phototastic

here are some photos taken back in march that i finally got to develop. they are going to be christmas gifts for a few people. :)

the meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag?
i like to wrap gifts. gift bags have their uses, but for under the tree, paper is best.

2. Real tree or artificial?
both have merit. i like the lack of stepping on/having to vacuum up needles with a fake tho

3. When do you put up your tree?
i don't have a set time. i don't think i'll even get mine up this year

4. Do you like eggnog?
no.

5. Favorite gift received as a child?
i'm not even sure. is that bad? (i think it's just end of the semester brain mush, cuz i can't even think of what i got last year!)

6. Hardest person to buy for?
frère jaque (my brother, john)

7. Easiest person to buy for?
ava. being 2, she's not too picky, and i can always find something she'll like

8. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received?
grandma has a tendency to get or make all of the grandkids something similar. one year she made us quillows. mine was the hot pink one with white polka dots. i was about 13, and was (still am) very anti-pink. she has a tendency to do that sometimes. a lot of my grandma gifts are one of those awful colors that i can't make myself use.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
i love getting mail. i also love sending it, but i'm very bad about getting cards out on time.

10. Favorite Christmas movie?
Nailz said, "duh, Nightmare Before Christmas" and i'd have to agree. :)

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
i'm a last minute sort of person.

12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
yes. especially the ones that come from the white elephant exchanges. they usually make the rounds.

13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
anything homemade. and sunday night toffee. that's one of my favorite recipes

14. White or colored lights?
i like either, if they're done well, and are not uber-tacky

15. Favorite Christmas song?
stille nacht

16. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
i'm sure i could name them, but they wouldn't be the names that everyone else is thinking of. i'm pretty creative sometimes.

17. Angel or Star on top of tree?
i'm not too picky

18. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning?
morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
finals week and final projects

20. What I love most about Christmas?
being able to go home and breathe for a bit.
and snow. snow is good. except when i'm driving.

out of the void

so, i'm at work. on a saturday. two hours early. we all know how much of a morning person i am . the school is supposed to be haveing a recruitment day. the admissions office was supposed to be here at 8am to set up, thus necessitating my being here slightly before that. it's now 8:30, and the only other person i've seen is the one who works for dining services (and does a shitty job of setting up a catering table... the cloth is crooked, and not even under the skirt, but that's a whole new can of worms).

i got here early for this? they had better buy me coffee!

Librarian Video

this made my day brighter. enjoy!

name that car

i love my happy little car. it's great. the only thing lacking was a name. well, on the way back from the family thanksgiving festivities, it found a name. i was driving along the lonely interstate, and it hit me (literally). my car shall now be known as bunnyslayer. it was a pretty big one too. at least it wasn't a deer. :)

other than that, my break was good, if short. i got to see some people for a very short period of time, and lots of family. too much food, not enough homework done - you know, the usual. when i got back, i had a letter from the guy in charge of placing me for student teaching in scotland. it may end up being later than i thought, because of the holiday schedule in the uk. i guess we'll see what happens...

the beautiful fork

i got placed for student teaching next semester. it's not in town here, but it's only 10 miles away. :) ...that is, for the first 10 weeks... after that, i'm planning to go to scotland for 6ish weeks. :):)
i start in the local class room on jan.2 and go to mar. 11. after that, assuming that i pass, i go to scotland. yay! scotland. kilts. loch ness. kilts.

kilts, people!!!

i may be a little bit excited...

(now, just pray that i can survive this semester!)

do good stuff and learn good words

http://freerice.com/index.php

feed people and build your vocabulary at the same time. be awesome all around...
it's fun (says word-geek girl)
do it.

this has made me indefinably giddy. i'm thinking that when i teach, i will use this for something. i don't know what, but it will be used. :)

cream of rainy day soup ala rachel

yesterday was beautiful. i worked all day long (but no one came in, so i got caught up on a few of my favorite shows...). it was one of those overcast sprinkly kind of days, so the air smelled so nice, and it wasn't even too cold. by the time i got off work, it had actually really started to rain instead of mist, so i decided that it would be a good night for soup making. so here it is, the step-by-step process (i wouldn't call it a recipe, it's sooo much more) for cream of rainy day soup:

