1 day down, 3 more to go!

Phew! Monday was a killer. Its the last week of classes, which means S-T-R-E-S-S! I'm honestly more stressed about this week than I am about finals. I really don't care about finals. I'm a good test-taker, and I'm quite confident I'll do well.

However, this week is full of group-projects, which I loathe. Yesterday was really great though because my entire History debate group met and we really churned out the project. We spent 5 hours in the library after class yesterday. I didn't even get home until after 10:00. But that's a huge weight off my back.

Now I have an exam at 11:00 today (I'm taking a wee break from studying right now to drink some coffee, eat a vegetarian "B"LT, and fluff-up the blog), a meeting with my Atmosphere debate group this afternoon (most stressful project!), and then the history and atmosphere debate presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. And then I'm done, except for finals. Hooray! So really, if all goes well at the atmosphere debate meeting this afternoon, I will feel much better. On the other hand, if it doesn't, well.....I don't even want to think about that.

In other news, how do you like the new look? I was getting tired of the old colors, and I had sketched out that little banner the other day, so I was eager to share it on here. I just love how it turned out! It kind of encompasses most of the things in my shop, too...

I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so!

Ok, maybe I'm not turning Japanese as my title would suggest; however, I am super-excited to announce that I have recently joined the ranks of people who own a Gocco printer! I am soooo excited! I ordered it this morning from PrintAddictJapan, and I just can't wait for it to come!

(I borrowed this picture from printaddictjapan's etsy shop)

This will be my baby! Oh, the wonders we will create! I'm already swimming with ideas about plush, prints, and maybe even some more of my mini-cards that were so popular but terribly time-consuming (as I was hand-drawing every one).

Next on my list of things to do (besides having a stress-induced heart attack or stomach ulcer before this semester is over) is to figure out how I want to create a little 'studio' or sorts. I simply don't have enough space in my bedroom for clothes, schoolwork, and art. It is physically impossible. My best idea so far is to get one of those 'sheds', like they sell at hardware stores and the such, put it beside the garage, run an extension cord from the garage to the shed (so I can piggy-back on the electricity!), and set up a workshop in there. I think it would work. I actually already have a great light fixture to hook up, and a work desk...all I need is the shed to put it in. That way I could move all of my art supplies out of my bedroom, and maybe it would feel more like a bedroom and not an entire apartment squeezed into a shoebox (which is essentially what it is)!!!

Ok, enough of my ranting and raving. I'm excited; can you tell? I need to get some sleep so I can get up early tomorrow, write a paper and 2 extra-credit assignments, and go to work. Fun, fun, fun. And then Monday starts my last week of classes....before finals. Hooray!

Goodnight!

Today is Promotion Thursday.

Since I have some slots in today's showcases, I'm offering a wee little promotion too:

Free shipping on my Rainy Day earrings and on any tote bag in my shop!

Check out my shop, here.

Check out the Showcases, here.

Be sure to check out the Accessories showcase and the Bags & Purses showcase, as that's where my items are featured today!

And in case you're wondering why I'm up at 6:45, its because I'm (what else?) studying. I'm just taking a teensy little break to do some promoting of the shoplette.

Its Show-Time!

I've purchased two spots in two separate Etsy showcases tomorrow: the Accessories showcase and the Bags & Purses showcase. After yesterday's sales, and with school just about over (and therefore more time to devote to the shop) I feel renewed hope for my little shop.

Also, I'm working on a new little something for this blog-space.... whatever could it be? Come back soon to find out!

Progress!

Well, look at this - I've made 'progress'!

I awoke yesterday to a message on Etsy from a potential buyer in Great Britain. She had a question about the April Showers earrings (which I have re-named "Rainy Day" earrings since it will soon no longer be April). She purchased them yesterday, which makes me quite happy, indeed. And then, just like that, I was bit by the inspiration bug!

I sketched out a wee teacup, and then these were born!

Spot of Tea earrings, available now in the shop!

And then, I spent a few hours cleaning my little room, which looked like 3 hurricanes went through it. It was really very embarassing! While I was cleaning, I found a whole pile of vintage necklaces my sister gave me that I just wasn't doing anything with. So I made a little listing in the shop, and to my surprise and glee, they were already sold by this morning!

