Cactus, Book, Mess

I have walked past a small group of 2-4 cacti that have intrigued me. I finally gave in and took a picture with one of them.

I've kissed a cactus! Who else can say that?? This was the best way that I could think of to show that this cactus has somehow lost every single one of its needles. This is just unnatural so I think some landscaper got paid to pick them off one by one. I'm not an expert though. Is there any way that this could've occurred naturally? Those needles are supposed to protect it from predators, like me.

Last week was screen free week and I thought that I could do quite a bit with that as long as I still did homework and what not. Well.... today my huge project was due and it was much larger than I had anticipated. I spent all of my free time last week working on it. To help keep me from getting distracted, Tim spent time with his brothers, seeing friends, working, helping others with yard work, and playing video games. He had fun and I missed getting to spend time with him.

I was thrilled to have it finished! For those who believe that gigantic papers in college is a myth... I wrote 82 pages and added an appendix after that. Yes, I wrote a book! I never thought I'd say that haha. You can look at it in a couple weeks after I get it back from my teacher if you really want to.

My time spent on the paper did result in our front room constantly looking like this. Usually there were more papers scattered around. Oh, and I sat behind the stool on the ground. Today I'll get it all cleaned up so it will be usable and pretty again.

Adventuresome!

This week (and last) has been somewhat eventful so I shall only share a small portion with you, in pictures!

If you leave dishes in the sink for too long, apparently a cup will get stuck inside the drain. We even tried using pliers to help pull it out but it stayed stuck.

 So Tim got his knife out and killed the cup. The good news is that we can now use our sink, the cup can be replaced, and that no one was harmed! :)

We took a video of it but I can't get it uploaded... Bummer. It was kind of long anyways.

 Ecuaco is now going to be graced with some of Tim's artwork! While going through some of his stuff that's still in boxes he ran across these pictures that he wants framed. Below is his rendition of Ammon defending the king's flock of sheep. I love the three playing happily in the background and the one near Ammon who's sticking out his tongue!

 This picture (sorry it's sideways) is a dramatized story from his mission. There were some really mean dogs so his companion and him would grab rocks to scare them off. In the dramatic version, he's the one rescuing the children from the savage beasts, of course.

We've started a garden!! The decision had almost been made before General Conference. Talks about self-reliance really finished driving the nail into that decision though! We've found lots of good reasons to start growing a garden, even though it's all in containers on our balcony.

Right now we have strawberries, cherry tomatoes, chives, carrots, and bell peppers planted. The strawberry plant we got already growing. But the carrots (below left) and tomatoes (below right) have already started small little sprouts :)

Little Things

Sometimes even the littlest things matter. This morning started out like a normal day: not ready to hear the alarm clock, drug out of bed, blowing my stuffy nose (allergies), kissing Tim goodbye, and getting ready for school and work. I love that I get to kiss him goodbye to work in the morning now! Anyways...
This morning at tutoring I saw 3 or 4 students already lined up to sign in for the room I tutor in when usually I'm the first one in there. This meant I had to scavenge for markers in the middle of answering questions since the tutors on Wednesday night find it amusing to gather most of the markers onto one white board. I'm also typically the lone tutor for this morning.
As I went to get my lanyard out of my backpack, I glanced at the little shelf that the tutors get to keep our stuff at.

I saw this little box there for me. My attitude about the whole day changed from so-so to happy :) All it was was a small gesture of gratitude for doing what I am asked to do, for being there and doing my job. I must say that I'm also grateful to this student. She didn't have to thank me or get me anything but she chose to anyways. She reminded me of why I've chosen my major and work at the jobs that I do work at. I want to help others directly, impact their lives in a good way.

Whatever it is that you do, thank you! There is a reason and you're needed. I think we should be more grateful for all the things people do for us, especially the little things.

Goodbye

Technically, I had to tell this family goodbye the week before. This week is when it really hit me. I've known them since my family moved to the valley a decade ago. I got to be a Junior Staff for Jayme at Cub Scout Day Camp's pool for 2 summers in a row. Those were really fun times! She's always considered me and a couple of my brothers to be her "adopted" children. A few years ago I was able to start seeing them on a more regular basis again to help out with their son.

They've help keep me employed in one way or another for quite awhile. This picture is from Summer of 2009 when they took me to Breckenridge. They're now living in Texas since Jayme got a new, better job there. It's so weird going home right after classes now and not seeing them. I also realized that the booster seat in my car won't be used for quite a few more years now. Goodbye Harris family, I already miss you guys!