1. decide to make soup and then spend about an hour looking through recipes in your little box and online at http://allrecipes.com
2. after reading a whole bunch of corn chowder recipes, pick and choose ingredients from several and make a grocery list
3. spend way too long at the store getting ingredients and a few other essentials
4. get home, wash the small skillet and the big soup pot
5. in skillet, cook half a package of bacon to the damn near burned stage (i like it uber crispy) and place the cooked pieces into the soup pot
6. in bacon drippings, saute half of a large onion (diced)
7. add to the onion two diced celery stalks
8. when veggies are tender, spoon most of them into the soup pot with the bacon.
9. throw a big package of fresh sliced mushrooms into the rest of the drippings and the few onions that you couldn't get out of the pan with the spatula
10. when the mushrooms are tender and have soaked up all of the rest of the drippings, dump them into the soup pot as well.
11. into the pot, add bag of frozen corn from your grandmother's garden (about 2-3cups), three medium potatoes (cubed), 4 cups of water and enough chicken bullion for it.
12. boil until the taters are tender, then add a splash of heavy whipping cream (probably about 1/2 cup), and copious amounts of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (think half of a bag or more people... no such thing as too much cheese)
13. let the soup cook for about another 10 ish minutes until all the cheese is melted in and everything thickens up a bit
14. eat. freeze the leftovers in individual ziploc bowls for lunch or dinner at work.

one thing that i would suggest in retrospect would be to take the cooked potatoes out of the pot and blend them up for a bit, so that you don't have huge chunks of taters. also, eat with biscuits. never forget the biscuits. :)

like a rainbow with wings

flying colors, that is...

i passed my praxis for history!!! i needed a score of 135 to pass, and i kicked that test's butt with 187. :) *happy dance*

Eddie Izzard-Cake or Death

gotta love eddie...

my date with sir elton john

wow.

that man can play the piano. the concert was AWESOME. thankyouthankyouthankyou to my buddy chris who sponsored the trip.



this is as good as my camera phone gets from row 'k' of the bleachers. that's elton there in the spotlights. there was also a really big led screen behind elton and the band, and there were several images scrolling around during many of the songs. this is the other picture i managed to get:



you can kinda see elton and the piano under christ's shoulder. i have to say that this is one of the top three concerts i've ever been to. :) tom petty at the rally was better, but only because we were so close to the stage. due to the traveling and crazyness of the weekend, i am again behind in the homework arena. tonight will be a catching up time for me. wish me luck.

on the way to elton john

i'm sitting in the hotel, waiting for my friend to get reado to go. first, we are going to eat at johnny corinos (yum) and then we'll be off to the concert. yay!

royality

hello all!

so, i'm not queen, but homecoming coronation was a blast. here is a picture with the crown that kaia gave me.

there are also more photos at my flickr site : http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnorachel/

it is also liked at the right.

things here are crazy. so much to do and so little time, so for now i'll leave it at that.

wish me luck!

the voting has begun, and on monday, i'll find out if i'm the most popular girl among those chosen by an anonymous panel of judges after we filled out tons of paperwork from being nominated by a student organization. in other words i may be homecoming queen.

i find this odd. i never thought that i would ever be up for such a thing. it should be fun anyway.

the theme for the week of homecoming is "through the decades." therefore, monday's theme for the day is the 1920s. i've got a pseudo flapper dress to wear, and i'll post pictures if i can.

i also have a ton of other stuff this weekend. i'm going down to rc to visit erin and the boys tonight, and tomorrow i'm going to the book festival with becky. i also have tons of homework and i have to clean my house before my parents get here on monday. oh, and all of my paperwork for applying to student teach is due on the 18th of october, so i've got to make sure that that's all taken care of too.

wish me luck.

i don't think i've ever had a cookie hit on me before

so, i went home this weekend for cecil's siege. it was way fun. i saw people get awesome awards, and even got one myself. i also managed to score a huge(ish) amber bead from the little sister's boy toy. the best part was hanging out with everyone that i usually get to see at lilies, as i didn't get to go this summer.

i also got to drive across the state with erin and the boys. good fun. now my car smells like french fries.

we got to rapid at supper time, and once we got erin and the boys on their way to grandma's, i went to the mongolian grill. yum. andrew skipped out on mondy night football and met me there, and when we were through with the eating bit, it was time for fortune cookies. here is what mine said:

"Are your legs tired? You've been running through my mind ALL day long."

andrew's theory is that either the cookie is hitting on me, or someone beat him to his goal of hacking into the fortune cookie printing machine. :)

the things i learned today (well...recently)

you learn all kinds of things in school. especially when you are going to school for school. here are a few recent tidbits from my profs:

the only people who have more acronyms in their profession is the military.

we can't let anybody know what we're really doing because then they'd all want to be teachers.

