ALL HALLOWS EVE...eve

Well, we went to our costume party last night, and it was fun! It started out a little slow, but that was fine. Steve and I didn't really know many people there, other than the host and a couple of others, so we had that wallflower thing going on. : ) It was fun though. We don't ever talk that much on a regular basis! He looked great in his Ghostbuster costume, as you can see:




That's Steve with his rugged terrain face. : )

Me, well, my costume didn't work out as well. No one had a clue who I was. Dallas was the only person who came close and she asked me if I was Sabrina. Well, at least she got the Audrey Hepburn reference. Some little kid thought I was someone called "Miss PattyCake". Apparently, she wears hats and stuff and sings christian songs to little kinds. That is cool too...I could be Miss Pattycake! Anyways, I would post a picture, but I didn't get any good ones. I looked a little less "Holly Golightly" and a little more "Holly Gochubby" ; ).

We ate and talked and when Joe and Amy Davis came in, we finally knew them well enough to talk to them. My feet hurt SO BAD by the time we left. I was walking like those little girls who are wearing heels for the first time. Anywho, Steve and I left about 9:45 or so and we had to go get some groceries. All in all, it was a good night. We only had about 6 Trick or Treaters while we were home, so we've got about 8 pounds of chocolate still by the door. If you come over, please have some. It's not safe for chocolate to be sitting around me like that.

It's almost the weekend! Woo-Hoo! I was going to go to the studio, but yet again, I've changed my mind. I don't know why I haven't been going - other than sheer laziness- because I enjoy printing, but I'm just...not...wanting...to...go. So I won't. So there.

My teacher did indeed crucified my pamphlet during critique. I got a 76, but only after he gave is 5 points due to him giving the projects back late. The weird thing is, I used HIS brochure as a template! I didn't copy it under any circumstances, but I did use it as a guide and he still didn't like it. Grrrr. I know I could just run to him with every project and have him help me, but I don't want the work to be HIS, I want it to be MINE. Well, my one consolation is that I'm going to strive to be his boss, and I'm going to point at all of his work and laugh. Actually, he's really talented. SIGH. However, I will not let him deter me from doing what I want. He can't be the messiah of graphic design bosses. : P

I've got to go home and finish my costume. I've got to figure out how to sew a row of tassles onto a dress without doing anything bad to it. It's actually one of my summer dresses, and I wear it to church sometimes, so I don't want to mess it up. I'm sure I can figure something out.

Anyways, I've got things to do.

Holler! ; )

War Eagle, by the way.

I woke up this morning at about 2:30 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. I can't figure out why, but I stayed awake until 5:00 playing The Sims 2 (where I killed yet another person inadvertantly), then I fell asleep in the recliner for another hour and a half before the alarm clock went off. Can't someone figure out a way to stop time so we can sleep longer? Ugh.

Tomorrow is our office Halloween Snack Day! I'm going to make scones. I don't really like bringing stuff to these little get togethers because if you bring something even the least bit unusual, no one eats it and then they make fun of you for making something strange. I'm not going to let that stop me, though. Chocolate Chip Scones it will be!!!!

There really isn't much of a point to this entry except for I'm trying to keep awake by being occupied. I'm surprised I haven't dozed off already, but they send you home for sleeping on the job. Go figure ; ).

Steve and I went to lunch together today. We went to Sonic. I have never eaten anything other than onion rings there before, and it was pretty good! Going to have to go back sometime when we have time to get ice cream.

I was going to the studio tonight, but I think I've changed my mind. I'm too tired to do much good, and since this is an extra print that I won't be turning in, I don't need to take up a table someone else could be using. If nothing happens, I'll just go on Friday. It's not too complicated, so it shouldn't take me long to do it.

