Lazy, Rainy Day

That's right; another lazy, rainy, dreary day. But I just checked the weather for the next week and its going to be in the high 80's! Looks like we're finally going to have some summer-y weather around here.

There hasn't been a whole lot going on here..... I got a new cell phone last week, finally. Its shiny and blue. I love it.

Chris and I went to Ikea at the beginning of the week. I can just never seem to have enough storage space in my tiny bedroom (which also serves as a living room/studio/library/etc); so we went in search of a tall narrow bookcase (as opposed to the short, wide one I had already) and another dresser like the one I already have to give me some more drawer space. I had planned on getting a 4-drawer Malm dresser (the one I have has 3 drawers), but I found a 3-drawer one in the "as-is" section for only $56! The only thing that was wrong with it was one back corner had a chip in it. Fine by me! I deliberated for a while whether or not it would fit in my tiny car, since it was pre-assembled. We decided it probably would and went ahead and bought it. It didn't fit. After taking everything out of my car, and then the trunk, and no matter what we did, it just wouldn't fit. So I finally went back inside and asked to borrow a screwdriver, took it completely apart, put it in my car, and got ready to go. And then I remembered I didn't even buy my bookcase! So I ran back inside and got it. Chris was pretty grumpy by then, but he did try to help me put everything together once we got back home. I say he TRIED because mostly he was just in my way. Haha!

My plan today was to go out to the 'bungalow' (shed) in the backyard and go through some of my stuff, re-organize, throw out, etc. and then pack some of my extra stuff in my room out there. But of course the weather isn't very cooperative, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. At least I did go through all of my school papers, piles of mail, etc. and thin that out! I think (hope) tomorrow will be very productive, indeed!

Unfortunately I can't do anymore tonight; I have to work 4:30-9:00 tonight. What a ridiculous shift. Sigh.

Gocco-Loco!

Oh man! Its been a while since I last posted....sorry about that! I've been busy, busy, busy. My trip to Annapolis was a blast, as always. More on that later. For now, I have some actual art to show! As you can see from the title, I'm officially loco for Gocco.

Oh yeah. I'm addicted.

I am tickled to death with how this turned out. Really. I made TONS of these this morning. I would have made billions more but I actually ran out of nice paper to print on.....and gocco supplies! Haha! Part of the reason I went to Annapolis (besides to hang out with Lani) was to check out an art supply store whose website claimed to stock gocco supplies. Well, they do! Art Things, Inc. is an amazing art store! And the people there were so nice and helpful. I definitely recommend it to anyone who lives in the Annapolis area. So I guess I'll be making another trip to Annapolis soon; or maybe I'll see if Lani could go in and get my stuff for me and ship it to me. Hmm....

Anyway, the squirrel cards are officially in the shop. I've listed two sets so far, but I have plenty more if they sell! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

And now, I must get to other business..... like lunch! I need to eat something quickly so I can get to Chris' house. We're going to the drive-in tonight to see a triple-feature! Its Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and Horton Hears a Who! I'm so excited, although I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stay awake through all three movies...I have to be at work at 6:30 tomorrow morning! Yuck.

Another walk in the woods...

I just realized today how much time Chris and I actually spend in the woods. We both just love it.
Today we went to Renfrew.

Chris laughs at me for being a tree-hugger, but here's proof that he's one too!

There's an old stone wall that runs along what used to be the farmstead.

There were wildflowers blooming everywhere, and birds singing, and little chipmunks and squirrels hopping through the brush....it was beautiful! It was also very muddy and wet, since we've had rain for the past week straight. Yesterday and today were beautiful days, but tomorrow we're up for some more rain, and straight through the weekend. Sigh.

I came home and watched some movies. I have a huge stack of DVDs I've been meaning to watch for literally months now, and just haven't had the time what with school and all. And now I'm making my way through the stack. I watched Imagination first today....it was ok. Not really my cup of tea, I guess you could say. Beautiful images, but strange. Very, very strange. And the acting....well, there wasn't much to speak of. I'm not exactly sure what was going on most of the time. This seems to happen to me when I watch movies that are combination live-action and stop-motion, like when I watched The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes. I can appreciate the art of the animation, but beyond that I have absolutely no idea what was going on. Is it just me?

