Midterms

I went to a good friend's wedding this weekend. I suppose a wedding can count as a kind of midterm. You've been molding yourself with special characteristics through this life, hopefully ones that will blend well with someone you choose to spend the rest of it with. The great middle ground is the wedding day. The test? Will everyone make it out alive!


This one was no contest, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. Katie was beautiful, her husband was 10 ft. tall. She had to tilt her head expectantly and wait for the kiss!


As any good friends do, Annette and I heard all about pre-wedding planning and anxiety. I was worried I would find Katie is a state of near hysteria-or at least developing the early awakenings of her very first ulcer. But, no! In fact, I believe she is my idea of a perfect bride. She was well aware that her D.J. was a middle-aged woman whose hair declared her to be an '80's enthusiast and whose musical selections reflected as much. However, she was content with the evening and her self, without exuding an over-bearing sense of self-importance. As the dance floor opened up for all married couples Katie wondered, "Now, where is my husband?" (1st, but certainly not the last time she'll say that. Also, hint: check the bar.) Then, her eyes lit up and "I have a husband!" was her simple and satisfied pronouncement for the evening. I still get goose-bumps as I remember how happy they were.













Speaking of goose-bumps . . . here is a seasonal piece that a few of us wrote at F.H.E. last night (Lyrics written to replace those for the song Part of Your World, The Little Mermaid):

Our theme was Slasher Films--

Look at those knives
& all their sheaths
That stupid girl's just under those sheets!
Wouldn't you think she could hear . . .
The sinister breathing?

He's done slashing and hacking aplenty,
He's got a mad obsession with gore.
If it's goose bumps you want, you'll have plenty.
But, who cares?
No big deal
Where's the gore?!?!

I wanna see where the crepos are
I wanna see
Wanna see em killing
Lurking around in
(what'd call it?) 0h- plain sight!
With romance you don't get too far
Kinves are required for slashing and hacking
Cutting up girls who are
(what's the word again?) Blonde.

Out where they hack
Out where they lurk
Out where they kill all night in the dark
Creepy & sick, wish I could watch . . .
slasher movies.

Lyrics by: Nicki, Kim, Luke, Trevor and Elder Anderson (I won't tell the mission president, if you don't.)

Happy Halloween!

PS I just finished my Computing Foundations Midterm, and I can't think of anything more horrific . . . I definitely deserve a treat.

Phil Came to VISIT!!

Anyone who knows me knows how exiting this is! I miss the boy too much to express, and while saying goodbye never seems to get easier it will always be worth whatever time I get with him.

We had a great time while he was here and I'll share my favorite pictures and favorite stories.


On the Saturday after his arrival we helped a friend of mine host a Latino celebration/carnival for her work group. We had a great time, but apparently I did not understand the fundamentals to the three-legged race. Check out that bruise! It wraps around the front too. We also learned to dance the salsa, Phil is a master in the making.






My roommate gave us a hot tip on an apple orchard where you can pick as many apples as you want and only pay 10 cents a pound. So on Monday (or maybe Tuesday) we hopped in the car and headed out! We got 6 1/2 pounds, a well spent 65 cents. The apples seem to have discoloration on their skins, and Phil suspects some sort of mold in the after math of the floods. But, it wipes right off and the apples are yummy.



Phil made a special request for "Nicki mashed potatoes" which apparently included a country gravy. Don't ask me, I have no idea. But, what the man wants the man gets . . . I guess he wasn't kidding. That pile is half the plate! (P.S. After all the fuss over the gravy I had to remind him it was there, you know, in case he wanted some. ;) My favorite part was the Cajun chicken he whipped up. Delicious!



I wanted cake so we baked a yellow cake with vanilla frosting. We ate a little (it was 2 am by the time it was done) and went to bed. I covered the cake with a towel so it would not dry out. The next afternoon I was making lunch and asking Phil what he wanted. He came to stand by me and leaned on the "counter." He put his hand on the towel and rested his weight into the cake! He, he, he, he. I think this is so funny! In the picture you can kind of see the towel-patterned hand print. He, he.


