Valentines

I just went to Kroger to get some of those cute little valentine cards and candy heart boxes for my community group tonight.

When I was in the valentine aisle I saw a mom with some kids and I was just remembering how fun it was to do it all when I was little. I loved making my little "mailbox" that we got to put on the desk for all of the incoming valentines from our classmates. And then of course we would get home, sort through and pull off all the candy, and have little treats for our lunches for weeks!

So all you parents out there....just know that the dollars you spend on unnecessary things like valentine cards (that will ripped away from the candy and thrown away) are not dollars wasted. Your kids will look back on those memories -- of going to the store, picking out the "in" cartoon valentines, the popular candy, writing all their classmates' names on them, and taking them to school. And when they remember all that, I think they'll smile. Just like me right now. :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Jamaica, Florida, and Snow!!

It seems like it's been ages since I last made a post here.

A lot has been going on (is that new?) but, as always, I'm enjoying the challenges and joys that every new day brings.

Just a few days after my last post, in mid-December, I submitted the first of two applications for major national study abroad grants. I submitted the second yesterday, which was a big relief because I'd been working on it constantly for over a month and have been under a lot of pressure to make it competitive. Trying to juggle that along with the workload for my 20 credit hours this semester has been challenging at times!

I should find out which scholarships I've been awarded in mid- to late-March, so I'll keep you posted.

Winter Break was great - although it did go by pretty fast. I got to spend a lot of quality time with family-- in Sacramento, Chico, and Medford. It's hard to believe how fast time flies...every time I see my siblings they've grown another foot! Quite literally, too. I'm now the shortest in the family, besides nine-year-old Raam.