Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A Short Auto-Biography

The funny thing about blogging is that when I'm not doing it, subjects, ideas for posts, and inspiration to write abound. However, just as soon as I decide to start doing it again, I can't remember what any of them are, and nothing new presents itself. So, today, while I sit here listening to Christmas music on Pandora, I'm going to tell you about me. Please ask any questions you may have.

I am a twenty something student at a relatively well-known state university. My major is in environmental science with an emphasis in natural science. I start back to school in a week and a half and will graduate with my BA in June.
I am fully convinced that September is a good time to start listening to Christmas music occasionally at home, but get ticked off when faced with Christmas decorations and music 24/7 in every store on the first of November. Wait until after Thanksgiving at least.
Some people would characterize me as deeply religious, but I don't like to classify myself that way for reasons that are way too complex to delve into at the moment. That said, I am a christian in the trying to be Christ-like sense of the word even though I don't like the culturally prevalent sense of the word.
When school starts I will be taking 17 units and working 2 jobs. This is fairly normal because I find that if I do not over commit myself, I slack off and get less done. Chances are good that I'll write something about both jobs and the classes at some point. For now I'll tell you that I'm taking intro. to soil science, water resources, principles and applications of bioremediation, and elementary French. The only one I'm really nervous about is French. I work as a sales associate at a well-known chain and will be grading for the environmental economics class.
I own (well, the bank does) a third of a small house where my sister and I live during school. We bought the place because we couldn't afford apartment rents at places that would allow the dog. That's the housing bust for you. Unfortunately, our air conditioner is not working so it is currently 90 degrees in here. I'll open the windows as soon as the sun goes down and it isn't even hotter outside.
Meanwhile, I'm going to go pretend the bathtub is a swimming pool.

Oh, the marmalade is made. It is very marmalade like. I shall tell you more about it soon.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Lemon Marmalade


My parents just returned from a quick trip north and brought me a lovely surprise. A whole bag of lemons from my grandmother's tree. I'm going to make and can lemon marmalade.

This should be a bit of an adventure. I've never canned anything before and certainly never made jelly. It should be exciting though. I've been on a bit of a domestic kick lately.

Further updates as events progress. I'll try to take pictures. Nevermind, my camera is at other-home, so I can't. Instead I'll try to find pictures I can pirate.



Photo Credit: My sister, Blessed, at A Blessed Crazy Life

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Grace


As a teenager, my family often called me Grace. They were mocking. I was anything but graceful. I was clumsy and awkward. Like many teenagers, I tripped over my own feet, ran into walls, dropped half the things I touched and was generally a walking disaster.

I'm no longer a teenager, but I am still not graceful. I'm awkward and clumsy, though not to the same degree as then. But more than that, I'm selfish and impatient. I can be demanding and sarcastic. I've learned to put on a good front and keep the snide remarks internal, but that is not grace.

However, my life is a many years long example of God's grace at work. I strive to be what God wants me to be and that includes being graceful, maybe not physically, but in my actions and interactions with others.

For these reasons, I have selected Grace as my display name.

The story behind my blog title and url is a little more complicated; it involves late nights, sleep deprivation, much laughter, and a simple statement that got taken far beyond it's original meaning. Perhaps one day I'll tell it, but not tonight.