the begining of an essay for english class.

I know that I waste time. This becomes apparent when I allow myself five minutes to check my e-mail and I return to the real world thirty-five minutes later with complete knowledge of this week’s weather (in two cities) and a great new dress on the way (but only after scouring my favorite online shops--twice--just in case there were any last minute deals.) I lose time in other ways too. A trip to the laundry room becomes wiping off the counter, then sweeping the floor, and as I return a fallen pen to its place on the desk I catch my sweater lounging on the back of the pink chair. Because I acknowledged its out of place presence, only laziness should restrict me from returning it to the closet where it belongs. Back in my room is my computer, open and ready. So I check my e-mail. Again. That’s when I hear the washing machine starting without my clothes placed inside...

latest project

painting the kitchen cabinets.
lots.of.work.
everything is still not back in its place.
but soon.
and school starts next week.

around the house

A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Today I was able to sleep in-no 5:30am wake-up today since the photo shoots are over for the season. It's nice to be done for a while. And with today's warm sun reflecting into my bedroom window, I woke up desiring to start the days tasks: sweep the floors, clean the bathroom, finish up the laundry (then make the bed since Sundays are bedding days) and get to the leisurely act of putting together a slide show to study for Part I of my art history test (I put a video in while I search for images online....got to find leisure when you can!) Today's special-if-get-to-it task? Rearranging my room. I have quite a bit of painting to do so I'm going to clear up a cozy space in here to get to it. I'm still trying to configure an arrangement in the "living room" type room so that I can create a makeshift studio and finally have all of my art stuff in one place. Right now treasures are still being held up in the attic, hidden away in boxes. But that's for another time. (christmas break????)

feliz cumpleanos caleb!

Happy Birthday Caleb! My nephew is now 8..or is it 9? Either way, he's no longer small enough to bathe in the sink, and no longer in that precious stage where hugs and kisses are given freely but extracted with *gentle* persuasion by mom who's wagering his favorite video game.
It's hard to believe that the baby I many times held and fed and the toddler I chased around the house and dressed in mis-matching outfits is now a boy-a young boy that can ride a bike without training wheels and talk back in perfectly executed sentences, among other things.

Time really does fly and I can't wait to see him this December.
(and of course little Brooky too)



*and everyone else;)

crisp

Next week looks like this:

-spanish vocab quiz
-spanish test
-art history slide i.d. test
-art history #2 test
-design project #3 due
-world civilizations assignment #3 due

I think that's it.

The days are settling nicely into Autumn. The sun shines, the breeze blows, and the leaves flutter gracefully onto the ground. I'm not sure if the weather will stay this comfortable, but for now I'm going to enjoy the extra bundling that the cool morning requires, and I'm going to be entertained by the sight of my breath as I wait not-so-patiently at the bus stop.

tonight

i am sleeping with the windows open
it feels and smells and sounds like fall
tree frogs are chirping their evening lullaby


i know it won't "officially" be fall here until november or so, but the weather today was such a lovely break from the hot, sweaty, humid days of zone 7 summer.

this and that

I'm exhausted. I've been working more and have projects to work on for design and tests abound.
I'm still living between two piles of clothes....clean in the basket to the left of my bed and dirty on the floor to the right. The house is a disaster...

On a happier note?
-I received 100% on my spanish vocab quiz (no word on the test yet).
-The drawing I put in the student show last semester won me a $100 gift certificate to the art store------which I just picked up last week---which is the week I HAD to buy art supplies for design (I spent $80 just on paint!)
-The art history test that I was freaking out about and stayed up all night for studying will have to be postponed. I received a text message this morning as I was recapping (our school has an emergency/urgent message system set up) telling me that our campus was closed due to power outage.
I am definitely not ready and "missed" my 8am class to get a little sleep and to study more. So now we'll have the test Tuesday.
I am really happy that I am going to get to sleep a bit because I am working with classic tonight (photography) as a favor and won't get home until 9pm. It was looking to be a VERY.LONG. DAY.
These are my plans as soon as I have time to breath (aside from right now of course because i'm going to sleep)
:::::::::
and in no particular order:

-laundry
-clean the house then set up cleaning schedule (per roommates request and to my happiness)
-catch up on garden tasks
-grocery shop; refill basics (getting pretty low on toothpaste!)
-put air in bike tires
-blog
-finish anthropology project that is not due 'till october
-organize/research games/activities for the girls i babysit
-clean
-clean
-take some photos (but first i have to buy batteries!)
-organize my clothes so i can take something off the closet shelf without having a million things fall at me
-make pesto before all the basil flowers


I'm sure there are more things but I'm a little foggy right now.

