Psalming, poetry of praise.

I am in a Bible as Literature class right now, during my stressful stressful semester! This is an English class, not a religion class and I really enjoy delving into the character qualities of our biblical heroes. Anyways, we were reading in Psalms today, and I had to write one of my own. Naturally, I decided to share it here, um, enjoy?

I see Thy hands, Thy works cause me to rejoice.
Thy hands that hath blessed the sick,
Thy hands that hath healed the lame,
Thy hands that hath calmed the child,
Thy hands that had created the heavens and the earth.

I see thy hands, holding mine hands.
Mine hands that could lift the hands that hang down,
Mine hands that could plant the seeds of thy word,
Mine hands that could serve the weak,
Mine hands that could be thy hands.

I see Thy hands, Thy works cause me to rejoice.

Ode to the Crayola Crayon

I am in a class that requires creativity above what you would typically expect in a college course. My creativity has come forth via the medium of crayons. I love coloring! Needless to say, the crayons need to be crayola brand, because rose art just never makes the cut. I also love having a brand preference, because it makes me seem like I know what I am talking about. Long story short, I feel that these little crayons deserve a little more love.

The smooth blend of colors create vibrant depictions of novelty characters. In my coloring book of My Little Pony or Sesame Street, the rich tones make Pinkie Pie and Elmo come alive. The sharpened tips stay inside the lines. The color names that are hyphenated with additional adjectives are only appropriate for the crayons in 96 packs and the paint chip aisle at Home Depot. "Into the abyss blue" or "Purple Mountains Majesty" or "Timberwolf". Every crayon has the name of the color in three languages, making sure that the world can understand what precise shade is about to be employed for the perfect sky blue. Crayons are the first artistic tool given to children and they never should be put to rest. Crayons make me smile. Crayons convey my feelings about purplish hues. Crayons make me feel expressive in a way that colored pencils can't. Crayons are made to be broken. Crayons are simple, whether they come in a set of 4 or 44.

Thank you, Crayola.

Savoring Sentences and Pondering Prose

I love being an English major. I may have to tell myself that every single day, but yes, I do enjoy learning more about the crafting of my mother tongue. Literature is the only way I know of to express feeling in a manner that heals both the reader and the writer. Thusly, I would like to say thank you to the million and a half poets I have had to read in the last year of my life. :)
My new Spring term classes are keeping me very occupied, and I have found myself reading many more pages and not maintaining my high standards of clean. Oh sorted laundry, I miss you and I am sorry that the white clothes have been haphazardly thrown in with the dark wash jeans. Oh stainless steel kitchen sink, I am sorry that I have not been paying attention to you with my homemade vinegar cleaning solution and a soft cloth. Oh textbooks, the heart of my diverted attention, I am sorry you are not neatly stacked and not organized according to subject. I must get back to my passion of savoring sentences, but I am sorry that I have been too busy to properly clean.

Clown College and Marigolds

I spent a week at home between the winter and spring semesters of my beloved BYU. Really, I dearly love my university, and I cannot complain about too many things... other than the complete and shocking lack of spring break. Hmph. Nevertheless! I was able to spend a week in Sandy with Mumsy and Popsicle and it was a refreshing break. Here are some of the activities I partook in:

-repaired 24 kazoos. for a family party. I could not be a clown, there is too much pressure to have all of the party favors adequately function.
-played Happy Birthday to my cousin Bambi, with 23 of my family members, on kazoos.
-realized that kazoos are really great instruments.
-mowed the lawn. I do not envy the neighbor boy who will have to do that all summer long.
-went to a live cooking show with my Auntie Rae, and won a flatbed of marigold plants.
-planted 36 marigold plants in my mother's garden, and made her promise to water them and talk to them lovingly when I am not there.
-visited old friends.
-purchased shorts, flip flops and sunglasses for the summer.
-went to costco with mom, when she needed chapstick. She now has 12 tubes, and gave two to me. Yes!! the kind with spf 30!
-watched a Jazz game or two, oh Jerry. I am so glad espn respects you too.
-decided to put in mission papers around Thanksgiving.
-realized that I will have a mission call in about 7 months.
-drove to Provo for a 15 minute visit, to turn in one last paper for winter semester.
-spent 4 days with Mother, who had a successful tongue surgery and recovered very nicely.
-held a baby or two at church.

I had a very nice spring break, and I greatly look forward to my next break, in August.

