It is way too hot to go outside these days. "Lost" is over and "House" is repeats, so here I sit with no motivation to do anything except be lazy and indecisive and eat chocolate ice cream. I registered for the fall semester over two months ago, but part of it was tentative. The two certainties are Intro to Historiography and The Ozarks in American History. I also signed up for Hispanic Cinema, not because I wanted to but because I thought it would not be in my best interest to have a semester with no Spanish. I was hoping I could muster some interest in this class, but so far I have been unsuccessful. So, today I registered at the community college (from which I graduated last year) for an English class on Children's Literature. Now, I'm not all that interested in this subject either, but I have to take something. If I'm going to graduate next year I have to take at least three classes each semester and my choices are limited. All the classes I take from now on need to be upper level classes. Also, I need one more class to complete my fine arts requirement and the literature class will take care of that, but the cinema class will not. I do enjoy children's books and I look forward to once again experiencing the convenience of an online class. Although this is not my top choice for study, I feel confident that it will nonetheless be a worthwhile learning endeavor. At least, that's what I am telling myself.

As for my summer to-do list, I don't think I've made much progress. I have watched a few movies and read a couple of books. I've done some work in the yard and cleaned house. I haven't disciplined myself enough to keep up with Spanish like I should. But I have done a few fun things, just because I could. I'm enjoying my time off this summer, but I'm also looking forward to the beginning of a new semester this fall and all the new adventures it will bring. Someone please remind me of this when I start complaining about school this fall.

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!