I have recently got three of the coolest books. One is a cookbook from Williams Sanoma (which, as you know, I collect) and it's about the food from Paris. I haven't actually gotten to the recipes yet, but they go step by step through the kinds of things you would find in Paris, and it's really interesting. Oh, shut up, cheese is interesting! Maybe that's weird, I don't know. I'm thinking about going back tonight and getting one of the others in the series. They have San Francisco, a Spanish one and an Italian one. I don't know which one I'll get though. I also got another food history/cookbook called Culinaria of America, which breaks down the country into regions and explores the different kinds of food that is indigenous to each area, plus it's history and evolution. It's HUGE, I guess it's supposed to be a coffee table book, but I don't know why you'd have a book like that on your coffee table. Anywho... the third, and by far my favorite, is a book called simply "Ghosts". I found it kind of hanging out in the front of a Waldenbooks with some other "scary" books for Halloween. It's a black leather bound book with gold tooling and the single word "GHOSTS" on the front and on the spine. I figured it would be a good Halloween decoration if nothing else, but it's really got some great ghost stories in it. It's an anthology of stuff from a spectrum of authors from Bram Stoker to Arthur C. Clark. The guy who put together the book wrote a pretty funny forward warning you not to read the whole thing at once. Not because the stories are that scary, but "because like peanut butter fudge, too much at a time can make you lose your taste for it."

Well, it's almost time to go, so I figure I can stay awake for another 15 minutes. Cross your fingers for me!

bicycle marshmallow John Kerry George Bush watermelon shoes belly buttons Elmo.

No, I'm not crazy. I just got an Extreme Tracker ---> look to the right please ---> and I'm putting crazy stuff in my blog so people pull me up when they do searches. Yeah, it's sad. : (

Do you know something that makes me kinda sad? Those people who have schedules for their lives. You know them, they are the "I'll-be-married-by-23-have-babies-by-26-join-PTA-by-30" people. I don't know why they make me sad, but they do. I think maybe it's because more often than not, these people who try so hard to fit into their schedules, are very rarely happy. They will convince themselves that they love someone/convince that someone to marry them just so that they will be married, have babies before they're ready, want everything to be just so, all because they have a plan that can not be deviated from. I don't know, I see it all the time. The soccer mom, more often than not, is usually this person. Now, I'm not saying it never works...don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are plenty of people who do this who are happy as larks and such, but to me it's sad. More people should be like that penguin from "Fight Club" and just let it all "Slide". SIGH. Anyways...

Last night I finally got the last pieces of my costume ready for this weekend. I thought I was going to get through this Halloween without dressing up, but we got invited to a birthday/costume party where it was requested that you dress up like a movie character. I had no idea what I was going to do. I've been too busy to think of anything, and I have employed many others to help me think of something, all to no avail. Steve mentioned the "Stay Puft Marshmallow man" and was promptly riddled with visual bullets. I mean, please don't ever put me into a white puffy suit and sailor hat. I already resemble a giant, puffy, pale creature....I'm trying hard not to look like that on a regular basis!!! : ) So I finally decided on being Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffanys. I mean, I don't look anything like Audrey Hepburn, but I already had the dress and shoes. All I had to do was get a hat and gloves (which I did) and make the jewelry (which I will) and I'll be done. A sort of zaftig Audrey Hepburn, if you will. Eh, who cares. At least I don't have to think about it much anymore.

How sad is it that I couldn't think of anything to dress up like? I could dress up in a different costume every day without blinking, and then someone asks me to, and I blank.

Josh just called me a while ago and had me do my Latina accent over the phone to his class. Who knows why, either. They all probably think I'm on crack. Glad it made them laugh, though. : )

UPDATE!

Hello, folks! As you may have noticed, this is more than just a weekend update. Why? Well, I've been lax in my blogging duties as of late. I mean, it's not like I post important stuff or anything, but hey, someone out there may care! : )

I forgot to tell you last week, but October 16th was my Blog's birthday. Well, at least the birthday of when I could actually make it work. Yay! Happy birthday Bloggie!

