after the storm

Last night it stormed like mad. As if the flashing creepy alien light wasn't enough. It seemed as though it stormed from 3:00 am to 7:00 am. I don't know the actual times. But I was lying there in bed, with a window near my head and a window to my left, seeing the crazy flashes of lightening and then waiting for the crashing thunder... and fearing for my life.

Seriously, I shouldn't be scared of storms. But it was so loud and bright! And if you asked Henry, he would tell you that he found me in my parents' room when he came to visit this morning.

He was really cute. We went out to put my second to last exam in the mail, let the chickens out, and play in the puddles. He pulled around his rope for no apparent reason, but it was cute. :)

Oh oh oh, and guess what? Not only did I finish high school today, I also finished my quilt!! So exciting! Though, now I'm going to have to find some new things to fill my time with.

I decided to sign and date it with embroidery. It's a bit sloppy, but I don't mind. :) 

The interesting thing about quilting is that there are so many steps. Cutting, patterning, piecing together, layering, basting, pinning, rolling the edge, and finally, quilting the squares. And, like when I am drawing a time consuming sketch or doing a time consuming graphic design job - I tend to relate my entertainment to my task. For instance, Head Automatica, the band, makes me think of designing Christmas cards for SWP. And The Last Shadow Puppets makes me think of my UGA drawing class.

And my quilt makes me think, first and foremost, of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I sewed all of the squares together, layered the blanket, basted and pinned and rolled the edge while watching Avatar. But I quilted to other shows, like Friends (second round) and Ugly Betty. So now I've sort of sewn these connections into my blanket, and it's nice, because whenever I look at the fabrics, I think of Aang and Joey and Marc, and all of the other characters that I love. :) It makes me happy. 

Oh, and by the way, Avatar is such a great show. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Seriously, if you haven't seen it, go buy a Netflix account and watch it. It's instant, and you'll never forget the sweet characters and epic story.

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Okay, enough chit-chat. Time for bed. :) Hehe, I'm still giddy about finishing school. I really hope I get a good grade on that essay... Wish me luck! 

Goodnight!

- caroline

the last exams

So I'm finished with high school. Wow. This is crazy! I'm not going to lie - I wasn't happy that I couldn't finish by the end of 2010. Now I have finished months after my projected graduation date. It's a bit of a bummer for me, because it was a personal challenge to finish last year, and I failed.

The last four years of school have been sporadic. It's a strange feeling, when you are responsible for your own education. You are in charge of your own timeline, of handling your own learning curve, of reaching your own deadlines. There is no one to piss you off but yourself. You can't blame some crappy teacher for your bad grades, or your classmates for distracting you, or your early morning classes for not being able to concentrate.

I guess I'm pretty proud of having taught myself. I know that many others doing correspondence school have gotten better grades and finished in half the time. But I don't know their stories, I just know that I managed my high school education the best I could, in my own way. And I had to break that time up with work and projects (and, I'm not going to lie: TV) - I'm not the kind of person who can do homework everyday. Therefore, I had lots of breaks during the four years - I have gone months without picking up an academic book. But it was always there in the back of my mind... You should be doing homewoooooork. And now? Heh heh. No more voice. Though I'll probably sit down at my dest and do phantom homework, out of habit. Yes, yes, I think I can still feel the pages in my hands...

I still can't believe that American School thinks it's a-okay to avoid essay writing. This is the first real, more than half-a-page essay that I have had to write. It ended up being the last exam that I finished. And it looks so legit, doesn't it? We shall see if they think so. :)

Well, I felt like I should blog this before the moment was over, for the sake of documentation. Also, I don't want to sit at my desk for any extended period of time unless absolutely necessary. I will be blogging tonight, though!! I have some lovely after-the-storm images.

Anyway, thanks for everyone who helped me finish school! Especially Erin. I would be graduating in 2013 if it wasn't for her! <3 Thank you so much for all the help and for letting me board in your house for months. They are some of my best memories. Also thank you, Mom, for letting me slack off on chores and babysitting and for watching TV all alone so that I could finish up!

Hehe. I'm going to be giggling for a few days, I'm sure. Oh! I'm done with homework. Hehe. Guess what? No more homework. Hehehe.

See you later, maybe at my graduation party!
Lots of love and happiness,
- caroline

Trader Joe's, Dr. Who & The X-Files

I tried these potstickers today. I would have made them by hand, but, what the heck, these are delicious AND frozen! They were really very good, I could have probably eaten the whole bag of them. And then I would have lived forever, due to the amount of garlic in one sticker, multiplied by 20. 

Exciting news, though. I am THIS close to being finished with school. And when I say THIS, imagine me holding up a hand whose fingers are a nanometer away from each other. Yes, THAT close. My second to last exam is being sent in the morning. Then, I'm going to reread my essay - again - and then send that tomorrow too. And then. I will. Be finished. Of course, it would be my luck to have accidentally forgotten to send one of the pages, and then they send the exam back as "incomplete" and it becomes all confusing... I can see that happening.

Okay, this is where Dr. Who fits in to the picture. Remember the episode with the gas masks? How could you forget it. I bet there are people who haven't even watched it who can't forget it. Anyway, Quinn is, you know, different *wiggles hands in Mr. Fox style*, and so in preparation of cleaning the chicken coop, he puts on this get up. Rest assured, it didn't stay on the whole time. He's not that crazy. 

