I'm feeling rather....GREEN....today!

Why am I so green, you ask? Well, to start I spent 2 hours this morning listening to lectures about global warming (which actually was much more interesting than it sounds here!). It was interesting because the lecturers spoke to all sorts of topics you might not even think about when you say "global warming" - like, one of the seminars was about the usage of metaphor in literature when thinking of solutions to global warming. If that makes any sense. But it was interesting.

One of the speakers (who spoke about the ecology of reptiles and amphibians in relation to climate change) is a professor here at the school. I forget his last name, but his first name was Pablo, and he sounded EXACTLY like Antonio Banderas. I couldn't help but think of Puss in Boots (you know, from Shrek?) the whole time he was speaking. He was a really dynamic speaker - I'm definitely going to look into taking one of his classes (for my bio minor). The way he rolled his r's was fantastic! :D

Since I was in seminars all morning, I completely missed the salad/wrap bar at lunchtime so I just ate a cup of broccoli soup from the campus Quiznos. Now I'm just twiddling my thumbs until 5:00 when its time for my Economics class. Yuck. That's the only class that I really don't like. The professor is pretty decent; he's young and energetic, and passionate about economics (if that says anything, *ahem*). I just really don't enjoy the subject; its all too abstract and well, boring. To me, anyway. I know the girl who sits beside me feels the same way though; we always roll our eyes to each other. It helps pass the time! Haha!

And....some new drawings!

A few new drawings I'm playing with....

A few unfinished drawings

I'm working on drawing people. I'm currently terrible at it, as you can see.

My favorite one.... its called "Nobody Believes Anymore".

I don't know what he is, or why he's so sad. But I love him.

Well, that's it for tonight. Bedtime, as I've got a loooong day at school tomorrow! Goodnight!

Some Yumminess to Share

Yes, "yumminess" is now a word. Because I say so.

I was starving when I got home from school today, and I really felt like pizza.... so, this is what I created!

Its a vegetarian "chicken" and mushroom pizza, with BBQ sauce - yum!

I used Morningstar Farms' "chicken tenders" meal starters (awesome!!!), 1 fresh white mushroom, and a sprinkle of mozzerella cheese.

I wish I could say I made the crust myself, but unfortunately I'm just getting into the whole cooking-thing, so its just a regular old Boboli's. But it was delish.

For the sauce, I just brushed a little bit of olive oil over the crust, and then brushed on a thin layer of bbq sauce. I don't really like a lot of sauce. Then I just put on my toppings, popped it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and voila! So good.

I've been meaning to take some pictures of my little window-ledge herb garden, but I keep forgetting! Unfortunately its already dark outside, as you can see from the picture, so I only got one decent picture out of all that I took. I got the Chia herb garden for Christmas. Its so cute! So far, so good, even though I think the window ledge is a bit drafty. But its virtally the only place in the whole house where my poor little baby plants can get some sunlight and not get demolished by cats/dogs/people/etc. So we're just biding our time until its Spring, and they can be properly planted outside in my garden.

Speaking of gardens, this came in the mail the other day...

Birds & Blooms Magazine!

For anyone who even remotely enjoys gardening, or likes birds and/or flowers, you must read this magazine!

My grandma has been a subscriber for years, apparently. Last Spring, when I decided I was going to dig a garden, Grandma started letting me borrow her B&B magazines. I literally went through about 5 years' worth over the course of the summer. And about two weeks ago, I got a copy in the mail, with a little card attached that said I was receiving a "gift subscription", paid for by my Grandma! I think she forgot she ordered that for me, as a Christmas gift! She never said anything about it at all! Or maybe its a slightly-early birthday present, since my birthday is this Sunday...hmm... I've only seen her once since I received the magazine (which is ridiculous because she lives next door to me; but we're both always on the go!), and I forgot to thank her, or to even tell her I got it! So I need to remember to do that. Because Birds & Blooms is wonderful. They are filled with the most beautiful pictures, and cute stories, and tips, and blueprints, and..... well, its just great.

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In other news, I think I forgot to mention that Chris did get the job at the Hanover Evening Sun. Hooray!!!!! So far, he really likes it. Its only his second week there, but so far, so good. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that this job works out really well for him. He's saying that he'd like to stay there for a few years, at least, which is A-OK with me since I have a few more years of school left.... so we'd be living close by to each other still! Its so nice having him around regularly now. I'm getting super-spoiled!!

In other-other news, I'm really excited for school tomorrow. Tomorrow is sort of a "Global Warming Day" across the nation. They're calling it Focus the Nation; and if you haven't heard about it yet, there's still time. Check out the website and see if there are any schools in your area that are participating. I know right now there are over 1700 schools across the nation (colleges and high schools) that are participating. Its the largest teach-in in the history of the US. Its an all-day symposium of lectures dealing with the global warming crisis, and all sorts of consequences that people normally don't think about, like the psychological effects on people, etc. I'm super-excited because, well, its my major. But I think its going to be really interesting too. Plus, I get extra credit for going for my Atmosphere class. Hehe.

