CMH

So...I got engaged...two weeks ago. Eek!

In school, it seemed as though every year there was always a class assignment that required us students to make a list of goals. In elementary school, my list started out very long and very outlandish. I wanted to be a scuba diver (until I learned about sea worms), a doctor (until I learned about tapeworms), a veterinarian (until I learned about heart worms), an explorer (until I learned about grubs), and an actress: mind you, simultaneously. In middle school I started to narrow my horizons; it's easier to excel at one skill, rather than dabble in many. Sixth grade I would be a classically trained jazz flautist, seventh grade I would be a prolific and best-selling author, and in eighth a skillful award-winning actress. My goal list shifted again in high school. Professions were not on the top of list but rather varied feats I thought were more "realistic." Classics include: walking the entire Wall of China, visiting every continent (even Antarctica), writing and publishing one novel, and becoming an FBI agent.
It never failed; on each of these lists, getting married was absent. Sometimes "be a mom" would appear on the list but each time the other girls in my class read their lists aloud and "get married" was said I always thought, "Oh! I forgot that one!" I always assumed one day I'd get around to it, but figured my younger siblings would beat me to the altar. I remember deciding that of my high school friends I would be one of the last to get hitched. Now here I am, one of the first of my close high school AND college friends preparing to walk down the aisle. Planning my wedding is an elating but surreal feeling. I could not be any happier with this new addition to my life's todo list.
And on a final note: VISIT OUR WEBSITE!

Knit one, purl two

My tutoring center is located in the corner nook of a shopping center between Whole Foods and Joann's Craft Store. Often during a break between students, I wander over to Whole Foods and walk aimlessly through the aisles reading nutrition labels and looking for free samples, usually to no avail. I am at a loss for why the Whole Foods in Highland Park (the store down the street from my apartment) is replete with free samples and wine gurus pestering me to taste their latest pairing while the one near my work is devoid of both. I guess it's some grand scheme to keep people like me from taking up precious space in the cramped aisles. Whatever Whole Foods on Forest, get over yourself. Since Whole Foods obviously does not want me in its store unless I am buying something (like it thinks it's some kind of profit-based store or something) I started wandering around the store where the employees seem elated each time someone under the half century mark enters--Joann's.

Oh Joann's Fabric and Craft Store how I love thee. I first entered several months ago to buy yarn for a scarf I knit Jeremy for Christmas and there hasn't been a week, save the ones I've been out of town, that I haven't been in. Meandering through Joann's has rekindled the crafty bits in me. For example, I started knitting again. I finally progressed to something more complicated than scarves because really, you can only have so many scarves when you live on the blistering plains of Texas. I knit the first hat that I actually wear in public and yesterday I spent 45, yes 45, minutes picking out yarn. I also joined an online knitting community. (I know, I'm an 80 year old woman, you don't have to tell me.) After giving up flute in the 8th grade, I am determined to keep a skill/talent relevant in my life for more than just a few years. Thanks to Joann's proximity to work, I think knitting has decided it's up for the challenge.


As Matt would say, "This picture is so emo." Yeah, yeah. I like my hat. And I made it. All by myself.