School Book

I made a book last spring with the express purpose of giving me a place to do some art journaling about my undergrad experience.

 

So, I am finished with it finally. I thought I would share.

Dragonflies for Christmas

We had a lovely quiet Christmas. We both worked on Christmas Eve, then he worked on Christmas day. I had a quiet time, catching up on some projects and such. All in all a very nice time. The weather isn't very Christmasy, but I am not going to complain about it!! 

 Jason designed and built this cabinet for me for Christmas! I was so surprised and happy!

We got it hung up and I filled it with things which are precious to me.

I also went for a jog on Christmas. First real attempt at that, and it went well. I figure it was a year a go when my cousin and Aunt ran their first 5k, I should really get started!

4.0

Yes, I earned straight A's for the first time in my MSU college career in my first semester of grad school. It was a crazy four months, what with the new job and learning how best to handle the fact that I wasn't in class very much, but had to study twice as much, yet it worked out.
I know for a lot of people straight A's are just about as common as dandelions, but I was never able to commit myself to all those stinking gen ed classes! I didn't care what my grades were in the gen eds as long as I passed them. I strangely, perhaps stupidly, believed that what would count when trying to get into a grad program were my degree specific grades. I think I was wrong. But there are advantages to staying in Springfield and at MSU for a couple more years, so I am trying to make it count as much as I can.
Oddly enough I thought I would have time to blog at least once a week.
Obviously that didn't happen.
I'm not going to foolishly commit to any such thing either.
However, I do think that I could use this blog to help me reach my next important goal.
Last summer I did pretty good about going for a walk everyday. I was exercising a little almost everyday. Since school started I have done nothing. Nadda. Zip. I know in order to get healthy I need to exercise and eat right. Surprisingly enough, I have got the eating part down. I made myself about a months worth of meals, all healthy and full of veggies, and froze them. I have no excuses not to have an actual meal everyday, two even. :) I have noticed a difference. Now I need to up the ante and get moving.
I think once a week would be doable, but I'm not promising to blog that often once school starts. I will keep track of my daily activity, or at times lack of it, on a chart and then when I remember post it in my blog.
Fingers crossed, I hope this helps!
And YAY!!! for a good semester!

Bedded Down for the Winter

 Early last week I took advantage of a couple of warm days coinciding with a couple of days off and got the yard/gardens tucked in for the season.

 As you can see it was kind of a mess in the back 40, and the clean-up was much needed!

 This is the flower bed. The Castor Bean took over! I Loved this plant and will probably grow one every year for as long as I can.

 After I got the herb garden spruced up I had to take some photos of the little gnome.

 This is the flower bed ready for winter..... I hope. :)

 See, isn't that better? All the grass is trimmed and the dirt is turned, and the birds have some food.

And when there is a spot or two of warmth outside we can have a sit down and enjoy it. :)
This is the month of Thanksgiving. Many of my friends on Facebook are posting daily the things they are grateful for. I did something like that last year, but I am entirely too busy to commit to posting anything on a daily basis right now. I will say though that I am very grateful for the good old out doors, and for my parents encouragement of my love of gardening. Papa was always happy to let me help with gardening and encouraged me along in my first flower and herb bed adventures, and mom had such a good eye for beauty and what flowers and plants looked nice together. There are a lot of reasons I am thankful for my parents, but given the theme of this post I think it's good to point out this one.
And while I'm at it, I am exceedingly grateful to my husband for building garden beds for us/me. He is always so happy to help me with anything, even building me my very own garden tool box! I count myself as one of the luckiest, most blessed girls ever!

Let me tell you a Story

 It begins (well, this is not REALLY where it begins. It REALLY begins MONTHS ago ) on a beautiful sunny autumn day...

 Two happy love birds set forth into the unknown with a tuck and trailer loaded with their hard work and some camping gear...

 When they finally arrive at their destination and set up camp a fire is started and dinner happens, followed by delicious smores made from HUGE marshmallows, then a quick clean-up and to bed.... I would like to be able to show you a picture of the sky at night, it was AMAZING! Then they woke super early and crept to the showers of warmth to begin the longest day ever...

 Now, just because it was the longest day ever doesn't mean it was a bad day. It started out wonderful. We met Linda for breakfast and then headed to down-town Poplar Bluff to set up our shops. The balloons were provided and the day was beautiful. We met a lot of interesting people, and had a few sales, and learned a LOT about vending at an event.

 At one point I thought I could eat a baseball sized marshmallow in one bite....not so much! Which is a good analogy for the end of the day. See, we had to pack up everything, which wasn't so bad, then drive for four hours in the dark.....after being awake since 5am.... that WAS hard. THEN we got to unload everything! All told that day was really only about 22 hours long, but geesh! I don't think we'll do it quite that way again. Next time we will camp again. (I could camp every night)

This is what my life looks like now. And will do so for a few months....or more. I happen to like this view though, so it is good.
Life is good, and that is a perfect end to the story.

Melody Joy

Today is a day to celebrate! Today I am grateful for yet another year in the life of one of the best friends I have known. She is well loved by many, and deservedly so, but I would like to take a moment to mention a few of my favorite things about Melody Cutbirth.
She is courageous. I know of few people so willing to be vocal about their beliefs, and particularly about their beliefs about how we should treat each other. But boy howdy, you will learn to watch yourself around her! And I say Good!
She has a beauty that is so innate that she can't see it. It shines through in the way she cares for others, but mostly this gift flows through her dance and her writing.
She is also willing to try new and scary things in an effort to achieve bigger and better things for her life. I know how hard that is, and what a struggle it can be in the day to day living to just try and keep your nose above the waves, but she does it. Not only that, but she does it with grace, beauty and humanity.

I say watch out world: you ain't seen nothin' yet!!
Happy Birthday Melody!!

Mom

My mom had many sayings. When I was a child I remember hearing, "If you have to ask, the answer is probably no." "It's no fun to pick on someone who doesn't react." "Just because so-and-so does it doesn't mean you can." and various other advisory type things. Most good moms use these phrases daily, and thank Heaven they do!
But I also remember hearing a lot of "I love you bunches and gobs and mountains full." "Nothing you ever do or say will change the fact that I love you now and I always will." "God's love is perfect, but I'll try to match it." "I love you, period." My mom is full of love for her daughters, and we will never doubt it or forget it! Happy Birthday Mom!! I'm so glad YOU are my mom (and I didn't get saddled with someone else!).