January's done, already!?

Who else thinks this month went by really quickly?

Anyhoo, I have lots of plans for posts, lots including photos (cause those are always so much more fun) buuut I don't feel like dealing with photos right now...so you guys don't get any of those really exciting (..?) posts yet!

Anyhoo, I had a good weekend. Though I refuse to accept is finality. I will not do HW until at least 8, meaning I have a lot more time for rest and relaxation!

Laura came to town this weekend. :) She got here Thursday, and we ate Taco Bell (YUM) and hung out a little bit. On Friday Lindsay came over and we watched Sunshine Cleaners, a movie that I remember wanting to watch back when it came out, but completely forgot about! I liked it a lot, definitely interesting and unique. On Saturday Laura and I went out to brunch at iHop, something that I've been meaning to do the whole 2.5 years I've lived here, but haven't gotten around too. Plus I was able to order coffee - the first time I've done it in a restaurant like that!

Oh, and guess what! When we got home we FINALLY set up my bed! Its up! That means my room can be cleaned. Don't worry, I'm taking photos following the progress, so you will all get to see the journey it took to its (future) clean state.

Saturday night Rachael came over and we watched Notting Hill. Mehehehe. I love that movie. I watched it twice over Christmas Break...

Anyhoo, I ended up staying real late (watching Corrina Corrina after she left) so I actually didn't wake up until an hour or two ago. Oops!

Oh, and to add coolness to that, I've also been "fighting" (meaning not fighting) a serious Sims3 addiction this weekend. I acquired the means to have more than 8 sims in a house. A whole new world has opened up and I just.can't.stop.playing.

Hence the fact that I don't have time to put up posts with photos. And I have to go! Because I only have until 8! See how previous things I've said in this post all were interconnected at the end? Cool, aye?

Be Good

This morning I should have gone to work, seeing as I'm low on hours for this pay period. Instead, I slept in. It was very bad of me. Though, I did have a wonderful leisurely morning consisting of pancakes, CASTLE (lovely episode BTW) and time to wake up before getting out. However, because I didn't work this morning, I had to skip class and work this afternoon. Luckily the class I skip is very skipable: all of the material is online. Its just a sad class to skip. :( Its fun!

Well anyhoo because I was bad, I told myself I had to be good this evening. After work I went to the library and worked on HW for over an hour, then I went straight home and did my errands (grocery shopping). Then, I got right to my semantics HW and worked on them almost straight until now. I was good! No procrastinating! I'm just going to hop in the shower and read my French as I go to bed, but it seems like I'll be in bed at a reasonable hour! Go me!

What I like to interpret as a reward for my good behavior: a gift from my Syntax prof. Class is cancelled tomorrow! I don't know why (I hope its nothing bad), but regardless: this means I get an extra hours work in! I am now inspired to do more good (ie not procrastinate, I'm not talking about anything actually important in the world).

Which is good, because besides a fair share of HW, I also really need to do a lot of laundry tomorrow! Lets see if I can pull it off again!

PS. If I get to bed soon after my shower, this will be my second night in a row of going to bed at a reasonable hour! Go me!

Coffee Update...

Haha... I thought I should give all y'all an update on my coffee situation - especially seeing as some of you are very pro coffee and probably want me addicted.

I had some delicious coffee on Saturday while over at BBEs, and today I had not just one, but two cups. (The one cup has become standard - the second was because by the afternoon I just needed more!!!)

YUM.

A Weekend Away!

Last weekend I went to Edmonds and it was great!

I tried oh so hard to find a ride from someone who was already going down, but no one was. I even contacted someone from the viking forum and asked them details for a ride they offered, but the seats in the car were full. Luckily, a very close friend (named Anna) was amazing and agreed to come up here and get me and take me down! We arrived in Edmonds Friday evening and I was able to spend Friday night with the folks.

