Day 173: Sunday

What a Sunday I've had. I've been trying to take the sabbath more seriously recently. Not doing work, and just relaxing prayerfully. I struggle with filling my time, because I feel the pull of assignments on my mind. But, it's nice. I like to be productive in ways of leisure at least, though. So today, I made french toast for myself, painted my nails, read bunches of recipes, looked up and listened to a bunch of new music, watched Of Mice and Men because I'd been wanting to, then, to wipe that tragedy off my face, I cleansed my palate with an episode of Arrested Development, then I made myself a homemade chai latte and took a bath, getting out of pajamas finally, to clean myself just so I could get right back into them.

walking home from school. had lots of grey days this past week. 

Anyways, it was Spring Break for lots of my friends back home this past week, and I was seeing pictures of loads of em doing loads of great things in warm, sunny places. It made me a little jealous, and the good news is that I don't get a spring break... but honestly, I've been having great times here in Aberdeen, so I can't complain too much. There's no shadow of a Spring to celebrate anyways; starting last night and going until today and forecasted to continue through to tomorrow, it's been snowing. So that's cool. Not.

a picture of an insignificant scene from my beloved Sandbridge, sent to me by Carly Boucher. 

In other news, my bro John got a real job a little while back, and it's weird to think both of my brothers have real jobs now. Zach I mean, he was expected: married and all that, I knew he was grown up for good. But John, him being out of the house in a legitimate way is making life seem a little more real. Like, this is going to be me soon. Granted, I've been away from home for like 6 months now and will be out for about 5 more, and then when I come back, it will be a transitional stay anyways. Hopefully. If I can do anything productive with my life ever.
Let me just cry for a few minutes.

Okay.
I can do this. Life.
Things have started to get on the way for my dissertation. I'm still on the proposal stage, obviously, but it's getting me excited. I want to be done with baloney courses and just be left on my own to research and write and spend too many hours in libraries with too many books, typing away and drinking chai and laughing and crying from stress and/or being overtired.

ALSO, I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE KATIE AND TAYLOR HAVE BOUGHT THEIR TICKETS TO COME VISIT ME! Taylor is coming, and right as she's leaving me, Katie will be arriving. Times will be so grand. ALSO, CAITLYN REUSS WILL BE AT OXFORD FOR THE END OF JUNE AND MOST OF JULY, so I have another American cohort in the land of Brits to visit and party with, woooo!

The always vogue, Taylor P!

My most lovely best friend, Ranger Katie!

A blurry picture of a really cute puppy because I don't have a picture of Caitlyn that is easily accessible right now, and I kinda like to think of Caitlyn as a blurry puppy anyways.

More importantly, y'all should give The Gray Havens a listen. They are really nice. And my heart is currently being serenaded by their rich melodies and well-themed lyrics. And if you haven't listened to the Steel Wheels yet, do that now, too.

Novena to St Joseph to finish in time for his feast day on the 19th starts tomorrow! Anyone who wants to join, I'm using this one: http://stjoe4u2.tripod.com/id5.html, doing the first prayer and the appropriate little prayer for each day, 1-9. :)

Song of the day: Gray Flowers- The Gray Havens.

Day 158: Lyfe

Since the last time I wrote, Scotland has presented times where I thought the snow would never stop and my feet would never dry and also times where I thought the sun could not be brighter and warmer. It might just be foolish hopes, but in general it feels like Spring might be trying to peak her little face into the calendar. The days are getting substantially longer in what seems like leaps each day. (To all the folks that thought the darkness would bring me down, break my spirit, or affect my happy disposition, to you I say simply, Haters gon' hate. It did no such thing!)

I'm in full swing into the second and final semester of taught courses here at the Robert Gordon University, and feelin' fine about it. This semester is a bit more stressful in the sense that it is cramped because of the month-long placement in April that we must be finished with lessons before. And speaking of that placement, as of now there are two options before me. Either working in the Aberdeen City Archives, or working on a Special Collection project at the University of Aberdeen. We shall see what the Lord provides and where He calls me!

Otherwise, Life, as usual, is a crazy whirlwind of thoughts, ideas, plans, dreams, and songs.
I went to karaoke both Friday and Saturday of last weekend, both times being impromptu escapades, but well worth it. I wish I could get paid to be the party picker-upper, aka whenever there is a lull in enthusiasm or people shying from the microphone, they'd just throw me into the spotlight and I'd rally the people from their whiskey-fringed timidity.

5 days ago was my 5-month anniversary of being in Aberdeen, which basically means that Time has slipped the blind over my eyes and gone rampaging forward without my consent. That rascal. Now that I've been here for a substantial amount of time, my friendships have also become substantial, and, even as I write this, a wormy feeling is growing in my stomach about leaving them. It's an awesome blessing to be able to develop these international friendships, but it also means that little pieces of my heart will be scattered across the globe, living between different date lines, and waking to different pieces of sky each day, never reunited as a whole again. Except maybe at my wedding or something, but even then, you can't expect everyone from California to India to be able to attend.
On the topic of broken hearts, y'all....Gone With the Wind. What. wut. whuuuuuuu.
Finished that near 1,000 page saga yesterday, loving everyone moment of it, if by love I mean being torn into more and more pieces at so many moments. I suggest everyone read it, and don't think about the page number, because really I wasn't bored once, and would have read it much faster if it didn't have grad school and sleep as competition. I won't spoil anything really. I will just say RHETT--WHY. ASHLEY--UGH. MELLY--WHYY. SCARLETT-WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Song of the day: To Make Her Love Me- Rascal Flatts. (On shuffle on iTunes right now, and just let me say, I love when iTunes understands me so well, as it has been doing for the past half hour.)

