Life Down South

Or, "What I Actually Do On A Daily Basis".

 

It occurred to me recently that I have said very little about what life is like in Arkansas (beyond horses, of course, because everyone know they're more important XD). There may be an effort to compartmentalize things....and then again, there may not. So please bear with me and the scattered offerings of my brain.

Something I'm doing everyday (more or less): I now have a workout partner! For the past two weeks I've been getting up at 5:45 AM, driving to the local library, and joining a lady from church in walking and doing basic exercises. There is a short walking track (maybe 1/4-1/3 of a mile in a full circuit) behind the library with a little pavilion and several benches. For stamina-building it's not ideal, but for walking and bodyweight workouts it's perfect. When it rains (and it's been raining a LOT here) we go to her house and pop in a workout DVD.

If you'll pardon me, I'm going to rant a little bit here re: women's workout DVDs. After doing some more intense weightlifting last year sprinkled with self-driven Crossfit (which I rather miss), nearly every women's workout DVD I've used is PATHETIC. It's all about 'toning' and 'sculpting' and using dinky hand weights, and has little to nothing to do with function. Where in life is picking up a 3-lb weight going to matter? Even a jug of milk weighs more than that.

But I digress.

In connection with feeling that women are getting the short end of the stick with such 'customized' workouts, I just finished a book called Convict Conditioning. The emphasis is on strict bodyweight exercises and starting off SUPER easy while working slowly up to such seemingly impossible moves as, say, a one-armed handstand pushup, while making sure that each move is correct and functional. There is additional emphasis on training the ligaments, tendons, and structural parts of the body rather than concentrating totally on muscles. The idea is that just because someone is ripped, doesn't mean that they're functionally strong.

Anyway. I'm hoping to start incorporating The Big Six (pushups, pullups, squats, leg raises, bridges, and handstand pushups) during the morning walks/workouts. If nothing else it'll give me something to concentrate on workout-wise. I mean, Crossfit is great, but it always seems to have something of a shotgun approach (IMHO).

Another thing I've been doing: getting up earlier. I started a few months ago setting my alarm back a minute a day. Sometimes I skip a few days, sometimes I set it back religiously, but I started at 6:30 AM, with my current wake-up time being 5:40 AM. I consistently wake up 2-3 minutes before the alarm these days. Now I just need to actually get UP and do something productive, like write or draw or read my Bible, instead of nestling in the warm blankets to scroll through Pinterest.

An Average Week: My days look pretty much the same from week to week with slight variations here and there. But a routine is good, right? Right?

*crickets*

Anyway.

Sunday: Go to church, starting at 8:30 for worship practice. (They've got me playing strings on the keyboard. The original idea was to get me on the piano, but I do not feel up to playing a major instrument. So for now I lurk in the background.) Church gets out at noon, and I spend the afternoon (a) riding horses, (b) napping (this doesn't happen very often), (c) making lunches/breakfasts for the week, or (d) working on various projects. Worship practice for evening church services is at 5 PM, with church starting at 6 and finishing a little after 7.

(It's been rare for me to go to a church that has a morning and evening service, and I'm still figuring out whetherI like attending two services.)

Monday-Friday: Up by 6, work by 7:45. Morning workouts thrown in the mix have made showering before work a necessity, and it puts breakfast on a rush. On Thursday mornings I go to the local Kiwanis meetings in an attempt to keep abreast of local events and stuff that may be important for work.

In the evenings, if I'm not riding (or working on my quilt), I go to the animal shelter and take pictures for them to post online. That has averaged out to going at least once every 7-10 days, and it gives me an opportunity to intentionally use my camera.

Plus the animals are just so

dang

cute.

Good grief.

Thursday nights once a month I get together with a quilting group from church. Lest that sound boring beyond comprehension, believe me when I say that it's actually a LOT of fun. (I'm the youngest one there. Next youngest is 36, and then it's a leap to the 60s. It's great.)

Saturday: It depends. I usually spend the mornings cleaning, baking bread (sourdough!), or going to the recycle center. Sometimes all three at the same time. The recycle center here in town is more like a really cheap thrift store--there is the obvious recycle and trash part, yes, but anything that's in decent shape is up for grabs. I bought a Spanish wine bottle for 50 cents (that I converted into an oil lamp), and found a GIANT frame (like 4'x3') for $1.50. One finds the thing they want, brings it into the office, and asks, "How much?" The price usually ranges from cheap to dirt cheap.

