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