Day 145: Who Would've Guessed

Who would have guessed I would be doing now what I'm doing now?
Aka, I've always "liked to cook," but in the past that meant, every month or so when I got an inkling or wanted to be a good daughter and help the mother. Now, with the root of the situation lying in necessity, I have developed a serious love for kitchen creation.
Baking is just really fun because of the often long processes and delicious end results, but I've also found a lot of enjoyment in all forms of cooking--experimenting and learning which flavor combinations work well together or figuring out new ways to cook the same ingredients to avoid death by boredom.
With this new passion, another has arisen hand-in-hand, and that is the joy of hosting. I love having ma friends over to eat and serving them fresh, homemade meals (today I had several friends over for brunch after mass, the beginning of a new tradition to stop contributing to the labor of those who have to work on Sundays, and I cooked up homemade buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy and fried apples. Spot on) But also, I cherish the opportunities where I can come bearing tastebud-pleasing gifts for others who have graciously invited me to join their soirees and get-togethers.

I'm thankful I have had the opportunity to push myself in this seemingly insignificant way by the mere fact of living alone and having no meal provider in house or somewhere close, like the campus dining back at UMW. It has allowed me to be creative in a place where I am without paints and canvas, it has given me more confidence in my capability for independence, and it has begun to hone my skills for a Someday when I might possibly have a husband and kids to whom I must tend.

It doesn't hurt to have people fawning over me for a new reason either;)


Ha.

Tomorrow I think I'll make some cornbread and use up the buttermilk I have left from the biscuits, or else I'll never use it and it will continue to take up space and eventually go sour in my fridge. Keepin' this Southern thang goin'.

Speaking of the South: Gone With the Wind is blowing my mind no pun intended, and although 900+ pages will take longer to read than I would like with class time, coursework, and MY NEW JOB, I am thoroughly relishing every moment of Scarlett's insolence and, more importantly, RHETT'S prim perfection. (What a man; every time Margaret describes his broad muscles visibly contracting under his linen suits I can't help but imagine myself as the Southern Belle he's buying stylish, Parisian hats for--it's probably unhealthy to be so in love with a fictional character, but he's just SO (bad it's) GOOD.)
Also, if you didn't catch it, I have a new job working at the HMT restaurant, which is a 2-minute (or less) walk from my flat, annnnd it should be sweet. So thanks for your prayers! I start tomorrow:)

Day 133: Pride and Prejudice

So in the past 2 weeks I read Peter Pan and Pride and Prejudice, and while I would like to continue on the "P" title trend, I am headed to the library today with my sights on Gone With the Wind as a first choice or, if that's not in the stacks, another Austen.

I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, mostly for the style of writing. I can't get enough of the language from that period. And since I have never seen the movie Pride and Prejudice either, I was kept in a bit of suspense as to how things would turn out, though it was no real surprise (*spoiler alert*) that the cold indifference of Darcy would melt away and that he, the best looking, most affluent man in the story, would end with Elizabeth, the voice of the novel and the cleverest girl. It had to happen. And I'm glad it did.

"Elizabeth's spirits soon rising to playfulness again, wanted Mr Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love with her. 'How could you begin?' said she. 'What could set you off in the first place?'
'I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I know that I had begun.'
'My beauty you had early withstood, and as for my manners--my behaviour to you was at least always bordering on uncivil. Now be sincere; did you admire me for my impertinence?'
'For the liveliness of your mind, I did.'"

Oh, if all rich, handsome men fell for smart girls because of their brains..

To finish my thoughts on the book, I will say, I wasn't so infatuated that I can understand why so many girls are so consumed by it. Jane Eyre is much better, but maybe that's because I relate with the heroine more closely. Or maybe it's just because Jane Eyre is da bessssst. I would like to read other works by Austen, because her writing is quite good and these other stories might excite me more.



PS I start classes tomorrow--Woo, Boy!

Dude, Crap, iPhone?

I have an upgrade coming soon from Verizon, and I am very tempted to get an iPhone with it. Yes it's still 200 dollars, but...it's awesome. The desire is becoming too strong to overcome. I'm scared for myself.

In other news, I did Zumba today, and went crazy, and had a lot of fun. It was great. A woman said I was hilarious. bam.
Becca's coming over soon.
I kinda want to read Order of the Phoenix and not deal with people, but I'm excited to see her, because it's been a while.
Virginia comes tomorrow! And I don't work til Friday! Woo! but at the same time, booo because I need hours.
I'm going to apply at a dog kennel/groomer right near me, because they have a sign out saying they need a bather. The money might be good? We'll see if they hire me. They probably won't. but I like to be negative about this sort of thing, so we'll see.

Also: Chicago in the fall? badabingbadaBOOM

Presto, Pesto

Our herb garden has been taunting me, I want to make a lot of things with fresh herbs.
Tonight I think I'll make pesto, for the fam.
http://www.readymade.com/blog/food-and-entertaining/2011/06/09/polenta_fries_without_the_deep_fry

I also have an urge to shop. These come infrequently for me, but they do come, and so all I really want to do today is go to the mall with my momma and get clothes. But that isn't happening since I must work again, (p.s. I've been riding my bike everywhere, commuting to work, riding to church and the beach, and going on pleasure rides, saving money on gas and getting muscles, hopefully.) and then I'm going to have a Zombie movie night with some friends. Thrilling (?) I'm in it just for the society.

I finished Jane Eyre by the way (Dear Everyone, Read it!) and now I'm reading Little Women, I'm scared it won't be quite as exciting or drawing as Jane was, and from the first 50 pages, I already know it isn't (at least not for me) but hopefully it will be a good read.
Then...I may have to do the Harry Potter Series again, in anticipation of July 15 when Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes out. Yikes!

 Song for the day: Brand New Key- Melanie Safka