So, that flurry of business in the shop left me feeling quite hopeful about the shop and the coming summer-time, when I will have time to create, create, create! I had forgotten how much I like making shrinkie jewelry, so I think you can expect to see some more of that in the shop soon! They seemed to be my most popular item in the shop when I first started it.....

***

Well, I have some reading and note-taking to do before school this afternoon; and I want to get out to the garden for a few minutes. First I have to pull myself away from Say Anything on tv - I love John Cusack!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day!

Is anyone doing anything to celebrate today? Everyone should go out and do something for our planet - plant a flower or a tree, pick up some trash along the road, or just sit outside and admire its beauty!

I'm dressed for the occasion in my organic-cotton green tshirt with a heart-shaped planet Earth on it. :) I would have taken some pictures, but I have to go to school in just a few minutes. Only 2 more weeks to go, and then its SUMMER!!!

Have a lovely day, and don't forget to show our planet some love!

Happy, sunny, beautiful day.

It was a gorgeous day yesterday. It was already in the 70s by 10 a.m. Nice. However, I hadto lego to work, no fun. But just knowing that its nice and sunny outside at least gets me through the day!

I had a lovely day on Thursday. I had spent Wednesday night at Chris' house, so when we woke up, we cooked a nice breakfast of oatmeal with fresh blueberries and some Morningstar Veggie Scramble bites; and we took our breakfast outside to eat on the back patio. After breakfast, we headed to Caledonia, our most favorite place, for a nice stroll through the woods. After that, we drove a little further to Mr. Ed's for some candies, which we took with us to see Lars and the Real Girl on campus Thursday night. It was very, very good. Chris laughed the loudest in the whole theatre, which I got a kick out of for some reason. I just love him so much. :)

And now, I must bid you adieu. I have some school work to do this morning before job-work. Bleh. I hope you all get to enjoy beautiful, sunny, warm weather today!

Warm-weather Wear!

So, I'm back from Annapolis, and I miss it already!
It was such a fun time, filled with Starbucks frappucinos, pretty summer dresses, and Rock Band!

I tried on just about every dress from Forever21 that I blogged about last time, and you know what? I didn't like any of them! Can you believe that?! I did find some great stuff, in any case. I think its because I've been losing weight since I've been going to the gym. I guess my body-shape is changing... I tried on styles that I wouldn't have normally ever even considered, and I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of styles I wouldn't have thought would look good on me, did.

Here's what I got:

Just a simple jersey dress that will go with just about everything. I got it in black
and also in white.

I got a tunic (more like a dress on short-lil' me) very similar to this... its grey and stripey, but the top has a big bow just under the neck. Its probably my new favorite thing.

And this, I'm most pleased to say, is what I'm going to wear to Leilani's wedding next month. Its not something I would normally have chosen, but I was really getting desperate. I couldn't find a suitable/affordable dress anywhere! And then Forever21 got a truck-load of new shipment, and this was one of the new things. I tried it on just out of curiosity, and I actually love it! Its a nice satin-y material, so its 'fancy' enough for the wedding, but its casual enough that I will wear it again. And the best part? It only cost $19!

I got some other stuff too, but nothing major... I got a super-cute summery dress from Aeropostale, which is NOT one of my usual stops at the mall. Lani wanted to go in there really quick to look for some cheap khaki shorts, and we both ended up getting the dress, and we both got a pajama set too (for only $6!). I'm wearing the dress right now, since its already like 65 degrees outside - woo hoo! It has navy-and-white stripes, and the top has green and white stripes, with big green buttons on the straps. Very nautical! :)

Well, I should definitely go start getting ready for school, if I want to make it on time! Only a few weeks to go until SUMMER VACATION! Yayyyy!

Red Shoes

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful lately (except for today; its only supposed to reach the low 50's today, poo). Yesterday it was warm and muggy, probably about 75 degrees. Its about time! Anyway, the nice weather has launched me into a clothes-and-shoe-craving frenzy! Plus I've been losing weight since I've been going to the gym most days after school (and since I went vegetarian last October)...so most of my 'summer clothes' don't really fit right anymore. And actually most of my 'summer clothes' are pretty old....like, from high school. I graduated in 2003, so its definitely time to start a new wardrobe! I have every intention of grabbing up some nice summer dresses in Annapolis tomorrow, of course. Hooray!