But, doesn't he look like a cross between the gas mask creepiness and a steampunk Cyberman? *shiver*

  • • • • •

 Okay, last but seriously not least... Here is the X-Files reference. We were watching Friends tonight, and when we get up to get some food for the sixteenth time, we notice that there is this light flashing outside. Lightening? Oh, that would be normal, right? So, no. Instead, there is this weird light flashing through the trees. It's not terribly far off and the light source can sort of be seen through the trees, but who knows what the heck it is.

The picture shows the neighbor's floodlight, which is annoying in itself, but to the left, you can see the light flashing on the horizon. See it? Bluish? It's much more obnoxious than the camera could capture.

I, of course, have dibs on it being alien/government activity. In the boonies of Georgia. It's not unheard of in the files of unresolved casesssss.

So, now I'm going to go to bed, enjoy the creepiness of the flashing light, do some NYT crosswords (my free trial ran out, so I've been having to do the hard puzzles. I'm on Thursdays), and snuggle in the glory of almost being done with school.

Goodnight!
- caroline

cold-front

Today was really cold. :( The weather has been so teasing, lately, first warm, then hot, then cold! Truly cold! See, I have on my shapeless warmish clothing... Usually I'm all gray - gray tee, gray sweatshirt, gray leggings, gray sweat pants. That's the usual uniform on cold days. 

This is a lifestyle blog, right? Well, here's a lifestyle fact about moi. I hate cutting my nails. It gives me the creeps - my finger tips are all sensitive and give me chills for a whole day after I clip them. So I tend to wait too long. This time, the quilting needle I use on my blanket actually put a groove in what my mother calls my "claw."

Breakfast was yummy this morning. Flat egg on British muffins. We always called them English muffins, but Trader Joe's things they are British. *shrug* Oh oh oh, also, this green juice from Trader Joe's, which is really just spirulina and a bunch of fruits. It is so good!

I have a confession. I have never had to write an essay before. Not a proper one, anyway. This is the first proper essay I have had to write, and I think it's okay. Compares and contrasts Rochester from Jane Eyre and Conroy from "The Dead" to a Byronic hero. For anyone who does know what a Byronic hero is: A Byronic hero is a type of hero based on Lord Byron and the protagonists of some of his works. This type of character usually suffers from a dark, mysterious past, has issues with morality, is arrogant and moody, and yet somehow ridiculously attractive. :) The best kind. Some argue that the Doctor (of Doctor Who) is a Byronic hero. Kind of lacks the arrogance, though, don't you think?

That's a watercolor that I really need to finish. I quite like it now, though at the time I felt that the tentacles looked like vomit. They are still a bit shady, but I think with some help, I could make it work...

Quinn kept me company while I did homework today, working on a big drawing of the Invisible Man. He's listening to the book, by H.G. Wells. 

Lunch... salad & Italian sausage. Dinner: Oatmeal and cinnaraisin toast!

Oh, and I am very interested in reading this book! Mom got it from the library, and it is chock full of pictures and interviews... Very cool.

My goal is to be finished with both of my last exams by tomorrow night. That means half a World Lit exam and some last minute edits to my essay. Hehehehehe. *giddy*

the string

'Are you anything akin to me, do you think, Jane?'

I could risk no sort of answer by this time: my heart was still.

'Because,' he said, 'I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you -- especially when you are near me as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.'

 - Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre

l'omelette

This post is dedicated to Logan, because now I can make omelettes that I actually enjoy eating! It really took me long enough to stop and watch how its done, but now I have one almost every morning, and not just when I'm at Logan's. So thank you! :) 

There is something I've noticed about taking pictures of food: it forces you to make pretty food. I wasn't going to put spinach or peppers in my omelette this morning. But how pretty is that! So I had to, and it was all the yummier for it.

Okay, this cheese is called Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar and its from Trader Joe's. If you go there, make sure and pick up a chunk, because it is amazing cheese. Sooo good.

The picture on the right is my bathroom window, which I really love, and since I had nothing to pair with the omelette... ;) Okay, now for Jane Eyre. Seriously.

Wish me luck!

- caroline

school is almost over

Guess what I should be doing right now? Yeah, it's not blogging. BUT! I am officially finished with French - it's a bittersweet celebration, because I really loved French, and now there is nothing to keep me learning. I should go find some French classes.

I am at TWO exams left to go and I really should be reading Jane Eyre. Which I love, by the way, it is such a fun narrative. Despite being all rigid and moral, Jane is a really imaginative character, and of course, Rochester... Mmm.

The summer clothes are out, and I got rid of a HUGE trash bag full of clothes. Now I have a reasonable amount of clothes - and bought these three new tanks! Aren't they cute? 

Okay, one last post to go. :)

exploratory

The other day, me and Quinn were walking the property and I said we should go to all the places we don't normally go. I only made a few new finds, but I like the photos that I got.

Speaking of going places you normally don't go... I have a new idea I've been thinking about. Since finding this very nice site, www.issuu.com, which hosts PDF's, I've been pondering starting an online magazine, which one day, might be printed, even. It would be an exploratory magazine, which would find new things in art, music, fashion & lit that I could share with people. It would be very simple, and all about presentation. So, would you read a short, pretty publication online?

The idea is still in progress, so while you wait for me to cognate... :) Here are the rest of the pics: