Kristin Williams

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword CD - Gerudo Valley

2012-02-15T22:53:00.007-08:00

This is one of my favorite songs on the 25th Anniversary CD that came with my Skyward Sword Wii game. I had hoped that I'd be able to post the whole playlist...but I guess it doesn't work that way....boo!! But I think you can click on a few after this one is over. This particular song is from Gerudo Valley which is in the Ocarina of Time Zelda game (my all time fave), which is probably the reason I love it so much! I'll post my other favorite song at a later date and time! Please Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T16:36:00.001-08:00

Awwww....I LOVE this picture...soooo sweet and precious!!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!
I hope everyone has a LOVEly day!!

Perfect For Each Other

2012-02-11T16:42:00.002-08:00

Remember that part in 101 Dalmatians where Pongo is talking about how dogs and their masters look alike or something along those lines?
On my way to work I drive past a veterinary clinic and I always see the vet techs walking the dogs on leashes while the dog does its "business." I couldn't help myself but yesterday I saw a vet tech accompanying a bull dog and I laughed and thought of this very moment in 101 Dalmatians. This vet tech looked exactly like the bull dog she was walking...not exactly a compliment for the vet tech but they looked like they were perfect for each other. I know that technically she was not the master of this bull dog but I still thought of this. Here are some modern day comparisons! Enjoy!

Zelda Medley

2012-02-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Feeling Festive I guess! My little brother showed me this video and I felt like sharing it, especially since I'm in the middle of playing a Zelda game! Enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

2012-02-07T18:08:00.000-08:00

My little brother is a HUGE video gamer dude and he has to buy every video game when it comes out. I've always loved to play video games too but I don't have the time to play when I'm working and going to school. The last thing I need is to get distracted from what is really important in my life. For the past little while my little brother has been texting me and asking if I've played the new Zelda game yet. Every time my answer was "NO" and that I didn't even know that a new game came out. I knew more about this kind of stuff when I was married because my ex-husband always kept me up to speed and informed. Anyway, my little brother has come to Texas to visit for a week before the move and he surprised me with a belated birthday present. Guess what it was? You got it...The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. I decided to start the game last night and I really enjoyed it. The Zelda games have always been one of my favorite Nintendo games because I just love the stories. Actually, the Ocarina of time is my absolute fave and I usually refuse to play anything Zelda that is not the Ocarina of time. When I was married my little brother bought us The Twilight Princess and I had a hard time getting into the game. It wasn't until after my divorce that I gave the game another try. To my surprise, I loved the game. I would love to play the game again sometime when I have time but right now I'm playing Skyward Sword. So far I'm enjoying the game and hopefully I can beat the game while my brother is still here. Most likely I won't because I have to work and get other things accomplished before I move IN 3 WEEKS but I'm going to try and get as far as I can.

Bring It

2012-02-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

I really brought it yesterday at work with that magazine contest! The day started out slow and I was beginning to think that it would be impossible for me to get even one subscription. I was relieved when I finally got one. Then, a co-worker started her shift and she was determined to beat me. She got her first subscription early on in her shift. Oh no she didn't!!! I wasn't going to have any of that. It was absolutely amazing cause with the competition on, I really brought on my A-Game! I got 3 more subscriptions with the snap of my finger. I was amazed at how brilliant I did because I was only expecting to get one or two subscriptions because I was working a shorter shift. So I ended the day with 4 subscriptions and a total of 13 for the week. I'm proud of my first week on the competition. Hopefully I can do just as well this week or even better. It is possible that my co-worker beat me because she had 2 subscriptions when I left and she was working till 7:00 when I got off at 2:30. Even if she did beat me, I'm still proud of myself!

Feelin Alive

2012-02-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

I like to take a multivitamin for women so I'm making sure my body is provided with vitamins that it needs. I usually just buy the cheap equate brand to save a few bucks but I saw a commercial for a multivitamin for women that provides energy. I've found that I need a boost in energy because I'm always tired and I don't particularly like to drink soda. I've never had an energy drink either and I don't really care to try one. So when I saw this commercial I thought I would give the multivitamin a try.

I took my first vitamin today and I was "feelin alive." I was full of so much energy today at work and I didn't have an ounce of caffeine. This boost in energy may have had nothing to do with the vitamin but I don't know what else would have done it.
I had a great day with magazine subscriptions....I got a total of 4 which is great for this semi slow business. So far I'm in a good position for this magazine contest and I hope that I can keep up the good work. I'm going to try and get at least one tomorrow because I work a shorter shift and won't have as many opportunities.

More Nancy Drew

2012-02-02T14:40:00.000-08:00

So I've completed reading two more Nancy Drew books!

I can honestly say that I'm no longer ashamed to be reading these books because they really are good books. I can also say that they probably aren't for everyone either. I enjoy them because they are well written and clean. I have a friend that teases me and says that I enjoy the books because I wish I was born and lived in an earlier decade. That statement is definitely true to a certain extent. These books may have been written long before my time but I thoroughly enjoy the time period and the way of life. I've already started another book and I'm can say that I'm enjoying it just as much as the others. Someday when I have a little girl of my own, I'm going to make sure that she reads these books while she is young.

Flipped

2012-01-30T19:03:00.001-08:00

My dad recorded this movie on our DVR and it was FABULOUS!!!! I absolutely loved it. It had a wonderful story with a lot of good life lessons. I plan on buying this movie for my own collection because I loved it that much. Of course I highly recommend this movie and I think that all of you should rent it and enjoy!
Synopsis
When second-graders Bryce and Juli first meet, Juli knows it's love. Bryce isn't so sure. In the days and years ahead, Bryce does all he can to keep his wannabe girlfriend at arm's length-and the smart, independent-minded Juli continues to give him the benefit of the doubt. This tender coming-of-age romantic comedy from Director Rob Reiner takes the pair from grade school to junior high, through triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make discoveries that will define who they are- and who they are to each other.

Love Your Magazines

2012-01-29T20:25:00.000-08:00

At work we started a district magazine contest today. Whoever has the highest conversion rate of magazine subscriptions in the district will win $200 cash. The next 25 contestants win $75 and the next 200 contestants win $25. We had one of these magazine contests during the summer and I worked really hard to be one of the people in the "next 25" category but I missed it. However, I did win $25. With the new contest I'm going to try really hard to win some cash this time too. The district is pretty big and unfortunately I work in low business store but I'm confident that I can win another $25 for this contest. Just today I did 4 magazine subscriptions which is an excellent start. As a whole my store is supposed to get 28 subscriptions a week which means that we need to get 4 subscriptions a day. Good thing they have ME because I ALONE got the only 4 subscriptions today. I hope that I can keep getting at least 2 subscriptions a day until the contest is over.
Wish me luck!

Expensive Day

2012-01-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

It has been an expensive day for me!! I'm trying to get dentist and doctor appointments taken care of before I move. I figure that will give me time to find a new doctor, dentist, and gynecologist when I arrive in Fort Worth...and less stress for me now.
So...it used to cost me anywhere from $50-$60 to get my teeth cleaned without insurance when I lived in Utah. So when I made the appointment to get my teeth cleaned this morning, I figured it would cost about the same.
WRONG!!!
All they did was scrape my teeth, brush and floss them and it ended up costing me $122!!! Crazy!!! Then the dentist recommended that I replace one of my fillings (something about bacteria) and so they were able to get me another appointment for later in the afternoon. After I payed for the cleaning they told me that it would cost me $193 for the filling replacement!!! WTF? It totally sucks not having insurance of any kind. My mom and I had made plans to get our nails done after my cleaning this morning, before I realized it was going to cost me $315 to do teeth stuff. The nail salon we go to is just a few buildings down from the dentist and so my mom planned on meeting there. After my expensive cleaning I tried to call my mom and tell her that I would have to cancel due to expenses. I was unable to get a hold of her until she pulled up in the parking spot next to me. I explained my dilemma and luckily she was willing to pay for my nails!! Phew!!! I went back to the dentist after lunch for the filling and I got to experience the joys of receiving a paralyzed face...and several hours later it is still numb! I was extremely relieved when I went to pay and they only charged me $60. PHEW!!! I'm so relieved that it wasn't a $315 day but it was still an expensive day for teeth.
PS: I'm slightly disappointed with my nails this time. I went to the same place as the purple tips and had the same guy do them but they didn't turn out as nice today. My only disappointment is that I chose to have my tips a dark pink (almost red) color and they turned out much lighter than their display nail :(

The Mystery at Lilac Inn

2012-01-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

So I've finished another Nancy Drew book! I'll probably just keep reading Nancy Drew books until after the move so I don't have any extra stuff to pack and unpack. They really are good books even if they are for young girls.
Anyway, the most recent book I read was The Mystery at Lilac Inn and I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. I thought this book was better than the first one I read. I just thought I would share my interest in this book. I've already started the next book in the series and so far I'm enjoying it too!

Birthday Events

2012-01-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

I had wanted to do this before I went to bed on Tuesday but I never had the chance to do so.
I started my birthday by waking up, well rested, to the most beautiful gloomy and dismal day ever!! There was absolutely NO sunshine ALL day! I believe that I suffer with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and so I always struggle to be happy on days when there is no sunshine. I forced myself to put on a smile and get out of bed. My mom was waiting in the living room to wish me a happy birthday. She handed me a birthday card that contained a $50 gift card to Charming Charlie; a store I've never shopped at. I tried to act happy and figured I'd be able to find something to spend that $50. My mother left to run errands and I absolutely refused to be alone and lonely on my birthday so I forced myself to shower and get beautified for the day. I decided to spend some time at Charming Charlie and spend my gift card.
It was a cute store but I'm not sure if it's a store I would buy much from. Luckily I was able to find some pieces of jewelry that came to almost $50. I'll have to go back before we move to spend the rest of my $1.39! When I got home I decided to eat a light lunch and watch the new TV show Alcatraz.We had recorded the 2 hour pilot the night before and I decided that I wanted to watch it while I ate my lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and I didn't want it to end. I can tell that I'm really going to enjoy the series, but I love everything that J.J. Abrams writes. I can't wait for the next episode next Monday night. After the show I fiddled with the computer until my dad came home from work. I had decided that I wanted my birthday dinner at Red Lobster this year. It isn't my favorite restaurant but they had the meal that I was craving; Shrimp Linguini Alfredo.After dinner we headed over to the movie theater to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I thought the movie was pretty good but maybe just a little odd at the same time. I have a hard time following these new Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies. I guess I have a hard time relating to this version of Sherlock Holmes. However, I was not disappointed with the film! It was pretty late in the evening when we got home so my parents went to bed immediately. I can't really remember what I did when I got home to be honest. I may be omitting some events due to memory loss but I know the last thing I did was read my book till I fell asleep.
Now, there is absolutely no laughing allowed for the remainder of reading this post....okay?
Remember that night I was sooo bored and didn't want to do anything but read, but I didn't have a book to read? Well.....I browsed through my mom's measly library in the study, out of pure desperation, and I fell upon my mom's ancient Nancy Drew collection. She also has the Hardy Boy's collection too. Anyway, OUT OF PURE DESPERATION I decided to read a Nancy Drew. She doesn't have the first book so I started with the second book in the collection:The Hidden Staircase.
Surprisingly, I'm enjoying the book. Obviously it was written for a different decade and a younger age group but I'm still intrigued with the plot. If I'm enjoying the book now, imagine how good it would have been when I was 10 or 11?
STOP LAUGHING
Anyway, those were the primary events of my beloved 28th birthday. In the future I'll pray in advance for sunshine on January 17th!

Happy Birthday!!!

2012-01-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

Today is my 28th Birthday!!!

I plan on writing about the events of the day later tonight!
Now, I thought it would be fun to share other famous people that have or have had birthdays on January 17th! There are several but I'm only going to share a few!Zooey Deschanel ~ January 17, 1980
Michelle Obama ~ January 17, 1964
Jim Carrey ~ January 17, 1962
Muhammad Ali ~ January 17, 1942
Shari Lewis ~ January 17, 1934
James Earl Jones ~ January 17, 1931
Eartha Kitt ~ January 17, 1927
Betty White ~ January 17, 1922
Al Capone ~ January 17, 1899Anne Bronte ~ January 17, 1820
Benjamin Franklin ~ January 17, 1706
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm Bored

2012-01-16T19:53:00.001-08:00

It's official....I'm bored!!
I can only handle watching so much television and doing so much stuff on the computer before I get tired of it and want to do something else.
That's where reading a good book comes in handy. I spent quite a bit of money buying The Hunger Games trilogy and I can't really afford to buy any more books until I have a job in Fort Worth. I have a lot of expenses that need to be taken care of before the move and I don't want to be frivolous with my money before hand because I refuse to ask my parents for money. I need to spend my money wisely for the next few months and then I can buy myself some stuff. My sister recommended a new series for me to try and I'm really looking forward to starting it. I've decided to trade-in one of my college textbooks to amazon and then I'll get a gift card I can use toward the new series. It's just a matter of waiting for the whole process to take place before I can get the books. Meanwhile....I'm bored and I'm sick of watching TV.
I made the mistake and I googled "bored cats" and I couldn't pick a favorite picture. There were so many cute ones but I decided to narrow down my search to the following! Please Enjoy!

Some of these cats are absolutely beautiful!!
Oh....and then I made the mistake of looking at ferrets...please enjoy further!!
Oh they're just sooo cute I just love them!!! Makes me miss my little Stinker Poo!!
I'm still bored though ;-p

Fort Worth, Here I Come

2012-01-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

The word is out!

Almost everyone at work and church know by now that I'll be moving to Fort Worth, Texas at the end of February. I've mentioned in a few posts that I'm moving, but I wanted to make an official post dedicated to just the move. I've known since before Thanksgiving but I personally didn't want the word out till after the new year. My dad's job had been asking him all last year if he would like to transfer to Fort Worth, but every time he would bring it up to my mom or me, we would give him such a hard time about NOT wanting to move that he finally told his job to take him off the transfer list. It wasn't until probably about end of October or early November that my dad's job asked him again. He called my mom as she was leaving her shift at the Temple and he asked her to pray about it. After much prayer and contemplation my mother finally felt that it was a good idea. She told me the very next day because I was getting ready to register for Spring classes and I wouldn't be able to go to school with the move being during early Spring. My dad is supposed to be at his new job on March 1 and so we have to be moved before then.
Of course I don't have to go with them, but under the circumstances I really have no choice. I'm in no position to take care of myself with my measly income and I don't really want to be alone anyway since Fort Worth is about 4 hours away from Houston. My parents went house hunting last week and this will be our new home...I'm feeling tons of anxiety and I'm sad leaving my home town. I was raised in the house we currently live in and I'm going to leave a lot of memories. But I'm excited at the same time. I think this will be a good place to start completely over with a clean slate. No one in Fort Worth is going to know anything about my past and I'd like to keep it like that until absolutely necessary. My older brother lives in Dallas and so we'll be able to spend more time with him being so much closer. I'll have to find a new job and college to attend but I'm sure everything will work out!
Fort Worth, here I come!!

The Hunger Games Official Trailer 2012

2012-01-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

The Hunger Games Trilogy

2012-01-14T14:18:00.001-08:00

Shortly after I got out of school last semester, one of my friends started reading The Hunger Games and he suggested that I read them too. It was fun reading them at the same time because we could talk to each other about the books. Anyway, I finished Mockingjay last night and wanted to share my thoughts.
I think, for me, the first book was the best. I enjoyed the story and the events the best. The second book comes in a semi close second and my least favorite was the last one. The last book was a little too depressing for me. Even though the story had a semi good ending, the majority of the book was too depressing for my taste. I would have hoped that Suzanne Collins would have gotten a little more detailed about Katniss and Peeta's "happy ending!" Instead all she gave them was a stinkin paragraph and a short epilogue. I guess I like mushy love stories and she didn't give their story justice in the end, for my taste.
Overall I enjoyed the series and I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie in March. I've watched the trailer a few times and it looks good!

