i'm a natural.

this semester i am taking 7 classes for a total of 16 credits. when i have told people these numbers i have gotten responses such as ...

"are you crazy?!?"

"are you trying to kill yourself?"

"seriously?"

"you've obviously never heard about 'not running faster than ye are able' ..."

now, i didn't really think this was THAT many classes. i mean, i know it is more classes than i'm used to, but it seemed like a reasonable schedule to me. well, i must say, it is A LOT of work, but so worth it. i love taking classes that actually pertain to my major. they just seem more exciting. my schedule looks like this:

my monday's and wednesday's are pretty crazy, but the rest of the week is rather nice. i would have to say that of all these classes "clothing construction 1" is my favorite. i just call it sewing, it's an easier name. our first assignment (to help us get used to using the machines) was to make a pillowcase. i must admit that although my grandmother was an avid sewer, and my mother has sown quite a few of her own projects in my life, i am pretty much positive that i have never sown anything before this class. i was the "slow" kid in the class the day that she was showing us how to thread the machine and get the thread on the bobbin. i felt pretty silly, but after she showed me how i caught on pretty quickly. well, we had a total of 2 1/2 days to cut and sew our pillowcases. on the 1/2 day i did all of my cutting and then i sewed the entire thing on day 1. my teacher was checking out my pillowcase once i was finished and staring at me, looking (and sounding) rather astonished (probably because of my originally lacking skills) said, "you're a natural." i really wasn't sure what that meant, but now i do. "you're a natural" is teacher code for, "you finished so quick and did so well that now i am going to make you do twice as much work as everyone else in the class." haha, that is right. i alone "got to" make two pillowcases instead of just one. that was really okay though, i find that i rather enjoy sewing. it is pretty fun, and pillowcases are easy enough that they are actually relaxing to make. my two pillowcases are different from each other, but both wonderful. here they are:

my first one:

the red looking part is actually pretty orange but you can't tell from these pictures and, the second one:

the part that looks orange in these pictures is really quite yellow, i guess my camera isn't the best. so what do you think? am i a natural? either way i am pretty sure sewing is going to be my favorite class this semester!

scripture of the day:

"A temple is a retreat from the vicissitudes of life, a place of prayer and meditation providing an opportunity to receive inner peace, inspiration, guidance, and, frequently, solutions to the problems that vex our daily lives. A temple is a place where the divine spark in man, or the infinite in man, can seek the infinite in God." -Franklin D. Richards, "Happiness and Joy in Temple Work," Ensign, Nov 1986, 70.

today i am thankful for:

* the temple, and how close i live to one both in rexburg and at home.

* worthy priesthood holders in my ward who go to the temple at 6am so that we sisters can do baptisms.

* music, i have been trying to integrate my playlist of "love songs" into the regular music scene in our apartment and it is making people a bit more peaceful.

* my wonderful roommates!

* kyle and tyler, they are so great!

<3.