In the afternoons I'm usually riding horses, unless there's something else planned. For example: last weekend I went to a quilt show. This weekend I helped my aunt move. Next weekend I'm helping out with a mini derby. The week after....well, you get the idea. Suffice to say, my schedule is pretty tight.

Something I'm reading: Well, I just finished Les Mis for the 7th or 8th time last week. And read Convict Conditioning yesterday, and A Walk Across America last week, and have two books on beekeeping on my plate, plus Horatio Hornblower.

What can I say? I find interest in a wide variety of topics.

Something I'm struggling with: The constant balance between 'busy' activity with 'quality' activity. If someone knows the secret to that, I'd be thrilled to know it.

If you made it through that mess, I congratulate you.

I remain, gentlemen,

The Obsessionist

Tapping Maple Trees, Part 2

(I haven't been this excited about a project in ages!)

After the initial 1 1/2 liters of sap, the flow slowed down considerably and we got 3 quarts over 3 days. Considering that our neighbors were getting 2 1/2 gallons a day from one tree, this was a little disappointing. 

But then! Two days ago there was a crazy cold snap where it blew, rained, snowed, and went all March on us. The cold temps resulted in barely a dribble of sap, and what did dribble froze at the bottom of the bottles.

Today I noticed that a couple bottles were about half-full of slush, so I went out and collected the lot before going to work. But when I came home from work, almost all of the bottles were half or completely full! Observe:

This is off the tree on the patio--it has 3 taps and is the largest maple in the yard.

 

This picture and the one below are of two taps on the same tree, and this bottle was OVERFLOWING. I was so happy. :D

There's a bit of a story being this tree too: it's a medium-sized maple, with a big scar going from the base of the tree to about 4 feet up the trunk. I had expressed concern that it wouldn't produce very much, so initially we only put one tap in. Then we noticed that it was producing quite a bit, and put another tap in. And so far it's been producing the most out of all the trees....go figure.

 

That makes something around 5 gallons total--I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! *flails*

The idea of using a roasting pan to boil the sap off was suggested from the lady at church, so we poured 4 gallons into a roasting pan, turned that sucker on, and are letting it go all night in the garage.

(This'll save me from poking at a fire for hours and ruining Mom's chafing pans...heh.)

Now...we wait. And I'll try to get pictures of the in-between stages too--right now the stuff is just steaming on the workbench and it's too dark out there to take pictures. 

In other news, Mom and Dad brought pizza home and I, being absolutely famished after coming home from work, kind of ate 5 pieces. Now I feel awful. BUT IT WAS SO GOOD.

Ahem. Anyway. I'll keep taking pictures and posting as events warrant. Good night!

Five-Minute Friday: Choose

From Lisa-Jo Baker, the Gypsy Mama: "On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else's agenda. But for fun, for practice, for joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker. We love to just write without worrying if it's just right or not. For five minutes flat."

GO

Choose. It's a word that's been haunting me for weeks and months now. I have so many directions that I could potentially go with my life in the next few months: go to Honduras, move out, get a real job that actually pays something, buy a horse (just kidding on the last one...maybe)--the possibilities are, while not endless, numerous. 

And paralyzing.

For fear of not 'choosing the right thing' I've been sitting back, waiting, working 6 hours a day 6 days a week, occasionally making things to occupy my restless hands, avoiding making any solid decisions because I'm afraid that by choosing one item out of many that would cancel out the remaining options. That it would cement my course and make it impossible to re-orient myself should I decide to do something else.

Other people have told me 'you don't have to worry about being stuck'. Or that I can 'always change my mind'. But how is one to learn fidelity if one is always changing their mind?

STOP

(Wow. I kinda stink at this sort of thing. XD)

May 2014

Guess where I'm going to be in May? 

*happy sigh* I can't wait to go back. I'm just saying.

I've gotten on as a wrangler this year, and I'm super excited: mostly because it means that I'll be at the barn ALL THE TIME and I won't have to leave to clean cabins. AAAAHHHH.

 It also means that I'll get to wear spurs. I have only worn spurs like....twice. And both times were this year while riding the blind mare. But this week I invested in a pair of spurs (they were supposed to arrive today, and I suspect that they're still in the mailbox because we forgot to get the mail. *facepalm*) and as soon as they get here I'm going to find excuses to wear them EVERYWHERE. I might even find places to ride with them! 

