Time for a post?

So, I was overdue for a post back in February, but I just haven't had the time or energy recently to get a post on my blog.

First up, I decided that the Cake idea just wouldn't work. I spent all day one day making it, just to end up with a big (but still too small for a wedding) lumpy, lopsided, ugly disaster. I do believe that I could work up to getting a beautiful cake in May, but it is so much pressure that I don't think I want to with it. But, here's a pic of my disaster cake. (I still had a bit of fun with it).


Also, post disaster cake, was engineering week. This is a big thing that the sailing club participates in, in part to convince the college of engineering that we are some sort of asset. Through the generous time donations of club members, and my wonderful boyfriend, we "ended" the week with a nice rain gutter regatta. Branden stayed up with me the night before to help me finish the trophies. I think we did them in about 2 hours. I drew and cut the stencils, and he prepped, painted, and then cleaned each glass. It was a fun project to do together, and I think it's one of those memories that I'll just hold on to for a while.

That night, Branden and I were discussing ideals, and I mentioned that I would like to live in North Carolina sometime. In part so that I could get to know my family better, and so that I can write histories for my family members. One person I was really interested in talking to, and whose life story I really wanted to know was my Grandma Connie. She was 88 years old. I told Branden that there was no reason for a huge hurry though, because my grandma was incredible, and I just about believed that she would live forever. Little did I know though, I had already missed my chance.

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My Dad called me the following morning (Friday, Feb 19) to let me know about what was going on, and miraculously I was able to find an inexpensive flight to NC for the weekend. Friday I went to class, started to pack, studied for and aced a test, and went to a banquet. I unfortunately had to leave early so that I could get home and get ready to go. What we saw of the engineering banquet was very nice though.

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Saturday morning I woke up with Branden's call at 5:00 am. With very little time, I crammed all of my clothes into the closest bag and threw something on so that I could get to the airport without missing my flight. This really must have been a time for miracles, because I left my apartment almost a half an hour late, but I still made it to the airport, and through the giant security line, with time to spare.

That evening I spent some time with my mom, my sister, and their roommate. It was fun. We broke out my mom's old wedding dress. I hadn't seen it except for in pictures, and my mom was under the impression that it was vacuum packed, and so she never took it out for me and my little sister to see. Did I mention that I couldn't even get the stupid thing to zip up when I tried it on? Seriously, my mom was TINY!!!

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My grandma's viewing was scheduled for Sunday evening. The family met with her preacher for a little while, and I learned a lot about my grandmother that I had never known before. I also realized for the first time just how organized she was. It took me about two minutes to find where she kept her recipes, and to find a few of my favorites. I also got to take pictures of her whole house, so I'll always remember what it was like to visit her. I just hope that I can be more like she was. I think Branden was just about right when he described her as the perfect southern lady.

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Her funeral was beautiful on Monday, and I had fun talking to all of the family that was in town. It was so nice getting to know all of these people that I had barely met before. Before I left that night, I thanked my Dad, and I told him something that I had been thinking about. Even in the worst situations, there is something good if you look for it. The pain of temporary separation that death brings is the price we pay for the wonderful opportunity we have to share our lives with other people.

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Since then, I've been drowning in my homework, finished a class, arranged sailing club stuff, and I've been battling the flu. I'll let you know when something more interesting happens though!