So, yeah. Check it out. You might learn something. :)

A Fun Weekend in Annapolis....

Yay, my new snowboots came on Thursday! I love them so much! They're super-warm, and even though they look huge, they're actually very lightweight and comfy! So now I can tromp around the snowy campus in comfort.

*Please excuse the sorry state of my room - its clean now!

And..... I got another tattoo! This was my Christmas present from my best friend. Its from one of my favorite albums, from my favorite band, ever. Anyone know what band?

Get your dose of cute

Need a little "cute" in your life? Find it, here, at Cute Overload. Seriously, just one look at this blog and your spirits will be lifted for, like, a month. Or permanantly. It actually makes you swoon and say, "Awwww-aw-aw-aw-awwwwwwwwww" aloud. Really loud. Just look.

I mean, come on! Can something be too cute?? I really think looking at these pictures is going to cause me to have a heart attack or something. Somebody stop me! ;)

Of course, nothing's as cute as my own Boo Boo...

Triple-Hooray!!!

Chris got the job!!!

♥♥♥

Hooray!

Chris is at a job interview this very moment....I'll bet I'm more nervous than he is! I do hope he gets this job...it would be so perfect for him (and me, too!). I desperately hoped he would get hired at a newspaper somewhere in this area, and not somewhere dreadful like New Mexico (no offense to anyone from there, its just so far away!). I rather like having him around; and I'm afraid I've gotten quite used to it. So I really hope he gets this job today, so I can continue having him around!!

♥

Sunday was my mommy's birthday. Her sister and my cousin came to visit, which was really fun. We played Cranium all night (which was a riot, since both my mom and my aunt are just bananas when it comes to playing that kind of game!), and we went out for Chinese Sunday night. Good times all around. Especially since the coming of my mom's birthday means that my birthday is only 2 weeks away! I'm going to be 23 years old. Is that grown up yet? I swear, every year, I remember how I viewed people of that age when I was younger. When I was 15, people who were 23 were grown up. But now that I'm nearly 23, I'm beginning to doubt that. Am I a Grown-Up? If not (and I seriously doubt that I am), when will I be one?

Will I ever be a Grown-Up???

In the meantime, I'm going to stomp around campus in my new boots... Rawwrrrrr!

Chin up!

Well. It looks like things are beginning to look up for Chris. He's been so stressed out trying to get a job since he graduated at the end of December, with no luck. He also couldn't find anyone to sublet his apartment in State College, so if he did find a job that was not in this area, and he had to find an apartment, he'd be paying for two apartments. Not fun. Its silly enough paying for one apartment you're not even living in.

Yesterday, Chris got a phone call from the editor of a newspaper about 40 minutes from here, in Hanover. Right away, I had a good feeling about it because the guy is on his family vacation at the moment. He wouldn't have taken time out of his personal vacation to call Chris if he wasn't very interested. Plus, from what Chris told me, it sounds like the phonecall was really an interview anyway. Even better. So Chris was floating on air yesterday. I really think he's going to get this job. I'm so excited for him!

The icing on the cake was his text message to me before class this morning that he's going to State College this afternoon to sign over the lease to his apartment. Finally, someone is taking it! Its like its meant to be. I'm just keeping all of my fingers (and toes!) crossed that the job in Hanover works out, because then he's really set. All he has to do then is get accepted into grad school for the Fall, and he'll be king of the world. :D

So, if anyone even bothers reading this poor, neglected blog anymore, please keep all of your fingers and toes crossed that this all works out well for Chris!

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In other news, its snowing really hard right now. Chris mentioned this morning he heard a storm front might be moving in. Well, its here. Which makes me kind of nervous that he's going to State College today. He'll have to cross 3 mountains to get there.... its not exactly an easy trip, and its 2 1/2 hours on a good day. He did assure me that he'll spend the night there tonight and come home tomorrow, so that makes me feel a little better.

What to do now? I have until 2:00 before my next class starts, so I thought I'd come over here to the computer lab. I don't have any homework to do at the moment, and nothing of interest to show you - I really need to get back into taking more pictures! Maybe that can be added to my list of New Year Resolutions...which is a constantly-evolving list. *sigh*

I suppose I'll peruse the windows at Etsy for an hour or so... maybe I'll find some things to spend my lunch money on...hmm....

Tuesday, quiet Tuesday

Well, its the second First Day of School today - that is, the first day of my Tuesday/Thursday classes. So far, so good. My Geography of the U.S. and Canada seems like it will [shockingly] be interesting; and I just got out of my Atmosphere class. The professor wasn't there (she had a family emergency); instead it was introduced by her grad student, who was dressed all in black denim, including his cowboy hat.

But he had brown boots.

