Of babies, movies and parties.

I sorta overslept a little this morning, but I still made it to Jeremy's by 6:30 to babysit Justus. Jeremy got a 5-day job so he'll be gone in the mornings. Anyway... it started out fine. But that's 'cause Justus was still asleep. When he woke up, that's how things got interesting. Justus is almost one, so he crawls quite well and stands/walks when he can hold onto something. Unfortunately, he also needs constant attention to keep him from screaming his head off. I was sitting on a beanbag on the floor... big mistake. That kid crawls all over everything and everyone. He crawled all over me - couldn't decide if he wanted up or down, screamed his head off, pulled my hair out, wouldn't drink his bottle, and insisted upon drooling in my face. I dread the "terrible twos." I don't think I could handle a kid like that for 24 hours a day. By the time he was ready for his nap, I was, too. I was out like a light until Jeremy came home at like... noon.

Then Mom picked me up. We went and got a little pre-movie snack (brownies and Dew). Then we hit the theatre and watched Prince Caspian. It was awesome. Again. Anyway, then we spent $124 on pizza, ice cream and soda for the party. In case any of you don't know the occasion, it was Ari's "congratulations, you made it through a year of school without being suspended or expelled" party. He hasn't done that since third grade. Really. Anyway. Party was fun. Tons of people came. Ate all the pizza, had lots of fun. We played football, frisbee, baseball (catch, really) and Jackpot (also called 500). My baseball disappeared in the course of the festivities, most regrettably. It was fun, though.

Obviously, I'm really, really tired now. And I have to be at Jeremy's at 6:00 tomorrow. Hence the end of this post. I shall write more tomorrow if I'm awake enough.

Good night!
--Anna Grace

A productive member of society, part 2!

Hm. Well, I didn't blog yesterday, so I suppose I'd better begin with yesterday's adventures, and misadventures. It began with fishing. We (Jason, Jeremy, Angie, Meghan, Daniel, Justus and I) packed up and headed down to Baker Dam Reservoir. Since I was the only one who had any idea where it was, I got to play tour guide. I kinda like doing that. It makes me feel like the knowledgeable local showing around the new neighbors. :P. Anyway. I'd forgotten just how beautiful this place was. Blue water... red rocks, tall trees, green grass, soft sand... a fisherman's dream come true. Except without fish. Well... there were fish - Jeremy hooked a dead trout (a big one, too) and Meghan hooked herself... but other than that, no one caught anything. Oh, and Meghan dropped her fishing pole in a very deep dropoff in the lake. It looked shallower than it was... Anyway, the bobber was still on the line, so we managed to snag that and I pulled out all the line, pulled the pole up, and thereby managed rescue Meghan's fishing rod. Then we went home. T'was tons of fun.

Anyway... about an hour after we got home, I ran into a little bit of stomach and chest trouble and had to go in for some medical attention. About a block from the doctor, I started feeling better. Great. Anyway... I possibly have a relapse of ulcers. They can't tell at this point, though, because last time I had ulcers I had H. pylori (nasty little acid causing bacteria). Once it's there, it never leaves, so they'll never be able to tell if I have ulcers by my blood tests again. Anyway... the doc decided to wait and see if it happens again before he orders more tests - partially because I have no health insurance. This, by the way, is a bad thing. I also missed city council meeting. Not much fun.

So this morning was good, though. I got a phone call from Turn Community Services. Apparently, I now have a job! Woot! Productive member of society, here I come! I am scheduled for job orientation on June 15th. Quite a bit of a later start than I wanted, but at this moment, I'll take what I can get. None of the other places even called back. Anyway, it will give me a chance to get my license. I know, I know... I've said that before. But I actually have a test scheduled on Monday, with the only guy that can put the final signature on my official little paper-thingy. I think this is a good thing. I'm going to fail parallel parking, I'm pretty sure, but hopefully that won't matter too much. Urg.