you can trust me because i have the jacket...

there are more possibly humorous quotes to come, i'd imagine (plus i can't find all of the ones that i wrote down).

to go or not to go, that is the question

fall classes have started, and at this point, i am taking 20 credit hours. i may end up dropping one, but i don't know yet. i kind of doubt it. the dilemma is that it's a class that's supposed to help me get everything in order to student teach overseas. i want to, but it's really expensive. if i'm going to spend money to go to europe, why should i have to work (for free) when i'm there? so i guess the question is, should i just stay here and finish up and then take a trip to europe on my own, or should i go for it?

of weddings, starters and families

so i've been gone for a bit. i went to the wedding of two of my friends.
the wedding and ensuing celebrations (before and after) were all great, and i think that we all had a lot of fun.

after the wedding, my plan was to drive the 2 hours or so to the family picnic (yearly gathering of the powell side of the family). my plans were changed when, after a quick stop for coffee, my car refused to start. to make a long story short, thank goodness for manual transmissions. and hills. that way, when the starter goes out, you can still get the car going.

eventually, i made it home.
while there, i hung out with doom and others, saw stardust, and generally had a decent time. i even got to see both sisters and a niece. and the big sister brought me some yarn, along with my lilies amber. i'll get a picture of the amber soon, but for now, here is yarn that the big sister dyed. it is destined to be a bag for my friend gina.

yarrrrn and beans.

so i signed up for an account at ravelry.com today. it's supposed to be really cool if you're into that sort of thing. the sister said that it is a good way to keep track of your yarn projects, so i thought i'd give it a go. they have a blog up at: blog.ravelry.com

in other news, i have been looking up recipes on allrecipes.com for black beans. i've had an unnatural craving for black beans and rice, but no one out here sells the good stuff. i mean, they have zataran's but it's not the same as the vigo. so i'm on a mission to find something similar that i can make with stuff i can get at the stores here. i've found lots of delicious-looking recipes, and if any of them are winners, i'll let you know.

oh! and i turned in my 'caring narrative' today, and she said it was good. she especially liked my answer to #3. :)

comment free for over a week!

well, i'm done with the all beatles lyrics titles for now. it was fun while it lasted, but i am no longer amused by it.

soon i will be headed back to the other side of the state. i don't think that i've been there since... *crickets chirp*... um, well, it's been a while. i can't wait to see everybody! i'm hoping to be able to hang out and watch movies and stuff, but i can't really afford to go anywhere or do anything fancy. that damn broke college kid stuff again. hopefully i'll have enough gas money to get home in the first place. anywho, enough of the financial woes...

i am now getting stuff figured out for the college of education. scary. i'm nervous, because... i'm not sure why. i guess it means that i'm almost done and i'll have to 'grow up.' sigh.

one of the things that i have to include in my teaching portfolio is a "caring inventory." i have to answer the following questions:

• Share some evidence that you are working on behalf of other people’s welfare? How do you display your empathy? Are there activities or organizations or personal relationships in which you demonstrate you look after other people, or are of service to others?
• From other people’s perspective, what would they say about you in terms of you being a caring person?
• Identify two characteristics that you think a caring teacher possesses. Then, give an example of what that teacher might do to demonstrate those traits.
• What personal characteristics or personality traits are you attempting to acquire (or diminish) that would make you more sensitive to others, or make you better able to care and serve as a teacher?

the first thing i noticed about this set of questions (quoted directly from the instructions) was the grammar. it makes me want to grind my teeth. second, how am i supposed to know what other people think about me. it's not like i can read minds. i think that it is stuff like this that has kept me from jumping fight in to the application process. now there is no longer any way to delay. sigh...

so, what do you guys think about me "in terms of being a caring person?"

i look at the floor and i see it needs sweeping

my sister came into town last night/this morning at 1:30 ish. they are on their way to a camping adventure with another family. at first, they had wanted to stay in a motel, but being that it is rally week, this did not work out. then, there was the thought of just driving through. by the time they got here, this was also not feasible. so, they crashed on my floor. i kinda feel bad because i have not vacuumed for quite a while due to the fact that my vacuum is broken and does not work at all. but free is free and i'm glad they decided not to drive the whole way through the night.

i left for work this morning only 4.5 hours after they got settled in, so i hope they slept well, and can a) find their way out of town, and b) figure out the road that i told them about. if not, my boss said that they could stop by if they wanted, but who knows when they will head out.

it was good to see little monkey girl and her parents. i miss them.

