Cuppa

It took a lot of tea (and a little coffee... and while I won't say the Red Bull was necessary, I did drink it) to get me through the final stretch of my school career and I loved every last sip.

I will miss those great excuses school provides to buy tea everywhere you go. Ah... school.

I got an A+ in Drawing, which, according to my instructor, is not easily done.

It feels good. I get to end everything with a nice sense of accomplishment, and I feel like I have improved.

Thanks goes to my muse.

Graduation Day

We know how to celebrate around here.

Just one day out of life

Tom slicing up the steak, like he always does, so that we need only transfer it to our mouths.

Last night Tom stopped at Capella on the way home. That is always wonderful because there is always something he wants to get for me. Last night it was particularly wonderful because he surprised me with a last-day-of-school celebration, so I got everything he could think of! Including: two bouquets of flowers; a drink so gingery we coughed every time we drank any; a pumpkin cookie from Sweet Life (the kind I was majorly infatuated with a while back until Tom brought one home for me almost every day); three boxes of strawberries; two steaks; two bunches of asparagus; and mushrooms, green onion, cream cheese, bacon... Oh, you can't go wrong.

I'm probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

It was all very Tom of him, yet unexpected, and very "happy-making".

And there are leftovers: asparagus, tons of strawberries (even after my breakfast); that cookie went untouched. And my beautiful flowers will be here for awhile.

Oh man. I love flowers.

I love Tom. But can I tell you the truth? I'm so used to this.

It's the best.

And the greatest part of the night was just having Tom there with me, laughing at old episodes of 30Rock we just bought on DVD. Earlier in the day I was watching them by myself, and laughing, of course, but thinking, "I miss Tommy. Laughing isn't fun without him."

And so we spent the night talking about how much we love food, how much we love Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, and how needy our children are going to be, Oy!... just like us.

Love me, Tom! Love me always, a lot!

----

Turns out I did forget something: Triple Cheese Marsee bake-at-home bagels for this morning/afternoon. Oh my gosh, what a guy! I'm suddenly so hungry!

I'm done

What's next?

Just thought I'd share

Oh by the way...

here's exactly how cute Tom was this morning.

His hair is growing out again! Though, we'll probably cut it some soon.

Now I'm off to get a RedBull because I have been weirdly craving one for a few days now and it's the last of finals for the rest of my life, most likely! It just seems appropriate.

I haven't had a RB in years and am a little worried about what it will do to me.

Here's hoping it keeps me up and helps me get my work done!

The situation is starting to get serious. I keep putting off the ten page paper I have due in a few days and, ya know, I have a few other things to get done by then too.

Good thing I'm graduating soon, because I am a terrible student!

Things these days

I may have found my camera, but I'm still never home long enough to use it. So here are a few recent pictures from my phone to catch you up on my life.

We've begun figure drawing in my art class with a model. I am really happy. I love drawing human figures, I love looking at drawings of human figures, and I love my own drawings now.

I was not too impressed with my bottles and cans and still-lifes in general. We have more homework than ever for this class now but since I actually want to do it now it's not so bad.

Speaking of figures, check out this one...

Scarlet in a new swimsuit, STANDING UP! When did she get those sturdy little legs?

She's still got those sassy hands. I don't know if you can tell but she's trying to put one on her hip, but her belly's getting in the way.

I'm lovin' the continued baldness despite her aging in other ways.

In other news school is stressing me out and I'm definitely doing worse than usual. Though, we're just aiming for a pass at this point and so far that's working out.

Please pray for me, this stress is the worst and my professors are hard to deal with in one way or another. And I'm missing my life: laundry, cleaning, cooking, my friends, my family, loving on little children and now yoga: they're all suffering.

But this is the time of year when Tom and I can stop worrying about money, at least, and it sure is fun! Buying food, buying gifts, buying clothes(!) - new clothes(!!) - and things for our apartment... it's been grand. I can't wait to share more, but I've really got to get to work! I'm playing catch-up for my week of illness. Ay yi yi. But I am feeling better. That's grand too.

