"Twenty-sevendom"

I can’t believe it’s the last day of February! The greatest, yet the shortest, month of the year is now coming to a close. I turned 27 this month. I have talked to a number of friends who really didn’t like turning 27, or who are dreading its impending arrival. I don’t know, though. I welcomed 27 with open arms and so far, it’s been good to me. If this month is any indication of what the other eleven months of “twenty-sevendom” can hold, I am pretty excited.

Around my birthday, as I reflected on “twenty-sixdom,” I decided I wanted to more time doing hobbies and trying new things during the next year. I feel like I’ve gotten into the rhythm of a full-time job and life in Provo, and now I want to branch out and be more constructive with the time I have. We’ll see how this goes, but this past week gave me some golden opportunities to try my hand at some new skills!

I spent the last few days in St. George at the Utah Art Educators Association conference. It was great fun. There was a room at the conference where people could go and “throw” pots, meaning make a ceramic pot on a pottery wheel. I’d never done that before, so I thought I’d give it a try. It was so cool—even better than the movies:) It was really enjoyable, pretty tricky but yet therapeutic. I made a small vase that is about 5 inches tall and wide at the bottom. We used three different colors of clay, so it’s marbled with grey, orangy-red and cream. It looks cool, and probably only because I had a ceramics teacher helping me with it. Alas, I had no camera with me, or I would have taken pictures of the process.

Also, my co-worker and I noticed that our hotel was right by Fiesta Fun, “where the fun never sets!” Last night, after the conference, we went to the batting cages. I haven’t batted for ages! I played softball officially one season in junior high and many unofficial seasons in the Young Women's "league" (ha!), but it wasn't really my thing. I was usually in the outfield, hoping the ball wouldn’t come my way. There must have been magic at the air at Fiesta Fun last night, because I was hitting every pitch! I had some doosies. It felt great! I think it was a little bit more therapeutic than the pottery wheel.