'Twas the Break Just for Christmas

To start off BYU's Christmas break, Shana and I had a true baking fest. We started our work after a little bit of shopping and planning. With great difficultly we reduced our baking list from 12 to a mere 7 varieties of sweets. It took the whole day, but the products were delightful, as was the process. We were able to enjoy them all the way up to Christmas and still give plenty away.  I think this is how I'll do it every holiday season. Shana is quite the whiz.

The Beginning of Coconut Macaroons

 The Final Details

 Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Ginger Snaps

 Toffee

 Snowballs (delicate butter cookies with a chocolate center...)

 All in a days work (also including Peanut Butter Brownies and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies)

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

We've been adding a little bit of holiday spirit in our apartment, with loads of snowflakes and cozy Christmas lights. We also have a little mistletoe hanging outside in our hallway. 'Tis the season!

A House

This Thanksgiving I am particularly thankful for a house to go to during the holidays. Comfortable furniture, hard-wood floors, cozy lighting, colorful walls, family photos, seasonal decorations, toys and books and Disney films, the screaming and laughter of children, the constant background conversation of the siblings: these are all things I don't get back in the good ol' dorm room and it's nice to be surrounded by family and the comforts of a home for a couple of days.

Hurrah for Miah and Missy and Ryan and Ann for giving me good company, someplace to go, and something to be particularly grateful for nearing the end of this semester. It's so worth the 14 hours of driving.

Halfway

It's interesting, the longer I am at school the less time is a factor in my day to day thinking. Other than planning on an hourly basis which assignments I'll do when, I simply don't consider the weeks and months. With this change I've found that time moves more quickly. And because the distance of the end of the semester isn't always pressing on my mind, I actually savor my learning so much more. Remarkable!

Maybe this is just a result of getting older period (more mature perspective?), and sheer, ridiculous business probably plays a part. I'm certain that the excellence of my teachers and the interesting subject matters help a lot. On top of that my roommates and neighbors are fantastic, my German house brothers are darling, and overall the ward experience has been great. Definitely good times... Whatever it is that allows me to enjoy life so thoroughly, it's positive.

Last week a teacher remarked that we were halfway through the semester. That was particularly shocking for him because, to that point, we hadn't even covered a third of the material planned for the semester. Well then, I guess we're halfway through! And he should probable go on less tangents about filial piety (although that was a great discussion). This also happens mark the more than halfway point of my entire undergraduate experience...
And now I'm done thinking about it and will get back to writing poems about my fellow German housers and showing my teacher that I do know the difference between dative and genitive adjective endings.

Grüss Gott!

Moments of the Semester....

Roommate Photo minus One Roomie
(L to R) Lauren, Kari, Shelby, moi, Ary

Roommates (L to R me and Kari with Shelby above) relaxing (and planking?) on a Sunday afternoon

Lauren and I at Sober Oktoberfest

It's been a good day....

I love General Conference and am very much looking forward to tomorrow's sessions. Now to working on that paper due Monday afternoon...

A Taste of Culture

Now that I'm back at school with no time to spend being cultured and without have excessive funds to become so, I haven't been able to enjoy much of the arts. Even though, as far as universities go, BYU has some great student performance offerings, it doesn't compare to Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C., and all those fabulous east coast cities to which I am accustomed. However, a lovely blog has been giving me a look into the world of incredible emerging artists and it gives me the very needed pleasure that comes from surveying creative talent.

http://www.decogitatum.com/

Just what I needed.

Good Art + Free = Ein Wunder

Just Circumstances

The power went out at work today and I was paid to do German homework. I hope, for the sake of BYUIS and all the work that needs doing, that it never happens again. However, for one day, it was kind of nice.

Back to the Books not Bed

On the second day of classes, one of my professors cheerfully announced that she would require more work than the average 3 credit honors class and said, "lose sleep over it, because you're still young and you can afford to."