i've been looking forward to seeing stardust. (imdb) i may be very disappointed, however, because none of the theaters in the area seem to be showing it. this is the only movie that i've really been looking forward to. i think that it is showing in soo foo, so maybe doom and i can go see it when i'm home? please? :)

images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes

lots of stuff going on in the universe recently. stars are so cool. i think it would be fun to be an astronomer. i could watch galaxies collide and discover huge planets. and play with nifty telescopes and stuff. i actually really kind of like physics. maybe if i don't like this teaching thing...

anywho, i spent the weekend up at camp helping with the pack-up. it was hot. and slightly awkward. i guess that's what i get for always helping out when i'm not actually on staff. i got to lead a ride out though. on a horse that i haven't ridden forever. his name is lightning. don't let it fool you, he is not terribly speedy. except when you're trying to cinch him, and he is trying to bite you. other than that though, he's a wonderful horse. i hadn't ridden for a year, so i'm feeling it today, that's for sure. another one of those 'muscles that you never knew you had' things. i miss camp. sometimes. there is a year-round position opening up, and the director is 'nudging' me to consider it. scary. i realize that the real world is coming at me fast... only one school year left, and half of that is student teaching, so that's almost the real world. ahhh!

wish me luck!

i read the news today, oh boy

when i got to work this morning, i say this article in the newspaper that i had to put out on the stick. ok, so the article was in the local paper, but the bbc does a decent job of reporting, generally, and i have their news bookmarked. no wonder my sister is always nervous driving over bridges.

browsing the bbc news site, i came across this as well. all i have to say is that i'm very glad that i didn't ever vote for him. i know all politicians are crap, but he seems crappier than most. i just get so angry when people in power seek to keep secrets from the people who elected them. it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when i think about it.

ah, but here is some good news...well at least not bad news. animals are so cute. even if they are ugly. i wonder if their leaders try to pull the wool over their eyes too. can animals lie? will we ever know?

but oh that magic feeling nowhere to go

final tonight! wish me luck! :) i'll be done for the summer (what's left of it).
i went out last night for a celebratory grocery run (haven't gone shopping since last paycheck). it felt good to buy cheese, milk, veggies, rice, peanut butter and bread and 'fancy' name brand cereal. ah the good life. i even managed to get some apples that taste quite heavenly, instead of slightly bitter like usual (they always look so good). all in all a good trip to the store. until it came time to pay. it wasn't the total (under $40 - pretty good for almost a month's worth of groceries and a card for my parents' anniversary), no, the problem came when i swiped my debit card. and it was refused. i swiped again. no go. i had to flag down the self-checkout monitor lady and have her suspend my transaction so that i could run out to my car and get my checkbook. i called my bank's automated account info number, but it kept disconnecting after one ring. this made me nervous. but, at least my check went through (they scan the check and it does an eft instead of being sent to the bank, and then they hand it back to you). something was wonky with the bank, but i eventually managed to get my groceries and go home.
somewhere along the way, my driver's license, my check card, and several other cards that i carry in my little metal id case (it looks like this, only no cigarettes) somehow fell behind my seat when i put the groceries in the car. that sent me into a panic this morning, but i found them when i was going to go home for lunch. sigh. so much stress for nothing.

sleep pretty darling do not cry, and i will sing a lullaby

i've got to stop trying to fall asleep to the i am sam soundtrack. it's good music, but i have this terrible tendency to actually listen to the songs as i try to sleep. then my mind wanders around the imagery of the lyrics and then i think of a million different things, which only lead to more things to think about and then i am so worked up that i can't possibly fall asleep. hence the finishing of a book last night and only about 1/2hr of sleep. i just couldn't bring myself to lay still enough to calm my mind. i sprawled out on my bed, tossing and turning to get comfortable for almost 2 and 1/2 hours last night after i stopped reading at 2:30 (which was when i finally felt tired), and before i gave up on sleep all together. hopefully i will sleep well tonight.

misunderstanding all you see

i found this interesting article today: what's in a name?
that is all.

living is easy with eyes closed

two! two evenings left of class! ah hahahaha. (think:)

anywho, i've got tons of papers (two) to finish for the class. one is a historical analysis of literature on a tree grows in brooklyn, which is a pretty good book so far. i think that i may end up turning this one in late... the other is the term paper, which i am much farther along with and it will be done on time for wednesday.

