It looks as though I might be able to swing it so that I have about half an hour of homework this weekend. This, of course, is very exciting, and not just to me, I’m sure. The homework load I had last week and over the weekend did not make me very happy (of course, I finished said work mid-afternoon on Sunday and had plenty of time to do the other stuff we had planned, like Game Day on Saturday, but I didn’t know that until it was all done, and I don’t like having stuff like that hang over my head). Add to that general frustration over wedding planning and… girl stuff, and I was just a blast to be around. (Note the sarcasm.)

BUT. I was diligent last night and did a ton of homework last night. It was either that or go to bed early (because I’ve been really tired as of late), and I just wasn’t sleepy enough to go to bed. Might as well be productive, right? So all I have left right now to get done between now and next Monday is:

• Take one 15-minute quiz on Wednesday
• Read 4 short articles
• Study for one quiz to be taken Tuesday night (last time I studied for half an hour and got 23/25 on the quiz)

Amazing, I know. If I can manage to get the reading done tonight after class or tomorrow night (depending on how able I am to get to sleep tonight - I have an early-morning meeting that I’d like to get to bed early for, but my body hasn’t been on board with that plan lately), which I should be able to do, then I’m free and clear, except for the quiz. And last time he posted the study guide on Friday, so I couldn’t do that until then anyways.

Then Thursday I have an appointment in the afternoon to look at bridesmaids dresses with . Coordinating schedules for five people (, , , and myself) is quite hard to do, so I decided to do some preliminary shopping just with . Then once we narrow it down to a few options, I can try to get everyone together, or at least do it in two attempts. Plus, the bridal shop was crazy last time we were there on a weekend, so we’re trying a weekday afternoon, and goes back to work next Tuesday, so it’s the last chance for that for her. Then we’ve got a meeting that evening with the pastor of the church, and hopefully everything will go wonderfully, and… presto-chango, I might be fun Kelly again by the end of the weekend. Hey, it’s worth a shot.

I’m willing to admit I’ve been in a bad mood lately, though I don’t think as bad of a mood as people have accused me of being in, but whatever. I’ve had stuff looming over my head, and I don’t like that. Homework was stressing me out last week, especially after looking at my calendar and seeing that it wasn’t going to let up, really, until Spring Break, which is towards the end of April. Boo. We weren’t getting anywhere with wedding plans, and I really don’t enjoy being frustrated with the church in general (I’ve experienced that quite enough in my young life). Yesterday my tummy-area did not feel well (thanks, Ma Nature), and then I had lower back pain all night (again, thanks Ma). While reading one of my textbooks, this picture almost made me cry. (Are you catching a sense of my emotional state?) Oh, I also had a headache from 1pm until about 8, despite the Excedrin I took. Unfortunately, I believe this was due to me not eating (or, rather, not eating enough of the right things), which means that my earlier resolution for February was broken. It did, however, also mean that I treated myself to Papa John’s pizza, because I needed some serious food and I was in no mood to go shopping for the ingredients and prepare it myself. In fact, while waiting for the delivery guy, I ate a slice of cheese, and that may have been the only thing that kept me from just losing it altogether. Good thing no one called me during that time.

The snow has actually not negatively affected my mood. In fact, it’s quite mild outside temperature-wise, and that’s a happy thing. I hear there’s another storm coming tomorrow, though whether or not it will hit us is in question. I’m definitely ready for spring. I need some flowers and green grass and shining sun. I need to be able to take a walk outside and breathe fresh air (without freezing my nose hairs). I need to be able to open the windows and air out my house. I’m not feeling claustrophobic, just… oppressed by this winter. It’s actually been a fairly mild winter, or so I’ve heard. Perhaps that was worldwide, because we had some cold spells there. Not much snow until recently though.

So tomorrow morning I have to be in Roseville, which means catching the 7:45 bus, which, as I have stated numerous times, is not that early, but nerve-wracking because it’s my only shot to get up there at the right time. But, my co-worker (who usually annoys me with her micro-managing, and is doing an excellent job of that today btw) is back from her unexpectedly long visit to Texas (someone’s appendix burst, there was a required hospital stay and an inability to fly home), which means a lot less stress about that meeting. I only care about the bus, actually. The rest, while boring, is easy.

