Happy Updates

I've been trying to force my sleeping schedule back to normal, since I had stopped sleeping at night at all for a couple of days. I'm just scaling the hours back, though, and it's starting to work. I've always been a bit of a night owl when I could be, but this was getting a bit too intense.
I was able to visit my Grandmother this week. It was a little jolting at first, because she looked so small in the bed at the care center. But, we started chatting and I knew it was still my fiery Grandma. :) She can get a little cranky pent up in the care center, but she says funny things that make me laugh when she is. She's making progress with arm movement and she's trying hard to begin walking again. Grandma insists she'll be home soon. :) The sad thing was that I took this big pretty geode to show her, but I could tell she couldn't see it. Her eyesight was greatly affected by the stroke. My Great Grandma also had vision problems in her old age. All in all, she's in pretty good shape and getting better all the time.
John and I have started getting ready for my field study coming up at the end of the summer. We got some replacement shoes (pink and tan :) because my awesome blue ones will probably never be the same after the study. I've had them a few years now and they've just begun to show wear. They will make an awesome pair of Geology shoes. And today we picked up a nice rock hammer. It has a good weight to it and a nice length, so I will probably be using it for a long time. Now I've just get to get a hand lens and rent a Brunton compass and we'll be in good shape.
I also got to see my nieces, Megan and Elise, today. :D Megan needed to go through some of her boxes in my parents' attic, and Elise came to help her and see the family. It still amazes me how old they are now. Elise will be turning 16 in June and Megan is 19. They have become beautiful women from those adorable little girls I knew. :) It was nice to be able to spend time with them and talk and reminisce a little. And I don't mind realizing just how old I'm getting, either. ;)
Johnny is doing well with his job. The boys, however, seem to take the fact that John is in the army as a challenge and have been pulling pranks to get a reaction out of him. But, he doesn't lose control. He speaks sternly and bluntly. And he's a master with the guilt. He asked one to please give him a reason to trust the boy again. Ouch! John has a way of inspiring people to want to be more, to be better. His boss says that he is perfect for the place. =) It's a difficult commute and we're trying to figure out how we'll be able to cover all of our expenses, but I don't mind. I'll get rid of tv. I'll get rid of phone. I'll pay lower payments and be in debt longer. Because he loves going to work and he's good at his job. And it will probably be a good job to have while he goes to school, also. I have a feeling that it will be ok. :) And I'm so proud of my boy.

Yay for Memorial Day!

Today was a good day. This afternoon, my dad called to see if Johnny and I wanted to go over and hang out. My mother has been in Ogden caring for my Grandma all week. (She's doing better, but still can't walk. She's in a care center for now.) So, my dad and my little brother have been home alone and possibly lonely. My dad suggested getting a Papa Murphy's pizza and watching a movie or something. So, we decided to go. :)
We got cleaned up and headed to the store. We picked up some cookies, graham crackers, big marshmallows, and chocolate chips. We decide on the Chicago Style Stuffed pizza and headed over to my dad's. We baked the pizza - which had many meats inside - and had a hearty lunch, finished off with some sweet cookies. Then we watched The Italian Job (the new one), which my dad had never seen and that he loved. All of us decided the sunny weather would nice for us to walk in, so we took a stroll around a little of their country neighborhood. When we returned we scratched and petted the cats and the horse, Cobra, for a while. (They're all shedding.) We talked about this and that, looked at the garden, took funny pictures. We trooped inside and washed all the animal hair off our hands and arms and buckled down for a second movie. This time we went for Paycheck, another action-packed movie. (And I wonder why I get along with boys - I've always been hanging out with them.)
After the movie, we made some s'mores in the microwave. (Half at a time and then smoosh 'em together.) We enjoyed the melty gooiness and talked some more. We toweled off our faces and then John and I headed home so he could get ready for work.
All in all, it was a really awesome day. We just were. There wasn't anything complicated, just happy simplicity. Like a deep breath of cool air. And coming home to a cute gray kitty that's rolling around begging to be shnuggled and cuddled... who could ask for more? ...Well, I kind of want another s'more, actually. ;)

Summertime!

The seasons here have changed. Utah basically has two seasons, Winter and Summer. We usually have about 4 days of Spring or Fall between, but compared to other areas it's ridiculous. However, I'm glad for the change. We've already had a couple of summer storms, which Johnny and I love!
Since John is working the graveyard shift now, we've been trying to do fun stuff together during the day, since he hasn't had a chance for so long. We've been hiking with our Camelbacks (and have plans for more around Utah), we took our first museum visit of the summer to the museum at Thanksgiving Point (the largest dinosaur museum in the world, if I'm not mistaken), and we have been making fun plans for the next few months.
There must be popsicle-eating. Popsicles are the absolute essence of summer. We also plan on picnicking at a few of the nice parks we're close to. We even have one of those picnic baskets with the flaps! I've been wanting strawberries almost constantly, so we'll be trying new recipes. (We already tried one for Strawberry Misu, which was awesome.) We want to start eating light summer soups and crispy salads. And I have never been to a real baseball game, so maybe that will change this year. (I insist on getting a hot dog. It just wouldn't be baseball, otherwise.) And of course the summer will round off with my long-anticipated field study. We'll be selecting a rock hammer soon, and I'll need to find a good hand lens, as well. How exciting!
Though the hot leather seats of our car will always remind me that Winter will be coming back, I'm excited for some sunny days ahead.