This afternoon I got the crap scared out of me, as well. Angie and Meghan and I were coming home from Karen's. When we got here, Jeremy and Jason were riding the four-wheelers. Daniel and Jason were on the girls' little one. Jason got off and was steering, running alongside the quad while Daniel drove. Yeah... almost two-year-old Daniel. Anyway, Daniel sorta fell off sideways, landed on the ground. From my viewpoint, it looked like the quad ran him over. Angie and I flipped out and jumped out of the car to see what the damage was. Fortunately, Jason had grabbed the back tire-rim of the thing and picked it up so that it didn't run Daniel over. Daniel is okay, although it certainly scared him, and he wouldn't go near his dad for a few minutes. The rims on the tire were sharp, though, and Jason's hand is good and sliced up. I think I can safely say it will be a while before Daniel debuts solo on a four-wheeler again.

The adventure continues!
--Anna Grace

The Misadventures of Moi.

Longfellow died. I'm not terribly surprised, but it's still disappointing. We tried so hard to save her! The others seem to be doing fine. Speckles didn't drink this afternoon, but there was nothing really I could do about that since I was in Cedar. I suspect that Ari didn't warm up the bottles like he was supposed to since no one was there to make him do it. Not that I could have made him had I been there.

Speaking of which, mom got home tonight, and evidently was rather pissed off at a messy house. Dishes, apparently. However, Dad washed a humongous load of dishes yesterday. Like... a pile of dishes that would put a small restaurant to shame kind of thing, so it's not nearly as bad as it could have been. She then wondered "why we couldn't encourage Ari to do the dishes." Hello! I did that. Before he left for Cedar. I begged and encouraged and bribed and threatened his life. What Ari doesn't want to do, Ari doesn't do. Period. Not even mom can make him. If she says otherwise, I'd love to see her try. Problem is that even though Ari is slightly better behaved now, he still doesn't give a lick about anyone else enough to do anything.

I do feel sorry for Ari. He has reason to be a basket case. However, I don't think he can keep using it as an excuse. He's got his good spots, but at this point, usefulness doesn't happen to be one of them.

Bugger. I also went to take my drivers' test today. It didn't end up happening. I got to the DMV, had all the papers and what not, but apparently, one of them didn't have a signature on it. From three freaking years ago. So I couldn't take the test. I called the guy whose signature I was supposed to have, and he told me I can't take the test through the DMV, and I have to contact the other instructor to take the test and get the signature from him. WTF?!

Anyway. A bad day, to say the least.

More to come.
--Anna Grace

The Little Stove That Could... and other adventures.

I am pleased to report that Longfellow is holding on tenaciously. She still doesn't look very good. In fact, she still doesn't look like she has much of a chance. However, while she still draws breath, I'm hopeful. Skeeter still steadfastly refuses his bottle, so I've been tubing both of them. Hopefully mom has a little better luck than I have. The penicillin seems to be helping clear up the congestion with both of them.

This leads us to the story of "The Little Stove That Could." Because Longfellow has soremouth, everything she touches has to be sterilized. Yesterday, dad sterilized the syringe by soaking it in rubbing alcohol. That made the numbers come off the syringe. So then he decided it was a better idea to boil it. He did so, and forgot all about turning it off, thus blackening the pot, filling the house with acrid smoke and incinerating said syringe to a crispy little wisp of ash floating on top of the water. At least now we know the smoke alarm works... And it has inspired me to write the story of "The Little Stove That Could." It would probably go something like this...

Steve Stove was a very cold little stove. All the other stoves laughed at Steve because it was so hard for him to even boil water. One day, someone came and bought Steve from the appliance store. When he came out of the box, he found that he was in a house. Steve waited and waited for the man who bought him to give him something to do. Finally, the man came into the kitchen with a pot of water. The water had a syringe in it. "Oh boy!" Steve thought. "Boiling water for sterilization purposes! I'd better not let him down!"
The man set the pot of water on Steve and turned the burner up. "I can do it," Steve thought. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" The more Steve thought he could, the hotter the burner got. The hotter the burner got, the more the water bubbled and boiled. "I think I can!" Steve thought. "I think I can!" The water boiled furiously and a thin wisp of smoke began to waft up from the burner. "I think I can!" Steve shouted victoriously as the burner burst into flames.
At that moment, the man came back into the kitchen, coughing at all the smoke. I spied the furiously burning stove and gasped. He filled a pot of water and flung it in Steve's face, drenching the little stove and extinguishing the flames. When the fire was out, the man picked up the phone and made a phone call. "Yes," Steve heard him say. "I left the room for a whole minute and it was on fire when I came back!" Steve was proud that all his effort had paid off. He had proved the other stoves wrong.
Later that day, a truck arrived and some men put Steve in a cardboard box. "...obviously a manufacturing defect," one of them said. "We've brought a replacement." When the box was opened and Steve was shoved out, he realized he was back in the appliace store. The other stoves stared at his blackened burner. "I thought I could do it, and I did it," Steve explained. One of the older stoves spoke up. "Thinking you can... that's all well and good, kid, but when thinking you can puts you in overkill mode, that's when it proves you can't."

