Removing stuff

I am removing things from my schedule, including my nanowrimo. It makes me sad, since it was going to be such a great book. But I do not have time. No time to do anything. It is the end of the semester, and I am getting that wall-of-panic mentality that is coming out in everything I do. That is all.

NaNoWriMo

Often when I am at my busiest, I feel the strongest need to spend time creating something. Usually that means playing the piano, but sometimes, when I have the time and motivators, it means writing. There is this thing called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, when anyone can undertake a challenge of writing an entire novel in one month. This amounts to about 3 pages per day, if one writes every single day. I have wanted to do NaNoWriMo for years now, but I've never gotten around to it. Well, based on a Facebook conversation with my writing group, I have decided to do NaNoWriMo this month. So I started a novel today. I am a little behind, since it is the 4th already, but I hope to catch up. In order to maintain motivation, I am including a little widget here on this blog. That way, everyone who reads this blog (all two of you, or so) will know exactly where I'm at with this little novel. I guess I could tell you a little bit about it. I was planning to write a post-apocalyptic version of the Queen Esther story, but it is already getting away from me a little, and now it might morph into something else entirely. I never am very good at controlling where my stories go. Oh well.

Oopsies

I just realized I never even finished my sentence on the last post. Whoops. Now you will be forever in suspense about how long I've been running.

I could clear up the mystery right now, but I think I'll just let it lie. Life is a big mystery, after all, and we don't always know how things turn out.

And no one will ever know what color socks I am wearing today. Except me. What a world we live in! And what extreme stress must my mind be under that the only thing that actually seems important is the color of socks that I'm wearing.

This is a strange post. Lest you think I'm sleep-typing, or under the influence of some sort of non-specified sleep medication, let me assure you that I am upright, with my eyes open and my feet tapping to the beat of "Alles in die Luft."

(For the record, green and pink.)

Socks

My mother-in-law is the most amazing woman ever. Somehow, she knew that this was going to be a killer week (for all sorts of reason), and she sent a wonderful package with candy for Steve and socks for me.

Many of you know that I like to wear mismatched socks. Mom gave me an entire package of socks that can be easily mismatched. These are the socks I wore on Thursday. Great, aren't they?
In other news, things have been just as busy as ever. Fortunately, Steve and I took a break to go to the temple yesterday. That was very nice. We haven't had time to go since I started school.
This morning I got to sleep in a little. Once I have finished posting in here, I will get started on some homework. But at the moment I am comfortably sitting on my favorite couch, contemplating the fact that I get to see a close friend today, that we are going to go on a little date with Katelyn and her boyfriend, and that I am at least an hour or two ahead on my homework. It's going to be a good day.
Oh, and I got registered for this 2.5 k coming up in a couple of weeks, and I've been running that far for

Five weeks later

You can tell how busy I have been, in that my resolution to blog more often disappeared immediately after the first day of school. And it has been busy! My classes require more work than I've ever had to do before. I'm reading about 400-500 pages a week, in addition to planning lessons, grading papers, writing papers, preparing my thesis proposal, attending meetings, and picking Katelyn up from school. I love almost everything I am doing, which makes it kind of fun, but it has also been somewhat stressful. The knowledge that I am hopefully graduating in May doesn't help, because I'm not sure where I'm going or what I'm doing after that.

Other than the craziness, life is amazing, though.

We went to Star Valley yesterday, to attend a baby blessing for my close friend. We stayed in a cute little lodge that didn't include modern conveniences like phones or tv's. It was fun. This morning we went to the baby blessing in Etna. It was fun to see my friend again, since it's been about two years or so. She has four children now, and they are all adorable and look like her.

As a side note, I haven't posted anything on here about my fitness goals in a very long time. Lest ye think I have given up, take courage: I have not. In fact, I just went running right before  sitting down to blog. Although I am still incredible slow, I have been running several times a week for months (not without some weeks off, I'm afraid). I am excited, because I'm going to sign up for my first fun run. It is on October 27, and it is only a 2.5k, but that is still progress and I'm excited. My little sister (who is a running machine!) is going to come up from Logan to run it with me. I have lost 18 pounds so far this year. While that isn't as good as I wish, it's still better than I've done in years. Yay.