Not All Birds Can Be Super Models

2012-01-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

My mom loves to feed the birds and look at them why they eat. She'll spill a whole bag of bird feed on the back porch and they'll come in flocks to eat. We get a few different types of birds but we see sparrows the most. They come in huge flocks and they aren't afraid to let us watch them eat. Yesterday I counted 20 sparrows eating on the porch all at one time...it was crazy. Anywho, today I happened to look out at the sparrows while they were eating and I noticed a lone chubby sparrow! He really stuck out from the other sparrows eating with him.

At once I thought, "That sparrow sure is chubby! I guess not all birds can be super models!!"
It is a chillier day today and maybe this particular sparrow was puffing up his body for extra warmth or something, but I don't know anything about birds to be sure. If that was the case, why was he the only sparrow in the group that was chubby?I guess God created all birds, even of the same breeding, to be different in appearance.
Apparently....Not All Birds Can Be Super Models!

Pizza And A Discovery

2012-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

My good friend Kami did a post on her blog last night about her favorite pizza toppings and I started to crave pizza as soon as I finished reading her post. I decided that I would order myself a pizza today that would feed me for both lunch and dinner.

There it is....a thin crust Cali chicken, bacon, and ranch pizza. I stuffed my face like crazy for two meals and I still have left overs that might possibly feed me both lunch and dinner tomorrow as well.
I watched a lot of movies while I stuffed my face with pizza and the last movie I popped in was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I made a discovery while I was watching the movie. During the quidditch match against Slytherin, Gryffindor scores a point and the audience cheers and that is where I noticed her.....

Julianne Hough!!
Don't know who she is? I wouldn't know who she is if it wasn't for my passion for Dancing With The Stars!! She did the show for a few seasons and then she decided to become a country music singer. Anywho, I thought it looked like her so I rewinded it to see again and I was even more sure the second time I saw it. So I used my IMDB app on my phone and pulled up her filmography....at the very bottom it shows her as an uncredited school girl in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!!! I was very proud of my discovery this evening!!!
Go me!!!!

Nasty Thieves

2012-01-10T16:37:00.001-08:00

Let's just say that some thieves are smarter than others and today I encountered some pretty stupid ones!
*For the record: Customer Service has 2 registers; 1 on the east side and 1 on the west*
This kinda gross looking dude comes to my register on the east side with two shirts. I proceed to ring up his shirts and the total came to something like $54.10. He hands me a Palais Royal card with the name June Demarough. I asked him for ID and he told me that it was his mother's card. Normally I can be pretty lazy and just swipe the card even without ID but my gut stopped me and told me to decline the purchase without an ID. I asked him if he was an authorized user on the account and he told me that he was not. I then told him I was unable to use the card without seeing a valid government issued ID. He told me that his mother was IN THE STORE and that he would go get her if I would just hold the shirts for him. No more than two minutes later, I see an even nastier looking girl coming toward my west register. I walked across my aisle to the other register to ask if she needed some help. My gut told me that these two nasty people were probably working together and I wouldn't be shocked if she tried to use the same card he had. I started ringing up her pile of clothes and her total came to something like $147 and some change.
Here it comes.....
She hands me a Palais Royal credit card and what do ya know? Same name....
June Demarough!
*Let's pause for just a minute here*
Did these fools really think that I was stupid enough not to notice that in a span of 5 minutes I wouldn't recognize that name on the card? Did they think that I would think this nasty woman in front of me was June? I have no idea what these drug addict fools were thinking...but I ain't no dummy!!! ;-p
I think that they were stupid...the nasty guy should have told the nasty girl to go to a different associate to check out!! I'm glad that they didn't because I was able to decline her purchase too and I saved our store $201.30!
More like I saved June Demarough $201.30 on her stolen card. What's funny is that I asked the nasty girl for ID and she told me that it was her mother's card...ok...but then she told me that her mother WAS NOT HERE and that she would come back another day with her mother. The nasty guy had told me that June was there and the nasty girl told me that June was not there!!! Get your stories right.....IDIOTS!!!! Better yet...stay stupid cause stealing is wrong!
I saved your booty Ms. June!

Twiddling My Thumbs and Picking My Nose

2012-01-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Today was, I think, one of the slowest days I have ever witnessed in the world of retail. I don't know if it was because it was a Monday or because of the horrible rainy weather (probably both), but it was extremely slow.
I started my work shift at 10:00 AM and when I left for my lunch at 1:30, I had only sold $51.48!!! That's pathetic, really! It wasn't until 4:00 that business really began to pick up and my sales went from $51.48-$202.82 between 3:00 and 4:30 PM. By the time I left work at 5:30 PM, I had sold $432.10 and the store had sold a total of $811.58. Usually by the end of my 7 hour shifts I sell over $1,000 by myself.
With a slow day like today there is really nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs and pick your nose!!

Where Was My Brain Today?

2012-01-08T18:05:00.001-08:00

I guess you can't have a good day everyday!!
Not like today was a bad day or anything but I really have to question,
"Where was my brain today?"
I'm probably one of the most organized and routine following people you will ever meet. I was scheduled to work today at noon and in order to give myself enough time to get ready for work I would have needed to start getting ready at 10:00 AM. My brain was obviously on vacation this morning because when I got up at 10 this morning, I said to myself, "I still have an hour till I need to get ready!" So I got all comfortable on the couch and read my book for an hour. At 11:00 I closed my book and headed up the stairs to the shower. Only, I took my time picking out an outfit and it wasn't until 11:15 that I finally hopped in the shower. I took my time getting ready until I received a phone call from my job. I was confused as to why they would be calling me. I thought, "Do they want me to come in early or something?" I answered the phone and discovered that it was 12:15!!!
OMG!!!!
I was late....I'm never late....I've never done anything like this before in my life!!!
Where was my brain today?
I was a panicked mess as I tried to hurry up and finish getting ready. Luckily I only live 5 minutes away from my job and I only ended up being 30 minutes late. I was so embarrassed. It didn't help that when I first arrived I had the honor and privilege to help one of our most obnoxious and demanding customers ever!! Anyway...it took me about 2 hours to calm down and for my adrenaline to cease. I'm okay now and now I can laugh about the whole thing but this morning I was a mess!
I still don't know where my brain was today...I guess stress won that battle!

A Good and Eventful Day

2012-01-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today was probably the best day I've had so far in 2012! I'm not saying that today was the best day ever, but compared to the events I've encountered recently, it was awesome.

I started out the day by going to the nail salon with my mom to get our nails done. We went to get our nails done together a little before Christmas and we went to a nail place that neither one of us had ever used. Actually, we went to the location of the nail place my mother used to use, but since my mom hasn't gotten her nails done in over a year, her nail place was replaced by some Cecy's Hair and Nails place. We decided to give Cecy's a shot since we were there.
BIG MISTAKE!
Have you ever had a Mexican do your nails? Not really common in the nail industry....and for good reason. I couldn't communicate with the lady AT ALL!!! She did the best she could do with what she could understand but I HATED MY NAILS WHEN SHE WAS DONE!!! I actually cried the whole drive home because they looked so horrible.
I wanted a deep red "SHIMMERY" tip and I ended up getting nasty chunks of glitter with only a few specks of red. It was nauseating looking at my nails. I wanted to go somewhere else to get them re-done, but I decided to save my money and wait 3 more weeks for a refill.
I saw a young girl at work who had her nails done EXACTLY how I had wanted my done and so I asked her where she went. Turns out she went to a nail salon not too far from my home called Elegant Nails. My mom and I headed over to the salon this morning only to find out that they were booked with appointments till 4:00 in the afternoon! Forget it...it wasn't even noon yet when we arrived. They must be good if they were booked till 4. Luckily I saw a nail place right across the street and so we headed over. I trusted the place since they are located in a ritzy area and need to produce good product for the clientele of the area. I'm glad we stopped by because my mom and I both LOVE OUR NAILS!!! I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The dude did EXACTLY what I wanted and I'm thrilled. When my nails look good...I FEEL AMAZING and SEXY!!!
Maybe not what you might like personally, but I wanted to try something different and I was craving deep purple and silver!!! I love them. My mom and I plan on going back at least one more time before we move. Go Super Nails!!!

After we got our beautiful nails done, we joined my father at the movie theater to see War Horse!!!
The movie was really good and I recommend it for everyone to see. The movie had some really touching parts that made me all teary eyed, but that's probably because I'm a crazy animal lover. Go see it if you haven't because I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

After the movie I just relaxed the rest of the day and watched some of my shows that I recorded while I was still in school. Now that bedtime is approaching I think I'll read my book until I get sleepy.

I hope everyone else had a good day too!

Some Advice, Please

2012-01-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I still plan on making a post that will bring you up to speed about what's been going on in my life for the past several months.

But right now I need some advice on a somewhat sensitive subject. For the past, I don't know...almost 3 years, I have dated some pretty pathetic men; men that treat me HORRIBLE and make my blood boil. I don't care to explain any particulars about these failed relationships, except that none of them have been with members of the church. It is hard for me to want to date a member of the church because I feel like a good Mormon man won't want to get involved with a woman with my past. My mother assures me that the "right" man will be more forgiving than I expect and I will be blessed as long as I'm living righteously. I believe my mother and I do have the faith that I'll be blessed as long as I'm living righteously. However, how am I going to meet such a man? I'm no longer living in a state where the majority of the population is LDS. Single and available LDS men are hard to come by where I'm living. I have to travel 30 minutes to an hour to attend a singles ward. My biggest fear is that all the men in a Singles Ward will either be A) preparing to go a mission still or B) just arrived home from a mission and still younger than 25. Can you see my predicament? I'll be turning 28 in 2 weeks and I'm no longer interested in dating a boy that still has to earn his college degree. I want a man; a man that has a college degree already and already has a good paying job, a man that is ready for the responsibility for providing for a family. I'm no spring chicken anymore and I feel as though time is running out.

For the past several months I've been contemplating about trying some online dating on some LDS sites. I've been really nervous because I've always looked down upon people that met online. For some reason I think it is pathetic to date online. I've heard some success stories and I've also heard some failures. At this point I don't really know how else to meet someone. I do plan on finding a singles ward to attend when I move to Fort Worth at the end of February.

This is where your advice comes in! Should I try the online dating or not? I've looked at 3 different LDS dating sites and I start filling out a profile but right before I submit, I cancel out of fear. I guess I need some support or something. It won't hurt to at least try, right?
What do you think?

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T20:52:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I know I've been gone for a long time and I'll talk about it in later post but right now I wanted to take the time to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hopefully it will be an excellent year for all of us!!

Blood Vessel Burst

2011-08-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

On Saturday August 20, 2011 I had a blood vessel burst in my eye!!!! I've never had that happen to me EVER!!! I was scared out of my mind when I noticed the blood spot while I was at work Saturday. My boss tried to calm me down by telling me that I was fine and that the blood spot would go away. I actually took this picture just a few minutes ago and the redness is actually getting MUCH better. I was getting really worried there for a few days when the spot spread into a whole section. I think all the redness should be gone by the end of the week though. If you really want to get grossed out, google "blood vessel burst in eye" and you'll see some pretty nasty stuff. Luckily my eye never got as bad as some of the eyes I googled.....NASTY!! (shivers running down my spine)

Dallas

2011-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

So I think I'm kinda a dork......my mom bought the Third Season of Dallas from Half Price Books about a month ago!!! I thought she was a dork for buying the stupid show. She told me that the store didn't have the first two seasons but she decided to buy it anyway. I went ahead and let her watch the first episode while we started a game of Phase 10 together. I was shocked when I actually got involved with the show and the characters. I've become addicted to this Soap Opera from the 70's. My parent's went out of town last Saturday and I've continued to watch the series without them because it's become so addictive. I was extremely depressed when I put in the last disk last night only to discover that it was the last episode of the season as well. I happened to get a phone call from my mom while I was watching the season finale and my mom told me that the episode I was watching was the most epic episode of the entire series. It sure was a big one with a lot of things happening.....mmmm!! I just had to buy seasons one and two today from Amazon. I can't wait until they arrive, but I'm actually more anxious to watch season four so I can find out who shot J.R. Ewing!!! Oops...I spoiled the show for you!!!! Nah, most of you probably won't get around to watching the show anyway. It was kinda funny because I was watching an episode of Friends on my lunch break today and Chandler was watching the season finale of Dallas. All you could hear were gun shots and then Chandler exclaims, "Who shot J.R? Who shot J.R?" I laughed my booty off because I was saying the same thing in my head last night. I wouldn't have had a clue what Chandler was talking about if I hadn't watched the show!! Anyways....I've become a Dallas fan and I can't wait to see the first two seansons when they come. Yeah!!!!! ;)

Poison Study

2011-07-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

EXCELLENT Recommendation, Kami!!! Thank You!!!

I LOVED this book so much I never wanted to put it down. I didn't want the chronicle to end so I went and got Magic Study today and I'm going to start reading it tonight....

Yeah!!!

Thumbs Up

2011-07-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! So I've finished reading both Dreadnought and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas!!

I finished Dreadnought sometime last week and I really enjoyed it. It took several chapters for it to pick up, but once it did, I didn't want to put it down. I personally think that I enjoyed Boneshaker more, but I think Dreadnought was still a good read.

I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas last night and I was sad when it was over. To my surprise, the book was actually very short and it seemed to have been written for the teenage population. Regardless, I still thought the book was phenomenal and I didn't want the book to end. Kinda sucks that I'd watched the movie before I read the book because I knew how the story ended.

I had thought that reading both books would take up the majority of my summer, but since The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was an extremely easy and quick read, I might be able to fit one more book in before school starts. Since I'm finding Clementine hard to locate, I'll probably end up reading the Silmarillion next.

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged much this summer but I think I've kinda been in a blogging rut. I really haven't had many good ideas for blogs and my life is so uneventful that I have nothing to share. I'll try and be better before I start school next month.

Summer Reads

2011-06-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Since I decided to take a break from school this summer, I've decided that I want to read a few books. I'm realizing that summer is close to being halfway gone so I probably won't be able to read them all, but I'll try to read as many of them as I can.

I'm currently reading Dreadnought and so far I'm enjoying it. I have a friend who is a huge Steampunk fan and so I decided to give his books a try. I read Boneshaker last year (same author as Dreadnought and Clementine) and I really enjoyed it, so I think I'll enjoy these two books as well. I just barely started reading this week and with my busy work schedule, I read about a chapter a day before I fall asleep. After I finish Dreadnought I'll probably read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas next. I wathced the movie they made and I really enjoyed it so I think I'll give the book a try. Like I said earlier, I probably won't read all the books this summer (especially when I read a chapter a day ;-p) but I'll do the best I can!

Making Things Grow

2011-05-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

I've never had a green thumb, and any plant I've ever had has died because of my inability to keep them alive.

For the past couple of months my mother has been working hard on her curb appeal. She's painted the porch and landscaped the yards. My mother asked me if I would water all her plants while she was in Pennsylvania visiting her family. I reluctantly agreed to water her plants since she was going to be away for almost a month. So...for the past two weeks I've been diligently watering the lawn by following the instructions from my mother.

I'm honestly very proud of myself for my hard work on the lawn. It's amazing how just a little water and some sunshine will help some of those plants grow. I'm especially proud of the elephant ears because they have grown the most in the past two weeks. When my mother left, there was only one elephant ear. Now, there are about 8 new ones that have popped out of the ground and started growing. I'm excited to see my elephant ears every morning when I water them.

Straight "A's"

2011-05-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

My last day of school for Spring Semester 2011 was last Tuesday! I was thrilled when this semester finally came to an end. I enjoyed my classes this spring and I made some friends but DANG.....this was the toughest semester of college I've encountered thus far. This semester nearly killed me with all the reading, studying, researching, and writing that was involved. My psychology professor was the hardest professor you could get in the department and I literally worked my butt off.

My grades were posted today and I'm proud to announce that I got:

Technical Drawing: A

General Psychology: A

Public Speaking: A

It was an absolutely amazing feeling to get straight A's for my third semester in a row.

Psychology

My highest grade in this class was a 95 which was from my research paper on Narcissistic Personality Disorder. My lowest grade was a 90, and I have no idea what I received on my final exam....but it really doesn't matter at this point because I got my HARD EARNED A!!!

Public Speaking

I gave a total of 5 speeches in this class and I can honestly say that I improved GREATLY with each speech that I gave. My first speech received a 98 (I lost two points for holding my visual aids and note cards with two hands...lame). My second speech received a 97 (I lost two points for pacing around too much, and I lost 1 point for writing my outline in the incorrect format...lame). I decided to learn from my previous mistakes and I'm happy to say that I got a 100 on each of my last three speeches!!! Woo Hoo!! My professor asked me on the last day of class if I would join the debate team in the fall....I unfortunately declined, but at least I know I'm a good speaker now!!!

Drafting

I was scared to tears when I left this class on my first day back in February. My original class had been dropped and I had no other options than to take this class with the hard professor. I had heard horror stories about the professor and several of my classmates dropped her class after the first day. I decided that I could do anything if I put my mind and heart to it....AND I SUCCEEDED!!! I had to work really hard but by the end of the semester I absolutely loved my professor and I wish I could have her teach me the rest of the Interior Design classes in the program. My teacher loved me and she praised my work constantly. She told the class that my work was exceptional!!

My secret for getting straight A's: There are no secrets....I'm PERFECT!! LOL

(just do the best you can and take the time for perfection)

Yeah for school being over but boo that my jobs are scheduling me like crazy again!! I do need the money though :)

Hello World

2011-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

There is absolutely too much that has happened since I last posted so I'm not even go to start to try and catch up. However....life is good but school is keeping me busier than I would like to admit. At least the semester is almost over and I just have to keep taking everything one day at a time.

Psychology

This class is killing me....and not very softly. I was really enjoying the class at the beginning of the semester but I'm sure as heck ready to be done with it. I took my 4th and final test for this class today. I've gotten two "A's" and one high "B" on my first three tests. I'm not sure how well I did on the test today but I hope I got another "A" so I can drop the "B." I spent the majoritiy of my spring break (6 days) writing extremely difficult essays for this class. Luckily I got an "A"....I was really starting to freak out when I noticed the guy that sits in front of me got a 41 on his! YIKES!!! I've been putting all my energy into this class and I've finally hit my exhaustion phase in the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). All that is left to do this semester for this class is to finish writing my research paper on Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the Final Exam. I can do it!

Public Speaking

I'm ready for this class to be over too. My teacher is the most unprofessional and unorganized professor I have ever had. He is literally a minimum of 20 minutes late to every class and he never has time to finish his lectures and I feel like my hard earned money that is paying for his class is going to waste. I paid to take a 1 hour 20 minute class....not a 50 minute class. On the day we took our midterm....my professor had the gall to answer a personal phone call on his cell during our exam. Then he decides to take his phone call to the hallway and he leaves us TAKING AN EXAM unattended. He got so mad at the class when he discovered that a group of individuals cheated on the exam (he only discovered when he graded the exams). What do you expect when you leave a class room unattended during a test. He told the select individuals that if they cheated on the Final Exam they would receive zeros. My advice...don't leave the class during an exam....IDIOT!!! Other than that the class is going fine. We've done two speechs (I got a 98 and 97 on them) and our midterm (I got a 98). We still have 3 more speeches to go and then our final! Everything is happening all at once and I'm ready to poke my eyes out. Between researching for my PSYC paper and researching for my next 3 speeches....I'm surprised I'm not bald yet.

Drafting

I bet you could guess....YEP....I'm ready for this class to be over as well. I'm actually doing way better than I thought I'd be doing when I started this class and discovered I had the hard teacher. I actually have a high "A" so far. We just have one more test, our final (and killer) drafting project, and the final exam. Our final drafting project is going to be REALLY hard but I'm going to do the best I can. So far I think I'm going to be fine but it'll be a lot to work on for the next few weeks. It's just really unfortunate that I draft so slow....precision can be a curse.

Overall, school has kept me extra busy and I'm exhausted. Only 5 more weeks to go till

SUMMER VACATION....oh yea!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

2011-02-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

Sooooo.......

I passed my Psychology test!

It wasn't an "A" but it was an 88 which is pretty impressive for this class. I was one question away from receiving an "A"....shucks!! (meaning: I missed 6 out of 50 questions and I would have gotten an "A" if I'd only missed 5.)

I was really getting worried that I'd get a "C" on this one.

Yeah....I didn't!!!

Just wanted to share my excitement!

School News

2011-02-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

Since school appears to be the only part of my life, currently, I'd like to update how my classes are going.

Psychology

I took my second test today and it was a really challenging test for me. Our teacher doesn't exactly make the class easy. Most of her test questions require you to think critically, which can be difficult for me. I'll know a definition of a term and understand it but when put in a different context I can get confused. I got an "A" on the first test and so I was determined to get another "A" on the test taken today. I made sure that I studied even harder than the first time. I've been studying for today's test since last week. I've pretty much been sleeping and eating Psychology. Today's test really stressed me out. I had really wanted to relax the rest of today after taking the test and all I could do when I left school was think about some of those stupid questions on the test. I feel confident that I passed but I'm worried that I didn't pull off the "A" that I studied and worked hard for. I guess I'll find out on Monday what I got on the exam. I hope not to be too disappointed with the grade.

Public Speaking

Our teacher finally brought back our graded Icebreaker Speeches. I got a 98....not bad. He took off 2 points because I didn't hold my notes or objects in one hand. Lame!!! Overall I'm very happy with the grade. I give my next speech in two weeks. The speeches start on Monday but I pulled a good card out of the deck, 8 of Spades, and so I get to speak on the last day of speeches. Lucky me!!! Unfortunately we all have to turn in our speech outlines on Monday so I was forced to write it tonight. I think it turned out pretty awesome. Maybe I'll post it for your enjoyment.

Drafting

We had our first drafting test on Tuesday!!! I got a 98 on the test which I'm also very proud of. I lost 2 points on the floor plan section of the test. Apparently I'm not very good at drawing doors and I made the stupid door too narrow....oops. I lost my other point for making my interior walls 6" thick instead of 4"....another oops!!! I must have been daydreaming the day she told us interior walls were generally 4" and exterior walls were 6". I also got my first 100 on a Lettering Assignment!!! Whoop whoop!!! If I get a 100 on the next one I don't have to do anymore lettering exercises....which would be a great stress reliever. With my 100 and 98 my "low overall A" in the class has been brought up to a "mid/high A!!"

I hope I can keep up the good work because I'm already starting to get exhausted from this stupid semester. I never get a break in life...if it isn't work, it's school. I finish one assignment and I have to start another. I finish studying for one test and I have to start studying for another. I finish one research paper and I have to research for another!!! The cycle just keeps going and going and I'm ready for it to stop. I sure wish I had done this whole school thing when I was younger, had more energy, and had less financial obligations. This hard work better pay off in the end....because it's probably gonna kill me!!!

Catch Up Time

2011-02-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

YES, I'm still alive!!! I've just been VERY busy with school and other stuff. Maybe I'll post a little more during Spring Break (sometime in March) when I might have a little more time on my hands.

School
Since the last time I posted, I started my other two classes: Public Speaking and Drafting! I have a story to tell about my Drafting class but I'm not telling it during this post. With 3 classes to focus on...I'm a stressed out mess most of the time. I have taken my first Psychology test and I'm proud to announce that I got the only "A" in the whole class. The teacher told me, in private, that most of the class failed. Yeah for me!!
I've also given my first speech, Icebreaker Speech, which was given on the second day of class! Our teacher is very forgetful and he still hasn't brought back our graded speeches....so needless to say...I don't know how I did, grade wise, but I feel like I did a really good job.
I got an 80 on my first drafting assignment :-( but because I have a 100 on a classwork assignment, my overall grade is still an "A" (just a low "A").
I was hoping that I wouldn't have to spend too much money this semester on supplies but I was wrong. I had to buy a drafting board so I could do my drafting homework and it cost me almost $100. YIKES!! I used it tonight and it seems to have been a good investment.
Overall, school is stressing me out but I seem to be doing well in all 3 classes so far and I'm enjoying all of them!!
OHHH...and I have a stalker from my speech class but I'll talk about him some other time...CREEPY DUDE!!!

Work
To be honest....I don't really have anything to say about work other than I'm still working two jobs. Palais Royal has cut my hours a bit which I'm super grateful for. Now I can dedicate more time to my studies. Gymboree is having to learn that I'm really not that available for them. I feel bad that I only work one day a week for them but hey...I'm not complaining and I'm sure they would let me know if it was a problem for them.

My Weekend
My older sister (her husband and 4 kids) and my little brother, who both live in Utah, came to visit last Thursday. My older brother, who lives in Dallas, also came down so we could all spend some time together as a family. It was really nice having all 4 of us kids back together again with mom and dad. I took off some extra time with my jobs so that I could spend the majority of their time here with them. They were here 6 days and I had off 5 of those days. It was really nice and we had a lot of good laughs together. As fun as it was, it was extremely loud and stressful. Lucky me got to share a room with my sister's 3 oldest children. I love my niece and nephews but they kept me up most of the nights. Needless to say...I didn't get much sleep while they were here AND I didn't get much homework done either. They left yesterday and it was sad to say goodbye but now I can spend some time on my studies.

Speaking of studies....I should get back to them now (before I get too tired).

How's General Psychology?

2011-01-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks I've been going to my General Psychology class and so far I absolutely LOVE it!!!

My professor is a sole lecturer and she doesn't ever assign homework! She thinks of us as adults and just expects us to do whatever we need to do as adults to do well in her class.

Are you thinking that I love this class because I never get homework?

WRONG!!!

I give myself plenty of homework on my own because I read the modules and do all the study guide questions afterward.

I'm just really enjoying my teacher's lectures and I truly feel as though I'm learning!

Remember Phineas Gage?

He's the guy that had a iron rod explode up through his left cheek and come out the top of his head!!! Gross!!! Anyway, I learned that the accident severed ties between his frontal lobe and limbic system. With his frontal lobe being damaged, Gage was no longer able to control his moods and emotions.

Last Wednesday I came home from work to discover that my mom was watching a documentary thingy on King Henry VIII. I sat down and watched while I ate some dinner. The documentary mentioned that King Henry was in a jousting accident in 1538 where he was thrown from his horse and the horse fell on top of him. He was without speech for 2 hours and when he came back around his mood and personality was different.

So....I'm listening and blurted out, "The accident probably damaged his frontal lobe!!"

Then.....the doctor on the documentary says, "Most likely the accident damaged his frontal lobe."

(or something along those lines) My mom looked at me with this shocked face and wondered how I knew that. I told her I was SMART!!! Hehe...I would have never known that if I hadn't learned about Phineas Gage in my Psychology class.

Our first test is this Friday and I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect but I'm hoping that I'll do well!!! Wish me luck!

The Story of Phineas Gage

2011-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

I learned about Phineas Gage this week in my Psychology class and was completely amazed by his story. The video is a little long but I hope you'll take the time to watch it. I can't believe that he survived an accident to this degree. Watch and enjoy and maybe you'll learn something!

My Birthday

2011-01-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my 27th Birthday yesterday!

I started the day at the Gynecologist!!! Yes....very exciting!!! Not like I really wanted to make my appointment for my birthday but I knew I'd be available and I wanted to get this appointment out of the way before I started school. On a good note though, there was no horribly bad news!!! After the doctors I went to the mall with my mom and we did some shopping. I didn't end up buying anything but I let my mom use my coupon to buy herself a jacket at Palais Royal!!! I'm so nice...it was my birthday and nothing was bought for me!! Lol! After the mall we went to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Pappasitos, and we shared a platter of quesadillas!!!! The meal was delicious as usal and we ate till we were stuffed. My mom decided to humiliate me and she of course told our waiter that it was my birthday. They forced me to wear a HUGE sombrero while they sang me a song. At least the dessert was to die for. My mom and I just chilled for the rest of the afternoon until I went to FHE with the Singles Branch. They had made me ice cream cake and everyone sang me happy birthday. After our lesson we played some games and I thought that was pretty fun. I'm still not sure if this branch is right for me. They're all really nice people but I think I need to see what else is available before I settle.

Ohhhh!!!!

Remember the cute guy? He's married!!! Turns out he's the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency. Oh well!!!!

Overall, it was a nice birthday and I received a lot of birthday wishes on facebook. I just can't believe that in 3 more years I'll be 30!!! EEK!!! Gotta get a move on!! ;-p

I Went To Church

2011-01-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling the need to go back to church for almost a whole year, not quite a full year, but almost! I've been a stubborn person and felt like I could find happiness without the gospel in my life. I've always felt that there are good people in this world that aren't Mormon and I wanted to be one of those people. I also felt that I could find a good guy that wasn't Mormon to settle down with. In truth, there are such people in this world. However, in my almost two years of being divorced, I have yet to meet a guy that fits that description!! I haven't dated many guys since my divorce but the few that I have dated fell to the category of "LOSER" as far as I'm concerned. My last experience with Alex was a rather rude awakening but yet very humbling. I finally came to realize that I'm not going to be blessed with a "nice" guy unless I'm living righteously. So I finally allowed myself to do some research and I found a Singles Branch to attend. I forced myself to attend today and it was "interesting." I went with these two sisters from my home ward and I was grateful to be there with people I kinda knew. It was still a little awkward especially since I haven't been to a Singles Ward since 2004.

The one sister, 30 years of age, talked with me a little about the branch before we got there. She told me that she really liked branch since it had a wide range of age groups. She told me that there are a few young, a few in the mid 20's, and a few more in the older age group of late 20's and early 30's. I found this information to be excellent. I was nervous about attending a singles ward and everyone being younger than 23 and extremely immature. I turn 27 tomorrow and I'm not interested in involving myself with "children!!" She also informed me that this branch doesn't necessarily get caught up in the whole "I want to get married" crap that most singles wards have.

*PAUSE*

I have to admit that there are two reasons why I've decided to attend a singles ward/branch.

1. I want to involve myself with the church again and get on the right side.

2. My goal is to remarry before I'm 30 and a prune.

*PRESS PLAY*

I was a little shocked about how small the branch was....not too shocked mind you because we aren't in Utah. There were probably about 6 guys total in the branch...not of which many enticed me. There was one guy however who was EXTREMELY good looking. He introduced himself to me immediately BUT I recognized him the moment he approached me AS THE BROTHER OF ONE OF THE GUYS I DATED WHEN I WAS RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. Talk about crazy. It took him a minute to figure out who I was but it finally came to him. After he figured out who I was he said, "Wow!! You look, you look...." but he never finished. I'm hoping he was gonna say, "You look amazing" or "You look absolutely beautiful!" Any who, not sure if anything will happen between us because of my history with his brother. In all honesty, I always thought he was cuter than the brother I dated but HE wasn't available. ;-p

The rest of church was just alright. I think I'll have to go a few more times to see how I really feel about the branch. I'm just trying to take baby steps in the right direction. My attending the branch can't hurt me.

Spring Semester 2011

2011-01-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it but Spring Semester classes start next week! It feels like only yesterday that I took my final exams for Fall Semester!! Time sure does fly by these days!!

I forced myself to go to the college bookstore today to buy my books for my classes. It sure was expensive...$351.27 for three books. Unfortunately 2 of the 3 were brand new and they weren't available for rent. Thanks to some great friends, I've been advised not to buy my books at the college bookstore anymore. I haven't been looking forward for school since I feel as though my break was short but after being on campus today, my excitement spiked up!!!