During our staff meeting this morning I realized how to set up part of our internal website that someone wanted developed. That was nice. It won’t look all sleek and shiny (we’re not really allowed to do that anyways), but it will be much more functional and usable, and hopefully will meet everyone’s needs. That’s nice.

In other happy news, is back connected to the internet world, which is nice. She can now read emails (and respond) and comment and… stuff. That’s exciting to me, with my aversion to phones and all.

I started a knitting project this weekend. Perhaps you’re thinking the same thing was when I called her for advice Sunday night: “I thought you put all your knitting away!” Yes, yes, I did. All of it. In nice bags that are… in the hallway by the bikes. Hidden, but not inaccessible. And I finished my homework and still needed something to do. But, and here’s the key… I only got out one project. One pattern. One set of needles. One kind of yarn. That’s it. Nothing else. And if I decide I get bored with it, I will put it away, and maybe replace it with… one other project. Catching the idea here? Sometimes I just need something to do to keep me busy, and keep my mind occupied. So it’s either Sudoku or knitting, because reading just isn’t fun right now. Oh, how I long for summer when I can read for fun!

Alright, this post has gone on long enough. I’ll return you to your earlier activities….

popularity: 26%

What is your strangest possession?

OK, after reading over other people’s comments to that question, I’m at a loss. I’ve got a couple options.

• should definitely go on the list.
• My book collection includes over 20 Bibles (including one that’s in Spanish, which I don’t speak), multiple French books that I’ll most likely never be able to read, and, while we’re being racy today, several trashy romance novels.
• I have a box in the top of my closet with cassette tapes (remember those?).
• I also have a Rubbermaid container halfway full of old jeans that are supposed to be evolving into a blanket or quilt of some kind.

You’ve been to my house… what do you think is my strangest possession?

popularity: 44%

So I was reading someone’s blog today, and they started their post with the question… “How old were you when you got your first French kiss?” And then, without actually revealing her exact age, she started in with a story that took place when she was 11.

11! That’s… more than half of what I was. All I knew about boys when I was 11 was that they were cute and liked to tease me (which was not fun in any sense of the word).

Do you know how old I was? 27. That’s right, 2-7. And at the time, it still freaked me out, and took me quite a while to get used to. (Wow - this post is getting to be a bit racier than this blog usually is.) I’m guessing the average age is more like 15 or something, and that my experience is fairly freakish (hey, let’s be nice and use “unique”). I guess that because and I have been together for so long now, and because we’ve moved past that stage (shh! that might scandalize some people to know!), I’d forgotten that unique aspect of my development. It’s so easy to get stuck on the unique quality of being engaged and a virgin that the rest just slipped my mind.

And you know, for all the experiences I “missed” in my straight-and-narrow youth, I don’t really miss any of them. I don’t really need to make out with a boy in a car in my parents’ driveway. Or stress about over what might happen after prom. Or… any number of other things.

So I don’t actually have a problem with my late blooming, shall we say. But sometimes I have to remind myself of that.

And just in case you were wondering what sort of freakish world I live in, let me tell you how absolutely upside-down it has been lately: and are both dieting, and of the people I’m closest with, I may actually be the one getting the most “sex.” Feel free to walk away from this post dumbfounded now.

popularity: 11%

1. Soldier :: Child (just read a Strib article about that)
2. Lipton :: Iced Tea
3. Reason:: -able
4. Terms :: of Endearment
5. Positive :: terminal
6. Example :: included
7. Legacy :: of…
8. Solo :: -ist
9. Instrument :: of destruction
10. Later :: in the day

popularity: 18%

Comparing Brie and Camembert: While both are soft cheeses, Brie is much harder, but more spreadable. Camembert is softer, but rubbery. I do not suggest eating them in succession of each other. While both are enjoyable, Camembert tastes like feet or armpits or something appropriately “stinky cheese” when compared to Brie. I like Brie much more.

Fish: I do not like catfish that much. Trout, however, is alright. When cooking fish in filo, remember to salt and pepper it first. You should probably flip it partway through baking, too, or the bottom of it will be all soggy, and thus you will lose the flaky pastry goodness of the filo.

Wine: Riesling is my new favorite white wine. (No, I do not have a favorite red wine. I find almost all of them un-drinkable. It is a very bad way to attempt to get me drunk, since in order to become Wine Kelly I need to actually consume the wine, not just think about it or be in its presence.) The last Zinfandel I had was not very good. We’ll find out how the latest one I got is, but my expectations are low.

Cats: It is not possible to convince a cat who thinks she is hungry that she is, in fact, not hungry, and is actually overweight and should go without food for days, or at least do some step aerobics. Said cat will wake up owner at first stirring in the morning and loudly complain until someone gets out of bed and feeds her, mumbling something about “that d*mn cat.”

Presence: It is very hard to me to ask the questions I need answered when she is not in. Another co-worker had this same revelation today.

Parents: The last time I saw was… last April? The last time I saw was last weekend. ’s trip up here has yet again been postponed - it seems that every time he tries to get up here to meet , there is a big snowstorm. Hopefully this will be the last one of the season. This time he actually said he was “disappointed.” I am too. However, there is so much to be done this weekend that I’m actually a little glad. I have two papers to write, among other things.

Churches: They will now be classified according to the following categories: open and closed. I mean that some churches really only care about their own community, and while they’d be happy to have you become part of that, until you make all the effort to do so, they really don’t care that much about you. Others, on the other hand, will bend over backwards just because they think you’re worth it. Neither of these categories has much to do with outward friendliness, since the most friendly church we visited lately ended up being the most closed. I hate to generalize churches in this way, but with all my experience with them, shouldn’t I get to make sweeping statements once in a while?

Shoes: It is possible to buy women’s dress shoes that don’t cause blisters the first time I wear them. Who knew?

popularity: 31%

It seems as though the college has decided for me whether or not I will take any classes this summer. They are not offering any classes that I could/would/can take. That kind of limits that. The only one that comes close is the Macroeconomics one, but it is Tuesday and Thursday nights. Ugh. I know it’s only 6 weeks (or something short like that), but I just can’t handle the idea of class 3 hours a night twice a week.

So I guess I get the summer off, unless they open up more classes. The official summer schedule isn’t up yet, so I suppose it’s possible, but there are 3 or 4 history classes already on the schedule and none of them work for me.

It’s just as well - some hammock time and wedding planning time and… maybe I could get some sleep in there too. Or see friends. Who knows - anything is possible.

popularity: 11%

Last night, I successfully made a 3-egg omelet. This is only notable because I have never been able to make a 3-egg omelet. 2 eggs, yes. 3 eggs, terrible disaster. But no more! It seems that my luck with eggs turned in the past few years. It used to be that I couldn’t make fried eggs or omelets without feeling nauseated afterwards - wasn’t sure why, since it seemed that the eggs were fully cooked and they were fresh. Oh well - that’s all changed. My 3-egg omelet (eaten at 9:30 pm) included cheese and sausage as well. Apparently I was craving protein.

Tonight, I will be eating fish. Or, at least that’s the plan. I have to actually go to the co-op and find said fish, and sometimes their selection is questionable. But I will try. I am supposed to eat more fish. We all should, really. It’s quite healthy for you. is trying this right now too.

I got new shoes while I was out on my lunch break. They’re cute enough, and I didn’t pay full price. The heel on my old pair broke last week, and I would pay to get it re-glued except that I haven’t liked those shoes since I bought them. They always make my feet and shins hurt. So they’re going in the trash tonight. I might still need another pair of black dress shoes… we’ll see. I hate shoe shopping. Well, actually, I don’t hate it. I just find the whole process frustrating, especially after finding the perfect shoes and then coming home and learning they will forever give you blisters. That sucks.

I feel the need to clarify. It’s not actually gorgeous outside. In reality, it’s grey and looks like it might rain. BUT, and this is an important one, it’s above freezing. It’s almost 50* out. And that is an amazing and wonderful thing. So it overrides all the rest.

popularity: 13%

While it is a gorgeous day outside and I am actually quite happy (even though we still don’t have a church to get married in, I am super-tired from staying up past 12:30 studying last night, my shoes hurt, and I am completely undecided about bridesmaids dresses)…

I am absolutely hating work today. And just about everyone that I’ve had to deal with. They are killing my good vibe. So much so that I won’t even go into it because I’ll just be more frustrated.