First Day of School

Today was my first day of school.

It followed a crazy weekend. Last Tuesday, Katelyn and I went to Lagoon (with different people, but we were both there). Steve left on Thursday to go on the backpacking trip with his brothers. I spent most of Thursday and Friday doing school stuff. Friday night, I went to a banquet for Idaho's Hometown Heroes. It was amazing. I got to get all dressed up, and the food was fantastic. The salad I had was so good, I think I will try to recreate it at some point. And I had the most delicious cake. Mmmm. Also, I met one of the Idaho senators, an Olympic fencer, and several business owners in town. Pretty fancy. It was great.

Today, however, was the real fun. I got up quite early (I was too nervous to sleep). After I got ready, I headed right over for my office and started working on my class for today. I met one of my new office mates, who is a very nice man starting the Ph.D program. Then I had two classes, including German which is going to be difficult as always, and a free hour before my 101 class. I grabbed a taco and went to class. It was full of Freshmen, most of whom looked a little scared. We made it through class, although it was more serious than I wanted it to be. They barely smiled when I did my "My email address is weird because I was a Russian spy when I first came to ISU." But I had them smiling at least a little by the end. Hopefully the semester will go well.

Then I came home and taught three piano lessons, made dinner, and went grocery shopping. Now I am sitting on the couch procrastinating my homework and watching TV with Katelyn.

That is all!

Today I have Elisabeth on my mind

This is a (fairly) well-known painting of Elisabeth greeting Mary.

What a meeting that must have been. Besides the whole I'm-pregnant-with-the-forerunner-of-Jesus-Christ- whom-you're-pregnant-with. Elisabeth went her whole life as a wonderful person, "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of God blameless." How many of us can say that? Anyone? Add to that the pain Elisabeth must have experienced her whole life in not being able to have children. She is now an old woman, possibly content and looking forward to returning soon to her Heavenly Father. Instead, her husband receives a vision of the angel Gabriel. But her husband is not able to immediately believe, and he is condemned to nine months of silence.

Can you imagine? Elisabeth is an old woman, past the years when she should be able to have a child at all. She gets pregnant, which is great, but I'm sure her pregnancy had all the same difficulties that pregnancy entails, including those unique to older women. And her husband can't talk or hear. He can't go get her pickles and ice cream in the middle of the night when she's craving it. He can't hear her rants when her feet are swollen and her back hurts and she feels ugly and fat.

In the absence of my husband, I would immediately turn to my family. But Elisabeth doesn't do this. Instead, she "hid herself five months." She hides herself away. Now, the reason for this is unclear. Perhaps she needs to hide from the faces of gossip-mongers. Perhaps she had no close friends to talk to. S. Michael Wilcox postulates that Elisabeth "retired into seclusion to prepare." She had a great task ahead of her, after all, and one that she faced primarily alone, as Zacharias could not help with the pregnancy, and died only a few years after John was born. Perhaps Elisabeth needed the time to commune with her Heavenly Father, to prepare to teach the great teacher.

Regardless of why it happened, can you imagine the relief Elisabeth felt when Mary arrived, already knowing about her cousin's pregnancy and coming to rejoice with her? Finally, someone to talk to who won't judge her! Who can understand the divine miracle that is taking place! Who is also pregnant and can share horror stories!

It's the greatest visiting teaching moment ever.

Day 2 of Resolution

In my attempt to blog more often, I now need to figure out something to say.

Random pictures from long ago. I still have the "I love you" balloon. It sits in a vase on my kitchen table, reminding me every single day that my husband is the best man in the world.