For Spring I will be taking the following classes:

General Psychology

This is my first class to start off the semester (January 19) and I'm really excited for it. I'm hoping it won't be too hard but regardless...I can't wait!! This class will meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

Public Speaking

I think this is the one class that I'm not looking forward to. However, it is required for most degrees so it'll be good to get out of the way. It's a late start class and won't start till January 31st which I'm hoping will be a good thing. This class will follow PSYCH on Monday and Wednesday!

Technical Drawing/Drafting for Interior Design

I was really worried about this class since I don't really enjoy drawing but luckily I was able to get my same teacher from Fundamentals of Interior Design that I took last semester. I really REALLY liked my teacher AND most of my old classmates are taking the same class so it'll be a nice reunion when class starts. This too is a late start class (February 1) but I'll be taking this one in the Evenings on Tuesday and Thursday!!! Can't wait!!

My goal is to get all "A's" this semester and maintain my 4.0 GPA! I'm hoping to be able to pull it off! Wish me luck!

Look-A-Likes

2011-01-10T22:14:00.001-08:00

I've been watching a lot of Glenn Beck lately and I can't get over how much he reminds me of Ralphie from

A Christmas Story!

See a resemblance?

In fact....I think Glenn looks more like Ralphie than the actual actor, Peter Billingsley, who played his character.

See? No resemblance!!! Doesn't even look like the same person...except the eyes and maybe the smile....heck I still think Glenn looks more like an older Ralphie!!

What do you think?

Carpenters - I Need To Be In Love

2011-01-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

I was just browsing and I fell in love with this song! I LOVE Karen Carpenter's voice!

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2011

Complete 2 more semesters of college
Keep both my jobs and maybe find a better paying job
Apply for financial aid to help with my education
Maintain a 4.0 GPA for Spring and Fall
Start Attending a Singles Ward
Continue making new friends and hopefully start dating again
Keep trying to find happiness within myself
Keep trying to grow my hair out
Try to gain a few more pounds
Be more responsible and safe

I'm sure the list could go on. I mostly want to keep on doing what I started in 2010 but add a few more things to work on.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T23:16:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Let's wash away the bad of 2010 and continue on with the good!

Resolutions Checklist

2010-12-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

2010 is coming to an end and I wanted to be able to check some accomplishments off my New Year's Resolutions List for this year. I posted my resolutions on January 1, 2010. You may remember them when you see them.
Be enrolled in college by fall semester
Have a part time job
Be in better shape physically
Have a stronger relationship with Carlos
Make new friends
Be happy with myself
Grow my hair out

What can I check off?

I've completed two semesters of college this year, both of which I maintained a 4.0 GPA which means I got all "A's!" I'm also enrolled for Spring Semester 2011 which starts in less than 3 weeks.

I'm working not only one but TWO part time jobs!!! I've been able to make enough money to pay all my bills and pay for my college education all on my own with no financial support from family or the government. It's been tough and I can't afford any extras but I'm proud of what I've been able to do.

At the beginning of the year I was determined to get into better physical shape. I forced myself to work out 3-5 days a week. What started out as an excruciating 15 minute walk on the treadmill turned into a 30-60 minute jog including push-ups, 100+ crunches, limb stretching and weight lifting. My butt firmed and I started getting the 6 pack I had senior year in high school. My biceps were huge and mom never stopped stating how muscular my arms looked. I was feeling so good and gaining muscle weight. By May of this year I looked incredible and I was extremely proud of myself. Unfortunately, I started school in June and I was unable to keep working out juggling two jobs, school and homework. I think the last time I walked on the treadmill or did a crunch was early June. Oh well....I succeeded for a short amount of time and I'm proud of that slight accomplishment. Maybe I'll start again before too long.

I wrote this list before Carlos and I broke up. If you remember Carlos and I broke up January 15th. I had hoped that we'd be able to work on our relationship and grow stronger as a couple. Unfortunately we didn't have that opportunity. However, we've stayed in touch with each other and remained friends this entire year. By early March I was beginning to feel that our relationship was growing stronger through a friendship. He's come to me a couple times this year needing advice and I tried to help him as best I could. I'm sad to announce that the last I heard from Carlos was November 8th; almost two months ago. I've sent him a few emails since then but he's never responded to any of them. There is still hope that he'll write me again some day. At least our friendship grew stronger for a brief moment in my personal history.

I haven't made many new friends. I've become friends with some co-workers of mine on facebook and a few of my classmates from school. I haven't made friends with anyone that I care to hang out with. I'm still searching for a BFF and I hope that one day I'll have one. Right now my closest friend is my Mother and I'm grateful for that. My mom was always my best friend when I was growing up and our relationship changed when I moved to Utah and got married. My mom has been my best comfort this past month while I was going through TWO break ups with Alex. I'll always love my mother and I never want to grow apart again.

Be happy with myself!!! That's a tough one to check off the list. I'm not so sure if I'm happy with myself or not. I'm proud of all my accomplishments: school, work...etc. But I still think I have a long way to go to actually be happy with myself. I've continued to grow as an individual this year but I've also made many mistakes along the way. I think I'll have to continue striving to be happy with myself.

I've tried to grow my hair out all year but it just won't grow anymore. I ruined my hair when I bleached it back in 2008 and it's thinned to a point where it looks like straw when it gets past my shoulders. I'll never have my thicker and longer hair again. At least I've tried, right?

I guess one could conclude that I've been able to check off most of my resolutions for 2010. I hope many of you have been able to do the same!!!

Christmas Highlights

2010-12-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone! The time sure does fly by as you get older. I can't believe that Christmas is already over...seems like just yesterday when December started. I had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was a very stressful but very enjoyable holiday.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is seeing The Nutcracker Ballet. Alex bought Houston Ballet tickets to see the Nutcracker with me this year. On our first date I mentioned that I loved ballet and used to be a dancer and he went and bought tickets, all on his own. I was so excited to share my love of dance with him and for him to experience his first ballet with me. Unfortunately he was out of town the weekend were supposed to go and so I ended up giving his ticket to my mom. We had quite the adventure driving downtown because our exit was closed off but luckily the GPS got us there in one piece. We would have been lost without it. It was a very interesting experience for both of us. Not quite like my experiences seeing Ballet West perform The Nutcracker in Salt Lake City. People were walking around with glasses of wine and champagne; not something that ever happened in Capitol Theater. The ballet was excellent but not my favorite version and choreography. I managed to take some pictures with my phone.

It is my own personal tradition to buy a Nutcracker every year. This is the one I chose to purchase this year. It wasn't the one I wanted but they were out of stock of my first choice. I still like him though.

The Christmas Tree in the Wortham Center

A huge gingerbread house next to the huge Christmas tree

The curtain inside the theater

Work has been extremely stressful and exhausting for me this holiday. I've been working retail for several years and I can honestly say that I have never worked so hard in my life. The hours have been long, the employees have been scarce and the work has been tremendous. It was wonderful having off yesterday for Christmas and having off today as well. I really needed those two days to relax and recuperate.

My older brother, Danny, came down from Dallas for a few days and it was really nice being able to spend some time with him. I had a wonderful and relaxing holiday with family. It's a shame we all couldn't be here but it was nice celebrating with who was available. I was sad to see my brother leave because I don't get to see him much through the year.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Catch Up Time

2010-12-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've been really busy with school, work and my crazy relationship that I haven't had time to post on my blog lately. I've been working almost 15 hour days since black Friday and I've been extremely exhausted. I thought it would be nice to have one nice post to catch up a bit on my life.

Finals

For my Interior Design class I had to do a final project and a final exam. For our final project we had to design an executive office for a made up client. We had to design a company logo for both our designing firm and our clients company. Then we had to come up with our clients age, sex, job title, education and family situation. Our office design was required to have a desk area, conference area and a lounge area. We were also required to draw up a floor plan by hand in a 1/4 " scale.

My Client

My company is K~Design and my partner and I started the company 3 years ago. I personally took on the design of this office. My client was Corissa Burns who is a Jr. Accountant for Burns Accounting (where they are the key to your financial success) which is owned by her father and uncle. Corissa received her Masters in Accountancy at Brigham Young University which is one of the top ten accounting colleges in the United States. Corissa is 27 years old and recently engaged to be married. As a wedding present, her fiance asked me to design her new office.

Here are my presentation boards of Corissa's Office with all furniture choices and samples of paint colors, case goods, flooring and upholstery. Corissa wanted a very traditional and classic look for her office. She also wanted me to bring in influences of the Queen Anne time period with my furniture choices.

Board #1

My first board presents the floor plan (kinda hard to see in this picture), most office finishes, and the furniture for the desk area. All four walls in the office will be painted in the darker neutral color presented on this board while the ceiling will be painted the lighter tint of the wall color also presented here. The carpet will be a dark brown while all the case goods will be in cherry. Both the swivel desk chair and the two guest chairs (situated in front of the desk) will be upholstered in this tan colored washable suede. To bring in some Queen Anne influences I choice these chairs because they have cabriolle legs and Queen Anne arms.

Board #2

My second board presents the conference and lounge areas with all their finishes. I chose a 42" round conference table since Corissa didn't have a huge need for a large conference table. Most of the company meetings take place in her father's office. We also chose 4 Queen Anne chairs (identical to the guest chairs on previous board, only without the tufting) to be situated around the conference table. All four chairs will be upholstered in the paisley/damask patterned fabric shown in the bottom middle of the board. For the lounge area I chose a settee to situated on the left side wall of the office. The magazine table will placed in front of the settee while two fish aquariums will flank each side of the settee. I selected two wing back chairs to be placed on each side of the magazine table. Both the chairs and the settee will be upholstered in a rich red velvet which was a popular textile in the Queen Anne time period. The same upholstery that I used on the conference table chairs will be used as throw pillows on the settee. I hope you liked my design of Corissa's office. I know my teacher did cause she gave me a 100 on this project!!

I also received a 100 on my final exam for this class. I ended the semester with a 99 which I think is pretty amazing and impressive!!!! I loved this class!!! For my College Algebra class I had to get a 65 or higher on my final exam to get an "A" in the class. I thought I would be able to pull that off but I was unable to study for the final. I was going through all my Alex crap around this time and couldn't focus long enough to study. I thought I aced most of the final but there was this one cruel word problem that I ended up skipping completely!!! I was worried that I might have made a few minor errors on some other problems but I felt good that I got my 65 or HIGHER. My only concern was that my teacher refused to email us our final grades and if we wanted to know our grade we had to visit her in her office during office hours. I was unable to visit her during office hours because my jobs started scheduling me during the day when my finals were over. Luckily...I ended up getting an "A" in the class so I'm satisfied. I was able to maintain my 4.0 GPA for my second semester in a row. YEAH!!!!

Work

Like I mentioned earlier....I've been working A LOT of hours this holiday season. What else is to be expected when I work in retail? I've been starting most shifts at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning and ending my shifts around 11 at night. Yesterday I didn't get out of work until after midnight. Yikes!!! It was amazing having a day off today and luckily the mall closes early tomorrow for Christmas Eve. I've had to deal with a lot of angry customers but I've managed to be nice to most of them. Palais Royal has been much busier than Gymboree. I also happen to work in the busiest department in Palais Royal so there hasn't been a dull moment yet. I've definitely been working hard for my money. We've had a lot of WEAK individuals quit on us this past week because they couldn't handle all the work. Oh well!!!! It's almost over!!!

Alex

We've definitely had our ups and downs these past 2 1/2-3 weeks. I don't really care to discuss Alex's and my relationship at this time but we're doing alright. I still don't think we're doing as well as we were doing before he broke up with me but we still care about each other and so we're working on our little problems.

Misc.

When I woke up this morning my parents informed me that a robber tried to break into our next neighbors house around 2 in the morning. The cops were all up and down our street trying to find the guy. He was trying to unscrew my neighbors window and it woke her up. Apparently he had already broken into other houses in the neighborhood and the cops were called. My parents were a little spooked today and so we've all agreed to keep the doors and windows locked. Keep us in your prayers. We also had a riot today at the mall. Of course it had to happen on the day that I'm off work. My boss called me today to tell me about it. I guess some people were angry that a store ran out of stock of the new Jordans and so thus a riot broke out. Mall security had Palais Royal close the gates to the store. She told me that trashy black people were running through the mall yelling tantrums. She also told me that people were getting trampled by the mob of crazy people. I guess it was so bad that all the windows in our store were shaking and my boss was scared the class was going to break in the windows. Craziness!!!

I hope everyone is having a Happy Holiday!

Surprise, Surprise

2010-12-12T07:33:00.001-08:00

The past couple of days have been really hard since Alex broke it off with me. I cried most of the day on Thursday. Little things would trigger the tears like when I walked past a bench in the campus courtyard that I used to sit on when I would call him when I got out of class. I was doing better on Friday because work was SOOOOO busy and I didn't have time to think about it. After work I was so busy working on my final interior design project that, again, I didn't have time to think about him. However, Friday morning I told one of my co-workers at Palais about the break up and she told me something like this, "Kristin, I don't want to sound mean, but it sounds like he found someone else!" I hadn't even thought of that as being a reason. All he told me was that he wasn't ready to get into another serious relationship so soon after his divorce. There was always the possibility that he met someone else and didn't want me to know. When I asked him if he would be interested in dating me when he was ready he responded with something like this, "I don't know if I would. You may not be what I want and right now I don't know what I want."

Maybe that was his nice way of saying, "Hey...I found someone else who is more my type and things are done between us."

Soooo Friday night my mind played tricks on me and I had nightmares of how Alex was posting all over facebook all the woman he was dating now that he had broken up with me. I woke up yesterday morning VERY sad. My whole day was pretty much ruined because of that stupid dream and I was a complete zombie at both my jobs. Last night while working at Gymboree, I told my co-worker about the break up and how I just keep hoping he'll contact me and tell me how much he misses me. I knew that would never happen since he deleted me from facebook and most likely deleted me as a contact altogether. :/

I cried myself to sleep as usual and at 4:11 am, exactly, my phone dinged with a text message. I was half asleep when I rolled over and picked up my phone and saw a text from....

ALEX!!!

"U there?"

He told me he couldn't sleep and that he was trying to sort things out in his mind. He then asked if we could talk sometime. I ended up calling him right away so we could talk and figure things out immediately. To make a long story short.....the main reason he broke it off is because he is scared of getting attached to someone and getting screwed in the end (his ex-wife cheated on him several times). He told me that he really, really, REALLY liked me A LOT and that he missed me. He also told me that he wanted to date me but he was too scared. In the end, he asked if we could start where we left off but just go a little slower this time.

I hope everything works out and I hope he doesn't break my heart again...especially anytime soon!

