Still alive and babbling

Wow, hi. Yes, I am still alive. I have been swamped with school work the last few weeks, and then vacation, and then sickness ... and of course the new blog was the first thing to slide. It is almost September, people. When did that happen? It seems like the year just started. I think it is a getting older thing -- a year just doesn't feel as long as it used to. I am not liking this being five months away from turning 26. Not one bit.

I still haven't gotten the new camera yet. I think I am still going to wait a few months for it. Being an adult and being responsible with money sucks. They don't always go hand in hand, but I am trying to get them together. You might think of me as a brilliant matchmaker of sorts.

Anyway, the trip to the East Coast was decent for the most part. We didn't get into the city like we'd wanted because of rain. In fact, it was chilly and rainy most of the time we were there, to the point that we were really hoping for sun. And when it finally got sunny toward the end of the nine days, we were just stunned at the humidity to the point where we almost would have preferred the rain. We did get to visit Luray Caverns in Luray, VA which was just awesome. It was my second time going, and it was just as fantastic as the first. If you have never been there, you really should make an effort to see it if you are ever in the greater Washington, D.C. area. We also hiked around Swallow Falls State Park in very western MD. It is a very nice park and it is always a good bit cooler in that part of the state. With the high humidity, though, being able to splash ourselves with the cool water was a welcome relief.

Being home this time was different than the other times I have been home in the three and a half years I have lived out here. I think that, for me, the novelty of Las Vegas has faded away. While at my parents' home in Maryland, I found myself really wishing I lived on the East Coast and wishing that we had never bought a house in Vegas. But we are planning to move away from here around a year from now, housing market willing, so I know that the end is in sight. For now, I am grateful to be in such a magical and different part of the country and to be so close to so many things. There are still so many places I want to see out here.

Now, we are back in Vegas and I am gearing up for a full-time semester. I am taking fifteen hours, which I haven't done for a few years. I am a bit nervous about it, especially considering I have never taken more than three classes at a time online. But thinking about finally (FINALLY) having my B.A. next summer makes me want to plow ahead. The thought that I will be 19 hours away from my degree after this semester is really quite pleasant.

Anyway ... to keep this blog rolling along, I am going to snag Karen's blogging project of sorts, which she got from Bella Dia, which was inspired by Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Basically, it will be an encyclopedia of my life, running from A to Z. It is hard to say when I will get to Z, but at least it is a blogging project I can work on for some time to come. Look for A soon.