http://bijoulovely.blogspot.com/2010/04/ribbons-and-pearls.html

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/search?updated-max=2009-11-06T00%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=5

Goodbye old year!

I went out with my sister this afternoon and we stopped for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I don't go out for dinner often, and even less often do I get to go out with her. It was cold and grey outside so it was a nice treat to go out with her. She brightens my life. :) She ordered this crazy-good drink! A strawberry lemonade. I'm sure we're the last on the planet to discover this drink, but that may be a good thing. I'm already trying to figure out how we can replicate it and make them whenever we want to! It tastes like lemonade, seltzer water with strawberry pieces floating inside. But perhaps there is also a strawberry syrup in there too...I'm definitely going to have to try to make this. Maybe it can be one of my New Years resolutions. ;)

I am proud to say that my younger sister has picked up the habit (or new tradition perhaps?) of photographing things even when it's a bit unconventional to do so. I think our server probably thought we were weird for taking pictures of Holly's drink. But anything for the blogs, right? I know Becca used to tease me for taking pictures of my tea or of the signs on the shops that we went to, but I'm so glad that I can look back and read about and see what happened this past year or so.

Holly took a photography course this past year so I think she has been enjoying photography a lot lately! She took these last couple of pictures.

Well, it's not quite 8 pm and I'm already in bed. Teeth brushed (and flossed...if I learned one thing as a dental assistant it is that it is better to spend 30 extra seconds flossing your teeth than it is to spend 30 minutes in the chair all numbed up for a filling!), face washed, electric blanket on and I'm all tucked in for the night with yarn, my sketchbook, books and the world wide web. I think I'll be busy for the next few hours. :)

I may post about the old year on the other blog but since I have plans for tomorrow, I'll end here and say Happy New Year, blog!

Long time,,,

Wow, was it really August when I last wrote here? We're just finishing finals now! I've been so incredibly busy that I've kind of forgotten this little place. I am sort of sad that I didn't write here this semester...it's been such a time of changing and learning and living. It's been great. After getting over my initial shock of being here (which took a couple of weeks) I started to find that I was enjoying myself. This place is not bad at all. In fact, I kind of love it here. I've had so many opportunities to meet people and make new friends, learn new things, and discover new places. I've learned some stuff about myself too. It hasn't all been peachy, but all-in-all I'm so grateful to be here.

I switched my major. I'm no longer a Human Nutrition and Foods major. Instead I am a ceramics major. That non-major ceramics class = the most wonderful class I've ever taken! I love it so much that I switched my whole major to it. I'm so excited! I am also excited because it's the most spontaneous thing I've done, and it was one of my goals this year to do something spontaneous (I know that's lame, but I'm making strides here. ;). It's funny, even from the first time we got to work with the clay I was hooked! All we did was try to center it, and most of us couldn't do it. I think one guy in our class was able to do it. I remember getting completely filthy, scraping up my hands on the wheel and being unable to get my clay centered and it was still the most fun thing I felt like I'd ever done. I had been calling home and saying how I didn't like it here and was going to transfer home (being a big baby, really) and that night I called home and told my mom how excited I was about this class. Then I got off the phone with her and called my co-worker and told her how awesome it was and that I wished I could switch my major, because if trying to center clay was that much fun then I couldn't even imagine how much fun I'd have if I was actually making good stuff! But then I said I'd never switch my major...that would be impractical.

Well, I guess I'm impractical now. :) I just can't stay away from the studio! And now that the semester is coming to a close (my last final is tomorrow) I am very sad that my first semester is over and I have to go three weeks without being in the studio. Our class party was on Monday and I almost cried when I got home. I'm obsessed.

But that little nagging feeling of being ready to cry hasn't quite left yet. I get so sentimental and I'm sad to leave this semester behind. Firsts are special. First job, first love, first car, first semesters (I realize that may sound kind of strange)...it's always going to have a special place because it was so new and exciting. I haven't cried though. There is really nothing to cry for. I've had a blessed time here and it will be wonderful to go home and see family and friends and catch up on my sleep and hopefully work a little bit. I'm trying really hard to go to RADIATE09 this semester! We'll see what happens!