But anyway...May is proving to be a packed month because I'm going to drive out to Colorado, but before that I'm taking pictures for my brother's wedding, visiting my aunt in Arkansas, visiting friends in Texas, and driving all over the West before actually ending up in Colorado. So that ought to be interesting. And I also signed up for a Color Vibe 5K in Fort Collins at the end of May, which should also be interesting because I've never ran in a race before.

No...wait....I have, actually. There's a race here in town called the Strawberry Strut that occurs every June. There's a 1-mile and a 5-mile race, and when I was 8 or so my older brother and I decided to run the 1-mile. BIG MISTAKE. I don't remember much, except towards the end I was panting so hard that I was making a weird, coughing, 'HUUUHH' sound in my chest. I can only replicate the noise if I breathe REALLY hard, and when I do people scream at me to stop because it sounds so awful. 

But anyway. The 5K should be better because I've actually been running a bit (started last year and have been running almost every day at the gym--today I walked/ran 1.5 miles! Exciting times!) and have a Couch-to-5K plan that I'm kinda working on (in between sprint sessions). If nothing else, I hope that spending a couple of weeks at 9200 feet and then plunging down to 5000 feet will give me a false sense of endurance. XD

And after that....I have no idea what's going to happen. I've been tossing around ideas for moving to Colorado, trying to get an actual business off the ground, possibly going on a mission trip out of the country (which is WAY up in the air right now)...to put it succinctly, life is exciting and I have no idea what I'm doing. That's what makes it an adventure, right?

Un Monstre a Paris

Can I geek out for a few moments? Yes? Thank you.

So there's this movie that I heard about a few years ago, and desperately wanted to see: A Monster in Paris. It had a Phantom of the Opera feel to it according to the previews, and since I was in the depths of a PotO obsession at the time of course I wanted to see it. Unfortunately the film was only available in France at the time, and after being unable to find it online I forgot about it.

Earlier this week I found it on Netflix, freaked out, and have since seen it 4 times (3 times in English, once in French) because I CAN'T GET OVER IT.

First, look at this picture. It's one of the most common images of the film that I've found on Google:

That kinda sums up the feel of the film...light and airy and dreamy and delightful and all those other evocative synonyms. For the animation alone (it's kind of like Pixar in its early days) I could watch it over and over. 

But wait! There's more! The music has proven itself to be a thorough earworm. Just try to listen to this without getting it stuck in your head:

GUYS. Please forgive the all-caps, but I CAN'T GET OVER THE MUSIC. GAAAAHH.

And this one! (The visuals are confusing if you haven't seen the film in context, so just listen to the music)

The English songs are just as good, but I fell in love with the French versions first. :3

The thing is, it has a Phantom-esque feel to it, but just a touch. The rest is mad scientists, adorable characters (THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE DANGIT), a fun/silly storyline, catchy music, and gorgeous animation, all wrapped up in a leisurely stroll through the CGI streets of Paris. What's not to love?

....I haven't felt this way about music/a movie since the first time I saw Phantom or heard Les Mis. I simply cannot get over it, and I don't know why. Just....you should just go and see it. Now. It's on Netflix and Youtube in its entirety. 

I NEED SOMEONE TO GEEK OUT WITH. GAAAAAHH.

Florida Again

 (Like my new blog template/color/everything? It was time to brighten up and not be so dark.)

Once again, I'm in the sunny state of Florida. This came something as a spontaneous trip when my brother told me about how Lydiana has been having awful morning sickness (really all-day sickness) that prevents her from being able to do very much around the house. She has the nausea from her 8th week of pregnancy to around the 20th week, and it's triggered by anything from a scent to a motion (riding in the car is NOT good) to claustraphobia. Suffice to say, it's pretty awful.

There was talk of her going to stay with her parents for a while, simply because she couldn't take care of the house, and I volunteered to come down for a while just to help out. So, on November 4th Isaac flew up to Peoria, I met him at the airport with my car, and we drove down to Florida.

I probably didn't NEED to take my car, but I love the autonomy that it gives me. Should there be an emergency or anything like that, I'll have it on hand. And I just wanted to road-trip, dangit. Do I need an excuse? XD

I'll be here til the first week of December, and then my friend Jean Marie and I will be driving up together. I haven't seen her for almost 2 years, so I'm excited to see her *and* have the time to truly catch up.