i'm going to miss this class, i think. not the driving fifty miles each way twice a week, but the instructor is a hoot, and i feel like i'm actually learning something, which is nice for once. the thought of having two more nights to myself is highly appealing though. you wouldn't think it, but taking five hours (an hour drive there, three hours of class and an hour drive back) two nights a week really eats into your life. not that i would do anything terribly significant with those hours, but maybe laundry and dishes would be done in a more timely manner. ahhhh... it'd be nice to come home to a clean house. at least i got all of the dishes and some laundry done this weekend! :)

i also went on a run/hike/walk this weekend that was 3.2 miles long, mostly uphill. it was beautiful scenery, but my legs now hate me. they'll get over it. soon, i hope! there was some gorgeous scenery , like i said, but alas, no film to put in my camera. can't wait until payday!!!! this once a month thing is really a drag.

in other money-related news, i think i have a temporary job during the rally this year! i might be a cashier at one of the bar/concert hall/random dunk people gathering spots. a friend of mine says that they really need help, and they are willing to let me start late, since i will be home for a short while this weekend. whohoo! it's $9/hr more than i would be making sitting on my butt at home, and will probably be more interesting to watch than the 1 and 1/2 channels that i can get on my tv! the only real bummer is that my sister is supposed to be coming through town on the 7th, and i don't know yet what hours i would work. we'll figure something out, i'm sure.

in case of accidents he always took his mom

here is some friday fun for you:

you too can have yellow skin at simpsonize me (if it works...)
or, become a lego here
both are lost of fun:
(here is where i would put a picture of me as a simpson, but it's not working at the moment...)

staring at the cieling, waiting for a sleepy feeling

who can name that beatles song?
i'm thinking that i will try to use beatles lyrics for blog titles for as long as i can. let's see how long i can keep it up. :) afterall, "Everybody's born knowing all the Beatles lyrics instinctively. They're passed into the fetus subconsciously along with all the amniotic stuff. Fact, they should be called 'The Fetals'. " pop quiz: who knows that movie? two quizzes in one day! you are lucky people!

this moment of insanity brought to you by:
insomnia!
just when you think you will get to bed at a decent hour, we'll keep you from that good night's rest (longer that you thought possible!)
*insert cheezy grin and vanna white hand wave here*

battle scars

three big red scrapes and bruises and one banged up ankle.

this is what i get for escaping a sweltering summer night by jumping on an intertube and not so much floating as jockeying down the swift current that runs over many a sneaky rock (read: boulder) in our friendly neighborhood creek. when we went at 7:00 pm, it was still 105 degrees. thus the 60ish degree creek seemed downright frigid! but after about 3 minutes, it's not so bad, and the good news is that when you do inevitably crash into a rock, you are already applying a cold pack.

it was so much fun! i have lived here for nearly 5 years and this is the first summer that i've actually been around long enough to want to brave the ice water of the creek. once again, it was way fun. i'm ready to go again!

i also saw some really pretty spots that i would like to photograph, so maybe pictures will be forthcoming (when i can afford film and development of said film)

update

i love http://toothpastefordinner.com/ it's good stuff

things in the news

here are a couple of fun articles that i found today: one about vikings sailing again, and another about german children's book nudity.

this weekend i drove down to visit jessica while she was in the area doing an archaeological survey. it was good fun. there's nothing like a nice drive through the hills. i only wish that i had left earlier so that i could have taken photos along the way. there are a lot of interesting things on the back roads between here and there. we ended up going to the local steak house for dinner, and the service was horrid. the food was good, but they could have really used a different waitress. it really wasn't that busy, so we shouldn't have had to wait nearly an hour (so it seemed) to order. while we were waiting, we did manage to get in some good chatting. i met two of the girls jess is working with, and they seem like fun. jason also joined us for supper, though he was late and decided to get the salad bar. This turned out to be a good choice, because we still ended up waiting about 15 minutes after he got there before our food came out. at least it was a tasty meal. and they cooked the meat correctly. after dinner, i hung out with jess and ellie(?) for a bit before the ling trek home. it was a good weekend.

sad news though, i will most likely not be able to make it to rabid yale next weekend. i just can't afford it. :( i'm sorry.

through the fuzzy contact

for some reason, i can't see well today. my left contact seems a bit cloudy, and my right one seems like it isn't in right. all together it's a bit odd. good thing i have my handy dandy back pack full of handy dandy random items like purell hand wipes, various bottles of lotion, kleenex, several varieties of gum, tums, a mint tin filled with ibuprofen, and way down at the bottom, amongst several other random things, the bottle of rewetting drops. ahhhhhhh... sometimes i wonder why i carry such a drug store around with me, but it's days like this when i am glad for it.

