Handmade Cards for the Holidays

This Christmas I told myself that I was not allowed to buy those super cute little boxes of cards at the store, but rather that I had to make all of my cards myself, or use leftover cards (from those cute little boxes) from years past. Well, partially because I had the urge to be crafty, and partially because I felt it was "too soon" to send out leftover cards from 1-3 years ago, I spent a few days making these. The ones above were my standard Christmas cards this season.


These two were crafted when I realized that my list of people was larger than the amount of cards I had made. So, I tried something new.


This one was for my mom's birthday, which is about a week before Christmas. She even recognized the green flower paper as wrapping paper that we used to have at the house. (There was only a little bit let, not nearly enough to wrap anything with, so I added it to my folder of pretty paper to be made into cards)


And then lastly, I made this one for a friend of the family who is getting married this week. I wanted to go with their color scheme, but had no idea what that was. I figured that blue is pretty standard, and it looks nice, so I went with it. (I have since learned that red/burgundy is the color in the wedding. I still think the blue is pretty though)

Not quite an ugly sweater, but close enough.

A few years back my residence hall had an ugly sweater holiday party. I could have easily found an ugly sweater at the "Salvo" (what UMMers call the local Salvation Army Thrift Store), but while shopping there I found this lovely piece of work. Since I was the Residence Hall Director, I figured I could get away with a hostess dress instead of a sweater (as well as those lovely red velvet pants to wear underneath!).


This year we don't have any ugly sweater parties to attend. Perhaps I'll have to organize one for next year. But I'm looking forward to the ugly-sweater-free festivities nevertheless.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season and safe travels!!

Holiday Goodies

One of my favorite ornaments.

A tasty cocoa treat.

Thanksgiving

Things I Am Thankful For Over Thanksgiving Break:

• For the second year now, I got to spend Thanksgiving with Erik
• I was able to see relatives that I normally don't see on Thanksgiving because they live in Las Vegas and Los Angeles
• Being able to talk on the phone with the Minnesota relatives I usually spend Thanksgiving with
  
• Fun times (and free drinks) with my generous cousin
• A very much appreciated early Christmas present from my aunt & uncle: A Costco Membership!
  
• Another job prospect for Erik (he has an interview this Friday!!)
• Decorating the apartment for Christmas
• Today is pay-day!
  

Picture: http://thelegacybuilder.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/a-few-of-my-favorite-things/

Pocket full of sunshine...

It's the weekend!! (I don't have class on Fridays, so my weekend starts early. It gets interrupted by having to teach on Saturday, but oh well) I would say that I'm probably about half-way through the list I posted last time. I have a ton to get done this weekend, but tonight I am enjoying an evening of relaxation (we bought a Christmas tree! but it won't be put up until the day after Thanksgiving).

Here's a goofy picture of myself that I took while playing with the webcam function on my new laptop.


P.S. Sorry if the post title gets that song stuck in your head. It was playing on the radio in the car and is in my head.

So much to do!!

Grad school is busy. Oiy.

In the next two weeks, I must accomplish a lot of stuff.
- Hydrogeology Problem Set (or two)
- Hydrogeology Take-Home test (almost done!)
- Cut a bunch of basalts down to size
- Schedule SEM time to look at the olivines in said basalts
- Give a short presentation regarding my research to my adviser and her other students
- Have my GSA Grant Proposal draft finished
- Give a practice Thesis Proposal talk to my class
- Finish the Thesis Proposal draft
- Prepping the last two labs of the semester
- Grading policy letters for those labs
- and any 'normal' homework that pops up in there (and it will)

I may need to use a substantial amount of caffeine to do this. It might hurt. Oiy.

It is pretty grand...

This is definitely the coolest thing I've seen since moving out west:


Photo 1: Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Lava Falls, Lava Falls Rapids
Photo 2: Grand Canyon, Toroweap Overlook

Some of the Products of My "Extended Weekend"

A card for my best friend and her husband who got married this summer. (Congrats to the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Baker!) This one was made in July, but the other three cards are from a few weekends ago.

For my cousin who just bought her first house.

This one was for my aunt's birthday.

And this one was for my parent's wedding anniversary (the photo is from an old desk calendar I keep around for craft purposes).

Tip-Toe Through the Tulips

Tulips are my favorite flower. One of my favorite things from last spring was walking through town and seeing all of the tulips as they popped out of the ground and began to bloom in various colors. My cousin, future artist/graphic artist extraordinaire, made an amazing painting of my favorite flower (in one of my favorite color schemes!) to grace the very empty and very white wall in my living room. Thanks so much, Tess! Shortly after the painting graced the wall my mom sent tulips to me. What a perfect coincidence!