Saturday I was able to fight every natural urge and woke up early. (Amazing, right?) I was out of the house by 9am, and went straight over to Brad and Brittneys. There I visited with Anna, Evan and B+B of course. It was a wonderfully relaxing day spent with some wonderful people! (And Evan is speaking a few french words which is very cute). Oh..and we had Taco Bell, which - well that alone would have made my day. Seriously, addicted much?

Sunday was the reason that I came down to Edmonds in the first place- Jolene and her Dad came over to visit! It was the first time I had seen Jolene in a couple years, and only the 3rd time I had ever seen her in person. Which does not seem at all accurate, because I feel like I know her so much better than that, but I'm pretty sure those times did it alone! We invited Brian and Britt over for dinner too, and the seven of us enjoyed a delicious dinner of lasagna, garlic bread and salad. (Sooooo goood - I want real food like that more often!) It was really sad to say goodbye to Jolene, but before she left she taught me how to stick my hair up with just one chopstick, PLUS she is letting me borrow one of her favorites. Love it!!

I was unable to procure a ride back up to Bellingham, so the parents had to take me back up there. Because I hadn't been able to see much of Max, he came too and we cuddled on the way up. Overall it was an amazing weekend that was ruined by the HW that awaited me up here....

Its weekends like that that make it harder to be in school and do HW. Before I left I was enjoying classes, and even the HW seemed reasonable, however after having an amazing weekend at home like that its just so hard to get back into this routine! My real life...with responsibilities! Eh! Though now that its been a full day (though it feels like a lot more) I'm getting back into the routine.

So thanks to everyone in Edmonds who helped make that weekend awesome, and can't wait to see you all again!

Open Office

I'm finally downloading open office, which means that I will have a word-like document on my computer! Which means I can actually write things, like HW...or novels!...or plans for my daycare!

Yay! This is big! It is cool!

To blog about...

This is kinda like a note to myself, but I'm making it public. Eh, prolly people won't even read this until I edit it!

-homemade fried bread
-awesome house on sims

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Since someone responded I feel like itd be weird to edit it, cause then anyone who stumbles across it later would be mighty confused by the comments. Sooo, I'll just write in a new post. :)

Long Posts

The format of the blog (really skinny posts) makes each post seem so long! Sheesh! :)

Dexter

Been watching a lot of Dexter. (Last weekend, yesterday, tonight) It is good.

I haven't nothing more to say really. School is going well. I enjoy classes. Though there is a lot of HW, I don't actually mind doing it. Its...doable. I feel comfortable in my classes, meaning I can speak more. Not to say that when I don't speak I'm uncomfortable...I just like the classrooms and the teachers and the students and the subject matter.

Oh - and I've been drinking coffee. I had coffee both Monday and Wednesday - very logical, in my opinion, cause I have 8am classes. However, I had coffee again today, and I'm fantasizing over my next cup - what I'll experiment with next time. (In my office I can experiment with different ingredients.)

I'm trying to keep my sleeping schedule more regular. I failed last night - stayed up late, slept in this morning. Besides that though, it hasn't been too bad. I think the coffee helps - naps are my true weakness and the thorn in any successful sleep schedule. I'm so tired by the time I'm finally home, I nap, and then I can't get to bed until late. The coffee keeps me energetic til a normal time. I'm actually going to go to bed after I finish up this post and the rest of my online routine.

Oh! And something pretty exciting - I decided to look into my "degree plan" or whatever you want to call it - did the math on how many quarters I have left. Its not something that I've ever really thought about because I always knew I'd be able to graduate on time. However, looking through it, I see I can easily graduate a quarter early. My next three quarters all have a 12 max credit load. I would graduate even earlier if some of the classes weren't only offered next winter. Knowing the end point makes it seem more real. And even though there is a whole other year, it seems really soon. I think because it really makes a different of six months - because if I stayed through spring then I would work in the summer.

Since I've seen the projected end to my time at college, my mind has been racing. Part of me is really sad to leave Bellingham, not because I don't want to be somewhere else (Edmonds), but because I know that once I leave - whenever I come back to visit it wont be the same. I won't be in college. I won't live here. Its...sad. And even though I'm only just over half way through with my time here, seeing as my whole time here is less than 4 years, it really is very very short. And it goes very quick.