The road trip was a lot of fun, actually. Isaac and I road-tripped back in 2010 from Arkansas to Florida (a couple of months before he met his wife, actually) so it wasn't a foreign concept to us. We were prepared to pull an all-nighter as well; Isaac took the last leg of the journey and we pulled in right at 6 AM. Talk about exhausting...but it was totally worth it. I've now got the traveling itch. Sigh.

Florida has been pretty good to me this time around...it's not hot, and it's not cool. Going barefoot and wearing shorts is perfect and I love it. Though my experience with the season over the last month or so has been odd: October in Colorado was like mid/late fall, in Illinois it was like the beginning of fall, and in Florida it feels like late summer/early fall. (And now it's snowing back at home. Go figure.)

The boys are pretty dang cute too--last time I saw Ben he was crawling, and Wade wasn't saying much (at least, not much that was understandable). Now Ben is walking all over the place and Wade has a huge vocabulary that grows every day...I'm hoping to make a video of them soon, because pictures really don't do them justice.

In other news...when I go back home I'll be working at the gym in the evenings for sure. At first I was going to start in January, and the guy I'm replacing left a bit sooner than expected. If I wasn't here in Florida I'd be working this month...but oh well. The beginning of December works too. Gym-wise I'm toying with trying to do some heavy lifting training just for the heck of it, but we'll see if anything actually comes out of that.

And I'm obsessed with popsicles again. There's nothing like a homemade popsicle to dent hunger or a munchy mood...yum. 

With that said, I'll be back soon with pictures and (hopefully) a video. Here's another video that I made for transition practice a couple of weeks ago.

A non-picture post?

Gasp! Le gasp! LE GASP THE SEQUEL!

Tonight I'm lying on my bed, icing my back, and I have no pictures to post. So instead I'll blather for a while about how things have been going.

First off, the back. A couple of weeks ago (two days before hiking Ouzel Falls) my back went out. I suspected a rib (because every time I exhaled it ached), but as it wasn't bothering me much I let it go. It never really went away, so I made a chiropractor's appointment for 3 today.

I seriously think God helped me make that appointment, because today around 2ish (after mixing up M&M cookie dough--more on that later) I was kneeling on the floor, picking up laundry for the weekly trip to the laundromat, when shooting pain went down my neck and back. It was so sudden and painful that I stayed kneeling and gasping on the floor for about a minute before struggling to my feet and asking Emily P if she could help me finish getting my laundry. She had to carry my stuff down to the Pickle for me because I could hardly move my arms, and I sat in the Pickle until it was time to go. I had to hold my head to the right and cross my arms because any other position hurt like the very dickens.

Fortunately my appointment was an hour after the flare-up, and the guy popped the rib back in with a minimum of fuss (and a little electrode therapy stuff to loosen up the muscle--that was interesting to have my arm and shoulder twitching for about 10 minutes). It still hurts, but I can move my arms and stand up straight. He said that it'll be sore for a while because it was out for so many days, and if it pops out again to let him know. I hope it doesn't, because DANG, that hurt. Now I kind of know how EB felt that first week when she tore up her knee, and let me tell you it is LOUSY. Tonight was an 'on the verge of tears' night, mostly out of frustration because I can't find a comfortable position and every exhale/cough/laugh/sneeze results in pained whimpering. (I never realized how much I laughed until I couldn't. O.e)

But on to more cheerful stuff...I made cookies today, which was a plus. There was a family last week that left us in housekeeping these huge bags of candy every day--Jolly Ranchers, Starbursts, M&Ms, Snickers, Reeses, the list goes on--and there was still at least half a bag of M&Ms left in the housekeeping shed. So I stole them (after getting permission from Moriah and the new girl Petey, of course) and made cookies for all of staff.

