Thursday, December 16, 2010

Hundreds of Bugs, Dental School, Christmas & Our 2 year Anniversary


SO much news!!

First of all, I would like to show off my semester-long project:



These are my yummy bugs from my bug collection, where I had to collect 300+ specimens and they had to represent a large variety of Orders and Families. Soooo I have Cockroaches, Butterflies, Preying Mantises, Beetles, Bed Bugs, Bumble Bees, Wasps, Crickets, Grasshoppers, Fleas, Lice, and tiny tiny things like Thrips and Silver Fish. IT was NUTS! I did trade away some of my best specimens in order to have enough variety to get a good grade...sad...but it was worth it. So after all that work do I love bugs now? Yes. Yes I do. It convinced me that bugs are awesome regardless whether or not I thought the class itself was taught the way I would have liked. Plus, everyone in the class is in my program, and they are so fun!

Also, in other news, I would like to show off our very first Christmas tree. You see, the past two Christmases we have not had the opportunity/ money to get a Christmas tree, so this year I was extremely excited to put one up!!! We won't get to enjoy it on Christmas day, but the Homer's who are staying here while we're gone for their Grandpa's funeral will hopefully enjoy it.


So as you know, we have been dental school shopping, and have finally made the deposit and after hours of debating, crying, praying, and bouts of apathetic frustration we have made the decision for Richard to attend Midwestern in Glendale, Arizona. This was incredibly difficult decision because we wanted a balance of being close to home and provide Richard with great opportunities, and after visiting the school in Arizona (which is a very new school, and as a result we had very low expectations) we were really impressed and found that it offered some significantly great experiences. Sadly, it isn't near home, and that was a huge let-down, but in the end we feel like we have made the right choice.

A couple reasons why we chose it:
  • Incredible clinical experience: It is the leading school when it comes to letting their dental students learn not only basic dentistry but also work that normally specialties would steal from them....such as root canals, implants and other advanced procedures. We honestly think this fact alone will put him ahead of the game.
  • The curriculum is systems based, he would learn everything (histology, anatomy, physiology) about the lungs one week, then move on to the circulatory system, and then another system, etc. This is a great educational approach when you compare that to learning your histology separately from physiology and then later trying to apply those principles to the body parts you are concerned with.
  • The breaks are pretty long compared to other dental schools. We would have at least a couple months off every summer, and two weak breaks from Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. This doesn't make up for the fact that we won't be near family, but it is definitely a nice plus.
  • There is a continuing education center (for dentists that already have practices) located very close by where professionals from around the nation that are top in their field will teach classes on specific procedures that dentists can add to their practice and essentially earn more money. These classes can cost dentists up to 20 grand. The beautiful thing about this is that Richard would be able to take these classes for free as a dental student at Midwestern. Plus, the school invites these professionals over to teach the students about their specialties while they are in town.

We are excited to head North to Canada to spend Christmas with the Lows, which will be a special time since Richard hasn't done this with his family for 4 years. Between his mission, our marriage, and seeing my family last year, it has simply been a while! It will be my first Christmas away from home so I am really going to miss my family, but at least we got to see them over Thanksgiving break. That was so awesome.

Our 2 year anniversary is on this coming Monday. I still can't believe it has been 2 years!
We started off in the assisted living home and had many learning experiences, and learned how to live frugally and then when we moved to an apartment for the first time we really got in the groove of managing our own place and cooking our own meals, etc. We have really grown closer, and sometimes we are just silly weird goobers and I'm pretty sure if people saw how goofy we are together when we are alone they'd think we were complete idiots. Its ok though, we're still kids right??? We just know how to have fun together. That is my favorite part about how we've gotten closer---the fact that we can make anything fun!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

So the countdown begins!

In 3 days we will find out what schools Richard got accepted into. It will be an interesting decision. My top choice is Louisville so far, and Richard's is Midwestern, Arizona. Plus, we need to find out if Rich will get the army or airforce scholarship, and then decide if we want to go that route.

Also, in about a month I will be student teaching! I will be at Oak Canyon Jr. High in Lindon, Utah. I think I'm teaching 7th grade.....The past few days I've been trying to catch the sales so I can get more skirts/ cardigans to dress up for teaching.

