Earthquake!

Right now, I am sitting at my desk while the walls are shaking intermittently. Sounds like an earthquake. Well it's the most profound earthquake that I have felt, ever, but not produced by shifting plates in the earth's crust, but rather a very large machine (I believe the Indian-ers call it a back-hoe) pounding down onto the concrete sidewalk just outside my living room window. I sat and stared at this process, mildly annoyed, but fascinated that this huge shovel can move large amounts of earth, or concrete in this case, with such delicacy. It is, however, creating a loud reverberation that I can feel, and might upset my plans for a nap this morning. Oh well.

Cleaning...

I love to clean. It's de-stressing... is that a word? Well cleaning definately takes a load off my shoulders. Today I cleaned out the fridge. Or threw away a lot of old food that was collecting dust and other microrganisms. It was a freeing experience. I can breath a little easier knowing the fridge is not being overgrown by mold.
Today is mi madre's birthday! Hooray... Happy Birthday Momma.

(Michelle posted a cute picture of Mom, so I thought I would, too!)

Baby, baby...

Today I was thrilled to watch the delivery of a baby boy during my clinicals in OB. I got choked up just afterward. It is such a neat experience, one that I hope I am able to have someday.

A few things I seem to lose a lot...

Chapstick. The plain kind with the black wrapper and red lines around it is my favorite. It is a staple that I must have or my lips will dry up like the desert sand. Yuck. And I usually lose it. So then I walk around with alligator lips for a while, when I am rescued by finding one in a purse I haven't used in a long time. If that doesn't happen, I love to buy a new one when it doesn't have that hole in the middle yet. Love it.

Sunglasses. I usually lose them or break them. It doesn't matter if they are new or old, I leave them on a table in a restaurant, sit on them in the bus, stretch one side until it breaks, and still use them with one wing on my ear because I don't like the thought of the sunshine burning away my vision. My mom has not usually liked the shape of the glasses I buy, until recently! I found a pair that she favors! And so do I. But I haven't lost them yet.

Nalgenes. I have lost two. One 1000 mL, and a mini one. I don't really know where they disappeared to. I dropped my big green one off a tall overhang onto the concrete to see if it would break, during my spring break trip of freshman year, and it didn't break. It left a mark on the concrete. I have it on video. It has been the subject of a portrait photo session. I did love this Nalgene, my first Nalgene, and I lost it this summer, or last Christmas, I don't remember.


I replaced it yesterday. I had gone long enough without a motivator to consume large amounts of water per day. I bought a grayish black one from my nearby coffee shop. I feel like a real outdoors-woman with this one. It's no fluffy green Nalgene. It's black. It's rugged. It's simple. I think I shall like this new Nalgene very much. And I hope it sticks around for a long time.

Hot, Hot, Hot...

I thought fall was coming a few weeks ago... no, no. Right now, weather.com is reporting 90 degrees here. I don't think I've ever experienced any day October in the midwest with a temperature of 90!

It was good weather for camping though. Austin, Ashton, Kat, Dave, and I went Saturday night. What fun we had. At first, I was nervous to go because of the work that I need to get done before some tests, but once I got there, sitting around the campfire, eating s'mores, drinking cider... I felt like fall could be there, and I relaxed. Oh the magic of the outdoors. Here's Ashton toasting her marshmallows...




In other news, Jess and Blake got engaged this Saturday night! Congrats to them!!! I don't have any pictures, but imagine a pretty ring on a happy girl with a beaming boy holding her hand. That's the picture to remember. She was walking around today with a little hop in her step.

Austin and I are happily engaged, planning our wedding, and a fun trip afterwards. We're thinking the west coast somewhere north: Oregon maybe? Neither of us have been there, so it will be fun to see a new part of the country. Got any good suggestions of where on the Oregon Coast to stay? We're still looking for a good price and pretty scenery.

End of September Review

I have two things to write about today... both happened in September.

First: One Friday night this past month, I went to Walmart and purchased some fabric for one dollar a yard... What a deal! My roommates and I excitedly searched for a sewing machine. With the fabric we made a lovely curtain and tapestry thing for our living room, we are going to add a creative painting to the middle of the arrangement. It's kinda fun... adds some dimension to the wall. We stole the idea from some other girls in the dormitories.



And a curtain for my room with Libby. You can see here a sillhouette of my healthy looking bonsai. The curtain covers the whole length of the window.


Second: This past weekend, Mom and Gram came to Indiana to drop Gram off so she could return to Florida with the rest of her family who was visiting in Illinois.

We ate at a restaurant in Amish country, and then stayed at an inn at Pokagon State Park. It was beautiful! When we got to the inn, we heard there was to be a hoe-down that night. Curious to find out what was going on, or at least listen to some good music, we followed directions down to where there was quite a showing of Indiana-ers... hoe-ing down... or Square Dancing. Mom and I kicked up our heels to the music and stomped away with the other folks. It was so fun, and my legs were quite sore the next day from all the hopping around. HAH!

Mom wanted to take a picture of us by the corn stocks and the fall arrangement. I especially like the straw horses.