Post-Graduation

It's been very wonderful. I spent the first week waking up late and going through old emails and taking care of business (working on paperwork for all Raimo's medication, paying bills and tuition). I also got to know Rachel Ray. And Tyra. And Ellen. And my local PBS station. I LOVE daytime television! I now know how to make Poor Man's Salad and many many types of tacos (big hit around the cinco de mayo). I also know how to fix up a door to make it more weather-proof, how to best arrange plants, trees, and flowers in my future garden, and how to buy and install energy-saving systems for water and electricity my future house. These are very important skills for me to know!

The weekend after graduation we went to California, as Raimo explained. We visited Kari and Sarah for a few days, competed in LA, stopped in Riverside for a night, and in Vegas each way. It was such a warm and much needed trip. When we got home, I was suddenly sick. It can't be summer if I don't have a terrible cold first (Nauvoo last year, honeymoon year before). It just happens. Thankfully, I didn't have a life, so I got to stay home and hang out with Rachel and Tyra some more. I was pretty sick for about two weeks, but now it has just faded to some basic seasonal allergies I think.

Spent more time sleeping and watching tv, as well as filling out a few online job applications from home.

Went to the Provo library and picked up some books and dvds. I was honestly afraid that it would take me a long time to pick up a book again after 5 years of serious reading. However, I am just fine. Don't worry--my reading days have only begun. I am trying to make my way through a list of 1001 books you should read before you die. We'll see how I like them.

Last weekend Nicole called up and invited us to come down to St George for a couple of nights. We headed down after Raimo's class in Salt Lake, only to have our dear Honda break down outside of Parawan. It put a damper on the fun, but we still enjoyed basking in the sun by the pool all day and hanging out with family.

After much tribulation (mostly on Raimo's dad's part), the Honda is back in our garage and working fine. It was not as broken as we thought it was--just needed a new wire somewhere. However, we are ready to sell. It would make a great Provo/Utah car, but not the best for long road trips. Anyone want to buy it??

This week I have been a bit more productive. I was actually surprised how exhausted I felt after many days of doing nothing. I worked on a project yesterday that actually stimulated my brain for 4 hours. I will show it to you all soon. Last night Raimo and I had a fun date, spending some of our gift cards at the mall, buying shakes and jalapeno poppers, and watching 6 episodes of Mad Men.

Today we went on a lovely hike in rock canyon. I had asked Raimo to take me on a nice walking hike in nature. This was not quite so. It was pretty much uphill on gravel and rocks. It felt good to be outside and it was really beautiful. Raimo protected me from mountain lions with his knife and rock-throwing. Raimo is now napping and I am doing some major catch-up on this blog. It has been a wonderful couple of weeks. Raimo and I spend all day together!