It's labor day so it might as well be a Sunday.....

So I rode a motorcycle for the first time EVER last week. I was terrified the entire ride but managed to keep myself balanced so that I didn't skew the driver's balance.
I've since ridden a couple of times, and each time seems to be an easier ride. My max speed is maybe 50mph but when you are not in control, it feels a lot faster. And scarier. The winding curvy roads are the scariest. I've managed though, and each time feels a little bit more comfortable and the scales tips more towards FUN and farther away from FEARFUL.

I was "on call" today for babysitting since I work for a nurse....and she was on call today...and I was doing them a favor. All day, from 9am to 9pm, I carried on business as usual at home but with a certain uneasiness knowing that my phone could ring at anytime and I would have to stop what I was doing and go 'work'. I finally left the house around 7pm to buy the required art supplies(motorcycle trip #4), still worried that I was going to receive that call.
I didn't. The anxiety I held all day, not getting too deep into anything or having too good a time (because that of course meant that I would receive the call at.that.time.) it was all for nothing! Go figure...
All in all, it was a good day.
And this is my newest neighbor:
It's really not shiny. Every night it spins a web between the porch post and the tree. Every morning it is gone. It's huge, as most of the spiders I see here are.
Tomorrow is a school day and brings my first spanish vocabulary quiz. I did get to spend a large portion of the day studying so I feel alright about it.
Bed time now---it's late!

Updates:

I have a dog now, Nines. Actually he belongs to my new roommate but since her name is Jessica too, it seems close enough. And she's going to let me take him for walks and runs.

I have a new roommate, "Jess". She's cool and makes films. And is crazy busy.

I have a new job. I just picked up another job with a photography company. They take photos for anything (the company), but I'm working with the crew that does sports photos. My friend Aubry connected me so now every Saturday and Sunday morning I will be getting up at 6am to go to a shoot. It's nice pay, the people are laid back and funny, I get to hang out with my friend Aubry, and a nice little (although limited) tan tops it off. In our downtime (which 30 min. gaps are not uncommon) I can read or do whatever else for school. And I get to say I am a paid photographer......

I went camping in the mountains over the weekend and have returned home late. Post will resume tomorrow.
Also tomorrow: SCHOOL STARTS. i.e. no more free time!

crap.

Sunday, Every Sunday

Hello. It's me again. Starting now, August 3, 2008, I will be posting EVERY Sunday. That's right. I'm committing right here, right now to post and update every Sunday. Alright--I actually made the decision earlier today, but that's not really important now is it.
SO, for those who have been checking on a regular basis and were becoming so weary and disappointed to only find dust collecting on this internet portal, a bridge is being extended to you. So every Sunday, if that is a good day for you to check in on me, (which reminds me I have phone call to return from one of my three lovely grandmothers) you will be delighted to know that whether sunny or rainy, I will sit with my computer and send some sort of electric pulse through the internet that shares with you something of my life. Even through the business of busyness.
Sound good?

******************************************************************
A few highlights from the last few months:

A college graduation (sadly, not mine.....yet)
***When you're president of SGA, you get to sit on the platform.
And a post-graduation gathering.
***I'm standing between the SGA president and vice-president.My grandparents come to visit:
***Walked through Hezekiah Alexander's homesite

Grandpa made me pose with this statue....I'm not even sure it's Hezekiah
***He wanted me to lean into a pretend kiss then proceed to tell the fam of my "new love" (or something) Grandma supported me by rolling her eyes with a chuckled "Oh geeze" or similar remark. A great time, none-the-less and for the record, I let him use my camera to take the photo since his battery died.

One day, we drove to Asheville to visit The Biltmore.
Our tour finished with a visit to the estate Winery.
***Grandma and I missed the wine tasting, but enjoyed a bit of time together while waiting patiently;)That's it for now though I have much more to cover and pictures to post.
Maybe tomorrow?
If not, see you next SUNDAY!

