Week One

Well, one week down, 16 to go. So far classes are going well, though I think I will be pretty busy this semester. In jewelry and sculpture, I have to write a statement of intent that explains the projects I plan make as well as the concept/purpose behind them, and I have to write an abstract/statement of intent for my honors thesis. For jewelry this won't be too challenging because I have a very clear idea of what I want to do this semester and next semester, because I'm working towards my senior show. Because my thesis deals with the functionality of jewelry during the Renaissance, I plan to make pieces for jewelry that are functional. I'm going to try to include small containers and objects in the pieces that blend into the overall piece, but are actually functional in some way. During the Renaissance, people wore useable, jeweled toothpicks as pendants, so I'd like to incorporate that into one of my necklaces.

Sculpture is another matter, though. I have spent all summer trying to decide what I want to do for sculpture, and I'm just stuck conceptually. I could come up with something that I know I'd enjoy making, but I have no clue what concept I'd like to represent in my work, and that's pretty crucial at this stage, especially if I decide to go on to grad school or want to display this work in a gallery. So by Tuesday, I have to have enough of a concept figured out to turn in my statement and start working. No pressure :P

My thesis is also gonna be more of a struggle than I anticipated. I'm writing a paper about the functionality of Renaissance jewelry and also making a piece of jewelry or two that are similar to the pieces I discuss in my paper. However, on Friday both of my thesis directors decided that it would be best if I used jewelry techniques that were used during the Renaissance, rather than the modern techniques that I've been learning for the last two years. So I'm gonna have to learn new techniques to finish this piece while writing a paper about it and then before Thanksgiving I have to present and defend it all in front of a live audience. They also want me to make something [small] using gold, that I must somehow pay for. I have no clue how I'm going to afford that, since it will probably cost around $500 for the gold to make even a very small ring or hair pin, and that's in addition to whatever silver I have to buy to make the larger piece. Plus whatever materials I have to buy for my other jewelry and sculpture work. I don't know if my professors understand that I'm not made of money and that my job as an RA doesn't earn any cash; I guess this is one of those times that all I can do is pray for a miracle and trust that somehow God will provide. I know in my head that money is not the most important thing, but sometimes it feels like it :(

On a happier note, I had a lovely weekend with Kendra, a good friend from my jewelry classes. She invited me to spend the weekend with her and go see God's Not Dead at the drive-in theater in Ponca City. It's always nice to get away from my tiny room for a little while and not think about German homework or when I'm gonna find time to hang out with my residents. Sometimes I think I'd go crazy if I didn't have people like Kendra to get my mind off school for a little while!

Senior Year

So, I'd like to get in the habit of journaling, because it's always interesting to go back and read old posts and laugh at how silly I was, and still am :)

Today is freshman move-in day, and I'm feeling simultaneously old and young, excited and grumpy, and very, very nervous for this year. I've already forgotten things and misplaced keys and spilled coke all over the key cards, so at least I have room for improvement today! Despite having to check in all my residents and answer questions and try to solve problems, I have a clean room to stress in, which is nice. It seems as though I will have a pretty good number of freshman on my floor this year, so I am hopeful that they will be excited to come to programs and Community Council with me. This year I have to log 3 conversations with every resident on my floor and I have to have some sort of program/social every week. Ha. So that's gonna be new and busy :P

Our staff is interesting this year, because about half of it is made up of talkative, spontaneous people, (which I am not) so meetings are gonna be challenging. So far people seem to be getting along pretty well, except that I have heard multiple people express concern about one person on staff. I'm inclined to agree that they might cause problems; however, I'm determined to maintain a positive attitude and encourage others to be positive.  Scheduling duty and staff and one-on-ones was stressful, but I think once we get into the swing of things everyone will calm down and get along better.