These are some pieces I'm definitely searching for tomorrow, at Forever21:

And yesterday I stumbled across these:

They are perhaps my new most-favorite-shoes-ever. Aren't they adorable? I especially love the big button on the straps. And considering they're from WalMart, they're of surprisingly-decent quality, and actually rather comfortable. I wore them at work yesterday and my feet didn't hurt (any worse than normal), and no blisters! And the very best part is... they cost less than $13.00! They had red and black of this style. I wish they had more colors. I think I'd love these in navy or even a light blue...oh, and a nice fern-green would be great.

I immediately thought of Miss Emily's post about her search for cute red flats when I saw these on the shelf. These look like they'd be something she'd like, and I do adore her style!

I was pleasantly surprised at the shoe selection at WalMart yesterday.....they really are trying to hang-in with Target, I think.... their shoes are getting cuter and cuter. While the quality still isn't that good, and the sizing is funny, you can't go wrong with a $13 pair of shoes, right?

TGIF!

Hooray, yesterday indeed was a beautiful day! Even though I had that icky Atmosphere exam, everything else was just fantastic.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was really good. Very sad, but good. It was especially strange for me to watch because everything that poor man went through (minus the stroke part), I watched my mom go through just 2 years ago, when she had Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). In a matter of about 2 days, she became completely paralyzed, including her lungs. She had a tracheotomy to help her breathe, and to communicate we did exactly what the therapists in the movie did - go through the letters of the alphabet one-by-one, and she would blink when we got to the next letter in the word she was trying to spell. You can imagine how difficult it was to communicate like this. But anyway, she slowly (over a course of months), she got better and better, and today she's as good as new! Thank goodness! But back to the movie - Jean-Dominique Bauby was incredible because his only way of communicating was by blinking his 1 good eyelid, and through that method, he 'dictated' his autobiography, with the same title as the movie. After seeing the movie, I definitely want to read the book now. But anyway, it was really good.

I'm off to work for the day, 9-6. I'm sad because Chris is away at State College visiting his friends, so I'm all alone this weekend... I'm so used to having him around now, its hard to imagine that we were long-distance for about 2 years! I'm not sure I could ever do that again.

I'm super-excited for Monday, though - I'm going to Annapolis to visit Lani! Hooray! We're going to have so much fun. But then, we always do! :)

Happy Friday!

Icky.

Well, the Atmosphere exam was just as bad as, if not worse than, I expected. It was awful. Pure evil. But whatever. Its over and done with (plus she gives extra credit). So I'm not upset.

Oh. And its like 75 deg. outside. Yesss!

I think, instead of sitting here at the computer 'til 5:00 (Economics, ick), I'm going to head over to the gym to workout for about an hour. After Econ, I'm heading over to see this week's installment of the school film festival, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

What a glorious day.

Lollapalooza!!!

Oh boy..... I feel a crazy vacation coming on.....Lollapalooza has perhaps the BEST lineup (suited to me, at least) EVER this summer!! The only problem is its in Chicago...Hmmm....... maybe if I scrimp and save, I'll be able to afford to get there by August? I MUST try. Come on... Radiohead, Rage, NIN, The Raconteurs, Broken Social Scene, Flogging Molly, Brand New (!), Mates of State, The Gutter Twins...... I might just freak out. In fact, I already did.

Now I just have to scrape up $190 for the tickets, and $$ for a plane/bus ticket...and a hotel...but I am soooooo going.

PS - I'm still putting-off studying for my Atmospheres exam. And writing my essay.

Laziness and Procrastination Prevail

Ah yes, dear readers; I shall once again put off today what I can do tomorrow. That is, after all, my mantra. Is that bad? I don't think so. It might be for some people, but it works quite well for me!

I had every intention of going to the gym after my 5:00 class today, but I'm feeling really tired already (and its only 3:30), and I think I feel a migraine coming on. Of course, working out would actually probably prevent a headache and make me feel energized, its just that motivating myself to change clothes and work out for an hour when I could be at home writing an essay for my Atmospheres class won't be so easy. So we'll see how that works out after Economics is over at 6:15. Bleh.

Actually if I go home and write my essay, I will actually be ahead....and how often does that happen? Umm....never. But that's because I have my Atmospheres exam on Thursday, and that's a killer. So once again, I have work to do, work to do!

