Today has been a good day! I was actually thinking earlier about what I was going to post about, and I think I already told Rachael most of it over the phone when I was walking home from class. I'll repeat it here anyway.

First (at 9:00 am) was Engl 291: British Literary History 1. When my professor walked in, she looked exactly what I imagined her to look like! Like an older Emma Thompson, but a little bit of Nanny McFee thrown in--but only a little. She went over the class, and it sounds like it will be pretty intense reading and minimal writing (that's the way I like it). My homework for Wednesday? Read Norton Intro (pgs 1-7, 19-21); online "Linguistric and Literary Contexts of Beowulf"; Bede, Ecclesicastical History (Story of Caedmon) (pgs. 24-26); and Beowulf (29-100). The nice thing is, we have take home quizzes to guide our reading, cause we're reading pretty heavy stuff but moving rather quickly, so I have a guide for while I read Beowulf, which I am actually rather excited for, cause I've never read it! I do have to buy that Bede book, and I really don't feel like going back to the bookstore right now. Maybe I'll get it on my way home (I'm in the library right now--I went home, ate lunch, and got my books/computer and almost died on the trek back up campus cause my backpack was suddenly 50 pounds heavier).

Next (10:00 am) was Engl 252: Intro to Literary Theory and Critiscm, which seems very philisophical and theoretical. My professor there reminded me of a shorter, balder Jimmy Stewart cause he kind of talked like him and acted a bit like him. His voice is very soothing, so I'm hoping that the class is extra interesting, cause it was very relaxing to just sit and listen to him talk on the first day of class! I got out of that class about 10 minutes early, so I had time to eat my apple for lunch :)

Then at 11:00, I had Hist 202: World Civilization Since 1500. This class is in the lecture hall in the Maeser Building, which I am very excited for, except today I was sitting in the front row in the corner, so my neck really hurt by the end of class from looking up at the huge power point! We went over the syllabus (which I really dislike doing---we can read for ourselves! and we did it in every class....) and then we watched a slide show of different historical empires from around the world set to Viva la Vida. That was nice. Especially since I was in the front row and could see my professor "dancing" a little bit to the music.

Finally, at 12:00, I had Geol 101: Honrs Intro to Geology. As I told Rachael, I think my professor is older than the rocks we are learning about, but he still seems very sharp and spry and was actually quite funny. The powerpoint that he had introducing the class had at least one joke on every slide, although I felt like the class was laughing a little too hard. Honors suck up students.

So, after my classes and my trek to and from home, I am back in the library and about to start on my homework. I already did my New Testament reading for my first class tomorrow (but I'm going to review, cause it's just so cool! We have an really interesting packet to read from) and then I have already done half of my Geology reading, but I need to finish that up and finish my notes and then I'll get to Mr. Norton!

Tonight we are having a ward FHE at the bishop's house, which I am pretty excited for. Right now I'm in a mood to work really really hard in school and have a nice, balanced social life on the side and get to bed at 11. Oh, also, I quit my job, which makes me really, really happy, but I'm very tired of explaining all the details (I told my roommates and then I have tried to tell any of my friends that bought a card from me, just in case they ever feel ripped off....) Anyway, so if you want to hear the details on it, ask Mom or Dad. I'm glad of my decision to do it, but I'm just tired of repeating the story so many times. It was a hard thing to do, but when I thought about what was important to me and what my priorities were, it was really quite simple. I'm so glad to have the Lord's influence in my life and to have the Spirit as a constant companion to help guide me to do what is right!

Have a wonderful day! Also, I might need Gulliver's Travels! What edition do we have at home?

I realized something yesterday when I was watching the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean--you know the spy guy that works for Beckett? you may not remember him, but he's always around and has a really thick accent and is really bad? Well, he's from Yorkshire....and so is my little roommate Harriet (well, north Yorkshire). So, if you haven't heard Harriet's accent, it's not the English accent that you think of, like the London one. You can watch that guy in Pirates and know what hers is like!! Although, she says she's from the topmost town in Yorkshire, so hers isn't as "broad", and she also says that people from her area says that she talks "posh" (which is what she calls the London accent that we usually think of).