After that I watched No Country for Old Men. That was....well, it was interesting. I guess it was good, but again it just wasn't my cup of tea. I did like it, but......but. I don't know. I prefer happier movies, I suppose. Whatever. I'd like to watch another movie tonight because I'm not tired at all (since I slept in til after 10:oo this morning!); but I have to be at work at 7:00 tomorrow morning, so I'd better not.

Oh yeah! And guess what. Grades are going to be posted tomorrow, so I'm anxiously awaiting that!

Wish me luck!

Thrift Store Heaven

Oh man. I found some treasures today!

First of all, the picture does this little guy no justice. He's a glass panda lamp/nightlight. The tag on the bottom says Saturday Knight, Japan; and he looks fairly old. I love him so so so much! And guess what. He only cost $4!!

And what could this be? Could it possible be a most-awesome-ever, one of a kind, weird-doll-fabric DRESS?! Perhaps it is...... I'll take some pictures of it in action tomorrow; but now I'm too tired. You'll just have to wait!
And this is a fabulous hand-painted (and signed!) wooden plaque-thing to hang on the future-walls of my future-kitchen in my some-day-house. Anyway, I like birds. So for now its hanging on my bedroom wall. I like it.

I also got a brand new, with tags, navy blue American Eagle jumper dress (very cute!) and a pretty-darn-new American Eagle skirt with little blue flowers on it. Its funny because I normally hate American Eagle, but everything I picked up at the Goodwill today was from there. Go figure.

We also went to a local (Amish? Mennonite?) farmer's market today. I had never been there before, but my grandma said she gets good cereal from there..... anyway, I was super-impressed. AMAZING prices on awesome food. They had a great selection of organic and gluten-free, too, which I thought was really great. I think the Amish lady who was working there was giving us funny looks though....they probably don't get a lot of customers with tattoos and facial piercings coming in there. But they were still very nice, and the cashier told us to have a "blessed day", which I thought was very cute. I picked up some whole wheat pretzels without salt; and Chris got some Gummy Hats, a Sasparilla soda, and some peppermint sticks. They also have an AMAZING selection of sprinkles there (*hint hint, Heidi!*)

Umm....oh yeah, so then this evening I went to my sisters' high school Jazz Band concert. That's always nice and full of nostalgia for me since I was in the jazz band for 7 years. *sigh* The concert was very nice; everyone did a great job. It makes me miss my jazz band days.

After the concert, I went back to Chris' house to watch The Orphanage. It was good, but it reminded me too much of a bunch of other movies. Good, but unoriginal, I guess is what I mean. I'd still recommend it if you want to be a little creeped out and have an excuse to clutch your boyfriend's arm.

So that was my action-packed day today. I think tomorrow we're going to try to go to Renfrew, if the weather cooperates. And now, it is time to go to bed. Goodnight!

The lazy days of summer....

Ok, its not actually summer yet but its my summer vacation. So there.

Its been a lovely couple days since I finished my finals last Thursday. Of course, I worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; but I've been relaxin' since Monday. Its been very nice, indeed!

There's been some lounging...

Yesterday we had a picnic at Caledonia.

Oh, and see that box marked "equate" in the picnic basket? That's stomach-ache medicine. I woke up yesterday with a terrible stomach ache. By the time we were done with our picnic and our walks around the park, I had a fever and just wanted to sleep. I have no idea what was wrong with me. I napped for about 4 hours at Chris' house, and then we decided to go to my house for the evening. My stomach didn't hurt quite as bad, but I had gotten a migraine. What a day! By the evening, I made myself throw up once (sorry to be gross!) and instantly felt 10 times better. And then my dad started feeling sick. It was very strange. But today I'm all better.

Anyway, enough about that. Here are some pictures from our walk around Caledonia yesterday:

This was the view from our picnic table. I love the little bridge!

Make a wish!

Chris and I agreed that we haven't seen the water in the creeks this high in years. Its been raining pretty steadily for the past few days and the creeks are more like rivers now! It seems like we've consistently had droughts in recent years, so its nice to see so much water in the creeks. It looked like they were probably around 3 or 4 feet deep in the center!

Freedom!

I'm freeeeeeee!!!!!!

Zzzzzz......Zzzzzzzzzz.......

Like that title? That's me snoring because I'm trying to study for my Economics final at 3:30.