This week has been such a pain, but for different reasons than normal. Monday I went to the printing studio and almost completely finished my newest project. I had planned it out on my computer before actually going in to complete it, so it was easier than normal. Well, that, and I had a seperate stencil for each layer rather than having to manipulate the same one for each print. By Tuesday I had to redo a couple of layers because of a color problem, but I finally finished it. It wasn't due till November 11th, so now I have a little time to play around with a print I just want to do. Hopefully I'll get it completed and it will look like I think it will. Screen printing is by far my favorite of all of the classes I'm taking now. Speaking of all of the classes I'm taking now, none of my teachers turned in Mid Term grades. None of them! I have no idea where I stand in at leat two of them, and I'm scared to know what my GPA is. It seems like we haven't taken enough grades this semester to really make a difference. I'm especially scared of my Graphics course because I know I've made at least one C, and he hated my last project too. SIGH. I'm gonna be a call center agent forever!
Oh, and another thing. Guess who didn't show up for class again today? Tom McDougal! I mean, this is the fourth time he's just not shown up. I used to not care, but being reminded that I did pay for this class, I'm starting to get a little peeved. If I didn't like the teacher so much I'd say something to the dean. We've had 3 grades taken in this class so far, and none of them were anything more than quizes. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad this is better than a teacher who is so strict and straight laced that we are constantly doing something for the class, but I really like Mr. McDougal and his way of teaching. I hate that HE is the one teacher always missing class!

This weekend wasn't as productive as it should have been. Steve was gone to visit the family in GA and I was left to my own devices. I had all of this stuff planned to do (cleaning mostly, but I need to wrap christmas gifts and stuff) and I got jack done. I was completely narcoleptic. I'd sit down to read and doze off. The most productive thing I did on saturday was play The Sims 2 and get one of my characters a job. Sunday was a little better. I did laundry, took a nap, visited my parents, took a nap, and made dinner for myself. I thought Steve would be in a lot earlier than he was, but he was helping Greg do some kind of computer thing, so I didn't see him before I went to bed. Apparently I didn't see him, but I still talked to him. He said I was mean...heh heh heh. I told him that "if he woke up wearing pajamas, it wasn't my fault!" I guess I was dreaming about The Sims.

Speaking of The Sims, I'm an unfit mother. : ( I had a family with a son who was in elementary school, and I forgot to send him to school one day. I didn't mean to, I just didn't hear the bus pull up in front of the house. By the time I did notice it, it pulled away from the house. I got a little dialog box that said "Pheonix missing school causes him to lose a grade point. Another miss will cause a visit from a social worker." So from then on, I tried hard to keep that kid in school. He was doing pretty well until there was a fire in the kitchen one morning before he was about to leave. When there is a fire, the cleanliness level of these characters drops a HUGE amount, but since he didn't have any other problems than being dirty, I sent him to school anyways. I saw the kid get on the bus, so I didn't think anything of it. When I went back to the parents, they were on the couch kissing like teenagers (yes, that can happen). All of a sudden, I see the little boy go into the bathroom and jump into the shower. The parents hadn't noticed him come in, them being otherwise occupied, but apparently he took it upon himself to skip school to take a bath. So while he's in the shower, this lady walks into the house and over to the parents (who are still kissing, by the way) and just stares at them. The little kid gets out of the shower, changes clothes, and gets into the social workers van outside. I'm doing everything I can to keep the kid in the house, but it didn't work. I have some kind of bug in my game that sometimes keeps me from controling the characters, so I couldn't get the parents to quit kissing. Then the lady takes off with the kid, and now the parents walk around occasionally bursting into tears because they miss their son. I can't believe I got the kid reposessed by the social worker! Ugh.

You know what? I almost forgot my weekend update! NO!!!!!!!!

Friday was a long sleepy day. I actually, for no apparent reason, woke up at 3:30AM and couldn't go back to sleep. I was going to just lie there, but I got restless and went ahead and got up. The dogs were confused when I let them out, but I knew they'd have a fit if I was up and not letting them out of their kennels. So with that taken care of, I played Sims 2 until it was time to get ready for school. I noticed while I was sitting there that I was so sore all over, and I started to get worried that I was getting the flu (no shot for me)! However, I realized that it wasn't because I was sick, but because I had been so tense while working on that stupid screenprint that I strained my muscles. How stupid is that? I strained my muscles while basically using a stencil. I reeeeeeeeeeally need to get to the gym more often! By the end of the day, I was a wreck. I was so tired, but I had stuff I had to do. Honestly, I don't even remember what I did the rest of the day on Friday, I just remember being glad to go to sleep.