She's saying now that her accent is a mix between Yorkshire and Geordie (from Newcastle) because she is in the middle of Yorkshire and Newcastle (although closer to Yorkshire)....I am learning so much more about her as I write this, haha! It was interesting when her friends were here and they both have Geordie accents and Harriet has more of the Yorkshire accents. I asked which one was harder to understand and Harriet says that right in the center of Yorkshire is very broad and hard to understand, but so is it in the center of Newcastle. Either way, they are very different from London accents--the Geordie one reminded me a lot more of a Scottish accent.

So, there is your little lesson today...I wish I had something else interesting to say about that, but I don't really....but guess what? I'm playing John Denver right now, and I know that Harriet knows some of the more well known songs, but right now "Wild Montana Skies" is playing and Harriet just got off her bed and left the room, and as she did, I heard her sing kind of unconsciously along with the music "Oh, Montana, give this child a home...."

Ha-HA!

So, this post really fits with the title of the blog.

Harriet and I learned a really fun game last year that teaches you your true laugh. Now, this usually works pretty well and is really funny, but it doesn't work on some people quite as well (Mary Beth and Brian). It also works much better if you're in a kind of excited mood anyway. So...you need two people. Let's say Harriet is person 1 and I am person 2.

Harriet lays on the floor on her back and crosses her arms mummy style, holding onto the tops of her shoulders. I stand over her and put my hands on her crossed arms. Then she breathes in deeply, and then when I say "Breathe out", she breathes out. As she breathes out, I push down on her arms as hard as I can---this forces the air out in what usually is a really crazy laugh.

Well, if you try this, I hope that it works and provides you with a great dose of laughter tonight. :)

(Harriet and I like to do this a lot and it can lighten any kind of mood when you laugh that hard and that crazily!)

I'm ready for school to start! I have my books and my notebooks (although, Rachael and Mary Beth, for some reason I only got a 4 subject notebook for four classes---do you think that with those English classes I will need more note space? I am starting to think I do....)

Not many people are here, so Harriet and I have just been hanging out with ourselves. Last night we went on a walk and ended up going to see Mary Beth's new apartment (which is beautiful!) and we were telling her that not many people are here and that we had dates together the last two nights--baguettes and brie (which was NOT real brie, to our disappointment) the first night and lettuce wraps and french fries the second, both nights with our plastic martini glasses full of juice. Mary Beth said, "Wow, that sounds fun! So...who were the guys?" And we said, "Um......there were no guys. It was just us two. On a date with each other. Two nights in a row." It was funny :)

Yesterday we spent two hours in the bookstore looking at the Mormon artists and their art displays. I think that Liz Lemon Swindle is my new favorite Mormon artist, I kind of became obsessed while we were there. We were looking at all of her paintings and some of them actually made us cry! In the bookstore! It was kind of embarrassing when we were looking at one particular one and both of us were tearing up, and a guy came up and was like, "Are you finding everything you need?" I kind of looked away and we said, "Yeah...." And then, instead of going away, he said, "You know about the buy three get one free right?" And I just kind of started looking back at the paintings, cause I was so embarrassed that he was talking to us when I looked like I had been crying, so Harriet was like, "Yes, we know...." And then he eventually went away. We were telling Mary Beth this later, and Harriet said, "I didn't look at him either the whole time he was speaking to us!" So I guess he just thought we were both rude because neither of us had any eye contact at all. Despite the crying in a very public and crowded place, it was very good and we were both very surprised to have such a spiritual moment in that kind of environment.

Well, I have nothing else really to say, except that I am very excited that it is 8:45 am and I am writing on my blog.

So....I like to laugh...

