Snow (Hey Oh)

Hi there, my dear readers.

Yes.  The title of this blog is the title of one of my favorite Red Hot Chili Pepper songs.  (I love those guys.  Seriously.  Great music.  I'm listening to it as I write this, btw.  You should listen too.)

(On a total side note here, I still remember the first time I heard this song.  It was the first Easter we were in Colorado and I was getting ready for sunrise service while watching VH1, cause we actually had cable at the time and why not.  This song came on and I broke out in chills from head to toe.  Hot. Damn.  Great chords, great words, and a hot lead singer.  Thus it began....)

Anyway.

There is snow today. 

I've been up since like 6am, doing homework, drinking Earl Grey tea with sweet cream (if you have never tried it, I highly recommend you do - I've been looking for a coffee alternative and this fits the bill), and watching it snow.

We've already gotten more than the weather people expected.  So I'm not sure what that means as for the rest of the day.  But this is our first snowfall of the year, so anything could happen.

I feel like our first snow is kind of late.

 I mean, I love the autumn weather more than anything.  I really do.  I love the blustery winds and golden trees and crisp sunshine that invites me to do homework and knitting outside.  And snow and I have this serious love/hate relationship; I love it as long as I don't have to go out into it.  The minute I have to go outside, I basically hate it.

But I've seen snow come here in September.

So it feels like it should have happened already.

As much as I complain about snow, I really don't think it's all bad.  It's where we get our drinking water.  It's important to the environment out here.

And while Colorado rocks in a lot of regards, this is one of the best: it snows one day then it's 70 degrees and sunny the next.

Seriously.

So while it's all wet and snowy today, it'll be beautiful tomorrow.

I'll be back to sitting under my trees on campus by Monday.

Happy Friday, all.

~Meaghan

Notes from the Blogger

Hi, my readers.  :)

I'm realizing that going a month without blogging is apparently going to be the norm, at least for now.  So I thought now would be a good time to create a few "editorial notes" about this lovely blog for the new readers (and older readers, as well).

So what should you know?


1. I am a College Student.

             So, this doesn't mean a whole lot in the great scheme of things.  Except that I am very science minded and will possibly be bringing it to this blog.  I love science. I love learning.  That's pretty key to knowing me.  And that my time is crazy (and will remain crazy for at least the next four years), which brings me to...

2. Gaps in the Blog are Expected.

              Yeah.  So being a female science student who lives with her family and boyfriend while playing the violin and knitting has some serious perks.  Like, I get to go out and observe organisms.  And I get to have cuddle time with my man.  And violin recitals and holiday/birthday/fun knitting projects and whatever else I can possibly fit in.  So gaps are totally the norm here.  I would love to be able to promise a blog post a week, but I can't make any guarantees.

3. Spirituality is Huge.

             My faith is perhaps one of the few things that gets me through.  I have a very strong relationship with the Devine, though it is not at all in a traditional way.  It's a mix of so many things - energy and healing, Wicca thoughts, Christian principles, meditations, prayer, etc.  I do not follow religion and I don't believe in hell or damnation.  If this bothers you, I respect that.  But please understand that my faith, being part of who I am, will probably come up at some point.

4. I Love Owls.

          As will owls.  Owls are my love.  I have always loved them and I always will.  Yes, I think they are cute, but it's so much more than that.  Owls in the wild (and in captivity) are some of the most loving creatures you will find.  They mate for life and spend their entire lives with their mate.  Studies have been done on owls that lose their mates; most of the them wither away.  Their calls are beautiful, their physical make up is beautiful, and they can represent so much - creativity, nighttime, wisdom, the moon.  Owls are my creature.  They will probably appear in this blog often.

5. I Knit Obsessively.

         The original goal of this blog was to have a knitting blog like so many of the ones I follow.  While that didn't work (too much of myself is interwoven into everything I do, I can't have one without the other), knitting is a huge driving force of what I do.  It connects me to generations before me, to my mom, to the very center of creation.  I love the colors, I love the textures.  I love when a pattern forces me to learn a new technique.   I also enjoy creating some of my own patterns.

