Overwhelmed

I'm sitting here at my computer and it's nearly midnight. I'm thinking of all the things I still need to do, like write a midterm, complete a presentation, finish some readings, write my thesis pre-proposal, get my oil changed, make a deposit, put away my clean clothes, etc, etc, etc.
I keep wondering when life is going slow down. Like Green Acres. Right now I'm so ready to pack in the city and transplant myself to a world where all I really have to worry about is whether or not my home-grown zucchinis will win first prize at the county fair. Yes, I know, it probably sounds terribly dull, but right now I am LOVING the idea of a domestic life.

Perhaps I'm romanticizing life as a homemaker. I know that there's always tons to do: clean the house, shuttle the kids to wherever they have to go, make sure those little minds are getting filled with good things, keep track of the family finances, do about 100 loads of laundry, etc, etc, etc. Maybe one of the reasons I think so often about being domestic and having a husband and kids is because I'm afraid not so deep down inside that I'll never get to have that kind of life. I know that I'm really good at the school thing, and I could see myself being a career teacher. But there is something that sounds so wonderful about nurturing a family, knowing all its little quirks, and helping little minds grow up into wonderful people.

Or it could be that the family life is so the opposite of how my life is right now that it's a wonderful mental escape. No papers to write, no students to be frustrated with, no putting up with crazy faculty members who can't decide if they should be your mentor or your friend. Yep, being a wife and mom is sounding pretty darned good right now. But I know that in the end I'll wind up dissatisfied all over again. And I know that this dissatisfaction is because I'm not meant for the world. What's that thing Paul says? That we're to be IN the world and not OF it. So I guess it's o.k. that I feel overwhelmed and out of place right now. After all, this oddness and discomfort is only a temporary symptom of belonging to something and someone much greater than myself.

Deep breath. Exhale. Moving on.....

I'm back!

I can't believe it's been over three months since I last posted! This summer has been crazy. I spent five weeks volunteering at Camp Good News, got a temp job at a title company for a month, did some house-sitting, volunteered at the California Mid State Fair, visited a friend in Utah, and now I'm back in Sacramento putzing around while I wait to move into my new place.
I can't believe that I only have TWO semesters left until I have a master's degree...it seems almost unreal.
One of the things I most enjoyed doing this summer was spending time taking pictures. While working and going to school, I let photography fall by the wayside a bit, but this summer I got a chance to take pictures at camp, at the fair, and in Utah. I wound up doing three photography sessions, one for my pregnant friend Danielle in Utah, one for my recently engaged friends Cortney and Jason, and one for the lovely Tierney family. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it was great to see how much enjoyment they got from the pictures I took.
Here is a small sample of this summer's photography:













Camp Good News...Josh, our missions man, was demonstrating what life is like in developing countries, such as Indonesia, where people live along a river.














One of my favorite pictures of
Cortney and Jason from the
engagement shoot.

Katie with the market judge and her grand
champion market lamb at the California Mid
State Fair....she got $25/lb. for her amazing
market lamb!
















The lovely Tierney family :)
(I miss them already)










My very beautiful (and very
pregnant) friend Danielle in
Utah.