I really don't have any idea how I'll like that class because all we did today was watch a 25 minute video about "the weather machine". Earth systems in general can kind of go either way - they either bore me to death, or fascinate/scare the bejeezus out of me. I think it depends on how its presented. So, we'll see on Thursday, assuming the real professor is there.

My next class, Intro to Macro-Economics, isn't until 5:00. So until then, I'm just doing a bit of shopkeeping around the 'net. Which reminds me, I sold these the other day - hooray!

That means I can afford to eat lunch this semester again, yay!

I've also had some luck recently in selling some of my books on Amazon.com. This is particularly exciting because I was able to get back a decent amount of money for last semester's textbooks. For example, the school was going to offer me $3.00 for my Human Communication textbook. I sold it on Amazon for $36. It originally cost me about $110. Yeah. So you can see why I'm thrilled that I've already gotten rid of most of last semester's texts. I've also listed a few books from my own collection, and they've been selling too. I have sooooo many books; I've read them (some of them I've read more than once), and I'm just not going to read them again. So instead of letting them collect dust in my closet, why not get a few dollars here and there for them? After all, I just spent over $400 on books for the semester. Again. Yuck.

So anyway, sorry I don't have more pictures or anything really interesting to show you. Once I get through this week, I promise to be a bit more productive, or at least interesting.

In the meantime, I have some books to recommend. I've been reading a lot lately, and I've found what I think are some real gems:

Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs - not for the faint of heart! But it was really good. It's also been made into a movie, but I'd recommend reading the book before watching the movie. The movie was decent, but was definitely a "cleaned-up" version of the stories!

Magical Thinking, by Augusten Burroughs - I got this for Christmas from my aunt and uncle. I actually read it before Running With Scissors, but I'd recommend reading Running With Scissors first. Its not necessary, but Mr. Burroughs refers to stories he told in his previous book quite a bit. Magical Thinking isn't nearly as disturbing (and I say this in a good way, if there is such a thing) as RWS. I definitely laughed out loud many times while I was reading Magical Thinking!

The Terror, by Dan Simmons - I bought this book, in hardback, when it first came out about a year ago. I just finished it last week. The hardcover is 784 pages long, if that says anything about the book. Parts of it were...long. But once I got about halfway in, I just couldn't put it down! I think it had a lot to do with timing. I read the second half of the book in about 4 days. The past year has just been kind of strange for me, so that may have been why I didn't read it start-to-finish in a shorter time. But anyway, back to the book, it was awesome. Definitely weird, but good. Anything involving doomed ships at sea and terrible ice-monsters, not to mention mutinies, scurvy, and cannibalism gets an A+ from me! Parts of it were verrry gory, so if you've got a weak stomach, you might want to steer clear of Mr. Simmons!

And now, I'm reading Into the Wild. I bought it a while back, right when the movie came out, but I wanted to finish the other books I was reading first. So far, its really good. I guess I'll let you know if I liked it when I'm finished.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

♥♥♥

Presents!

Oh! And I completely forgot to ever put pictures up here of my Christmas gifts!

So, here they are!

Cute little fox and raccoon pillows from Urban Outfitters

The best lamp ever, also from U.O.

Sweet little snowglobe. I can't bare to put it away with the Christmas decorations, even though it plays Jingle Bells..... I just won't play the music until next Christmas. :D

I got bunches of other things, but those are 3 of my most favorites. It was a really wonderful Christmas, especially because my whole family was together (and not sick or in hospitals, like years past...but that's another story), and my Chris, too. ♥

Doesn't he look so cute in his sweater. I told him he's looking more and more like a Professor! ;)

Back to Schooooooool

Well, its been a lovely, much-needed, fun-filled vacation. And now, its over. It's back to school for me! Today is the first day of the Spring semester - and its the first time [ever] that I'm going two consecutive semesters.... and at the same school, too! This is a big step for me! Haha.

I'm actually excited for the semester to start. Even though I really enjoyed the holiday break, I'm ready to go back. Mostly because I'm tired of spending so much time at work... it'll be a nice change of scenery. ;)

I'm not, however, very excited about my courses this semester. Most of them sound supremely boring, but I won't judge just yet. Anyway, I picked them because they fill in my requirements. That means after this semester, its all major-related courses instead of filler classes I won't ever use. Like "Principles of Macro-Economics". Gag.

There hasn't been much [*ahem* any] crafting going on lately. You can blame the Boy for that. Since he graduated from Penn State at the end of December and moved back home, I actually get to see him on a regular basis [*shock*]; so I really haven't been doing much of anything except hanging out with him and re-learning how to do "normal" couple-things... like grocery shopping, making trips to the bank, going to the library, and reading books....together. Its funny because we've been together for over 3 1/2 years, and we're just starting to learn how to do these things together because we've never seemed to be in the same place at the same time. This is a big step for us! ;)