There was one moment during the baking period (there's an oven under staff) that a horde of girls came screaming down the stairs and tried to snatch all my cookies and I had to beat them off with a spatula. Figuratively. I got the seal of approval from Cody, Alijah, and Jason, as well as the girl-horde, so I think they were a success. (The guys' approval is hilarious, because it's all 'mmmmm's and 'oh man's. XD)

I got up at 5:45 this morning and worked out for the first time since getting here...see, I've gained at least 5 pounds since getting here. That's a pound a week, y'all. I don't need it that at ALL. So I've resolved to try to work out at least 3 times a week. Maybe more, if my back would get better. Between getting back on a workout schedule and eating better (i.e. more fruit/protein, less flour-based carbs and candy), I'm hoping to reverse the damage. I told people that I was planning on coming back svelte and lean, and I don't see it happening yet. XD Here's to getting fit and being able to breathe! The only downside is that this morning I was blinking and nodding through announcement, and while cleaning every time I stopped I would start drooping. Must get to bed earlier...which is FAR easier said than done. Sigh.

Speaking of (not) going to bed, there's a girls' night tonight. I may or may not be going...we'll see if I can sit up. That'll be a good start.

One Day More

In keeping with Les Miserables obsession and the tendency to repeat old jokes, I'm re-using this blog post title. (Basically...whenever something important is happening on the morrow I re-use that phrase. Anyway.)

 Guys. You would not believe how....how.....excited? Nervous? Attentive? I can't think of the right word right now. But basically I've been checking and double-checking everything today and now I think I have everything officially together. The laptop is the last thing to be packed. 8D

I was going to take the horse for a ride today, but after going to the gym I felt like I was going to die (one day I'm okay with running, the next I hate it). So I took a short nap and woke up to it POURING outside. Sigh.

Case in point. It was wild, man.

 I also managed to shatter a glass today, completely by accident. See, I made these lemonade popsicles a while back. They're really good, but SO tart that I could hardly eat them and there were 3 left. (My mouth is watering now at the thought of all that sourness. Yum.)

I took the popsicles out of the freezer and immediately dropped them into a glass. The glass in this scenario is one of those heavy-duty, seamless ones that no one in our family has ever broken, which is a miracle in itself.

About 30 seconds after they hit the bottom of the glass, I was holding it in my hand and heard a 'tink'. I looked down in horror, heard another 'tink', and next thing I know I'm holding a glass that has been neatly sliced in half. It didn't fall apart in my hand (thank goodness) but it was SCARY. See?

 

It was like one of those Pinterest things on how to cut a wine bottle or Mason jar, but totally by accident!

ACK.

The weirdest part was, it stayed together very well and even was waterproof enough for me to pour my rapidly-melting lemonade icicles into another glass. (That one stayed intact.)

In OTHER other news, I shaved Javert today! He has this crazy thick coat that I adore, but it's been hot for the past few days and I can tell that he's starting to get miserable (and shed like crazy). It took me about an hour, but he has been completely shaved with no casualties. He doesn't even look like the same dog.

 

His little collar is on the smallest hole now, instead of on the largest.... *sniff*

My dad didn't recognize him either. He saw this weird grey dog with black points running down Main Street and didn't realized until he followed said dog home that it was Javvie.

My brother and I took Javvie swimming at Wildcat Springs yesterday too. He liked wading, but he really did not like swimming. Or going higher than his chest. *sigh* We'll make a water dog of him yet!

Okay. I promised that I would go to bed early, but I really doubt that's going to happen...I'm too wired. 8D The next time I post something it'll be from Colorado! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Blather

Since it's late, I'm just going to blather for a while. Is that okay with ya'll? Yes? All righty. Let's do this thing.

Last night I was having nightmares about being late...most of them consisted of not being packed, starting to pack right when I actually needed to be at the train station, and generally getting very upset and discouraged. Sigh. Hopefully tonight's crop will be a little nicer.

I have a physical, personal journal that I write in occasionally (few times a month or so), but for the past year to year and a half I've been refraining from writing much of anything...fear of jinxing myself over personal subjects or getting too personal seemed to be the primary reason. (Actually, from February to October of last year I didn't write a word in a physical journal. But anyway.) Starting last October I was writing again, but kept it very short and succinct. Most entries had to do with exercise and food journaling, actually. XD

But over the last few months I've started getting a little more personal. It's kind of nice, to be honest. My only problem is sometimes I want to pour stuff out, but I'm worried that I'll look back at certain parts of my life and either shudder at my ridiculousness, or someone will get ahold of my stuff and see some silly/inconsequential/not-so-nice stuff. I don't know if I'm being paranoid or what. Part of the jinxing thing seems to be creeping back as well--I've noticed that when I start writing about things that I'm concerned or hopeful about, they usually turn out the exact opposite that I wish they would.

