Beards

okay. I'll be honest. taking a picture EVERY DAY is really hard. it's even harder when it's with a random guy. add on the fact that I wanted a picture every day of a guy with a beard? then it's pretty much impossible. not to mention sketch.
SO. I am amending my new years resolution.

*drum roll, please*

I will have a monthly picture of me with a guy who sports jazzy facial hair. This means that I can take multiple pictures, possibly even post them up, but only ONE will be the Beard of the Month. This will make it easier for me. plus now you don't have to see how many creepers there are at MCCool. (PS. there's a lot)

here is the lovely beard(s) I picked for the month of January!

basically it was a party. This picture was taken on January 1, 2013. at around 2:30am. (DANG I look good!) these gents were sitting around playing to the accompaniment of the ukulele.  And they're pretty cool. (obvs, they have beards.) Stay tuned! (:
{Kudos to my pal Brandon for the picture!}

Rainy

If you're in Mesa, AZ today, or know someone in Mesa, AZ, then you know that it rained all through the night and hasn't really stopped since. You'll also know, if you're from here, that rainy days are the best days of the year. I don't know about y'all, but my window is WIDE open, my mom is crafting, brother is watching The Muppets, and I'm about to make cookies and write HIM. There's something about rainy days, something that makes them different from other days, that is so refreshing. Rainy days are SO refreshing. Not only for the earth, but for the soul. There's nothing I love more than to sit and listen to the soft drizzle that's happening right now. And to have my Of Monsters and Men Pandora Radio on. Those two elements, make today near perfect. (Only the smell of cookies can make it BETTER).

Now, my letter. HA, this is a funny story. I walked in the door from MCCool this Thursday after 7pm. Because I decided to have a class that goes that late. Dumb, I know. ANYWHODOODLE. I walked in, said "hullo" to my parents, and went to put my stuff in my room. And then I yell out. Like, seriously yelling in excitement. I had gotten a letter! And it was on my bed! And I was so excited because I love letters from him! And it was full of sweet stories and jokes and him. It was full of him. He left me a beautiful scripture in Alma (Alma 7:11-13) that just reiterates why he's my favorite. He gets me, and knows what I need to hear through the Spirit. That's also why this gospel is my favorite. Something about having a missionary out makes the days so much more. I have a good friend in Uganda who has me on his weekly emails. It's amazing how similar the two places are, yet they're across the WORLD from each other. This gospel truly does miracles!

This is a short and random post. I just wanted to share my excitement for the day! 
"This time, like all times, is a very good one if we but know what to do with it." -Emerson

Make your time beautiful and worth it (:

Stamps

12 months ago I was lost, afraid, and oh, so lonely. The one person who I had thought would always be there, had been gone for 6months. I mean, he had been there for the last 4 years, so you would think that 900miles wouldn't make a difference, right? Honestly, I pushed him away. I pushed him, and everyone else that TRULY mattered, away.

11 months ago, I started to get my life back. AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. I was happier than I'd ever been in months, but there was a pin-prick of a hole still empty in my heart.

7 months ago, as I witnessed one of my dearest friends get married to her highschool sweetheart, I saw it, what was missing. HIM. I was reunited with someone I met the last semester of my last year of highschool. Someone I didn't even know, not really. Two weeks after I kissed him on the cheek, two weeks of NO contact, he reached out. Said he was going out with friends to the dollar theater, and would I like to come along? OF COURSE I wanted to go. I knew he could be the answer to my feelings of being incomplete. But, I held back. Stayed reserved, wary, cautious, whatever. I couldn't fall. Not again, not after the year of hell. (sorry, mom). So I asked him what his plans were. But really, I was asking if he was worthy. Worthy of being let into my life. Worthy of my heart that still had pieces on the floor.
He immediately told me how his mission papers were in. And OH! How my heart soared! It was exactly what I was waiting for. He. Was. Committed. He was committed to our Lord. He was committed to serve the people of wherever he was going to go. HE WANTED TO GO. He was dying to go, and I knew that nothing, not even a girlfriend, would hold him back. And so, I let myself fall. And boy did I fall.

6 months ago, he was mine, and I was his. We had each other for a month, that was it. But to me it felt like years. I was ME again. I was the one who was committed. I was the one pushing him out the door to go serve the people of California. I was the one who wouldn't let anything hold him back.