anywho

i have been so tired lately, and i don't really know why. it's possible that it's due to the heat or allergies or something like that, i guess. it's just annoying, because it means that i can't pull myself out of bed in time to do a small bit of exercise like i've been wanting to before work. it's been nice and cool in the early morning around here, so i thought that it would be good to get outside and go for a walk/jog for a bit, if for nothing else but the chance to be outside, not to mention that i could really use the physical activity since most of my days are spent at one desk or another. i really need to start getting out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button so many times... blah. too bad i like sleep so much!

aside from that, i made a necklace for my friend's b-day. i don't have a digital camera, but i've found that my scanner can do well enough to at least give you the general idea:

and while i was messing with the scanner anyway, here is some of the yarn loot that i have recently aquired. this first one is stuff that my friends brought back from the estes park fiber festival thingy:

this is the stuff that i bought using my b-day gift certificate to the local yarn store:

and this is also from the local yarn store, though it was given to me by the owner. it was a sample that the yarn company gave her, and she knows that i like to felt stuff, and she wanted to see how this turned out, so i now have three balls of it. it's very soft despite the metallic flecks, but i'm not sure what to do with it yet. probably another bag. :)

for some reason the font is doing funky things. sorry if it looks a mess!

i'm a survivor

47%

"the screams of another cat"

i've had a few interestingly random conversations lately, and the title comes from one of them. i am very tired. this working early in the morning until close and then driving for an hour to sit for a three hour class followed by working early in the morning again is getting kinda old. i think that my boss has started to change the schedule a bit, but not until next week. i'm getting really sad, because i realize that by the end of next week, two of my friends will be very far away. and in about a month, another will be moving for grad school too. sigh. to celebrate/mourn lisa's moving, we went to a fabulous restaurant last night and had some tasty italian cuisine. mmmm.... chicken marsala! i had leftovers for lunch. tasty.

anywho, there will be a shindig tomorrow night and all will be there to enjoy margaritas and crazyness before my friends head off to the great wide world. it should be fun.

back from camp

hello all!
it's good to be back in air conditioning! my trip to the camp that i used to work at was .... eventful. the counselor there who was a camper when i was staff is wonderful! it was good to see him again. some of the stuff that happened that week stressed me out a bit, but the director and i talked them over, and i think that things will get straightened out. i love that place.
now that my 'vacation' is over, i have to go back to class tonight. i've missed two classes (since i didn't plan on taking a class when i said that i would go to camp for the week.) i think i can get caught up, so i'll be ok.
other than that, i'm looking forward to moorish tavern this weekend. that should be fun!

Wooly Bullies

te he!
and my friends wonder why i give knitters such a hard time!

oil it is

thanks to affreca for the link to this article. i had been meaning to post about the gorilla project again, since i had found out that the wall street journal had reported that it was a land-based oil refinery. we found that out the night we went to the argo for kaia's birthday. i guess it's slipped my mind since then. some one is quoted as saying, “People of the area are very excited,” Bortscheller said. ”I think it will bring back people who used to live in the area.” for some reason, i think this person's not talking to the people who actually live where they are trying to take the land. maybe the people who will live 10-12 miles away in elk point are excited, but they don't have to move off their land or be next door neighbors to the thing.

The One (song by Gaelic Storm)

so, i love gaelic storm, and i think i love this video. it's cute. :) enjoy!

quote of the day

"A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read."

Mark Twain, Speech in New York, Nov. 20, 1900

how to control a runaway camel....

hang on to the saddle horn and let it run, as camels tire quickly.
it's fun the things you learn from games. :) i also found out how long to wait after a nuclear attack before coming out of the shelter and how to eat an animal after a nuclear attack. thank you, worst case scenario survival game!

anywho, it's been a very long week. i somehow managed to lose my keys, and i have been crazy busy at both jobs as well as trying to finish up my first summer class. blah. thankfully, most of that is over and i have a great landlord, who got me a mail key for no extra charge.

this is the first year in quite a while that i am not at lilies. it's a bit odd. i like the event, but there is no way that i could afford to go this year. that, and i am taking summer classes, so missing those would have sucked as well. at least i can go to other events this summer. and i even have a friend who is willing to drive with me to moorish tavern. she was in a club in high school that affiliated itself with the sca, and then we were in the dorms together and randomly found out that we had a mutual interest in crazy dressing up and stuff.

well, i think this camel is all tuckered out for now...

