Randoms

I know, I know... I said I would blog more. I think I feel that every time I blog it needs to be EPIC. (Speaking of which, I'm in the mood to watch epic movies- a la Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings... This is probably because I'm trying to study for a test I'm taking tomorrow. Which is also probably what drove me to post tonight...)

Anyway, today's post is part of a new blogging tactic.

My undergrad is in public health, a field I absolutely LOVE, by the way. I get pretty excited when public health issues arise, which may seem a little morbid when I'm fascinated by things like e. coli outbreaks and swine flu.

Along that vein, I still can't get over the fact that today I saw a man doing this

in front of this

I was going to take a picture, but I couldn't figure out how to do it discreetly.

On a completely unrelated note, since grad school I have felt out of the loop as far as news and events go, so since last week I have started reading the news while I eat my dinner. I found this today, and I'm sharing it even though I disagree with the contents...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38347400/?GT1=43001

I know, some judges' rulings are hard to believe... :) Well, back to studying!

Baby's All Grown Up

So, I'm awful at blogging. Already! But rather than put this at the end of the line of previous blog posts I created in my mind without actually posting, I wanted to announce that this kid graduated. Yup. Baby of the family graduated- as valedictorian and senior class president- and now he's heading off to BYU TOMORROW! I can't believe he's old enough to do all this, but he is.
I've been home the last few months, and so I've had a blessed opportunity to spend lots of time with Jeff. We even went running a few times a week at 5:30 in the morning. That lasted only a few months, but it was fun.
Moving home definitely is not what I planned, and now I'm gone again, but I see that time as a gift to reconnect with my family again. It was particularly special for me to become friends with Jeff and see him not as the little kid, but as a young man getting ready to go off on his own. I'm impressed with the maturity I see in him. He'll have lots of growing experiences ahead, but he's a steady kid, and I'm proud of who he's become. Sure love this kid. And no matter how old he gets, or how much taller he is compared to me, he'll always be my little brother.

P.S. I'm at USC, and I've been living in LA for a week! Complete craziness, but it's an exciting adventure learning to adjust to everything. More pictures and stories coming soon. Hopefully sooner than it took me to post this time. :)

It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life...

For years I've thought about blogging. It sounded fun and they look adorable. But I just didn't think my life was exciting enough to frequently document it online. So I remained blog-less.

But then I came across some really neat blogs- all about people with simple, ordinary lives, made cool by their own, well, for lack of a better word, coolness. In the last six months or so, I've kind of become addicted to blogs. I've probably read YOURS and LOVED it.

The other day a friend (with a lovely blog herself) suggested I start my own in order to document my adventures in grad school.

The idea stuck, so here I am. And so I begin with a quote from "The Lord of the Rings". I love the montage in "Fellowship..." when Bilbo is describing the seemingly quaint existence of the Hobbits. You can watch it HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSqnWkblOoA

Feel free to hum that lovely tune for the rest of the day. Welcome to my simple life. And yes, I do believe in celebrating it. :)