I'm still working on it, but that's my idea so far. :P In the meantime, I have my drivers' test today and I need to check my flower garden. Should be an interesting day!

More adventures to come!
--Anna Grace

Alas, poor Longfellow!

Last night (after my last post) Flip dropped off two lambs. One of them is fairly small and black to boot. The other, rather large, ungainly and funny looking, has soremouth. I isolated it and began treating the poor creature. Flip assured me they were both male, wherupon I named the black one Skeeter and the white one Longfellow. I discovered this morning that Longfellow is not in fact, male. I have decided to keep her as Longfellow anyway, and dad suggested that we can call her 'Longfella' to make it more feminine.

I hadn't been able to get her to drink, which was expected since she's a bit old to just be getting on the bottle. She'd been nursing her mom, previously, but as is the story with Skeeter as well, the ewe disappeared, leaving the lamb to fend for itself. They were both pretty weak when they arrived. I was able to get Skeeter to drink his bottle, but not Longfellow. However, since Longfellow is a bit older and was eating hay and drinking water quite well, I wasn't terribly worried.

Suddenly, this afternoon, both of them took a dramatic turn for the worse. Longfellow did not eat or drink, and was too weak to even stand. Skeeter, although he could stand, did not drink his bottle, or even eat the hay that I gave him. On my mom's advice, I called Stephanie (a good friend who's good with this stuff) and asked her to help me tube them (feed them by means of a stomach tube). We did so, and put them both on penicillin as both of them are showing signs of pneumonia as well as everything else.

Skeeter is livelier already and managed to run away from me fairly quickly as I went to put him back in the pen. Longfellow, however, is not. I'm really worried about her, and from the way she looks, her chances aren't looking too good. However, where there's life, there's hope, and sometimes you get pleasant surprises.

Also, dad gave me his old cameras for my photography class. As long as they don't have to be digital, I'm in good shape. The Minolta just needs batteries (and I'd like to get a wide angle lens for it) and the Olympus needs the shutter fixed because it sticks and I'd have to take the lens off to fix it after every shot. Other than that, all I need is film and it's good to go.

Dad and I also drove the Parowan loop today, to give me a bit of driving practice. That was fun.

Hm. Yes. More updates tomorrow.
Alas... poor Longfellow!
--Anna Grace

Of lambs and snakes and other things.

So... I got up this morning to do chores. I was out of the house by eight (lots later than mom does them, but lots earlier than dad would have...) and noticed that Africa (big, huge ewe) was getting ready to have lambs. I finished up with the chores and watched... and waited... She was definitely taking her time about things. Finally about two hours later, I realized that the lamb was probably turned the wrong way and went in to get my dad. We tried to catch her so I could fix things up, but Africa wasn't having any of that.

So... I ran to get the lariat, only to discover that it wasn't there anymore. Upon which discovery much frustration ensued. So then, Ari and I tried to lure her behind the gate with some corn. That didn't work either. She did snatch and grabs with the grain. That was about when we realized that (quite accidentally) dad had left the gate open, as it was our plan to trap her behind it. Unfortunately, she went in front of it instead and got out.

After a bit more chasing about, frustrated yelling and attempts to catch this angry, pregnant, 350 lbs ewe, we finally got her cornered in a fenced off space between two pens. Whereupon we hauled forth a humongous lamb that was stuck backwards. By 'we', I mean 'I.' I'd thought dad would at least hold her... he was pretty good at watching, though. Anyway. Huge ram lamb. And it's head and the back of its ears were bald. Funny-looking little critter. He kicked me all the way out...