Painting: Tess F., 2009

Extended Weekend

I ended up with a bit of an extended weekend over the last few days, but only because I was sick and did not go to school yesterday or today. I started to feel a little sluggish on Friday but didn't really admit to actually being sick until I got to my lab section on Saturday where I had trouble talking. On Sunday I woke up and felt downright terrible. I felt so crummy that I scrapped my original plan of waiting until Monday where I could have gone to the school doctor for free, and looked up the nearest clinic.

From what I had heard of this string of clinics, I expected that we would be waiting in the sitting area for hours before getting to see a doctor. I guess Sunday mornings are a slow time for them, thankfully, because I was seen after a reasonable amount of time. Then the doctor told me that my horribly sore throat was probably just due to a virus... but thank goodness she also wrote me two prescriptions. 1) Typical cough syrup. 2) "Magic" Mouthwash to numb my throat.

At first, I thought the idea of mouthwash that would numb my throat was awesome. I continued to think that until I tried it out. It was then that I realized that it also would numb my tongue and lips. I absolutely hate coming home from the dentist and having that numb feeling all over, so I struggled a lot with this stuff.

But anywho... I didn't go to school the last two days because I didn't want to get other sick, and I needed the rest. Luckily, I didn't miss a lot. One of my classes and a meeting for Monday were canceled, and new homework sets weren't assigned in my other classes. Score!


I slept a lot this weekend, but I did accomplish something else: Halloween decorating!! I don't have a lot of Halloween decorations, but now the apartment is a little more festive. :)

My Life as a New Grad Student

It's already the third week of school! I can't believe it! (And I still don't have a good routine set up...).

The Office: This is where I place the blame for not having a good routine so far. I didn't have a key to my office until the end of last week. When I had down time between classes, I would "office crash" with my fellow students who had keys (I'm in the new building, hence the lack of key), or I would find a random couch in the hallway and try to get some reading done. Not the best for being productive... But now I have a key, so I can get my office set up and hopefully I'll start getting things done in a more efficient manner.

The Classes: They're going alright so far. The fact that our program considers a B- failing is kind of intimidating though. I think if we get two B-'s we're put on probation from the program. I'm hoping that won't be an issue, but it's definitely motivation to study, study, study.

The "Teaching:" So I don't really teach, I mostly just say "Today we're doing Lab 3, it's in the lab manual. Ask me if you have questions." And then I end up explaining certain things over and over again to different groups of students. My students seem like they're doing fairly well so far, and I think I've been able to help them understand concepts that they've asked me about.

The Research: I'm going to be studying the weathering of ultramafic minerals, particularly olivine. I have a list of papers and dissertations to read and look through to gain some understanding of the subject and what people have done in similar experiments. My adviser told me today that we've got the sampling permit we need to go obtain samples at one of our field sites, so we'll probably be doing that in early October. This isn't really what I envisioned studying when I applied to grad school (but really, I didn't have a good idea of what I wanted to do anyway). Yet, I know that I'll be learning a lot because this is all new to me.

Alrighty, now I must get going. I've got oreos and a paper about geology and the scientific method waiting for me.

Life in Vegas Thus Far

Things have been going pretty well so far in Vegas. I got settled into the apartment in a week. Well, mostly. I have a few pictures to hang up and some files to organize, but other than that, I'm pretty much done.
Orientation started today. It wasn't very exciting actually. I thought there was going to be more to it, but we basically just got talked at for a few hours in a banquet hall sized room with 600ish new students in it. It was nice to be able to put names to faces of people I'd possibly need to contact if I had certain issues (where to get paperwork, who to talk to about funding, how to change the people on your committee, etc...). Yet, I would have been fine with just getting a big ol' packet of information and not wasting gas money to do the 20-minute drive to campus. (I took a quicker route this time. Last time it took 30 minutes. Tomorrow we'll see how long the same route takes but with morning traffic...)

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a teaching workshop. Some renowned speaker/teacher/professor is going to be teaching us about different methods to get students involved, I guess. I hope that it's helpful, because I don't see myself as a teacher at all (don't really want to be a teacher at all... but it's how I'm getting paid, and it will be a worthwhile experience). I'm more of a one-on-one person, not a lecture to a big group of people person. I'm actually ridiculously boring to listen to when I'm "lecturing." At least that's the impression that I got during my stint as a Sunday school teacher or during RA training sessions. But oh well, even if the workshop is a bust, I am going to the grocery store (a.k.a. Walmart Supercenter... I don't have to like them, but they're cheap and conveniently located) to get some stuff. I like grocery shopping.