We just enjoyed a visit home to see the family--it was soo wonderful and so short! We saw Mindy get baptized and participated by giving mini talks. We both were able to attend his Louisville interview, which was surprisingly very close to home. I really liked Louisville, it's a great dental school plus it's only 1hr 45 min away from my family, and maybe 1 hour away from my Grandparents in Whiteland. The city has a lower cost of living and is next to a river.
I made a deal with richard that if he gets accepted to both midwestern and louisville that I'd go fly to Midwestern so I could see for myself why he loves it so much. Decisions, decisions!!

It's hard being away from family, I definitely cried when I left them this week. That's the biggest reason why I want to live close to home.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Marriage and Housework

I watched the show "Hoarders" today (talk about nasty!!) and it immediately got me digging around for random junk. In the end, I threw away 5 trash bags of things we never use. Plus, I'm trying to "Feng Shui" our room for a pseudo-science project (which involves getting rid of all clutter under the bed, in closets, under sinks...) so it's been a busy day! It has actually taken a lot of time! And I'm still not done! I seriously de-clutter at least once every couple of months, and it's just amazing how papers & old knick-knacks will pile up. Clutter is evil, and I intend to destroy it!

Which brings me to another thought. Recently I have realized that Rich & I are still adjusting to life outside the Beehive home. We are still trying to create routines, share chores/ dinner making, find ways to eat together, and save money. It's kind of funny how different our life is now (and how much more poor-er), but the best thing is that we are really happy and comfortable.

One thing I have been reflecting on is the stereotype of women being the main keeper/ cleaner of the home. I think this makes a lot of sense when the woman is home all day long raising kids, etc, but what about working wives? Student wives? I don't want thisto seem like a husband bashing session, because Rich really does a great job offering/ being willing to help, but what I realize is that I feel a cultural pressure to do everything myself, because if I ask him, that would make me a lesser home-maker. Even though I know that sounds ridiculous when I say it out-loud, it's funny to me that I have this inner voice pressuring me to be the perfect molly mormon wife. But it's simply not realistic, it's impossible to get decent grades and maintain a clean apartment and healthy meals by myself. I'm exhausted! I was so excited to do these things when we were first married, but now that it's been two years I just don't have the same motivation to prove I'm a great home-maker. Probably because I realize that I can still be a good home-maker without all the work.

When we were at the Beehive home, Richard had the harder classes, the need to get perfect grades, and didn't come home most nights until after 7 when I had most of the chores done anyway. Now that it doesn't exactly matter for him anymore, I have realized that I am the one that needs more help because all of a sudden my schedule was not as easy as I expected (Isn't that always the case in college?)

One thing I have learned is to sit down and talk with your spouse and actually list expectations and plan who does what chores. I have caught myself getting upset because there would be random things dirty/ undone, and he'd be playing a game or something, but because I didn't ask him to help/ have an expectation, he didn't know what to do. At the same time, shouldn't men learn to look for things to clean? Or do women have a knack for that? Or just me?

Maybe everything will change once we have a dishwasher. Hours will be opened up for cleaning more important things, like the bathtub.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

A few more favorites....

This poem I first discovered in AP Lit, and thought it was pretty clever. I really like Plath's style, although she can be pretty dark, especially in her poem "Daddy". I read the Bell Jar and wanted to get her book "Ariel", I think, it's a collection of poems. This one is reminiscent of the Holocaust, but it also makes me think of insane celebrities---I think the song "The Fear" by Lily Allen might even go well with this one.

The Thin People
BY
Sylvia Plath


They are always with us, the thin people
Meager of dimension as the gray people

On a movie-screen. They
Are unreal, we say:

It was only in a movie, it was only
In a war making evil headlines when we

Were small that they famished and
Grew so lean and would not round

Out their stalky limbs again though peace
Plumped the bellies of the mice

Under the meanest table.
It was during the long hunger-battle

They found their talent to persevere
In thinness, to come, later,

Into our bad dreams, their menace
Not guns, not abuses,

But a thin silence.
Wrapped in flea-ridded donkey skins,

Empty of complaint, forever
Drinking vinegar from tin cups: they wore

The insufferable nimbus of the lot-drawn
Scapegoat. But so thin,

So weedy a race could not remain in dreams,
Could not remain outlandish victims

In the contracted country of the head
Any more than the old woman in her mud hut could

Keep from cutting fat meat
Out of the side of the generous moon when it

Set foot nightly in her yard
Until her knife had pared

The moon to a rind of little light.
Now the thin people do not obliterate

Themselves as the dawn
Grayness blues, reddens, and the outline

Of the world comes clear and fills with color.
They persist in the sunlit room: the wallpaper

Frieze of cabbage-roses and cornflowers pales
Under their thin-lipped smiles,

Their withering kingship.
How they prop each other up!

