One post, due to Thanksgiving break.

I collect words. These are from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. Some were new to me, some were used in a new context, and some were just words that I want to use more often!

superciliously
heliotrope
pillory
decollete
repartee
curate
salver
Lamia
expostulating
huckster
paroxysm
pertness

Thanks, iPad Annotate feature!

23 years.

Today I woke up feeling weird. I pondered this as I reached for my alarm, and I suddenly realized it was the feeling of being the awkward age of 23. What am I supposed to do with that?

And then I had my coffee, which put me one step closer to normalcy. I checked my e-mail, and I immediately panicked as I saw that I had 30 new messages. I had, of course, forgotten that it was my birthday, and that my friends were greeting me. Realizing what was going on, I felt much better!

This town has crazy traffic. What's going on here? I don't know. Cars. People. Stoplights. Parking garages. But hey, I made it to training, and there were donuts, and then they sang happy birthday to me! Then I learned lots of facts. Somehow I need to remember them and put them into action. Hm.

But now, another day more trained, more textbook-laden, and more acquainted with my fellow School Psych students, I seem to have pushed through my first wall of grad school anxiety and am momentarily on a new wave of excitement. Here's hoping that holds out for some long period of time.

 

Image only vaguely related to my thoughts today; took it last weekend and thought it was worth putting in a safe place.

I'm getting to the point that I'm running short on days before school starts. How did that happen? This summer kept appearing vast and open up until the end. The avoidance curve is now getting steeper than the approach curve (thanks, Personality Psych), and my excitement is being slightly deterred by nerves. But so goes life; I know that the next few weeks will be exciting, and I plan to enjoy it even if I'm simultaneously nervous. I'm a little worn out and stuffy this morning, though, so as much as possible, I'm going to take it easy.

And here's a brief photo update from a couple weeks ago. I attended Natalie and Robin's wedding in St. Louis, and it was classic and classy, and all-around beautiful.

Summer Snapshot

A quick shot from my family's float trip. Our campsite was right by the water, so in the evening after we floated, I could watch the fog rolling in over the water. Thanks to the weather behaving, it was a gorgeous couple days.

I want to remember this when school has started and I'm busy. Michaela made ciabatta and I picked fresh herbs, and this was our afternoon snack. Perfect.

Jewelry rack

My new jewelry rack!

I bought a screen sieve at an antique store last week. I cut rectangles of cork to fit into the spaces of the box, then I cut fabric just a little bigger.

I pinned the fabric to the cork just a little, but the box held it in place pretty well on its own. The backing is made of cardboard from a box I disassembled.

And I hung it on the wall and used t-pins to hang my necklaces! Also put a few nails along the bottom.

Tada!

Closet Space

My closet, before. Boxes of clothes surrounded me as I took this. I knew I had enough space for things, but I didn't quite know what I needed to make the most of my large closet. Luckily for me, I happen to know a good organizer! Her website is currently under construction, but I'll link it eventually. Totally a good investment, because I just was thinking, "Uhh... I need shelves," while Molly knew what kind of shelves I needed, how many I should get, and where to look for the best price. And now, I have a closet that will make me happy and be easy to maintain once school starts!

What's great is that I have more space, too. I bought one more of these shelves that my t-shirts are on, because I know when I move to sweaters, they'll take up more room. And clearly, there's plenty of space available above these shelves that are built in to the closet. I haven't moved up my out-of-season clothing yet, but when I do, it'll go up on these shelves. Yay!

Moving along

Moving in! Moving in! Sure, it's going to be about 100 degrees today. SURE, I'm moving furniture. And hey, while we're at it, let's point out the fact that the air conditioner at my new place is reportedly malfunctioning. These things being said, today, I am moving in! Two cars and a truck are in the process of being packed, and soon, this pristine space will be filled with boxes and bags and disassembled structures. I look forward to posting an "after" photo to this "before." Excited!

Buzzz

I've been busy as this little bee! Moving into my new house, so there will be pictures of that soon. My room has been painted and some of my bathroom stuff is moved in, but I have a long way to go. Taking a load of furniture up tomorrow morning; it'll be great to have a bed THERE and out of my bedroom here.

I had a wonderful mini-vacation to Kirksville last week to see HP7II. The lovely Fallyn let me stay at her house for two nights, and since she's currently moved in but not living there, it was like staying in a guest house that is as cozy as a home. I need to send her a thank you note today. The movie itself was very enjoyable, and Alan Rickman blew me away. I just want to watch his scenes over and over. I do think that this film did a worse job of making choices of what to include to create the best movie. It would be easy to cut some of the scenes intended to look cool in 3D to include bits that strengthened the plot. But they didn't consult me on it... so I'm just going to enjoy the product.