And then Thursday, oh Thursday. I can't wait until Thursday. Here's the first reason. Thursday is the Geoscience Department orientation. So, I'll actually be meeting people that I'll see on a regular basis, and find out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing rather than getting talked at in a crowded auditorium hearing stuff that could have been sent out in a packet. And, there's a potluck, which should be fun.

The other reason I'm excited is that Erik gets back to Minnesota from his European adventure on Thursday. At that point, our long-distance relationship gets upgraded from Gmail chats and emails to phone calls. Yay!!

An Old Bookmark

While I was unpacking the other day, a folded-up piece of paper fell out of a book. I usually just use random scraps of paper as bookmarks. Those cute and/or fancy bookmarks that you can buy at the store are nice, but I'm always afraid that I'll lose them or that they'll get damaged. For this reason, I generally just use scratch paper.

On the outside of this piece of paper was this quote, which I must have found important while I was reading the book from which it came.

"Sometimes at our most discouraged, we can also forget that the past is a resource, not a destiny."
~Jill Fredston, from her book "Snowstruck"

I enjoyed re-reading the quote, and then tossed the bookmark into a pile to be dealt with later. As I was tidying up a few moments ago, I unfolded the piece of paper to see what, if anything, was written inside. There is a doodle of a daisy and directions to my boyfriend's house. The funny thing is, I have the route memorized now but I still don't know the street names for a lot of the turns. And a few of the roads, according to these directions, have an actual name and then a county road name. Three of the roads have the same county road name, which doesn't make sense to me. Maybe that's why Kyla and I almost got lost the first time we drove there!

Pesty Things

My apartment doesn't really seem to have a big pest problem, but I'm thinking I may have to buy some indoor pest killing devices. Two cockroaches so far, a few spiders, and then today I tried to get two spiders (one of which was kinda big, at least compared to most you'd find back in MN), but they both got away. The big one managed to hide behind the TV, but only after I wounded it slightly. I'm hoping the spider is not one for revenge... because it might know where I sleep... And seeing that my next task for the night was going to be organizing my DVDs, which are next to the TV behind which the spider is hiding... I will not be accomplishing that task tonight. I feel like such a wimpy girl right now. Every little itch I feel is making me jump because I think it might be the spider coming to get me... or some other annoying little fly thing that I've been finding. When I lived with other girls, I tended to be the bug killer, but now that I'm alone (and have carpet, which is much harder to squish bugs on than a tile floor) I am much more jumpy!

Anywho... the battery is about to die. Hopefully soon I will be settled in enough to post a few pictures. But other than my squeamish bug issue (which really isn't even that big of an issue, I'm just a bit jumpy about it now), things have been going well so far. I plan on going to campus tomorrow to sign my TA contract, get a student ID, and maybe pick up a book. We shall see.


**Update: I'm on a different computer now, which solves the battery issue I mentioned before. As soon as I got off the other computer, beasty spider made another appearance near the couch, which was where I had been sitting when I originally made an attack. It knew where to find me... so I put forth another offensive, this time with kleenex in hopes of squishing the thing more successfully than using the kleenex box earlier (stupid carpet... too soft to kill bugs with hard objects...). Beasty spider must have known I was about to strike because it moved with great speed. I took up higher ground standing on the coffee table (thank goodness it's sturdy!) waiting for spidey to make its next move.

It seemed to want a momentary retreat and headed for the cover of the blinds by the sliding glass door. It was then that I remembered a weapon that I had used years ago on a bug that was too fast for me... something that slows down the agile pests... febreze! (PETA and anyone that harbors sympathies for the spider community... I apologize, but desparate times call for desparate measures... I was hiding on top of the coffee table for goodness sake in my own apartment!) So I ran over to the tubberware bins full of toiletries and cleaning supplies and dug out my trusty trigger bottle of Clean Linen Febreze and took up my post waiting for the spider to show it's ugly large self again. To protect the spider's honor, it put up a valiant fight against my weapon, but eventually my efforts won out and I gave the spider a two-flush burial (and because I'm in the desert I will make sure to conserve more water than usual tomorrow to make up for that excess).

Well, the movie is coming to a close fairly soon. Hopefully I will have calmed down a bit by the end and will be able to get to sleep. I'm definitely glad that I chose to watch the first Harry Potter movie tonight rather than the second... there's no way I'd be able to make it through the giant spider scenes tonight after this ordeal!

