To Do:

Eat. 
Sleep.
Exercise. 
Go to work. 
Do my laundry. 
Write short story. 
Write in my journal. 
Go grocery shopping.
Read 4 YA lit novels.
Great Grammar Grapple. 
Revise assignment sheet. 
Work on Scholarly Notes.  
Spend time with my fiancé. 
Unit Plan (for 3 classes).
Catch up on reading journal. 
Research Paper - 12-15 pages.
Do about 1,000 pages of reading. 
Write another lesson plan for Crowe. 
Call my Grandma who lives by herself. 
Email my parents (on a mission in Kenya). 
Should have a nephew born this week as well. 
Get around to doing my wedding registry - takes forever!

I guess this SOL became a list of the most important things I have to do this week. Should be a fun week. :)

24


Two dozen.

Solid even number. (I don't like odd numbers...)

Almost a quarter.

24 hours in a day.

Weird TV show called 24 that people become obsessed with.

24 hour fitness.

Some weird law in Denmark about marriage at the age of 24.

4X6 = 24

Macey's is open 24 hours a day (thank goodness).

I can't say much more about the number 24. I've never been a math major.

However there is something about 24... hmmm... oh yes. I'm 24 now.



So what did I do for my birthday?

I went to school and then to work. After work I was ready to just relax, maybe watch a movie or something. I don't get off work until after 9:30 at night so I didn't have much time before bed. My fiancé and I went over to his apartment and as we were pulling into the car park I saw something that piqued my curiosity. I saw someone who looked incredibly like my sister and who had my sister's guilty look. Then I noticed another of our friends pulling up on her mo-ped...

So I walked up the stairs and came into a surprise party! We even got my parents on FaceTime for it. They are serving a mission in Kenya currently but I was able to talk to them for my party. It was so fun!

So I guess I'm old now.

The reason why I'm old is because my very first day as a 24 year old I had the most epic fall down the stairs ever. It was hilarious but also sad because no one saw me knock myself out. That was the one drawback. :)

LOST:

You know those days when you feel that sick horrible pit in your stomach that comes when something horribly, terrifyingly, awful has happened that cannot be changed. 

Sort of like the way you felt when you first were caught stealing food...

Or the way you feel when a police officer pulls you over and you know you were speeding and that your license has expired...

Or how you felt when you hit a baseball and it smacked your little sister in the face...

Or when you find your teddy bear ripped to pieces and covered in mud because you have an evil dog...

Or when you admit to cheating on the calculus test... 

Or like when you are at work and you go to happily fill up your water bottle at the fountain and look down only to notice that you no longer are wearing a very important piece of jewelry...

Yeah, my week was like one of those days...

BIRD'S CUSTARD, EXTREME TRAMPOLINE, AND FEELING TRAPPED.

Yes, my past few weeks have been quite interesting.

The first exciting thing that happened was that I found a precious golden treasure at Macey's the other day when I finally went out grocery shopping (literally for the first time in weeks).

What treasure did I stumble across?

None other than the most amazing British Custard brand there is!!! Bird's!!! It is brilliant! Pure, undefiled brilliance. Absolutely lush.

The only issue was the price... As a starving uni student I used every ounce of willpower I posses and did not purchase the treasure.

We shall see how long my endurance can last....

Another exciting thing that happened in the past few weeks was that my fiancé and I went to a great place called 'Extreme Trampoline'. It was incredibly fun!

First we went off the trapeze into the foam pits. Then we did rock climbing, tumbling, trampolines, and all kinds of other fun things. We even did a little bit of jujitsu. 

Finally, I was sitting in B150 of the JFSB (every class I am in this semester is in that room) and I drew something that reflected how I sometimes feel when I sit in that room for too long. 

It is a very good thing I like my classes this semester. 

Today is a sad day. It usually is though on Tuesdays for me. Not every Tuesday, but about every other one. The reason is that I teach at the Missionary Training Center and English speaking missionaries only stay about 12 days. This means that every other Tuesday or so I have to realize that I'll possibly never see those Elders and Sisters ever again.

Last night I had to say goodbye to a district of six elders who are going to serve in Kansas and Colorado. Today is a momentous day for their lives, an exciting day. They get to meet their trainers, go to their first area, and possibly even have their first real lesson. They begin today to experience helping others grow closer to their Savior. They get to go out and do what they have been looking forward to for so long. I am happy for them- even excited! But still I miss them when they leave.

A new district comes in tomorrow. I will love them too. They will teach me and help me to draw nearer to Christ and I strive to help them understand the fundamentals of what it means to serve others out of pure Christlike love.

Yet in only two short weeks they too will leave. They leave to go and serve. The only things from me that go with them are what little they learn, and the prayers I pray for them and those they teach. I know they do not go alone.

 This is the first of my slice of life posts and basically I don't know what I'm doing. How do we give someone just a slice of our life? Life is so complex and multilayered, it's hard to know just what to share. This is my attempt.

Photos have always spoken a lot to me - I think I should be a paid Facebook stalker I'm so good at it. I just love how photos speak so much about an individual personality! It's fun to get to know people through snaps of their life.

So this SOL is going to be a photo essay. I hope you enjoy.

My name is Ruth, I really like my name. When I was little I would write it all over everything... even the couch...

My little sister Rachel has been my best friend since she was born.

However, I do like my personal space. No touchy.

Training horses is a huge part of my life.

I grew up working on a farm and you 'can't take the country outta the girl'!

This is the first horse I trained, her name is Scarlet.

I like taking photos of eyeballs because I feel like they really are windows to the soul.

...and I tend to have republican sympathies. :)

Harry Potter may or may not define my fantasy life...

I served a mission in the wonderful and wet motherland of England and Wales!  It was here that I came to see how the gospel of Jesus Christ applies to every single life, not just my own.

It is beautiful there! The people are truly incredible. 

I love having fun, sometimes a little too much...

I am strangely obsessed with sunsets, sunrises, the moon, and the sky in general.

Where my life is at right now is the most exciting thing to happen to me though. I am engaged to marry my best friend. Dreams really do seem to come true. I can't wait to face the challenges and the joys that will continue to come in my life.

I guess simply put, my life is defined by hard work, fun, faith, and a desire to continue to be who and what God would have me be.
It's a good life.