Back to School

Today I fly back to Utah- I'm so excited! I love school, and being busy. It's been a good week at home, though. I've gotten to spend some great time with my family. I love these crazies!

Almost Time...

I can't believe my time in Anchorage is almost up. I have about 4 and a half days left until I leave Alaska. Who knows when I'll ever come back here? It hardly feels real. When I think about leaving, I get super nervous. This has been home for the past 4 months. I'm not ready to leave it behind.

Yet at the same time, I can't wait to go home. I miss my family, and am ready to go see them all. It's been way too long since I've seen them all. But going home will be bittersweet. I'm worried that I'll be thinking about getting back to school the whole time that I'm there. School will be hard this year. Partly the coursework will be hard, but mostly I am worried about my motivation and concentration.

Mostly, everything circles back to Keith. I don't want to leave Alaska because it's going to change things. I'm nervous about how we're going to do at keeping up our relationship at a distance. I mean, I don't think we're going to fail. But I worry about how hard it will be. I worry about missing him. I worry a lot of things. Things will be different.

In Review

I've been reading over the last year or so of blog posts this morning, trying to remember the emotions and events and attitudes that I have experienced since 2009 began, especially in regards to dating. And I've come across some fun realizations. And I'm not going to share them with you all, but I wanted to suggest reflection and re-reading. Journals, blogs, scrapbooks- they're all a big part of my life, and bring a whole lot of joy when I look them over. It's good to be reminded of how much you're growing and how good life has been, and will continue to be! And it can bring fresh perspective to the ever-present topic of life.

Today

Today was rough.

Work was awful, mainly because of that stupid Anton, who is a jerk and bossy and annoying and ungrateful and all sorts of other things. Also because we're being called lazy because it's the end of the summer and we're all tired of working hard at a thankless, useless job. So, essentially, I quit. A long time ago, I tentatively said today would be my last day at work, but lately I've been thinking I'd work through into next week, at least a few days. But today I just couldn't handle the thought of working more days at Evergreen, so I reverted to the old plan, and am officially done. Never going into that nursery to work again. I might try to find out if my boss Jared has any jobs outside of the nursery that need to be worked on this next week, but we'll see. Maybe.

Also, Keith's dumb friends have him stuck in Willow, AK until probably around 11:00 tonight. So I don't get to see him, which is making me just mad.

Also, my best friend just got married in Washington D.C. and I'm not there.

Also, PMS happens.

Happily Ever After

Tomorrow my best friend gets married. Weird. We've been talking about this day for years. And more specifically, since she got engaged a few months ago. And I am so excited for her! And so weirded out by it, too.

Growing up is a funny thing. I can't believe that we're this old. Being old enough to fall in love is crazy; looking back on all of the boys we have thought we loved is mildly ridiculous. Luckily, she's finally fallen in love with one who's worth her time. Jeff really is a good man, and he loves her.

As for me, I am still happy to be working toward my own happily-ever-after.

Cooking Again

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a good pair of kitchen tongs, and a handful of toothpicks! I'm so ready to get back to my Provo kitchen, where I actually have adequate tools.

Tonight, I tried to make chimichangas with shredded chicken and kidney beans in a corn tortilla. Well. They were delicious! Unfortunately, they were also nearly impossible to make. My fingers and a pair of forks were not sufficient tools, and so I made two very messy chimis.

But they were so good! All in all, a successful experiment.

Loves of My Life

Today I feel like listing some of the things that I love:

• raspberries
• thunderstorms
• ice water
• high heel shoes
• my family
• delphiniums
• blankets
• piano music
• hymns
• dancing
• kisses (the chocolate kind, of course...)
  
• Keith
• roommates
• bright toenail polish
• good salads
• old movie songs
• writing
• pencil skirts
• flip flops
• trees
• BYU
• college football season
• little baby people
• recipes that I don't have to follow
• sunny days
• having a clean house (wish I didn't have to clean it, though... I ought to get back to that.)

That's not all, but it's something.