Before the Month Ends

I don't mean to scare you all but there are only three. months. left. in 2015. Today is the last day of September! Ahhhhh....

Since it's the last day of September I decided to finally finish my paper. I told myself a month or so ago that I could buy some yarn once I finished it. And it still didn't get done until now. Yeouch. The yarn is for somebody's Christmas present, and I thought I better get started on it. That's the main reason I finished the paper today. (Instead of two months later, I guess.) You should be proud of me. This is the first time I've bought yarn since last November. I mean, I've acquired some since then, but I didn't pay for any of it.

Now I'm sitting here wondering what else I'm going to write about...what have I been up to?

Well, there's always school. It's still going great, I'm really enjoying it! Our class was cancelled yesterday though, which was sad. The plot outline for a short story is due tomorrow. I don't think I've ever written an outline for a story. I don't know where my stories are going until they get there. I like it that way. But I have to do it anyway... It's the poetry I'm really dreading. Except for the fact that I haven't let myself think about it yet. Not for a month or so...I shouldn't worry about it right now.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started last night! It's in its third season now and we've been watching it from the beginning. It's hard to tell how good this season will be since we've only seen one episode, but I'm still excited about it. As the weeks go by, we'll see. I will probably stick with it no matter what just because I love the characters.

At The Moment

I'm lying down on Khyrstyn's bed with my head propped against the pillow (and with the way I did my hair it's somewhat uncomfortable) and underneath a warm, fuzzy blanket. It's a bit warm for that, but when I take it off I get kind of cold, and I like the cozy feeling that being under covers makes me feel. And I'm drinking out of a water bottle which can prove quite problematic when you're basically lying flat on your back. Don't worry, I only spilled it on my face. And my face dries.

I spent the last half hour looking at hat patterns on Ravelry. I want to make myself a slouchy hat. I have my Midnight Fog hat, which I love, but I don't feel like I can wear a snowflake hat in September. Maybe October (though I don't want it to snow in October, by any means), but I don't think September is right. Not that it really matters much since I probably won't knit this hat until after it snows anyway. I might push it off until it's too hot to wear hats-who knows? But it was an enjoyable half an hour of looking at hat patterns.

(I was going to add a picture of my snowflake slouchy hat for good measure, but Khyrstyn's laptop apparently doesn't want to let me. I might add it later...)

Ta-da!

Miracle Birthday

Happy 11th Birthday Mary Ann!!!!!

Yesterday was Mary Ann's eleventh birthday-eleven years since God blessed us with the gift of Mary Ann. I was only seven when she was born. I didn't fully realize the seriousness of the situation when she was in the hospital. But now that I'm older I look back (often with tears) and praise God for his grace and mercy. For his gift of life.

For Mary Ann.

Her birthday three years ago...

I stole this picture from a two-year-old post on Katherine's blog.

She's still quite the Bears fan.

So cute!

I found this picture on the computer and I just had to post it. All that cuteness!

I can't seem to find any recent pictures of her, but these are all so cute that I don't think I need to worry about it. :)

Writing I Can't Ignore

This has been happening to me more recently than ever before. I'm reading along in a book and I reach a place where I have to stop and write down a certain section or quote. The words and the way the writer put them together just grab me in a way that I can't ignore.

Here are two such quotes that I read in my Creative Writing textbook this last week or so:

"The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbors, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all." ~ Voltaire

"The book is a thing in itself, and it is not me. There is no ego in it. I am glad that you sense that while I am in it and of it, I am not the book. It is much more than I am. The pictures have come to me out of some hugeness and sometimes they have startled me. But I am glad of them." ~ John Steinbeck

Grown-Up Sister

It's fun being a big sister with a driver's license and not too many demands on my time. I was the assigned breakfast maker today. But last night, I decided that it would be more fun to drive to Dunkin' Donuts at seven in the morning and buy pumpkin munchkins instead of making something lame like oatmeal.

So when Mom woke me up at seven this morning, I started a donation drive for munchkins that was somewhat successful (Thanks Mom, Katherine, and Anna!). That's okay-the Shorts gave me a Dunkin' Donuts gift card for my graduation-munchkins on me! Katherine wanted to go with me, so we left at 7:30 for Dunkin' Donuts (when breakfast is technically supposed to be done). I bought 25 chocolate munchkins and 25 pumpkin munchkins. And then I bought a pumpkin swirl iced coffee for me. It's hard to go to Dunkin' Donuts without getting a drink of some kind. (#$1smoothiesonMondays! Too bad I missed it this week, but Johnathan made banana bread and then Mom made Tres Leche Cake. Anyways...)

After we had our munchkins, I started the bread for lunch. (Somehow I got stuck making breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. Well, I didn't do a lot of work for breakfast.) And filled up the soap in the kitchen. Then I drove Stephen to work, picked up some eggs and milk at Aldi, and drove back home. Since then, I've loaded the dishwasher, wiped off half the table, swept the kitchen floor, and now I'm blogging. I'll have to get off soon to start the eggs boiling for egg salad. I just took the Belgian molasses bread out of the bread machine; egg salad on Belgian molasses bread is one of the best combinations in the world.

Lest any of you reading this are freaking out about me calling myself grown-up, rest assured. It made for a nice title, and I am eighteen, so technically, I'm an adult. But I don't think of myself as a grown-up. I know I'm growing up, but haven't I been doing that since I was born? I think I want to always be growing up. Growing up entails learning more about yourself, others, and the world around you. Don't I want to be doing that for the rest of my life? Besides, I'm not sure I ever want to be a grown-up. Being an adult is fine with me. But I always want to be somewhat of a kid at heart.

Happy September!!!

How the heck is it already September? This year has gone by way. too. fast.

But I'm glad that it's September. Fall is my favorite season. I know I've talked about this before, but I could mention it every autumn. I know it was hot today, but last week it was cooler, and I can begin to imagine the beautiful fall weather that I love. One of my favorite things in the world is lying under the covers with the window open, feeling the cool breezes blow across my face. I think if I could live my whole life like that, I would. Of course, then it wouldn't be so special.

Then there's all the bundling up. Sweaters, socks, mitts, everything. I'm a knitter. I live for these things. I've been spending the last few weeks imagining all the sweaters I'm going to knit (and the shawls...), and how I'm going to put them together with this outfit and that outfit. Yeah, I've been thinking about sweaters in the dog days of summer. I can't help it. I'm a knitter. It's like it's ingrained in my being. I think about wool all. year. round. And oftentimes, I knit with it all year round. I'm a knitter. That's how I roll.