New Moon

Like I said last week, I'm figuring on reading one Stephanie Meyer book a week, which means that this past week I read New Moon. I didn't have to read it all in a couple of days this time. I read a little each day until Friday night and Saturday, when I read the bulk. I liked it. I don't know if it's as good as Twilight was, but it still had a definite pull on me. In fact, I kind of feel guilty for reading because I'm sure I could have done something better with my time. I have come up with a goal to help me not be so guilty of wasting my time this week - I'm going to try not to read unless I'm working out. The bad thing is, I won't start that goal until tomorrow afternoon. I will probably read for awhile in the morning while I wait for my roommate to get back from her bike ride, at which point she and I will waste a lot of money to go to a Cornish restaurant in Phoenix to try pasties. Maybe I will let you know how that goes. I also need to finally buy a bed tomorrow - it would be nice to have one.

Obsession

I started reading Twilight last Wednesday evening, and - oh no!! - I am obsessed. I have been hearing from people for a long time now how good they are, how you can't put them down once you get started, and now I'm living that reality. My friend let me borrow it Wednesday. I took it with me while I worked out and got about 40 pages in. When I entered the exercise room there was a girl on the elliptical. As I sat down on a bike, she noticed the book and exclaimed, "Oh! You're going to love that!" So, maybe the book's not that evil because it helped me make a friend.

I couldn't read Thursday because my little brother and sister moved to town (Yea!! Welcome, you two!). Friday night I just wanted to read, and I was up way later than I should have been getting a couple hundred pages in. Saturday morning (okay, so late Saturday morning - when I finally got up) I told my roommates that I HAD to finish that night. I knew I had to because I knew that if I didn't finish I wouldn't be able to think about anything else on Sunday, and Sunday is not a day to be thinking about vampire romances.

I went to a birthday party and a couple of friends had me over for dinner, but the time surrounding these activities was spent engrossed in the novel. Fortunately, I did finish last night, but man oh man, I feel like I'm going to be no good until I just get it over with and get the rest of the series read. I don't see myself being able to do more than one a week, due to a full-time job and various other responsibilities/activities, so I feel like life will be a meaningless blur to me for the next three weeks, outside of the time I am able to read. I will be like Bella, who hazes her way through moments without Edward, always waiting for the next opportunity to be with him.

Uggh!! It's not like the book was a brilliant work of literature. It's just a teen romance. It reminded me of A Long Fatal Love Chase, by Louisa May Alcott, which is one of her not-so-great novels. You just love it because it pulls you through an adventure, with exciting happenings in every chapter. And, like my friend Lu told me, "I know why girls like it!" It's every girl's dream to have a gorgeous, dangerous dude who loves you and just wants to protect you, even though you're just a normal girl, with nothing special to offer. So it feeds into our fantasies.

It doesn't help that I've had a secret crush on vampires for a long time now, either. I think it started with seeing my high school's production of Dracula. I even used to dream about vampires occasionally. So, though I have never read a vampire book before, I was fairly certain that I would enjoy Twilight. I just didn't bargain on getting so sucked in.

I feel kind of guilty spending my whole weekend reading a book, but I do have to say that it was a relaxing way to spend it after the first week with my students. So, way to go, Stephanie Meyer! You've got me hooked.

And, p.s. Lu - anytime you want to have that chat just let me know - only I might not be available for awhile, for obvious reasons (for you, though, I think I could make an exception).

What a Week!

Okay, first of all, the layout to Blogger is a little different - I don't like change, so that was a little upsetting. Second of all, I have to get up pretty early again starting tomorrow because it's back south I go to teach. Last week was full of teacher meetings at the main cite, which I live near, tomorrow the kids start, which means I commute around 45 min one way. Which means that I should have been in bed an hour ago, but I was panicky, so I stayed up and had some fun with my roommates. I would love to blog in greater detail about my adventures from the past week, but since I don't have time, I will list them:

Wednesday
Eat yummy dinner prepared by Friend
Get caught in major monsoon with Roommate and Friend while wearing bad sandals that tore up my feet (I hoped we wouldn't get struck by lightening, which happened to a small boy at the same park recently - thankfully, we didn't get struck)
Spent an hour to go what normally takes 15 min in trying to drive home from Friend's - the roads were flooded, several cars appeared to have flooded engines.
Arrive at home to find electricity out - yea for candles!

Saturday
Wake up feeling sick
Sister and Brother-in-law come and make yummy breakfast
Go to Sam's Club
Go to dentist for annual checkup and 6 month cleaning - find out dentist wants to remove old filling because he's sure there's a cavity under it
Get home for Missionary meeting a few minutes after the others have arrived (thank you for letting them in, Roommate!)
Get a massage from a male massage therapist (I hope there's nothing morally wrong with that!) - I felt very relaxed after, which was nice, for a change
Eat at a ridiculously expensive fondue restaurant with Roommate

Sunday
Speak in church, which means I spent the time leading up to that talk feeling crazy nervous, but that's to be expected.

And, I also watched part of Jim Henson's Storyteller series, which was great! I love Henson!

Tender Mercies

So little to write about, so much time to write it in . . . Wait! Strike that! Reverse it!

The care-free summer life of Jamie has ended and the normal work-life begins again tomorrow. I should be in bed now and not typing (thank goodness I don't have to drive to Sahuarita in the morning - we're meeting up here), so the many things I would like to blog about will have to wait. P.S. Wish me luck getting back into the swing of things - I never like this part.

Instead, I will just say that the Lord is good. He loves me. Yea! Today the talks at church addressed a question about being worthy to enter the temple. I have been feeling quite guilty about many things lately, so I was dreading the talks. Oh great! Now I'm going to feel awful and I won't be able to sleep or live with myself!

Boy was I wrong! When the guy who gave the last talk got up, I was really dreading hearing from him. He's an amazing speaker, but I was worried that when he talked about worthiness I would just feel horrible. I was tempted to get up and take a long bathroom break, you know? Anyway, Speaker must have been inspired because he gave an amazing talk. As he started into it, I quickly realized that this was not going to be a guilt-inducing talk, but on the contrary, it made me feel like I've been looking at things all wrong. By the end I felt so hopeful, and I was wanting to believe that I really can be perfected in Christ. I felt like it was very much what I needed to hear. And from what I gather, there were a lot of people in the congregation who felt the same way.

It was a tender mercy of the Lord, and I am grateful for it. Heavenly Father's plan is perfect. Christ's atonement is real, and I can come to Him. Isn't that amazing? I am unworthy, but I should remember, like Nephi, that "nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted." I hope that you trust in Him, too.

Yea! Devin's Home!

After two years of serving the Lord in Colorado, my little bro is back home. My sister and I went to Yuma on Friday, and then the family and a few others went to the airport to meet him when he arrived that evening. He looked great, and it was so fun to see him and hug him and welcome him back. I feel like I have a lot in common with him and am way excited that he will be living near me. I told him that I expect to see him weakly, at least, and was very happy with his response - "Of course! We're family!" He said it like it was stupid for me to think I should need to tell him I want to see him on a regular basis - I'm glad he feels that way about spending time together.

There is nothing more important to me than my family. I just wanted to say that. I think my dad would question my feeling that way in high school, but I think they have always been most important to me. My bff's in high school and I always had an understanding that if something family was going on with one of us, that would come first. You might not believe me, Dad, but it's true. And, in retrospect, don't you agree that I really didn't spend that much time away?

The entire family was together Saturday and Sunday, which was nice. I wish we would have arranged to have pictures taken. We hadn't, so after we got home from church on Sunday, I asked everyone to move to the backyard, where one of our neighbors took some pictures of us. I think my sister and sister-in-law got better ones, but I only have mine, so that is what I will post. This weekend was the first time the whole family, including in-laws, have been together, and it probably won't happen again for a long time, as my brother and sister-in-law are moving far away soon (good luck!). So, what I'm wanting to say is that I am glad for the moment this weekend, and WELCOME HOME, LITTLE BRO! (And aren't we a handsome family?)

Happy Birthday Roommate!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear roommate!

Happy birthday to you!!

As you might notice, it is 2:00 a.m.! I did not stay up on purpose to be able to dedicate a song to my friend on her big day (sorry Roommate), but my mind is racing, and I got tired of laying there in bed (obviously not tired enough, though). When I was young, I had a difficult time falling asleep at night. I remember many a night getting up after everyone else had gone to bed to check on everything. I would make sure the doors were locked, I would tuck my siblings in their beds, and sometimes I would sit outside my parents bedroom door and cry because I was awake and everyone else was asleep.

For several years now I haven't had a problem falling asleep, and I decided that my insomnia was cured. However, nights like this remind me that I might not be better. I normally run on so little sleep that by the time I lay down at night it takes no time for me to go out. That's the way I like it - not the dead tired feeling, but the easy time falling asleep part. While I've been on vacation this summer, I have gone to bed way too late every night, but then I'm able to sleep in the next morning. I've been doing that shamefully lately. I think I've been getting enough hours, though, because when I go to bed at night I lay there and think for a good while first. Well, tonight I got fed up with waiting, and I remembered someone telling me that if you're not asleep after 20 minutes you should get up and do something and then try again. That's what I'm attempting. Hopefully it will work.

In the meantime I really do wish my roommate a very happy birthday. I won't be able to spend it with her, but I hope to make it up to her next week. I know the picture is scary, too (I mean, I look scary in it, not Roommate), but it's the only one I have of the two of us (and I'll have you know it was before a themed dance - I'll let you figure out the decade).