We own no wilderness rich and deep enough
For stronghold against their stiff

Battalions. See, how the tree boles flatten
And lose their good browns

If the thin people simply stand in the forest,
Making the world go thin as a wasp's nest

And grayer; not even moving their bones.
------------------------------------------------------
I LOVE Maya Angelou, although the first book of hers that I read was "The Bluest Eye" and it involved abuse, but she is so great with words and is so descriptive. She's one of Oprah's favorites. Whenever I see Maya on TV she seems so refined.

Woman Work
BY
Maya Angelou


I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own.

------------------------------------------------

This one I sang in a choir when I was in 5th grade, I used to make fun of it all the time, but now I kind of like it. This is about the beautiful life of lowly grass, personified as the life of a humble, beautiful woman.

THE GRASS. (By Emily Dickenson)

The grass so little has to do, --
A sphere of simple green,
With only butterflies to brood,
And bees to entertain,

And stir all day to pretty tunes
The breezes fetch along,
And hold the sunshine in its lap
And bow to everything;

And thread the dews all night, like pearls,
And make itself so fine, --
A duchess were too common
For such a noticing.

And even when it dies, to pass
In odors so divine,
As lowly spices gone to sleep,
Or amulets of pine.

And then to dwell in sovereign barns,
And dream the days away, --
The grass so little has to do,
I wish I were the hay!

I miss poetry....

This weekend my entomology class went on a field trip to Lytle Ranch in southern Utah, and on the way down I was sitting next to a sweet girl named Emily. She said she likes to write poetry, and is learning the guitar so she can put her words to song. I was really charmed. I used to love poetry so much more, and I was telling her how I used to write poems whenever I was feeling angsty or dark. I never really enjoyed writing happy poems, I mainly liked the weird ones....my favorite ones were by Sylvia Plath or e. e. cummings. I remember when Eric O. dumped me in highschool, I wrote him a poem....he thought I was weird. But I laugh now.

I found this cute poem by Tennyson, though, and thought I'd share it.

The Flower
BY
Lord Alfred Tennyson


Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro' my garden bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o'er the wall
Stole the seed by night.

Sow'd it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried,
"Splendid is the flower!"

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

How do people write stuff like this? It's such a gift. I don't think I could conjure up a poem anymore---at least not right now. I either don't have enough wit, courage, or emotion to do it....the emotions I feel the most now include simple joy and satisfaction, being married to Richard thus far has been pretty easy and carefree. I have no major worries, I am pretty bland in a sense. It's something to be grateful for. I guess I could write a happy poem? A poem about my dreams for the future? A poem for my future kiddies? I don't know! But I think I might step up to the challenge. Maybe you'll see a poem by me on here, someday soon.....

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Big cities scare me.

We just got back last night from our crazy 2 week road trip. We spent a week with Richard's family on Lake Shuschwap on a beautiful house-boat. The water was great, and the weather was actually pretty warm. Lots of reading, relaxing, sun-bathing, swimming, it was great. Even now I sometimes feel like I'm still on a boat. I caught tons of bugs for my entomology class, and even saw a dead fish! Oh, I guess the best part was going on a jet-ski and speeding accross the lake, and being dragged on an inter tube.
After being in British Columbia, we drove down to Seattle and stayed with some family there.

It was pretty cool, I thought Seattle was huuuge, until we headed to San Francisco....



Okay, so maybe I should explain why we went to San Francisco in the first place. Richard wants to go to University of Pacific's (UOP) dental school there, mainly because it is the only dental school with a 3 year program instead of a 4 year program. It is top notch, hard to get into, has the best professors, great environment, etc etc etc. We toured the school the morning we got there, and it was very impressive. Richard met with the lady in charge of admissions and asked her some questions, and wanted to see if he was a competitive candidate to get accepted (and of course, wanted them to connect his face to a name, and let them know that he seriously wants to go there next year). The staff was really great, and all of the students are THRILLED to be there, they just love their teachers and opportunities within the school to learn. The city itself, however, was SO CRAZY.



