Happy December

So today has been na perfect mix of procrastination and initiation. I have a big exam at 5:00 today (Historical Geology) that I just can't seem to motivate myself to study for...yet. But I spent my morning taking care of pertinent business. I called our cable and gas companies to let them know to cancel our service at the end of this month, drove my scooter to the post office and mailed some stuff, and spent some time with Teddy's mom. We walked to a thrift store but didn't find anything cool....she's walking to another thrift store that's further from here, but I decided to *try* to get some studying done. See how far that's getting me? ;)

Oh, I also emailed a few of my professors about getting some letters of recommendation for the summer internship I'm applying for, here. I've been told I have a pretty decent chance of getting in, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed about that! And!! I finally got my grad. check back yesterday, and it looks like the plan that I have made for myself is going to work out just perfectly. I just have to make it through next semester in one piece, complete a 9-credit internship over the summer, and I'll be set to go...all except for 1 class of either Chem or Physics, but I can take that in the fall at Texas. So that's great. At least now we can definitely say that its only going to be 7 months that we're living apart. Its nice to have a cap on that.

What else? I'm trying to figure out the logistics of packing up our entire apartment, PLUS a bunch of (really nice) furniture/stuff that Alexis gave us when we helped her move out of her apartment last week..... this move is just at a really bad time of the year. I hate that I can't decorate our apartment for Christmas, our first Christmas together, because we're packing everything up and driving to Texas 3 days later. Sigh.

Thankful.

I realize its after Thanksgiving, but its never too late to be thankful, is it?

Here's what I'm thankful for:

- Teddy, who I love so much I can't even say it. I realize that I still have never really told 'our story', but I fully intend to, at some later time. I'm also thankful for Teddy's mom, Julie, who is just a wonderful person whom I am really enjoying getting to know more and more.

- Our sweet, black furbaby, who loves us unconditionally and keeps our toes warm.

- My wonderful, kooky family, that is functionally dysfunctional, like every good family should be!

- My health, because I (knock on wood) haven't been really sick in a very long time, even though I was working at Walmart (a cesspool of germs) and go to college, where I am usually surrounded by people with all sorts of icky germs. Go me!

Of course, there are all sorts of day-to-day things that I am oh-so-thankful for, but those are the really big ones that I feel I simply must mention.

We had a really nice holiday. Teddy, his mom, and I drove down to Norfolk, VA to my aunt's house, and we had a giant Thanksgiving jubilee with my parents and sisters, and lots of family from all over the place. It was like a mini family reunion. The 3 of us got a hotel suite at the Marriott for only $65 (!!!!!)...it had a full kitchen in which I baked my vegan Thanksgiving Tofurkey. Sweet. We got to spend some time in the indoor heated pool and the HOT TUB, yay! It was just a really, really nice time, and I'm so glad I got to share it with Teddy, and that Julie was able to come and get to know some of my extended family.

Now, we're back to school for the last 2 weeks of the semester (not including finals), and then we'll be traveling for about a full month! We're going to Denver to visit Julie for a few days, then back for Finals week, then to Boston to see Teddy's sister at her new apartment for a few days, then it's Christmas with my parents, then we're driving down to Texas for Teddy's big move! I'm so proud of him for being accepted to A&M's grad program, but I'm really not looking forward to spending 7 months living 1,000 miles apart....

Well, that's about it for now...I don't have too many pictures to share, but I will very soon! TTFN!

Blue Planet

I went to the thrift store in search of bangles and yarn today, and struck gold...at least in the yarn department. Didn't find a single bangle, but I did order a bunch on Ebay, so that's great! Now I'm just twiddling my thumbs, waiting for them to get here so I can make some awesome bracelets!

I did have 1 blank bangle left, so I picked my favorite skein of yarn that I bought today, and made this fantastic bracelet! The photos truly just don't do it justice....the colors are much prettier in real life. It looks black and green, but its actually navy, turquoise, and white. I plan on making a whole bunch more bracelets like this one - I need one for myself!

Shop update!

*edited to add a few more items

New items listed today! Check out the shop!

Warm Fuzzies

I have FINALLY reopened the shop!

I'm still hard at work making some more to stock the shelves, but I was so excited to have the shop open again, I couldn't wait to share.

La di da.

OK, I'm just going to skip the spiel about how "it's been so long", blah, blah blah. Let's just get on with it. ;)

I've been super-busy with school (don't I always say that?). I've actually dropped 2 of my 8 classes this semester. It was just getting to be too much. Having that many classes, I literally didn't have time to study or do my classwork because I was ALWAYS IN CLASS. So I fixed that problem last week. The only problem is, that's 8 credits I'll have to account for before graduation, so that means over the summer. But I think if I can do a 9-credit internship, I should be OK.

