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Monthly Progress Report - 8% of 2026 is GONE

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January was a good month for me. I made progress towards my goals that I'm proud to share. Since I set a goal for 2026 to be the year I live the healthiest possible, I'm happy to announce that the first month of it has been fulfilling and successful on that score.  In order to work towards the mental-health portion of my goal, I reached out to friends and managed to get some of them to visit me at my apartment a couple of times. I also had dinner with a couple of friends once and went to a friend's house for lunch once as well. On top of all that, I got to visit with some friends at the college to share the things I brought back from Spain. Matthew, my blind friend, and some of my non-traditional-student friends spent a couple of hours looking at everything and hearing about my trip. Spending time with friends really cheers my soul and makes life worth living.  Club Friends Outside the Politics Center at SUU Part of my health goal was to lose 30-40 pounds, and I settled on ...
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Cultural Experience Close to Home

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As you may recall, part of my well-being goal this year was to spend time with friends and to grow spiritually. I got to do some of both this week. I had a friend over to play a game of Phase 10 with me on Monday, some friends invited me to dinner on Monday night, and I stopped at another friend's place for lunch on Saturday. It's always good to keep your relationships nourished.  I had a cultural experience this week as well. I was looking for a Spanish Bible study to attend and found a couple of options. On Tuesday night, I went to the one nearest my apartment. I was not prepared for the cultural shock I got when the service started. When prayer began, everyone in the room began praying aloud, each over different things, one on top of the other. They shouted, prayed, wailed, wept aloud, and fell to their knees in the most fervent show of supplication I've ever seen. The person "leading" the prayer prayed for twenty minutes straight with all that going on all aro...
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Settling into Spring Semester Back at SUU

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I rented an apartment in Cedar City so I could resume my studies at SUU this Spring. It's a nice place with a shared kitchen and bathroom. It's wheelchair accessible, and I have my own bedroom. My dormmates are all young. Most keep to themselves for the most part.  My Cozy Little New Apartment The little place suits me well, and I fancy I shall enjoy it the time that I'm in it. The building is new and everything is fixed up nicely. It's about five minutes from the college when I go with my front-end motor attachment, so it's very convenient as well.  As I am in the habit of setting a goal for the year at the beginning of each year, I did the same this year. My goal is to end the year as healthy as I possibly can physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I will do this by taking care of my body; exercising regularly, eating healthfully, and keeping up with my medications; by staying connected with loved ones; inviting people over, visiting family, and making phone ca...
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I made it home, but what a journey!

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How boring would life be if everything always went smoothly? Would we have that unbelievable experience to tell people about that we got only by bumping into unplanned circumstances? How many people get to celebrate their birthday in Paris with a "Happy Birthday" song in French at midnight? What other stories do we miss out on by not taking risks and facing the challenges life throws our way when things don't go as planned?  After my classes ended, I spent a week resting and getting ready for my return trip. Boy, did I ever need the strength I built up for the journey! Between buses, trains, a delayed flight, hotel rooms, broken luggage, and inaccessible elevators, I definitely had my work cut out for me trying to get home. I did get to have an extra eight hours to celebrate my birthday though, so there were a few silver linings. The lease for my apartment in León was up the day before my bus ticket was scheduled, so I loaded up my things and moved to a hotel next to the ...
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School is Over - I Sang an A-cappella Solo at the Closing Ceremony

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Wow. I can't believe this semester is over already! It was a little surreal and emotional leaving the school building for the last time. I don't expect to ever return again. Isn't that so strange? We devote so much time to something, make relationships with people, and then just like that, it's all over. I had come to love my little B2 (my level of Spanish) tribe at the university here in León. I feel a little pang of loss knowing we'll all go our separate ways and never again sit together in the same room trying to understand the same lessons.  B2 Spanish Class Fall 2024 Back row: Moeka, Corinne, Emma, Cristina (Grammar Teacher), Enzo, Eli, and Suzhi Front row: Nati (Writing and Culture Teacher), Me, and Hana It's been an amazing week, however, and we ended the year in style, for sure! We had an awards ceremony / Christmas party to end everything on a positive note. At the closing ceremony, each of the classes did an activity for the whole school. One of the cl...
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Trip to Andalucía

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This past weekend I went on my final field trip. We visited Andalucía in Southern Spain. It's a good seven hours away from León. We left at two in the morning, and everyone slept on the bus. Even I slept soundly through the entire trip. It's definitely not the same as sleeping in a nice bed, but I'm really thankful I was able to sleep at least. I was also really thankful for my nice power assist and wheelchair luggage. It made this trip so much less stressful to have the tools I needed for the journey. Being able to zip around with my luggage all on my own really made me feel whole and independent.  Right Tools for the Job We visited the cities of Sevilla and Grenada. I enjoyed Sevilla a lot, but Grenada had too many hills. I was also worn out from the two previous days of excitement, so my body wasn't exactly cooperating either. Another contributing factor was the fact that I forgot one of my medications and had to go to the emergency room because I was so dizzy I coul...
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Palacio Real in Madrid

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I think every little girl dreams of living in a palace and acts out elaborate tea parties with her little dolls and dishes. Well, the little girl in me is pleased to announce my trip to the Royal Palace in Madrid this week. As I'm a writer and not a photographic artist, I'll only share a few of my favorite photos for you here, as I'm sure there are MUCH better photos available. Throne of His Royal Majesty  Before we go into the royal palace though, come with me on a little tour around the city of Madrid. It's the capital of Spain, so of course there are lots and lots of things to see there. We first peered through the windows of this humongous library with rows and rows of books from floor to ceiling. We didn't go into the library, but I snapped a picture from the window. If only bookworms had teeth strong enough to chew through glass in order to get to the books inside! Library with Lighted Bookshelves We next paid a visit to the museum that houses Picasso's mo...
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