My freedom is dawning on me

My goodness! I'm just realizing that I have all the time I want to make a blog entry! No class to run off to half way through, no chore that needs doing before such-and-such or in between this and that. I am on vacation!

I really do need to savor this, as I savored the 2 1/2 bites of bacon Tom placed in front of me while I worked on my crossword this morning - the last 2 1/2 bites of bacon, presumably. My, how we fly through that stuff when we have it! So to do these vacations seem to go when I'm at home and my world is my oyster. They seem to go a lot more slowly if I'm staying with family but secretly wishing I could be organizing my closets, caulking the bathtub and getting ready for another term of half-hearted housework.

I confess, what I really want to do with my "vacation" is organize my apartment while watching French Kiss or some Woody Allen movie and occasionally sneaking out to a thrift store. I absolutely love the comfort and ease of staying with one of our parents and getting pampered and not dealing with the dust, mold, dirty dishes, dingy bathrooms and millions and millions of books without homes that comprise our little, old apartment. But I do wish I could take my projects with me. What good is relaxing if you can't sort through old photos while you're doing it? What good are movies on-demand if you must sit with your hands at your sides looking straight ahead?

I kid of course but I do so love to be sorting something. Yesterday it was books, of course; I keep them constantly on the move to make sure they're not suffering from excessive dust or any amount of moisture. When you have them lining the walls in stacks and shoved in any available crevice you need to do silly things like this to make sure they aren't being ruined, especially when your place was ill-built before you were born and you can't keep the rain out.

Yesterday it was also papers of mine, mostly sentimental things that I sort through just the same - I can't keep everything; I don't want to. There are always new things.

This isn't at all what I intended for this blog entry. I was going to tell you about Thanksgiving or at least post some pictures. But I've gotten too far off track now. I will tell you that I read Organize Your Life by Amy Vanderbilt. It is one of the books Suzanne gave me for Christmas, and I believe she gave it to me mainly for the sweet 1966 pencil-drawing cover. But actually, this lady knows what she's talking about. Or, at least, she did for the first half of the book. She actually went off the deep end pretty dramatically in the second half, exposing all of her obsessive compulsions and acting as though every women should carry a box stickers with their name and address with them wherever they go. She's also a snob. But who isn't? OK, lots of people, but I'm a snob, and it's quite ridiculous.

In case you're confused about how I could be a snob I'll say that God always has a plan to humble me and I try to go along with it. Thus, I don't seem to have much to be snobby about, nor would I anyway, probably. But Amy V. has plenty to feel superior about and it is clearly a weakness of her's as well. I had a section or two I wanted to share but I'll find them later. I'm much too jazzed-up on my 2 ounces of coffee right now to do that kind of work. I'm off to find something to organize - though, the dark, walk-in closets are a bit intimidating... and so full.

(The photo is by Henri Cartier Bresson - a "french kiss" it would seem. It was a picture saved from my studying, though we never studied that photograph, just Bresson, *sigh* amour... I had to study it all on my own, it was too perfectly sweet.)

Save some writing for your term paper, Dinah!

Today is the day! Tom and I are heading down to Jacksonville, Oregon for a little family reunion - or union, for the most part. We'll be meeting our 3 new nephews (1 month, 6 years, 10 years) an our new brother-in-law, as well as my Dad's fiancée and possibly her daughter. Whew!

We have quite a day ahead of us beforehand though finishing wrapping (we'll be spending Christmas scattered around at in-laws places and are exchanging gifts early) and packing. I have to start an English term paper that will be due shortly after I return. (And yet, I'm writing this instead. Strange.) I also have dishes to do and classes to attend. Tom won't be home until around six so we're getting a late start. We still haven't cleaned out the car - poor Tom lives out of it during the day. And often night, actually - it's full of clothes, containers, important papers trampled on the floor, plus anything any of his crew leaves in there. But we're giving Lane a ride down to her family and we need the space.