Photo: icanhascheezburger.com

The Next Time I Post, I'll Be in Nevada!

The moving process begins tomorrow!!!! My dad's going to pick up the moving truck around 8:00 (which is approximately when I'll be waking up). Then Grandma B. is stopping over at some point with cookies and banana bread. Yummy! And then as soon as everything is loaded up, we'll be on the road!

The goal is to get to Las Vegas around 10-11 in the morning on Saturday. Then the whole paperwork process and signing of the lease happens. Then I can move in!!!!! But I most likely won't be posting for a while because the internet isn't getting hooked up until Monday.

And then it's going to be busy, busy, busy with unpacking, finding out where everything is, and then orientation starts the next week!! Man oh man!

What's Up?

I have a cold. It's not that bad, really, but it's a bit annoying when I should be putting my energy into packing because I move in a week! Crazy, I can't believe it's already down to just one week. Today I'm going through my CD collection trying to find CDs that I can maybe sell for a little bit of money. I'm also making back-up copies of some of my CDs because I'm not actually bringing the real ones with me to Vegas. But I'm only making some, like Christmas music, because I don't keep that on my computer. I like the shuffle function, so I keep the Christmas music off the computer so I don't have to listen to holiday tunes that randomly pop up during August.

The only problem is that I'm running into the problem of finding blank CDs that my computer isn't recognizing as anything, so I can't burn anything to it. Luckily, I bought a new spindle of CDs the other day (Target is having a great deal on them right now!) so I have the new ones, which my computer does recognize. I'm just not happy about the prospect of possibly having to throw away 10 CDs that aren't working. I thought it was my computer's CD drive that might be the problem, but then the new ones worked... oh wells.

And then I'm going to re-alphabetize my CD collection in the CD shelf that's staying home. (Have I mentioned I'm a huge nerd? Who can also be a bit OCD sometimes...? Yeah.)

In other news, my best friend Kelsey got married last weekend. The ceremony and everything, especially her, were just beautiful and everything went really well! I hope to make another post about it when I can get my hands on some pictures. My mom was the wedding photographer, so I could just sneak them off of the home computer, but Kelsey and her husband have not seen the pictures yet. I guess I'll be a good girl and wait.

Both are true, I think

"Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will." ~ Unknown

"I miss you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow." ~ Unknown

Couch!!!!

We don't have to buy a couch!!!!!!!!! My wonderful cousin and her husband (who've been mentioned a while back in regards to their new baby, Isaiah) are going to give us their couch! So excited!! They are going to get a newer couch from my aunt, who is re-doing pretty much their entire kitchen, dining, and living room, and will be getting a new couch.

Yay for hand-me-downs!! And it's a fold-out couch too, so we'll have a place for visitors to sleep in our apartment!

Colored Bubbles!

This article popped up on the feature list on my homepage today, and it sounds so cool!!!

Colored Bubbles That Won't Stain

How cool is that?!?!?!

Photo 1: http://www.zastavki.com/eng/3D-graphics/wallpaper-6938-1.htm
Photo 2: http://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=63
Photo 3: http://digd.ug/dig/184

Me? Royalty?

Kathleen from Easy for me to say... has graciously included me in a blog award. "The Queen of ALLL Things - Awe-Summm!!!" Award, to be precise. As a part of this honor, I am supposed to list 7 "awe-summm" things about myself, and then pass this award off to 7 other awesome bloggers. I might not get to seven, because I don't know if I closely follow that many blogs, but I'll try to get there (one might be a king, though... I wonder if that is allowed... probably not, I guess).

1) I am generally a very organized person.
2) I'm not afraid to fall down (especially during volleyball, or soccer and basketball..... which has allowed for some good digs and some penalties called on other teams, respectively, haha).
3) People say that I have amazing eyes. I get them from my dad, though his are more blue than mine. Mine are more of a blue/green/gray with flecks of gold.
4) I am starting grad school in August! (nervous, but excited!)
5) I have kept my cactus alive for almost two years now, and my other two plants for one year! Maybe I will add more plants when I get to the new apartment.
6) Though I am very picky about food, I am getting a lot better about it. Thanks (largely due to Erik) I am trying new and healthier foods.
7) I............. um.... can make some really tasty pancakes. Not my recipe, but they're really good!

And now to pass this award off to some other awesome bloggers:

1) Shannon at Juhnke's Junket (Miss you! Keep up the D.C. stories!)

2) Melinda at Kia Ora Aotearoa (Sharing her awesome adventures in New Zealand)

3) Allison at Sonny (Miss you too! You should post an entry!)

4) Kathleen at Easy for me to say... (Yes, you just won this, but you are pretty darn awesome! So you're getting it again from me)

Calla Lilies

I made this card for my friend's bridal shower a few months ago. I wanted to keep it simple (I've never really made anything that complex, so I like simple). I embossed the stamp with black powder, then colored the image with chalk.

Hopefully I'll post some new cards relatively soonish. We'll see how distracted I get, but I need to make some cards for a few occasions.

In an attempt to save money, I'm making it my goal to not buy cards for stuff. I've got enough supplies and old, old cards to salvage that I should be able to just make them. And then they'll be more personal. If only I knew clever things to say inside of cards... We'll have to work on that part.

Holy Time-Consuming Project, Batman!!

I think it was about a week ago that I started making a photo book online to cover all of the adventures during my four years of undergrad. I've had the idea to make one of these for a while (and started narrowing down photos over winter break), but I finally decided it needed to happen. Why? Because they are on sale right now, and they are expensive, and I am without a lot of funds.

So after a week (give or take a few days) of spending WAYYY too much time on the computer deciding on page layouts and picking out photos that match or are just plain neat, I finally finished the project (... all 65 pages and 275 pictures worth!). Now my eyes are sooo buggy! Too much computer screen for too long!

But once the book arrives, it will sooooo be worth it! Part of me thinks that I should just get normal prints made up and put them into photo albums, but I just love making layouts and grouping stuff together and cropping the photos way too much. (Did I ever mention I was editor-in-chief of the yearbook my senior year of high school? I blame my three years working on that staff for my obsession with the previously mentioned things).


Oh, and a quick thanks to Kathleen for naming me on her most recent blog award. I will come up with some interesting things about myself soon. But for now, I need to get my eyes away from the computer screen. :)

Photo: Me in the yearbook room, probably when I came back to visit after I had graduated. Taken by the 2005-2006 Editor-in-Chief (A.K., you rock!!!).

Stories Behind the Pictures

I felt like a change of scenery was in order, so I posted a new blog header. Here are the stories behind the pictures that I picked to represent me and my blog:

1) Paraná Basin, Brazil: On this rainy and chilly day while doing field work in Brazil for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, we got a bit silly and started taking goofy pictures. In this one, I must have been hungry because I am considering taking a big bite out of a chunk of diamict/till (glacial sediments).







2) Morris, Minnesota: Due to some miscommunications at work, someone ended up ordering 12 dozen roses (they were only supposed to get 1 dozen). Lucky for us random employees, we got to take some roses home with us free of charge! Whenever I get flowers, I end up taking a ton of photos. There's just something about close-ups of flowers. I love them. This particular photo is one of my favorites from the photo shoot.






3) Ponta Grossa, Brazil: On one of our days off during the REU trip to Brazil, we toured Vila Velha State Park. In this park, there are many sandstone formations that have been shaped over time by eruptions, glaciation, and wind erosion. The most famous of these formations, and also the symbol of the park, is the Goblet, which me and my UMM REU buddies are standing in front of.






4) Morris, Minnesota: I got bored one day, though to be honest, I was probably procrastinating from one of the many papers, projects, or my Senior Seminar, which made up the second semester of my senior year at UMM. So, I lit some candles and took a lot of pictures.








5) North of Grand Marais, Minnesota: Sophomore year, about a few weeks after I had started dating the fellow in this picture, our Mineralogy class went on a field trip to the North Shore to check out the rocks and learn about the geologic history of this region. We camped at the Trails End Campground near the end of the Gunflint Trail. Megan (who would be one of my UMM REU buddies the following summer) snuck this picture of Erik and me enjoying the view from our campground.





Edit (5/22/2011): Here is the whole banner, just in case I decide to change the scenery again.

Bye Bye Palin

Oh man. Governor Palin resigning.... if this actually means that her political career is over, that sounds wonderful. But for those people who are saying that her resignation signifies a presidential campaign for 2012... oh jeez. How can (some?) Republicans think she's capable of responsibly running the country?!?... she couldn't even run her state for an entire term!

And about that news clip of her delivering her speech from her lakeside home... that was in her backyard. I couldn't see Russia. I don't know how she sees it from there... Liar!

Bachelorette Party Ideas?

