First, Second, and Third

So, first things first: my sister comes home the day after tomorrow. I am so excited! and a little nervouse too. I mean, she's been away a year and a half, and a lot happens in a year and a half. I just don't want her to be overwhelmed, and I don't want to pressure her into things--adjusting to non-missionary life can be really hard. We'll see how it goes.

Next, I'm working on my research paper for my history class. My topic is gender roles as portrayed in Punch magazine in 1895--the year of Oscar Wilde's trial. I'll be arguing that Victorian gender roles and ideals were being heavily challenged at this time, that Oscar Wilde was made an example of, and that this is evidenced in Punch. Kind of confusing, but I think I can pull it all together. I've done some research on Oscar Wilde and Victorian gender roles before, so mostly I'm working on looking through Punch and making notes on the engravings, poetry, and essays. I know it's kind of geeky, but I love doing research like this. My only problem is that I do too much research, and then have to scramble to write the stupid paper--and struggle to not write a whole book with all the research I did.

What else? I have a "first" and a "next" now I need a "finally" . . . oh!

And finally, Valentine's Day was not that bad this year. I spent the evening with my family: we had dinner together and watched an old Bob Hope movie. If Valentine's Day is about love, then I think I celebrated in fine style.

MAD