So with one thing and another we'll be rolling into J-ville around bedtime, missing dinner at La Fiesta and probably Amelia, Jesse and the boys, but with any luck Levi will be up for a feeding and will get to marvel at him for a bit before we turn in.

Oh, I'm so excited! All of Thursday and Friday spent relaxing and enjoying my family, new and old. And eating! Man! It's gonna be good. Saturday we'll get to hang out as long as we want, just as long as we get back home for church on Sunday as we're scheduled in the nursery (consolation after leaving my little nephews).

Good news! Our, uh... thing-a-ma-jig came in the mail yesterday! I'm now able to put my pictures on the computer - plus it's quite a cool little device to look at.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from our first anniversary trip on the coast. We stopped at this beach by chance and I was so happy we did - it was gorgeous in a grey way that I love. It had a kind of lush-bleakness. It was wonderful.

Can you believe how white that patch of sky was? The sky was incredible. Against a white background the sky in this picture completely disappears. But I think maybe Tom wonders why I took a picture of rocks (though he'll deny it).

We have different photographic inclinations - I could not get him to stop (forced) smiling at the camera! My Grandma, bless her sweetest of hearts, was always snapping pictures - the only photo-documenter in the family. But she was always sending us tons of photos of ourselves looking into the camera and "smiling" in some random cluster of loved-ones. And we'd all think, "What are we gonna do with all these?"

But the candids I own I look at over and over and over again - who took those?

Dear Diary

I only have a few minutes before I have to head off for class but suddenly got the urge to say something - I know not what. I think I'm just feeling lonely and unproductive as I slept in today, through Tom's early departure (I woke up a little), but not late enough that I had to rush out of our dark, and presently lonesome, apartment into the brighter (rainy) streets, scattered with human and animal activity.

Now that I'm writing I'm quite enjoying myself. With my toast and coffee this is shaping up to be a nice 5 minutes.

Oh to enjoy writing - what a blessing. I have two papers coming up that I am sure I will not enjoy as much as this. But, I must remember, last year they would have been much longer Sociology research papers and absolutely unbearable. (How did I do it?) This year it is one free-reign paper over any of several books I loved, and one analyzing a photo from my favorite magazine, no research required! Yes, I have it very good.

Next term is all lined up - Western Art History, Western Architecture (1400-, I believe), and Athens/The Acropolis with my current favorite professor. I think I may throw another class on the pile, I've felt pretty lazy lately... we could just blame whatever's going around. Drawing?

Oh, I really must go. Perfect timing though, no more toast! Thanks for your attention.

My morning coffee and post

I'm "busier than normal" again this week, which means I have ample time to sit in front of the computer, I just have a slightly more guilty feeling in my stomach about it. But really, I've just caught up on everything since my week of flu - making up a midterm, catching up on reading - and the house has yet to be restored to order.

Yesterday Lane and I started purchasing the supplies to hand-make Suzanne's wedding invitations - which, I'm doing the etiquette math on and they need to be sent out THIS MONTH for a March wedding?? Not likely!

The end of this month and the beginning of the next is finals and term papers for me. Not to mention I have to buy and wrap MOST of my Christmas presents before we head down to Southern Oregon for Thanksgiving as I won't be seeing the Humphrey/Riley/Childresses for Christmas this year (this my FIRST year to have any nephews - no nieces yet - to spoil!).

I'm very excited about these months though. The holidays are starting and I love all that entails - especially all the relaxing, eating, shopping and family but also the smells, lights, colors and sounds of Fall, Winter and especially Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Tom's birthday week

I have a busier-than-normal week this week; which isn't really that busy at all. But I've gotten used to this laid-back life, spending every moment Tom's home with Tom and my other free moments enjoying myself in some other way. Then I think, Hang on! I'm in school, I can't be enjoying myself!

Truthfully, this term, I am. I love my classes. English and Art History are by far my favorite subjects and the ones that make me feel most like I'm getting an education.

This week is leading up to Tom's birthday and the house is in shambles following our debilitating colds. Plus I've been desperately trying to transition from Summer to Fall around here before it's Winter already and all my ideas about how to stay organized and avoid water damage in our 1970s apartment become coulda, woulda, shouldas.