Another part of my mind is racing too though - all the plans on what I want to do after college. Where to live, where to work, how to keep my health insurance, what furthering education I want to do....its all fun to think about. I can see myself getting a job at a daycare, finding a cheap place to live (possibly with friends (B+B?) ), taking one class a quarter until I'm ready to start school for real. I know I want to get an early education degree - but thats so real. I almost feel like taking a couple quarters of intro french to give myself a break. I know I'll need a break.

But anyhoo, I guess I did have things to say. When I started this post all that was on my mind was Dexter. I think that is very understandable though...Dexter is an amazing show.

K, well its my bedtime! (Well I gotta read my French book en s'endormant)

Tired before Midnight?!

I'm going to bed!! I hoping to get to bed before I get a second wave that keeps me up late!

Wish me luck!

The Weekend!

I had a very good weekend, and I'm sad that its over. It went waaay too quickly. But I guess thats what happen when you anticipate something for 4 days and it only lasts 2...

Rachael came over both Friday and Saturday night, and we watched Criminal Minds the first night and had a Dexter marathon the second night. I don't know if there's any importance or significance to the fact that two of my favorite shows follow a very similar topic, but from VERY different angles.

Saturday was Karisa's 21st, so I went to her birthday dinner at Boundary Bay. It was yummy and fun! She's the first "equal aged" well known friend to turn 21, so its exciting -it means my day is coming soon! (-ish).

All that stuff was fun. The less fun stuff was my enormous to do list. My room is a mess, as I mentioned. I had a feeling that I really need to clean it soon, cause I keep having that nagging feeling "what if someone has to enter the room, and its a mess?!". Which is very embarrassing, in my opinion. Therefore it was funny to see a "notice to enter" when I got home Friday from the landlords, saying that they may have to enter on Monday. Eek! So I'm doing laundry and throwing out trash, but none of the deep cleaning (organizing) will be able to be done yet.

I want to get my bed off the floor first, because that way I can store things under, and once I have storage I can finally empty the boxes! I hope to get a socket wrench on Monday. (I've asked everyone for one and I HOPE that I'll actually get one!) Once I do, my room will hopefully make some very quick changes for the better.

My HW is already piling up, and I now have 3 classes which will all be regular HW-ers. :/

So anyhoo, it was a good weekend and I'm really sad its over, cause that means I have HW, everynight, for too many nights.

Something interesting?

Haha...I like how Anna said she doesn't write because she has nothing to say. That doesn't stop me... I'm trying to keep in this habit and stay active, and what will help me do that is to write a lot, and get comments/respond to them.

Though, like this title suggests, I have nothing interesting to say. The first week hasn't been too bad. I don't like having an 8am class, but its only twice a week -- I think I'll live. My prof has to come from Seattle, so I definitely don't have it worse.

I have my first real HW assignments tonight. Which is kinda lame, seeing as I need to type stuff and I have neither word nor a printer set up...Yay...get to wake up early and go to campus! It works well though, cause I didn't nap today (first time - school/works exhausting!) so I'm sleepy now and plan to go to bed by 10. :D

Definitely looking forward to the weekend. Though I have a lot of cleaning I need to do. My room has gotten worse and worse, and now its to the point where I can't help but thinking about if there was an emergency or something and someone had to get into my room...how embarrassing! This will be a busy weekend, for sure.

Goodnight!

Taco Time!

Haha, by tradition, Sandy and I got Taco Time. Yum. :) We watched Veronica Mars, also per tradition. This is our "we're too lazy to cook and taco time sounds good" tradition, if you were wondering. I chose to follow this healthy meal with a healthy habit - napping. I was sleepy, ok!? Only problem is I have an EIGHT AM class tomorrow. 8am. 8. Just in case there was any doubt. Wish me luck waking up on time.