Oh 2010

2010-12-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

I can't help but notice that 2010 is almost over. Sure we still have about 3 1/2 weeks left...but really....it's almost gone! I've been pondering on the events that have occurred this year starting from January 1st. I've been on so many roller coaster rides and experienced several "thunderstorms" in my personal life. I fell in love with a man, Carlos, who ended up literally BREAKING my heart at the very start of 2010. I REALLY didn't think that I was going to survive that break up; I was ready to end my life. I don't know what I would have done without the loving support of my family. I can't even begin to explain the emotions I was feeling and experiencing at the beginning of the year. It wasn't long when someone from my past resurfaced and starting soothing my aching heart. I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I could finally breathe again. There were several obstacles but I was willing to put up a fight and hopefully conquer. I was constantly battling between which man to choose; the one that broke my heart or the one that wasn't currently available. I've posted several of my experiences with these men throughout the year and I don't really care to re post them at this time. About a month and a half ago I lost all communication with both Carlos and Brandon. What was odd is that both men were actually doing necessary things to have me in their lives. Carlos was telling me that things were finally falling into place and that fate would be good to us and we'd be together again. At that same time, Brandon volunteered to fly me to Atlanta to spend some time with him. Out of nowhere.....BOOM!!!! They both disappeared on me. It's been over a month since I've heard from Carlos and I have no way of contacting him since he has no phone or computer and I haven't known his whereabouts since we broke up. Brandon disconnected his facebook account which was our soul source of communication. I do have his email and phone number but I sorta feel like his disconnection is a sign that he doesn't want me in his life anymore. At the exact moment in time that I'm hearing from both Carlos and Brandon for the last time....BOOM....I meet Alex!!! Sure I was sad that Carlos and Brandon disappeared but Alex was SOOOO AMAZING AND SWEET AND WONDERFUL!!! I was the happiest I had been in a VERY, and I repeat, VERY long time. Alex and I got along so beautifully. I felt so comfortable around him and I could actually be myself, which was really refreshing. We would talk on the phone for hours every night and he called and texted me ALL THE TIME!!!! Because of my busy work and school schedule we only got to see each other once a week and I truly cherished those moments when we got to spend some time together! I can't say that I loved Alex, but I was falling for him and I was falling fast!!! This week was a little different!!! I wasn't hearing from Alex as often as in the past weeks. He wasn't texting or calling me 24/7 and I was beginning to worry. Even when we would talk it would only be for a few minutes and I felt something strange. He wasn't as talkative or as perky. He stopped calling me sweet names and telling me how amazing I was. This week has actually been a sorta HELL for me cause I couldn't get him to communicate with me. He would just tell me that he was tired and didn't feel like talking. I finally couldn't take it anymore and last night I sent him a message on facebook stating that we really needed to talk. When he called me this afternoon things seemed normal and he told me that he missed me. I perked up a bit and he told me to call him when I got off work. When I did call him after work he never answered and it was hours before he called me back. By then I was on my way to class and he told me to call him when I got out. So I called him again when class was over but he never answered my phone calls or texts! I was beginning to worry again because this wasn't normal Alex behavior. He always responded to all my texts promptly in the past. I gave it an hour and half before I tried contacting him again. He finally called and all my fears came to life in that short conversation. He told me that he wasn't ready to commit to a serious relationship. He too is recently divorced but unlike me, he's only been divorced since July (I think). He told me that I'm the first girl he's been with since his ex-wife and that he thought he'd be ready for another relationship when we started talking. Things moved very quickly between Alex and I in the beginning and I actually tried to slow them down but I became greedy and enjoyed our time together just a little too much. I guess in the end he realized that he just hasn't had enough time for himself to recover from the divorce. He told me that his decision had nothing to do with me and that he's enjoyed every minute of our time together. I offered to give him time if he needed but he turned my offer down since he doesn't know how much time he needs. In the end we agreed to be friends but he asked that I not call or text him anymore. I found great comfort in my mother's arms tonight as I cried for my loss. Alex and I only knew each other about a month but it felt like it was much longer. I'm not lying when I say that I was really starting to fall for him. I'm not sure how much more of this heartache I can bare. I was really hoping that 2010 would be a great year but it's turning out to be a nightmare. I have to confess that I haven't been active in the church since a little before my divorce in 2009. I've done things since my divorce that I should be ashamed of. I know that the experiences I've encountered this year are a lesson from the Lord. I feel truly humbled this evening and despite my anger I'm feeling for the trials I've been given, I can't help but LOVE my Father in Heaven. I know that he is teaching me that wickedness NEVER was happiness. I guess it is time for me to take off my stubborn hat and leave that "spacious building." I know that it is going to take some time and that I'll have to take some baby steps but I truly feel that I'll be happier with myself if I take the necessary steps to come back to the church. I'm hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel again. I hope that in doing so that the Lord will bless me. Please pray for me!

It's December!!!

2010-12-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

You know what I just noticed? It's freakin December already!! Where has the year gone? Seriously? I've been so busy with work and trying to catch up on my school work that I hadn't noticed that we've already had 5 days in December. Geez!!!

Just wanted to post that I'm still alive and doin well!! School is almost over and I couldn't be happier. I'm ready for my mini vacation! Too bad I work retail and won't really get much of a vacation before spring semester starts but it's something.

My grades are still good in my classes. I got a 100 on my color notebook and an 83 on my last Algebra test. I'm not proud of my 83 but Alex keeps telling me that I should be grateful I didn't fail. It feels like failure though...I get a 105, 110 and 102 and on my other tests and drop to a "B" on my last one. Again, Alex tells me I'm too hard on myself. The lowest of the four gets replaced with the highest so it's really a 110!! Oh well...it was the stupid logarithms that got me on that last test...I hate logs!!

Alex and I are doing pretty well. We try to see each other at least once a week and so far we've been successful. Not sure if I'll be able to see him this week since I have finals next week that I need to prepare for. I guess we'll see though...I'll try to get him to drive out here to see me since I drove to see him last.

Black Friday

2010-11-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

Black Friday was murder for me this year. I've worked several Black Friday's in the past but NOTHING even came close to how bad it was for me this year. I've never worked two retail jobs at the same time before. Ready to hear what I worked?

6:30 am- 11:00 pm.

Did you calculate that for me?

15 1/2 hours!!!

Craziness I tell you. It really wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. Alex was really sweet and he drove an hour from Katy, TX just to bring me some caffeine. Isn't he the sweetest? I wouldn't have made it without the caffeine perk. I worked yesterday from Noon-10:30 which wasn't as long a day but I was more tired yesterday than I was on Friday. I think my exhaustion from Friday caught up with me and I was really dragging my feet by the end of the day. Luckily I was able to get off both jobs today so that I could relax a little and re cooperate. I don't really have much time to rest since I'm far behind on my school work. I've spent most of today shopping for office furniture for my final interior design project. I think I'm finally set for the furnishings!! Just need to pick out my finishes, draw up the floor plan and come up with company logos for both myself and my client. Geez!!! As soon as I'm done with this post I'll be pulling out my Algebra and working on that the rest of the evening. I'll be so happy when this semester is over. I'm exhausted!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving with friends and family today! I have much to be thankful for today. I'm thankful for a loving family who supports me even when I might do things that are a little discouraging. I'm thankful for my friends who are also very supportive. I'm thankful that I have work so I can support myself financially. I'm also thankful that I'm doing so well in school. I've met a wonderful guy, Alex, who makes me SO happy and I'm extremely thankful for that. Most of all I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for me even when I do wrong. I know that he loves me and I know that he is always there!

Pattern Mixing Board & Color Notebook

2010-11-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

I've turned in 2 more Interior Design Projects since the last time I blogged something. One of them has been graded and the other just barely got turned in last night.

Pattern Mixing Board

The teacher assigned us an "ugly" fabric that we were required to design a living room around with at least 5 other patterned fabrics and only one solid. Starting from the bottom left we see the upholstery for the sofa. Then going to the right (still on the bottom right) the two goldish fabrics are throw pillows for the sofa. The navy fabric will be a throw pillow for the Wing Back Chairs that will be upholstered in the fabric located directly above the throw pillow fabrics. The Wing Back Upholstery was the "inspirational/ugly" fabric for this rooms design. Moving to the left of this fabric we see the fabric that will be used for the ottomans and the navy fabric will be used for the dining room chairs in the dining room in this open floor plan. Directly above the ottoman fabric we see some upholstery for some sitting chairs in a reading area by a window. The last fabric on the top right will be used for the draperies of this space.

I received a 96 on this project for a few minor details. Some of my fabrics had thick paper behind the sample that caused some bunching when I wrapped the fabric on the board.

Color Notebook

My Color Notebook was turned in last night and so I won't receive my grade until after the Thanksgiving Holiday. I wanted this project to look very similar to my P & E Notebook from earlier in the semester. Here are a few highlights from this notebook.

This is the color wheel that I made out of different fabrics. This wheel actually took more time than you would think....holy crap!!!

Fabric Simulation using a patterned fabric!

Achromatic Color Scheme ~ black, white and grey

Analogous Color Scheme ~ 3-6 colors adjacent on color wheel

Triadic Color Scheme ~ 3 equidistant colors on color wheel

My Final Room Analysis

More Good Grades

2010-11-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

Work and school have been really insane lately and I haven't really had much time for blogging. I have received a few more good grades in both my classes. On my last Algebra test I received a 102 which was the ONLY "A" in the whole class. There were 2 "B's" and 2 "C's" and the rest of the class failed. Most of the class ended up dropping the class after we got those tests back. On Thursday the class was so small!

However, my 100 streak ended in my Interior Design class :(

I received a 99 on my furniture board. Not a bad grade but not a perfect one either. There was a small minuscule spec of glue that she counted off for. She told us from here on out she would deduct points for little things like not being able to cut a straight line, showing glue, frayed edges on our boards etc....

She told us that no one got a perfect score so I'm thinking that my 99 was the best in the class. I've officially been labeled "Miss Overachiever" from some of my classmates.

I'm so proud of myself especially in my Algebra class. I've now got a 105, 110, 110, and 102 on my four tests. Now I just have to keep doing my homework and hope that I do well on my final. I think it's impossible for me to NOT get an "A" in that class now!! Yeah!!

My First Date

2010-11-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

I went on my first date, in a really long time, tonight. I haven't been with anyone since Carlos and I broke up in January of this year. This date was totally unexpected but it ended up being a really good evening.

Last Wednesday I received a text message from a girl in my Interior Design class. She was wanting to know what my last name was so she could look me up on facebook to show a picture of me to her best friend. She had told him that I looked like a mixture of Taylor Swift and Kristen Bell and he wanted to see. I ended up just sending her a picture to show him and she told me that he wanted my number after he saw it. I was a little sceptical at first but eventually gave in. He started texting me immediately after she gave him my number. We've been talking ever since via text and phone calls. He asked me out on our second day of texting and we made our arrangements for tonight since I was off work. I've really enjoyed talking to this guy. His name is Alex by the way. Alex has been really sweet and I had a great time hanging out with him tonight. He's a really nice guy and I'd love to spend more time with him and get to know him better.

English Neoclassical Style Furniture

2010-11-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

My furniture board was due last Wednesday and I have yet to receive my grade on it. My teacher was going to give us our boards and grades back yesterday, but the pouring down rain kept her from taking them out of her home. I'm hoping the weather will be nice next Monday so the teacher can give them back to us...I'm eager to know what my grade is.

We were all assigned different furniture styles that we were supposed to research and decorate a room around. We then had to pick 4 pieces of furniture; one had to have upholstery; and we had to have a sample of the wood used from that time period.

I was given English Neoclassical which was approximately from 1760-1820 when George the III came to the throne. The Neoclassical time period also falls in the Late Georgian Period. The 3 most well known designers/architects/cabinet makers of this time period were Robert Adam, George Hepplewhite, and Thomas Sheraton.

During the Neoclassical Era, the designers started going away from cabriolle legs and using straight lines instead. This is an Adam Style Dining Chair; Adam was known for his use of ovals, circles, columns and urns. I chose this oval back dining chair for the dining room I designed. For the upholstery I chose a light blue damask since blue was a popular color used in the neoclassical era and damask was a popular texture.

I chose a Sheraton Style Dining Table. Even though cabriolle legs were going out of style at this time, they still used a slight curve with some of their legs.

Both my Serving Table and China Cabinet are Hepplewhite Style. Hepplewhite and Sheraton had very similar styles and it was hard to distinguish which one did what but there were some slight differences; mostly in the direction they carved their wood.

Hepplewhite was most well known for his "shield shaped" chair back. Sheraton did more of a square shaped back.

All four of my pieces are mahogany which was the primary wood choice of the neoclassical time period.

Let's Keep 'Em Comin

2010-10-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I had my furniture test tonight for my Interior Design class. I had such a busy weekend full of work that I wasn't in the mood, AT ALL, to study for it last night. I forced myself to look over a few things but I spent maybe 15 minutes max on studying. I'm proud to announce that I got yet another 100. I hope I can keep this up because I would love to get all 100's this semester...wouldn't that be awesome?

Nasty Wart

2010-10-21T23:06:00.001-07:00

I've had this wart under one of my finger nails for probably 2 years, I want to say. It never really bothered me because it was so small and my nail was always long enough to cover and hide the nasty thing. I figured I'd take care of the wart eventually and so I just left it alone. A little over a week ago I noticed that the stupid thing was turning black. I really got freaked out by my wart and decided it was time to remove it. I went to Walmart to buy some Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away and started reading the instructions. The labels kept saying over and over NOT to use this product unless you were absolutely certain that what you had was a common or planters wart. Since my wart had turned black I wasn't sure if it was considered a common wart. I decided to do some research before I removed it personally. I googled discolored warts and the first article that popped up said, "Do not remove discolored warts yourself. Go to the doctor immediately because your wart may be cancerous!!"

WTF??? Did I have cancer on my finger?

I was so disturbed by this article that I called my mom, who was visiting relatives in Pennsylvania at the time, and decided to get her opinion. The moment I mentioned my wart turning black my mom freaked out even more than I had originally. Just that day in church a woman had bore her testimony about a nephew she had that died because he had a wart on his neck that turned black and he never got it checked out until it was too late.

WTF AGAIN!!!!

Now we were both freaking out and thinking that I was going to die over a cancerous spec on my tiny finger. Last Wednesday I went to my doctor immediately to get it looked at. The nurse that was taking my blood pressure told me that my blood pressure was too high and asked if I was nervous. In my head I was thinking, "Duh!!! I have cancer!! Of course I'm nervous!" The doctor looked at my spec with special magnifying classes (it was really small) and it turns out it wasn't cancerous!!! Phew was right!!! He told me it was ugly and that we should just freeze it off. I gave him the go ahead to remove that sucker. I've never had a wart frozen off before and he warned me that it was going to hurt. I was so scared but for any of you that have never had a wart frozen either, it didn't hurt AT ALL!!! I felt a brief sting and nothing more. The next couple of days after he applied the liquid nitrogen a small blister formed around the wart. At first the skin was rough but the blister and wart did eventually start to feel tender. Nothing horrible to experience. Earlier this week, probably about Monday evening, I noticed that my wart was smaller and starting to shrivel up. By the time I got home from class it had finally fallen off!!!! Yeah!! Now I'm wart free and my hand looks sexy again!!!

I Did It!!!!

2010-10-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

There it is folks!!! My PERFECT 110!!! I was confident that I had done it, and I did do it!!!

Yeah!!!

When my professor walked into class this morning she announced to the class,

"Something happened that has never happened before! A student from this class got a perfect 110! I've never had a student get a perfect score on a test before. This student took the information she was given and I'm proud of them!"

She waited till the end of class to give us our tests back and the whole time I was hoping that I was the student that got the 110!

Sure enough I was!!! The teacher gave me the test and told me, "You're the first girlfriend! Congratulations!"

I'm so proud of myself. I thought I was going to fail this class at the beginning of the semester. I couldn't even remember how to foil when I started this class. 7 1/2 years is a long time to not be doing math. I'm just so happy that everything I'm learning is coming back to me. I tried to convince my teacher to give me some sort of reward toward my final exam for being her first student to get a perfect test score. She only laughed and told me that I was already getting two 110's out of my 4 tests!

*Test Policy: Our highest test score replaces our lowest test score of the semester*

(Ex: 90, 80, 70, 50 will equal 90, 80, 70, 90)

So no matter what I get on my third and fourth test, I already have two 110's!!

I was on a cloud all day and I couldn't be happier. I even put my test on the fridge like a giddy school girl!!

Two 100's

2010-10-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

So far this semester I've gotten a 100 on EVERYTHING I've turned in!!

I knew that I was getting both my Interior Design projects turned back tonight and I was worried that my 100 streak was going to end. I'm proud to announce that I got a 100 on each one!!! Yeah!!! I thought the teacher was going to grade a whole lot tougher than she did!! I'm relieved to know that she doesn't grade as hard as I was thinking.