Cleaning out closets and moving furniture were things left half-done during our week of illness.

This term has been too easy on me; challenging in that I must really think and internalize everything I hear and read (a change from previous terms) but tomorrow I'll have my first graded anything for the whole term and next week I have a whopping 2 pages to write worth a quarter of my grade. I haven't been held accountable for anything yet and it's put me in a lackadaisical mood.

I can't help but keep up in these classes, however. I LOVE what I'm learning.

I've also been really enjoying the time with Tommy. This week was one of his least hectic and we used the extra time to take it easy and recover. I watched Lethal Weapon for the first time and the night before he tried tiramisu in a impromptu initiation.

We can't get used to this! A hand-me-down gift from our friends, Jessica and John and a massive book-buying episode were sufficient to rekindle our Baby Fire and keep us from too much lone-couple indulgence.

Tom's birthday is on Sunday and we're looking forward to a little more spoiling. I have a new vintage ($5) dress for the occasion and Tommy's family is coming down from St. Helens. I guess that means I should get something done around here while I can... Alright, I'll start my day.

Every good thing and no studying?! No.

Mmm. Heaven. Salt and Pepper Kettle chips and black coffee - for some reason I love this combination. Tommy's on the couch wrapped in a blanket reading comic books - this is a good afternoon. I'm still feeling pangs of guilt due to a embarrassing admission to my Spanish instructor - never let them know you haven't been studying, they take offense and start assuming you're a slacker. I'm just adjusting! Anyway, the disapproval of my superiors is always the best motivation so I'll be a great student now.

Today is fun though because aside from some errands that must be done, and, as always, the reading I have to do, I'm free as a bird. I have nothing really pressing and only one 50 minute class that I'm already home from. I did have to wake up at 7 to finish la composicion uno but Tom woke up too and made coffee and it ended up being really nice and relaxing.

I was doing a search yesterday and came across this fellow, Mattson, on etsy.com. I love Etsy. I can't afford anything non-essential right now but I keep an eye on artists I like and get inspired by the very clever people who contribute to the site. Anyway, look at how great this is:
He writes, about the piece, "Perhaps they fell from the same tree, perhaps from different trees. They will help each other, no matter what." It's so charming and hilarious. It's just a series of ordinary objects painted with little faces and the colors are so gorgeous. There's a nice one of a plastic sandwich sword and a twist tie looking at each other - much as these guys are. You just have to see them.

We are the sleepyheads

Finals are over. It hasn't sunk in yet - I still feel like I'm looking forward to a relaxing break from school. Tom went with me to hand in my last final report. On the way we ran into my English professor who told me that he "really liked" my final paper.

It was one of those rewards for clear thinking that I strive for more these days; to do things with greater calm and thoughtfulness in order to be proud of what I've done. In the day-to-day it doesn't change things so drastically, but there are little rewards that you can choose to pay attention to and get a little more satisfaction that way.

I'm proud of the report I handed in today as well, whatever grade I get. I really sat and thought about what I was saying and why - tried to make it a little more interesting. I think this is why older people move more slowly, more deliberately, because life teaches you the value of taking your time and doing things right. Plus if they moved too fast they'd break a hip.

This is my favorite picture right now because we all look like sleepyheads, and we look content, and we're just watching tea blossom at my grandpa's house. When I look at it it makes me happy about my life for what it really is. It also reminds me of the Belle and Sebastian song, they mention tea in that song, too. They also say "The beauty of the moment is the beauty sadly lost..." But in this case it isn't and it never really has to be. Amelia entitled this "we're watching tea. our lives are very simple and uncomplicated" and while sometimes it doesn't feel that way, it's true enough,
and very beautiful.

Lucky Girls have finals too

Hello World! I can't seem to get off the computer this morning (Facebook! *shake my fist* and etsy.com but I won't shake my fist at them) so I've decided to write a blog about what my day to get me motivated to use it. After all, isn't that what blogs are for?