Its not really working out too well.

I mean, I tried. Sort of. This book is just soooooo boring. The subject matter does absolutely nothing for me. I have to read and re-read the same sentences over and over again to force my brain to accept the information. Its that boring. So I think I'm just giving up. It doesn't REALLY matter, anyway - I just need to get a C for the class to count....and I'm sure I've already got a mid- to high- B. I'm really just kind of anxious to get this over with so I can get on with SUMMER!!

Oh yeah, speaking of summer - I did a bit of shopping after work yesterday and came home with some new plants for the garden. Yay! I got a few more pepper plants (red and yellow bell), a long-necked yellow squash plant, and a purple Columbine for the flower garden. I haven't gotten around to planting them yet, though....maybe this evening, if it doesn't rain.

And now, I'll share some more pictures from my Economics notes (they're way more interesting than the notes themselves, anyway!)-

A teensy-tiny, debonaire gentleman fox eyeing up plump Mrs. Goose

And a sparkle-spewing bear. Hehe.

Oh yeah, and "low wages reflect low productivity". That's important. *cough*

Economics Doodles, part 2

Woo hoo, my History final is over and done with! Now I just have Atmosphere and Economics on Thursday, and I'm freeeeee for the summer! Yay!

I sat outside and studied at a picnic table on campus for about an hour today, and just look at my shoulders!

(Please excuse the robe... I just got out of the shower because I was covered in dirt

from head to toe from working in the garden!)

That's right, I worked in the garden when I got home today. I actually got my little Japanese Maple and my White Spruce trees planted (finally), 9 little broccoli plants, and a green pepper. I also transplanted my chocolate mint from the big garden to the new garden, because it was literally taking over like half of the garden. I've decided that the garden I planted last year is to be the Flower Garden, as its mostly flowers anyway; and the new garden that I officially planted today is to be the Food Garden, aka Veggie & Herb garden. I still want to get some more veggies in there, but first I need to get a little garden fence or something to keep the rabbits out. I'm already a nervous wreck, worried that my broccoli will be eaten by tomorrow!

I didn't get any pictures of the new garden today because it was already getting dark by the time I finished, but I will definitely get some tomorrow.

And now, a few more pics from my Economics notebook.

This page was all 'sparkles' and skulls:

2 Down!

Wheee, I knocked one more final off of my 'to-do' list!

I had my Geography final this morning. It was a breeze. I finished in 10 minutes. Seriously. I'm quite sure I did very well on the exam, so that should give me pretty darn close to about 97% in the class....yay!!

Next up: World History at 3:30. I'm not too worried about that one, either. I have an A in the class so far, and I'm fairly certain I'll do just fine on the exam. Plus the professor loves me, so... no worries!

My biggest problem today is that I'm stuck on campus with nothing to do until 3:30. I should have taken longer to do my Geography exam, haha! I was done by 10:40, so I went over to Starbucks and got a Honey Frappuccino and a Toffee Crunch brownie, yum! I sat in Starbucks and studied for History until about 12:30; and then I got bored so I took a walk across campus to the Science Center building. I just love that building - its super-nerdy with posters about cell structure, and display cases filled with petrified wood and iguana skeletons.... its like a little museum...to me, at least! I guess I'm just a super-nerd.

Anyway, when I was done with my little walk in the Science Center, I crossed campus again to get to this computer lab (the one in the science building is too small and crowded). I'm quickly running out of exciting things to do in here, too, so I think I may head over to the Administration building in a moment to pick up my Dean's List Certificate from last semester....I forgot about it until today when I received an email from the secretary over there to come pick it up! Oops!

Well, I think I'm going to walk over there now and get my certificate. Shall I frame it and hang it on the wall? Hmmm...hehe.

I shall return later to share some more pictures from my doodle-filled Economics notebook. Until then....ta-ta!

A Whale of a Tale

Ok, I don't actually have a tale to tell you tonight. Well, except for the fact that I did the math and I figured out that I only need to get a 70% on my Geography final tomorrow to still have an A for the class. And I'll definitely get much better than that. And I'm pretty sure my History situation is pretty similar. So I'm not too worried. And, I'm not tired because I worked until 11:00 tonight, so I still need to 'wind down'.