I've pretty much finalized my schedule for next semester. I'm taking a bunch of art classes and BOWLING! :) Should be lots of fun. Hopefully I'll be back in this space more often. I have lots of sewing to do this break since I won't be in the studio! I am hoping to work on a lot of stuff! :)

Convocation (yeah, I don't know what it means either)

Yesterday we all had to load up (smoosh into) buses and we went to the Coliseum for Convocation. Basically it's a university welcome. Fieldcrest was in section 26 and I sat at the very top! It was pretty cool. This is the stadium empty. We must have been one of the first groups to get there because it took forever before all the other halls and commuters got there. This picture shows about half of the crowd.

This was when we were about to get started. It took forever to get everyone in there and ready to go. It was pretty boring waiting. It seems that most of the people on my floor are freshman and they are some of the most immature people...they were all talking about all the partying that they did the night before.

Basically we had to sit and watch a little video that they made of someone trying to get to the coliseum because "it starts there." Then the basketball coach got up and said a few words as did one of the philosophy professors and the new president and the SGA president and the mascot and some student athletes and...you get the picture, right? Basically we heard praises sung in honor of WVU for about an hour before we were allowed to go home. Oh, we got these tee shirts for free:

The reason was one of our student speakers was giving a talk on WVU traditions. One of these traditions is the "Lets Go Mountaineers" chant. Another is the "Country Roads" song. When the girl mentioned Country Roads I swear a bunch of people started squealing. They said that whenever you're at a game and we win the WVU fans all link arms and sway back and forth while singing Country Roads. And then they made us put on our WVU tees and practice. People were getting really into it. The row in front of me was really into it; all of them were holding hands and singing and swaying...my row not so much. The two girls next to me were singing it, and they're from Kentucky and Philly, I don't know the song and the guys next to me just looked at his feet. Oh well. Maybe some of this Mountaineer pride will rub off on me before my time here is up.

Classes start today. I have Trig and Ceramics tonight! Wahoo! I'm glad I got into the Ceramics class. I almost got into Ballroom dancing because there was an opening, but I had a time conflict with my social psychology class. Bummer. I'm also taking Uni 101, Chem 2, Chem 2 lab, and a minor course for Family and Consumer science. For some reason I thought I was taking 7 courses, but I'm only taking 6. I would have liked to pick up a piano class, but I had a major restricion so I can't. I guess it gives me time to work though. I need to go out and find a job. I think getting through this first week without working though will help because it will help me figure out how much time I need to get around places.

I'll write again after my classes.

Dorm room:

Well, this is almost everything I brought with me to school. We packed up the car on Thursday afternoon and this is mainly what came with me. My laptop case isn't in there, and there may be one or two other small things that I didn't pack up. But yes, the sewing machine did come with me and so did some other crafting stuff. I have to bring some stuff with me, right? :) So this is my room. My home away from home. It seems so weird. But it's nicer than I thought it would be. I get the bottom bunk! And I get the dressar that's farthest away from the beds. I practically have the whole room to myself because my roommate is pretty much living with her boyfriend this semester. It's kind of nice because I don't think we really click. At all.

This is my desk. I've never had a desk before so it's kind of nice to have one now. I have my mini-fridge next to it too. This is my roommate's desk. She brought shelving and everything. She seems like a very organized person. Maybe I'll learn something from her. I'm not exactly the most organized person. That door is our bathroom. I was so happy that I didn't have to share a bathroom with a bajillion people. Call me snobby or germaphobic, but I am much happier with my own bathroom!

These are my roommate's fish. They are live-bearing fish and they eat their own young. When I first saw them there was a little baby fish swimming around. I didn't see it again till this morning. I thought it had gotten eaten, but it looks like it's surviving still. Though I'm not quite sure how. I don't know if my roommate has actually fed them since she put them in here.
So college life is quite an adjustment. I'm not sure I actually like it. And even though I'm not going to parties, you can't get away from some of the wild crazy stuff down here. Last night I went out with Courteney, which was fun. It made me feel more relaxed about being here. She showed me the Rec Center and where to catch the bus to get to class and things like that. I found my PRT station yesterday. I went out and caught the PRT downtown to the MountainLair and had someone show me where my classes are going to be. But I'm changing my class schedule so it will be a little bit different. I dropped physics and I'd like to drop accounting. I want to pick up a music class or dancing class, but so far when I tried to register it won't let me do anything.

