Autumn Times

After the past couple of dreary posts, I have decided a more up-beat post is in order. We each deliberated over the hundreds of pumpkins outside of Wal-Mart (yes, Dad, Wal-Mart), before choosing a short, plump one for me and a tall, skinny one for Josh. These pumpkins are going to be carved and then smashed in the street. Well, at least I plan on smashing mine in the street; Josh would like to responsibly throw his into a trash receptacle;) Last weekend we went for a drive up Cedar Mountain and reveled in the beautiful fall leaves before church. When we got home, I was feeling oddly ambitious and made a fat filled pumpkin roll, and even more odd than my ambition to cook the thing, was the fact that it turned out okay; strange as it may seem, by neglecting my wifely duties to cook, I think(?) I am developing a desire to improve.
Yes, it is autumn and even though Josh and I both have allergies to the cold, the nip in the air means we are so much closer to the end of the semester, the beginning of Christmas and Thanksgiving (not necessarily in that order). We are so excited to spend a little bit of down time with our families and get caught up on the home cooking we have missed so badly. Now if I can just figure out how to incorporate pumpkin into nearly every meal until said time, we will survive.

Pirates and students say, "Argh!"

We had hamburgers for dinner tonight. While we ate we said, "Argh!" with all the ferociousness of pirates pillaging beef. I would like to blame the fact that it is Monday for our vengeful series of "arghs" but I think these symptoms are the results of hospital junk.
Last week I was incapacitated after severe pains/cramps throughout my abdomen. Josh took me to the Emergency Room early Tuesday morning and after twelve hours of having an IV stuck in my arm, blood samples, pee samples, and an ultra sound, the doctor discovered that I have ovarian cysts (the biggest one is an inch) and a severe uterine tract infection. Joshua waited on me like I was near death's doorstep, which was about the sweetest thing he has done in our four plus years of knowing each other. (Although the time he mopped for me while I was working at Arby's is a close second.) Ultimately, I am okay now.
BUT these are the gruesome facts of our situation. We are part of the massive population of students without health insurance (because we are supposed to be as healthy as horses and twice as strong). Poor Josh missed two mornings of Spanish because he was so exhausted, leaving him the dust for his upcoming test. I was on drugs for the majority of last week, leaving me with a platter of fresh served make-up work and a serious craving for extra credit. If people didn't know better, they might think we are good-for-nothing pirates! Argh.
This story has a happy ending. We are filing student health plan papers, Josh will do amazing on his test because he is smart like that, and I don't have to worry about scholarships for next year because...I will finally be done with this joint called SUU.