On the plus side, I have a 'mini-break' this weekend and the beginning of next week! No school on Monday or Tuesday of this coming week means......I'm going to Annapolis! Yay! I'm going to visit my bestest friend Lani. We already have a very full agenda: find a dress for me to wear to Leilani's wedding in May (and shopping in general, because Annapolis Mall is fabulous), play Rock Band, and Lani's going to teach me some of her butt-exercises since she's 'macho-wacho' and I'm beginning to be. Oh, and I need to grow a butt. :D

Speaking of macho-wacho, my mom and Chris both commented over the past couple of days that they can see a difference since I've been working out. Of course I don't see any difference, but I see myself every day so I guess that's normal at first. But it made me feel good because Chris said I look good, so maybe I should drag my no-butt to the gym tonight....hmm.

Oh! And I had lunch with my friend Shi today; and she informed me that she just got hired at the new Gold's Gym in our town, and that she's going to be teaching a spinning class there! Since I won't be able to go to the gym here at school over the summer, I'm thinking about getting a 3-month membership at Gold's over the summer, especially since Shi will be teaching classes there. I think that would be so much fun!

Well....not too much else has been going on lately..... I watched an OK movie with Chris the other night, Shattered Glass. Chris loves that movie (and forced me to watch it) because, well, he's a journalist. And everything in that movie is what professors teach you NOT to do. I, on the other hand, thought it was, well....stupid. I don't know. I hated Glass' character, probably because he was played by Hayden Christensen. I just really don't like him, for no reason whatsoever. He just bothers me. The movie itself had some good parts, but all-in-all, it wasn't something I would have picked if I had any say in the matter (which I didn't, because Chris is a big butthead). :P

Ok, I've already written too much. Hopefully soon I'll have some new pictures to show.

Silly, silly me and some Pictures

Today is going to be a great day. I woke up at 5:30 this morning to write my Ethics paper that's due Monday. I finished it and got ready for work, which I thought I was supposed to go to at 10:30. I got dressed and drove to work (about 15 minutes) and proceeded to try to clock in. Only the clock told me I was 'too early'. What!? So I double-checked the schedule and realized that I had mixed-up today and tomorrows' schedules. Sheesh. Tomorrow I work 10:30-7:30. Today I work 3-11. I had it backwards. Great. So that kind of foiled my plans with Chris for this weekend. We were going to go to our favorite local ice cream joint, Twin Kiss, tonight when I got off work; and then have all morning to spend tomorrow until I had to go to work at 3:00. Now I won't get to see him tonight, but we can go to Twin Kiss tomorrow when I get off work at 7:30; and we can hang out Monday morning until I have to leave for class around 1:00. So that's not too bad, I guess. Still. It makes me mad when I do stupid things like that!

At least I got my paper out of the way. That's a big relief. And I wasn't too upset that I had to come home for a few hours today... this way I have time to do some laundry (which has just been piling up to my ceiling!), and I vacuumed my floors, and did some general spritzing-up. Phew. I've been meaning to do that for weeks now, really!

So anyway, on to the pictures! The weather has been more and more Spring-like lately; and I finally got around to getting all of the dead leaves out of my garden the other day.

Here's my lavendar, which I was tickled to discover has turned almost into a bush!

When I pulled away piles of leaves, I was shocked to see that I had all sorts of little greenies growing! I thought I'd probably already killed my garden since a) I never had much of a green thumb, b) I planted my garden last summer as an experiment, and c) there were so many leaves in there, I didn't see how anything could live under there without sunlight, but.....

And some old friends were there, waiting patiently for me to clear out the leaves

and let in the sunshine.
I also moved my little Chia herb garden into bigger pots and out onto the porch. The weather is still a little unpredictable, so they've been migratory plants, from the front porch to the kitchen table every now and then. I hope this gives them a little boost, though...they've been a little stunted I think!
The four tiny pots on the right are strawberry seeds I planted the other day.... I hope those grow!!

I'm still breathing.

Whew, I am sooo glad yesterday is over.

The Econ. exam was every bit as awful as i expected, but I think I at least passed. The rest of my class apparently thought it was just as hard as I did, so that was a small comfort. At least I don't feel like it was just me; I'm the "dumb one".

But that's all over now, and I just have one exam and 2 papers left to write before finals! Oh, and 2 team-project things, but they're not until the very last 2 days of class. Hooray!

