The Gulf

I haven't been able to stop reading about and watching the stories about Hurricane Katrina and the affect it has had....the affect it will continue to have. I just read about and listened to a man named Harvey Jackson. The water split his house in two. In the middle of the split was his wife. He was holding onto her hand to keep her from going into the water, but he couldn't hold on anymore and neither could she. She told him to take care of the kids and grandkids and then the waters carried her away. He hasn't found her yet.

I can't imagine being in a situation like that. It feels strange that I'm just going to school while people are still sitting on their roofs hoping someone will come along to save them. I guess it feels that way because we haven't talked about it much. I think only in one class, and that was yesterday. I don't know what it's like not to have water with water all around. I feel trapped for them so I know I can't fathom what they're really feeling.

Leave a Comment

I hate to admit it

Today I contemplated a wheely-pack. I know, but do not be alarmed just yet. It was a temporary weakness. One that I quickly overcame as soon as I put my bagS down...yes, bags...and the 6 text books that one of them contained, really only 4, I carried the other two in my arms. It was heavy and I wanted to crumple. As the elevator carried me to the fourth floor of the library, the load became so much from the down-draft force that I leaned over. The only thing I could think of was a handle upright at my side and the convenience of wheels underneath the weight. I trudged my way to my favorite cubicle in the corner, between two windows, and finally put everything down. The notion subsided and I am again in my adamant position on the side of packs that go on your back.

Leave a Comment

Wedding dresses and slouching

I was just looking at a picture of Jake and I on our wedding day, mostly noting my dress...the one I cried a little in as soon as I got out to the big mirrors and knew it was just right. When we drove from the church to the temple, where the particular picture I was looking at was taken, my dress was piled in so high that I couldn't see the dashboard underneath it. I would really like to have my dress weighed. It was a two piece...about halfway through the ceremony I wanted to just sit down because my skirt was so heavy it felt like I was breaking in half at my waist. It's so fun to be there in my memory and living the life that day led to now in reality. That day I wore a dress that was a size 2 but cost about $300 dollars extra in alterations to be made a lot smaller. I won't mention the exact size of the jeans I tried on today but was relieved that they were still a bit too big, though the size just lower were quite snug. I was proud of my self control after dinner when I passed up the ice cream.

I have terrible posture. It's something I've been trying to deny for a very long time...whenever people start becoming concerned with how someone else is standing. I know why. My torso is very long, and while people have constantly been telling me to stand up straight, they were also, until quite recently, telling me to pull my shirt down. They couldn't have it both ways, so slouching it was (if I stood up straight with my shoulders back, my shirt went up a few inches). I have tall girl syndrome at the soaring height of 5'3 1/4." I'm really working on it. If anyone knows where to find long shirts that aren't button up, I'd really appreciate it, so would my back. I'm glad that really long shirts/camis with sweaters and shrugs are trendy now...maybe I can keep 'em in for the next few decades or so. It would be very nice.

Oh yeah, and Jake and I got our books for this semester, which I'm really excited about it starting. I have 12 books so far for my classes, but I still need to get one. Yipee! I feel like I need a locker in college. That might be the role played our car, Lucy, strategically placed in a "legal" parking situation along my way...which will be hard because all of my classes ended up being in one building...maybe I can make a cove in a corner or something.

Leave a Comment

Nauvoo

Jake and I just got back from a four day excursion all around Missouri and Illinois and a little bit f Iowa. It was a church history trip and I'll have to say, it was amazing!

Nauvoo is on the banks of the Mississippi river in Illinois. It was established by the early Latter-day Saints and at the time rivaled Chicago as Illinois's biggest city. People around those parts didn't like the "Mormons" much and mobs and violence eventually forced the decision to move west (how so many came to be in Salt Lake City) to have a place where they could peacefully practice their religion. They left about a year and a half after the Prophet, Joseph Smith, was killed by a mob in Carthage jail (about 20 miles SE of Nauvoo). It was also just after they had completed their temple there. They all worked together so much as well as sacrificed so many of their worldly possessions to build the temple. The temple was destroyed not long after they left. Just a few years ago the church rebuilt the temple on the exact site and just exactly how it was, despite a few modern conveniences. It was beautiful. I was so touched by the feeling of being there. Some of the houses still stand and have been restored and made available for touring. It was so wonderful to walk where the early members of my church have walked, to be inside the homes they built. I can't imagine what that must have been like. There is a grove of trees at the bottom of the hill that the temple sits atop. They used to have meetings in the grove when the weather was permitted. There was a certain reverence that was so peaceful. I was so glad that we were able to go.

School will be starting back in just over a week. I'm glad for it. I love school, I just always get a little sad when any sort of break is over because I love being around Jake. It's hard to get out of the habit of being together all the time.

Leave a Comment