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. :)