I'm still here

So, uh... how is everybody? I'm still alive, in case you were wondering. I've been so busy that I have not had the luxury of blogging. But this weekend is General Conference and I have no other obligations today.

Nothing much to report on for the last month. I've just been working and school-working all the time. I got a job at the Museum of People and Cultures here at BYU as a collections aid. Right now I am working on doing inventory for lots of collections that we have in storage. Really exciting, I know. But it's only a block away from my apartment, and I get to set my own hours.

My classes aren't hard, but they are time consuming. This semester is hardest I've ever had as far as time management. I have just enough time between class and work to get my homework done for the next day, but I have bigger projects coming up that I need to make time to work on and it is really hard to do it all.

I try to make time for some fun every so often. I always watch the football games and I'm on my ward's Ultimate Frisbee intramural team. My ward has had several activities and I've made lots of friends. I was able to attend the Relief Society General Broadcast last weekend and saw some friends from home there. Earlier this weekend I drove down to Saint George, UT, with a friend to support some Jerusalem friends who ran in the St. George Marathon yesterday. We stayed with my Aunt in Toquerville then went into town to watch everyone finish. All our runners did well despite the rain that came down virtually the whole race. My cousin Tom Gatten was also in the race and I saw him too. After the race we watched the afternoon session of conference before heading to the new In-N-Out Burger in Washington, UT. For three of us it was our first experience and I must say it was a good one! After that we all headed back north. It was nice to get out of town, if only for a day!

I added a new picture album of recent doings including the birth of Carson, reunions, India Fest, and other activities I've been up to. Enjoy.

Reunions

The last two weeks of August were super busy. I worked extra hours at my job, visited some old friends, and then the fair started. When I wasn't at work I was at the elephant ear booth working, so there were some looooong days. The next Monday my sister Sarah had her baby. His name is Carson and he was 6 lbs 7 oz and 18.25 in long. I was having my last day of work and training a new girl when Sarah left me a message that she was in real labor. Mom and I headed over to the Valley Hospital as soon as I got home from work and the little guy came only 2 hours later. I got to be there for the whole thing. Sarah had an epidural and felt nothing. She went from a 5 to a 10 in 10 minutes and got him out in about 3 pushes. No sweat, literally. Mom made sure to tell me MOST deliveries don't go that smoothly. He's really cute and looks just like his big sister.

I was very happy the baby came on his own on Monday instead of Wednesday because then I was able to leave on schedule for Utah on Wednesday. I packed all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning and then Grandma Blackburn and I headed out Wed at lunchtime. We went as far as Uncle Gary's in Rigby, ID, then continued the rest of the way on Thursday to Mapleton, UT, and Uncle Don's house. They let me stay a couple nights because I still had nowhere to live. A while ago I did but the landlord sold my contract before I had the chance to sign it. Friday I kept checking and finally snatched up a spot close to campus. The downside is I can't live with my friend Diane like we had originally planned. Another stressor was we found out our dog Annie had cancer. We had her home another week before she could no long eat or function so we had her put down the day I left for school

Friday night was our big Jerusalem Reunion. The "first couple" of Jerusalem, Kristi and Davey, was married and at least 50 of the 78 students made it to the reception. All the teachers came too and it was a great party. After the stress of homelessness and doglessness and new babies it was great to just have fun with my friends. Saturday morning I had another small reunion, this time with Nauvoo friends. Seven of us went out to breakfast and it was so much fun too! Four of the group have just got home from missions so I hadn't seen them in 2 years or more. I'm very excited to see many more who have returned home from their missions and will be around campus again. Seeing Jerusalem friends is like meeting up with best friends. Seeing Nauvoo friends is like meeting up with family. Saturday afternoon we had another smaller Jru reunion. Some kids organized a bbq before the game.

Saturday was the first BYU Football game! We played Northern Iowa. We didn't play too well, but still won easily. They'd better step it up for the ULCA game coming up soon. No more fumbles. After the game I finally got some groceries, then I went to the weekend swing dance with the swing club. I haven't danced any swing in 8 months, so it was fun to see all my dancing friends and cut a rug for a while. I'm a little rusty, but it's like riding a bike-- you really don't forget.

My reunions continued on Sunday. I left church a little early so I could ride with Uncle Don and Aunt D'Anne to take Grandma down to Aurora, UT, and Uncle Brett's house. We had a family dinner and Uncle Scott and his family came too. Neither Brett or Scott came to the family reunion this summer, so it was fun to see them. I love reunions. Nothing can raise my spirits as fast as seeing someone I love!

This is enough for one sitting. I'm hungry, my battery is dying, and I need to buy books. I'll update you when there is something new to tell.

Jinxed

So much for bragging rights. I got a sunburn the next day. I finally had my big garage sale and the temps got up to the high 90's. I stayed in the shade most of the day, but obviously not long enough. I got it bad on my forehead and neck. It was pretty tender, but now it's feeling better already. But my forehead is peeling. Gross. The garage sale went fine. I practically gave a lot of stuff away. Gosh, people can be such garage sale snobs. I tell them something nice, like a stuffed animal or a new pair of shoes is $1 and they complain and ask for 50 cents. I always said "sure" because the point is to get rid of stuff, but it surprised me how cheap people are, even at yard sales. You really get to see all kinds of personalities though. There are the people that don't even get out of the car: they just drive in, crane their necks out the window to scan the merchandise, then pull out again. Then there are the nice ones that get out and walk around forever, then leave with a nod and a thanks. Then there are the greedy ones that aren't satisfied and ask if we have more in the shop in back, and when they do find something they want they ask to get it at at least half of the already ridiculously low price we gave it. Then there are the ideal customers that come, find something they like, ask the price, give a reasonable counter offer, pay and then leave with a smile.

Today is my mom's birthday. The kids at church guessed she turned 24. She didn't correct them. If she's 24, that means I'm still an egg. Happy birthday Mom.