Weather of the ickiest sort.

Oh yes. Today is icky, indeed. Its rainy and chilly here. Yuck. The only good thing about the dreary-grey of today is that it inspired me to drink hot coffee, instead of iced. I mean, I usually drink at least two cups of hot coffee in the morning (at home), but if I'm out-and-about (mostly at school), I prefer iced coffe. My 'usual' is "tall-iced-caffe-mocha-with-soy" at Starbucks. Mmmm. But today, my sister and I met up in the little coffee shop on campus where I normally sit between classes (if you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably read countless blog entries composed in, or composed about, the little coffee shop).

Last year the coffee shop was called Ritazza, and I don't remember what brand of coffee they served, but it wasn't especially great. This year, they've changed it up a bit, and now its a Seattle's Best. So now, we have both a Starbucks AND a Seattle's Best on campus. Sweetness.

Anyway, we both decided it would be a good day to have a nice, hot cup o' joe, rather than iced as per normal. 1) The coffee was really good! 2) It was CHEAP (which consequently raises its status from 'good' to GREAT!). It was only $1.29 for a 'small', which was like a Starbuck's 'tall'. That's pretty good, in my book. So now I'm nice and toasty, my tummy is full (at least for now... I find since going Vegan that I need to eat about every 2 hours, or I go into hibernate-mode), I'm energized, and I spent less than $1.50. Awesome.

*****

Oh yeah, and the little lunch-lady who, like, loves me is just as cute as ever. I don't think I've blogged about her before... her name is Linda, and she just loves me. She kind of 'adopted' me last year, probably because of how much time I spent in the CUB last year, and because I eat wraps, which she makes, every Tuesday and Thursday. She was dismayed on Tuesday when I told her I would no longer be having cheese on my wraps... just lettuce and tomato for me, thanks. She was like, "Oh my! What am I going to do with you?" Then aside, to my sister, "I try to take care of her, you know!" She is so adorable! Haha! Plus today she told me she really likes my haircut, and it makes me look YOUNGER....she guessed I was about 25, so she wasn't really too far off. Hahaha.

Suddenly, Fall.

Wow. I woke up this morning and its Fall. Well, not quite, but almost. It has been downright chilly around here these past few nights/mornings, and it doesn't warm up until late morning. I even saw some leaves starting to lose their color and fall around the college. It just seems so early.... is anyone else noticing the seasons changing earlier and earlier?

Two words: GLOBAL WARMING.

Anyway, I want to enjoy the remaining days of summer the best I can; so I've been going out to my garden every (tiny) chance I get. Also, on a side-note, I've recently observed THREE frogs in our pond now, not just two!

****

So, I promised I'd talk about school some more this evening. Since I posted this morning, I actually had to drop the Art History course that I had just added (in short: because I needed to fill a Lit. requirement, and the German Cinema course I had originally scheduled counted toward that, but the Art History course didn't). So I picked up "English 250: Introduction to Literature". Pretty basic-sounding. Except when I received the syllabus (via email from the prof, since I missed Monday's class), it turns out the course is actually about Race in Literature....race, as in skin color. Hmm. Its interesting, but not at all what I expected when I signed up for 'intro to lit". So, yeah. I like the prof. a lot. He's really....dead-pan. I don't know how else to describe him. But the course seems interesting so far, and he seems to know a lot about it, so it should be OK.

My favorite class so far is definitely Intro to Interdisciplinary Arts. My professor is awesome: he's a photographer for the Smithsonian (yes, the Smithsonian.); his daughter graduated from Harvard and is apparently, like, a genius; and his son lives in a Tibetan Buddhist monastary. Dr. Hirschon just got back from sabbatical in India, where he was making a documentary for the Smithsonian; and he wears Buddhist prayer beads around his neck. And, he looks like Santa Clause, only he's Jewish.....and a New Yorker. Awesome. Today we had a multi-session class (with 3 classes combined) and watched part of an awesome film, Akira Kurosawa's Dreams... so added to my Netflix queue!

I think this semester is going to be pretty good, as long as I can maximize efficiency in my time-managing.....which can be a struggle for me at times. Although, for the record, I've been getting up at 6:30 every morning even though I don't have class sometimes until 2:00. So I'm doing ok so far. My texts seem really dry, though, which may prove to be a hurdle for me. I just can't concentrate if a textbook is just too boring.....much like this blog entry is turning out to be! Sorry!

Schooooool.

Thanks for all the well-wishes, guys! I LOVE all of my classes this semester. My professors are all really cool, and quite funny. For example, my statistics prof. is a young guy (around 30?) who LOOOOVES ABBA (read: he's seen Mama Mia! on Broad FIFTEEN TIMES and the movie TWICE. Wow.), is a rollercoaster enthusiast, and a Parrothead. Oh, did I mention he's probably just a little bit gay? He's awesome. I'm so relieved, because its been 5 years since I had a math class...I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up in the class, but I think he'll make it interesting (to say the least).