Anyway... we moved them to a cleaner, wind-free area and waited. Before too terribly long, we had another. A girl. She came on her own, thank goodness. The next real challenge was getting them food. Africa's a great mother in all other respects. She doesn't like to feed her babies. However, both of them are happily up and going, now, with full tummies. Their names are Zulu (the boy) and Botswana (the girl). They weigh probably close to 15 lbs apiece.

After all the excitement, dad happened to find a little snake hidden underneath a board. Poor little fellow. Probably hiding from all the rotten weather. Anyway. He's a cute little fellow. We've detained him as a temporary pet. We'll have to get rid of him when mom comes home. She doesn't like snakes. Especially not in the house. Then Ari found a humongous lizard outside. We turned him loose. He was a vicious little biter.

Anywho... I've also decided that Ari's fingers must be incredibly heavy. Because he can't even lift one to help anyone do anything. He's leaving this afternoon for someplace. And the dishes will be waiting for him when he returns. I sooooo did not come here to be anyone's maid. I can quite happily wash my own dishes, thanks. But I came here to take care of the animals, not to watch Ari lie around the house and expect me to cook and clean for him just because I'm the nearest female. Dad at least cooks for himself (and us, really) and mostly cleans up after himself. I just think it's about time Ari weaned himself off his wetnurse. He fantasizes about moving out early, but he couldn't handle life without someone to take care of him. Urg. Frustrations.

Anyway... more news as it happens!

--Anna Grace

A discovery...

Today was exceedingly cold. Far colder than it has any right to be in nearly June...
I was planning on planting mom's veggie garden today, but it didn't end up happening. I pretty much did chores and hauled my butt back inside. I am a little worried about Gourdo (a lamb), since he isn't drinking his whole bottle. Not much of it, in fact. I know he was just learning to get on it by himself, so I even tried to help him with that. Alas, the poor sweet lamb has not been blessed with the brains that God gave a turnip.

Anyway... it was cold! As a result, I spent most of my day surfing the net, finding really awesome Israeli music. I even made a playlist of my finds on Youtube. I was already a big fan of Ofra Haza and Moshav, but I've now added to my list of Israeli musical adorations: Sarit Hadad, Haim Moshe and Idan Yaniv. I found an absolutely beautiful song by Sarit Hadad called "Sh'ma Israel (Hear, O Israel)." More importantly, one of my favorite songs I just found an English translation for. "Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)" has always been one of my favorite Hebrew songs. It's more traditional than contemporary, but my favorite version is sung by Ofra Haza. The lyrics (in English) are very beautiful and provided a lot of insight to me. I thought I'd share them.

Yerushalaim Shel Zahav
Jerusalem of Gold

The mountain air is clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sound of bells.

And in the slumber of tree and stone
Captured in her dream
The city that sits solitary
And in its midst is a wall.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

How the cisterns have dried
The market-place is empty
And no one frequents the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Winds are howling
And no one descends to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

But as I come to sing to you today,
And to adorn crowns to you
I am the smallest of the youngest of your children
And of the last poet

For your name scorches the lips
Like the kiss of a seraph
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Which is all gold...

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A shofar calls out on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine -
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho!

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

Shalom al Israel.
Shalom al Yerushalaim.

--Anna Grace

Of news and family.

Today has been an interesting day, full of much illness, but much progress in many areas. Firstly - although I was sick, I actually continued to eat so that I didn't have the same stupid problem that came up last time I was this sick. Anyway. Further improvements came with my vehicle and insurance. The little blue pickup is now insured. Now all I have to do is get it registered, put SUU plates on it and get a drivers' license. Still no word yet on if I have a job, most unfortunately. I will call them tomorrow and see.

My mom leaves for Washington tomorrow. I so wish I could go with her... I miss Washington. Really, I miss the family. I miss being around aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. Family reunions and celebrations. Being in Utah, especially, someone without family closeby is acutely aware of the fact. Everyone here is related in some way, it seems. In fact, I have a buddy who accidentally dated his own cousin for a while because their families were so huge, they had no idea they were related. When I'm in Washington, the family around me is an absolutely tangible feeling of support and togetherness that sort of leaves a hole when it's not there. I'm really glad I'm so in touch with Bethy and Anna now, because they really help there. Besides, after so much time knowing you're sort of on your own, it feels sort of like a novelty to have cousins there to talk to. Being one of the youngest probably doesn't help the separation feeling, either. How weird is it that most of my cousins are married and have kids, now! The only two that are remotely my age I've never even met. So goes life, I guess.