Maybe I am being paranoid. XD

In other news...in 7 days I'll be on a train heading west. O.o We're having a little going-away party tomorrow night starring tamales, other random food items, and desserts (the identity of which I am not sure). I was hoping to have a bonfire, but dangit if it hasn't been raining for the past two days. Sigh. So we're going to have to figure out how to fit 25 people in our little house. *rolls up sleeves*

Tomorrow proves to be a long day, party aside--I have to do laundry, clean a house, go shopping, bake a pie, and be home (not necessarily in that order) before people start showing up. Ees gonna be an interesting one. On that note I say adieu and stumble off to bed.

18 Days

.....until I leave for Colorado. O.o

The thought is simultaneously exciting and terrifying--it'll be the longest I've ever spent away from home and the creature comforts thereof, probably the hardest I'll have ever worked, etc. On the other hand, it promises to be a huge amount of fun and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and getting a chance to live somewhere else for a while. Most of the anxiety, pathetic though it may sound, is from trying to figure out how to pack everything into a carry-on bag and backpack.^^;

On the horizons of school I can see the end! Actually, what I've decided to do for the next couple of weeks is work solely on my assignments and finals instead of plugging through the practice transcripts. The latter just get to be a pain after a while, and I figure that spending time polishing my assignments will be time well-spent. Time to get this monkey off my back, methinks.

I've not been taking pictures or doing much of anything creative lately--I drew Thor as a horse last night, though, as a hearkening back to the days when I constantly drew people/characters as horses. *facepalm* I might polish it up one day, maybe. It didn't turn out half bad to be honest. Thor looks pretty snazzy as a horse. :P

There's not much else going on, really...just school and slight freaking out over leaving. O.o I'll get used to the idea, I'm sure.

Weddings are Silly

For the past few weeks (months, actually) I've been involved with the planning and execution of 2 weddings: one for a very dear friend of mine, and one for my brother. The longer time goes on, the more convinced I am that weddings are very silly.

Case in point: a person spends anywhere from $5,000 (for a very conservative wedding) to $26,000 (the average wedding cost, according to Google) for one day, inviting anywhere from 200-500 people, making everything perfect and wonderful and doing the right thing and getting the right stuff, all for ONE DAY. Am I the only one who sees something a bit off with this? And that's not even going into all of the stress of planning and execution. Most brides are exhausted by the end of the day...it's a lot of hassle....etc.

I know that some married women would probably say to me 'but it's all worth it in the end!' And yes. I agree that marriage is wonderful and SO worth it (not that I'd know, but, y'know, I watch and learn from the people around me ;) ), but I think the whole wedding thing needs to be done differently.

You know what I think would be hilarious and a simple way to get around it? Back in the old days if a couple wanted to get married, they would go up at the end of a church service, exchange their vows, and that was that. So, my idea (if a girl can find a guy--or more accurately, a prospective mother-in-law--to go along with it) is when one is engaged they keep it on the down-low. Like they plan on living arrangements, honeymoon, etc quietly, but not tell anyone except the pastor (and maybe parents, if they can keep a secret) what's up. Then after a church service one day they go up to the front, exchange vows, and split while the congregation reels from shock. And then make sure there's a potluck or something to distract said congregation after the couple leaves. 

I think it's a brilliant idea, anyway. It'd save a chunk of change and side-step all the planning and stress and such. (Plus the looks on peoples' faces would be PRICELESS. I'm just sayin'.)

Does anyone else agree with me? If you're married would you have done something differently? Maybe not as drastic as my suggestion, but something?

SNOW. With FREAKISHLY HUGE SNOWFLAKES

So on Monday the temperature went from 52 F to 28 F within less than an hour. Fortunately, there were no tornadoes or otherwise dangerous weather systems moving through at the same time.

Also fortunately, it started snowing. Big, heavy wet snowflakes. I kid you not--these flakes were easily 2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.

Don't believe me? Well, let's just have a look-see.

This is from the back door.

A few flakes on my sleeve...

See those white patches?? I've NEVER seen snowflakes that big before. *spazzflail*

I finagled Mom into taking a picture of me standing in the freezing cold...my hands are clenched because they were already going numb from just a couple of minutes outside.

Javert has a phobia of looking at the camera. -.-

After five minutes: "Can we go back inside yet?"

