thanks

Today, I am grateful for bus drivers who have compassion and slow down/stop for you when you're running after them.

(Yup, I almost missed the bus this morning. Pretty sure I looked ridiculous, running as fast as I could while loaded down like a Sherpa. It was already a later bus than I normally take because I was still working on getting my stuff ready when I needed to leave for the earlier bus. The later one still gets me to class on time, but I like to have time before class to chill and work on school stuff.)

Today, I am grateful that whatever sickness I thought I was getting over the weekend did not spill over into this week.

(I may have only gotten about 2 hours of sleep on Thursday night because of a lab report that was due on Friday. If you ask if it was worth it, I'll probably say no...but the perfectionist in me had to keep on going so I wouldn't have to turn it in late. I miraculously stayed awake - and actually got stuff done! - at school and in the library until about 1 that afternoon, then headed home to nap. We went camping with the ward at A.W. Marion State Park on Friday night. We had a blast, but it was a bit chilly. That was expected, so I had plenty of layers, but I was worried with all my sneezing on Saturday that I was coming down with something. I wouldn't have been surprised because of the lack of sleep combined with the cold. Fortunately, whatever it was wasn't quite as bad on Sunday, and I'm feeling even better today.)

In spite of stressing out over my exam tonight (which I should probably be studying for instead of writing this...but I did study for a while, so I'm taking a break from that for a minute), today's been a pretty good start to the week. :)


Addendum:
Today, I am grateful for people who wear funny shirts that make me laugh while walking around campus.

(I was on my way to a aula de Português today when I saw a guy with this on his shirt:

It took me a second to realize what i was - longer than it should have - but when I did, I really did laugh out loud. I'm sure the people around me wondered.)

Today, I'm grateful for exams that are not quite as difficult as I expected.

(Read: I psyched myself out. That chem exam I was studying for? I need not have worried. I was super stressed about it because I didn't get/make the time to study for it over the weekend. I probably could have reviewed even less than I did and still done ok. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I felt pretty good about it when I turned it in - good enough to text Brian that I thought I tore it up. I suppose we'll see for sure when I get the results back...)

oops

I unwittingly let a wasp (or similar insect) free on the bus today.

While I was waiting at the bus stop, I saw it snooping in my tote bag, probably around the tupperware from my chicken enchiladas. (There was one hovering around me while I ate lunch outside, so it didn't really surprise me.) I had a while to wait, so I pulled out my chem book to catch up on a little reading. I didn't notice, but it must have stayed in my bag. Soon after sitting down on the bus, I noticed that the man next to me was staring intently - first at me, then at the window, and finally the ceiling. I followed his gaze and discovered the offending bug. I had registered some movement near my bag when it flew out, but it wasn't enough to make me stop and wonder what it was. Anyway, my seat mate seemed pretty anxious about it but didn't say anything. Eventually, it flew to another section of the bus. I figured it would find some way out, and I think it did finally follow someone out the door.

No harm done, I guess.

Portuguese

Brian and I had this conversation the other day. It might only be funny to those who speak Portuguese, but I found it amusing and thought I'd share. :) (I suppose I could always explain it.)

Brian: Te amo.
Amy: Te amo mais.
Brian: Did you just "sh?"
Amy (sheepishly): Yes.

the five little peppers and how they grew

Apparently I'm way too proud of our garden and have to keep posting pictures of various plants we've managed to grow. :) These little beauties have been adding some flavor and spice to our meals for probably 3 months now. At some point, I decided I wanted to can some of them to make mild pepper rings. We have no idea how they turned out because they're supposed to sit in the juice for at least 3 weeks (from what I read), but at least I know the jars sealed even though I was improvising with canning equipment (that's another story altogether). Other than that, we eat them in our chicken curry or pasta sauce or give them away to neighbors and friends.

sweet banana peppers

red chile peppers (mighty spicy, even when they're green)

Funny story (it wasn't at the time):
When I was canning the pepper rings, I mostly put the sweet banana peppers in. However, I decided to try one jar with a few red chile pepper rings (1-2 peppers). After cutting them up, I touched the corner of my eye without even thinking. I think I had even washed my hands, but the oil from the peppers was still on them, so my eye started burning. I figured I should probably get my contacts out ASAP, so I headed upstairs. At that point, I knew I should wash my hands really carefully before attempting to take them out. What I didn't know is that apparently the oil doesn't come off that easily (even after wiping my hands really well on the towel). I managed to get one contact out, but that eye started burning almost immediately after touching it to grab the contact. I had tears streaming down my face and was practically bent over in pain, and I still needed to get the other contact out. Obviously, at this point, I knew I wouldn't get the other one out without a struggle, but I didn't know of another way to get the oil off my hands. After waiting a couple minutes for the pain to go down, I unsuccessfully went for the other contact. Since it didn't come out, I had to wait again before the next attempt. I think I got it out on the second try, but by then I was bawling and whimpering. At some point during this whole ordeal, Brian called to tell me he was coming home, and I had to run downstairs, find my phone, and try not to sound too upset/wimpy. I've decided that I essentially sprayed myself with pepper spray, and I don't think I ever want to be in a situation where that happens for real. My eyes eventually felt better that night, but I think they were red for at least a couple hours (and I actually kept feeling the burning on my fingers for a while because I think some of it got under a few of my nails).

P.S. I threw those contacts away.

flowers

I've been meaning to edit and post these pictures for a while, but I make all sorts of excuses. All but the last picture are the dahlias (from seed) we planted for a fun little experiment, on a whim. I've actually already ripped them out (all but one, which we had previously relocated to our neighbor's plot, hehe) because they were so huge and crowding out everything, but I definitely had to get pictures first. The last one (a bunch of little white flowers) is actually from one of our onions. I thought it was interesting and cool.

Welcome to my lovely garden. :)