I'm the maid of honor in my friend Kelsey's wedding this July. So, I feel like I should start getting a move on planning the bachelorette party (random aside: I'm a bit ticked that spell-check does not recognize bachelorette as a word... it recommends bachelorhood, bachelor, etc... etc... all things that are related to males... *grumble grumble*). But anyways... I have not been to one of these parties ever, let alone helped to plan one, so I am looking for some input. I know there aren't many people who actually read my blog, and I could simply google a bunch of ideas, but I like to hear ideas from actual people. So, I'm asking for ideas (especially because I know that some of you out there are married or have been in weddings).

Other things I'm keeping in mind:
- We probably don't want to spend a lot of money.
- Two of the bridesmaids are expecting, and another is allergic to alcohol. So bar-hopping isn't really an option. It's also expensive, so yeah... probably not so much anyway.
- We might not be in a metropolitan area, so we might be limited with places to go.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Graphic: www.zazzle.com

Summer Without a Job

With school being out for the summer and not having a job I've found myself with a lot of time on my hands. For the most part, it's quite nice. I haven't had a relaxed summer in a number of years. First was the summer where I went on a geology class trip to Italy, and then came back for weeks of training for working in the residence halls. The next summer I did a geology research program in western Minnesota and Brazil, and also came back for an even longer training session for res life. And last summer, I did a six-week geologic field camp in Montana, which was a requirement for graduation.

This summer I assumed I would get a job, because I would actually be home for a long enough stretch of time. Wrong. The places I applied at ahead of time never contacted me back. Then, when I got back to the suburbs, I came to the realization that with preparing for a cross-country move, being the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding, and trying to squeeze in each possible moment with my boyfriend before I don't see or talk to him for two and a half months, I might not actually want a job.

Sure, the money would have been nice, but I'm really enjoying the chance to relax a bit and to not actually have a schedule. And while I keep spending money on stuff for the apartment, I've been finding ways to keep up.

Random ways to earn or save money when one doesn't have a job:

1) Sell books you don't want anymore online. Works well if they actually sell.

2) Sell other books you don't want to Half-Priced Books. This would have worked well if I had not found a book to buy while I was waiting. I ended up owing them 32 cents...

3) Cat/fish/apartment-sit for your friend while they go out of town.

4) Do office work for your dad. You get paid, he gets to write it off for taxes.

5) Clean out your room and find random coins and other cash that you stowed away a long time ago so that you could one day find it and feel like you found money.

6) One person's trash is another person's treasure. Totally found a night stand by chance while taking a walk the other day. It was out by someone's trash cans, and there wasn't anything wrong with it other than a wobbly top (which is now fixed--Thanks Dad!).

7) Coupons are amazing.

8) Clean out your room and donate stuff you don't want anymore, and then fill out the tax slip that they give you.

Fun Questions

I tried to post this last night, but then blogger said there were issues with the html business... so I'm going to try to post it again.

Kathleen over at "Easy for me to say" tagged me in this survey-dealy. I'm not going to tag anyone, because most of the people who read this have already been tagged by her. :) But, if you haven't been tagged, but want to continue these fun questions, go right ahead.

Here's how it works:

Respond and rework
answer questions on your blog
replace one question
tag eight other people.

1. What is your current obsession?

Planning things for the big move. Whether it's thinking about furniture arrangements, how we're actually going to get there, how transportation is going to work out once we're there, and buying random little things to put in the apartment, it's pretty much all about moving to Vegas. Today, for example, I bought measuring spoons (the measurements on my old ones rubbed off, and you can't read them), a butter dish, and an olive oil drizzler.

2. Which item of clothing do you wear most?

A black belt (not the martial arts kind, but rather the generic, hold-up-your-pants kind). I have larger hips and a smaller waist, so in order to have pants that aren't too tight on my legs/thighs, they are often too big at the waist. So, I need to wear a belt pretty much all the time, and it's usually the black one.

3. What's the funniest knock-knock joke you know?

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Cows!
Cows who?
Cows go "moo" not "who!"

4. Last thing you bought?

A hot chocolate and a French toast bagel at Panera. Mmmmmmmm... The best hot chocolate I've ever had is from Panera, so I get that a lot when I go. I usually also get a cinnamon crunch bagel, but they were all out of those, so I had to settle with a French toast bagel (still quite yummy though).

5. What are you listening to?

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

6. If you were a God or Goddess, who would you be?

I've always admired Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and the arts. She's smart, can kick butt, and she's a woman. So it'd be really cool to be her. More realistically though, I'd probably be a goddess who's a bit more timid and earthy.

7. Favorite holiday spots?

As far as places to go on holidays, I'd have to say my grandma and my grandparents' houses, because it's where we've always gone on holidays. But, if this means holiday as in a vacation, I'd probably have to say anywhere with mountains, lakes, forests, or the ocean (or any combination of those).