6. I Write All the Time.

          It may not be on here, but it's true.  I carry a composition book with me and usually several notepads.  I never know when an idea will hit me.  And granted, writing is not something I want to make my living off of, but it is still something I love.  It's expression, it's release, it's a natural part of me.  And maybe one day I will have some essays published.  We'll see.

7. I Also Read.

            Reading is cool.  I even bought a Nook with a Kindle app so I could read on the lightrail on my way to and from school easier.  Books are amazing.  I'm not a huge fantasy reader or fiction reader, but I love historical things and creative non-fiction.  Science books and spiritual books also are great.  I have this fear that if I stop reading, my mind will melt from ignorance.  And that is just unacceptable.

8. I Tend to be Liberal.

              No, I don't vote by party lines.  That's dumb.  Do your research and vote accordingly.  But I am a very big supporter of free speech, basic freedoms, and the need to have self expression.  I support gun control as well as the right to carry.  I also support gay rights and the right to choose an abortion.  Which leads to...

9. I Support Women's Rights.

             Don't tell me what I can or can not do because of my gender.  Better yet, don't tell me what I can or can not do in general.  Because I will defy you.  I hate rape culture and want more people to be aware of it.  I do not support slut shaming.  I don't think your virginity defines you.  And I loathe anyone or anything that tries to bring women down.  Women are awesome.  We are strong and beautiful and sensitive, all in one.

And finally...

10. I Love Life.

           I love it.  Every part of it.  And I want to learn all I can, do all I can, be all I can.  I want to touch and taste and dream.  If you can't handle that, then this blog is not for you.

There you have it, lovely readers.  Turn back now if you must or plow ahead (or behind through the archives) if you are brave.  This is a journey.  It will always be a journey.

Until the next time we meet.

~Meaghan

Hi There

I realize I have skipped all of May, part of April, and part of June.  It's just, things got so messy and I became so focused on trying to piece it back together that I forgot about you, my dear blog.

So let's start fresh.

I have started a yarn group.  We're meeting tonight for the first time, and I am very hopeful.  It's something I've wanted for a while but never had the courage to start until now.

(This is the power of a good therapist, good anti-depressants, and good chocolate. :) )

I have been knitting again, although it hasn't been with the fever pitch it had been before.  It's not that I don't love my knitting any less.  It's just that I've become more moderate about it.  I'm finding a balance in all things.  Letter writing, card making, knitting, counted cross stitch, exercise, reading - I'm trying to find time for it all.

 And over all, I feel better.

Better than I have in a very, very long time actually.

It's amazing how when you're depressed, you don't realize that you aren't living.  You just know you have to get up each morning and do whatever has to be done.  You are in this haze and everything hurts and everything is numb at the same time.

And it took my sister landing in the hospital back in the later part of April for her own depression that forced me to look at mine.

I won't lie to you, readers.  I still get anxious with social interactions and with the occasional trigger.  I still cry.

But I'm not curled up in a ball, wondering what's wrong with me as I cry uncontrollably.  I'm not getting up each morning to do nothing.

So many positive changes are happening.  The yarn group is just the beginning.

I've signed up to do a 5K in August with my sister.  It's this one and it looks incredible.  I've never been super athletic, let alone run before.  So this is huge.  I've been training for two weeks now.  I can now do half a mile in under ten minutes.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but for me it is.  My goal is to be at a ten minute mile by the end of the month.

I've been reading again for the first time in so long.  The Game of Thrones book series is amazing.  I'm not a huge fantasy person, but I just can't get enough of it.  I'm in the midst of "A Clash of Kings" at the moment.  I'm also reading some really good zombie fiction. :)

Today my sister and I are going out.  We're going to get some pho and I'm getting a pedicure and acrylic nails, something I've wanted for a very long time.  It feels selfish to me, but I've been assured that it's not. It's important to take care of me.  And that's something that's just going to take time for me to learn.

Rest assured, boyfriend and parents are also doing well.  Things seem to be running pretty smoothly with only minor bumps along the way.  And for that, I am grateful.

I won't leave again for so long, my readers.  Thank you for hanging with me. :)

~Meaghan