Saturday was a blissful didn't-have-to-work-day. I slept late and kept waking up and thinking "wow, I need to let the dog out" but dozing off again without doing it. Bless Steve, he had done it for me, so when I heard them barking, I knew I could keep sleeping. Of course, by then I was awake, so I got up, cleaned the kitchen and dining room, had breakfast, and sat down to watch TV for a while. It was weird not having to go anywhere, but I liked it!! I ended up getting a bad headache around 2:00 or so and went to lie down for a while. I fell asleep again, and when I woke up and looked at the clock, it said 2:45. I panicked! I apparently blocked out the whole morning because I thought I had been asleep the whole time! I thought "THE DOGS!! I haven't let the dogs out!" So I jumped up and ran to the bedroom door before I realized...Um, Self, you're an idiot. : ) I think I may have watched more TV, but I'm not sure. Steve got home and we rented some movies and got Wendy's for dinner. It was a really nice day!

Sunday morning was busy. I was supposed to sing in morning services and we were having our fall picnic that afternoon, so I spent the beginning of the morning cooking, ran upstairs to sing (which everyone said I did well - I don't know if I agree) and then ran back downstairs to cook some more and then we went to the picnic. It was lots of fun, but we didn't stay long. It was freaking COLD! Steve and I came home and took a nap, and then we watched a movie and just hung out after that. All in all, it was a nice weekend. I'm glad I didn't have to work! Yay!

Oh! I have a job for you guys. I'm trying to think of a hard question to give Nelson, the Super Engineer to see if I can stump him. He's the one who answers all the questions on the "Why" section of my webpage. I'm determined, but I need help! If you can think of one, send it to me! : )

GOOD DAYS/BAD DAYS

Sigh.

First off, I want to say I'm blessed beyond my wildest dreams and I know intellectually, physically, and rationally that I shouldn't feel discouraged about anything. However my emotional side (which I have to admit talks louder than all those other guys most days) is demanding I get frustrated about some stuff, so I'm going to vent.

Actually, there isn't THAT much to vent about. I think it's just the fact that some really irritating stuff happened all in a row and the cumulative effect is worse than the actual stuff! : ) Fear not, though! I am going to find solutions to these problems so that they don't build up on me.

Of course, my last entry talked all about the tragic screen printing incident last night. You guys, I'm just sick over it! It would be one thing if I could just go back in and do it all over in an hour or so, but it's way more complicated than that. You've heard the term "breaking the mold"? Well, technically, this is what you're doing with a screen print. You're slowly and methodically destroying your stencil as you keep printing. By the time I was done last night, I didn't have a stencil left. So I can't start over and have the same picture I want to do. On my way in, though, I thought of something I could do to make it look better. I mean, it can't be fixed, but it might hide the worst of my problem. I'm going to talk to my teacher about it tonight to see what he thinks. I may have used too much ink on it already, though, and it might make the problem worse.

Thing two was that when I got home last night I still had to finish my graphics project and I was up until 1:30 this morning trying to get it to print. Not only would it not print right, but when I could get it to print at all, it was so dark you couldn't see any detail. My teacher is going to crucify me in critique today. I DID save it as a PDF, so I'm going to ask if I can also turn it in electronically too so he can see what its supposed to look like.

Number three is that I ordered a beautiful pair of boots and I've been excited about getting them. I got them in yesterday and wouldn't you know it? The stupid things have zippers on them instead of being the kind you just pull on. I can't get them past my calves. Apparently, I don't have calves, I have full grown cows. I can't find a pair of those boots that I can zip all the way up! So if anyone knows where I can get a pair of those knee high boots that will fit people with big calves, let me know!! It's no problem to return them, but the fact is I have to return them. : ( They're so pretty!!!!!!!!

Anyways, in the grand scheme of things, these problems aren't that bad. I know this. I just wish they wouldn't have happened in a span of six hours. On a lighter note, I did get to watch some of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones can always make me feel better! ; )

How do you spell frustrated? Me? I spell it HOURS AND FREAKING HOURS OF WORK ON THAT STUPID PROJECT AND IT'S RUINED!!!!!!!!!!