On Friday my roommate Amy and her date let us crash their party and carve pumpkins with them. It was so much fun!! Our perfectionist natures showed themselves and we were only able to carve one in the time it took them to carve two, put we're rather proud of that jack o'lantern. We put a flashlight inside to see what it would look like . . . pretty scary.






Now, I'll end with my favorite story for the week. There is no picture because I didn't have the heart. One morning I woke up and checked up on Phil on his Coleman air mattress (what a trooper). I asked him how he slept. He reported that he didn't sleep well because he was cold all night. In his groggy voice and with a groggy face he informed me that he was just too tall for the blankets I had put on his "bed." What? How is this possible? I made one of those blankets myself . . . "See. My feet stick out the end." Yep, folks. Somehow during the night he had managed to turn all of his covers horizontally across the bed. Poor guy. I tucked him back in properly and didn't laugh until later! I must be the best girl friend ever.

Field of Dreams!

Here are some pictures from this grand adventure!!

To the right is my roommate Amy. Yep, they've added a baseball concession-stand-style gift shop next to the charming, white picket fenced, farm house.

"If you build it, they will come" . . . oxygen tanks and all! Adorable!!

Here I am, testing the corn-y air, James Earl Jones style!

Here Kendra (a good friend) is just taking a picture. But, Amy knew what to do to create the perfect shot.

What wonders do beset my eyes? And they can be yours, all yours! for a small fee.

Last, but not least . . . Country Junction! It is absolutely the only place to eat, dah-ling, after the Field of Dreams. (But, really. It's the only place.)

Sigh . . .

As some of you may know, I was able to take a fairly impromptu trip home!!  My classes are held on Wednesday, Thursday and every other Monday.  With a Monday off approaching I figured I could skip out of town for the long weekend without doing any harm to my studies.  I was right!

I left on Thursday (Sept. 11) after my night class.  I drove from 8:00 p.m. straight through the night and morning to arrive at my parent's house around noon on Friday.  My family then drove me to SLC to have lunch with Phil.  I was so happy, and I think my family and Phil enjoyed making fun of my delirious, sleep deprived state.  I saw no one but Phil, his family, and my family . . . and it was just what I needed.  I miss Phil terribly and living in Iowa makes me feel a bit trapped and a bit unconnected.  I know there are lots of people who will be upset when they get this news, but I only had 3 1/2 days to soak up my boyfriend.  I am so lucky to have so many people that love me . . . and I will insist on seeing you all in my month home during winter break!  (Including Nikki Barkume, who is due to arrive Thanksgiving week!!!)

After my trip home, I became less bitter with Iowa.  I think I may even actually like it. ;)  Iowa City has a charming feel, and it's nice to be surrounded by so many green and growing things.  Fall weather has set in, but the trees are still very green.  It's a bit strange.  I'm used to more fall colors by this time.  And, it's chilly.

I certainly love my little singles branch.  I feel so happy with all the people.  The are all very quirky, but they are also very loving and accepting and not afraid to do the Lord's work in all its variety.  It is refreshing to be among them.  If the Lord has brought me here for a purpose, it may very well be this love-filled Iowa City 3rd Branch.

I am learning quickly that all I need to learn in this diverse field of librarianship will never entirely reach me through my course work.  It is a dually frustrating and invigorating discovery.  I wish my instructors were giving me more, but there is also an under lying challenge for me to find the information and opportunities I need on my own.  And, as a Library and Information specialist the skill is a must.  So, I guess in a way, this program's lack is providing the impetus I need to develop necessary skills that may have gone under nourished.  You never know, I may just conquer the world yet.

PS  My roommate, Amy, and a friend Kendra went on a Tuesday's in Iowa trip to see the Field of Dreams movie site.  How funny is that?!?!  It's still there, looking creepily the same as it did in the movie.  Ah, Iowa.