In other news, green things were popping up in my garden this morning. I can't really tell if they're flowers or weeds. I'm guessing flowers, because I don't recognize any weeds like that. It's been gloomy and rainy enough that hopefully Angie won't need to water the garden while I'm gone. Although I did forget to ask her to feed my fish. Bugger.

Anyway... My Pepto-Bismol and I are going to go back to watching movies and working on a neat sketch of Ari. Who, by the way, is doing excellently, and really growing up fast. I don't say this enough, but I really am proud of him. I'll see if I can scan the sketch and post it up when I'm done.

More news as it develops!
-- Anna Grace

A white-knuckle ride...

This morning was a tad bit of a fiasco. I had an interview this morning at 10:30. Angie had to go to Meghan's field day, Jason was sick, Joe was at work, and Karen had lent her car to Jeremy so he could take Reagan to St. George. That left... no one... and no vehicles to take me to my interview. Except for me and the little blue manual-transmission pickup. I have had very little experience with stick-shift. Therefore, the idea of me driving myself all the way through town in a stick-shift, licenseless in an unregistered, uninsured vehicle sorta scared the spit out of me. However, when there are no choices, one does what one must.

The first snag I ran into was getting out of the driveway. There was a soft ungravelly spot which I unwittingly backed right into. And freaked out and tried to pull forward again, which was about when the truck started spinning out and digging itself into a hole. So I had to drag poor Jason off the couch and ask him to help me get it unstuck, which he did. Then (after popping the clutch a few times and spinning out a bit more) I managed to get it out of the driveway. When I look back at the drive there, it seems uneventful. It really wouldn't have been so bad if my nerves hadn't gotten in the way. No crashes, bumps, hitches in the getalong, or even near misses, really. I could've quite enjoyed it if I wasn't scared spitless of crashing, stalling, or getting pulled over.

I think the interview went pretty well. For all my morning trauma, I actually got there on time. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because everyone was still in a meeting. Anyway. I really think it went well. Then on the way home I was scared spitless again. Once the pickup stalled just as I was about to make a left onto Main St. Yikes! Anyway. Then the rest of it was eventless again.

I figure if I can navigate town in a stick-shift pickup with no one there to yell in my ear, the drivers' test shouldn't be too much trouble. Anyway. I called the DMV and the earliest appointment they had for a drivers' test was Tuesday. So, I'll be doing it then. Except that dad's leaving Tuesday, mom will be getting back Tuesday. So hopefully I can ask him to take me back to town Monday and just get someone to cover for me Tuesday morning. Angie said I can use her van to take the test instead of the Jeep like I'd planned. Ah, well... plans change.

Anyway. Exciting day. Now I believe I shall go unwind with a bit of caffeine and "Over the Hedge."

More in due time...
--Anna Grace

The advent of summer and real life.

I got a call back on my application/first interview with Turn Community Services (the place that works with mentally disabled people). They want me to come in for an interview tomorrow. I'll go in. Maybe I can work something out with some kind of on-the-job training. It's a good paying job if I can start soon enough to make it count.

I'm hoping to take the drivers' test on Thursday, so transportation will no longer be an issue. Besides, if this doesn't work out, it'll be easier to run around and look for other jobs. Or hopefully I'll get a call back from one of the other places. I think it'd be pretty cool to work at Home Depot. I'd love to work in the garden department.

Speaking of garden, mine got planted! I'm surprised the dogs have actually left it alone... Surprised but gratified, anyway. I planted Foxglove, Impatiens, Forget-Me-Nots, Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, Hollyhocks, Snapdragons, Petunias, Cosmos and Bachelors Buttons. Like I say, I haven't really messed around with flowers before, so we'll see how many come up. If the seeds don't sprout, I suppose I'll just get some from the greenhouses. It'll probably look sort of ragged and funny, anyway. I haven't got a great deal of experience planning out the finer points of plant placement in a garden... I don't care, though. As long as the flowers bloom and smell nice.

Anyway... with all this running around after jobs and kids and Tovie and the garden, I haven't had the usual amount of time to surf the net. For some reason, I find this strangely gratifying. Getting a real life instead of an internet one has been on my list of goals for a long time, and it looks like I'm getting there.