Laundry, bed-making, reading, coffee drinking: a typical Saturday spent. Despite the months between posts, there isn't much to report.
-I have lived here almost a whole year but how quickly it has gone by! The whirlwind will sweep through once again in about a month and another year will soon be completed.
-The garden has given me cherry tomatoes, zuchinni, cucmbers,banana peppers, bell peppers, jalapeños, and green beans. Squash, eggplant, and a few other varieties of tomato will soon be harvested. Cool season crops will be planted soon too.

another semester over

4.0


Hooray!!!!

some discoveries

1. want to offer brownies to your roommates but insure a large portion for yourself? bake walnuts into half the batch. ("oh, you don't like walnuts??")
2. create a list of things that you would like to accomplish outdoors for spring. wait. wait. wait. continue waiting, and mother nature will do it for you. that pesky rusted metal shed you want to tear down? done, one windy-windy-windy day later.
3. i do not want to teach art (or anything else) to middle schoolers. ever. (formally). i never planned to teach this age group, but while i'm at it, i should add elementary and secondary ed.
4. when you saute onions and garlic, it smells good. when your roommate sautes onions and garlic it makes you want to open every window and door in the house, even if its freezing outside and there is a storm of sand blowing through your neighborhood. (not to mention kick him in the shin for creating such a horrible odor)

That's about all for updates. I'm slowly looking forward in thinking about summer jobs, and maybe fall for that matter. We're done in early June, and I have at least one lead for summer that involves travel, leading, biking, and getting paid. I'll have more details later and will definitely share once I have them.

Oh, and though we don't have snow and ice and all that freezing, it's still cold sometimes, and a 35 degree day does feel cold after a 65 degree day. (really cold)

And as many are, I'm impatiently awaiting spring. I started a few herbs inside and think about the garden that I will plant this spring, although this potential summer job will get in the way of tending to such a garden.
OH! I now have tomatoes growing too...a tomato I purchased in the produce department decided to sprout its seeds while they were still inside the tomato. I was weirded out and fascinated at the same time. I first researched what the heck was going on, then transplanted six tiny sprouts to one of the trays I already have seedlings in. We'll see what happens. I found a picture that looks like mine did, only my tomato was red.

hitting the nail on the head

Check this out.

How do people come up with this stuff??

Photo update

Click here to see some photos that have been taken over the last few months. I have found something that will make posting photos in the future much simpler...hooray!
But since I had already started on this method, it will just have to wait until next time.

login e-mail: schoolhouse@weldon.com
password: guest

new year, new blog

I've been horrible these past two weeks--horrible in my not-so-timely replies to e-mail messages, voice mail messages, and I'm on break from work and school. And just like the laundry, not writing a little bit here and there has left me with many weeks and three whole holidays to catch up on.

I'm not sure where to start, so here are some pictures that have been taken over that last 4 months:

-The mural in its beginning stages


-the front doors of the school are perpendicular and to the right of the mural. basically, it's the first thing you see when you walk in...-and these are most of the students that worked on it. we started with 10, and each week the number would fluctuate. (mural still incomplete in this photo...)



-this one is at hart witzen gallery in the noda neighborhood. it is where we had our 'WOW'--the finale of a Citizen Schools semester where students show what they have learned. we had a great turnout.



-this one is probably my favorite.


I still don't have a photo of the 'completed' mural...

And now it's nearly 2am. Loading, positioning, and captioning photos is taking much longer than expected so I'm going to try and find another means to post some pictures.
Staying up late and getting up late is a bad habit to develop on break. School starts next week!

fall is finally here

hallelujah. i'm not used to the leaves changing so late. it felt like i had missed my favorite season, doomed to wearing t-shirts well into december. that's no longer the case. my scarf collection is slowly making its way out of the nearly sealed dresser drawer and into the regular rotation of wear i.e. hanging from doorknobs, draped over my head board, on my bed, over the closet door, on the chair, etc. it's a good thing.
there is one tree in the backyard that represents all that fall should be. i took these pictures this morning:


i have a few other updates, but it's now time to change and get ready for work. it will be a beautiful fall bike ride! (in case some of you don't know, i live 2.5 miles from the middle school and bike nearly everyday:)