Mom's birthday was yesterday, and we went to The Legends in KCK. There were 40% off everything sales at the Banana Republic and Ann Taylor outlets, so you can guess I had a good day. I think my favorite purchase was a denim skirt from Banana Republic that fits me wonderfully, and it was under $5. I need to find fun things to do in my new town so I can wear my new clothes!

I should probably work on getting my furniture ready to transport, but I think I'll spend just a little more time working on Fallyn's socks, as I deciphered the next part of the pattern last night!

Small things

The best part of the flu that left me in bed for about a week this spring was finding out that I could watch American Experience on Hulu. I'm such a nerd for public TV, but this was an amazing discovery. I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of the lobotomy. Tonight, I'm learning about Wyatt Earp while working on my second-attempt socks for Fallyn, as pair 1 failed. These lacy beauties are amazingly fun so far.

Tomorrow's project: Winter wardrobe maintenance and packing, and beginning a denim quilt from the jeans I refuse to throw away!

July 3, and I'm just home from Grandma's, where my cousin put on an awesome fireworks show last night. Tonight, Dad's side is coming to our house, and while fireworks are expected, it seems possible weather will keep us indoors.

That, however, is hours away. Right now, there's light rain and gentle thunder, and I have A Prairie Home Companion on the radio and a cup of special coffee next to me. Knitting will soon commence.

Summer reading

I rarely have time when I only have to read for fun, so I've been trying to make the most of it this summer. I've been trying to keep track of the books I've read. Here's the list so far.

1. Mainly on Directing - Arthur Laurents. This is Matt's book that I borrowed, and to be fair, I started it before it was officially summer, but there you go. I love reading the stories behind the shows I love, and that's definitely what I got from this book. I saw West Side Story this spring, and I felt like I understood the choices made for the revival production better after I read this. It was also a rather poignant read -- Mr. Laurents passed away when I was halfway through the book. The book left me with a feeling of how prolific an artist he really was.

2. O Pioneers! - Willa Cather. I have a habit of collecting classics when I find them in garage sales and the like, and this is one that's been sitting on my shelf for ages. I really enjoyed this one for its description of land in the Midwest and how it relates to those who dwell there. Flew through this one and really enjoyed it.

3. Just Kids - Patti Smith. This might be my favorite book I've read in the last year. Memoirs are my genre of choice lately, and this one goes beyond simple storytelling into a more poetic realm. At the same time, it gave me a glimpse into that world of New York in one of my favorite eras and talked about the lives of artists whose work I've long enjoyed.

4. Fear and Trembling - Soren Kirkegaard. Well, I was in Copenhagen, and I needed a book to read, and I saw this at the National Library of Denmark... Why WOULDN'T philosophy be a good trip read? Ok, this was a challenge for me, even if I was interested. I think I could read this another 20 times before I actually grasped it. That being said, I took some ideas away from it, so I guess it was a good time investment.

5. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris. My life is full of people who love True Blood, and after Kirkegaard, I needed something quick and fun. This is how I filled the day we spent travelling on the boat, and it was a perfect read for sitting on our balcony with music and watching the landscape go by. I do think I'll wait to library the rest of these rather than spending money on them. This one was also borrowed from Matt.

6. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles - Jennifer 8. Lee. Wow, I know a lot more about Chinese food now than I did a month ago. Picked this book up after reading all I'd brought on the trip. Good airport read, though it made me hungry as I went.

7. It Gets Better - ed. Dan Savage and Terry Miller. Borrowed from Breezi. This book was interesting in so many ways. Of course, it's emotionally moving, being the stories of so many people who experienced discrimination based on sexual and gender orientation, but it also shows the broad diversity of experience in this area. As someone who enjoys looking at things through the lens of queer theory, I certainly found myself pondering identity politics and communities as I read through this. Also made me aware of issues I want to keep in mind as I study school psychology and when I work in a school in the future.

8. Obee & Mungedeech - Trude Martin. This young adult book has been sitting on my shelf for years, but I can't bring myself to get rid of things until I've read them, so I grabbed this and read it in an evening. Quick, interesting, but not my favorite.

And currently, I'm working on Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama. I started reading this my freshman year of college, before I understood what textbook reading would be like. Clearly, I didn't make it through at that point, so I'm giving it another shot!

This weekend, I went to a friend's wedding in the town I'll be living in soon. It was simple, elegant, and personal, and it really represented the personalities of those getting married. The colors, beige and peach, were classic, and allowed for each bridesmaid and groomsman to put together an ensemble that worked for her or him. Of course, the perfect weather really made the outdoor reception -- it was a perfect way to get together with school friends to celebrate.