If I didn't have that little shred of self control, I would have jumped off of the Art Building. I have been working so hard on this screen printing project. I even started it over once because I wasn't satisfied with the earlier results. In all, I worked on it about 17 hours. Well, tonight while I was working on it, some adhesive from one of my stensils stuck my paper to the stupid screen, making the ink smear all over the picture. So I tried another one, and the same thing happened to a lesser degree. On the other 9 prints, that same stupid section either smeared or got lines in it. I ended up having to throw two of the prints away, and my very pretty print is now a piece of garbage that I have to turn in for a grade. I don't think any of the curse words I know can express my irritation and frustration at this moment. I mean, it's RUINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost cried. In school.

Grrrr.

And I'm still not done with that graphics project that's due tomorrow.

Double Grrrr.

TIME TO LET GO

Don't you just love the feeling you get when you decide you have to make a change in your life, and you become determined to do it? I do. Over the course of this weekend I took a deep look at some things in my life, and I've become determined to - clean out my inner closet - so to speak. It's was kind of a scary thought at first, but the more I've thought about it and prayed about it, it has sort of become a relief as well.

I used to pride myself on never staying mad at anyone for a long time. In fact, I had a few people tell me that it was hard to stay mad at me because I could come in the next day and act as if nothing had happened at all. Of course, they thought that was weird, but to me, nothing had ever been bad enough to harbor inside. Of course, while not keeping bad feelings inside, I would keep hurt inside. I'd hold on to that with both hands like a Little Debbie cake at a Lane Bryant fashion show. I suppose it all came down to not wanting anyone to see that part of me, because people came to me to feel better, and I didn't want them to think I was weak. So since I was about 14 years old, I've held all kinds of personal hurt inside. After letting that get to me for a while, I started holding other things inside. Every time someone hurt me, it was like I wrote it down and read it every day. Basically, I was being very pathetically self indulgent. At any rate, I never really thought about it much. It was a part of my life, and a part I let fester a little more every day. Whenever I thought about any of it, I just got a little more hurt or mad instead of letting it fade. I didn't let time heal any of those wounds.

Well, this past week, it hit me how dumb I have been. I've let people I haven't seen in years, who haven't done things to me in years, eat away at me a little at a time. It all began when I found out a girl whom I'd been best friends with from Jr. high to high school, although we hadn't been close for the past couple of years, got married and I wasn't invited. In fact, when I had seen her a couple of months ago and she told me she was engaged, she acted like she really didn't want to give me any details about her wedding at all. I don't know why I let that bother me, since like I said, we haven't been close lately, but I did. It took a conversation with a very smart person to get me to see it all in the right perspective, and realize that people move on. It was then that I realized that I wasn't moving on at all. In fact, it seemed like I was dwelling more on the past these days than thinking about the present. How embarrassing! When this realization sunk in I just stopped everything and prayed that I would be able to just let go. I want to let go of all the hurt and bad feelings that I've been holding on to all of this time and I don't ever want to see it again. I want to be able to forgive all of the people who have hurt me or made me angry. I also realized that I needed to do what God told us to do and pray for those who hurt you or despitefully use you. It's hard to feel animosity towards someone you're praying for, I've come to realize. So far, so good, although it's only been a few days, but I'm hoping that eventually I can hear these names or see these people and not think bad thoughts.

I didn't tell you this to get a pat on the back or to make you think I'm such a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD person, 'cause quite frankly that's not true. What I want from you is for you to pray for me so that I don't fall back into that rediculous way of thinking and living. I really don't want to be that way again, and I can't do it on my own.

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I bought this after seeing it on an infomertial a couple of months ago. I don't normally buy stuff that I see on TV unless it's something I can get at Target or Wal-Mart, but something about that chubby woman hawking this thing made me want it so bad. Luckily I had some student loan money left, and after thinking about it for a month or so, I finally ordered it. I have to say that it is a really great little appliance! If you don't have a whole lot of room or a whole lot of time for cooking, it's worth it. The only thing that bothers me is that everything comes out in a semi-circular shape. I know that's just asthetic and it doesn't make the food taste any different, but shaped food bothers me. It's like making everything you eat in a muffin tin. Anyways, I got it and it's great. I can make little semi circular cakes in 7 minutes, semi-circular pizzas, semi-circular hamburger pies (see the back of a bisquick box), and all kinds of other stuff. Just thought I'd mention it.