Parking was horrendous, you always have to park in a garage. In fact, we got a ticket because we parked on the wrong side of the street while they were doing street-cleaning (every 2nd and 4th wednesday..??) We heard the bus system is horrible, because it is so insanely crowded and they always run late. I did not see one grocery store the whole time I was there, and if there is one, I'm assuming you'd have to pay to park just to shop for your groceries. It happened to be insanely hot the day we were there, which apparently is very uncharacteristic of San Francisco. The rent is 2000+ a month, and you would be in a tiny apartment. In the inner city, there were lots of homeless people who would hold signs that said "I'm not going to lie, I just want a beer". One even said "money for weed please".




Maybe reverse-psychology works better now-a-days, or maybe they just think a sense of humor will get them more tips? Who knows. Driving was kind of scary, there were no left turns anywhere. To get in and out of the city in any direction, you have to pay a $4 toll each way. That seemed annoying to me, considering those who commute in and out every single day (which I might do if I teach there while he's in school--maybe there is a pass for frequent travelers?) There were some crazy-steep roads in the city that would scare me as we pulled up to them, it was like a roller coaster! You really had to be careful of pedestrians.HOWEVER, the place where we spent most of our time in the city was very clean, the buildings are charming-looking, and there is a lot to do. The beach is close, there are great shopping centers. The main mall in the city was the biggest mall I've ever been in, and the food court in it was very hip and cool. We saw some really tasty sea-food and ate some great clam chowder. It seems to be the Asian hub-bub, although there was a lot of diversity.

I have to admit, I would much rather live in an area where it's easy to navigate and free to park your car to simply get groceries, but I realize that sometimes when you are married you need to make the best decision for your spouse. I want my husband to get a really good education and to enjoy himself (and not be miserable at a so-so school). I guess if that means living in a place that I don't necessarily love, that's ok! Because sometimes you don't know if you like something until you try it, and I'm always up for an adventure. Plus, it would only be 3 years. I would just be sad to be so far away from family.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Summer is here!

Yay the spring is over! We are officially starting our first summer of NO CLASSES since we've been married....so this is fabulous. I survived Physics and managed to avoid a C! That was a blessing.

We kicked off July with a wonderful vacation with my family to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion's national park. If I were at my home computer I would totally post pictures, but they are all on facebook anyways. We LOVED it, it was such a relief to see my family after so long. Phillip (he's 17) said the vacation was one of his favorites because he got to hang out with me and Richard, we're finally around the same age where we can have fun with each other. Mindy is growing up so fast, too, she'll be turning 8 this fall. Anyway, my favorite park was Bryce Canyon, but everyone else really seemed to like Zion's. I want to go back to Zion's and hike Angel's Landing and the Narrows. :-)

I am working at the BYU Library, now cataloging LP's (old-fashioned records) for 20 hours a week, and then I'm working 20 hours a week at the Missionary Training Center (MTC). Both jobs have their ups and downs, at the library I can listen to whatever I want...including TV shows, audio books, etc., while at the MTC I have to clean and can't listen to any music or else the missionaries would get jealous :-) And the MTC doesn't seem to have enough work for me to do to fill 4 hours a day, so lately I've literally brought books to read there so I can wait and read until I'm even needed. Kind of posh. I've never had such lazy, easy jobs in my life.

Richard is working in his nutrition lab on campus, which luckily he is getting paid for this summer. He is doing research on antioxidants in blueberries, and he gives a presentation on his research in Chicago on the 17th, so he's been busy preparing for that.

Also, me and Sariah have been running together and are planning on doing a 5K at the end of the month....so hopefully it will work out! My first 5K....I have run more than 3 miles before, but it's still tough to train up to that when I'm so rusty. :-)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Bragging time.....