If there's one way in which I've matured very quickly, it's in my physical inability to function for long periods of time without a decent night's rest. I almost raised my hand to tell her I disagreed (wanting to argue that sleep deprivation empties any bank account no matter what kinds of savings you've got stashed away), but I figured I'd get something along the lines of, "suck it up," particularly since another professor founded his absences-due-to-sickness policy upon similar ideas. Basically, come to class no matter how awful you feel, unless you're legitimately bedridden and have to go to the doctor, because I (the professor) feel crappy all the time! If he's "old" and can come to class feeling bad, then we being young should be able to do the same. Reasonable enough logic, I suppose.

Two weeks in and the first professor has proved her prophecy true. I've made it my goal to go to bed at a p.m. hour every night during one entire week and to wake up not less than 8 hours later. It hasn't happened yet, but next week will see the accomplishment of this goal. Did I say that last week?

It's already been decided; this is going to be a great learning experience on how to balance study, sleep, and social life--defining the good, better, and best opportunities in my life. You would think I would have already gotten that down after two years, but every semester alters the options I have which then changes the priority list. Let the excitement begin!

p.s. that last exclamation wasn't sarcastic.

Girl-ee-Girls

As a part of a week of girlishness, I introduced Abby and Bekah to the world of shopping in women's clothing stores. Our primary store was Nordstrom's Rack. Of course, size zero in women's is still too big for them, but the shoes fit and so does the jewelry. Some people may view it as a pollution or corruption of the twins, but I saw it as an educational experience in celebrating femininity. Our longest stop was in the absolutely ridiculous "fashion ring" section.

Some of Abby's favorites

Modeling the Goods

One for All and All for One

After all of our window shopping, we did close the day with a purchase of bathing suits for the girls. It was a successful venture.

Praises to Pineapples

I've always known pineapple was a good fruit; it's been one of my favorites for years. However, it's been many days since I've considered it one of the handsomest fruits of my acquaintance. And when I say handsomest I mean not only good looking and delicious, but practical and beneficial for the soul.

I'll tell you why.

I got my wisdom teeth out this past Tuesday and beforehand I was bracing myself for the worst. Everyone groaned upon hearing about my post-Fourth of July plans. I was given a lot of sympathy and I was told and reminded of many unpleasant stories about wisdom teeth removal. In the midst of my anxiety, my oral surgeon recommended that I eat as many servings of fresh pineapple as I possibly could two days before the extractions to place and two days following. Apparently, among the other good qualities of the fruit are agents that decrease swelling. I went through a pineapple a day before and after the surgery and experienced swelling in the most minor degree. The steroids and head wrap probably helped a bit too. On top of the fortunate lack of swelling, the pain was also easily manageable with hardly any use of the stronger pain medications the doctor gave me "just in case." And now all four wisdom teeth are out and I don't need to worry about them growing into my other teeth or getting infected anymore. Needless to say, I feel incredibly blessed. Yay for modern and natural technology!

Before: Preparing for the inevitable swelling and pain

During: The day after surgery sporting trendsetting, anti-swelling headgear that shows off the minimal swelling of the cheeks

After: Five days after surgery and looking exactly as I did the third day after the procedure

The Fine Art of Crocheting

I'm beginning to feel the weight of responsibility—the burden of maturity—which is apt to come when any self-respecting person approaches the departure of the teen years. In order to fully embrace this step into old age, I've taken up crocheting, with Abby, Bekah, Mommy, and Sister Jones as my teachers. It would perhaps appear, because the plethora of instructors, that I am not picking it up as swiftly I ought. Quite the contrary, I assure you. I would even go so far as to say I'm prodigiously talented (starting at such youthful period of my life and already well on may way to a glorious career of crocheting). They all want a finger in the pie of my success. Trust me.

I may have to reconsider the direction of my vocational pursuits.

The First Day's Work

Zum Schluss

This represents what I feel like right now...



Model credit to Laura Ebeling.

I cannot concentrate on homework anymore, so this is the next best, semi-productive alternative.