8. Reading right now?

"Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei" by David Mura. I'm not very far into it yet, but it seems pretty good. It's written by a third-generation Japanese-American poet who won a grant to do poetic works in Japan (for a year, I think). So he's kind of reconnecting with his heritage, though that wasn't actually his goal (I think at some point in the beginning he said he'd rather have gone to Paris). Anyways, I bought it during a point in my life where I was really interested in Japanese culture and my previous "knowledge" mostly just included watching "The Last Samurai" and reading "Memoirs of a Geisha." So... I bought this book to get a more realistic and more current account.

9. Okay... what were you thinking just then?

Why does everyone have to switch to digital or cable TV? Wasn't the whole idea so that we'd get a better quality picture or something like that? Then why does the signal cut out all the time?!?! (Probably just a big conspiracy to get everyone to buy cable...)

10. List three things that are on your "Bucket List."

1) Road-trip without a super-structured plan.
2) Watch and enjoy the sunrise and sunset in the same day.
3) Read all of the books that I own (maybe excluding some textbooks, because that would be a lot).

11. First spring thing?

Tulips!!!! I love it when the tulips start to bloom! This is the first year I actually realized the tulips in Morris, because it was the first time I lived off-campus. Walking to work this spring was so enjoyable because so many of the houses had tulips planted in their front yards. So pretty!

12. Funniest thing you saw in your life?

Hm... I keep coming back to this one because I expect one moment to just pop out at me, but it's not happening yet. Since that's not looking like it'll happen, I'll just mention a couple of the funnier moments. The ducky dance during Spring Break of '08 was pretty funny, but it was made even funnier when ducks actually invaded our campground the next day. Another funny thing was watching two kittens wrestle playfully at the pet store today.

13. Favorite film?

I can't just pick one, so here are some of my favorites:
- The Original Star Wars Trilogy
- Love Actually
- Runaway Jury
- Juno
- Aladdin
- Mulan
- Identity

14. Share some wisdom.

It's not my wisdom, but here are two of my favorite quotes.

"Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."
~ Morrie Schwartz

"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life."
~ Dr. David M. Burns

15. If you could be a tree, what tree would you be and why?

Weeping willow. I just think that they're really cool and pretty. But they aren't always the obvious choice. I really like that they make a sort of "shade cave" that you can just sit under and enjoy the day.

16. Fictitious character who made a lasting impression on you?

Well, I would have to say that Edward Cullen is an amazing example of an important fictitious character. What could be better than a strong, sparkling, and handsome vampire? Need I say more?

... Totally kidding on that last answer, btw. I like the Twilight books, and Edward is pretty neat in the I-know-these-books-aren't-really-good-but-I-like-to-read-them-for-fun-anyway kind of way. I really can't pick a character who's had a lasting impression on me. I'm actually kind of bad at picking role models and heroes and have never really felt the desire to assign anyone to that role in my life (which is why I replaced the hero/heroin question from above, hehe).

Apartment Hunting Trip = Success!

This past weekend my dad, my boyfriend, and I went on an apartment hunting trip to Las Vegas. We woke up freakishly early in the morning (4:30 a.m., which by the way, is 2:30 a.m. Vegas time) to get ready to go the airport. We got to Vegas sometime around 8:00/8:30 Vegas time. My uncle picked us up from the airport and then took us to his work. From there, we took his car so that we could go driving around town looking at apartments all day. But first, we stopped on campus so that Erik and my dad could see what the place looks like and to also meet my grad advisor, Libby. And then the apartment visiting began.

Apartment #1: Fairly close to campus. Decent apartment, but nothing special. But... rent was out of our price range. So the lady sent us to a sister property nearby that would have lower prices.

Apartment #2: Still not that far from campus. Really nice looking apartment. But... lady #1 lied, the rent here was way higher and definitely out of our price range.

Apartment #3: Finally, something with rent that we could afford. A bit farther from campus than the last two, but a straight shot down one road, at least. Not the greatest looking neighborhood, but not too horrible (granted, it was daytime). The model apartment seemed fairly nice. But then we noticed that the bathroom sink had sewage backed up in it. Nom nom nom... Do all the apartments do that? But the guy here also told us that utility prices were pretty high here.

Apartment #4: Very nice looking complex. I really, really liked the floorplan of this one. But there really wasn't much in the area. We'd have to drive a bit to get to stores for necessities. Higher rent range, but still affordable, and with lower utility costs.