So, hurrah for sunburns - it's getting so hot out! Weird how it does that. It's winter... then - BOOM! It's summer. I want to go swimming. I think I'll go finish my laundry, instead, though. :)

More to come, as life goes on...
-- Anna Grace

Still white... just sunburned. :P

Today I finally began my garden. I turned the soil in a patch of ground next to the east fence. The dogs don't run up there and it's fairly good soil. This marks the first flower garden I've ever attempted. I've done veggies, of course, but never a flower garden. Anyway... I tilled it with a shovel and then went through and sifted out all the roots and weeds and the larger sticks and stones - the earth here is quite rocky. Needless to say, that took a while. Then I realized I needed some kind of marking-off barrier to warn the dogs out of it. Jason has some old juniper limbs out back that he was going to burn, so I took a few and fashioned a crude barrier. It was sort of ratty looking, so I started stripping off all the bark of the limbs.

That was about when I discovered that I never knew how cool and interesting a piece of wood could be. Juniper has many, many layers of bark. Some of them, as you get closer to the wood, are a quite purple color. The wood itself is white, and the other layers vary in shades of deep gold and rich gold-red. Absolutely gorgeous, to say the least. I kept finding deposits of crystallized resin beneath the bark, and discovered that where the bark was purple, the resin was red. Beautiful. The coolest one was a branch that had obviously been eaten up a bit by bark beetles. There were all these awesome designs eaten away underneath the bark. That one had the most resin, as well. I found some remains of the little creatures. It sort of made me wonder what the heck kind of teeth they've got that they can knaw all that wood. They must also have stomachs of iron.

I could draw some sort of analogy as to how bark beetles, like people's problems, shape a person's life into something unique and individual, making us cherishable, and giving us little wounds that heal over time, leaving beautiful deposits of crystallized gems for memories.... but I won't do that. It's boring and would ruin a perfectly good blog. Besides, the bark beetles inevitably kill the tree at the end of it, and that's not a very encouraging analogy. :)

So... between stripping the bark off several juniper limbs and tilling up my first flower garden (which I intend to plant tomorrow), I got my very first sunburn of the summer. Don't worry... it's not bad. It's just sort of pink... I thought it might match my outfit today. :) Just kidding.
The barrier looks much better now. Although I doubt it will keep the dogs out.

Also, when I moved in, I sort of expected that Tovie wouldn't gravitate to me as much as to Angie and Jason. Even though he's my dog, I wasn't exactly able to visit him much the last month or so of school. I'm pleased to say that I was wrong, and the little miscreant follows me everywhere and believes wholeheartedly that he's my lapdog. The little stinker also dug under Helmut's fence again. I blocked it off with branches and rocks, this time, and he wasn't able to get under it. I do notice that Helmut stuck a big old stump up against the fence on his side. Oops. Sorry, Helmut...

A few days ago - day before yesterday, I believe - Daniel had to go into an allergy specialist. The poor kid's allergic to everything. Soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts (quite badly allergic to peanuts) and cats. The last is bad news for Milo. He's out of the house for good now. Daniel's exema is already clearing up, though, so Angie figures that's what it is. Milo can still come in the garage and in my room, because he has to eat inside. He can't defend himself against the dogs too well, and Dane's a food-hog. Anyway... he's in my room now. He's a notorious pest, though, so he'd better not get me up in the middle of the night or he's out of here. He likes my fishbowl. And fishbowl water. And fish. It's quite funny. Have you ever seen a three-legged cat try to catch a goldfish?

More later!
Au revoir!
-- Anna Grace

Of food, 4-H, and piratical nonsense.

Sooo... you know food? That stuff you're supposed to eat so you don't starve to death? Well... I hate it. I really hate it. I'm sick of eating. I think if I could just get nutrients from an IV every day and never have to eat again, I would so do it... That probably wouldn't be all that healthy, either, but I'm really tired of my stupid eating habits and the fact that I hate eating so much. That, coupled with the fact that I'm so against eating disorders and being unnaturally thin... well, an unhealthy thin, anway... I think makes me sort of hypocritical. Ugh. I think I need to start working out some kind of food plan for myself - setting down guidelines for myself on how I want to eat to get healthier. Let's face it - my eating habits suck, and I really need to gain some weight. Schedule. Structure. Plan. I gotta work this out. I'm tired of getting through a day and realizing that I've forgotten to eat. Blug.

