Future Plans

Nathan and I are retiring in the Schwarzwald, on the Bodensee. To those who claim that's geographically impossible, I say: challenge accepted.

Also, I'm buying all of Gesina Ter Borch's illustrations from the Rijskmuseum. There's this little tiny piece of me that wishes they would at some point be forced to sell them so I could snatch them up. But of course I would never really want the Rijksmuseum to be in financial distress (nor is it likely that they will ever be in financial distress). Unless it meant I could snag me some Gesina drawings, then I'd support that.

I started training for a triathlon today! I'm looking to do some next semester/summer, and I'm pretty stoked. I've always wanted to do one, so I'm carpe-ing the diem and doing it. I convinced Nathan to train with me. He's so motivational and driven, it's great for getting me to do things.

My life is a mixture of fantasy and reality, but whose isn't?

I should not be awake past 11:30

I'm staying up late tonight to register for classes.
I should probably be up until midnight every night doing research, but alas, it is so difficult for me to function on such little sleep. You would think I could make an exception since I have a rough draft due next week, and I do not know what my thesis is yet. Naturally I would stay up late every night searching and searching to come up with something. Nope.

I just realized that if I had not chosen to double major, or even minor, in German, I could be done with my art history degree next semester. After three years of college, I would have a degree. Needless to say, my mind is blown. I literally only have eight classes left to take for my undergraduate degrees. This is so weird, and it's not even my last semester yet.

But the end is in sight; I can glimpse the proverbial flickering light at the end of the tunnel.

And I just want to sleep. Why must I pick classes at midnight.

Epiphany

I had an epiphany this morning about why I love art history.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, trying to discover what it is that I find so fascinating about it, and it dawned on me this morning: There's more than meets the eye.

John Constable once said "We see nothing until we truly understand it."

I think this statement is true on so many levels. We do not see people, places, cultures, or paintings until we truly understand them. We can get the gist, we can glance and skim; but to fully appreciate all the beauty that is there before you, you must seek to understand, you must put forth an effort to see beyond the surface. And I love that this profound truth is the same with people, not just works of art. I love forging that path to understanding and seeing people, cultures, languages, and works of art in a genuine sense. So this is why I study art history: I want to see the world around me in all its glory and bask in the wonderful complexity that is simply life.

Once upon a time...

...there was a boy named Nathan.

Who met a girl named Emaline.

They were in the same FHE group. After some eyebrow raising and face-making at each other from a safe distance, they finally started talking to each other. They discovered right away their mutual love of Nacho Libre, puns, the Lord, ice cream, and finally--each other.

They got married.

And some might say, that they lived happily ever after.
But that's not always quite accurate.
Sometimes it's happily, sometimes it's not so happily. Sometimes it's beyond happily and sometimes it's anything but happily.
I like to think that they lived togetherly ever after.
Hand in hand.
Step by step.
Because that's what marriage is: tag teaming life with your best friend.

Guys.

My heart belongs with the Dutch artists during the seventeenth century.

Truly.

"I'm happy as a duck in the world's biggest pond with you." --Nathan, to me

October

It's that time of year again, folks: October.

This is my favorite month. The fact that it coincides with my birthday only plays a minimal part, I promise.

October is full of apples and pumpkins and all sorts of yummy squashes.
The leaves change color, and the world is bathed in a splendor of browns, reds, yellows, oranges, and purples.
Fall fashion is simply wonderful and classy.
All sorts of recipes emerge that are made with pumpkin! Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread...there's just so much, and I want to make it all.
The weather: it's moderate, and there's this smell in the air that lets you breathe in autumn.
Sometimes people remember me, because my birthday happens mid-month. That's always nice!

So that's why.