what i've been up to

What have I been up to for three days? All absent from the blog? You'd think I'd be doing very distracting things. Not so much. First there was the crazy storm, during which I knitted by Ugly Betty Blanket. Mom named it. It is simply a blanket made of squares and rectangles of scrap yarn in different stitches. I've been knitting it while we watch Ugly Betty - and really, it's kind of mismatched and odd like her. :P

There was a beautiful early morning that I caught - for some reason I woke up around 5 am and saw this sky out my window...

Then that morning I made French toast from the Cook's recipe. It's sooooo good. You wouldn't think that this lumpy bread:

Would turn into this gorgeous breakfast!

Then for the past two days I've been painting. I got the new Anthropologie catalog and was inspired. The photography was really top-notch in this issue, and I especially liked the cover, and the first page with the old red convertible. So classy.

And here was my watercolor interpretation... I was not aiming to replicate it, just base my painting on it. Left is at the end of day one, right is at the end of day two (today):

Quinn kept me company while I painted outside on the porch. The weather has been lovely. Quinn is carving a mask out of cedar wood. It smells awesome, though reminds me of hamsters. ;)  And no, those are not hand tattoos. Just ballpoint ink. 

I picked up three Agatha Christie novels today at the library. I'm excited to read them. Griffin leant me The ABC Murders and I really enjoyed it, plus I love the Poirot TV movies, so I thought I'd give the real text a shot. :)

Oh oh oh, also, we made a really yummy Kale and Green Onion Tart for lunch today. I found the recipe from The Granary and it is so good. Here is the link if you're interested in making it --> The Granary Blog: Kale and Onion Tart

Okay, time for bed. Probably gonna go practice parallel parking again tomorrow. I find it difficult. Grr. 

- caroline

it's getting warmer

Today was really warm! I painted my toes a second coat of blue, had tuna & crackers for breakfast at 11am and started choosing photos for my frames. Gosh darn it, I just remembered that I should have taken pics of my quilt. :( Now it's going to storm like nobody's business and be wet for days. 

Logan gave me three houseplants for my graduation. They are so cute. I need to take pictures of the other two, but I didn't have them situated at the time.  

Okay, lunch was really yummy. I promise that I'm not a paid Trader Joe's advocate! However, me and Quinn made the Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen) from Trader Joe's and it was super good. Just added some broccoli and made some rice. 

I went to Mom's LLL planning meeting tonight at 2 Story to knit, and FINALLY got to sell some clothes to Suska, the consignment shop two doors down. Yay! We shall see if they sell... Okay, today's boring post is over. It's supposed to storm, so I'm going to shut down my computer and go watch Burlesque with Mum. And I mean the movie, not the genre. :P

I promise a more interesting post for tomorrow! Maybe some art? 

- caroline

leisure time

Yesterday was our first day of work at Hallie Jane's Catering. It was nice - it felt very familiar and fun to be at an event, working to make the day run as planned. I've been to so many weddings that even going to a sorority formal (as our first job was) seemed normal. The only difference was that it involved hauling heavy tables, chairs and food, not being able to join in the dancing, and being sore the next day. But all in all, I really enjoyed the work. I have been physically stagnant for too long - too many hours in a chair, indoors. I'm getting sick of it. It was fun to haul and set up and do team work - and outdoors, no less.

The yummiest part of the day was during my 2:00 am shower, when the hot water activated the smell of fried shrimp! But no, I enjoyed the 2 am shower, and crawling into bed completely exhausted. :)

I made a kale and mushroom omelette this morning with cheddar and parmesan. It was gooood. Logan has been making kale forever, however, I had only had it steamed, with balsamic vinegar (which is really good). But for lunch Friday, Sara said that she puts it in a skillet - that was also pretty good, so I thought it would probably work for an omelette. It has a bit of stringy crunch to it, but I like it that way.

Today we hung out with Logan, Erin & Micah, Sara & Lucy, and later on, Griffin & Jamie. Logan & Erin made this ridiculously good cheesecake yesterday, and we got to have some on their balcony, in the lovely weather. 

Micah is such a cutie. And he's going to be a climbing, exploring, sneaky little kid, very very soon. He sits there and eyes which object would be most interesting to play with, then leaaaaans over, his little fingers opening and closing, trying to grasp on to something. Once he is crawling, he's going to be everywhere.

Our original plan was to go to Memorial Park, but it was jam packed. So after lunch at L&E's, we went to Harris Shoals park in Watkinsville. It's a cute little place, with a very cool playground. Not much walking to do, however, though there seemed to be a trail that would have probably been a bit much on the stroller.

Photo by Quinn

Hehe. Ashlan, if your reading -- somehow this picture reminds me of SCAD... :P 

Photos by Quinn

Photo by Quinn

Photo by Quinn

Holy cow. They are both so cute. Micah had just woken up, and he sits there in the swing, staring, holding the chain with one hand, and his toes with the other. And Lucy? Could she look more like a girl? So adorable in that little bonnet.

Photo on the right by Quinn

So today was lovely. Tomorrow I think I might order photos for my frames... L&E had a whole pile of new prints, they look so fun. It's definitely next on my list. 

Okay, well, it's very late, so I should be off to bed now.

Good night! Sleep tight.

Don't let the bed bugs bite.

- caroline

ps. I always wonder - how exactly are you supposed to stop the bed bugs from biting?

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.

--

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