The one thing that I'm genuinely concerned about for myself is how my personal beliefs are going to affect my interactions with other staff; I am super conservative and traditional and my Christian beliefs affect everything else I believe. I'm pretty certain that no one else on staff has similar convictions, and we've already had some tense moments in [deep] conversations when we got to religion or really liberal social ideas/social justice. I know that this is the way life is, and that I have a better opportunity to stand out in a way that reflects positively on Christ when I'm surrounded by non-Christians, but it's hard and rather uncomfortable. Thankfully, I will be able to go to Navs this semester, so I will have to make sure that I spend intentional time with them every week so that I don't slip into discouragement or un-Biblical beliefs/actions. Ryan N. was on my floor for a while today, and he said kind things about me to my residents, which was nice :) I was glad to see him, and he seemed happy to see me too, so I guess not everyone at Navs has lost hope in my salvation because of Life Drawing last semester :P

I am nervous about this year, though, because I know I'm going to be busy and I also know that I'm not gonna feel like doing homework or writing papers or learning German vocab or going to ResLife events or applying for jobs or looking at grad schools. This semester I am working on my honors thesis, which means I am writing a substantial paper about the functionality of Renaissance jewelry and also making a set of functional Renaissance jewelry, which should be fun but also tiring. Next semester might be worse, though, because I'll practically be in all studio classes, with one art history class, so I probably won't ever sleep. But all that aside, it's crazy how close I am to being done with my major, minor, and honors degree! I am so excited to move on from OSU; I've had a great experience here, but I am ready for another change. I would love for that change to include moving closer to home and getting a studio, but I'll just have to wait and see. That being said, if one more person asks me what I plan to do after graduation, I might go crazy (and I know it'll only get worse).

Life is weird, people are weird; I am weird. I just hope I make it through this year intact!

*You can skip this post, I'm just venting.

Can I just say that it really bugs me when people try to tell me I'm wrong? Or constantly give me instructions as if I'm incapable of knowing what to do. Or act like I can't handle something because I'm too young or "innocent". Or take over something I'm working on because I'm too slow. I think that's why I don't handle large groups of people for long periods of time very well. I don't want to be told how if I've been told before, I don't want to be treated like I'm inferior, incapable, or stupid, and I don't want people to stand over my shoulder and treat me like I'm five and keep me out of the loop because I might be scandalized. If you can tell the person next to me, you can tell me, or not bring it up when I'm right there and then whisper it in their ear.

This has been a stressful 3 days :/ Move in was this Sunday and Monday, and I've over-exceeded my people limit. I can handle working at a desk and interacting with the people in front of said desk, but working with the other people working the desk, or conversing with several people that I don't know super well, and even people I do know well, stresses me out after a while. Everyone was bumping and banging around early Sunday morning, so I didn't get quite enough sleep, and I couldn't find a ride to church. Then there was the time working behind the desk; all the desk clerks got trained together, so I know pretty much everything that the other clerks know, so it drives me nuts when they give me instructions constantly, as if I'm so stupid I can't do it myself. Ugh. Then after being around people all day, I went to dinner with a large group of people and got seated with 3 that I don't easily get along with, and I felt like all they did was disagree with me the whole night (which isn't exactly true). I mean really, I think I know enough about humidity to know if I like it or not; just because you live in Houston does not mean that you have the monopoly on all humidity knowledge!!! All of this means that I felt like crying in the middle of dinner, and had to disappear [hide] for a few hours till I could calm down.

I think if I could tell when I'm getting overloaded and figure out a good release, I would be fine; it's just that I don't have that down yet. Some people put me in a good mood almost all the time, but none of them are here yet, so I'm on my own for that. And I feel left out when I disappear, but if I don't disappear, I go crazy. I think I should just buy a tropical island and go live there, preferably one with a mountain; I'm thinking Swiss Family Robinson style. That way I'd have a beach and a mountain, it would be hot and humid (or at least not ever cold), I wouldn't have to deal with people, and I wouldn't know what was happening outside the island so I wouldn't feel left out. (I am now accepting donations to the I-Need-A-Private-Island Fund). I could also invite close friends and family to come visit if I felt like it, because if I have the money to buy the island I can prolly find a way to pay for air fare or boat rides!

But I do enjoy meeting all the new students and seeing the returning students, because there are a lot of great people! I just wish I was better at handling them [myself], so that I don't go crazy afterwards.

So now that I've said the same thing 12.378 different ways, I think I feel a little better.

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." – Dr. Seuss

I need to plaster that quote all over my dorm room this year.

So I've come to my last day working in the STEM Center, and I'm kinda feeling sad about it! The two ladies that I've spent most of my time with are just lovely, and I will miss them quite a bit! Here's hoping I can work here next summer :)

I've just about come to the end of my summer at home, as well. Thursday I'll head back to school to train for my new job, just in time to melt in the 110+ degree heat up there, and then class will be starting before I even know it! Honestly, if I could have my perfect world, I'd be able to go to school and live close to home, but alas I can not, so I'll just have to be brave and deal with it. I am excited to see all my friends again, though, it's been far too long and I miss them dreadfully! Sheesh, I feel like all I ever do is miss people :/ that's what I get for going to school in a different state! Tonight, however, is a celebration! Since I won't be home for my birthday next week, we're celebrating tonight. Even my brother is leaving his mission stay (not a trip, they're staying in town) to come, and that's saying something!

Well, this has been an thoroughly sappy post so far :P In other news, last week was our family trip to Florida, and it was magnificent! Four, yes, FOUR days on the beach, including a boat ride, a trip to the Naval Air Museum, and one night camping on the beach with my dad! Not to mention time to spend with extended family that I don't get to see too often. The best news? I only got a very light sunburn, and that's truly impressive for one as white as I am. I'll have to post some pictures of Florida when I get the chance, because I took some very lovely ones; but it may be the weekend before I get around to it, what with moving states and jobs and all.

Now, for your entertainment update: Peter Jackson has officially announced that The Hobbit is now a trilogy!! You have no idea how excited I am for these three movies. Currently I'm re-reading The Hobbit, and then I'm going to start in on the LotR appendixes, and if I get really motivated, I'll read the Unfinished Tales or Book of Lost Tales. I might even make my, ahem...5th...attempt to read the Silmarillion.. I might even finish this time! But regardless, Jackson did such a fine job with the LotR, I'm quite confident that he can muster up 3 more good movies!

Summer Fun, and other Nonsense

My Xyloband

Sitting here on a nice rainy day keeping my promise to post about what I've done for fun this summer :) Possibly the most exciting thing was going to see Coldplay (one of my favorite bands) live a few weeks ago! I wasn't planning on going, but the day before things worked out and I got to go with my Dad and brother, plus a bunch of my brother's friends. It was a fabulous concert! They did everything expected of them, such as play everyone's favorite songs, but the coolest thing they did was pass out wristbands called Xylobands to everyone that lit up in time to some of their songs. It was an incredible effect, because every person from the floor to the roof (I was part of the roof crowd) had one, so the whole room was sparkling! On the whole it was a ton of fun :)

Yellow

I've also had some amazing time with friends this summer. Since my parents own a bed and breakfast, we can put up a lot of extra people, so I had four friends come stay a weekend with us, which was amazing fun :) I'm so looking forward to being back at school with them for another year!

All the Xylobands lit up!

I also got the chance to go on the annual camping trip with my brother and our two friends. This year we went to Lake Hugo to camp, play cards, swim, etc. Basically everything went smoothly, except that it took us about an hour and a half to find the actual campsite (I will accept the blame for getting faulty directions) and one of our loaves of stromboli (pizza stuffed bread) got soaked by a bag of ice (again, I will accept the blame for accidentally leaving the bag of ice on top of the bread). But no one got hurt or sunburnt, we had a nice, private spot to pitch the tent, and it wasn't so miserably hot this time!

The last thing we've got planned this summer is a vacation to visit family in Florida, and I am super pumped to spend time on the beach! Sadly, my sister is lame and went to Germany for the summer, so for the first time in my life I'll have to brave the beach without her. Gah. I'll probably bring a bunch of art stuff to work on, since it'll be my last chance before school to do anything like that. So, here's prepping for a week of sand[rashes] and sun[burns]!

The Air is Wet..

So said my 13 year old cousin from New Mexico. The average humidity she's used to is prolly around 6%, whereas here we have an average humidity closer to 60%. (That's your fun fact of the day!)

 So it's been a while, but then, when have I ever been consistent? This summer has been wonderful so far! I did finally start an Etsy store, The Wire Peacock, and I'm working to get my feet off the ground ;) Jewelry is just such an over-saturated market that it is hard to make a space for myself, so I'm workin' on finding ways to be found.

Wire Knot Baltic Amber Gemstone Dangle Chandelier Earrings

I also managed to snag a job last month! After applying everywhere around town, even resorting to restaurants and calling centers with no luck, I was recommended for an office-type job at the university which has worked out splendidly! I have such wonderful people to work with, everyone is just about as kind and gracious as you can imagine, and it's very low stress. I think the best thing about the job is probably the fact that I get a faculty/staff parking permit, my own desk, my own computer, my own phone, and my own e-mail! Silly, I know, but I feel very special parking in the forbidden faculty/staff lots and answering my business phone ;) This next week the center that I am working for is hosting a math and science camp for middle school kids, so I think I'm in for a long week :P But it should be fun!

The Bathroom (in-progress)

In other news, mostly all I've done is work around the house and help with the Hardeman House Bed and Breakfast. I've been tasked with remodeling our half bathroom using a movie theme. I've finished all the painting, and I was even brave enough to paint some of it solid black, despite the total lack of windows or skylights. So now I'm on to figuring out the decorations. We've got several mini "movie posters" we cut from the front of old VHS boxes, and I want to find some old movie paraphernalia such as movie reels and cameras. I also think it'd be fun to make some fake movie props, like ruby slippers and light sabers, that could be put up around the room. My Dad is also looking at incorporating some SUPER ancient movie history. Our house was build in 1892, around the same time that Thomas Eddison started making the first moving pictures for public viewing. You can watch this one up above, the Blacksmith Scene, and then you can read about it on Wikipedia here (I know, I know, not the MOST reliable source available). It would be super fun to have a way to play this and other clips in the bathroom, but I haven't been about to find a digital frame that plays movies in addition to a .jpeg slideshow, so we might have to settle for a print from the clip.

I have also done some fun things this summer, but I think I'll come back and post about those later, since this one is so long! But don't worry, THIS time, later means tonight or tomorrow :)

College, Spring 2012

Posting every 5 months is an acceptable amount of blogging, right? OK you may not want to hold your breath waiting for the next post, but I'm OK with that. Maybe I should just resign myself to only posting once I finish a semester, that way there's no pressure while all the interesting portions of my life are happening ;)

This last semester really was fun, though! I had a nutty class schedule, though, because I was in 3 studio classes, which means I was in the classroom about 27hrs per week, not counting homework/project time. So without a job or other commitments, I had roughly 50hrs a week used up. But I really liked all my classes, none of them were boring and most of them were pretty easy, provided I did the work on time. Except, of course, for the 1000 level honors seminar that I though would be an easy 3-hr credit full of reading fun books. No no, this one turned out to be the most challenging class I've taken so far, and I almost got my first B because I bombed the first paper (it had been a few days since I'd last slept when I wrote the paper at 3AM the night before :P). But my teacher liked me, and I did fine with the rest of the class so I managed to squeak out an A.

The class was really interesting, though! The subject was Magic Ring Allegories, so basically we read every significant text that had a magic ring involved starting with Plato's Republic right down to the Green Lantern: Secret Origins. Fun, you think? Technically, yes, but the 2hr essay test final covering all 8 texts (assuming you count the whole of Wagner as one and the LotR trilogy as one) almost killed me. But hey, I never would have read a comic book if not for this class, and I actually enjoyed it, so that's a plus!

Overall, my 3D foundations class was my favorite, because we got to solder and build a chair! Basically, we made 3 of the most beastly projects ever, and got college credit for it. I enjoyed it so much and liked the projects I made so much, I think I'll share pictures of what I made! A mask made from baling wire, a plaster  relief sculpture cast from a mold I made, and a chair (I was only allowed 1 2x4, screws, and dowels to make the chair, nothing else).

I'm even more excited for next fall, because I get to take Jewelry and Metals I, so I'll be soldering and hammering the whole semester long! I also have a job at the front desk of my residence hall, so we'll see how my time-management skills measure up to the challenge.


In the meantime, I'm puttering around at home, looking for a job and attempting to launch an Etsy store. It's funny how after living with people my age for 9 months, there aren't really any people my age that I hang out with now; it's just been so long since I lived here that my growing up experiences are too different to just pick up where I left off with my old friends. I still like them, and we're still friends, it's just that we don't have any strong ties to keep us close. Such is life, and I will just have to practice my long distance relationships with the girls from my hall, and wait for next fall!

The Curious Anomaly of Free Time

Merry Christmas! (A day late, but really, is it that important that the timing be perfect?) I hope you all had a great Christmas with family and/or friends, and hopefully remembered that it's not all about parties, presents, and pork (I don't know about you, but we had ham for lunch), and took time to say thank you and happy birthday to the Savior of the world! And hopefully (I know, lots of hope going on here) you've done better than I have at managing your time!

Every time I get really busy, I think about all the things I wish I had time to do. Things like craft projects, books I want to read, food I want to cook....blog posts I mean to write.... But somehow when I finally get the free time, I never do anything I meant to do! That's the Curious Anomaly of Free Time: when free time finally comes around to a person, they NEVER do what they originally intended to do with it!

A prime example of this is my entire first semester at school. I had most of Tuesday free and all of Thursday free, and each week I planned all the useful things I was going to do during my free time. Then, without fail, every week I would accomplish very little of what I said I would. Now that I've been on break for a full 2 weeks, with nothing to do and no one to see besides my immediate family (that's what happens when your family moves and you go home for Christmas to a city where you don't have any close friends), you'd think I'd have time to turn out all sorts of clever blog posts or amazing projects. But alas, my life has consisted of Pinterest, painting pinecone flowers, and fruitlessly brainstorming business name ideas so I can sell jewelry from my Etsy shop. Meanwhile, my sister is making me feel like a slacker by putting together a fabulous scrapbook, my mother is making me feel lazy by running a bed and breakfast AND keeping up with normal housework, and my brother is making me feel like a neanderthal who knows nothing about technology by somehow apparently knowing everything about everything to do with electronics and the internet.

This is what I get for being satisfied with myself. I spend so much time looking at craft projects and decorating ideas that I know I can replicate and understand that I don't stop to replicate! With all that in mind, I'm going to go to Goodwill and buy stuff to make boots, just because I can. Then I'll come back and make them, and maybe if I'm really ambitious I'll post about making them. And maybe eventually I'll get around to working on my potential jewelry business, finding textbooks for next semester, and cleaning my room.

Happy Monday :)

Vikings, and My Lack of Responsibility

One more day of classes, and then break!!!!! I am so insanely excited to see my family, you have no idea! Initially, I was not going to get to go home for Thanksgiving, but plans have been made (and then re-arranged) so that my sister and I get to go home Tuesday! I've never been away from them for so long (geeze, around 2 months) and I'm doing just fine, but it's not my preference :/ And yes, I do realize it will get longer and longer every time, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

But nonetheless, college is still fun! I am done with most serious homework till finals, so now I can relax a little. Although today I may have relaxed a little too much, seeing as I slept super late, didn't clean my room, didn't work on my drawing project, didn't start my math, and definitely didn't do laundry. What did I do, you ask? I may have spent an obscene amount of time on Pinterest, if you must know. But hey, now I have even more things to think about trying! That is, when I stop procrastinating......and re-pinning stuff......and trying all the worthless things I find..

However, the day was not a total loss! Tonight I went to Viking Feast hosted by my residence hall (the honors hall, because we're all nerds), and it was quite fun! There was a whole (gigantic!) roast pig that was delicious, fighting demonstrations, a stew competition, door prizes, I think dancing, and some people even dressed up (myself included, because I never say no to wearing a costume)! On the whole, it was a happy event! Except when the frat house across the street launched a water balloon at the fighting.....ring? I guess? Anyway, it hit a girl in the face and our hall's RD went over to talk to them (followed by several angry vikings) and I think the police were called too. But other than that, it was a fun event :)

And to top off this extremely unproductive (but fun) day, I ended by watching the Fellowship of the Ring (extended, of course) with some friends :) So I guess I don't have any reason to put off doing what I need to do, because I don't have any large, pressing homework assignments, I don't need any more sleep (I got 10 hours last night. Yes, be jealous.), I have had my time to relax and catch up on e-mails, fb, and pinterest, I've got in my social time, and I'm not sick (at least not too sick). So I guess this means I'll have to be responsible and do laundry and work on my drawing assignment tomorrow, and start in on math Monday. Cause we all know that's what I want to do between classes Monday :p

I hate thinking of titles.

So, it's been a while! I do believe in my last post I complained about having way too much time. That has passed. Life has sped up quite a bit with homework and cleaning out and packing everything I own into a box or cramming it into my dorm room. Such are the joys of your family moving! But on the whole, life is good, and I am doing well (though a little sick at the moment).

By far my favorite class is Drawing I. I love that I can spend 6 hours of class time a week drawing! And, my teacher says I'm doing really well, and that's always encouraging! Eventually I'll remember to take pictures of some of my drawings and then I'll post them.

Physical Geography is also a lot of fun, mostly because I have a fabulous teacher. Before tests, he has a review session where he answers as many questions as we care to ask, AND he brings us coffee! Last Thursday we went on a field trip around the north west parts of the state and hiked around some mountains, visited the muddy remains of a river, glanced at a windfarm, and toured a cave. Best field trip ever :)

The last few months have flown by, and weirdly enough I'm enrolling for spring already! Because I'm in the honors college, we get to enroll the same time as seniors as freshman! The only people who enroll first are grad students and all non-freshman honor students. Yep, tis nice to be an honors student :) If all goes well, I'll be in 12 hours of art classes, choir, and an honors seminar called Magic Ring Allegories which will cover Tolkien, Wagner, I think Plato, and someone else.  It should be a fun semester :)

In the meantime, if you need to waste time, I would highly recommend Pinterest.

College Life...So Far

Well, since I last posted I've gained a week or so of 'real' college experience going to class and being totally in charge of whatever happens to me. So far it's gone rather well, I've made it to class on time every day and even felt prepared every day! I like all my classes except College Algebra, which is unfortunate because it will take the most time to get right. But I think my Physical Geography class will be interesting enough to make up for it :)

My Drawing I class is interesting, and challenging, because I don't have a very steady hand and I'm not good at copying what I see, which is basically what we're covering. I don't feel intimidated by the other students though, because I'm in a class with mostly graphic design majors, not the people who will go on to major in drawing or painting, so they're not the best at drawing either, which is encouraging!

One really neat aspect of this week was that Wednesday and Friday Dr. Z. Randall Stroope directed the choir I'm in (he's not our usual director), and he's one of the best known choral directors/composers currently, and it was very neat because he is so good! We're learning Carmina Burana to perform in the spring, I'm excited for that!

The weirdest thing so far is that I have a lot of extra time so far. I know it will pick up as the semester continues, but so far I have a lot of extra time. I need a job! I don't have one for the first time in over 2 years, and I'm not sure how to handle all this extra free time! I guess I could spend it writing extra credit papers for Freshman Orientation, but I really don't want to, and I doubt I'll need the extra credit. Oh well, I'll figure something out! Maybe I'll make jewelry or paint or draw something cool. I'll post pictures of it if it's not too bad :)

Welcome Week

Well, I realized it has been quite a while since my last post, so I thought I'd share a little of what's been going on in life :)

Tuesday the 9th I had the opportunity to see an incredible exhibit with my grandparents at the downtown art museum called Passages. It is the private collection of Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, containing ancient manuscripts of the Bible starting with the torah and continuing through more recent editions of the Bible. It was absolutely incredible! When you enter the exhibit, they give you an ipod touch and when you put in the number of whichever exhibit case you were looking at, it plays a commentary on the items inside the case telling you all about the history of the pieces and the people related to the pieces. There were so many wonderful pieces: a 1st edition King James Bible, a Tyndale Bible (which I read from through the glass), Esther scrolls, giant hymn books for choirs, even a portion of a dead sea scroll! I especially loved the cases with illuminated manuscripts, they were beautiful! There were so many rooms and cases and Bibles, if you listened to every one and spent some time on every one it might take you all week to get to the end! I could have spent all day and longer in the exhibit, but I only had a few hours. If you get the chance to see this exhibit, go! It really can give you a new perspective on how much was put into the Bible you read today, and how many people gave their entire life to preserve it!

Last week I packed and cleaned out and re-organized my room in the hopes of getting it all packed up by the end of the week.. Didn't exactly get it all done, but I made a dent! Monday morning I moved into the residence hall and my new room! It seems so strange that I am old enough to move out, I don't feel that old. But apparently I am, so here I am. All week there were events and breakout sessions and parties to go to as part of the 'Welcome Week.' I have walked more this week than I have in a long long time! I don't understand how someone could gain the 'freshman 15' when you have so much farther to walk than usual. I do have a bike, though, which makes getting across campus in 10min way easier!

I love my hall, most people are very friendly and everyone wants to make friends and be social, which makes for a happy place to be and get to know new people! We already have 'Stout Hobos,' people who wish they were in Stout so they come just to hang out with us. On the whole, the facilities are so much nicer than most halls, so I'm really glad I made it in!

Thursday morning I went home (and came back Friday), and it was so weird having to pack to come home for the night! But I'm sure I'll get used to it. I just hope I get used to everything pretty quick, like remembering to do laundry and keeping up with a lot of different classes at the same time!

This is a very rough sketch I did of part of our living room :)

100+

This has been the hottest summer I can remember! This summer we have had 40+ days of 100+ degree temperatures! But not gonna lie, I don't really mind too much. I don't like the cold very much, so the heat is just fine with me!

One fun thing you can do when it gets this hot is bake cookies. I know, I know, bake in a hot kitchen when it's practically baking outside?! But actually, you can bake outside..........in your car! Just put the car in full sun and put the cookie sheet in the dash with all doors and windows sealed for about 2 hours, longer if it's not so hot, shorter if it's 109 like it has been here! Just a warning: they won't turn out brown and smooth like oven-baked cookies, so if you wait for them to turn brown you will have hard, dry cookies! They will still look like cookie dough, so just look for them to be mostly dry looking and check them if you're not sure. Just don't let too much heat out!

Thursday was my last day to watch the girls. I've been babysitting them for 2 years now almost every weekday for at least 2 hours, it's going to be strange to not see them! I am happy-sad, I am really going to miss them and all the random crazy things we did, but I am not going to miss trying to get them to practice piano and clean up their lunch dishes! I guess that's how life goes, eventually everything moves on!

I've also had my last day at the jewelry store Wednesday. I went in to teach the next girl how to maintain the books and file the paperwork, which took a long time because there are 2 programs and several steps for each transaction. The hardest part is putting each transaction in a category, such as supplies or utilities, because the list is a mess with extras and strange wording. The files are the same way; it's an adventure trying to figure out where to file something! Hopefully she'll be able to wade through the mess (which I did not create, I just inherited!) without too much trouble.

Now that I'm finished with all my jobs, I've got to find a new one! I've never had to apply for a job, because both the babysitting and the jewelry store jobs were given me by a recommendation, so I'm a little nervous about getting a job. I just hope I can find something that's not in food service or heavy people contact! (I'm not much of a people person)

The rest of the week has proved to be quite crazy! Yesterday, being my birthday and the wedding of my small group leader and the tax-free weekend, was rather hectic. I did get a way fancier party on my birthday than I could have ever had otherwise, lol!

Props if you actually made it to the end of of this post, I tend to ramble when I have a lot on my mind :)

Feeding His Lambs

Ever since church camp a few years ago, I'll periodically think of the story in John 21 where Jesus reinstates Peter. We went over it in my camp small group one day, and before that I didn't really know it very well at all. It struck me as interesting, because I don't know of any other events or stories quite like it in the New Testament. Recently, I have come to understand verse 15 a little more personally, in that I feel convicted to literally do what it says: feed His lambs. The thought of people not getting to eat is awful to me, and I want to do everything I can to get people food. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to make this happen regularly though.

Recently I got the opportunity to help make food for two 8th grade girls from a Confirmation group I helped lead last semester who both recently had surgery. Now, neither one were in any danger of not eating, but it is a step in the right direction to care for those going through something rough. One of the girls injured her arm over spring break, but due to recent complications had to have the break re-fixed and start the healing process all over again. The other had surgery on her shoulder, and will have a long recovery. I complain every day with regularity, but I've come to realize that I am the most thankful and complaint-free when I work to help those who have something real to complain about! There is real joy in giving your time to God and serving Him through kindness to His children, and if I would spend more time on that and less time on me, then I'd be much happier and healthier!

With that in mind, I have been helping out at VBS this week in the evenings. I have been somewhat grumpy about it, because I didn't exactly have a choice to help or not, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it is a blessing. So many kids come who don't get regular attention or access to crafts and fun activities, and I get to help them have at least one really fun week this summer!

One very neat project we are doing at VBS is making origami cranes to send to Japan. Each crane represents one prayer, and our church is trying to make and send 1,000 cranes. I was told that many years ago, a church in Japan sent our church 1,000 cranes (and prayers) after some sort of catastrophe or natural disaster, and now we are sending them 1,000 cranes (and prayers) in response to the earthquake. I love that the body of Christ is so connected that we can make something as simple as paper cranes with a group of children from around our city and make a difference halfway across the globe!

'Cause I'm busy! Busy! Terribly busy! You've no idea what I have to do!'

Ugh, so much to do and not enough time to do it! I've been trying not to think too much about everything that has to be done before I move out because if I do, I might just get over-stressed and quit trying. So I made a list of what had to happen, and it looked ok. Then I remembered everything I forgot to write down :P

Currently we are trying to clean out half our house, literally, and have a giant garage sale this weekend. This entails going through all my clothes, books, arts and craft supplies, and closet! The closet and clothes weren't too terrible, actually, but everything else is going to be no fun. I am a pack rat. A crafty pack rat. As such, I do not like to clean out, ever. What if I need something a little ways down the road and then find out it was sold at a garage sale for $0.25?! It is kinda fun, though, to see how many faces I can get my Dad to make by telling him I'm going to keep something ridiculous ;)

Dad did let me go through all the old hardware and screws and such that he was throwing away and I found some pretty cool stuff to use in my jewelry. Hopefully I can make some neat pieces from it!

College is closing in fast, and now I have to try to find a job :/ it's strange, I've worked more hours than most people my age, and yet I've never had to apply for a job, they've all just been given to me on a silver platter! Which means I have no experience with resume's or interviews, so I'm not sure how well this is all gonna go down. I don't even have any workstudy allotted, so it is gonna be decently difficult for me to find a good job.

On a random note, this spring I entered the duck tape Stuck at Prom scholarship contest, which is a contest for the best duck tape prom outfits for a couple. My 'date' and I didn't win, but I did just find out that we got honorable mention for my jewelry! The prize came in the mail today: 23 rolls of duck tape and a plush duck toy!  Now if only I know someone who could come up with what to do with all that tape...