So I took the pictures of my Econ. notebook like I said I would earlier, and I'm quite pleased with myself. :D Its funny to flip through my notes from the beginning of the semester through the end and see the progression from bored to catatonic. Haha!

So I think what I'll do is share one or two each day for a while, because I really like them. They're all super-tiny and surrounded by boring scribbles about Macro-Economics. Not my favorite subject!

Just so you get an idea of what a 'normal' page of notes from that class looks like:

You can see why I needed to distract myself, right?

So I just drew.

And, here are today's first pictures. I guess I'll do this in chronological order (page order) from my notes, so you can see the progression, haha! Today there are three pictures because they're all on the same page in my notes - they're all teensy-tiny, about the size of a quarter each.

I love the creepy little octopus. He's one of my favorites. :D

One Down...

...four more to go!

Ethics final - check.

2 finals tomorrow, 2 on Thursday.

Freedom.

After my Ethics final, I came home and did some of this because my brain was tired.

I drew these little guys on a piece of receipt tape at work last night. I've found that I have quite a knack for cetaceans. They're just about the only thing I can get right without having any sort of visual reference.

Which reminds me, now that class are officially over, I need to share my Economics notes, aka the "Sketchbook". I stopped taking notes in that class a few weeks into the semester, and just drew instead because I just couldn't even listen in that class. So the pages are filled with all sorts of whales, pirate ships, and...things. So I'm going to share some pictures on here as soon as I get around to photographing them.

In the meantime, I have to go to work for a whopping four-hour shift tonight. Yippee. And I have a migraine. Yuck.

Have a wonderful night, and I will be back soon!

And so it begins...

Well, today begins my week of finals... yuck. I woke up tired and un-motivated today - not a good sign. I only have one final today, for Ethics, and I did already get the 8 essay questions from my study guide written out; so I am at least on track. I'm just really not looking forward to this at all!

I'm wishing everyone else who has finals this week good luck!

Hopefully I'll be back in soon, when this is all over with!

Congratulations Leilani and Matt!

My good friend from high school, Leilani, got married yesterday. It was a beautiful wedding at the Bavarian Inn in Sherpardstown, West Virginia. The Inn was beautiful, with a great view of the Potomac River; and the weather was perfect for the outdoor ceremony.

The reception, of course, was the best part. There was lots of dancing, and drinking (since the Inn is also a brewery), although I don't drink so I was the DD for my friends. We all had a blast, and it was so nice to see Leilani and to finally meet Matt. They're both stationed in Carlsbad, California so I haven't seen Leilani in a very long time. Unfortunately they both have to report back to work on Monday, so they don't even get to have a honeymoon. I think they both had a really great time at their wedding, though, so that's good.

I was stupid and forgot my camera (like I always do) at the wedding, so I don't have any action shots. Some of my friends took pictures, so I'll have to wait and steal some of theirs. I did get some pictures of the beautiful flower centerpieces though, because Leilani's parents told my friends and I to each take one home with us. Each guest also got a bottle of wine (that's right...each guest got their own bottle) with a cute custom label with Leilani and Matt on it.

Weddings are so physically and emotionally taxing to me. Its such a strange feeling to see people you've been friends with since the 10th grade get married. Its a happy feeling, but just weird somehow. I can't even explain it. I'm probably just a weirdo.

Anyway, the whole wedding was just gorgeous and I'm so happy for Leilani and Matt; and I'm happy for her parents too because I know they're so relieved its all over now! ;)

Mail Time!

Look what just came in the mail for me!

My very own Gocco! I am soooo excited! I've been wanting one of these forever, and now its mine! I don't have the first clue how to use it yet. I have to go to work in about 1/2 hour so I don't have time to figure it out today. Sometime next week I'll sit down and figure this baby out. I'm going to Annapolis after finals are over next week and I'm going to stop at an art supply store there that sells gocco supplies, so I'll be completely ready to crank out some gocco!

When I was on the porch signing for my package, I realized its a beautiful day today! So I went out to my garden and snapped a few pictures:

My cute little baby Japanese Maple tree I got for $5 at a yard sale the past weekend

Some plants I have lined up on the front porch, just waiting for me to plant them (broccoli, a baby White Spruce tree, and a green pepper plant).

Just look how much my hens & chicks have grown since last year!

Just look at my mom's garden!



These next pictures are all from my garden in the backyard: