Trends

I think one of the official signs that your getting old is when you have to suffer through a trend more than once.  Seriously, I'm so sick of the word "color" being synonymous with neon brights that I'm ready to hurl something at the next bright yellow desk accessory or bright pink t-shirt I see.   I love colors - pastels and saturated reds and greens and blues, but brights give me a headache.  That's another sign you're getting old, when the things twenty-somethings love give you a headache :-)

Labor Day Adventure

So I've been seriously craving some trees, water, and mountains and so today Tracy and I decided to check out the Alpine Loop which winds up behind Mt. Timpanogos and comes out in Provo Canyon.  The scenery was really incredible. (I mean look how cute this guy is!)

On our drive we went to an area called Cascade Springs where they had a hiking path and boardwalks around a series of springs and waterfalls.  It was a little crowded but lots of fun.  All in all a great day!

Pickles!

So a couple of weeks ago in an effort to expand my homemaking skills (and because we had A LOT of cucumbers that day) I tried my hand at making refrigerator pickles.  Everything I had read said they preserve for a couple of months without all of the drama of normal canning.  So I made three jars of them using a recipe I found online.  When I first tasted them they were pretty tart and spicy, so after doing some reading, I thinned out the liquid with a bit more water.  While I would tweak the recipe (more dill, less garlic, less vinegar, no red pepper flake) they are pretty good.  We've been eating them instead of our jar of store bought ones, so I think that's a good sign.  The other day, after eating about half a jar, Tracy said something like, "I don't think you'll have to worry about these going bad before they get eaten."   It made me pretty happy.

Handwriting

I recently read a magazine article extolling the virtues of writing by hand.  Apparently, it does all of this good stuff for our brain that typing doesn't. It helps with memory, curing depression, and a whole number of things including creativity.  I definitely write more creatively when I write by hand. 

The other night I sat down to write for "a few minutes" and quite a while later found that I'd written over 1600 words, and they were good words.  It also helped that I put my headphones on and listened to music that matched the mood of what I was writing.   Still, I think the process of writing by hand definitely does something for my creative brain that mere typing doesn't tap in to.  

From a creative writing standpoint it also has two other real advantages.  First, when I type the handwritten material into the computer I'm able to give the words a quick edit with out getting bogged down in major revisions.  Also, typing is a great task to keep me connected with my novel on days when my brain is to tired to work on new material.

Crazy Day

So I went to start a part-time job this morning at a retail place that on the surface seemed like it might work for me at the moment.  After about three hours I began to feel increasingly anxious and uncomfortable.  It wasn't that the people weren't nice, they were, I could just tell it was a really bad fit.  So, I politely asked to take a break and decided to go and call Tracy to see what he thought.   Not only was Tracy supportive, I also received an e-mail offering me a chance to teach a fall class at the U.  Though it was an emotionally rough 15 minutes as I made my exit from the job, I think I made a good choice, and I'm excited at the chance to do something far more up my alley.

As weird as it was, I'm definitely feeling blessed. 

Some Good Stuff

Some good stuff from the last few weeks -

- My cute husband is definitely my hero!  When I went to go to a job interview yesterday I discovered my keys were locked in the car and Tracy rushed home to help me.  He also helped me with a big Young Women activity on Wednesday night (which my Mom also helped me figure out.)

-  I've had a chance to spend some time with both old and new friends lately.  For example, a couple of weeks ago Evevanne came down and we got to hang out for a Saturday, it was so much fun.  She got me the cutest flip-flops I've seen in in a long time - and I really needed flip-flops.  Michaele's in town so I have someone to commiserate with about the ups and downs of history.  Pam is one of the world's best writing buddies. And last month Becky Criddle and I got confused about the date we were having lunch - the great part - even though it wasn't the day we had e-mailed about, we both planned for the same wrong day.  It was funny and awesome!

- I'm reading books and writing again.  This is a good sign, when I'm at my most stressed I stop doing these things, so it's good to be back at it.  Though I've got a long way to go I'm just past the 150 page mark on the current novel I'm working on.

Yes, there are still some challenges going on in my life, and in my head, but it's great to look back and see the good things that happen.

Relatively Good News

Just found out that the Graduate School is nominating my dissertation for the Council of Graduate Schools Distinguished Dissertation Award.  Apparently they can pick one dissertation to nominate in the field of Humanities and Fine Arts and I'm fortunate enough that they've chosen mine.  Though I don't expect to win by any means the winner is announced in December and gets a $2000 award and  a trip to California in December (good timing!). 

Apparently the thesis editor who helped me get the manuscript ready for submission liked it and told the Dean of the Graduate School about it, which is how I ended up being nominated.  It's great that someone who doesn't really know me liked it well enough to suggest it for something like this.  Yay!