I have been out on my parents' farm this week to help with the fourth crop of hay. I enjoy haying, even if I usually end up with a lot of bruises and a terrible crick in my neck. My usual job is chopping hay. This means that after the hay is cut, I come along with a big tractor, pulling the chopper and dump box, and green-chop the hay, cutting it into little tiny pieces that we then store in a silage pit. My father feeds the hay to the cows all year. He is convinced, and he is probably right, that it is much more nutritious than baling, which is what most people do. I like almost everything about haying: driving the great big tractor, being alone with my thoughts for hours in a vehicle that is too loud for music, the camaraderie of hanging with my dad and brothers (whichever ones are available for that crop), tearing around the fields on the motorcycle, skipping lunch only to eat a huge dinner that someone other than me made, the huge breakfasts when we sit and talk and talk until it's time to go to work, wearing a trucker hat. Even the constant breakdowns are kind of fun, when they don't take too much time to fix.

I left for the farm on Monday, then returned last night to take Katelyn to a ward luau (which she ended up not going to), and to supervise a visit with her mom today (which ended up not happening). But I got the lawn mowed and watered and the kitchen completely clean, and now I'm headed to work on my school stuff. So it's been a good week.

Resolved:

I have decided I am going to update this blog more often, since I really enjoy reading everyone's blogs, and I get quite disappointed when two whole weeks go by and they haven't updated. Yet here I am, at more than a month.

We have had some interesting times. Taylor is gone. She moved out yesterday to her aunt and uncle's house. They are going to be adopting her. It is a good move for everyone, but I am feeling more than a little sad today. Even though we have had quite a bit of difficulty with Taylor and I've been praying for weeks that things would work out for her to move, now that she's gone, I miss her. We had decided we wouldn't take any  more foster children for a little while, since Katelyn is fairly low maintenance and I am about to start school again. But I don't know. We might have to anyway. It feels like there is a hole in the house. I probably should take a week or two to remember what life was like without her before making any decisions. We'll see.

In other news, I have been trying to get ready for the fall semester here. I'm working on my syllabus. I have been asked to head a presentation for future English majors, and I'm really excited about that. It's coming up in two weeks. And I'm trying to work on my thesis, but that is going rather badly so far, since I can't think of anything I want to study for nine months.

Fires keep burning in the area. We had a really bad one a few weeks ago that destroyed about 60 homes and a lot of the hillside in Pocatello. Steve and I drove up there yesterday, and it was sad to see house foundations with nothing on them anymore. I'm hoping for some rain so we will be less flammable.

Life is still plodding along.

Hi everybody. It's been awhile since we've put anything on here, which is funny, because our lives are about as exciting as they get right now. As most of you know, we have two girls living with us right now. One of them, whom I'll call Karen (that is not her real name), is nine years-old. The other, whom I'll call Angela, is 16. Both of them are pretty good girls, but it has been pretty dramatic here since Angela arrived almost two weeks ago. Oddly enough, Angela is not the dramatic one. Instead, it has been Karen that has caused most of the distress and stress in the house. We've been somewhat hoping her caseworker will find her a new placement soon, although that is unlikely to happen. We will probably have both of them for the summer, for better or for worse. It has been challenging in many ways. Most recently, it has been challenging to explain that we are all going to live by rules that are in accordance with the Gospel, regardless of who in the house is Mormon and who isn't. We have had some hiccups, mostly from Karen, about that. Anyway, it will all sort itself out. Sometimes it is wonderful. It's nice to have people to take care of, who need me. It has also been very good for my health. In my efforts to feed them healthy food, I have lost ten pounds in the last six weeks. :) Anyway, that is all for now.

Exciting Times

The Yerka house has been crazy busy, but life is good. Diane's school year came to a close with her earning a 4.0 g.p.a. We have been traveling to visit family a lot. We have enjoyed that immensely, though, I think I am ready for a short travel break. We are enjoying our time as parents. It has been a lot of work, as expected, but it has also been very satisfying. Diane and I both feel that parenting has made some positive changes in our lives and in our home. We are grateful to have such a great child to start out our parenting experiences with. We sure do love her!