But really, I’m in a good mood. Or, at least, I’m trying to be. Maybe when I go for my lunch break and attempt to buy some new black shoes (the heel of one of my black casual ones is broken), that will help. Just getting out of here might help. If I get one more email about… I may scream.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention in my last post that I was nearly overwhelmed with the response from my bridesmaids yesterday via email. I wrote to ask them about dresses, since I was frustrated with David’s over the weekend and still hadn’t found anything I actually liked, and they probably need to be ordered soon. Everything I heard back was great and encouraging and useful too. We’ll get this figured out….

popularity: 14%

1. What is your favorite place for delivered pizza? Little Caesars or Papa Johns. But I never get those. I get Paisano’s, because they’re local and easy to access (I can go pick it up when the weather’s nice).
2. How often do you have pizza delivered at your house? Um… maybe 1-3 times a month? Lately it’s been 0 times a month.
3. What toppings do you want on that pizza? Cheese, sometimes pepperoni or mushrooms.
4. Thick crust or thin? I prefer either Chicago style deep dish or thin, but will eat anything. I love pizza.

popularity: 16%

• Yesterday, my electronics went on strike. The battery on my phone died, and then my iPod up and quit for no reason. A hard reboot last night fixed it and now it seems to be working fine.
• Unfortunately, I forgot my cell at home today. I hate it when I do that.
• Monday I read a chapter in my World History textbook on the American Revolution, French Revolution, and the revolutions in Latin/South America. Then I read a chapter in my US History textbook on the America Revolution (much groaning). Last night, I sat through 3 hours of lecture on these revolutions, including over an hour on the American Revolution. This morning, I sat through an hour and a half lecture on the American Revolution. I am very, very tired of this subject. It’s one of the few pieces of history I was already very aware of. Boo.
• There was a girl in my class last night that I almost beat down. She’s the one who always annoys me - she’s so very juvenile and disrespectful of the class and generally unaware of what college is supposed to be like. (She expects exceptions to be made for her all the time, and for us to be proud of her when she shows up for class, since getting a ride is so difficult for her….) At one point we broke up into groups to play Jeopardy, and we numbered off to do so. She was 2, I was 3 (did I mention she sits next to me?). However, she insisted that she was a 3 because she wanted to be on a team with the smart guy (a natural history buff), and made a huge deal about it. I would have just given in and switched teams, but I was tired of her antics.
• I learned a few things in class last night that have more global application than I first realized.
  • One, when the guillotine first came out, it was considered to be quite humane and dignified (much to our modern-day sensitivities’ horror). Thinking more about this…. Earlier, the Romans had actually perfected the art of public killing with the crucifixion, making it a horrendous, painful, torturous death. Yes, the guillotine seems much more humane than that. How will our children’s children look at our methods of execution hundreds of years from now?
  • Two, throughout history revolutions have taken place in a variety of places and ways. Time and time again, when power is abruptly removed from a system (like when the French beheaded the King), chaos ensues (like the Reign of Terror and thousands being beheaded and mass riots and so forth). If you need more examples, look to many of the countries that fought for their independence from colonialism. One of the reasons the American Revolution wasn’t so bloody, so chaotic, was that people had had experience participating in their own government for quite some time. They had local political bodies and voted and so forth. When they were granted independence, structures were already in place so that chaos did not ensue. Now, I’m not going to come out on one side or the other for the Iraq situation, but let me put this out there: they/we removed an absolute dictator from power, and concepts of freedom, democracy, etc were just that, concepts and theory. No one had any idea what they were like in practice. As history has proven, this inevitably leads to chaos and often to violence. Perhaps some of the reason we are over there is to prevent absolute chaos from taking over. I’m not saying that we should or shouldn’t be over there or that we should have military presence there indefinitely, but just offering up the idea for you to ponder.

