New Year

New Year =

marathon running

healthy eating

lots of praying

even more blessings

German speaking

Linguistics researching

That's how my life is looking right now. It's wonderful. It's blessed. And, it's (knowing me) going to be very busy.

I'm definitely excited.

July Storms

I haven't spent a July in Provo for two years. It's odd to be back. Some things really don't change. Stadium of Fire still has an amazing fireworks show. The Daily Squeeze still texts me daily deals. July weather is as stormy as ever. The rain is slipping down the sky onto the cars, the rooftops, and every other object in its path. Walking home tonight, the lightening kept on flashing and, for one of the only times in my life, I was afraid of the forked tongues that kept moving ever closer.

Drama and fragile self-confidence are my companions on this stormy night. I hadn't purposefully invited them over, but they just stopped by, and, knowing my "I can't say no" attitude, I let them in. What I thought would be a brief visit has turned into a longer stay than I would have wished. With companions like these, its been a rough couple of days.

Even with such dreary companions, I still feel rays of sunshine in between the clouds. Thank goodness for family. Without my mom here, it would have been so hard to cope with my unwelcome visitors. But, my mom can do anything, even making me feel better, when everything is going wrong. My mom has been helping me find the rays of sunshine that stream down in between the clouds. Those rays are a reminder of home and that I truly am loved by God. I am so blessed with family who love me. I am so incredibly grateful for the strength and love that comes with being sealed as a family for all eternity. What a true blessing it is. So, even though July might be stormy, this California girl is focusing on the sun.

April

April. The word is like a bit of sugar poured onto my tongue. April means sunshine. Well . . . at least where I am from. Here it means Conference, the last days of finals, and Easter. It means that life will get even more hectic before the semester comes to a close. April so far has been a mix of reluctant sunshine and wintery overtones. It was beautiful and warm for conference weekend. That was the weekend where I finally wore flip flops, turned down the thermostat, and napped in the sun. However, Sunday turned freezing and I ended up having an adventure getting stranded due to the freshly-landed snow.

Our adventure started out innocent enough. We were three girls going for a walk in between conference sessions. The snow had finally stopped and the sun spread its welcoming rays over Provo. We talked and laughed as our shoes crunched over the snow. Light snow starting falling on mile three and before long, the small flakes had becoming a billowing snow storm. We took shelter, called what seemed like a million people, and finally found a knight in shining Cadillac to come pick us up. We made it home just in time for conference, sopping wet, but with laughing eyes and smiles as we reported our misadventure to the roommates.

I'm starting to think that all April weather is like this: it can do a complete 180 in seconds. After five days of snow, rain, and sleet all muddled together, the sun finally came out again, but who knows how long it will last? All I can hope for is that the weather can finally admit to itself that it really is spring, that snow should be a thing of the past, and that sleet never should have made an appearance in April. Once that happens, I'll finally be able to stretch out in the sun and eat a delicious picnic with fresh basil and crumbled feta cheese.

Slipping Through The Cracks

It's that time of year again. It's the time of year when Provo maliciously tries to fool us poor California girls into the idea that spring is on the way and that summer is just around the corner. I went to school today wearing two layers, a sweater and beautiful leather jacket I found in Milan. Like a forming butterfly, I am eager to shed my cocoon of blankets and coats that have been swarthing me all January long, but the cool winter wind whispers "Not yet" in its pervasive chilling tone and I am obliged to bear my winter cocoon still.

Its also the time of year when my brain starts to settle down after the introduction of new classes, new buildings, and new people. After many failed attempts to juggle homework, my two jobs, and my roommates, I'm finally discovering the complex pattern that keeps all my commitments aloft at the same time without me straining a ligament in my hands that are furioiusly moving to make sure a ball doesn't drop. And yet, as I attempt to support my precious balance I have created this semester, my brain surges ahead and connivingly tells me that I'm not doing enough, and that I, of course, have time to take on that Honors Student Advisory Council or start another writing project for Insight, when, in all reality, I most definitely don't. And so, I tell my mind to take some time off, that it should stop its incessant dialogue so that I can concentrate on my academic projects and classes. It kind of works.

I've been so busy that time is flying by me at wicked speeds. January is dwindling to a close. How did that happen? It seems only last week that I was packing my bags after Christmas in California, ready, even if a little unwilling, to start the new semester. Now, February stands ready on the horizon. Time is slipping through the cracks at a steady pace. As the individual grains slip through the hourglass, my time this semester is waxing. Let's hope I can delve deep and bring that depth to the light to make the most of each seemingly insignificant grain.

A Beginning

Today I had someone tell me that if I keep putting something off, it will never happen. This applies to the New Year's running program I planned, finding the perfect combination of spices to put into hot chocolate, and the homework that should have been done yesterday which just never happened after I came home. It also applies to writing. I started this blog in October (October!) when the weather was still warm and I would come home from classes to eat lovely Greek bruschetta, my way. Vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh coarsely chopped basil, a little crumbled feta all drizzled in a shimmering coat of extra virgin olive oil on toasted wheat pita bread.

It's January, and I'm still dreaming about my tomato concoction and the days before the weather turned cold. But, the tomatoes that sit in the produce department are a sickly salmon hue, the basil is brown from disuse, and the feta will freeze in my refrigerator, even with the heater blasting. Winter has descended upon me. But, even though it's still early in winter semester and the temperature was eight degrees when I left my dorm on Wednesday, the taste of Greek bruschetta lingers in the back of my mind. I combat it with hot chocolate. I fight it with savory soups. I resist it by eating homemade bread and warm comfort foods, all the while negotiating. Soon. Soon is what I say when I dream of the sun; soon it will be time again for basil and feta.

Soon is still far off though, and I have all the pleasures of winter waiting in the wings to be called on stage for me to experience. Tonight it rained, meaning the sidewalks were slick with ice. I came home with my roommate to find a glistening, conniving ice-covered walkway impeding the way to our apartment. Courtney held my hot chocolate, I held the cookies as we slipped across, slid down, and fought to stay upright on our way in from the car. It was fun. It was scary. It was something I wouldn't have missed for the world. Laughter, smiles, and success at the end over the wintery elements. All with the best roommate a girl could have. Winter does have its perks, even without basil and feta.