gigglemeister

this weekend was midsummer's eve in the highlands. it was way fun. my friend lisa came with me, and i think that she managed to enjoy herself. i was named the "minister of giggles" but i think i like gigglemeister better. we'll see what her highness has to say about that. i made giggle stickers with her label maker, and will be spreading the giggles across the land. i can't wait!

other than that, my grandparents will be out here for a meeting tomorrow, so i will be cleaning like a mad woman tonight. my apartment is a pit! that's what i get for not being there except to drop stuff off and sleep. :)

yay for summer...class

i actually kind of like my summer class. it's not what i want to do, it's just another hoop to jump through for the college of education, but at least it breaks up the day. not that i wouldn't rather just be outside in the beeeeeeeeeeautiful weather, mind you. today i get a full day of the job that pays well, so that's good. i'll need it to pay for my summer class. it's a good thing that i'm not going to lilies this year, there's no way i could afford it. it's doubly sad since my friends, Doom and Hagan are now royalty, and the theme for the even is King v. Queens. i hope that they can both make it down, as i can only imagine the fun that they would have.

this weekend was wonderful. i got to hang out with the family and sca people at the same time! and i got to eat mom's roast - always a nostalgic and special treat! (and i have the leftovers for sandwiches!) i miss my mom and family A LOT. good thing i'm going home in a couple weeks for the littlest sister's 21st b-day! and i have that friday off, so i can be there longer! yay!

i don't know how long my parents will be living in our house anymore either, so it will be good to go home while it is still there. i guess there is some large corporation trying to buy almost 6 sq. miles of land where my parents live, and they are going to build something huge. the governor is all to glad to help them out, but no one will tell anyone what is going to be built. one newspaper reported that when asked if this is something his mother would be proud of him bringing into our state, the governor said, "my mother is dead." hmmm. the only details that anyone knows is that they want to build something that would use TONS of water, would take 3 years and 10,000 people to build, would employ 2,000 people in high-paying jobs, and would be centered in a 2-mile block with the rest of the land as a 'buffer zone.' my did thinks that this buffer zone will then be sold to executives who would then have the voting rights should something need to be built in the center. mind you, i only know about this through my dad, but it's still scary. what would they be putting up that they won't tell people about, and would take so much to build?

i don't like it. i don't like it at all.

*here is the link to an article in one of the papers covering the story*

photos

these are from my final portfolio:

i'm a princess!

so, guess what? it's official and the votes are in, i am on the royal court for next year's homecoming. tehe. i get to wear a tiara! sweet!

in other new, the b-day was ok. i kinda celebrated all weekend (since my friend's b-day was on sunday and mine was friday, we all got together on saturday.) good fun. i scored an awesome tea stick from lisa, and a gift card to the yarn store from anne and chris. i win! the little sister and her roomate sent me a fun package, including crayons and a coloring book with pirates.
i was also reminded that i am 23, not 2+3. :)

what was that about not letting the man get you down?

the last week of class sucks. there is always so much to do and sooooo little motivation! on top of that (all the projects and papers due), i don't know if two of the classes that i need next semester will go through, and i am out of financial aid. the amount they offered me in the letter yesterday was not enough to pay for books. time to find some other way to make it work. i only have one year left, and it feels like everything is conspiring to make it impossible. sigh. i'll think of somthing, i always do.

on the brighter side, i did get permission to sub one class for another so that i can have fewer in the fall when i need to be in the classroom for 90+ hours, plus do schoolwork. AND, i figured out how to apply for student teaching through the DOD. :D i'm thinking that england would be a wonderful place to go for a few months next year.

wool harmony

this is a photo of my friend, rayelle, and i. we traded our skillz... she knit me killer socks and i crocheted her that beautiful purse. good times!

so many babies, so little time

there is a rash of babies going around. i know way to many women who are or have recently been knocked up. it's even starting to affect my dreams. the other night i dreamt that i was in the overflow maternity ward (a hallway) and that i had just had twins (though i didn't know it right away). it was a very odd dream. my friend just had a baby, and i am working on making her a sling, and i am planning to make one for my other friend whose baby is due on mother's day as well. i also have a blanket to finish for the second friend. but first, passing the semester is my goal. wish me luck!

the poster

here's the poster that i presented for NCUR:

(with a few alterations)

oops

sorry about the lack of video on the last post. i'm not sure why it didn't work. here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9r0zm4surY

back to the real world

i'm back at school, and now i've got A LOT to do before the semester ends (only 13 regular class days left). the rest of the trip went well. my presentation rocked! i even got complements from an archaeologist. :) the only thing that really sucked about the trip, despite being not-quite-but-almost-lost in san francisco, was the total of 46 hour on a bus.