In two and a half weeks I will be an official Junior in college with roughly 5 semesters until graduation. It's coming to the halfway point in my college career. Oh mane Mr. Muldowney! I don't feel mature enough for this to be true. The consensus is that life is good stuff. So much has happened this semester; I haven't even been able to record it all in the multiple journals I've filled up. But as a rough recap...here are ten crucial points from my experience at BYU during Winter Semester 2011, not in order of importance or chronology:

1. I attended a mostly authentic, slightly "Mormonized," Seder meal with my Shoah (Holocaust) class and partook of the strongest horseradish I have ever had. My throat and stomach didn't stop burning until the next day. On a scale of 1 - 10, it was 11.

2. I mastered the passive voice in German, which enabled me (with luck) to take the German Proficiency Exam and do well enough to get into GERM 302, rather than the more popular placement for 202 students, 301. One less class to take!

3. Being made a lead design assistant has been a great experience, wonder of wonders. The new project has not been too difficult to pick up and my team is full of awesome, patient people.

4. Mild insomnia has become the second greatest bane of my existence, the first being laziness, and it has not helped me too much in the health department. But both of these "plagues" are resolvable with action and time, so I'm not too concerned about them lasting forever.

5. I watched the first two sessions of General Conference and cannot wait for Sunday's sessions.

6. Laura and I had what may be our last photo shoot. We're getting so old these days (I mean, I'm practically not a teenager anymore), and she is going to be to be putting in her mission papers at the end of April with the hope of leaving in August.

We make an awesome duo.



As much as we've talked about her going on a mission, it didn't hit me until we were eating dinner the other night and I suggested we take a class together next fall...

aaah bitter sweet



7. Jamie visited Provo to inspect BYU's music program. It was a rather pleasant surprise to have him show up at my door that Friday evening.

8. Participating in the English Student Advisory Council was cool, on top of not being super time consuming. We only had a couple of meetings. It was nice to voice my opinions (however uninformed) and my concerns. Plus knowing that our comments were making a difference was nice.

9. I got to watch the Martha Graham Dance Company perform at BYU, thanks to the generosity of my roommate. It was amazingly amazing.

10. It's almost over.

And after reviewing the wonderfulness of life, I think I'm revived enough to get some more homework done.

When One Has Hit a Slump

What does one do when one hits the "I-don't-want-to-do-anything-remotely-school-related-because-I've-been-in-school-for-eight-months-and-it's-time-for-an-extended-break-and-who-cares-about-grades-anyway" doldrums? Sorry, let's focus that question a little more. What does one do other than peruse one's Facebook photos two or three times and stare at the computer, trying to think of some use for it other than a tool that makes it possible for one to complete the list of homework assignments due tomorrow? To keep this all hypothetical, let's assume one has got the obvious first solution down to an art form and one needs another way to cure one's rebelliously lazy and wandering mind. Just a little study case for you to exercise your brains on. Thoughts?

Back at Good Ol' BYWoo

It's the close of another day. Coincidently, it's also the end of another week of classes, work, and other such gaieties. Two down and just thirteen more to go: when counting in weeks the semester doesn't seem unbearably long. However, this semester is going to be great, as it has already proved, so no one's wishing for its end just yet (we'll see how I feel when we approach all the big writing projects' deadlines). I’ve thought a lot about it this week actually…

Elder Christofferson gave a CES fireside last Sunday about enjoying the present, which I found very helpful and inspirational. Being fully invested in the moment is definitely not something I do on a regular basis. But really, there's so much I can gain and take pleasure in if I put my attention in " the now." Plus there are always lots of great things to do at this very instant; why be unduly concerned about the future? Classes (and their homework assignments) are challenging and interesting. Work is challenging and becoming very interesting (I was "promoted" this week to be one of four lead students in charge of training and overall organization for different teams…lots more to do!). German housing is challenging and always interesting because half of us speak German quite proficiently and the other half (of which I am a part) struggles with mastering the nuances (and fundamental aspects) of speaking the language well. And to add to all of that, the church is true, a knowledge that brings light and perspective to everything that comes along. So why not take each minute as it comes and embrace life whole-heartedly?

And I’m off the soapbox now. That’s all from this part of the world.