It's the end of the semester as we know it.

I simply cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone by! I babysat my cousins for a week (while still going to school), I taught 4 relief society lessons, I made dinner for a 14 person dinner group, I took 8 credits of Portuguese for another semester, I endured my share of computer problems and I had 9 roommates to boot! (5 girls, 2 fiances, 1 biance, and 1 boyfriend) Biance (pronounced like Beyonce) is a boyfriend that soon will be a fiance. We always had a full house, and we loved it.

Carly and Jesse -- the hilarious and ever giving couple who consistently take me on as the third wheel.

Natalie and Zach -- painfully try to teach me sign language ABC's and put up with me when we all want to cook in the kitchen at the same time.

Michaila and Ben -- they are in love and they love everybody! I am going to miss them when they get married.

Suzanne and Erik -- one day, all the roommates sent texts to Erik to notify him every time we did anything remotely noteworthy. i.e. Hey Erik! I am studying in the Library til five, just to let you know!

Becca... & Taralyn -- the single friends who play with couples, flirt with boys, and talk about dates. Thank heavens for roommates who remain single simply to make me feel better. :)

S210 (Michaila is here in spirit)

Winter 2010 has been too much fun! I can't believe it is over and I look forward to many more fun semesters!

Love Affair with Robots

Recently, I have realized that I have a problem when it comes to being emotionally attached to robots. I just watched the movie "Batteries not Included" for the first time and I found myself more invested in the welfare of an injured robot than a poor man's livelihood. Why? Why you might ask, do I love machines with seemingly charming personalities? There is some strange draw that I find to loving objects that have no capability to love me in return. The cold metal that reflects the still, cold heart underneath is just so endearing. I cry when a robot gets hurt with a baseball bat, as that is almost always how they die. I laugh when they are sneaky. My heart smiles when they serve. There is nothing more cute than an inquisitive machine. I will now give you several examples.

1 - Wall-E! He lives all by himself and he yet he yearns for love. He is cultured and is willing to save the one he loves from abduction. Thank you Wall-E for teaching hometown values from an Earth so far away.

2 - Weebo from the movie Flubber! She was the perfect computer wife for Robin Williams. Patient, cheeky, and organized, this yellow hunk of metal is so cute. There is just something about a robot exhibits bravery. It warms my heart.

3 - The Family from "Batteries Not Included" - Basically aliens from another planet who eat metal from stolen kitchen appliances, these cute little things fly around and help people who are in a desperate need for help. First there are two robots, and then they have three babies. Naturally, one is runt and must be returned back to health. In a scene very reminiscent of 101 Dalmatians, the smallest robot eventually triumphs and is the best robot of all.

4 - R2-D2! Does he need any explanation? No. He saves the day in every episode of Star Wars and he puts up with the ongoing antics of a bumbling C3PO. What a patient guy. I love his beeps. I wish I could provide a sound bite of a R2-D2 giggle. Awww….

Observations from the couch in my head.

1) I love four cheese flavored Cheez-Its.
2) I am not ashamed to say that I facebook stalk. Everyone.
3) Oft times I am more interested in the grocery sections placed in the newspapers than the articles themselves.
4) I love introducing people to vegetables that they haven't eaten before.
5) I don't really like spaghetti. Sometimes, but not often.
6) I am very insecure if I don't like the shoes I am wearing.
7) Socks are a necessary evil, I wear them only when absolutely required.
8) Water tastes better coming out of a water bottle, even if I just refilled it.
9) I really really really love the song 'tiny dancer' by Elton John. Thanks Nat.
10) When I have time to myself, I consider it a treat to clean so that nobody else can mess it up.
11) I am almost twenty, and I am having a hard time being so dang old. 20 is old, let's face it.
12) I have, and will always quote Spongebob. If a person understands, I automatically respect them more.
13) I can make a batch of cookies in less than 20 minutes.
14) It is one of my biggest pet peeves to have DVD separate from their cases.
15) Paper plates are amazing things.
16) Puzzles are an excellent diversion. Why do we always feel like they HAVE to be finished? It is like there is this rush... just to put it away. I love 'em.
17) Smelling good is something that greatly concerns me. I worry about it all the time.
18) I have to be on time for scheduled things. I would rather be 20 minutes early than 5 minutes late.
19) I get really sad when my yellow highlighters get a black tip.
20) I simply love to blog about weird things.