It's a girl!

No, I'm not pregnant. But we are about to become parents anyway. Tomorrow.
I am freaking out, and so excited. We are hopeful to still see family on Friday, but I can't make any guarantees at this point.
I can't say much of anything on here. We aren't allowed to post any pictures, and we can only give minimal information. I think I am allowed to say that her name is Taylor and she's nine years-old.
Wish us luck!

Some thoughts

It is Sunday once again. This last week has gone so fast I don't even remember most of it. That seems to be par for the course for this semester. This semester has flown by, with me barely in control of everything that had to happen. Somehow, incredibly, it was fun, fulfilling and, with any luck, I may squeak by with grades that belie the busy-ness. Today, I am sitting on the love seat in our basement. Steve is resting on the couch, feeling crummy from the cold which he just got, and which I'm just getting over. It was a terrible cold. I spent almost three days resting, feeling miserable, and using tissue after tissue. Now Steve is about to embark on the same thing. Oh, the fun he'll have. Is it romantic, or just gross, for us to share a box of Kleenexes? I have lots of other things on my mind at the moment, but I think a public blog probably isn't the spot for them. That's all, for now!

I have about three seconds to update this

It is 7:30 in the morning, and I am in a huge rush. My hair is still wet, I just finished breakfast, and I need to be out the door in about twelve minutes. Today on the agenda, I teach at 8, work from 9-1, have two glorious hours in which to eat lunch and work on a paper (due Friday, that I haven't started), teach from 3:30-5, then drive to Blackfoot for class from 6-9. Sadly, this is actually an easier day than yesterday, which started at 7 and ended about 11:00. Ick.
Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a complaint session, and, in fact, I feel pretty excited to be doing everything today. I just wanted to quickly update on my exercise routine so ya'll don't think I forgot.
I have lost about ten pounds (although I have been working out more this week than usual, and I think the increased muscle is making my weight go up again). Today I did the second part of week 5 of my c25k, which totaled running about 1 1/3 miles. It was difficult but not impossible. Friday I have my next real test, as I get to run for 20 minutes with no break. Four weeks ago I would have said no way. As it is, I think I can do it. I'm making sure to take breaks every other day, and I've been doing a lot of other stuff, including bicycling, walking, stretching, Pilates, etc. My muscles are usually tired, but they never hurt, and I haven't really been sore, so that's nice. I am hoping that I'm on track to be able to run a 5k sometime in May.
That is all. Loves!

Time in my office

4:33 on a Friday afternoon, and I have nowhere better to be than my office on campus.

Pathetic, no?

Steve is at work until 8 tonight, and my rehearsal starts at 6. So I am just waiting. I should be doing homework, but I don't want to. Instead, I am bumming around the internet. Silly. Not productive. But a little satisfying.

I finished the third week of my C25K program yesterday. I ran the first two days of it outside, which was really nice in some ways and terrible in others. I got much less bored outside than I do on my treadmill. But I had a difficult time controlling my speed. When I tested it on my treadmill yesterday, I found out I'd run .25 miles more outside than I do on my treadmill. I am not sore, which is nice. I am pretty nervous about starting week 4 next week, because it is much harder. But I need to get this together, because my friend is going to be in Utah in May, and we are going to try to run something together.

In other news, I am attempting to pick a textbook for my students for next semester. It is not so easy. I'm just not 100% happy with any of my available options.

The end.