Ahem. So yeah, I got a little excited...it's not every day we get a big heavy snow. It stopped after a couple of inches, but still. I hear that Thursday is supposed to bring 5-7 inches. We'll just see if that actually happens or not.

Be Not Like Frost

Apparently my little brother's band that he's currently in is called 'Be Not Like Frost'. Since I'm in a literal/contrary mood today, the theme shall be frost.

 

At the beginning of this week there was a heavy frost. Since then it's been alternating between freezing cold and raining--I'm not complaining about the rain, but I do enjoy a bit of sun occasionally.

I will say that my new camera does fantastic macro shots. I haven't wanted to do anything else at all simply because I'm loving the macro function.

(This is the dog's new favorite perch. Every time we go out he's clambering about on there.)

I've been doing some different editing for these pictures--where I usually run Soft Light and Contrast over them in Photoshop, I'm expanding a bit and doing more with various layers and functions on the layers. I think it gives them a lighter, dreamier quality, whereas my usual editing makes them look a bit heavy on the shadows. 

These are old asparagus berries. I have no idea if they're edible or not--I've never been desperate enough to try one.

Please excuse the random nature of this post--I'm too tired to give it much though aside from the pictures.

The Latest Project

What do you think it is?

Hmmm?

Okay, maybe this one gives it away...I've taken up bookbinding!

(Quick backstory here: my brother had a friend from college who made a sketchbook for my brother's fiance, and to be quite honest it wasn't that good. Each section of pages (or signature) was like 20 pages messily folded in half, nothing was glued, etc. I'm not saying mine is fantastic or anything, but seeing that made me think 'well, I could do better than that' so this is my shot at it. *takes a breath* No offense if that friend reads this blog. I know he doesn't, though, so I should be good.)

This is just printer paper, folded in half, torn, and folded in half again to form a quarter-page-sized booklet. Each signature is 4 pages, and I think there's 8 signatures. The thread is normal polyester, two pieces folded in half so there's 4 threads total. I just used Elmer's glue for the binding because I don't have any other glue on hand. 

See the glue on the edge there? That turned out to be a mistake--it dried into a hard edge, and now the spine is wonky. But I think I know how to avoid that next time.

The cover is some scrap fabric over cardboard (the back of an old sketchbook, actually), all glued again with Elmer's. It seeped rather badly through the fabric, so I'll have to figure out a less messy way for the next time. 

I have a TON of old sheet music for craft use lying about, so one sheet became the endpapers.

And the inside is just printer paper. I think next time I'd like to use watercolor paper, or something of a similar heavier stock. 

On a side note, this entire project (including tearing and folding the paper) probably took me around an hour. The use of a hair dryer to speed up the glue drying helped immensely, but it wasn't NEARLY as hard as I thought it would be. I watched the original Planet of the Apes while assembling the pages (and tried very hard not to be shocked by the '70s--they had a fascination with butts back then. I saw more of Charleton Heston's backside within an hour and a half than I ever desired to see in my entire lifetime. *shudders*), and the cover took maybe half an hour to put together. 

You know what this means, right?

MOAR BOOKBINDING (and less Planet of the Apes)

On a random note, church was canceled yesterday due to an ice storm. Hence, no notes from the study. But fear not, we will be up and running by next Sunday, provided there are no more ice storms. 

On another random note, I'm still waiting to hear back from this one dude ranch in Colorado. *bites nails* All the people they called have told me that it's almost a certainty that I'll get the job...BUT THE SUSPENSE. *flails*

Job Applications, The Sequel

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I disliked writing out job applications. But I have put my nose to the grindstone and finished six in that time period...so I guess it doesn't matter if I don't like it, they still had to be done. 

Plus, who knows what crazy awesome opportunities may open up through said jobs? 8D They're all for dude ranches in Colorado, Montana (I think), and a kid's camp in Illinois. I'm really leaning towards a couple of them for sure, but it all depends on who responds. *crosses fingers*

This might seem like a random career change, but really it's not...when I was 18 I applied for a job out West, didn't get it, and haven't had an opportunity to apply since then. Now I can, and I'm really looking forward to whatever comes out of it. 

Tonight, because I was excited about the prospects of getting a job out West (yes, I know, I might not, but I'm still excited), I started looking up Western clothing on Pinterest. None of these things are ones that I would buy...but I'd probably make something inspired from them.