So today is hopefully the last day I'll be worrying about finals. My Kuwait Country Report is due tomorrow at 5 but I'm going to try to get it basically finished today. I have 2-3 pages to write and some data to get in order and that's it! Sounds doable, no? The only set back is this pesky Spanish final I have at 6 that I'm pretty unprepared for at the moment. I could spend all afternoon studying for it and getting my portfolio and journal ready for evaluation - I'm just hoping to be on my game when I get home at 8:30 to finish my "KCR". That might be a bit much to ask for. But any way you slice it I'll be ALL done by 5p.m. tomorrow and I can't tell you how happy that makes me! I've been avoiding messes for days thinking my finals would be done in no time and I'd get right to them - but their getting worse; my little efforts can't keep up. (I want a dishwasher - and a laundry machine! And dryer. And space and hook ups for all these things.)
I have such a love/hate relationship with modern conveniences. But it ends up making me a half and half girl, which is really the way to go. Washing machine and wash board, dishwasher and rubber gloves. It's ideal. Except I have no machines - just a laundromat and sponges - but futuristically speaking.

Actually Lane and I have come up with the a fantastic way of doing things that makes life so nice. She bought the greatest washing machine and now I can go to her place to do my laundry. It takes longer with only one machine but all that time is spent with my best friend in her cute home instead of sitting in plastic chairs at L-drama pretending to read. Also I've offered to cover the extra cost to her but end up spending less than I would at a profit-seeking business. It's really perfect. And my clothes have never been more sparkling. This last time (which was the first time) in lieu of payment we went M-pol for croissant sandwiches and coffee - so much nicer than writing a check. Do we know how to work this domestic thing or what?

I so hope Lane is near when I start having kids. We have dreams of living a walk away from each other and sharing our loads - having breakfast together and kids play together (in Lane's garden). Laundry at Lane's was making me want that more than ever - what a nice life I have, even without babies. And I have my friend-babies that I see every week. I'm a very lucky girl.

We didn't look too happy in any of the pictures of us at the wedding. We're not a posturing set of girls and it didn't look natural. But this is a candid of the photographer's when we were posing for Lane's mom. I blew it up and realized what a nice picture it was and cropped it and really like it.


















We love each other.

This blog is not doing it's job at all. I better just get off and take a shower and start my day over again. I am glad about this picture though and all this thinking about my nice little life. Finals-shminals, they don't bother me. When I get through them I get another laundry day at Lane's, and we're going to watch Eddie Izzard stand-up and mend clothes.

I'd ask for luck, but I obviously don't need any. I'm a lucky girl.

Rewards and clear thinking

Now is one of those time when clear thinking makes so much impact. As scary as "slow and steady" have proven to be I think, ultimately, that it will make all the difference in my work. I still have writing to do, but what I've written I am happy with and I have a plan to accomplish all of my studying and papers that still allows me to stop and spend time with my husband without worrying, to take fifteen minutes to make tea and play a game of Dr.Mario and let my mind wander. I think it will be good.

Last night at 1 in the morning, as I was contentedly heading for bed, I accidentally erased, irretrievably, the opening paragraph to my English paper I had thrilled to have finished, and all the modifications to the paper I had made. I frantically woke Tom, who had been dozing tranquilly on my shoulder, and compelled him to search my computer for it while I curled up and cried - as I'm prone to at bedtime. At 2 in the morning Tom prayed over me, for peace, and I stopped crying and fell asleep. This morning I woke up at 10 and with a calm mind was able to recall nearly every word.

It also feels to me as if God stretched out my time in front of me, to give me just enough time, if I worked hard and with clear thinking, not only my meet my deadlines but to love those around me and to give Him the glory as I do it. Please pray for me that I use the time he's given me.

Eric and Julia's wedding is today and I'm so excited to go. I love weddings and I love my church, and I love wearing the red, hand-me-down dress I got from Tom's mom. And I love eating. I am blessed over and over again. How can I worry?