Update on Exercising

Hi y'all!
So far my workout plan is going pretty well. I did the first day of Week 2 of the c25k this morning, and it wasn't too troubling. By the end of last week, the workouts were almost too easy, which makes me happy. I have been very careful with my calf muscles. I've been stretching them a lot, using a heat pad on them for a few minutes in the evening, and alternating with other types of exercises (including pilates and stationary bike, as Melinda recommended). While they are occasionally tired, I haven't gotten downright sore yet. Yay! As long as things continue to go well, I should be on board for a 5k this summer. Kiley, I will come run one at the same time as you if you like. Probably not with you, as I will be way too slow, but at the same time. :) And Melody, you need to come out and do one as well! I appreciate the support you guys are giving me. I think I almost have confidence in myself for the first time.
In other news, we started our foster parenting class last week. It is going to be interesting. It makes things very busy, but that's okay. Less time to watch TV. I am pretty excited to come to Logan this weekend to celebrate Kenzie's blessing. I will get to meet Kenzie (born in December), Caleb (two weeks ago), and Madelyn (one week ago). Yay for nieces and nephews!
Time to go shower and get ready for school.

I suppose I should get this out there

So, I have been trying for years to lose weight. Obviously it has been unsuccessful. But I am trying again, and this time I'm going to post information on my blog and see if some accountability to myself will help.
I won't get into everything here, but I do want to say that I did the second day of a c25k (couch to 5k) program this morning. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do the entire program as fast as it is laid out, but I'm certainly going to try to get through the whole thing. I want to be able to run a 5k this summer. I know it will be a slow one, but that's the goal. At the moment, I'm held back by my seriously week calf muscles, which hurt after a very short time exercising. And I've been struggling to know what to do on the off days. I am doing Pilates, but it's getting just a little bit boring.
Anyway, I just wanted to put this in writing. That is all.

Valentine's Day Poetry

So, here are the cheesy poetry gifts that constitute our Valentine's Day celebration:

Mine (appropriated shamelessly from the Bickersons):
Happy Valentine's day to my love,
my hunk, my heart, my turtle dove.
Life with you is great, it seems;
I love you more than pork and beans.

Steve's:
A tulip, a daisy,
I hope it's not lazy.
I bought you nothing,
but I promise you everything!

Does it change your opinion of our poems if you know we texted them to one another?

Late Night at the Library

It's almost 9:30, and I am still at the library on campus. I have spent so much time here today that I feel almost annoyed at anyone who looks like they might want to move into my little cubicle. Oh, how I miss my computer! I have been without my laptop for almost three weeks, and it's nearly killing me.
It's been kind of a year for broken things, so far. I'm hoping that it's not a trend but an isolated incident.
Well, we're five weeks into the semester. I guess it's going well. Sometime, in a couple of months or so, I'll actually take the time to breathe and consider how it's going. At the moment I'm too busy. I can't believe how fast the days go when I have this kind of schedule:
5:45 - wake up, scriptures, work out, shower, dress, pack lunch
8:00 - class
9:00 - class
10:00 - office hour
11:00-1:00 - work in the writing center
2:30 - meeting on campus
4:00-6:30 - class
7:00-9:30 - rehearsal

For some reason, I'm having a hard time getting my homework done. I've actually started forgetting to do things. Me, who barely needed a calendar as an undergrad!
I think the only thing getting me through all this is the hope that pretty soon, I will have a glorious summer with nothing to do but cut hay.
Unfortunately, my schedule has also taken over my Saturdays, which means I haven't been able to visit family for quite some time. I have a new niece I haven't even seen yet, and two more due in the next two weeks.
It's a good thing I have Anthony Warlow. He will get me through this. :)

As a side note, we are starting our foster parenting class next Wednesday. Color me excited!

First post of the year

We went all the way to Minnesota and back, and we don't have a single picture from our Christmas holiday! That's kind of embarrassing. It was an excellent Christmas. Lasted just over a week. I don't think I've ever had a Christmas last that long. :)

I am sitting on my loveseat in my newly-arranged living room, thinking about the things that need to get done today. I have four more days till the semester starts, which is both exciting and anxiety-inducing. I start teaching 8:00 on Monday morning. I think I'm ready. My moodle site is up and running, my syllabus is ready (although I'm still waiting to have it approved by my mentor). I basically know what I'm going to do for the first day.

And we are turning in our foster parenting application tomorrow. Yes, it is almost complete. We are so excited.

I am too jittery to sit here any longer. I need to get up and do something.