Apartment #5: Once again, a very nice looking complex. Decent floorplans with a great amount of closets/storage space. This neighborhood has a lot of shopping places nearby or just an exit or so away. So, quite convenient. Also in the higher rent range, but with decent utility costs.

In the end, and after going back and forth a lot (Saturday was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions during our decision-making process) we made a decision. Once we calculated it out (including utilities and such), Apartment #3 was actually just as expensive as #4 and #5, and we didn't like it much. So, having eliminated #3, our choice was down to two places, and ultimately we chose Apartment #5. It was the nicest looking place and had the best location for the aparments within our price range. We'll still have some stuff to figure out as far as transportation, but I think this is a nice start.

Now I just wanna make a chart with all of our furniture and start figuring out where it should all go. Here's the floorplan, by the way. The only real trouble will be trying to figure out if we want to combine the office and the dining room, or to squeeze the dining stuff into the living room, and have the "dining room" be the office. We'll see...

Floorplan: Courtesy of the apartment complex website, which I'm not posting for privacy reasons.

Cat Practice

Lilyface. Lilymonster. She's simply known as Lily. :)

This is the cat that I'll be taking care of for a couple of days while my friend Kyla goes apartment hunting in Ohio. I haven't seen Lily in a while, so it should be a fun time. I'm just hoping that she won't harass the beta fish too much or sneak into the food container (she can be a sneaky little bugger, I hear).

I'm looking forward to cat-sitting. When I was really little, we had an orange cat named Max (he was big, fuzzy, had a bald stomach and was a total sweetie). But then my dad found out he was allergic to pet dander, so we haven't been able to have pets ever since. Max then moved over to my grandma's house, where he had my grandma's white cat Schatzi as a companion. So, really, the only times I've taken care of a cat are when my grandma or aunt and uncle (who also have cats) went out of town. My mom and I would drive over there, feed the cats, clean the litter box, play for a while, and then head home. This time I actually get to stay at my friend's apartment and be with Lily full time for a few days. Someday, I want to get pets of my own, but I don't know when I'll be able to afford that. So, for now, it's nice to hang out with my friends' pets.

Photo: Kyla or Rustin

Commencement Highlights

The boys being boys. :)

Roomies!

Kelsey dearest. <3>

Erik & Me

GEOLOGY!!!!!

Photo 1: Me
Photo 2: Shannon's Mom or Dad
Photo 3: Me
Photo 4: Mom
Photo 5: Mom

Lack of Interwebs

I would love to recap commencement and all of the fun activities, but I'll probably get around to that later on. Right now my house is without internet. We shut ours off the day before graduation and then mooched off of the neighbor's wireless for about a day, after which point they must have shut theirs off for the summer. Drat. So, now I'm at Common Cup enjoying a super yummy decaf white mocha and free wireless internet access.

Given the current internet scenario, I probably won't be posting for a while. I'll be back in the 'burbs on Saturday sometime, but I'll be a tad bit busy. Unpacking when I get home to get re-settled into my house that I will only be living in for two more months. And then I'll be attending a bridal shower on Sunday (yay Kelsey!!) and then working on planning the next shower for her. So excited!

Two Truths and a Lie

I have always loved this game, but I think I'm kinda terrible at it. So, we'll see if I can trick those of you who read this.


1) I was in the studio audience on a Canadian MTV show and almost got interviewed about being a cheerleader.

2) When I was younger, I never really got into Beanie Babies, but I did compile quite the collection of Pokemon cards.

3) When I graduated from high school, my congresswoman sent me a U.S. flag that had been flown at the Capitol in my honor.

Alrighty, take your pick. Which one is the lie?

Photo: Taken by a co-worker at the Office of Residential Life end-of-training dinner party in 2007.

One Down, Two to Go

I am done with physics!!! (Unless they make me take it in grad school... *crosses fingers*) The final could have gone much worse, though I guess it could have gone better too. But oh well, it's done and behind me. I'll just be happy if I pull off a C- or better in the course.

Later today I take my final for Global Change Ecology, which is one of the coolest classes ever and I am sad that I have had senioritis so bad this semester or I would have gotten so much more out of it (and probably a better grade, too!). The rest of my day until then is going to be devoted to studying for that exam. Pete's tests usually aren't too bad if you've studied well. He's nice and doesn't throw crazy questions at you and he's a fair grader.

Then I have my last final tomorrow. Which I'm not worried about at all, I just want it to be done so that I can relax and work on getting organized enough to move out and to have a fun weekend with family and friends.

Comic: Andy's Comic Strips