I also have good news today... I know... it's always about the news... :) Anyway, my bank account is a little less empty today. I finally got my housing deposit refund back. I don't plan to use it. Hopefully it can stay there for a bit, but it's nice to have something to fall back on.

Once again, I realize just how helpful 4-H was in paying for my first year of college. There was a scholarship I applied for - a $500 scholarship which was to be announced at the livestock show. They didn't call my name, and I figured I didn't get it. They called back later to say they'd given me $750 instead. Plus, the two lambs I sold through 4-H added nearly another $1000 to my bank account. That money has not run dry until now. Blessings, it's true - my family and friends have been such an enormous help - otherwise it'd have been gone ages ago. But this year I'm acutely aware that that extra help from 4-H won't be there. Still, I'm quite grateful for all they've done for me, and won't hesitate to recommend that avenue to anyone else looking for great experience and college help.

I finally found out how much reporting will pay for next semester. (See how much I care, that I haven't even asked until now...?) It's not as bad as I thought it was. A body can't really live on it, but it's a help. Also, for this summer's work with city council, I have been promised a pirate name forthcoming. In some ways, a pirate name is worth more than a paycheck to me.

For those of you who don't quite get what I'm talking about, allow me to explain. The Journal is sort of like a pirate ship, called the Redden Black Pearl, or the Jour'Nal if you like. Non-paid reporters, photographers, and anyone else who volunteers, are deckhands. Everyone who recieves a paycheck is crew. As such, crew (and sometimes deckhands) have pirate names, given to them by the Captain (the operations supervisor). Richard, the art editor, is Blood. No one ever calls him Richard. Kenzie, the editor-in-chief, is Caesar, and we also have Rote, Ziffel, Elwood, Aussie, Square, and a number of others. Note that the piraticalness of the name isn't as important as the fact that the name should fit the person. Ok. Get it? Back to my commentary.

Ever since I stepped foot in the Journal and began reporting, I've wanted a pirate name. Why? Well... it's not the name so much as the acceptance and acknowledgement of belonging that comes with it. I want a name so that I can proudly display it on my computer and say "see? I really belong here! I'm one of you, now!" And maybe it doesn't really make any difference to them. But it sure will to me.

Anyway. That's my overlong, overhashed blog for tonight. Due to the excessive consumption of caffeine, I believe I shall partake of my most recent acquisition from the city library - a book which comes highly recommended by my dad - "Raising the Stones" by Sherri S. Stepper.

Goodnight, folks!
Updates as they come!

--Anna Grace

A productive member of society...

Right. Well... I obviously don't have an actual job yet for the summer. I was hoping to get a job with Turn Community Services. I went in for the first interview and got a list of the things I've got to do in order to work there. Food handlers' permit, CPR and First Aid Certification, background checks, fingerprinting, TB checks, etc. All of that is fine and dandy, and necessary for the protection of the people Turn serves, but for those with limited time, it's a bit of a challenge to pull it all together quickly enough to make a paycheck count for anything. I have applied and will continue to apply at a number of other places.

In other news, an irritation. Aaron, who we all know was planning on getting married in December, pushed it up to June 11. Which I have no problem with. Lauren is awesome, and if he hurts her, she'll beat him up. The thing I take issue with is the lack of communication. It bothers me that he never told me. I mean, I can't go - it's gonna be them and two witnesses in front of a judge or whatever, but it's still nice to know. Maybe this is just the journalist in me. Maybe I'm just getting nosier than I need to be, but I'd have liked to know that my brother was getting married in a month. I'm sure he'd have told me after the wedding... It's not a huge issue, it's just a little niggling regret that I'm not as in touch with my family as I'd like to be.

Anyway... city council meeting was nice tonight. Fairly quick, with lots of hugging. It was fun to watch. Hard to write up though, since there wasn't really much of a direction to it.

I spoke to Bethany and Anna tonight, and it really was the highlight of my day. Well... I didn't actually talk very much. I kind of listened to them. Man, I wish I had a sister. I want to go to Indiana and visit them.

So a productive member of society... really, I'm not one yet. But someday I will be... :P Look forward to the day, because that's the day I'm too busy to torture the world with my blogs...

