Good-bye September!

You know, it's strange to think that three years ago this month, Derek and I were barely getting acquainted. He was still shy around me, hardly speaking it seemed. And now, we can't seem to get enough time together.

But tomorrow it will be October, one of my favorite months of the year. Football, fall leaves, Halloween Candy, pumpkins, brisk fall air, school, friends, and most importantly, family. I'm looking forward to having a blast this October with all of them.

Good-bye dear September!

Things I Love

This one is for Betsy. It was a great idea.

So, I set an online stop watch for one minute, and typed anything I could think of that I love.

One minute of things I love:

1. singing in a choir
2. reading British novels
3. reading about history
4. visiting museums
5. taking walks at sunset
6. going to the Temple
   
7. humming/singing as I clean
   
8. whistling when I walk across campus
9. watching the leaves fall
10. building snowmen
11. playing scrabble with Derek
    
12. talk about the future with Derek
    
13. traveling
    
14. making cookies
15. eating with friends
    

Hmmm, nice. Here are a few more things I love:

1. writing in my journal
2. playing with Derek's hair
3. watching movies with my sisters
4. talking to my brother about life
5. watching BYU football
6. going to soccer games
7. horseback riding
   
8. hiking
9. listing to General Conference (especially when I'm there!)
   
10. listening to someone with an accent
    
11. speaking in Spanish
12. running into someone I haven't seen in a long time
13. writing stories
14. taking pictures
15. hot chocolate
16. galaxy chocolate
17. my primary kids in London
18. looking at Better Homes and Gardens magazine
19. America's Next Top Model
20. pink gel pens
21. decorating for holidays
22. Disneyland
23. warm, fuzzy blankets
24. chicken alfredo
25. eating a whole pizza by myself
26. having lunch at the Creamery
27. talking to friends on the phone
28. writing and receiving letters
29. root beer (especially A&W)
30. good roasts on Sundays
31. naps
32. wandering around Wal-Mart
33. visits to Duchesne
34. buying books
35. looking at Christmas lights

There are a million more things...but I kept it at 50. :-) I agree with Betsy though...maybe I should do this more often.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Fall has always, and will always, hold a special place in my heart. It's one of the most beautiful times of the year, as Heavenly Father paints the leaves the colors of warmth and invites them to blanket the ground in preparation for winter. Everything is brilliant in the fall, from the colors to the cheers in the football stadium.

Autumn decorates our floors with crumpled up leaves, mementos of time spent outside running through crunchy carpet throwing confetti dropped from trees at each other and down the necks of hoodies and jackets. It encourages our feet as we walk to school, the brisk chill coloring our noses and ears as a prelude to the frigid air of winter. But it slows our hurry on our way home, calling to us to play, to stay a while in the beautiful colors and breathe the thrill of the season.

The word Fall can be defined in several ways, including "to come to rest". The Season of Fall is when the world is starting to settle down for the long winter nap. It gathers all of its resources and hurls them into the world in preparation for the cold and frozen landscape that will soon cling to our eyelashes and cheeks. It's a lovely time of harvest when pumpkins gather and children can be heard squealing with delight at the beauty that surrounds them.

Oh Fall!
I prefer your gold, orange, and red flowers
to any other time of year.

Sooners...who?

The Cougars did awesome this weekend, Derek and I both agree. As we were watching the game, we kept seeing this absolutely HIDEOUS mascot running around. It was an OU Sooner (see photograph to the right). It looked like a horse with a huge head (frankly, it looked like a disgrace to such a beautiful and noble creature). And we both looked at each other and thought, "What is a Sooner anyway?"

So, I did a little research this morning (all right, I used Wikipedia) and found this:

The term Sooners was used to describe settlers who entered the Unassigned lands, located in the current state of Oklahoma, before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement...The name derived from the "sooner clause" of the Indian Appropriation Act, which stated that no one should be allowed to enter and occupy the land prior to the opening time and that such people would be denied rights to illegally claimed land.

Sooners were often deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early.Some sooners crossed into the territory illegally at night and were originally called "moonshiners" because they entered "by the light of the moon." These sooners would hide in ditches at night and suddenly appear to stake their claim after the land run started, hours ahead of legal settlers.

Ha, so a bunch of outlaws. NICE.

Frankly I will keep my freaking awesome mascot.

GO COSMO!

Hitting the Books

Another first day of school has come around. Derek and I got our backpacks put together last night, all of our school supplies tucked safely inside, just like when we were little. But now, instead of a pencil box full or crayons and Elmer's glue, we have thick text books and ball point pens, plain college ruled paper, and graphing calculators (at least Derek has one).

I used to plan out my wardrobe for the first week or so of school, putting each top and bottom on a hanger in my closet where I could just grab it the night before and lay it out on the foot of my bed. I must admit, I barely thought about what I was going to wear today; maybe for a minute last night. I would get up and do my hair just so and leave plenty early to see my friends. This morning I combed my hair and pulled my bangs back, and left at 7:45, content to just get to work on time at 8.

I used to wonder who was going to be in my class, if there would be any cute boys, and if my teacher would like me. Now, I usually don't know a soul in any of my classes, unless it was predetermined by us, I could care less if there were cute boys (I'm married!) and I have to work hard to be noticed enough for my professor to have an opinion about me. Do I mind any of those changes? No, not really. I get to meet new people, I'm perfectly happy being married, and I like the challenge of getting to know my professors.

So yes, the first day of school is very different now. But I don't mind a bit. I've grown up I guess. But there are certainly some things that will never change.

For example, excitement over going school supply shopping. I have hauled Derek through the school supply section in Wal*mart so many times, I'm sure he has it memorized by now. But there's something about new notebooks, clean binders, newly sharpened pencils, and brand-spankin' new gel pens that make my heart race. It's exciting! I always want to buy a new set of crayons, even if I will never use them, a new cute binder, a bouquet of pencils, and two new boxes of Crayola Washable Markers (skiny tip and wide tip). But, now that I'm a "big girl" I have to practice restraint and remember I have tuition to pay and not go crazy. This year, I bought a new binder (it was on sale) and four new pens. I felt proud of myself for not spurging this year.

And there's always the excitement of new classes and new knowledge that I'm going to acquire this semester. What's not to love? I get to sit at the feet of some of the brighest minds in the world and learn from them. I get a fantastic education that I don't pay out the nose for. And I go to a school whose buildings are dedicated temples of learning. There's not much to complain about while at BYU.

Besides....football season starts this week....