I did drop one class, however: German Cinema. I'm so disappointed. I think I would have really liked the course, but the professor was terrible. She's German, which is fine and dandy, but the course is NOT taught in the German language (and has nothing to do with it, except for we'd only study German films. Not really sure why...?)......and she admittedly knows NOTHING about film. The first day of class, she handed out a list of term that we were supposed to 'guess at' what their definitions could be (?!?!). When we were going around and telling what we had come up with, she actually didn't know the correct answers!!!! OMG. So, yeah. I dropped that, and picked up Art History (awesome). But then I realized I needed to have an Arts course that would satisfy a Lit. requirement, so I then dropped Art History and picked up Intro to Lit (literally, like, this morning). So I have that class today at 2:00. So now I'm done messing with my schedule. Phew!

Now, I'm sorry, but I must go and do some reading for my classes today and today morning! I'll be back early this evening, so I'll tell more about school then.

See ya'll later!

First day of school!

Well, its official - today is the first day of school! My little sister is already on campus for her first day of college, how cute. She already called me and asked what she should be doing between classes...haha. I suggested she go to the computer lab, or the library, or Starbucks..... she decided to call a new guy-friend to see if he wanted to go to the mall. Ha!

My first class doesn't start until 3:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays (although Monday nights I will be on campus until 9:15, yuck), so that's cool. I'm completely ready to go already, though! Haha! I'm so excited, just like a little kid!

Here's my outfit:

My favorite top:

With matching red shoes, of course!
I'm so mad about this planner I bought. Its the exact same one that I had last year, except in a different color. So I assumed it would be exactly the same on the inside. NO. This one didn't have a place to write in your class schedule, so I had to draw out my own and tape it to the inside. How ghetto is that?!
And this is completely un-related, but I wanted to share it anyway. My mama found this for me at a yard sale this weekend. Isn't it the cutest thing ever?!

Now I'm pretty much just sitting here, twiddling my thumbs until its time to leave. I need to go a little early today so I can stop at the police building to buy a parking permit and.....go to Starbucks! Hahaha!

Humpty Dumpty

Yesterday after work, I stopped in to the Goodwill really quickly; as I haven't been there in ages. I wasn't in the mood for browsing, so I hit the high points - shoes, purses, dresses, and knick-knacks. After coming up with nothing (except I did find an excellent slip-nightgown thing to incorporate with my Renn. Faire outfit....more on that later!), I was heading out the door when I spied this:

Ok, its supposed to be for little kids, but seriously - who would pass this up?! Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!?

I have yet to experience the desire to have children. I just don't want any. Never have; probably never will. But, just in case..... my child could have this. If I don't ever have children (a real possibility), then....its all miiiiine! Hehehehe. Or I could pass it on to a niece or nephew, or a friends' baby. But probably I'm keepin it all to myself. I've found a nice little niche for him in the corner by the bookshelf, where he can catch clothes, or more likely, jewelry that I would otherwise throw on the floor. I'm bad like that.

Anyway, I'm having a lazy, lazy day. I was mulling over the idea of going to campus to pick up a parking permit and maybe a small meal plan, but I have yet to even change out of pajamas, and its 12:30. So...... yeah, that's probably not going to happen today. I have to be at work at 4:30 this evening, bleh. Those short evening shifts just suck the life out of me, even if its only 4 1/2 hours. I feel like I can't do anything all day because I have to get ready for work, blah blah blah. The most I've done today was watch the Today Show (while simultaneously developing a HUGE crush on Phil Dalhausser, yum!) and some laundry. Wow.

Tall, skinny, and bald...just the way I like 'em! ;D

So that's my day so far. Does anyone have interesting plans, or any plans at all, for this lovely Friday? I'd love to hear what other people are doing today. Perhaps that would motivate me to leave my Bat Cave..... leave me some comments and motivation!

xoxo

High Seas

This is my idea for my next tattoo, which I think will go on my chest. Does anyone have one on their chest? I'm wondering how bad that's going to hurt....my collarbone is kinda bony! Eek!

Anyway, I think I'm going to make the waves on the right side of the ship a little shorter so I can move the narwhal on the right in a little.... its not even. That bothers me. I think I'll try shading the narwhals a little, and maybe adding some texture to the sails; but really I'm very pleased. Now I just need to come up with some money so I can afford to get inked! Maybe for Christmas... hmm.....

Pizza, Pizza!

So, last night I was really hungry for pizza. I found an easy-sounding pizza-from-scratch recipe in my new Beth Bee cookbook that I really wanted to try, but alas, I was out of tofu. Boo. So today after work I picked up some tofu and a few odds and ends for my pizza.