These are all from an Etsty shop called True Rebel Clothing. It's pricey, but definitely an interesting place to get ideas.

I'm getting somewhat obsessed with drapey, twirly skirts. Considering I hardly ever wear skirts, this may be a problem. On the other hand, this may be just what I need to get the sewing machine whipped out and in operation again.

2013: A Short List

 (Here, enjoy a random snow picture)

I've had a list of goals for 2013 for a little while. Not as extensive as some I've seen, and a lot of these ideas are still in the nucleus of coming to fruition, but it's at least a rough list of what I 'want' to do. I haven't put them up mostly because I didn't think anyone would find them interesting...but part of getting something to come about is to write it down, right? And this blog has served for a point of reference more than once, so it'll be good to look back on the grand start of journeys and such.

Rough List of Goals for 2013

1. Finish school. To be specific, I want to do school 3 days a week, minimum.
2. Get a summer job at a camp or ranch. (Specifically, fill out applications for said job)
3. Start and successfully complete high school girls' study on 'Created to Be A Help Meet'.
4. Complete 'Couch to 5K' program and the 90-day Cross-fit challenge (work out 3 days a week to start, perhaps increase as stamina improves)
5. Become more camera-savvy and proficient by playing with said camera and looking up the manual in order to learn all the functions.
6. Play piano or guitar at least 2 times a week.
7. Ride the horse long-distance, by starting riding as soon as it warms up on the off-days for working out.
8. Create in any form (sewing, drawing, writing, photography, etc) every day.
9. Get a calendar and learn to schedule and budget time and money.
10. Go to the library once a week for books and research ones to order through the library exchange system.

Some bigger goals would be to earn enough money to get a little car (stick shift, baby!), get a better job once school is over, and learn some skills like woodworking and basic engine stuff (for the eventual stick shift car, of course).

All these are lovely and wonderful ideas, but I'm also hoping to not get all overwhelmed and irritated at myself, because I'm usually so tired after work that all I want to do is flop in front of the computer or sit with a book and zone out. I know it's a discipline issue...but still. >.<

Here's to a bright new year, and a list of things to do in said year! *raises water jar in toast*

Murr' Chrusmurs!

(or, Merry Christmas!)

Christmas at my house is...how shall I say it...very relaxed. We go over to Grammie's in the late afternoon, but for the majority of the day we laze around. We didn't even get up until 8:30 this morning (I didn't, at least...), opened presents, ate a late breakfast at 10:00, and now it's time for naps and a day full of NOTHING. *turns on Josh Groban's Christmas album*

I love it. :3

(I know a family here in town that's expecting 65 family members today and has to feed all of them. I don't know about ya'll, but that sounds stressful and terrifying. O.o)

But on to Christmas stuff! I was more excited about Mom and Dad's gift and the dog's present than I was about mine...is that weird?

We gave Mom and Dad a coffee-maker because the pot on the other one is broken. This is one of those snazzy ones that has a button to fill one cup at a time, instead of funneling it into a pot and having it sit all day. It's a purty cool coffee-maker.

Oh! Javert's present! I'm ridiculously excited about this, actually.

It's a spiky collar! :3 Now he can be a big bad dog and protect us more effectively....unless it's from the resident wild cat, in which case he whines and cries because he's afraid of the cat but doesn't want it on our property either. -.-

I think it looks rather snazzy. When I showed it to him it was like he knew it was his, because he perked his ears up and got all excited. XD

I got tea and a traveler's press! Observe:

I love tea, but I have so much now that I probably won't need any for a couple of years. At least. O.o

On a side note: the ginger mint tea is POTENT. I popped the lid off to sniff it and got a snoot full of ginger dust. I couldn't smell anything other than ginger for the better part of 20 minutes.

I love Republic of Tea. (Even though they're probably Communists or something with their 'citizen this' and 'citizen that' and 'minister of such-and-such'. XD)

By the by, we DO have a white Christmas thanks to the snow storm that moved through last week:

It looked like this (and worse) all day last Thursday. (Or was it Friday?) There wasn't much snow, but it had rained before the temperature dropped, and with the wind and ice people were going off the roads like crazy. The main highway was closed until the wind stopped because it was deemed too dangerous to drive. O.o

Kitty prints...

Javert liked it too.

And with that, Merry Christmas!