I decided to change up some things on my blog because I got tired of it...and Rachael says that my laugh always makes her laugh (which is hopefully a good thing...although I think I say enough stupid things to make her laugh at me all the time).

Anyway, still here at home in Michigan, although I just can't wait to start school again! I bought one of my textbooks on ebay today, and I saved a whole 15 bucks! Which means I can now buy a nice, pretty planner, although I was going to do that anyway.

Today I think we are planning on going to lots of stores, although I don't really enjoy that thought because I like to go to stores on my own schedule, not when it is other people that want to go and I am just kind of tagging along. But hopefully I will be able to get some things that make it enjoyable.

I am so so so excited for school to start! I hope that I really like my classes and that I will find something in each of them that makes it enjoyable enough for me to want to work really, really hard, cause I think some of my classes will be pretty intense. And although several of you already know my classes for next semester, I'm going to list them on here anyway.

ENGL 291: British Literacy History 1
ENGL 252: Intro to Lit Theory and Criticism
HIST 202: World Civilization from 1500
GEOL 101: Honrs Intro to Geology
REL A 211: The New Testament

Looking at them, it seems like I'm not in that many classes at all, but Rachael tells me that the two english classes will be lots and lots of work, so I need to be sure to put a huge amount of work into it. Although, with my sudden yearning for schoolwork, that shouldn't be too hard at first. Hopefully, this excitement for learning will last the whole semester.

Also, Michigan is amazingly green and beautiful, so here are some pictures!


Lake Michigan before the waves picked up...

One of the trees that we planted in our front yard when we moved here 10 years ago....it is so huge and beautiful now!

Family pictures in our backyard....

I don't know whether this is a particularly good picture, I just kinda picked one at random....so....


I like this next picture a lot :)

Gr'ma and Papa!
Well that's it, I need to go check my laundry to see if I have clean clothes in order to get dressed.....smile!

Michigan: Trees, Thunderstorms, and Humidity

Whenever I mention to someone whose blog gets a great amount of visitors that she (usually) hasn't posted on her blog in a day or so, she always inevitably says, "Well, you NEVER post on your blog!" First of all, this is because I always end up telling everyone everything about my day anyway, so it is very repetitive, and also because i don't think my blog gets as many readers (which I am completely fine with) as another one who has the cutest kids on earth or another one who never seems to go a single day without having something amazing to eat--which makes me slightly jealous.

So, everyone should appreciate the fact that I am posting now.

I'm home in Michigan (as you all know) and it has been pretty fun being with my family. I am really excited to go camping this week, cause I have been getting a little antsy at night not being able to really go out and do anything, which I had been doing a lot at school the last couple weeks. So, I am looking forward to going somewhere and having fun with my family!

However, the weather is so crazy! Last week, it was freezing cold, and now after the huge thunderstorm that we had yesterday, it has been so hot and heavy outside. I'd forgotten what humidity was like. I think I'm most worried about being able to sleep in the tent when it is so hot outside, but I also hope that we get to spend a lot of time at the beach if it really is going to be this hot.

We are having pot roast for dinner (prolly one of my favorites and the first meal I requested from Mom when I got home) and I am very, very, very excited. Also, we saw Julie and Julia yesterday and now I really just want to cook all the time. Maybe I should get that out of my system while I'm at home and have all the the unusual ingredients at hand.

And now my ma is calling me very loudly so I shall stop doing what others want now and go do what someone else wants.

Latest Parties from Provo

I recently discovered my friend Erika's blog--and it has some pretty good accounts of some of the latest things we did in Provo. So, instead of me recapping everything, I am going to forward you to Erika's blog! Look particularly for picture blogs about the pool party and the Demolition Derby (you're going to have to go back a little to look at the Derby). Anyway, have fun reading, cause it was certainly lots of fun doing!! Erika's blog is mybyu.blogspot.com

Also, I am HOME!!!!!!!!!!! now i have to get back to cleaning the carpets.....