Nobody reads this, but I have to announce that Richard took the DAT today, and he scored amazingly: 100th percentile! Practically a perfect score! And this whole time he was telling me that he would barely do well enough to pass. Jeez. His official score was a 27 overall (out of 30), and here are his other stats: (the % is his percentile compared to everyone else)

Perceptual ability: 25 (99.7%)
Quantitative Reasoning: 22 (95.7%)
Reading Comprehension: 30 (100%)
Biology: 29 (99.9%)
General Chemistry: 24 (95.2%)
Organic Chemistry: 30 (100%)
Total Science: 28 (99.9%)
Academic Average: 27 (100%)

Go RICHARD!!

And the other good news is that I got a netbook today!! My laptop died so it's great to have something that's lightweight to lug around campus for my last year of school and student teaching. I also got a new supervisor at my library job, and I think I will enjoy my responsibilities a lot more, too. So yeah, life is great....now back to studying physics (which is almost done!)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Update

Well, I haven't updated anything that has gone on for awhile because life has been soo busy! But here are some random photos I've been meaning to post, and they are in no order whatsoever, so I will just be jumping around in time from the past few months. Above is a picture of Chicken Piccata that I made, it looks just like the photo in the Barefoot Contessa book we have :-) I just threw that up there to show that I'm still learning and experimenting with all of the interesting recipes I can get my hands on...


These couple of pictures were taken at Heather's wedding reception! It was great to see her and Jed get married, and in the meantime the Lows came over and stayed with us for a 2nd time this summer, and it was great to see them for the 1 day they were here! They drove 14 hours to go to a wedding, stayed one day, and drove back home. Sheesh. Oh, and cool side note, we got to meet Elder Groberg at the reception... he's the man that Disney based the movie "The Other Side of Heaven" off of.


Richard completed a sprint Triathalon!! It was a 5k run, 10 mile bikeride, and I think 300 meters swimming, in that order. We were just happy he finished, because his training was brief. He has been really interested in running form, and has been really influenced by "born to run" and the "evolution running" DVD. He has also been working on his swimming form. Why did he switch from exercise science to nutrition again? I have no idea.
And here is a cute picture we have from when the Lows stayed at our place for a week in April ( I think?) Wow time goes by fast. It was around conference, so yes it was then. We celebrated Easter with the Berrett's and had fun playing lots and lots of board games.

Once I am done with physics, and Richard is done with the DAT (in a couple weeks!!), we will be SOOOO relieved. All of the hardest parts of college will be over until Rich goes to dental school. He went to UNLV (University Nevada Las Vegas) for a Sim-course a couple weekends ago, where he got to play around with all of the dummies and pretent to do dental work. He is positive that is what he wants to do for the rest of his life. Sounds good to me!

This summer we are going to the Grand Canyon for a week with my family, they are driving up from Indiana and taking us with them to see the west, and Phil is going to audition for a percussion thing at BYU. He is getting way too old, its weird to realize that he is going to college soon! Later in the summer we will be able to spend a week with Richard's family as they rent a house-boat in British Columbia. I bet the water will be so cold! I am so excited to see both of our families this summer.

Monday, April 19, 2010

baby sugar addicts

Just for future reference...I'm not going to feed my babies pop tarts during church along with candy. They don't need to be eating that sort of stuff when they are so young. Also--TV....going to avoid that for a long time.....

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Why does everything worth-while always end up being SO inconvenient?

...the first few things that come to my mind are exercise, eating more veggies & far less sugar, and a good, thorough scripture study.

I think I have finally found a way to make these activities a mandatory part of my life. No matter what, I must make time/ find the gumption to do all of them. And so far it has worked very well, it has meant scheduling my days better, getting into good habits, and ridding my apartment of all sweets (or at least making Richard hide them in obscure places). For the past few weeks I have felt so much more productive. My past attempts at this for the past 2 years have never become this successful or flawlessly uninterupted, and so I think I can trust myself at this point that I will keep these habits reasonably intact until I at least reach my goals. My hope is to keep them indefinitely, but goals are still nice so I can reward myself and not get frustrated!