Now, I have the beautiful opportunity to say that he is the Lord's. And I've gotten to peek into his life these past five months through his letters. I don't get cool stamps, from across the pond. I don't get crazy stories about weird animals he's encountered. The weirdest thing he's eaten is the food from the MTC. But I get letters from this wonderful and dear friend of mine. He shares scriptures with me, and the frustrations he's felt. He lets me be a part of this journey. I get to be there with him, even if his stories take place only a hop, skip, and a drive across the state line. I get stamps. And to me, that will always be enough.

Requirements

I may lose some readers after this, but this is MY opinion, and MY way of thinking. Sorry, not sorry, for speaking MY mind.

I have some requirements when it comes to the guys I date. I don't just mean the guys that I date seriously, but guys I go ON dates with. I'm kind of picky in this sense. Yes, I do go out on dates with guys who don't match up perfectly, but for me, the relationship won't go further than friends. Specifically, I have two requirements. These aren't requirements like "he HAS to like pizza and movies". These are physical requirements. I know that sounds pretty sketch, but bear with me for a while.

1. His face. Before you automatically say "it's not all about looks, Sarah!" let me just say: you're right. It's not. This has nothing to do with the look of his face. It's about the size. Let me just say that a BIG chunk of my family history is Swedish. AKA Scandinavian. AKA we have large heads. I don't know why, but something in our genetics make it so we have large heads. Some members of my family are not like this, but I got the "large head" gene, apparently. So if a guy I date has a smaller head, it just feels off, to me. I don't understand it, nor do I really care. All I care about is if the guy I date has a bigger face than me. Weird? DUH. It's me.

2. Height. This is kind of an obvious one. Most girls want a guy who's taller than them. But most girls will also be okay if a guy is only 2" taller. Not me. A lot of the guys I know, who are comfortably at 5'8" (2" taller than me) slouch. Which then makes them my height, or even shorter. I know, there are the guys who carry themselves with straight backs, blah blah blah. But that's pretty rare; especially at college where EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG slouches because of: backpacks, depression, stress, etc. I also don't like going out with guys who ARE MY HEIGHT. It seriously bugs. It might also have to do with the fact that my dad himself is 6'3", and so is my brother-in-law. AND the last guy I seriously dated is 6'6". Those factors tend to sway me a bit.

Out of the two, number one has a lasting effect. I do not seriously date guys who have smaller faces than I do. However, I will go out with guys who are at the comfortable 5'8". In fact, that happened just a few weeks ago.

Maybe I'll just stick to my 5-year-old boyfriends, like TimmyBoy here.
sidenote - TimmyBoy is my cousin, and his birthday is today, and he's my buddy(: 

Okay, rant is done, for now. Yes, I'm weird. I've embraced it. I'm not asking you to embrace it, but just accept the fact that I speak my mind. And I speak it quite freely.

STAY FRESH, YO.

PS. I'm at school right now, which is probably why this popped into my mind. And why this is a short post. laterrrrr

HULLO. I've tried this blogging business before, but I've never managed to get it JUST RIGHT. you know, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears? well, this is my "third time's a charm", this blog. I'm kind of excited. in that "first day of school, I hope my hair isn't too frizzy" kind of way. I've never been good at expressing ME; Sarah Merkley, in the flesh. hopefully I can do Sarah Merkley, on the blog, instead. 
what is this blog? why, it's My Sketchy Res. I have THREE big new years' resolutions.
1. abstain from soda
2. finish my USA state quarter map
3. a picture a day - BUT I need to have a picture with a guy (AKA man) with a beard.
pretty sketch, right? hence the name.

I do have other resolutions, some more tangible. (i.e. growing my hair out, getting A's all semester, etc.) but those aren't really for ME; Sarah Merkley. these three, that I'll be posting about, THOSE are for me. THOSE are what I really want this year.

and y'all are lovely enough to join me! I won't JUST post about my sketchy res. I'll also post random things like; this sweater is itchy and put a picture up. OR how much I love One Direction and pizza, though not necessarily at the same time. OR the crazy antics of my family. (if you know us, you KNOW what I mean.. you just know)
will I post DAILY? no. heck-to-the-know. I don't have the patience, or the time for that! but I'll fill you in on my resolutions. like how sketch it is to ask random people for a picture with them, JUST because they have a beard. and then having to explain myself to them. yeah, it's intimidating.

AKA this blog will be my out, my sanctuary of peace. luckily I like you enough to let you peek into my mind a bit (: