was to say that I made a gorgeous salad and I'm going to try hard to be healthy and to use the next couple of years at college to cultivate good habits and get out of my comfort zone. And I'm going to try hard to be excited about it!

PS: I DID tell Dr. H that Monday that I came in the I had started a diet and that I wasn't feeling well so I needed her support and she groaned and said, "here, take this Advil...premedicate." I had to laugh. I didn't take it because I ended up feeling pretty good the whole day. Sweet!

Happy Father's Day!

The Father's Day card Holly and Adam picked out. The Ten Commandments of Dad. I accidentally deleted the picture of the front of the card.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Very busy

It's been pretty crazy here lately. Since coming back from orientation I've been working full-time for the past 2 weeks and I'll work full time again this week. Work is going alright but it's been kind of tense and stressful too. Same old same old...

We took a little day trip to Gettysburg last Sunday. It was so pretty outside...gorgeous weather. The battlefield park was pretty too. I like Antietam better. Dad can't believe I would like Antietam better. But there it is.
First family photo (of course we're missing 3 important family members and I'm not talking about the newfs!) in years!

It was a nice way to end the week. Unfortunately I was an emotional grump and had a few ''rough'' moments along the way. I've been so emotional lately. I've cried more this week than I have since the year began if that gives you any insight into my roller coaster emotions. So I decided that during my week off this July I am going to do an Atkins/Zone/South Beach/Grace's own diet to try and drop a few lbs and straighten out my crazy hormones. Then last night I decided, "what the heck? What's stopping me?" and today I am starting my diet instead of putting it off another 2 weeks. I am going to tell the ladies on Monday that I'm an emotional wreck and I'm on a diet so please be patient and supportive and I will be as stable and kind as I can. And also to please not offer me junk food! Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be a few lbs lighter and feeling a little less emotional and a little more optimistic. I am forseeing lots of salads and coleslaw and lettuce wraps and veggies, veggies, veggies in my future! And hopefully the clothes I ordered from Old Navy will be looser than I expect them to be. :)

So a little bit of crafting has been done. I decorated these bobby pins this week. It was a fun little project that wasn't too overwhelming while I'm working full-time. I don't know how people manage 5 days a week. I was so used to 4 days a week and then 2 and then 3...5 is tough! I'm a weakling. :P
One of the things that has been making me very stressed and emotional is the fact that I have been dealing with sore, achy muscles and joints since the middle of the semester. This week has been the worst yet and I have a suspicion that it has to do with all the stress I am under. This really upsets me because I think it's another lyme symptom. At 20 years old your hips and knees and shoulders should not be so achy. And I haven't been working out so that is not why they're sore. Actually, I'm not working out because I'm already sore and it hurts to work out! But regardless of whether it hurts or not I plan to be working out this summer along with this diet. The idea that I could have a potentially debilitating disease just makes me depressed and scared. So I'm hoping that my diet will help me to have a little more energy and a more positive attitude and I'll feel better enough to try to find natural or less expensive ways to treat myself for symptoms. Cause right now I just feel like sleeping all the time. I'm thinking about ordering some samento and chlorella and buffered vitamin c. And if I notice anything then I'll probably definitely bring them with me to school to try and keep from getting sick.

That's been this week. Yesterday I worked from 9-1:30 then I went to the library. I picked up a bunch of books. I didn't get to read very many of the other ones I borrowed but that's okay. I read The Penderwicks and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (this is the 3rd or 4th time I've read it and it's just as good as the first time) and I've been reading a book I bought from Borders for 99 cents called The Callahan Cousins. It's a kid's book and it's kinda fun but kinda annoying too. I have another book I bought for 99 cents that looks a little more promising. I'll let you know after I finish it. The first chapter was interesting. I'm really enjoying this opportunity to read ''fun'' books. After 2 semesters of textbooks and papers I realized that I haven't read a book I enjoy in a really long time. Probably not since last summer or even before that. I used to love reading and I still do so I'm going to be visiting the library and just reading fun stuff before I leave in August.

I'm planning to do a post on all the books I have read this summer (once I read a few more) and put it on my other blog so others can draw some ideas for books. That's how I got the recommendations for most of the books I checked out.

After my trip to the library I came home and ran out the door to go to Target and Walmart with Mom, Adam and Holly. Dad is in NC visiting his Aunt Joyce and cousins because his cousin Albert died last weekend. So did Bea Schaeffer. It makes me so sad. She was a very sweet woman and I can't imagine what her family is dealing with. She had cancer for a long time and people say that it is almost a relief when a person dies then because they aren't in pain anymore and you've been slowly letting go of them so it hurts less. I don't know if that's true or not. I think it must still hurt a lot.

Last night after we got home Holly and I went to Blockbuster to rent a few movies. We picked everything out and got up to the checkout and I realized I didn't have my wallet with me! I left it at home by the computer so I called Mom and she actually met me half way when to drop it off so Adam decided he wanted to come too and in the end Holly, Adam and I went up there and didn't get home till 10:00 pm. It's hard for me to find a good movie. I wanted Penelope but couldn't find it. In the end we got Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (per Holly's request), Spiderwick (oh my love for children's fantasy/adventure stories...they're so fun and colorful), and The Pink Panther. Oh my goodness it was hilarious! There were a few scenes that were inappropriate but if you were little you wouldn't catch onto them. I felt like talking in a fake french accent afterward because Steve Martin's accent was so funny. But don't worry. I didn't.

This past week a man who lives near the Hunters held his ex-girlfriend or ex-wife hostage in his house over night and then he killed her. On Monday I passed a car/bicycle accident on my way to work. I know life isn't guaranteed. I know people can be evil. I know we should enjoy our time while we are here and I know we should cherish the people around us. It's just so easy to forget to do that during the hum-drum of each day. I want to make it a point to love the people I'm with and make the most of my time.

And last but not least. I miss my sister so much. She and Matt and Olive are in Ohio for this month and I can't wait till they get home. They were supposed to be home before July 4th because Cheryl was coming but now she can't either because her home was broken into while she was away and now she has to have repairs done and such. I can't imagine what that would be like. Luckily she was safe and her kitties were safe and for that we are thankful. We are hoping to get to see her sometime in August. I hope I get to see her before I leave. Classes start August 24th so I have an extra week!

Alright, time to put an end to this insanely long catch-up post! I'm going to go take a shower and read a book. Or watch one of the movies. I have the house to myself for awhile so I can do whatever I want! :)
Ta ta!