See, I’m learnin’ stuff all over the place!

popularity: 12%

I’m going to kill my co-worker. Seriously. He was generally annoying today, but what’s pushed me to the limit is that, despite my body language and generally ignoring his very existence, he continues to talk to the back of my head. And then says things like… “you’re just not excited about anything here today, are you?” Actually, I’m having an excellent day. Have you seen the weather? It’s beautiful. My grades are excellent. I’m well-rested. I have the evening off from spending with my incredibly neurotic and needy cat. What more could a girl want? Oh, that’s right. For this man to just… leave me alone for an afternoon. How hard is that?

And before you suggest that I put on my headphones and drown him out… I can’t. I’m backup for phones, and I don’t really have work to work on (and I don’t like to have my headphones on while I’m doing non-work stuff, since then people tend to sneak up on me and catch me red handed).

popularity: 11%

I really don’t remember. I opened this window, and then went to do something else… and now I don’t know what I was going to blog about. Hmmm.

Yep. I’ve got nothing. Sorry. Try again later.

popularity: 11%

Maybe you won’t think my day off was as great as I did, but as far as I am concerned, it was perfect.

I slept in a little and then got around to scrubbing the tub. That’s when I decided I needed some different cleaner to finish the job. So I showered, made up my shopping list, and went to Target, where I bought a whole host of completely uninteresting things (perhaps the most exciting was the 24-pack of Pop Tarts for $3). When I got home, I did homework, ate dinner, and then cleaned the shower again. This time with bleach. It now sparkles. Most importantly, the mildew between the tiles is gone. The shower is officially the cleanest place in the house.

Then I did more homework, and went to bed. I talked to three whole people the entire day (5 if you count the checkout girl at Target and the bus driver). That was glorious. I never get days like that anymore. I totally skipped out on having fun at ’s place, and didn’t even make any phone calls. Wait, that’s not right. I called two churches to see if we could get married there, but they didn’t answer and I left messages.

It is 200 days until our wedding (hopefully). No news on that front - still no church.

In school news, I got my paper back from my online class and received a 60/60 on it! Which means my grade in the class is currently 98/100. How cool am I? It’s a good thing, because we have an exam this week, so I don’t need to stress about it very much. For the record, that’s A’s in all three of my classes. Take that, ! There should be some sort of punishment for parents who don’t believe in their kids. Like a pie in the face. Nothing big… just a little something for the hassle of it all.

popularity: 21%

Grades for my exam that we took on Valentine’s Day are posted. I got a 96%. Yay! It may or may not be the highest grade in the class - it’s hard to tell from the diagram, so it’s possible that there are two of us in the 95-100% range. Regardless, I’m happy.

Plus, I don’t have work tomorrow (it’s a holiday, don’tcha know). And I had ice cream today. And and I did something productive this weekend for the wedding - we made a decoration thing for the reception. It’s so cool. And I studied for my exam that is this week. And we looked at silk flowers while we were at Michael’s today and I feel really good about doing our own for that and having fresh ones at the reception.

On the negative side, I totally sliced open one of the knuckles on my pointer finger this morning on a razor that was wandering around my drawer un-guarded. Boo. And I have to clean the bathtub tomorrow. And buy lightbulbs.

But I get to sleep in, which I love. So it’s all good. Tomorrow will hopefully be a day of much sloth, some productivity, and great relaxation. Actually, being productive could be relaxing, depending on what it was. Like, if I actually have time to work on projects that I never have time to (like boxing up books to put in the basement, or cleaning the front room, or even cleaning the bathtub), at the end of the day I would feel good because those things wouldn’t be looming over me anymore. I feel like I never have time to work on them. I think it’s the night class, but I’m not sure. It could be the whole three classes, planning a wedding, working full time thing. Beats me. All I know is that I currently have A’s in all of my classes, so all the hard work is paying off. Now if I can just find us a church to get married in….

popularity: 15%

1. Threshold :: Crossing the
2. Jason :: San Francisco
3. Suspicion :: Under
4. Tender :: Love Me
5. Tempted :: by the fruit of another (I really don’t like that song)
6. Crimson :: Red
7. Repulsive :: He was…
8. Bulldog :: Restaurant
9. Garage :: Joe’s
10. Racket :: Ball

popularity: 23%