It all started when I had to watch videos of me teaching my 276R class. Sometimes when we look in the mirror it's easy to be in denial that we are unhealthily over-weight, but when I'm watching a video of me moving around, talking, and wearing a horribly unflattering sweater, I can't help but cringe. In the end, it was a very good wake-up call. According to the BMI I am over-weight for my height. And so, it's time for me to take responsibility of this before I let myself get even worse. I think having more control now of my diet than when we were at the beehive home definitely helps, because I am able to plan/ have time to make good meals. I also have found ways to not get bored working out at the gym 1--1.5 hours a day. As a result, I have lost 4 pounds in a few weeks, and am hoping to lose at least 20 overall. When I have more time, I want to list a few things I have learned that have really helped me to understand weight-loss and some surprising dietary facts that Richard has taught me from his sports nutrition class. Basically, my focus is lifting weights and cardio for 1-1.5 hours every day, while eating 1900 calories. (A person who exercises at my height and weight needs 2400 cal a day, and if you want to lose a pound a week, you need to take off 500 cal.) Sounds simple, but I think the hardest part is finding the time to do everything else in my schedule lately.

...more to come

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Cooking!

I love how the only pictures I have taken this semester are of the food I have baked. Here are a few:
Whole Wheat Bread


Apple Pie


Raspberry Cheesecake


Peanut Butter Cookies


Tamale Pie



Macadamia-Nut Tilapia (it was tastier than this looks....)

Wow...should I worry that this list consisted mainly of carbs? Hmm....

Other favorites so far include Wonton soup, Clam Chowder, honey-mustard chicken, Carrot-cake cupcakes, and I just can't remember.....but anyway, I love having a kitchen finally! It's so fun!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The new year!

Well, I haven't updated in a loong time. For instance, the dog that you see Mindy holding in the previous post my family ended up being allergic to, so they instead bought a gorgeous black poodle named Ari. She's super cute, too. And Richard even liked her! (I know, unbelievable).

After crazy finals, moving out of the Beehive home, and getting settled into our new apartment, we flew to Indy for Christmas. We had a ton of fun, Richard said he feels like he's fully integrated into the family now that he's been able to spend more time with my relatives. It's weird to think he hadn't seen my family in a year. The good news is that he found out alot of information about IU dental school and that he will qualify for in state tuition!! So now that has definitely moved up to our first choice. 25,000 a year compared to 100,000 a year is a huge benefit. I am so proud of him, I'm very confident that he will get in. He takes the DAT this spring.

As far as for me--I'm just loving having an apartment!!!!!!!!!!
My weakness is that I want to DECORATE everything so badly. But of course, decorations are uber expensive. So far I've limited myself to things on sale at Tai Pan Trading Co. That store is the bomb. I got a ton of clearance christmas stuff there, too. I can't wait for next Christmas already!

Whenever I blog it's usually because I don't want to be doing something else. I am definitely procrastinating studying for my Ochem test tommorow. It's kind of easy stuff anyways, but still, I should probably perfect my knowledge up until the last second. Physics pretty much sucks. I am slowly learning to appreciate/ like it a little, but it's pretty scary. I will never, ever, ever teach it in school because I refuse to get certified in it. Gross.

I am slowly but surely getting used to our new ward. It's kind of frustrating moving around alot at this age--settling down for once will be a great feeling. I get kind of sad when I think about babies, because I really want one. But I will graduate first. Besides, I have an IUD.

Today at church they passed around a clipboard, and asked if all of the stay-at-home moms would sign it as well as stay-at-home wives. STAY AT HOME WIVES? With no kids? That would be AMAZING! I would have time to exercise, clean, and make gourmet meals every day. And if Rich made enough, I could decorate our home and surround myself with pictures of family & fresh cut flowers. I'd practice flute, learn how to play Pride and Prejudice on the piano, and plant a vegetable, herb & rose garden. I'd scrapbook endlessly (about what though?) and hang out with other stay-at-home wives. I'd write my own cookbook. I'd write a book about how to be a stay-at-home wife. I'd write POETRY!

I couldn't help but dream that little dream. Of course, by the time I'm a stay-at-home anything, I will have babies. And that will be great. No really! But lately I've just been dreaming about creative writing. I am SUCH a boring writer. Now that I'm married, I have nothing that interesting to write about. Maybe once we have babies I will. But anyway, I don't have strong emotions of longing anymore, since Richard is back from his mission and I see him constantly. I don't have strong opinions about much, since everyone around me pretty much shares the same views (in one way or another). I am not depressed, so I can't write anything raw or emotional. I'm pretty great. Pretty normal. Just desperate for an outlet other than physics or o-chem. Maybe the lack of TV has helped me feel the need to be productive in other ways.