To celebrate last night, I curled up in bed with my dog and my cat and watched Silk. It was really good, except I hate movies about men cheating on their wives/girlfriends, especially when its obvious that he really does love his wife/girlfriend. How does that make any sense?? If you love her.....DON'T CHEAT ON HER!!! But anyway. I hope I didn't spoil the movie for anyone....the movie box actually says that he has an affair with the Japanese concubine, so I'm sure I didn't spoil the surprise.

Well, I'm off for a nice semi-early day at work (at least compared to my usual 2-11pm shift)! Hooray for that, too! My goal for today is to stop at the bank after work (payday!), meet my momma at the Goodwill for some treasure hunting, and then come home and at least write a rough draft of my Ethics paper that's due Monday. That way, if I get it done tonight, I can actually see Chris Sunday before work and maybe even Monday before school!

Have lovely days, everyone!

TGIF!!

Ratzin'-fratzin'-rick-rackin'.....grumble-grumble-grumble!

How do you like that title? Ugh. I decided today (ok, a long time ago, but it was sealed today) that I HATE Economics. Really. My poor little brain just. doesn't. get. it.

I've never been great at math. I was ok in high school.... I got all the way up to Advanced Trigonometry. But I only got a C in Trig (and I partially blame the teacher, who made me soo nervous - he actually called me stupid and made me cry one time in class because I didn't understand a problem in class! But that's another story). But still. I managed to get mostly A's and B's in all of my other math classes. I took College Algebra at PSU and got an A+ in the class, so I was proud of that. I'm good at memorizing formulas and plugging in numbers...I can do that. But word problems and stuff? No. Nada. Can't do it. My brain just doesn't work that way somehow. So this Econ class has been fine, only boring, so far. No math. Except for it seems the whole exam that I will have today at 5:00 is math problems. And sure, its a plug-and-chug formula kind of deal, but these are INTENSE problems! I have read all of the chapters and my notes TWICE already today. And I've taken 3 online practice-quizzes. And failed them all. What is this?? I'm just not getting it. I don't know what it is.

I'm not going to lie; I'm a great student. I've made the Dean's List every semester that I've been in college (3 so far). I'm quite proud of my academic achievement. But this stupid Econ class is killing me. I got a high B on the first econ exam. That's alright, right? I'm definitely not expecting a similar grade on this exam. Its just so frustrating because I feel like there's nothing I can do to increase my chances of getting a better grade - I've gotten to the point in studying now that I can't even stare at the Econ book anymore. I've been studying for hours. And I haven't learned anything yet. So its just really upsetting. I mean, in the worst case scenario, and I fail the exam, I'm sure I can still at least PASS the class. I'd much rather get a DECENT grade, but I guess I'll take what I can get. Its not like I didn't try.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm boring myself.

On the bright side - its SPRIIIIIING!!!!!

Tiny little shop update!

I updated the shop a teensy bit last night....it was time to bring back some of my Spring-y stuff.

Phew. I have been so ridiculously tied-up with school, its not even funny. This week and next are chock-full of exams, papers, and other not-fun stuff. But its all because the semester is almost over, so I just want to get through it alive! Then maybe I can have a life again! Yippeee!

I made my schedule for next Fall this morning. I think it turned out alright. Should be a bit more stimulating than this semester, I think. I'm going to try to give myself a super-full course load, but I have to wait until 'schedule clean-up' before I can add any more classes. So far I've got GIS I (Global Info. Systems), Psych 101, Statistics (bleh), German Cinema (oooh!), and Soils. A strange mix, for sure! Most of those classes are the last of my Gen-Eds to get out of the way; then there are a few required courses and electives for my major. I'm going to try to get into Art Appreciation during schedule clean-up so I'll get all of my Gen-Eds out of the way in this coming semester. If I can't get into it, I'll try to take it over the summer. I'd almost rather take it over the summer because it would be online, but then again it would mean an EXTRA $800 out of my pocket. Meh.

So that's why I've been so absent of late. I just need to get through next week alive and I should be ok....until finals. And then I'm freeeeeeee!!

So please do check out the shop, and stop by the blog every now and then. I will try to write again soon, because I really do love blogging. And wish me luck on all of my exams!

♥♥♥