Can we change?

Yes we can!

Obama won. :) But I still had the weirdest day - I came home from work and completely forgot about class tonight or work I needed to do. I'll be up all night, but it's okay. I'll write my two papers and grade my student's work knowing next year has so much potential.

Hope you're all doing well. In you live in California I am terribly sorry about Proposition 8. It affects us all. Keep the hope!

-L

Seven (photos & facts)

I know this mean I'm posting two blogs in one day (unheard of!) but Sandra from "Smosch" did one of her excellent photoblogs on seven random facts about herself and I couldn't help but do it too. I talk about the same things all the time on here so I thought I'd share. I'm going to go ahead and say JP needs to do this - and any other six of you who want to, just let me know in a comment!


1. The only books that are alphabetized on my bookshelves are the poetry books (out of, let's say, 300+). I'm partial.2. I "rescued" thousands of medical slides from a warehouse full of home acquisitions. Not only were they beautiful and weird, but I had a strange desire to keep them all in the same place - some had already been picked through and purchased. I wanted them to stay a unit for some strange reason. The drawers themselves are really lovely, too.
This is part of a heart :3. I have a knife collection from Mali, from my time studying abroad there.4. I didn't set out to get guinea pigs, but my lease said "pets." When I asked they told me that "didn't mean dogs." I wasn't sure about cats so I decided to "start small."5. I am a fan of jars and visible art supplies. Being able to look at what I have and make time for crafts makes me happy.6. My favorite toy from childhood is my "Dinosnore." The toy company was Commonwealth out of NY and the tag says 1986. I have never seen another, except my brother's which was a triceratops. They always look sleepy and make a noise like a snore when they fall over or are turned - hence the adorable name, (and, now you've all seen my excellent pajama pants).7. I am from the beach and feel most at home when near a body of water. I like large moving bodies of water most of all though - like bays, and oceans, and the sea. (this is the James River - it's a poor photo but just imagine the settlers sliding in, before there were pools built.)

Free Stuff on Election Day...

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Wall of Inspiration <3

This week was long and I didn't get nearly enough grading done, or my own work for that matter. Every week this semester has felt like that. Sunday I'll play catch-up. This week I'm interested in getting this "wall of inspiration" of mine off the ground. My blank bedroom wall is bugging me beyond belief so I'm working to collect things that inspire me: prints from friends, I'm looking to order some soon from an artist I admire, some photographs of my cousin's - and I'm working on collages of trinkets that are the same color schemes. (if that works out there will be pictures to come)

I've found a few photos that I'm using to organize my ideas:

*http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_10&listing_id=15213593
*I forget where I found this - when I come across it I'll post the link. But painted drawers as shelves (for lightweight objects I'm assuming) seems like a great idea.

*A great blog to check out some time is http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/.
*and http://darlingdarleen.blogspot.com/
*And remember! In this upcoming election - Vote Sandy Holepit!

The week's already over

I'm not much for the journaling aspect of this thing, but I figured I'd update a bit. Last weekend, although I didn't get any actual "work" done, I was very productive. Friday I had a meeting with a professor on a big paper I have coming up, saw a friend and then curled up and watched a (stupid but still enjoyable) movie. Saturday, Lauren and I drove down to Buchanan, WV for lunch with her grandparents, visited with her mom at work and went antiquing. I bought the sweetest chair. She bought this old artist's case with palette paper and old oil paints...
Sunday I don't remember but halfway through the week I went to my favorite little used everything store and bought old slides... some are this couple's vacations in Europe from the late 50's, and others are creepy medical slides - I still haven't ventured to explore all of them.

This weekend is pretty laid back - sent in my absentee ballot request, paid some bills, looked through some home improvement and decorating magazines and laid around the apartment... the other Lauren's out of town. I find myself doing the same lame things we do together, only alone, which points out my inability to entertain myself without her. ;) Tomorrow's Sunday and I'll try to do an annotated bibliography for this lit class I'm struggling through. I'm probably struggling through it because I like the subject matter, but just don't love it. I'm in too many classes this semester.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite home stuffs websites. Some are about DIY and others going green and renovating in general. Hope they inspire you!

*http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/articles/Artistic_Appeal_1107.aspx - This is just one of Lowe's fun projects. Hanging artwork can be artistic too!

*http://www.greenwinebottles.com/ - If you can cut glass, or if you're a wine drinker, think twice before wasting those beautiful bottles!

*http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/green-ideas/diy-upcycled-lighting-ideas-from-etsy-055107 - Just one of their inspiring pages.

*http://www.artecnicainc.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=15&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=49&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=12 - Don't neglect the tabs at the bottom!

*http://www.etsy.com/ - Who doesn't already know about this?!?

Here are three cute piggie photos I'm going to hang on my bedroom wall - I'm about to start an inspirational mix of art and photography on that wall (I took down a huge map of the states that used to hang there). (In order: Penni, Lacey, Betsy.)



Have a super week. <3

Fifteen days later...

I am having the busiest month but I've still had time to be crafty so I thought I'd update. Midterm grades are in, the apartment is clean, the car is vacuumed out, and I was paid yesterday - so the fridge finally has food in it. ;) I gave a reading tonight and feel super charged so here we go!

--I went around sticking felt snowflakes to the bottoms of decorative candle holders and vases that tend to scratch tabletops. They sell felt circles (at craft stores) for this purpose but these were on sale and I thought they'll be hilarious whenever visitors accidentally notice them:


--I carved a pumpkin for the first time, ha.

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--I "borrowed" a chair from WVU that was wasting away in a basement. I think it's from the 60's or 70's and it reminds me very much of grade school. I tightened the washers underneath, sanded off the old stain and painted it white after taping off the seat - the original vinyl seat color is what drew me to the thing in the first place. Now it's fabulous!

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--AND - I finally finished the "cork"board! Yay. (Thanks to: a bandsaw to cut the border, knife to cut the corks - be careful - stain to keep it pretty, hot glue gun to stick them to the backing and wooden wine stoppers as the decorative corners.)


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Things I am working on that make me happy.

Things I am working on that make me happy:


Like the green pepper I grew on my struggling porch plant -



And Penni, she's still not really a "people piggie" but she's sweet and coming around ;)



A painting - it is definitely a work in progress, but it's fun to try.



A corkboard is underway!





AND, a collage of places and images that inspire me...


Happy October!