Tomorrow I'll get my college algebra test back and I'm hoping to get another 100....we shall see.

Happy Birthday Carlos!!

2010-10-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Carlos' 30th Birthday!!

I still consider him to be one of my best friends and I'll always love this man!!

Happy Birthday Carlos!

XOXO

:-)

Concept Board

2010-10-15T21:28:00.001-07:00

I know that I already made a post today (not too long ago actually) but I totally forgot to post my project that was turned in on Wednesday for my Interior Design class. So here goes....

The Miller's Family Room

The Miller's are a small family consisting of a husband and wife with two young children. Their daughter is 8 and loves to play soccer while their son is a 6 year old Einstein. The family loves to spend time together watching movies, playing wii games and even some board games. Mr. and Mrs. Miller love to entertain and often have friends over for parties in the evenings. They spend most of their time in their family room that is open to their kitchen. They wanted our team to design a Modern Style Family Room that suited their needs. Since modern design consists of mostly clean lines, we chose furniture that has just that; clean lines and very minimalistic. For the floor we went with pre-finished zebra wood since they used zebra wood in the kitchen and we wanted to extend it into the family room as well. To break up some of the monotony with the zebra wood, we placed a fuzzy white area rug under the sectional and coffee table. The rug added some softness to the space but also some texture and personality. We chose a sectional with a chaise and upholstered it in black leather. The black sofa would be a nice contrast from the white rug but would also bring out the black in the zebra wood. For the coffee table we chose a flat and square shaped table with a shiny black finish. The coffee table came with 4 storage ottomans that hide under the table when not in use but provide extra seating for Mr. and Mrs. Miller's parties. Because the Miller's love to play games as a family we made a game area in the room. We bought a round game table in the same shiny black finish as the coffee table. We chose 4 high back chairs, also in black, to go around the game table. Our color scheme for the room stemmed from the zebra wood flooring. We wanted the majority of the room and its furnishings to be black and white. To add a little contrast we painted the walls a light gray which would be complimentary to the black and white in the floor. We wanted the fireplace wall to be the focal point of the room so we painted it a slightly darker shade of gray. We didn't design a mantle for the fireplace since that would be more traditional than modern, but we designed a fireplace facade that would stick out a little further from the fireplace wall itself. We chose to paint the facade a rich shade of plum. To bring in some color to the room we upholstered throw pillows in a rich plum fabric and a brighter and lighter shade of purple. We used the same material to upholster the ottomans; 2 in plum and 2 in the lighter purple. We also added some white throw pillows to the sofa so the purple pillows wouldn't get lost on the black leather. To brighten up the game table side of the room, we upholstered all 4 chairs with the lighter purple fabric that was used on the pillows and ottomans. The entire wall to the left of the game table is a floor to ceiling window. We didn't want to use blinds in our design so we chose floor to ceiling sheer white draperies to provide the Miller's with some privacy. The sheers added a delicate, soft, simple and modern feel to the room. Where are the Miller's going to store all the games that they love to play as a family? All the games can't possibly fit in the ottomans, can they? Of course not! We designed custom built in drawers on both sides of the fireplace wall. The drawers are waist high (for an average adult) and finished in a high gloss white. The white contrasts nicely with the gray walls and blends perfectly with the rest of the white decor. Above the storage drawers on the right of the fireplace we mounted floating shelves, painted in plum, to house pictures and other knick knacks. Above the storage drawers on the left side of the fireplace we mounted artwork that we had the Miller children draw. We wanted the family to add a little personal touch to their family room. How can they have a family room with no TV? Ha...I saved the best for last. We mounted a 50'' flat screen above the fireplace facade. The TV swivels so you can watch it from anywhere in the room. Whether they are watching from the sofa or watching from the game table, it swivels for their convenience. We also left some space in the room, on the game table side, for playing extreme sports such as wii tennis, bowling and baseball ;-p

I hope you enjoyed my teams design for the Miller's Family Room. We sure had a great time coming up with what we presented to them.

*In case you are wondering: The Miller's are a fictional family that we made up for the design. We had to come up with a client so we could design a room that met their needs*

I Think I Did It

2010-10-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

I took my Algebra test yesterday and I think I might have gotten the perfect grade I was working so hard for. Of course I won't know for sure until after class on Tuesday but I feel confident that I'm going to see a "lovely" grade on that test. There is always the possibility that I made some stupid errors BUT I really did feel good about all my answers when I turned in my test. If it isn't a "perfect" there is no possible way that I won't get at least an "A" on it. I'll feel really stupid if I have to post on my blog that I failed miserably but I don't think that will happen. It may not be a 110 but I'm optimistic that it possibly could be. :-)

Too Much Algebra

2010-10-12T13:39:00.001-07:00

My next College Algebra test is in two days and I spent almost my entire weekend studying and preparing for this test. Can I just say the my brain hurts? Cause it does!! I don't think that I can look at another graph, equation, or form at all. My brain can't even focus anymore. I think I'll take a break and not look at another problem till tomorrow!! I think my brain is trying to tell me to take a break from math for awhile. I'm pretty confident about this material and so I think I should just rest and relax. I don't want to go into algebra overload!!

PS: Can anyone tell me what form is shown in the picture above?

It's the slope intercept form....math overload!

Where Am I Supposed To Be?

2010-10-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

HERE!!

Where is "here" exactly?

Atlanta, GA that's where!!

Yes, I was supposed to go to Atlanta to visit Brandon this weekend!

Did it happen?

No!!!

We've been planning this trip since August 21. Well, last Thursday on the 30th, he contacted me and told me that he unexpectedly needed to take his dog to the vet and that he wouldn't have enough money to buy my plane ticket. I offered to pay for half the ticket (even though I didn't have the money) and he said, "NOOOO, NOOOO, NO" to that. He told me that we would figure something else out and that I needed to save my money for school (which is true). We're both bummed by this outcome but I can't be mad. Unexpected expenses happen all the time....I'm learning that the hard way.

I was really looking forward to seeing him and getting out for a bit. I've done nothing for myself all year. My daily routine is school, work, study, work, study, school....etc!!!

On the positive side of things: I have an Algebra test next week and now I have a full 3 days off both jobs for studying!!! I've been doing math for the past 5 hours straight. Sheesh! I'll do some more tomorrow I guess.

I just hope that Brandon and I will be able to get together again before too long!

$554.00

2010-10-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at my checking account statement today and I was interested in calculating the costs I've put into this semester. To my astonishment I just discovered that I've spent exactly $554.00 on books and supplies for my two classes so far. I'm curious as to how much I will spend in total before the semester is over. No wonder I'm broke!!!! I'm hoping not to have to spend too much more.

Principles and Elements of Design

2010-10-07T20:38:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share some photos of my Principles and Elements Notebook. The quality of the pictures isn't that great because I used my camera phone but at least you can kind of get an idea.

There are several principles and elements of design. As you can see my notebook is pretty thick! I was just barely able to fit them all in the 1 1/2 inch binder I bought. Because there are so many I thought I would pick a few of my favorites.
Scale: The first Principle of Design. Scale deals with the size of the room. Is the room large or small? Is the furniture in the room too big for the size of the room? Is the furniture in the room too small for the size of the room? If you can see my picture, the room is very large and the furniture chosen for the space is also large. All the wall art is large in scale which matches the architectural scale of the room.

Repetition: Stems from Rhythm which is a Principle of Design. Repetition is a repeating rhythm of similar characteristics. The picture I chose showcases repetition in the legs of the furniture. All the legs have the same curve and claw base.

Massing: Stems from Emphasis which is a Principle of Design. Massing is a grouping of similar objects. I hope you can see the massing of MANY taxidermy deer heads on the wall. Hello? A bit much in my opinion. (picture actually extended into another page...that's a lot of death in one room ;-p)

Small Curved: Lines are an Element of Design. In this picture the archway above the bed has a small curve.

Stylized Pattern: An Element of Design. The blue color in the upholstered dinning room chairs matches the blue in the area rug below. The wood cabinetry matches the wood color in the ceiling. The curve of the chair legs is seen in the ceiling with the curve of the beams. The overall pattern in the this room flows with one another making this room stylized.

Most designs are going to be made of more than one principle and element of design. You probably can't see this picture very well but there are several principles and elements found in this room. The beams in the ceiling show off some horizontal lines making the room look wider and taller. The exposed rock and brick walls have a naturalistic pattern and the wall art in the center has an isolated emphasis for that wall. If the quality of this picture were better I could show you some more principles and elements.

I hope you enjoyed my project. I don't know what my grade for it is yet....but it better be a juicy "A" for all I went through getting it done.

Sweet Relief

2010-10-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY finished my Principles and Elements of Design Notebook for my Interior Design class. I was beginning to think this project would never get done. I already announced that my parents computer needed to be rebooted last week and that I had to start over on everything. I started rewriting everything on Wednesday and I thought it would be wise to email myself a copy of the finished analysis'. However, when my dad was trying to get some help fixing the computer, we lost our Internet connection and I couldn't get online to email myself my project for safe keeping.

*I wanted to scream*

I was scared to death that the computer would mess up again and I would lose my project and have to start over a third time. Wednesday night I asked my dad if he knew anything about the status of our printer. He couldn't get online to check the tracking number.

While I was at school on Thursday, my dad called me to tell me that we should have received the printer 8 days earlier. We looked on the calendar and discovered that my mom was in Dallas that day visiting my brother and both my dad and myself were at work that day. Turns out the printer was left on the front porch and most likely stolen. My dad told me that he wasn't going to buy another printer.

*WTF??*

I had yet another heated conversation with my dad about the importance of owning working technology. I then asked my dad if he would print my papers at work.

He said NO!!! 61 pages was too much for him to be printing on his company printer.

You want to know what my dad said to me after he declined to print the papers?

He told me to contact my teacher and tell her that I was having computer and printer problems and that I wouldn't be able to turn my project in on time.

*WTF??*

Was he really serious?

I told him that NO college professor would care about my computer and printer problems. She would tell me to find a working computer and printer and get my project done.

I finally contacted my good friend (Thanks Mel....you were a life saver) and asked if I could print my project at her place.

Yeah!!!

I was finally able to print my papers and get my P&E Notebook all assembled!!!

It's DONE and it looks fabulous. I'm finally able to relax and have good night sleeps. I hope I don't have anymore computer problems for the rest of the semester!!

*Fingers crossed*

Yipee!

2010-09-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

I got a......

105

on my College Algebra test!!!

Yipee!!

As I was expecting, I lost 4 points for not stating my restrictions on the rational equation. Then I lost 1 point for getting one of the matching questions wrong.

So I would have gotten a 95 (still an awesome grade) if I hadn't gotten the bonus questions right. I'm so proud of myself. I haven't gotten anything less than a 100 in either of my classes so far!! Knock on wood. I hope I can keep this up!

Yeah :-) Ugh :-(

2010-09-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

I got a 100 on my Interior Design test tonight!!

I'm so excited and proud of myself. I really wasn't nervous about this test. Last week the teacher gave us all the answers for the questions on the test so that studying would be minimal. To me it was a piece of cake. The teacher even let us study for the first 30 minutes of class. I didn't need that time to study but I guess some of my classmates did.

I'm a STRESSED out mess!!

My parents have the most ancient computer known to mankind and the dang thing doesn't work most of the time. My laptop isn't even all that reliable some times either. We got out of class an hour early tonight so I decided it would be wise for me to get a head start on writing some of my analysis' for my Principles and Elements Notebook. We usually leave my parents computer turned on because it takes FOREVER to start up. I noticed that it was turned off so I pushed the on button and decided to get ready for bed while the stupid fossil started up. When I was done getting ready I went into the computer room and the computer was doing all sorts of weird stuff and making noises. I called my dad upstairs to see if he could fix the problem.

Nope!!!

I really couldn't tell you what the problem was.

I had a heated conversation with my dad about the importance of me having a reliable computer while I'm in college.

(They've already had to purchase a new printer which I hope arrives by the end of the week so I can print my papers for my project).

We've ended up rebooting the entire system which I guess means we are going to lose EVERYTHING!!!

This really sucks cause I've already put in several hours of this project just on the computer alone. I'll have to start over on the entire written portion of my project. I'm not a happy camper.

I just hope that my dad can fix the computer and that I'll be able to work on my project all day Wednesday like I originally planned!!

Please pray that everything will work out so I can get this project done and turned in on time. And that printer better arrive by Wednesday!!!

Did I Finish My Project?

2010-09-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ha!!

I worked on my project all afternoon on Thursday until I ran out of my double sided tape. I was too lazy to head to the store to buy some more so I called it a day. Friday morning I got up early to get more tape. I decided to be smart so I bought 2 rolls just to be safe. Around lunch time I ran out of tape again!!!! Really? I'd already used 3 rolls of tape? I headed back to the store and bought 2 more rolls!!! I think 5 rolls should get me through the project....at least I hope cause each roll was $5 a piece.

After working a 8:30 am- 10:00 pm shift yesterday, I was beat and didn't want to do anything when I got home. I was going to work on it today until I realized that I needed to study for my Interior Design test I have tomorrow.

*Sigh*

I totally plan on having this project done BY Wednesday this week. The only thing I need to do is write an analysis for about 50 different rooms I've compiled from magazines. That shouldn't take too long....hope I don't get writers block ;-p

School

2010-09-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

I live, eat, sleep, and breathe school anymore these days!!

I don't really have much time for anything but school and work. If I'm not in class or working, I'm working on homework.

I'm doing pretty well in my College Algebra class (knock on wood). So far we've turned in one homework assignment and I got a 100. We've also done 2 group/class work assignments that I've also received 100's on.

Today I had my first test and I'm hoping that I did well. My nerves always get the best of me when I take a test but I just tried to relax and allow myself to take as much time as I needed. She pulls all the test questions from the problems we work in the book but some of them looked foreign to me. I think she lied because I work ALL the problems in the book. I know I won't get a 100 because I forgot to write my restrictions on the rational equation. *Sigh* I remembered as I was driving home.

The teacher gives us 5 bonus questions for each test and she gives them to us a week before the test. The bonus questions are hard but they are worth 2 points a piece totaling a +10 on the test if you get them all right (no partial credit). I worked all 5 problems by myself and had the tutor look over my work. I'm proud to announce that I got them all right and received a +10 on my test. I'll probably get my test back next Tuesday!

I hope it's an "A!"

I started my Interior Design class last week and the teacher isn't taking it slow. Our first test is next Monday AND she assigned two projects we are working on back to back. Originally both projects were going to be due on the 4th of October but she noticed that the majority of the class was stressing and she eased a bit. Now one of the projects has been turned into a group project and the due date has been extended. Yeah!!! The other project is still due on the 4th and it is taking forever. I really didn't think it would take that long but it's so time consuming. My plan is to have the project finished by bedtime Sunday night but I'm beginning to think that goal is impossible. We shall see, I guess!

Not only is it taking a lot of time but the cost is insane. I've already spent $115 on this project alone! I have a feeling this class is going to be more expensive than that dang drawing class was.

Overall I'm enjoying my classes but they are really hard and I'm exhausting myself trying to get "A's" in both.

What Now?

2010-09-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Faithful readers of my blog,

I must apologize for dragging you into and possibly boring you with my personal life and boy drama! This is my blog where I can write about whatever I choose and unfortunately for you you get to read about my problems since I have nowhere else to go with my thoughts!! Read on if you must.

~Kristin~

On Tuesday I posted that I was leaning more towards getting with Brandon than Carlos. Today...I'm leaning towards Carlos!!

Crazy, huh?

Trust me....I know!!!

Carlos texted me again today and told me how much he missed me and was thinking of me. He also sent me a text stating that everything was falling into place and he still wants to be with me. We didn't discuss anything because he didn't want to jinx the situation. ;-p

Now I'm extremely confused and don't know what to do, yet again.