Let me just start out by saying that I have never really been much of a cook. I can prepare like a champ, but i just never got into cooking. Ever since I went vegetarian last October, and even more so now that I'm Vegan, I've been really getting into my cooking (also out of necessity!). Luckily, it seems that I'm a pretty decent chef!

The whole pizza was completely made from scratch: dough, 'cheese', and sauce. Oh yeah.

The 'cheese' is actually Tofu Basil 'Ricotta', which is seriously AMAZING. I used fresh basil leaves from my garden. The sauce is sort of my own mixture of tomato paste, diced tomatoes (canned), and spices because I didn't have any real pizza sauce, and I like to make things difficult.

I picked these fresh from my garden, too! I sliced up a few for the topping.

I made two small pizzas (one with broccoli, one without). Here's one pre-baking.

And here they both are, ready to be eaten!

What's the final verdict?
Delicious!

Checklist for the Last Day Off

Today is officially my last day off before the semester starts a week from today. I was kind of bummed this morning, but then I checked my class schedule again and I realized I did a really great job of scheduling this semester. I actually gave myself plenty of time to study, do homework, and (hopefully) have some me time leftover. Cool.

Anyway, I was bummed this morning. I had that anxious, "this-is-my-last-day-so-I'd-better-make-it-a-really-super-awesome-one" feeling.... you know. But I didn't feel like doing anything, really. I just kind of sat around until about 10 o'clock this morning; and then I realized I was just wasting my last day of freedom. So I set out to complete a bunch of mundane tasks that actually weren't so boring, and I quickly went from a grumpy mood to a pretty decent one. Starbucks may or may not have had something to do with that...

Here's what I did today:

1. Bought $339.77 worth of textbooks.....but the bookstore didn't have one book that I may need, so that's another $50 or so.

2. Made some new business cards.

3. Fed my Starbucks addiction.

4. Cleaned my disgusting bathroom (the walls were covered in years and years' worth of makeup residue...ew).

5. Uploaded tons of photos to Flickr that I've been meaning to for, oh, I don't know, months.

6. Laundry: 2 loads down, and I'm still not done.

7. Filled up on gas....only $3.45/gallon in Shippensburg! Woo hoo!

So far, so good. I'm not really sure what I'll do the rest of the evening, but I think it may involve cutting and hanging some mint leaves to dry...

The 3 "F"s

To make a long story short, we went hiking in the woods near Chris' house this morning. We saw lots and lots of mushrooms....more kinds than I have ever seen before! I found lots of tiny little flowers and TONS of itsy bitsy little frogs and toads. I mean tons. They were everywhere, once we got into the deep, dark part of the woods. Of course, I couldn't resist picking most of them up for a photo op....

Anyway, on to the pictures!

First, Chris and I took a pictures on some rocks by the pond where the trail starts.

Fungus:

I thought this one looked like a cantaloupe!

Flowers:

Frogs (ok, mostly toads, but we're going with the "F" theme...):

This little guy was the first one I found.... I'm pretty sure he was a frog, not a toad. He was just built differently; smooth, sleek.... and he didn't puff himself up like toads do to look intimidating. Plus he was kind of sticky. Look how tiny!!

They got progressively bigger (and toadier) after that...

(Sheesh, sorry for all the froggy pictures.... I just really like them! They're so darn cute and tiny!)

I spotted this beetle when we sat down to have a rest, perched on a blade of grass... it was actually pretty big, at least an inch long. I like his antennae.

Perhaps the strangest thing we saw on the trail was this part of an old truck...? Who knows how long its been there. Its pretty trashed. (On a side note, the strangest thing we actually saw on the trail was a babydoll floating on a lilypad in the pond at the beginning of the trail. That was totally weird... but, you just never know, here in Pennsyltucky. There were also lots of shotgun shells all over parts of the trail, so there ya go.)

We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Deer prints!

After hiking, we changed clothes and went to the theatre to see Tropic Thunder, which was absolutely hilarious (as long as you're not offended by the abundance of obscene language, as my aunt and sister were when they saw it last night). Ben Stiller is a genius. Tom Cruise is unbelievable, too. It was really, really funny. That's all I'll say.

Now, I'm going to eat some dinner and head down to Chris' house again so we can go to Starbucks later in the evening! A perfect ending to a perfect date-day!

The "Veganizer" Strikes Again!

Lani, aka The Veganizer, aka Yoda...... (long story; trust me, you don't even WANT to know). Be careful - if you find yourself cornered in a dark alley by The Veganizer, she WILL Veganize you!!! (Or, if you're good at understanding Yoda-speak: "Veganize you, she will!")

Yeah. So please don't think we're totally insane. We just had too much 7-11 coffee at 10 o'clock at night, and we hadn't eaten in like a whole day because there were NO VEGAN OFFERINGS ANYWHERE at that beach. Seriously. Thank goodness we brought some tofurkey sandwiches and protein bars!!

