Contentment

The placid days grow longer

Warm breezes lift cotton skirts as little girls dance in the grass

The lazy hum of summer starts to sink in

Days melt together

The poppies along the stone walk, with petals like tangerine crepe paper, their drooping heads give off a carefree air

Everything in the world seems right.

River Rat + five pokes

I got a second job. But it's more like Michelle gets to play outside all summer instead of washing dishes at Brown Brothers... although I'll still be doing a bit of that. I am working for High Country Rafting as a river guide!! Which means that I will get to take people down the Provo river in rafts and kayaks and get sweet chaco lines. What could be better than that? I walked into the information meeting and gazed around at all the boys with long hair, hemp bracelets, chacos, and bandanas and got really excited. It reminded me of all the times Erin and I talked about going granola and becoming river women. Living the dream, only minus Erin. In addition to learning to tame the Provo river (haha, ahem...) to gain some experience, the crew will be taking trips to run a few additional rivers including the colorado in Moab in two weeks. I'm pumped. Seriously.

Mission news: I've had four shots and one finger prick in the past three days. We are getting very close now!

Runnin'-runnin-in

I hate running. I've heard all the arguments in favor of this less-than-appealing mode of exercise - the great way to see places and experience the outdoors, the great chance to set goals and see improvement, the great great feeling you get at the end of a long run... But I still don't get it. Running hurts every part of my body.

Nevertheless, I have been running three times a week with my African Lover (story to come, maybe, I still don't really know who reads this) and today he decided we should run up the hill behind the Timpview baseball diamond a few times. I. WANTED. TO. DIE.

(African Lover)

Keep telling me that this is good for me, that it will get easier, that I will get slimmer, that I will feel more alive.

For now I still hate it.

Home

Home is a beautiful word that means many different things to different people. So I have found myself at home again, meaning I moved back in with my parents, a very good move. I love being in this house. I love having my family around. I love the big yard and trees and flowers. I love feeling like a part of family all the time, although I have been consistently sleeping through 6 am scripture time which I intend to repent of.

This has been a busy week for the fam (nothing is ever very busy for me - I have oodles of time to do with as I please at the moment, although getting another job is what my mother would like me to be doing... we can get into that later) but it has been kind of fun to be the extra adult around the house. I like helping Ali and Will with their homework. I like making deals with Will so he practices. I like hearing about the things they are involved in on a daily basis as opposed to a weekly basis. I took them both to a little Salvadorean restaurant on center street last night that I discovered through a friend and we had a great time trying new food, making it home in time to enjoy American Idol and Fringe over icecream. It was good sibling bonding time.

For those who didn't know, I'm almost done with my mission papers and hope to be getting my call in the beginning of June. I'm so excited about my decision to serve, but being home has made me realize how much I am going to miss my family. And I think that is a good thing. Spending all the time I can with them now and strengthening my relationship with each person is exactly what I feel like I should be doing. I am so grateful for the time I have to be HOME.

playlist.com

Here is a new April Fool's Day edition playlist courtesy of playlist.com - my new favorite internet haunt. I've spent far too much time on that website, but it sure is fun!

Also, I'm going to start a sporadic "Question of the Day."

Today's Question of the Day is: If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be?
(And ten bonus points to whoever can name all of the famous people below.)

Wanted

Friday was a very long day.  Please excuse the nerdy engineering analogy, but time seems to flow like a shear-thickening (think starch and water mixture) fluid near the end of the semester.  The more stress I'm under, the more viscous time becomes, moving slower and slower until it barely moves at all, like the weeks will never end.  I was at the end of a highly viscous week Friday afternoon so I sought sanctuary at my parent's house for a nice meal and some caring faces.  I love my parents dearly. It is wonderful to have such solid constants in my life.

I was looking forward to spending some quality time with a good friend who was only in town for that night, so while I waited to hear what the plan was, I decided to kill time and start a movie with my mom and dad.  Near the end of the movie, I started to wonder.  It was getting late and my phone was being suspiciously quiet.  I sent out an inquiring text.  No answer.  The movie ended.  I decided to kill a little more time on facebook.  Finally, I got a response letting me know that they had already been hanging out for a while but I wasn't invited.  I stared at my phone feeling silly for thinking that I was wanted.  Only one tear got out.  

Then I heard that ambivalent popping sound of a facebook chat window coming alive, which means that someone you've been trying to avoid finally caught you on facebook, or that a friend cares enough to say hello.  Luckily for me, it was the latter.  Rocker wanted to talk to me!  What's more, he wanted to play guitar with me!  He must be living right because at the moment I needed to feel like someone wanted me, he did.  He brought two guitars and lots of musical toys and we had a great time, me learning and listening in awe and he teaching and smiling and sharing.  Thanks Rocker.  You made my night.

Wasted Time

Clever title, no?

Since seven o'clock this evening I have done nothing but waste time...
- watched American Idol. entertaining? yes. good use of my time? no.
- turned on my hair straightener. is my hair any straighter than when I turned it on 3.5 hours ago? no.
- watched the news. informative? not really. trance inducing? yes.
- read blogs. did I laugh? yes indeed.
- tried to figure out how to embed a playlist. playlist embedded? check. is it where I wanted it? no. did it have to take me 1.5 hous? i think not.

Here are the things I wish I would have done with my time instead...
+ studied for Spanish (which I love).
+ dove deeply into my scriptures (because I need to every day).
+ learned a new song on the guitar (with which to serenade ashton).
+ found batteries for my calculator (which has been dead for two days causing countless problems in my life).
+ purchased milk (so that I can have a banana shake for breakfast tomorrow).
+ gone to sleep by eleven (um... why is it I'm still awake?).

But in my defense, I did do a few good things today...
~ went to all of my classes (including the dreaded stats lab).
~ did not fall asleep in any of my classes (not even in fluid mechanics).
~ aced my oral Spanish test (without even studying).
~ gave a friend in need a ride home (because I love her).
~ took my little sister dress shopping for prom(we had little success however).
~ let Papa Bear borrow my car (which he filled with gasoline - thanks daddy!).

With approximately three weeks of school left in the semester, I am really struggling to find the motivation to put my energy toward studying. It's nearly impossible for me to be productive after five o'clock if I'm not working on homework with other people. This has got to change... Well "tomorrow is another day!"