We're going out this afternoon for something called Convocation. It's a University welcome and is a requirement for University 101 which I'm not taking this semester but will apparently need to take in order to graduate. Honestly, I feel like I'm just going to try to get through this semester and if I don't like it by the time I finish I'll transfer back home. I miss my family and the dogs. And my friends and my car and knowing how to get everywhere. I didn't think I'd feel homesick but I do. I'm glad I'm going home this coming weekend. It will be sort of a relief.

So last night I set off my fire alarm in my room. I took a shower and when I came out of the bathroom I left the bathroom door open and the steam set off my fire alarm. I was pretty embarrased! I had originally thought that everyone's alarms were going off because someone pulled the fire alarm but, no, it was just my room. People were coming out of their rooms to see what was going on and two of my RAs came in and told me to start fanning the alarm and then they said to open my window the next time I took a shower.

So now I'm a little bit afraid to take a shower! Ha ha!

Courteney is taking me to the Bible study she goes to on Tuesday night. We're also going to try to take a yoga class at the Rec Center. It should be fun. The rec center is really nice.

Oh yeah, one last thing: I got my braces off on Wednesday! No more metal mouth! Except I do have to wear my retainer for a year so that's not really fun. But it's still better than braces. I'm pretty pleased!

Catching up...again!

So it's been a little while since I last wrote about what I'm up to. I finished working last week. Whew! After a busy summer it's nice to get a little break. Though to be honest I haven't exactly been spending my "break" resting a lot. I've been up early a lot and going to bed late and staying busy during the day. It's good though.

Today I finally got a chance to visit with Elizabeth before we go back to school. She and I got breakfast and then went bowling. It was a lot of fun. I've decided that I really like bowling! I bowled a 63 and she bowled a 64. Sweet! What's even sweeter is spending time with a christian friend. She's a special girl.

Ick...bowling shoes! We brought socks so we wouldn't have to put our bare feet in those. lol.

I used the pink bowling ball!

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done by next Thursday afternoon. Mom suggested that I write up a To-Do list. I'm not sure if it will help very much but here it is.
Here is the "finish packing" part. I've thrown out a bunch of stuff, given away quite a bit of stuff and still I have all kinds of junk floating around my room. Why? I realize that I'm a bit of a bargain shopping addict and I seem to think that if it's a really good sale I shouldn't pass it up. I plan to break myself of that addiction. All the money I could have saved if I hadn't bought this thing or that thing...even if it was 75% off or whatever. Oh well. What's done is done. No use worrying about it now.

Here's the quilt I've been working on. I had to rip out a bunch of the stitches I did when I was machine quilting it because I messed up the back. I've learned my lesson: Pin, pin, pin, pin, pin. And then pin some more! I'm pleased with the way it's turning out though. It's lined with a really big piece of fleece so it's heavy. It should be nice during the winter.

A little something I put together on Sunday. A fun, quick, easy project. All I'm going to say is I love Michael's craft store! They have the most awesome pendants there.

Various "thank-you" cards for my co-workers. They threw a goodbye party for me and gave me some very sweet gifts.

Okay, so Dr. Hartman started taking pottery lessons awhile ago and I've been asking her about it a lot since then. I wanted to see her work and she said it wasn't very good. Well, last week as part of my going away gift she gave me these 2 pieces of pottery that she made. I love them! I think they're beautiful and I'm so glad that she decided to give me some of her work.

I mean isn't that color beautiful? I've been loving this color lately and now I have handmade pottery in that color! Awesome!

A week before I leave! I'm getting a bit nervous! So much to do, so little time. What if I hate it there? What if I love it there? What if I do badly in my classes? What if I miss all kinds of great things that are going on at home? What if Olive doesn't know who I am when I come home?

