Today

Today

I heard the wind today.
I felt it too. It gave me
A tiny hug as it passed by,
Letting me know that it was
Watching over me.

I touched the earth today.
Do you know what happened?
It touched me right back.
The touch went straight
To my soul, and I knew
That at least one thing is sure.

I experienced the sun today.
I felt its concern soak into
My skin, infusing itself
Into my being.

I became reacquainted
With life today. It came
And sat in my lap, and
Gave me quite a show
Of affection. And for today,
Life is simple.

I wrote this poem in April. But, I recently posted it on facebook, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to put it here too. I hope you guys like it.

Soup Recipe

My soup challenge is kind of hard to meet. I don't really make soup that much, and I don't have my recipes with me. So, this is my favorite way to make soup. Open a can of soup, warm it up on the stove, put it in a big bowl, and eat it with a spoon. Sometimes I eat it with crackers too.

Stephanie Maxwell

Stephanie Maxwell is my room roommate. She and I share a bedroom at the end of the hall. You have to pass the boy wall to reach our bedroom. Anyway, she is a blast. She was born in Florida, and lived there for most of her life. In high school, she moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she graduated, and then she decided to come to Utah State for college. The tallest roommate at 5'6", Stephanie makes my bedroom delightful. It's because of her that the walls aren't completely bare and ugly. She is a political science major, which can make things interesting when people want to talk politics. She is a sophomore in years, but a senior in credits. She has worked hard for two summers, and one regular school year. She tells me that she has to, seeing as she is out of state without a scholarship. Her mom is Puerto Rican, so when it is her turn to make Sunday dinner, she makes the most delicious Puerto Rican food. Stephanie loves to check the mail. It is one of her favorite things to do. You see, she writes to missionaries. One in particular, Elder Glauser, who is in Chicago. Her calling in our ward is the Relief Society music coordinator. It's great, because she always chooses hymns that aren't really well known. The cool thing is that, thanks to my mom, I know most of the ones she chooses. She is a classically trained bass player. Most of my roommates play musical instruments and have been in bands. It makes singing with them really easy. I like living with Stephanie. She is a very generous person. I'm grateful to be her roommate.

Hymn Singing

Every Sunday night at 9:00, my friends and I, go to the Institute parking garage. There, we just stand and sing hymns for an hour. It is pretty neat. Singing a capella, we sound amazingly great. And with a couple of music majors involved, the harmonies are heavenly (please note the alliteration...). Usually, we sing the fast, upbeat hymns first, and then we sing the more quiet, reverent ones last. We always end with Lead Kindly Light, and I Need Thee Every Hour. It is so nice to go to church, and then ward prayer, and then end the day with the spirit. I love my friends. They are so neat.

TSO!!!

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to the 'E' Center to watch an amazing rock concert. It was the winter tour of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Josh's friend Steve got the tickets for us, so we left at around 5 yesterday afternoon with Steve's date, Brittney Allen (who also lives in Old Farm). We drove through the canyon, and I attempted to study in the car, but it got dark within 45 minutes of us leaving. Anyway, we stopped in Centerville to pick Steve up and then headed for the concert. I had never been to a real rock concert before. It was pretty awesome. It was fun to hear Christmas songs played rock style. They had an amazing light show. They also had fog and snow and fire!! It was so awesome. I'm still blown away. I have never heard a cooler rendition of 'In the Hall of the Mountain King.' It was so sweet! We left the concert and then stopped for shakes at Arby's where we also got free turnovers (Steve works there). We made it back to Logan at about 12:30 last night. After which I finished my math assignment due today and then attempted to study for the math test that I probably just failed (I will let you know the results on Monday when I find out). Anyway, that was my awesome evening. Plans for tonight? I'm going to the Aggie basketball game, where Josh will be performing at half time. After the game, we're going to the IWA dance. Tomorrow we are going to this benefit dance (Josh is performing again), where they will have refreshments and swing lessons and a big social dance. This weekend has been a lot of fun.

Heather Johnson

Heather has the same name as one of my cousins. Some people think that we are related. For example, our visiting teachers (who didn't come last month :( sadness) thought that we were related the first time they came. Heather is a Sophomore. She is a history major. She is in the Honors program, and is the TA for an Earth Science class. She is also a shorty at 5'1" (I live in an apartment of midgets...). She has a missionary that she is writing to somewhere in Europe. I'm not sure, but I think that he is in Germany. She is extremely good at French. She had the opportunity to go to Paris this last summer, and she absolutely loved it. The first week of school, I didn't see her much, because she was in her room writing a 20 page paper completely in French. That is so crazy. I love Heather. She always gives me a little hug when she sees me. I know that she cares about me. I love living in my apartment. My roommates are so great!!

Kim Allred

I've decided to highlight my roommates to let you guys know the kind of people that I'm living with. This week, I'm highlighting Kim Allred (She is my favorite person ever!!) Kim comes from Lindon, Utah. Her major is elementary education with an emphasis in English. She is 5'1". (I'm taller than her by a whole inch!) She loves the Beatles. (Awesome!!! so do I!!) Something interesting about her is that she is allergic to milk. She is the closest to me in age. Her birthday is August 20, so she's about 2 months older than me. We've gotten very close. I tell her everything, and she tells me everything. She helps me whenever I need help. We take an institute class together, and we hang out a lot. It's neat, because a lot of the time, she and I will be thinking the same thing and we can talk about it without using words. We have a very special connection, and this is why she is my favorite roommate. We even have the same taste in shoes. I bought some for my birthday, and I came home and saw her shoes, and mine were very similar. Whenever I come home for the weekend, Kim can't wait for me to get back. When I got back from my birthday, she tackled me with a hug while I was carrying my laundry basket and my backpack. It made me feel really good about myself that someone not in my family would miss me that much. Kim is my best friend, and she understands what I'm feeling, and thinking. It's so neat to have her. She suggested that next year we live together again. I think that would be a most excellent idea.

Halloween

Now that the preliminary, opening blog is out of the way, I shall tell you all about my Halloween. I went to my classes (which on Friday includes chemistry and calculus) and got out at 10:30. After that, I went home and did some homework. Kim and I went visiting teaching, and then I got dressed up like a gangster. For my birthday, Chelsea Knight gave me a fake clock in honor of my clock belt. I used it as a big piece of bling, and tied bandanas around one of my arms and one of my legs. I wore a baseball cap sideways. Josh took a picture of me, and if he ever gets it to me, I'll put it up. Anyway, that is how I dressed when I went to my first ever Aggie basketball game. We played Northwest Nazarene, and we crushed them. 73 to 46. It was so awesome. After the game, my friends and I returned to my apartment where we watched Wait Until Dark. I had so much fun. I love watching scary movies. And that is my Halloween.

Keeping up with the Fam

So, I've finally become cool like the rest of you. I decided to start my own blog. Here it is! I shall be posting my various activities so that those of you who are interested in my life can keep up with what I'm doing. Thanks to mom for suggesting I do this. I'm actually quite excited to be joining all of you in the blogging world.