These next few weeks are going to be interesting, to say the least. I have a lot of big decisions to make... Teddy should hear back from A&M about grad school in the next couple of days, and then we'll know whether he'll be moving in a few weeks, or if he'll be staying here. He is most likely moving (*sniffle*) but its really for the best. Of course, that means spending about 6 months apart, but it will all come together in the end.

That also means I have to find a place to live for the next couple of months, and part of the summer. I'm considering moving back in with my parents, but its 30 minutes away from school. Not terrible, and I did it for 2 years, but it has been so much easier living down the street from school. But then again, I could save money by living with them..... ugh. We shall see.

In other news, Sabrina is coming home from Australia today! She called me earlier today, from Los Angeles! She sounded pretty tired. I work tonight so I can't go to the airport to pick her up, but I'm going to go over tomorrow to see her before work.

In other, other news: Part of why I've been so absent lately is because of my participation in the Geological Society of America annual meeting last week, in Portland, OR. Teddy and I were working hard on our research projects, making posters, and then last week we flew to Portland for the conference. It was really cool, even though I was sorely disappointed by the city. It was OK, but it just wasn't quite what I expected. I think I'm just realizing, more and more, that I am not, and never will be, a city girl.

We didn't take any pictures except while we were on planes, I guess because we were so busy...

Today is....

Tuesday! (I think....right?)

Tuesday is my 'crazy' day- OK, who am I kidding? EVERY day is a crazy day this semester, but Tuesdays just take the cake. I have 4 classes, spanning from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Its exhausting, but I do at least have a few hours during the day that I can relax/study/do stuff around the house. Today, after my 8:30 a.m. Physics lab, I went to the 'junk' shop across the street (which I haven't been to in a few MONTHS, believe it or not) and got a nice bookshelf to put beside my computer desk. Its perfect because it suits 2 functions: 1) Hold all of our school books, which were overwhelming the living room; and 2) Hold our little miniature clothes-dryer that, until now, has just been on the floor. I'm very, very happy about this shelf!

I also did something very productive today - I (finally!!) got my scooter insured! This very moment, I am waiting for an email from the insurance company with all of the documents that I need to fill out and return; my policy is effective tomorrow! Yay! So, that means tomorrow's agenda will include getting the scooter licensed and registered, and I should be on the road by tomorrow afternoon! Woo hoo!

Teddy's mom came over and spent the night last night. She's moving out to Colorado next week (!!!) so she came over for a quick little 'goodbye' visit. She gave me TONS of raw turquoise (she used to run a turquoise business when she lived out west in the 70s) and some other rocks. We just got my (tiny) rock tumbler from my parents' house the other day, so we might try to tumble some of the jaspers and stuff. Julie said I should look into taking a lapidary class... It turns out that our county has a Rock & Mineral Club that offers classes, but Teddy and I both have class (Mineral & Rock Resources, as a matter of fact, haha!) when they have meetings. Maybe next semester...

OK, well, I need to go back to campus a little early so I can print out these insurance forms and make copies, etc. so I can get that baby on the road!

Lots of things.

Well, its been quite a while...sorry, dear Blog!

Life has just been ultra-crazy with school and everything. I'm taking 20 credits this semester, which is beyond ridiculous, but that's beside the point. I have all science/lab classes, so this is what my week looks like:

Physics (lecture), Ichthyology (lecture), Physics (lab), Chem. Bonding (lecture), Historical Geology, Soils, Ichthyology (lab), Rock and Mineral Resources, Chem. Bonding (lab)

Its pretty crazy.

This past weekend I was on a 4-day marathon camping trip for Historical Geology. Dr. Cornell is the prof, so I knew exactly what to expect - intense work at an absolutely grueling pace. But I'm not complaining. Cornell is so awesome, and his trips are always a blast. I should know, I've been on plenty! Haha.

So the trip was really cool. It was altogether about 915 miles, round-trip. We went up to Lake Erie, Niagara Falls, and then ended up in Ithaca, NY, with a few stops in between. We camped each night (except Sunday night, I went to Teddy's house and got to sleep in a king-sized waterbed, hehe). We hardly showered, and were hammering in the dirt all day, so we were pretty filthy, but it was so much fun.

Evangola State Park (Lake Erie, NY)

Niagara Falls, NY

Letchworth State Park

Museum of the Earth

In other news, Teddy had surgery on his head today (ha-ha) to have a little growth (like a mole) removed from his scalp. Everything went well, he just has a big bandage and extra-strength Tylenol.

I guess that's about it for now.... I'm definitely going to be blogging regularly again now that I've made it through the first week of school, so that's good. I also have a BIG, SECRET PLAN that I schemed up over the weekend, and its a doozy! So come back soon to hear more about that....