On to the beach pictures:

This was the view from my beach towel. It was my first time visiting Ocean City, so I didn't really know what to make of it. Its very different from OBX, and very similar to Virginia Beach. I myself prefer secluded, quiet beaches strewn with seaweed and shells, but...hey, a beach is a beach. It was an all-around good time, for sure.

There were seagulls EVERYWHERE!

And for some reason, I was really impressed by the giant animatronic Jaws sticking out of Ripley's Believe It Or Not....especially the pigeon sitting on its back (look closely!). It was really funny; there was actually a pigeon sitting inside of the mouth at one point!We did a lot of walking on the boardwalk.... we parked at the Inlet (which is where the boardwalk begins) and Lani's aunt's hotel was at 17th street, so it was quite a ways. I think my favorite part of the boardwalk was just people-watching. You see all kinds of characters! Of course, we also enjoyed doing a bit of shopping. There really wasn't much that I wanted from boardwalk shops (and the surf shops are just too darn expensive!!); but we both got the same little tube-dress/cover-up with a geisha girl on it. Its really cute...and I got a pair of leggings that have like, tattoo designs on them. They're really flashy, but....well, sometimes I just feel flashy. Plus they have birds on them, so there you go.

We woke up super-early on Wednesday....5 a.m. to be exact; and were sitting on the beach by about 6:30. There was a big pod of dolphins (probably around 30 total!). They were in 4 separate little groups, but I'm sure they were one big pod. They were actually pretty close to the beach, eating....there was even a little baby one! He jumped out of the water and did little tricks....it was so cute. We watched them for at least an hour, until they slowly made their way back out to sea. That was by far my favorite part of the trip.

We left the beach around 8:30, I think, and headed back to Annapolis. I was practically passed out from lack of sleep and food.... my arms started getting tingly and I just wanted to close my eyes. That's what happens when you're vegan and you don't have any food in your stomach! Bleh. Anyway, on the way home, a little yellow butterfly somehow got sucked into the car window and landed on my arm. He was stunned, so I cupped him in my hands for like, an hour and a half, until we got back to Lani's house and let him go. I felt really good about that. Plus, I imagine he's probably the world's most well-traveled butterfly.... probably the only butterfly to ever cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge! Haha!

Of course, no trip to Annapolis is complete with spending wayyyyy too much time/money at the mall.... so, off we went. I was really good, though; and Lani was even better. I only got a few things, and Lani only bought one makeup item from Sephora. It was a very good trip for us! ;) I got a new bag for school, a shirt, and some new Urban Decay mineral makeup at Sephora.

So, that was my trip! It was so fun. I wish I lived closer to Annapolis. Lani and I always have so much fun! Although, I think if we lived closer together, we'd get ourselves in trouble (read: debt)! Haha!

Today is sort-of a 'regular' day..... I work The World's Most Pointless Shift (5-9 pm) today, so I have most of the day to take care of home-stuff. I spent last night at Chris' house; and we got up early this morning and had coffee/breakfast outside. That was really nice, but chilly.... what's up with that? Isn't August supposed to be the hottest month? The 'dog-days' of summer?? Two words. GLOBAL. WARMING.

And I'm off!

Hooray!! Away I go; off to the beach until Wednesday! I'm leaving straight after work tomorrow afternoon, going to Lani's house in Annapolis for the night; and then we're heading for the beach Tuesday morning. I'm oh-so-excited because a) its the beach; and b) its a beach I haven't been to yet. So that's cool.

I promise to take lots of pictures and come back very tan(ish), indeed.

Surprise!!!

Party, that is.
My sisters' birthdays are in July and September, and they turned/are turning 18 and 16 (respectively) this year; so my parents decided to throw them a joint surprise party.

August seemed like a happy medium.

This is our yard, all set up for the party.

My mom made this giant poster of embarassing pictures of both of them. Ha.
We do love our bonfires...
And I think this is the best picture ever. My mom hung these balloons from some tree branches in the back yard.

My friend Lauren stopped by to keep me company; and now I'm kinda partied-out. I admit, I'm a bit of a party-pooper anyway. I feel a little blue because Chris is still out of town (having fun with his friends, which is good, but I still miss him). Bummer.

In other news, I got lots of compliments on the new 'do at work today... even my dad said it "looks better than it did yesterday", which is about as close to a compliment as I think I'll get out of him (oh, he-who-doesn't-like-short-hair).

I'm off work tomorrow, and I really, really, REALLY want to stick to my plan of having a PRODUCTIVE day. There are a few crafty things I want to work on; I need to go grocery shopping (read: I HAVE NOOOOOO FOOOOOOD); and I have some school business I should really take care of. Oi.