I'm not asking for advice but I needed to express myself.

Only time will tell!

34-4-10

2010-09-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

What do these numbers mean to you?

Probably nothing!

To me....these numbers are the combination for the lock I had for my dance locker Freshman year of High School!!!

On my first day of work at Palais Royal I was assigned a lock and locker. It was kinda stressful trying to memorize my employee number(s) and a lock combination but I got it by the end of the day. BUT for some reason I ALWAYS put 35-4-10 in my lock before I realize it isn't the right combo. I tried really hard to think why these 3 numbers kept coming to me and then I realized it was an old combo from the high school days. I can't believe that I actually remember that combo. I don't remember any of the other combos I had through the locker years but that one. I think it's kinda funny. Everyday I have to remind myself of the combo I'm actually using these days. What ever happened to that lock? I think I left it on my employee locker when I left Burlington Coat Factory back in 2005.

Wow!

Caught Off Guard

2010-09-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the year I've been going through this personal struggle of

"Who do I choose? Brandon or Carlos?"

Carlos has put me through a personal hell and I'm not quite sure why he is so important to me anymore. We don't talk as much as we used to and I'm actually OK with that.

Brandon and I have been talking a lot lately about our plans of when I get to Atlanta and I'm really getting excited.

To be honest, Carlos really hasn't been on my mind much these last few weeks. About 2 weeks ago he contacted me asking if I would lend him $300. I told him I didn't have the money and that was the last I heard from him....until today.

Ya see....I've been leaning more towards Brandon since he is actually taking some action towards getting with me. It really surprised me when he asked if I would fly to Atlanta to spend a weekend with him. To me that is some serious stuff cause I don't think he would have suggested it and offered to PAY if he wasn't interested.

What has Carlos done for me?

He broke up with me because he didn't want to have a long distance relationship. Then he contacts me periodically through the year to tell me that he misses me and hasn't been with anyone since we broke up and yahdah yahdah yahdah!!

*So I'm working on some algebra when I get a text that startled me from my deep algebraic thought. It was a text from Carlos, "I miss you"

I haven't heard from him since I declined to give him money. I even tried communicating with him via text just last week and he never responded...twice. So I was caught a little off guard when I got a text from him stating that he missed me.

Now usually when I get a text like that from him I respond with, "I miss you too" and wrought like that. I wasn't feeling it today though. He avoided me and never texted me back last week when I tried. He then got sad and texted, "....I said I missed you and you didn't care...You must have a man."

Really? I mean Really?

He's not my boyfriend anymore and HE broke up with me. It's none of his business if I'm with someone else.

Needless to say I didn't tell him anything about Brandon....and I don't plan on it.

I told him that I'll always care about him and have his best wishes at heart. He was happy with that and ended his text with, "thinking of you."

I mean, that's sweet and all but it seems like he has a turn on/off switch. One minute he misses me and wants me back and then I don't hear from him for weeks on end.

I can't wait for this Atlanta trip and it can't come soon enough. I'm really anxious to see if Brandon and I have some chemistry left over from 7 and half years ago.

I'm getting sick of this drama!*

117 Hours

2010-09-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

After today I've worked a total of 117 hours since my last day off (which was on the 17th of August).

No wonder I'm so tired.

Luckily I was able to get both my jobs to give me tomorrow off. I wish I could say that I'm doing nothing but relaxing tomorrow BUT I'll most likely be working on Algebra. At least I can sleep in and nap when needed.

What A Nightmare

2010-08-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

I registered for my Summer 2010 and Fall 2010 classes back in April. When I looked at my class printout I noticed that my College Algebra class which is a Tues./Thurs. class started on Monday August 30. I thought that was pretty weird but that's what the paperwork said. So yesterday I woke up and headed to class. I found my room and it was completely full and the teacher was already going through the syllabus. I freaked out because I was 15 minutes early and the class shouldn't have started yet. Before going into the classroom I saw a notice by the door about a cancelled algebra class. I freaked again and read the notice. Luckily it wasn't my class but that didn't explain why I was somehow late for the class in the room. I saw an office across the hall and decided to ask the lady there if she knew anything about the class starting early. The lady told me that my class probably started after the one that was in there. I waited in the hall until some guy came to me and asked if I was waiting for the next math class. I told him I was, but we discovered that we had different teachers and different math classes. What was going on? Then it occurred to me that I probably misread what my paperwork said. It probably meant that term started on Monday August 30 but my class was on Tuesday. I decided to go home and figure it out later.

Take Two: I woke up this morning and headed to class. Sure enough I misread my paperwork and my class really did start today. While the teacher was going over the syllabus I discovered that I bought the wrong algebra book. Actually, I bought the book in June and apparently they came out with a new addition to use this semester. Suck!! After class I went to the bookstore to buy the right book and ended up waiting in line for over an hour. The book is brand new so I decided to rent the thing since $200 for a new book is out of my budget. Ended up only paying $85 to rent it. I asked the cashier if I would be able to sell my old algebra book. She sent me to another line that I waited in for another hour. They did buy the book back BUT I only got $25 for a book I originally spent over $100 for. Lame!! At least I got some money for it.

Class itself was a nightmare. Most of the students in the class are right out of high school and math/algebra is fresh on the brain. My brain hasn't done mathematical equations in over 7 years. The teacher was putting equations on the board that looked foreign to me. I didn't even know where to begin to solve the problems. This class is going to be murder. I don't have class tomorrow and luckily I don't work till the evening so I plan on going to the school and getting some tutoring before class on Thursday. Hopefully I'll be able to freshen up a little before I start getting actual assignments. I'm really nervous and I'm just hoping for the best. I can't afford to fail this course.

Fall Semester 2010

2010-08-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I start my first class for Fall 2010! I'm excited to be going back to school and I hope that I'll be able to juggle my classes and continue working 2 part time jobs. I was able to continue working both jobs while I took my very demanding summer drawing class...so I think I can do it in the fall as well.

Tomorrow I start my Tues./Thurs. class: College Algebra (funny that it starts on a Monday)

Math was always one of my best subjects in Middle and High School, especially Algebra. I'm really nervous for this class cause I haven't taken a formal math class in over 7 years. I'm afraid that my math skills are a little rusty since the only math I've done since 2003 is balance a checkbook! I'm sure I'll be fine and that everything will come back to me. A girl from my drawing class had the same teacher that I have, and she told me the teacher is really good! Yeah!

On September 13 I start my Mon./Wed. class: Fundamentals of Interior Design

I'm especially excited for this class since it'll be the first class I take that focuses on my actual degree! I've heard from numerous people that the class is challenging but I'm sure everything will be just fine. I've mostly heard that the class is time consuming (which could be tough with two jobs) and that the projects are a little hard. I guess I'll find out in a few more weeks.

Work is going to be a little crazy this week which I'm NOT excited about. When I'm not in school it's easy for me to work both jobs in one day! I can open at one and close at the other...easy as pie. When I'm in school I can't do that. Mon.-Thurs. I can ONLY work one job a day. In order for both jobs to give me hours...I have to stretch myself thin. I've been working about 30 hours a week (5 days) at Palais Royal and anywhere from 4-22 hours a week at Gymboree. The past 6 weeks I've worked 40-46 hours a week between both jobs. When I took my drawing class back in June, I had to drop my hours drastically to 20-30 between both jobs. My last week of class I ended up working a total of 18 hours (both jobs). Both jobs are severely understaffed which is extremely unfortunate for me. Luckily both jobs have hired at least one new person and they continue to interview. I'm just afraid that I'll have to have words with my bosses so they don't schedule me like they have this week, again. Like tomorrow for instance:

Class: 11:00-12:20
Gymboree: 1:00-3:00
Palais Royal: 3:30-9:30

Are they crazy? When am I going to work on my homework assignments, huh? I'll have to figure it out and hopefully they'll become flexible again! At least it's only the first week and I probably won't get MUCH homework after the first class. Luckily my other class isn't for a few more weeks either. I think I'm just tired because I haven't had a day off since the 17 and I've worked 81 hours since then.

I can do this!!! Yea!!

Taylor Swift

2010-08-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Apparently I look like Taylor Swift!

I think she is WAY prettier than me but I actually see the resemblance.

If I got a dollar for every time someone told me I look like Taylor, I'd be a rich woman!!

I get told almost everyday by someone....I hear it ALL THE TIME!!

Don't get me wrong....I don't mind being her look-a-like cause I think she is gorgeous!!

Already this week I've been told twice, once last night and once today!

In fact, I see a guy almost every morning before work that actually thought I was Taylor the first time he saw me. I heard this man calling out to me, "Ma'am!! Ma'am!!" I finally turned around and he told me that he thought I was Taylor Swift. Now when I see him he just calls me Taylor!! Kinda funny! I'm going to start keeping track of all the times someone tells me I look like her. This could be a fun little project!! Knowing my luck, people are gonna stop telling me that I look like her now that I'm keeping track!

Grotesque

2010-08-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or could this man, William Devane, have modeled for Leonardo Da Vinci when he was doing his study of Grotesque faces?

I see a similarity!

I'm Going To Atlanta

2010-08-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

30 minutes ago I received a text from Brandon asking if I would fly to Atlanta for the weekend if he were to buy my ticket?

OMG!!

I can't believe this is actually going to happen!

He is flying me to Atlanta for a weekend! I repeat....He is flying me to Atlanta for a weekend!

My heart is pounding and my pits are sweating up a storm! I'm extremely excited but extremely nervous at the same time. At least I have about a month to prepare!

Craziness!!!

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PTO

2010-08-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of August and Brandon is not coming to visit. I believe it was sometime in June when I posted that he was coming for his visit this month. Just yesterday he informed me that he still plans on coming but he has to accumulate more PTO because he used his all up when he went to his mother's wedding in the Virgin Islands last month. "Boo" that I have to wait longer but "Yeah" that he still wants to come. Who knows when he'll have enough PTO to come visit but I guess I'll just have to be patient and find out. Yeah right....I think he just wants to get his six pack before he comes and he's using the PTO as an excuse ;-p

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts

2010-08-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

I love this song! I'm having one of those "I Hate Men" moments and this song portrays exactly how I'm feeling!

Honesty Pays

2010-08-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Office Depot to buy some school supplies! I didn't buy much but I noticed that the cashier didn't charge me for my $2.99 pencils. I was looking at my receipt while waiting for a green light. Good thing I hadn't gone far when I noticed this. I made a U-turn and headed back to Office Depot. I could have easily just gone home and told myself, "It's only $2.99. There's no need to go back to pay such a small amount." Well I wouldn't let the devil on my shoulder get the best of me. The cashier apologized and told me it was her mistake and I didn't have to pay for it. She thanked me for my honesty and sent me on my way with free pencils. I guess honesty pays. I got to keep my 3 bucks and my pencils. Yeah!!

PS: Office Depot was my first job 7 years ago and it was really fun walking in there again. It brought back fond memories. The store has been completely remodeled and I got lost looking for the calculators. It was pretty cool because my favorite manager still works there. He was too busy or I would have stopped him and said hi. I'll have to say hi to him the next time I go buy supplies.

Jury Summons

2010-08-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today I got a jury summons in the mail! Booooo! I was reading through the summons and noticed that it is on the day I start school. Double Boooooooo!! After I told my mom about my summons she told me that I would be exempt for being a student. Sure enough....students are exempt!!! Yeah!!! I don't have to go to jury duty anymore!

"Boom chicka boom! Boom chicka boom! Boom chicka ricka chicka boom boom boom!!!"

(some cheer my mom taught me last night...kinda funny)

Little Black Dress

2010-08-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Because Macy's has a 90% black dress code, I own A LOT of black! After working for them for 2 years you can only imagine exactly how much I have. Not having much money to go on shopping sprees I just wear all my old black dresses to my 2 new jobs here. Just last week some of my favorite co-workers at Palais Royal were making fun of me for wearing so much black. I decided it was time to wear some color and so last night I pulled out a brown, coral and cream colored skirt. My co-workers were so shocked and thought I looked beautiful. It was fun wearing some color for a change. I guess I'll need to wear color a little more often.

Will I Continue To Draw?

2010-08-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

To answer your question, Kami, yes I will continue drawing! However, I will not be taking anymore art/drawing classes. I never realized how important drawing is for Interior designers until I started watching shows on HGTV like Color Splash and Divine Design. I do have a few more Interior Design based drawing classes that I will be required to take for my degree.

Technical Drawing for Interior Designers is one of the courses. I assume that I'll be learning how to draw floor plans in this class.

I guess I'll find out in the Spring when I take the class :-)

I'll also be taking a Presentation Drawing class where I assume I'll be drawing very detailed depictions of what an actual room is going to look like, almost like a photograph.

I'm not too nervous about taking the technical drawing class but I think the presentation drawing class will be a challenge. These are the only 2 classes that I know of that require drawing but some of the other classes may require it as well....I guess I'll find out when the time comes!

My Portfolio

2010-08-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to do this post since I ended my drawing class back in July but I've been too tired and maybe a little lazy to do this till now. On the first day of my drawing class the teacher told us that we would turn in a portfolio of our 7 best drawings done during the semester. She told us that we would choose our 7 and they didn't necessarily have to be the ones that we got our best grades on. It was really hard for me to find 7 drawings that were good enough for my portfolio but these are the 7 that I chose.

1. Scribble Portrait of Mike Owens

This assignment was done during class the first week. We were partnered with a classmate and required to draw them using a fine tipped sharpie doing ONLY scribbles. I picked this one because it was the first assignment we did in class that I actually enjoyed.

2. Chiaroscuro

This was our 4th out of 7 homework assignments. I wasn't particularly fond of this drawing but I chose to put it in my portfolio because it was one of the first drawings that I got a decent grade on. It was a study of light logic of different objects and their textures. This was done in graphite and pencil.

3. Shape and Volume Study- White Still Life

This was a class assignment done our second week in class. All the objects were white and we drew in the dark with only spotlights on the objects. This was my favorite class assignment and it was also my first good grade in the class. We were required to use charcoal and a kneaded eraser.

4. Happy Snowman #2

This was a classwork assignment using acrylic paint. We did 3 wet media assignments in class and this was my favorite of the three. I chose this one for my portfolio because I got an "A" on this painting.

5. Self-Expressed Through Objects

This was homework assignment #6. We had to draw 3-5 objects that expressed who we are. The cat shows my love for cats (dah), the nutcracker shows my love for the Nutcracker Ballet and ballet in general and the stiletto shows my love for shoes and fashion all together. Conte crayon was the required media for this assignment. I didn't get the grade I deserved for this drawing but I chose it for my portfolio because it was one of my drawings that I was most proud of.

6. Lost and Found Edges

This was our 3rd homework assignment and my breakthrough drawing of the semester. I "WOWED" my parents, my teacher, my classmates and best of all...MYSELF with this drawing. Using charcoal and eraser we were required to draw pots, pans, plates, bowls or any other like kitchen accessories and supplies. I received my first "A" of the semester with this drawing.

7. Bathroom Composition
I didn't think I would have another drawing done as well as my lost and found edges piece but this was my personal best. Homework assignment #5 using charcoal and graphite. I wanted the bathroom rug to be the focal point and I personally feel like I succeeded in that department. The entire class, including the teacher, was extremely impressed and I received my first "beautiful" critique from the class. This drawing is my pride and joy and I almost want to get the dang thing framed.

So these are the 7 drawings I picked for my portfolio. I know that I've posted some of them in previous posts but I wanted to show them off AGAIN. Now I'll show you some of my other drawings that I considered for the portfolio.

Modeling Study In Graphite

Hallway Perspective In Pencil

Happy Snowman #1 In Acrylic Paint

Happy Skeleton In Pencil and Graphite

Final Exam: Psychological Self-Portrait In Graphite and Conte Crayon

To see a few more you can check them out on facebook!

Stupid Car

2010-08-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

It rains a lot down here in Houston and I've had to drive through some floods to get home from work some nights. The weather is really hurting my car, I think. My brakes aren't working as well as they did before I moved here and my car screeches really loud when I turn it on and put my foot on the gas. I've been really concerned but too afraid of the cost to repair anything. Last Wednesday the check engine light came on in my car. I was hoping that the stupid light would turn off eventually but by the end of the week it was still there. On Monday I took my car in to get it checked out. Over $1,000 to get the car repaired. We asked what was necessary to get it fixed and they said it all needed to be done or the car would just die on me eventually. My dad was able to talk them down in price to $903 but that is still a lot of money, for me.

I just barely got home with my improved car and it feels great. I got some new brakes and I feel safe behind the wheel again. I better feel safe after spending 900 bucks, right? My checking account has seen better days and so has my savings but I'm happy that I had the money to take care of my car and that I'll have enough money to pay my bills before next pay day. I may have to apply for financial aid or something so I can continue going to school but luckily fall semester is mostly paid. I'm extremely stressed financially but I know everything will work out in the end.

Exhausted

2010-08-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

I'm completely exhausted!

Wednesday was my first day off in two weeks! I worked a total of 97 hours between my days off. Wednesday came and I was SO excited to have a day where I didn't have to do anything. Early Wednesday morning I got a text from my Gymboree manager asking me to come in for a 4 hour shift. I literally started bawling. We've been having a ton of problems with the Gymboree management staff and I'm really the only reliable employee at this time. On Tuesday night my manager asked if I would like to be promoted. I turned down the position because I know I wouldn't be able to work the hours needed for that position once I start school in 3 weeks. Luckily I ended up not having to work on Wednesday and I was never so relieved in my life. One never really knows quite how tired they are until they take the time to actually rest. My work week has been pretty simple since Wednesday and I haven't had to work both jobs since Tuesday. Now that I'm not working ALL day I'm realizing how much these 97 hours have done to me. I took 2 naps today and I don't know how I'll be able to get through my short shift this evening. Should be interesting....luckily it's only 2 hours.

Not only am I exhausted from work but I'm feeling really down. I'm on my period and my stupid hormones always play tricks with my brain.

I love my dad SO much but I just don't have the patience that I wish I had when dealing with him. My dad thinks of me as that young teenage girl that lived here 7 years ago. He forgets that I'm almost 27 and I'm not that immature little girl anymore. He jokes around with me and tries to make conversation with me that seems pointless. I'm really starting to get annoyed with him and my first reaction is to snap at him. I feel SO bad and I find myself crying in my room because I don't want to be mean but I don't know how to get it through his head not to treat me like a child anymore. Back when I was growing up, I had no obligations. My parents paid for everything. Even after I graduated from High School and got my first job, my parents still paid for everything. This time around I have numerous amounts of bills to pay that cause me daily stress. I work so much and I make very LITTLE money. I'm lucky that I have parents that are letting me live with them for free because I would never be able to afford a place of mine own with the income I make. I wish I did make good money so I could live on my own. The past two weeks my parents were in Utah visiting family and I had the house all to myself. I never missed them once because I was enjoying my freedom. I feel bad for saying that because I do love my parents but I'm really needing my space.

Sorry that this post is mostly a venting post but I have to get it out somehow.

My Grades

2010-07-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is more for my records than anything else but I wanted to share my grades from my drawing class!

Mark Making with India Ink: 3 Compositions - 75
Toby Topek Panorama Extra Credit Paper - +10 pts.
Open Drawer and Contents Contour Drawing (pencil) - 80
Shape and Volume Study: White Still Life in charcoal - 88
Chiaroscuro :Pear and Tennis Ball (graphite) - 85
Lost and Found Edges: Pots and Pans (charcoal and eraser) - 95
Bathroom from P.O.V. of Floor (charcoal and graphite) - 100
Still Life Composition: Happy Snowman (acrylic paint) - 95
Composite Drawing (conte crayon) - 83
Self-Expressed Through Objects (conte crayon) - 88
Chapter Presentation: Chapter 15 The Portrait - 98
Italy Project with class - 95
Museum Report Paper - 90
Skeleton Drawing (pencil and graphite) - 80
Hat Construction for Self-Portrait - 90
Psychological Self-Portrait (Mixed Media/Graphite and Conte Crayon) - 93
Sketchbook - Unknown grade :-( Probably a high "B"
Class Participation in Critiques - Unknown grade :-( Probably a high "A"
Zero Absences and Zero Tardies - Extra Points :-)

Final Grade: A

"A" is for Awesome

2010-07-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Grades have been posted and I'm delighted to share that all my hard work and dedication paid off in my drawing class.

I got an "A"

"There is no charge for awesomeness or attractiveness!"

Whoop Whoop!!

It's Over and I Conquered

2010-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of my drawing class at college.

6 weeks ago when this class started I thought there was no possible way that I could get through this course. The class was full of amazing artists and I....well....am not a great artist! The class was required for my degree and so I couldn't just drop it like I wanted to. All six weeks of this course have been very demanding of my time and I had to drop my hours at work drastically so I could get my assignments done on time. Plus, I've spent roughly $295.18 on the art supplies alone. Tackle on the cost of the book and the class tuition and you get about $547.93!!

Ouch!! Man I'm broke now!!

I spent an average of 4+ hours on each assignment. The earlier assignments were closer to 4 while my more recent assignments took about 12! I have done nothing but DRAW for the past 6 weeks....literally.

I was very excited to end this class because I could definitely take a break from drawing....for the rest of my life (which would be awesome but very unlikely).

However, as excited as I was to conquer this course, I was very sad to say good bye to the majority of my classmates. They've all been a blast to work with and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people. I don't think I have ever, EVER been surrounded by so many people (in a class room setting) that I was so comfortable with. I had a blast talking with these people and I feel like we all became one happy family.

Doug, Mr. Beautiful, (I've talked about him in previous posts...framed his work), bought this doughnut especially for me. He handed it to me and told me that I was a delight to have in the class and that the sparkles reminded him of my glowing and happy personality. The majority of the class agreed with Doug in telling me that the class wouldn't have been the same without me and that I brought a certain charm to the classes environment. ;-)

Our final project of the semester was to draw a Psychological Self-Portrait. The requirements were for us to construct a wearable hat that reflected our personalities and to wear it in our portrait. We could use any media (graphite, charcoal, conte crayon, ink etc.) that was introduced to us during the semester but the required size of the portrait was to be either 18"x48" or 24"x36".

Here's the Kitty Hat that I made for my portrait. I ended up getting a 90 on my hat construction. She took off some points since I used a real hat as my base. Apparently she wanted us to be more creative and construct the actual hat. Either way I'm proud of my cute, furry hat.

This was my first attempt at self portraiture. It was really late at night and I was really tired but I felt I needed the practice before I started the real thing. I was leaning on my hand which I chose not to draw. I also forgot my eraser and didn't feel like going to the other room to get it...so some of my features look a little odd.

This was my second attempt at self portraiture. I decided to add the hat (drawn by memory cause I was too lazy to run up the stairs to get it) and I think my features got a little better from the first sketch. There's not much of a likeness and I was really beginning to freak out over this assignment. I've NEVER been good at drawing people.

Here is the beginning of my outline for the final project. I was relieved that I was able to make my facial features a little more like they really are. I think it is a better likeness than the two preliminary sketches.

It's hard to see but this is more of the outline including my shoulders and upper torso.

*Drum Roll*

Are you ready to see the final and finished drawing?

Tah Dah!!!

My Psychological Self-Portriat

19"x50"

Graphite and Conte Crayon

Completed 7/11/2010

Total hours: 11-12

Here's a close up of the face!

I couldn't be happier with this assignment. It came out looking exactly the way I had pictured it in my mind. The class loved it and I received my last "Beautiful" critique on it. The teacher gave me a 93 on this drawing which I think is pretty impressive.

Overall I'm excited to be done with this class and I'm extremely proud of all the hard work I put into it and I think it will be all worth while in the end. However, I will miss my classmates very much!!

Self-Expressed Through Objects

2010-07-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

My most recent homework assignment for my drawing class was a

"Self-Expressed Through Objects"

drawing using Conte Crayons.

Conte Crayons are nothing like Crayola/Wax crayons, in fact they are more like chalk. They were different than anything I have ever colored with before in my life and they usually only come in packs of black, white, gray and some neutrals. I was wishing that I could use Crayola instead.

As always I was scared to death that this assignment wouldn't come out looking right. I spent all of my 4th of July weekend working on this drawing. I believe I started working on it last Sunday (July 4th) at 11:00 am and I didn't stop working until 9:30 pm (only taking a 30 minute lunch and a 30 minute dinner break that whole day).

I was able to finish drawing and coloring all of my objects but the background was void of any excitement. Too tired to deal with the dang thing any longer I went to bed. Monday morning I woke up and decided to do something with the background. Being extremely lazy I only shaded the back of the page with the side of one of the crayons. I was very happy with the final composition of the page...after all I wanted the objects to be the focus of the page and not the wood grain of the table they were standing on.

The class loved it and it received a "Beautiful" critique! I was so proud to raise my hand and reveal myself as the artist. Everyone said that my drawing put a smile on their faces. Even the teacher seemed to really like it. I was really hoping....and kinda expecting to get another "A" on this drawing. The teacher graded them and gave them back to us on Thursday. I was so excited to turn it over and see that beautiful "A".

Nope

I got an 88!! WTF? She said that my objects were flat and lifeless but the piece managed to make people smile. She suggested that I put more in the background like a picture frame or something in the distance. I was so pissed because I thought this was one of my better drawings. She gave a 100 to a guy that didn't put anything in the background...WTF??? I was robbed of a much deserved "A"!!!! Oh well.....at least I'm happy with my drawing and that's all that matters.

Whoop Whoop!!

2010-07-04T20:19:00.001-07:00

I have been working my butt off in this drawing class that I'm taking this summer.

My professor told the class on the first day that most of us would get a "C" in the class and that she only gave an "A" to the truly exceptional students.

I received a 75 on my first homework assignment for the class and I was thinking, "She wasn't kidding when she said most of us would get a "C" in this class!"

After that I decided that I was really going to have to work hard to pass this class. To my surprise, I've been doing an outstanding job. My three assignments given after that first one received an 80, 88, and 85!!

I was super stoked to get some "B's" in this kick butt drawing class.

I have done two pieces of work this semester (My lost and found edges piece and the bathroom composition) that have gotten great critiques from the teacher and the class. I was crossing my fingers and just hoping that I would get at least a 90 on one of them. To my great astonishment, I received a 95 on my lost and found edges assignment and.....get this......a

100

on my bathroom composition!!

Outstanding!!!

I hope I can keep up on this "A" streak. I don't think I will but I don't think I'll get anything less than an 80 from this point on.

Whoop Whoop!

It's "BEAUTIFUL"

2010-06-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

I started the 4th week of my drawing class today and I turned in my final bathroom composition for classroom critique.

Our first week in the class we had to do 3 ink-mark making compositions. I wasn't exactly sure of the expectations of the assignment and things didn't go so well for me (worst grade in the class so far). My paintings were pinned next to another painting where the artist/student went above and beyond. He actually took the time to get his work framed.

Our teacher grades us on our participation during the critiquing process and so I figured it would be wise to say at least one thing about each painting. I used the word "beautiful" to describe the work that was framed.

Last week, Doug (the artist who frames his work), talked to me during class. He told me that he told his family about me. He told them, "There is this girl in my class that says my work is beautiful. I always aim to get a beautiful critique from her." I told him that I will always give him a beautiful critique. So that same day when we critiqued our work, I gave him another beautiful rating. Some of our classmates overheard us talking about it before class and yelled that he was paying me to say that (meant to be a joke of course) ;-p

Now everyone in the class aims to get a "Beautiful" critique from me.

Today we turned in our bathroom compositions and critiqued them. I added a few more artists to my beautiful category, which made them very proud. Well guess what? My composition received a mutual "Beautiful" critique from the teacher and the class. Everyone was so shocked with my work. I thought my lost and found edges was good but this one received the best critique. I'm so proud that I actually got added to the "beautiful" rating today. I couldn't be happier.

Every one thought I captured the texture of the rug and towel PERFECTLY!!!

My professor was exceptionally pleased with how much hard work and detail was put into my work.

*Slightly different lighting for the same piece*

Bathroom Composition

2010-06-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

I'm working on my 5th out of 7 Compositions for my drawing class. Our assignment is to compose a 19"x25" charcoal and graphite drawing of a bathroom from the point of view from the floor. My professor wants us to include at least 4 preliminary (5 minute) sketches of the bathroom so she can see where we got our final inspiration. I've been working on this assignment for the past two days and I'm still not done. Luckily it isn't due until Monday morning and I have some time to continue working on it. This is Preliminary Bathroom Sketch #3

(I've left out the first two sketches since I was just trying to figure out how much I wanted to zoom into the scene)

I was focusing on how I was going to bring in the texture of the bathroom rug.

Preliminary Bathroom Sketch #4

Our final composition will be on light grayish brown paper (not white) and so I wanted to get an idea of what it will be like adding shading and detail to my final compo with the darker background. I took the charcoal stick and rubbed it all over the paper and blended it smooth to get the gray you see. (Keep in mind that these are supposed to be 5 minute sketches)

Preliminary Bathroom Sketch #5

As I was adding the highlight and low light on my 4th sketch I noticed that the tub was shaped wrong. This 5th sketch is me correcting the shape of the tub and rug. I think it looks a little more realistic now.

After the sketches were done I decided to dig into the final composition. That paper is huge and it doesn't fit on my Masonite board very well. It's been quite a conflict since I'm drawing in a bathroom (which isn't very big) and the board alone is about as big as the area I'm drawing in. I'm making due with what I have and the assignment is coming along. I worked on the outline of my final composition all day Wednesday night.

It's really hard to see because I drew the outline very lightly and the paper is gray which doesn't help. I worked on adding the charcoal and graphite to the composition all day yesterday. I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished drawing as soon as it's done. I'm really proud with how well it's looking!!

*Funny Story*

I was scared to add the required charcoal and graphite elements to my page after I finished the outline so I decided to ask my teacher for another piece of gray paper to practice on. So in class yesterday I asked her if I could have another piece and her response, "Oh I see! Well this paper is very expensive...it's about $5 a piece. If you make a mistake you just have to deal with it. That's what being an artist is all about." My response to that, "So I can't have another sheet?" Her, "No!" It was funny you just had to be there. She's this tiny old Japanese lady with a cute accent.

Lost And Found Edges

2010-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

I'm taking this drawing class over the summer that is unfortunately required for my Interior Design degree. I've never been good at drawing, nor have I ever enjoyed drawing other than some simple doodles. Luckily this class is only 6 weeks and I have 2 weeks done....only 4 more to go. I've really struggled in this class and I'm by far the worst. Most of the students in the class have been drawing for years and taken art classes in Middle School and High School. There is definitely some real talent in the class. It's hard for me not to compare my work with these real artists but I just keep trying to do my best. Luckily the teacher grades us on our individual progress. So far my favorite medium we've used in the class is charcoal. My last assignment was to do a lost and found edges drawing using charcoal and eraser. I shocked myself when I was done with this assignment. I was actually worried that the class and the teacher would think that someone else did the drawing for me. Every time we turn in a homework assignment we critique the work as a class. After the critique of the drawing we reveal who the artist was.

My critique was awesome! Everyone thought my shading was amazing and that the cup looked like they could actually pick it up and use it. I couldn't have been more proud with the results of this assignment. When I revealed myself as the artist the teacher was amazed. She told me that this drawing was truly my best work in this class so far. I just wish some of my other work would turn out this well.