not fun.

the rest was cool. of the trip that is... there really wan't much rest on the bus... couldn't sleep.

anywho, i spent a whole lot of time on my poster, and so if i can, i will post it here.

in the meantime,

here's a funny little ditty a friend showed me today:

i think that they are norwegian soldiers... i could kinda see the flag on their uniform.

from lovely california

here i am, in california for the 21st annual NCUR. the bus ride was nearly 24 hours long. we had a mostly uneventful trip. being the brilliant person that i am, i thought of every little thing that i might need for my presentation, but did i remember a pillow? no. 24 hours on a bus without a pillow = hell, no matter who you are. i also didn't bring a blanket, but fortunately a truck stop in utah had some polar fleece ones on sale for $5. score! it's not like i don't already have about a million of them, but they are good to have around. after that stop i could finally sleep.
(kinda)
then i woke up, and we were in reno. we stopped at an obvious tourist-trap/casino for breakfast. the bus driver said 'this is your breakfast stop' over the loud speaker, and then turned the loud speaker off, so no one could hear the directions he gave to the actual restaurant. most of us ended up wandering around until we found a starbucks kiosk amongst the slot machines. eventually one person came up and told the rest of us where the open restaurant was (there were several restaurants in the complex, but none seemed open), so some of us managed to get in a good breakfast. if you're ever reno at 'boomtown,' i recommend the biscuits and gravy... very tasty.
a few hours, several hills and mountains (where we had to stop the bus and put chains on the tires due to snowy road conditions like the ones in sd when people only slow down by 5mph, if that) later, we arrived at our hotel. it was 12:30 local time, and we were told that we could not be checked in until 3pm. but they would be glad to take our bags and put them in a storage closet until then. by the time they were almost all done labeling and moving our bags, they had found a way for the system to let us check in before 3. the hotel is a bit of a maze, but once we found our room, showers ensued. then: lunch. we wandered towards a large-ish maul that we saw on the way in, and ended up at a pretty good chinese place. yum! and it was fairly inexpensive... score!
then came the obligatory stroll through the maul, stopping a few times for window-shopping. one store, called 'flying elephants' or something to that effect, had some very neat things. especially of the furniture variety! oh, if only i has the money/space for a few really cool tables and cabinets! the stuff was amazing.
anywho, enough for now, as i am pooped and should go to bed. i think we are planning to go to san francisco tomorrow, so there will be more tales for your reading pleasure. all none of you out there. don't lie, i can hear the crickets chirping.

an insomniac's dreams

last night, i thought that i would try to stay awake for a change and write a paper... after a short nap. so i got off work at 10, was off the phone with suzy by 10:30 and in bed by 10:45. i set the alarm for an hour and a half of sleep, and when it buzzed, i even almost got up. i should have. but that's another story. in my 'ten more minutes' frame of sleepy mind, i rolled over and spiraled down into oblivion. and i dreamt. all i remember now is that i was at erin's house (not where she is living or ever has actually lived), with tara, and that i was trying to get ready to go somewhere with them. i went to the bathroom to brush my hair, and all i remember is wanting to hide the odd blue streak of hair on the side of my head. the orange and red bits were of no concern, but i got it brushed just right so that you couldn't really notice the blue. when we left, erin told me to leave the bathroom door open, so the cats (there was a herd of them) could get to their food.

then i woke up. at this point, my paper was not going to be done on time, but hey, at least i got in one weird dream...

Randy Newman - A Few Words in Defense of Our Country

I love Randy Newman, he's brilliant.

out like a lion

the week started off at 80 degrees, and now it is snowing. :) i love spring snow! it's sooooo heavy and wet, and i'm really glad that i don't have to shovel it, but i love it. these are the details of our 'winter storm warning:'

PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING...WITH 4 TO 8 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION OVERNIGHT. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL OCCUR. PATCHY AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES AT TIMES.

yay snow. many people here are hoping for a snow day tomorrow. somehow, i don't think that that will happen. if it does, i hope that my parents will be ok driving out here. they are coming to drop off a tiny deep freeze for me and to pick up their new dog. she is a beautiful 13 month old boarder collie. i hope she does ok on long car trips! i'll post a photo of her if i can.

the switch

a new blog
my old blog host has decided that 'free' is no longer in their vocab, so here it is: the revenge of biscuit