Anyhoo, I wasn't productive - my dishes are still in the washer, clothes still in the dryer (sorry Sandy..). I watched criminal minds after my nap. Now I'm going to read Pride and Prejudice, hopefully making me sleepy. Reading in bed should make me sleepy, you'd think. I know this post is really boring...I'm kinda procrastinating. Because I know I should change my productivity. I know I should go to bed. But instead, I write.

Other random thing today...anyone else had this experience-- The grace with which someone accepts a "no" after asking you to coffee almost makes you more inclined to go to coffee with them?

Not looking forward to tomorrow. (8am class) (Work) (More classes) (More work). So wish me luck!

My First Day!

I've used the word "first" a lot as a title....interesting.

I realized when I woke up that I am not scheduled to work on Tuesdays. I should have worked, because I can come in for extra hours if I want, and because I didn't work yesterday I won't reach my weekly maximum...but I decided not to. Instead I used the morning to sleep, read, and surf the web. It was nice to have a leisurely morning, because I was pretty upset that school was starting so early.

My French class was at 1, and it went well. I like the room (as good as you can get in Humanities) and the seats are comfy. The subject matter should be interesting, and I know a lot of the people (obviously). Also, I was a little worried that I hadn't bought the books because there may not be any used ones left, but once we got to class she told us the 3 books that we are supposed to have - and the bookstore has 5 completely different books. That means that everyone who already bought their books has 5 they don't need...

We got out 10/15 minutes early, so I had plenty of time to walk to my next class in the new building. Waiting outside was actually a group of friends, and I know someone in my class. I'm taking Psych 119, which is Sex and Gender. I was expecting a whole lot of freshman, but it was pointed out to me that it always fills up quickly and its probably mostly upper classmen. That made me feel better for some reason. Anyhoo, the subject matter seems really interesting and I'm excited. I also think that I'm not going to buy the book ($60 if used) and instead go to the library. That may be unrealistic, and if I find that to be the case then I'll make different arrangements later. That class also got out early - instead of being 2 hrs, it was only 30 minutes!

That left me free at 2:30, so I would have had plenty of time to go to work. That would have been good of me. Instead, I'm following that whole "give myself an easy first day" trend, and am at home relaxing, less than 3 hours after I left. That concept is very strange to me. I'm used to being gone from 8:30/9:30-5:20.

I forgot that there was daylight during the school year.

Overall it was a good first day, and a very gradual transition, which is good for my reluction-to-be-in-school-already self.

How was everyone else's first day of school?

Jan 4th...

To do tonight...

Vacuum the apartment .........done
2 loads of laundry .........done (changed to 1 load cause don't wanna be mean to the neighbors!)
Unload the dishes, put the handful of dishes in the sink in the washer ...officially delayed til tomorrow
Finish daycare project post ...........done
Put notebook, pencils and a copy of my schedule in bag
Arrange check turning in to apex ........done (thank you Sandy!)
Shower
Put all bags/boxes in bedroom
Get to bed at a reasonable hour! ............bedtime set: 1am. Is that reasonable?

PS. I may just happen to be one of those people who put things I've already done on my to-do list so that I have more to cross off...

My first before and after: my desk!

As I mentioned on my New Years Resolutions post, I plan to taking photos and documenting various Before/After projects. My first choice was a fairly simple transformation. When I got home, I took some photos of my desk, which has never been decorated and was not cleaned before I left for the break. Here you can see it in all of its plain glory:



















The desk is rather cluttered and messy!














So, while watching a wonderful movie (bonus points of you recognize which one!) I decided to clean and decorate. I kept it pretty simple, just took of the garbage/dishes and all unnecessary accesories, added some candles and friendly decorations, and put stuff on the walls. I figured that my wall choices should be things I like to look at, so I chose the world and my postcards!















It's still basic and has the same general layout, but it is, in my opinion, more pleasing to the eye. I have to keep it pretty bare to accommodate my future dishes (which I hope will not stack up, but instead just be present during meal times).















I think it was a successful first attempt at documenting the cleaning of my bedroom. Plus it was clean and easy, which works well for my semi depressed mood (that whole school/work tomorrow thing)...

I actually think that what I learned most from this post was how to put photos up. My oh my is that not as easy as it should be! Anyone have tips on how to make adding photos to a post easy?

My "First" Creative Daycare Idea...

I use quotes around "First" because obviously tons of these types of ideas have filtered through my mind. I don't have time to write about it right now (its still 2am), but I can probably edit these posts so I will describe it in the next couple days.

I need a reminder, you see!

Just as a heads up - its Mr. Potato Head style, and great for an art project and a toy after!

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Ok, so I like this project because, as I said, it incorporates an art project with a fun end result that can be used over and over. So its pretty simple, really, all you need is colored pencils/markers and paper, scissors, Velcro and access to a laminating machine. (Which of theses ones is not like the other?) Clearly a laminating machine is harder to access, but as I said, it'll be a toy and its always fun to make something more permanent!

So basically you just draw a cartoon person, about a foot tall, probably just in undies. Laminate the paper, and put Velcro on different body parts. Then, you can create whatever clothes you want! You can even leave the person's face blank, and make different eyes, noses, mouths, hairstyles and more. You can obviously add to this project whenever you want - say every couple months come back to it (by the time the toy is long forgotten) and make some more new clothes and make it fun once again. Its fun cause kids would be able to see the project through start to finish, and they can be as creative as they please!

In addition, I was thinking of making some sort of book for the toy would be fun, and helpful for not losing parts. It would be made out of cloth, but the "cover" would be clear plastic that you could fit the cartoon person and whatever they choose to be wearing into. The width wouldn't matter (ie how thick the accessories are with the Velcro) because the back is clothe. Then inside the cover, would be a page or two or a fold out of cloth with lots of different compartments of different sizes, so clothes and facial features could be organized in any which way they choose.

Anyhoo, I'm excited to experiment with a toy along these lines, and thought I'd share it just in case anyone else is too... :)

Leaving Edmonds...

Tonight (its 2 am) is my last night in Edmonds. I expect that I will wake up tomorrow with just enough time to shower and pack up my stuff, before leaving in the afternoon. I'm not really ready for break to end...its also kind of depressing that I know 2 weeks is the longest break I will have for another year...

It was a wonderful break, and it was spent perfectly.

But now its time to go back to responsibility - paying bills, making my own food, work, school. Wish me luck. Normally I only have to be home for an hour or so to be happy I'm there, but leaving Edmonds is always so hard!

New Years!

One of my New Years resolutions was to start a blog - so here I go!

Here is a shortened version of my New Years resolutions (in addition to the basic health-related ones)...

-Read more, and keep track of all the books I read in 2010. I'm looking forward to a great start to this list: Anna just bought me Pride and Prejudice! I just read it a few days ago, but that was technically last year and I'm looking forward to reading it again!

-Do more arts and crafts. And keep record of them (with the blog!). I always like to think about what kinds of arts and crafts I could/should do, but I never actually do them -- I think its a good year to change that!

-Clean/Organize/Decorate my apartment and keep it that way. I love having a clean organized place, but for some reason continue to live in a pig sty. I'd like to do before and after photos -- that seems like ample motivation, doesn't it?

-Write. I've always wanted to write, and years ago I wrote some short stories. Ideas of "novels" pop into my head all the time. I think it would be very cool to set goals and actually write! All I have to do is get some sort of word like program on my computer, and then I can become an acclaimed author... :)

-I would love to try out different vegetarian meals. It'd be nice to actually use my cookbooks, to do shopping based on ingredients instead of premade meals, and have cool and delicious meals that I can share with friends.

-I would say a trend to the resolutions I'm sharing here is: In general, become more "accomplished", Pride and Prejudice style. Other random things like learn more ASL, practice the piano, and plan/prepare/study interests (like for owning a Day Care).

So, how about you? What are your New Years resolutions?