I just finished reading For All the Tea in China, How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History. Good book, both entertaining and educational.

Just a few things I've noticed since school let out for the summer:

• blue skies
• clouds
• wind
• trees-green trees, pink trees, white trees, just so many trees everywhere
• the sound of the wind in the trees
• gray hairs
• my husband
• books
• my weight - uh oh
• my house - yikes, what a mess!

I can't describe the astonishment and joy I feel while noticing the world around me. Have the skies always been so blue and the trees so green? I don't remember. School has been my world and everything else has been crowded out. It is such a luxury to actually see things. I want to soak in every minute I can and enjoy every experience I can before school starts in the fall. And once I'm back in the daily grind of homework and papers and tests, I want to remember how to see, even when I don't have much time to look.

Summer Bucket List

As the spring semester slowly came to an end, I made a list of things I would like to do during the summer. Free of school obligations for a whole three months (and suddenly it feels like a very long time to be out of school), I realized that I would have a lot of time on my hands and I wanted to make the most of it. Here is what I have so far:

1. Read as many books as I possibly can for both entertainment and enlightenment.

2. Work in the garden. My tomatoes usually do not get the attention they deserve. This year I will have no excuse for not having a bumper crop. B. S. (Before School) I made colorful garden charts and elaborate plans about what I wanted to plant and where, complete with seed starting charts and planting dates and companion planting guides. Nowadays, I start the seeds in March and if they survive until May, we will have fresh vegetables. If not, there is always next year.

3. Cook healthy recipes. When school rolls around, I just throw things together and call it a meal (or my husband cooks). I have a subscription to Cooking Light Magazine and this summer will be a good time to eat healthy and try new recipes.

4. Watch movies. I will watch The Lord of the Rings as many times as I want to and not worry that there is something else I should be doing.

5. Spring hiking trip. Well, it is probably too late for this to happen. March through May are the optimal months for hiking in these parts. By June, it is too hot, humid, and insect-ridden to be worth the trouble.

6. Clean house. The down-side to no summer school is that I will no longer have an excuse for not cleaning house regularly. I wonder if it is too late to sign up for a summer class?

7. Organize files, paperwork, school stuff, etc. Again, is it too late to sign up for summer school?

8. Read through the two foot stack of magazines that have been accumulating for the last two semesters. So what if it is all old news by now.

9. Write resume. No comment on this subject just yet.

10. Go to the park. We have a park with a small lake and numerous gardens. A botanical center is currently under construction. The entire park is staffed by volunteers only, and if I ever have time I would like to join the effort.

11. Have a tapas party. I have wanted to do this for a long time and if it doesn't happen this summer, it probably won't happen at all until I after I graduate.

12. Learn to speak Spanish. I know, this is a big one. I don't mean that I will be able to speak all that well by summers end, but I have to get over the fear of opening my mouth and allowing Spanish words to come forth. I just spent sixteen weeks writing in Spanish constantly. There is no reason why I shouldn't be able to speak a little, as well. I just need to get over my inhibitions, make the effort, and let it happen.

So, where should I begin? I have so much time on my hands that I don't know what to do first! I was so relieved when school ended last week, but now I'm a little overwhelmed by my freedom.

Grades were posted yesterday, and I made A's in both classes. I was so excited! Even though I only had two classes this semester, both were extremely time consuming and challenging. I learned how to write in Spanish and how to write book reviews for history, both important skills for the remainder of my classes. I've been feeling quite burnt-out for a while now, but I believe the success's of this semester have helped in keeping me motivated to continue the journey. I'm already looking forward to what the fall semester will hold, and hopefully my summer break will leave me rejuvenated and ready to jump back in and finish the race.

Dead Day Party & Initiation

This is my version of Aimee Semple McPherson at the Dead Day Party last Friday for Phi Alpha Theta. It was the Friday before the party when I found out it was a costume party, so on Saturday I rushed around to costume shops only to find they were closed. Luckily, I found an old clothing store downtown that had a preacher's robe, so come Friday afternoon a asked a co-worker to put my hair up in a bun and I was all set to go.

This was the first activity of the history honor society that I had been able to attend and I was quite nervous because I knew it was likely that they would all be strangers to me. And they were. I met Amelia Earhart, Lizzie Borden, Al Capone, Annie Oakley, Amelia Bloomer, and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few. I'm not sure of most of the real names of the attendees. The party was hosted by a history professor who is also a sponsor of the club. I was a little disappointed that none of the professors that I have taken were at the party, since it would have been nice to have a few familiar faces at the party. It was not to be, but nonetheless I'm glad I finally had the time to go to an activity. I met a lot of interesting people and hopefully I will have opportunity to get to know them better. The most exciting thing for me (besides being initiated into the honor society) was meeting students older than I am!

Today I took my last final. It has been a hectic few weeks and I haven't had time to do much of anything except study. So now the verb test is over (50% improvement over the first one), all the papers and book reviews are written, and finals are over. It is such a relief, and I'm so excited to be free for the summer that I feel like doing a happy dance. And yet, somehow I feel a little down. I'll miss my Spanish professor, who has been nothing but encouraging to me all semester. I'll miss the young girl who I have now had two Spanish classes with and will probably never see again as she is off to another city to go to school in preparation for medical school. So many people pass through our lives never to be seen again.

This was meant to be a happy post about going to a party and meeting new people and successfully completing another semester, but instead it has turned a little maudlin. I will return when I recover from the post-final crash.

Weekends never turn out according to plan. We took care of all the errands Saturday morning so I could have the entire afternoon to study. Instead, we spent the afternoon taking care of the baby. I'm not complaining, mind you, it's just that every time I think I have things under control, it turns out that I don't.

I spent today reading the last few chapters of our history text book, then began reading the book for my next book review. Somewhere between rounds of Spanish homework, I have to get this assignment finished, preferably by Saturday so I can move on to worrying about the verb test that I have to take shortly after the book review is due.

I feel like I'm babbling. I guess that's just how I feel with only three and a half weeks remaining in the semester and so much to do. I'm counting the days till summer break!

Well, I can finally come up for air. The essay, the article synopsis, and the final Spanish composition are all complete. Now I can breathe. Not that the game is over; I have five more weeks to go, and there is still Spanish homework a-plenty, four more tests, and another book review to complete. But summer break is in sight and I am thinking about taking absolutely NO classes. My last break was summer 2008 and I think I am due for a rest so that I can have the stamina to continue for another year and a half. I can't stop thinking about all the things I can do during the summer!

Things I Did During Spring Break

Thursday - Last day of school before spring break. Made it through classes despite loss of sleep due to baby arriving at 3:44 am. Turned in Spanish composition and took history mid-term, which was blue book. Note to professor: 40-something hands don't like to write for 1 and 1/4 hours. It hurts.

Free to spend time at hospital staring at baby, no homework worries, total freedom (almost, because Spanish homework has to be done sometime before the end of spring break. But not now.)

Friday - Visit baby. Don't think about school. Eat. Play on facebook. Begin Happy Aquarium competition with my stepson, who has his computer at the hospital so he can post baby pictures and feed his fish.

Saturday - Beautiful spring day. Still not thinking about school. Can't remember any Spanish words. Went to the little boys gymnastics, went shopping, went to see the Corpse flower, ate, shopped some more, ate some more, went to see the baby, all without once saying to my husband "I can't, I have to go home and study". Sigh. It felt absolutely wonderful.

Sunday - Another beautiful day. Tried to read a book just for fun. Couldn't concentrate. Beginning to think about history paper. Ate. Played on facebook. Completed mastery of peppers. Fed the fish. Worked in the yard for the first time this year. Took the shears and trimmed the lilyturf plants so that the crocus's would be visible. Weeded the garlic. Husband found flower bulbs in the garage (didn't have time to plants them last fall) which were sprouting in the package, so planted 70 bulbs. Don't know how if they will bloom, but at least they are in the ground now. Worked up an appetite so I ate some more. Could no longer stand not doing homework so I read the next chapter of my history textbook and took notes in preparation for the final exam in May.

Monday - Unable to lift coffee cup to my mouth due to gardening adventure on Sunday. Still able to use mouse, so fed the fish and harvested the crops. Still could not stand not thinking about school, so I began reading the autobiography of Aimee Semple MacPherson, my character study for history class. And make no mistake, she was a character.

Tuesday - Still so sore I can barely walk. Still thinking about homework, so continue reading autobiography. Came home from work and found a huge box of popcorn on the porch. Ate a bowlful, complained to husband that we need to get it out of the house before we both gain 10 pounds. He said that popcorn is mainly fiber so we will probably lose wait from eating it. Find fault with his reasoning but continue to eat popcorn just in case he is right. Getting really sick of feeding the fish, and besides, I am now a level ahead of my stepson and have begun to lose interest in the game. Not that I am competitive, or anything.

Wednesday - Still too sore to move. Refuse to think about Spanish. Begin reading a gardening diary by John Evelyn, edited by "garden and plant historian" Maggie Campbell-Culver. Decide I want to be a garden and plant historian when I grow up. Played on evil facebook. Utterly sick of the fish.

Thursday - Sold most of the fish in the afternoon. I needed the coins anyway so the little boy can buy whatever he wants for the fish tank (not real money, the line has to be drawn somewhere). Beginning to dread my Spanish homework. Worrying about my minor and my fall schedule. Bought a bunch of fish in the evening( I was so close to the next level!). Quickly regretted it. My stepson and I continually tell each other that we only keep the stupid aquariums for the little boy. Right. Ate some more popcorn. Have not yet lost weight due to popcorn consumption. Husband promises to take the rest of the box to work so as to get it safely out of the house. Remembered I have a blog.

Friday - Took the afternoon off from work and decided not to feel guilty about it. Started my tomatoes and peppers in peat pellets. Pulled two old Time magazines from my TBR pile. Old news by now, but as I am a history major I don't mind reading old news. Picked up the boy for a sleepover. Still not losing weight from eating popcorn, so I moved on to chocolate. Winter has returned, snow flurries.

Saturday - Took the boy to gymnastics, then to a birthday party for twin girls from his preschool (where he proceeded to ask their mother for her phone number so a sleepover could be arranged for him and the little girls), then quickly moved on to Penney's to get his five-year picture taken. Took him back to his father, who had the nerve to ask if he needed a nap. I needed a nap, but no one asked me.

Watched the latest Star Trek movie. Didn't quite make sense to me but I enjoyed it anyway.

Sunday - Worked hard all day avoiding Spanish homework. Finally gave up and spent 2 hours getting it done. Have to admit that party is over, and so is spring break.