I still can't believe I bought something from an infomertial.

So, Martha Stewart went to jail this morning. According to this Article, Martha Stewart reports to West Virginia prison - Oct. 8, 2004, she is in a place referred to as "Camp Cupcake".

FREE MARTHA!!!!!!!!!!!!


A moment of silence, please.

Sign I've worked in the call center too long:

I dialed 9 on the microwave before I entered my time.

Thank goodness I realized this before I turned it on!

So tired. Want to sleep, but don't have time.

Updated my website. Not a major change, but added a few things.

Sleep? Please? Bueller? Anyone?

Bought boots today and almost paid off credit card.

No more student loan for me.

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep......

Some of this was written last friday...I just didn't get a chance to finish it.

FRIDAY:
Anyone want to read the absolute best reporting on the presidential debate last night? Go here: al.com: Weblogs. It was live blogging by your favorite Kenny and mine, who in my opinion, is the only person who makes politics interesting. Take that, Dan Rather!!!

I'm sitting here at work trying to install Adobe Creative Suite on my laptop in between calls. I realized in class yesterday that I probably won't get many chances to be in the computer lab, so I broke down and used part of the last dregs of my student loan to buy it. All I have to say, is that we better not get word that the Graphics Department is moving to PC. I'll kill someone with my bare hands!

MONDAY:
Weekend Update!

Friday morning, I couldn't get myself started. I was really late for class. I felt bad because by the time I got there, Tom had already started his lecture. I went to him after class and apologized, and it turns out he didn't even realize I had been late. Then I felt kind of dumb for thinking he'd care if I was late or not. Oh well, I felt bad, so I apologized. So, there. Friday night was kind of a bust for everyone, I found out. I was going to the print lab to wash out my new screen (which I think I screwed up, by the way) and I ended up staying a few extra minutes to test out my new stencil. I was supposed to meet Steve and everyone at McAllister's and I ended up being the first one there. Everyone else was going to the Cornfield Maze, and I was going home to work on a project someone asked me to do. See, I hate going into cornfield mazes because I can't find my way out. When I can't find my way out, I start to get claustrophobic and then I start to panic. I know people think I have major issues because there are so many things I can't do because I get claustrophobic, but if they had that problem like I do, there would be a lot of things they couldn't do too! Anyways, it ended up that no one went because the rest of the crew couldn't get their plans straight. SIGH.

Saturday I ended up sleeping really late and waking up to play my Sims 2 game, which I'm completely addicted to. When Steve got up, we went to Lowes to get some stuff to landscape with, and we worked in the yard for a while. Steve wasn't feeling well, so he wasn't able to do much. I only got one corner of our flower bed done, but at least that part is done. I'm hoping we can get all of the other stuff done before it gets cold. Otherwise we are going to have a lot of dead bushes on our hands. Steve got to feeling better later and watched some football game with some buddies, while I stayed home and worked on my art project and played Sims 2 some more.

Sunday was lazy. Church in the morning, got groceries in the afternoon, slept until early evening, woke up feeling sick, watched TV until we went to bed. Kind of nice after the hectic week, but I don't feel like I acomplished very much.

Today got off to a pretty good start. Our teacher wasn't able to have class today (and I didn't find this out until I got to school) so I went to Target and bought a few things. I got kind of annoyed while looking for a bra. Now, if you get embarrassed by reading about women's underwear...stop right here.

When I was wearing a bigger size, I could never find a bra in my size that didn't look like some kind of lacy harness. I mean seriously, just because you are a big girl, doesn't mean you want to wear reinforced steel halter tops, you know what I'm saying? Well, now that I've gone down a little (just barely), I can't even find my size most of the time, but I keep running across all of the really pretty bras in the size I USED to be. SIGH. It isn't fair!!!!

Anyways, so I'm off to do some work and then go to the print lab. JOY!