Unexpected Treasures

Apartment Update: We've decided to wait for a while instead of moving. My grandma just had a stroke and things are changing a lot with her, so we don't want to heighten the stress with moving at present. Also, my landlord has talked to our noisy neighbors and they've been doing better with it.
I knew that this was coming. My grammy is 88, after all. But, I'm still rebelling against it inside. She had to spend some time in the hospital and now she is in a care facility. She sat up and was able to eat yesterday, so things seem to be doing better. My mother doesn't expect that Grandma will ever return to her little home, however. I've been to that house practically every summer since I was a kid. It still feels exciting and magical pulling into the driveway. I don't want it to be someone else's house; my mother grew up in that house. I'm just glad that I can still go see my Grandma and hear her sweet "hello."
Today Johnny wanted to cheer me up. The stress had been getting to me lately. So, he said he wanted to take me somewhere. He took me to a key store a few blocks away. He said they also sold rocks. I didn't expect a lot. Maybe some quartz or tigers eye... However, when we walked in I saw minerals and geodes and awesomeness all about me! Rock hammers! Meteorites! Azurite! I was immediately high from the rock-coolness. I started rushing around gathering up the things I wanted to take home with me and gasping. We got a tiny ammonite, a couple of cool geodes, several minerals... it was awesome! And, something that is rapidly becoming my favorite thing, I got to talk to rock people. They don't have a degree in it, they aren't the "experts," but they love geology and rocks and they are addicted to it, too. They showed me the treasures they've found and the work they do -- tons of geodes were being sliced and were waiting to be polished out back. Our eyes sparkled back and forth as we talked about it all. One thing I've found, if you really love rocks and you find someone else that loves them just as much, you ARE friends. Instantly.
My grandma loves rocks. And I didn't even know until a month ago. She showed me her favorites, the jewelry she makes with them, I told her about mine... And that part of her will always be on fire inside of me, no matter that she has to stay in a bed, no matter how much longer until she sees Grandpa... she's with me in the field, she's that light inside the stones. I feel so much peace now.

A Curse to be Shaken

So, I've been thinking lately... we have had horrible luck with apartments. So, I thought I'd take us on a tour of our apartments since we got married.
Our first apartment was very close to my parents, 1 bedroom with an "office", not too noisy, had a good swamp cooler. But it did have a half-size bathtub (which means constant elbow bruises) and we found out there was no heat. Also, our landlord wanted us to come over for dinner all the time, which was a little weird.
The second apartment was much smaller. It was just one bedroom. It was inexpensive with heat, however, so we took it. It was just a fourplex with neighbors on either side. Not too bad for noise. The neighbors did leave the SUV running for 45 min. at a time by our door and the exhaust would come in, but we dealt with it. However, we had some candy around the Christmas tree and had a massive ant invasion.
Then we got to rent a real house! We were very excited. It wasn't too bad. We had lots of room (which filled up all too soon) and privacy. But we had so many bugs and the gas bill was so expensive (sometimes $200 a month for a 2-bedroom house) that we decided we needed to move.
We had chosen to live at one complex until we finally got to see the unit we'd be in and canceled in a hurry. So, we suddenly had very little time to find a place. We went looking at some apartment communities. One showed us their show apartment, professionally decorated and never lived in. And we were the biggest suckers ever. We signed up for an outrageous price and found out it was very trashy. After the gunshots, brawling, illegal immigrants, and children walking into our apartment (later just trying the locked knob several times a day) we needed out.
Now we are here. It's been alright. It's an awesome apartment. Nice big kitchen, a red wall, newish carpet, tiled floor in the kitchen. The windows are a big problem, though, and the neighbors have never been good. The first set below us smoked in their apartment a lot, had somewhat loud music, and two babies. They found a bigger place and in moved the neighbors from hell. The kind that move in their big furniture from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The kind that you never could really tell when the moving noises stopped and the living noises started. And now they are the ones that sound like their taking a sledgehammer to the wall and wake you up at all hours yelling and screaming. It's gotten so bad that I've been physically ill from lack of sleep.
So, we're looking again. We're wondering if we can find somewhere that won't be a massive disappointment. Obviously, we'll always have neighbors and we'll always hear them, I just want them to show some of the same courtesies we show them. I want them to be aware of the understood-apartment-rules (no vacuuming before 10 a.m., don't turn on your loud appliances after 10 p.m., etc.). We'll try to take our time and find somewhere that will change the curve so far. (I'm just so tired!) But, we're excited for the next place and will let you know when we know our next destination!

Are they on me???

So, last night was a little traumatic for me. It was about 12:30 a.m. and I was messaging with Johnny and another friend on Facebook. I had the bathroom and kitchen windows open to let a breeze go through and cool down the apartment. Miles made a little meow sound, so I intended to go get him a drink in a minute. Then I heard a bang followed by a loud crash. I ran in and saw that the porcelain toilet brush stand was broken on the floor and Miles was trotting out of the room. I figured he'd been trying to get up on the high window sill to look outside. I reached up to close it and realized I was reaching through a bunch of web. I slammed the window and pulled my hands back; they had baby spiders running over them. I put my hands under running water and then looked back at the window. More baby spiders were swarming up and down the wall. I grabbed my handy Windex and sprayed until it couldn't spray anymore. Then I wiped up all the spiders. It took a while to find them all. There had been some I couldn't see on the pane of glass that kept falling onto the sill. I put tape around the window, as well, to block them out. I have a spider thing and an ant thing - they give me the heebie-jeebies - and this kinda combined the two. *shudder* I cleaned up the broken glass and checked my kitty-boy over for cuts or shards embedded in him. He seemed unscathed, thankfully. I'll admit I did cry and get fairly hysterical. This always happens when I am home alone at night!
When we lived in Mapleton, I thought I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and checked, but no one was there. After I shut the door, I noticed a giant wolf spider had darted in and stood right in the threshold on the disgustingly orange carpet. It looked a little lumpy. I grabbed my shoe nearby and slammed it down on the spider. When I lifted up my shoe, baby spiders - which I quickly learned wolf spiders carry on their backs - were spreading everywhere. I tore across the house and got the vacuum and started sucking them into it. I had to use the hose to get the mother -- which was still alive and running across the room. I vacuumed for like half an hour, crying frantically because I didn't want them all over me. Again, home alone at night.
When I was like 3 years old, I unknowingly stood on an ant hill and had them swarm up my legs, biting me like crazy. I stood there screaming and terrified and have not liked things crawling on me since (primarily spiders, ants, and earwigs).
I'm just glad Miles got me in there before they spread everywhere! They had almost made it into my shower curtain and towels as it was. I did let John know that I may or may not have gotten Windex all over the walls, shower curtain, and towels. ;) My little brother was very supportive to me at 1:30 a.m. on the phone when I was mostly done with the ordeal (he had the idea of taping off the window to keep the rest outside).
Maybe someday I'll get used to them or something. I admit it is an irrational fear and I can almost agree with John's declaration that jumping spiders are the teddy bears of the spider world. As it stands now, however, I feel towards spiders like Indiana Jones feels towards snakes. "Why'd it have to be snakes???"

Free at last! Free at last!

Well, it's been nice having no school this week. I've gotten to read books that I want! And I don't feel guilty about it! I can watch a movie with John without anxiety! I don't have to blow my friends off because of homework! I did need a break. The first day of class, I just felt so tired. I didn't have it in me to keep plowing through. It's felt like I've been carrying something really heavy and finally get to set it down for a while. And in the meantime I forgot how tall I am due to all the strain! So, I've been stretching this week. Staying up late, wasting time on Facebook taking idiotic quizzes, playing Nintendo (gasp!)... It's been pretty awesome. Last time I took a "break" we were moving, so it wasn't so fun. I've been doing the mountains of laundry that accumulated during the semester. (No easy task, my friends.) I'm still a little nervous about taking Calculus 1 over again during summer semester, but I'll just do my best. I just want to do a little better.
John's had drill again this weekend. He just had it two weeks ago, which is unusual, but he's having fun getting to know his new unit. He also decided to use a West Virginian accent when he was calling in as a civilian that had supposedly seen a chopper go down. So, nicknames like Boy Howdy and Yee-haw are being used. >:D (Christine is pleased by this.) It's hard on us, though, because we don't get as much time together as we would have. Plus, John has to switch his sleeping schedule to sleeping when he's usually working. He handles it remarkably well, though. (He did last 96 hours awake during Basic Training, while most the others only lasted 48.)
I received the rest of my grades this weekend. Chemistry B-, Technical Communications A, Physical Geology A, Geology Seminar P (pass/fail). My GPA rose a bit from last semester's grades, so Johnny surprised me and took me to the Bombay House last night after his drill stuff to celebrate. (He likes that he can spoil me again.) We had our fish curry and paratha bread -- our favorite. And John had his usual rose milk while I had a strawberry lassi. And we indulged in Gulab Jamun (balls of dough with golden raisins in it fried and served in a sugar syrup with what I think was candied ginger) and Kheer (a cardamom rice pudding with cashews and golden raisins) for dessert. Then we came home and got to hang out with some friends, so we had some fun this weekend.
Hey, what more can I ask for?