Ta ta for now!
--Anna Grace

The latest headlines...

This week's big news! I passed the written driver's test and finally am legal to drive for a while. I still have to take the actual driving portion to get my license, which I can hopefully do before (or on) May 22. Why this date? I shall tell you. This is the unhappy portion of my news.

My grandpa is not doing well at all. He is 91 years old and he says he's ready to go home. My mom has scraped together whatever she could find and is going home to say her final goodbyes. She's leaving the 23rd and I'm needed at home to take care of things while she's gone. This is one of my mom's worst fears starting to come true. She's afraid she's going to lose both of her parents so very quickly together - and I think she's right, because my grandma just won't want to live without grandpa.

The day she comes back is the day my dad leaves for Phoenix or somesuch place. He'll spend two weeks training there, and then six more weeks in Salt Lake before finally hitting the road.

Anyway... that's the big news for now. Stay tuned for further developments...
--Anna Grace

Final grades and other things.

Okay, so today I got asked out again. And I think my head's been screwed on backwards, 'cause I kinda said yes. Why, you may wonder, do I bother to set myself up for failure and disappointment, particularly because I seem to be a cold, heartless machine without the capability for emotional attraction or even the barest hint of any kind of romance? Well... go ahead and wonder, 'cause I sure do, too. Perhaps I'm still clinging to some vague, pathetic hope that someday I'll be normal. Really, I don't want to be the way I am. I just can't really help it. He's a nice guy and a good friend, but I'm the world's worst girlfriend. Really.

Anyway... in other news, I checked my final grades today. And received absolutely astonishing news in the form of a D in my math class. Before you freak out about such a low grade, you should know that this is astonishingly high for what I had expected to get. I was positive that I would fail it, and thereby spend another semester as a freshman. Instead, I passed and as of today, I'm a college sophomore. I have survived my first year! Can you possibly understand how wonderful that feels? No, a D isn't a great grade. But it is a passing one, and I survive to work hard another day. Wooohooo! In other grades, I received an A in Journalism, an A- in Spanish and a B- in English, which isn't bad considering that I only made it to class just over 50% of the time.

Other elations today include Journalism, because as of today, I've got a computer at the office with my name on it, not just your standard reporter-row computer. Ok, it hasn't actually got my name on it - yet - but it will. The only thing I lack now is a pirate name. Which I have been craving since the day I set foot in the Journal. Anyway. I covered city council tonight. It was long. And boring. But it gave me about a six-hundred word story, which isn't bad. I also took super-awesome photos of Manzanita being gutted and readied for demolition. They should show up online as well. Woot! Summer paper is up online as well, if anyone wants to go have a look. It's at suunews.com.

Anyway, that's all my news for today! More updates later.
Ta-ta!
--Anna Grace

Ta-da!

I'm finally all moved in! Hooray! I just need to paint my mural and do the borders now. After Angie gets back from Disneyland I'll have to ask her to take some photos of it. I'd rather she have the whole card for Disneyland photos. They're leaving this morning.

I got a fish yesterday... because I love fish... I'm not sure what kind it is. It's kind of gold-ish, silver-ish with a kind of slight green tinge to it. Very pretty. I love that I can have a fish in my room. I have two pets now! Tovie really needs a bath. Dane slobbers all over him and it sticks to his puppy fuzz like glue. I think I'm going to clip him this summer because he gets so hot. I tried to teach him to play fetch yesterday, but Dane wouldn't let him get the ball. Dane's a weirdo...

We planted a lot of things yesterday. All our seeds for our vegetable garden that we'd been planning... they pretty much all died in the seed tray, so we're just going to get the already-sprouted planters. Joe, Jeremy and Jason are putting in the sprinkler line, and Angie and I planted a row of shrubs yesterday. Very pretty. But it means Abba Zabba can only come out on a leash, considering his penchant for munching down anything that looks slightly green.

Oh yes... other news. Remember my hair? All brownish-reddish-blondish and long? I chopped it off.

All gone! I'll get some better pictures of it later, since phone-cameras aren't all that flattering... But I can't believe how much lighter it feels! I actually think this could be the shortest I've ever had it... I like it, though.

Anyway, until next time, cheerio!

--Anna Grace