There are lots of little things that are stressing me out. At my mom's advice I'm trying not to focus on them. I'm trying to give those worries to God and trust that He will provide for me. I must admit that I am going through a bit of a tough time with trusting God. Just because He loves me doesn't mean that things will be smooth. In fact, it could mean that I'll face lots of obstacles. We've been talking about rejoicing while suffering at Bible study and it makes me realize that I don't want to suffer. That sounds so obvious, but part of being a Christian entails some suffering. Being lonely, being looked down upon. Well, those aren't the most severe forms of suffering. Not like the people in the New Testament and today in other countries who were/are dying for their faith. Sometimes I wonder if I could do that. I want to trust God completely and live my life ready to give it up for Christ because he gave up his life for me. It's interesting though because everything in me balks at the idea of rejoicing through suffering. Everything our society teaches goes against the idea, yet I know that I need to not be afraid to face difficult things for Jesus' sake.

I guess it's something I'm working through.

I'll write again sometime later. It may be after I've settled into school. Oh my gosh, next week at this time will be my last night at home!

Baby girl

Here are new pictures of my niece. She was getting ready for her nap. She gets swaddled before she goes to sleep so my sister was changing her and getting her ready to be swaddled and I insisted on taking her pictures.


I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this girl. She makes life so much more interesting and beautiful. Oh, and I made her laugh like 4 times! It's one of the few times her parents have ever heard her laugh and the very first time I ever heard it. I love being her aunt.

Antietam

Last Friday Holly and I went out to Sharpsburg to walk around Antietam Battlefield. We have only been there twice and we didn't get to walk around a whole lot. This time we were able to go down a few trails that we'd never been down before and we were also able to enjoy the same places we had visited the last couple of times we'd been there.Now I understand why they're called the Blue Ridge mountains.

Artwork engraved or etched (I can't remember which is which) and hung on one of the monuments.

Burnside Bridge

Flowers by the visitor center.

A sign we saw while passing through Shepherdstown. This is SO typical of Shepherdstown.

The weather has been SO beautiful lately! I'm sad that I have to go back to work because I can't spend my afternoons outside. Luckily for me I have tomorrow afternoon off! I have an orthodontist appointment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my dentist will tell me I can get my braces off in the next month! I've worn braces for almost 2 years now. I'm so excited to get them off!

Life in general

So this week was crazier than most. Holly was in Ohio visiting Jacqueline and Matt and Olive (they're planning to come home next week!), the patients at work were insane...insane as in 'I-think-they-escaped-from-the-mental-hospital-today-to-come-make-our-lives-that-much-more-difficult...I mean interesting-insane. And Mom, Dad and Adam (and me too this weekend) have been working on this blasted fence ALL week long. And I blew my diet. Grr! But this is a new week! A chance to get back on track!

Diet-blowing aside, the weekend was still fun. I had Friday off because Dr. H is in Arizona for the week being a bum and lounging by a pool (her words, not mine). Lucky! So I went with Mom, Sharon, Katie, and the Curtis kids to an agility dog show. It was really interesting! The dogs looked like they were having so much fun. I don't think our dogs would make very good agility dogs. I was surprised at how fast (and how slow!) some of the dogs were. One dog completed the course in 36 or 37 seconds!

Here are a few pics we got of the agility show:This is a Bernese Mountain Dog. There were two, one of them fell and hurt its leg. :(I don't know if you can tell but it's jumping over a hurdle. I was trying to get an action shot but my camera is very slow.

Saturday Holly came home and it was the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! We spent the afternoon and evening with the Freys and Curtises which was a lot of fun. Andy brought some fireworks which the guys set off and then we enjoyed the neighbors pretty spectacular fireworks show. They were really good! It is always so fun to spend time with those families. The kids grow so much every time I see them but the girls still either sat on my lap or right next to me for the whole fireworks display. I felt so loved. :D We just really missed Matt and Jacqueline and Olive.

Today was not so fun. We were stretching chain link fence all afternoon. And then I came in and cooked dinner (curry) for the family while they finished most of the stretching. We had an actual family sit-down dinner. It's been a looong time since we've all sat together for dinner. It was nice.

Speaking of food, I got this magazine at Martins called Clean Eating. It is a cool magazine. There are a few recipes in there I'd like to try out (like stuffed peppers and bean salad). I'd recommend it. The magazine that is.

I have a busy week planned! Sort of! Nothing set in stone but I intend to be busy! Holly and I want to go to either Harpers Ferry or Antietam. I'll be glad to make it to either one but we'll try to do both!