Sorry...

I'm so sorry I've been absent for so long. Work has been hectic and as I vow to not talk about these things online and since it is kind of the center of my world right now, I've chosen to be silent.

In other news, the wedding colors have changed from silver and dark blue to silver and dark red (more fitting for an autumn wedding). So far only one bridesmaid had to back out, which was completely understandable no matter how disappointing. But on the other hand, it allowed me to ask another dear friend to stand with me. (My wedding is too small for the number of friends I want to ask to be my bridesmaids!) It seems this other friend is more than happy that I asked so I'm glad it all worked out. Now if only Charlie and I could be together for more than 2 hours while awake (it has literally been over a week), we might actually be able to print up and mail off all the invitations.

Such a wonderful surprise!

So I'm so sorry I haven't posted this sooner since it's now been a week, but Mr. C. and I finally set an official date for the wedding! We're going to be getting married on October 17th of this year in a little place called Julian. I'm so excited, I can't even describe it! I know I've been engaged for a year so I've had time to get my head around the idea of getting married and even planning most aspects of the wedding but there is something very comforting and exciting about having an official date set. And as if my weekend could get any better, Charlie surprised me with something completely unexpected.

Mr. C. and I have been, I'm embarrassed to admit, been extra lazy and a bit messy lately. So, when he asked me to help him clean up our room on Sunday, I fully understand and actually really appreciated that he came up with the idea (as it's usually me suddenly having a moment of fits where I think 'oh my ponies! I need to clean this up now or my life is going to fall apart!'. So we had quite a few things to take down to Charlie's parent's house so while he did that, I did laundry and cleaned up, finally putting books on the shelves (which made me suddenly so much more comfortable and at home). He was gone for quite awhile sending a message saying he thought of something else he needed to take care of and would explain when he got home. Finally, he showed up (I was getting concerned because we had talked about going to see a movie that night. It was getting late and I had work the next morning so I didn't want to be out too late) and asked me to come help him with something. When I got downstairs, you can imagine how surprised I was to see one of my best friends and bridesmaid Stephanie! I had just talked to her the day before saying we could talk more about the details later, only I had no idea just how much sooner! She and Mr. C. had been planning her trip out here since November basically as an excuse for her to take us to see one of her and my favorite bands Flogging Molly. Having her around for several days was admitting exhausting since I did not want to go to bed at my normal time just so I could spend more time with her, but it was all so worth it! We had a great time together hanging out, catching up and I was even able to have a "normal" bride experience shopping for a bridesmaid dress and shoes with her. Since the wedding is now a fall wedding, we ended up changing the colors to a deep red and silver. Miss S. ended up finding a gorgeous dress on sale that's she's going to absolutely stunning in and silver shoes to match. My maid-of-honor ended up talking to me on the phone one night and we shopped for her dress online together. She's going to buy the same shoes as Stephanie and found an equally gorgeous dress that she will look equally stunning in. She then very politely requested I give her stuff to do to help take care of the wedding because that's her job. I feel a little bad now since most everything is planned and there's really not a whole lot to do. Maybe it's too soon, maybe I have no idea how much still needs to be done and I'll find myself freaking out in August piling more and more work on poor Jessica's lap at the last minute. I really do hope to avoid that.

And in other news...

I'm getting married on October 17th! Charlie and I finally, finally set the date just today. He called the inn to see if the date was available, and it was, and we happened to be able to make the reservation so we did. It's set, and I can't stop smiling!

Well, that is until I think about the fact that we're supposed to get more snow on Monday (MORE!? How is it possible to get more? I know, it's nothing compared to further up North but still....). I heard an estimate of 14 inches. I hope to ponies* that's not true. I can't deal with any more snow.

What else is going on....Well, work is finally settling down. I'm finding that I actually have time to sit down and help process some of the archival collections, which makes me happy because I'm just that kind of dork and because it gives me time to get to know my staff on a more individual basis. I'm really liking everyone I work with and with the exception of having to get up at 5:45 in the morning (really?! I didn't know they had one of those in morning!), I actually look forward to my job most days.

Anyway, short post today. And to make up for the lack of images, here's a link to a new favorite blog. Enjoy!

Edit: I forgot to include the * explaination: *ponies instead of God. A saying my good friend got me hooked in.

February already...

The last month has flew by so fast, I can hardly below it! I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it's no longer January. So far, the best part about February is that it means time is continuing and winter will eventually end. We had a storm last weekend that left about 6 inches of snow, a storm on Tuesday night that had the building I work in open 2 hours late (and left me sitting in a Starbucks for 2 hours since I didn't get the call we were starting work late until I was already in DC), and an even bigger storm predicted for this weekend. It's supposed to start snowing around 9 am (which has me trying to decide if going into work is even worth it when it takes about an hour and half from the house to the building) and basically is not supposed to stop until Sunday. The DC area is supposed to get at least 12 inches of snow with some areas getting as much as 24 inches. I have informed Mr. C that if next winter is this bad, I will be moving back to the West Coast. I can handle some winter, but not a whole lot and this is definitely pushing my limits.

As for the new job, I cannot below how tired I am. It's finally, finally starting to slow down but those first couple of weeks, we had so much to do to get the office running and the staff trained that I'm still trying to recover. My co-manager is still amazing and really keeps me going when the caffeine has worn off. I'm really enjoying everyone working with us and I love that I get to share my love for documents and preservation with people. Today, I found out that one of the women working with me enjoys processing collections so much, she wants to try to get another job like this as soon as this job is over. My little heart nearly burst with pride and excitement when she told me that.

And in an effort to distract myself from the oncoming storm and give myself something to look forward to discovering, here is an image I found from inside what sounds to be a gem of a used bookstore, Capitol Hill Books.


Ah, books...they really do make me so happy! How can anyone resist? How everyone has a great weekend!

Greetings from St. Louis

This week, I have been in St. Louis training for my new job. I can't even begin to express how excited I was to be able to train in a city I love where I would actually be able to see friends and family while also training for my new job that I'm just so excited about! Though it's been a fairly tight schedule (as it should be since I'm being trained with my co-supervisor to run our location by ourselves starting next week all in only 4 days), I was able to have dinner with both my parents and one of my best friends in the whole world. My co-worker is awesome and I think we're going to work really well together and the STL girls have been amazing and I'll really miss having them around to answer questions and commiserate to when we start up in DC next week. To top this all off, we were put up in a super fancy hotel with king size beds, a living room area, a work/desk area, kitchenette, and bathroom.




I feel kind of spoiled having all this to myself. And I'm just going to be honest, I am not looking forward to leaving this bed behind. If I could figure out some kind of magic to bring it home with me, I would really be much more excited about going home.

Happy New Year!

So if you remember, my last post ended with one of my non-resolutions/goals for the end being to get a job in archives. Well, as of yesterday, I'm a Documents Rehabilitation Supervisor for Brockington and Associates in their DC office!!! They are hoping that they will be able to send me to St. Louis for training next week and I will definitely be starting in the DC office on Jan. 11th. I still can't believe how quickly it all happened and how quickly after that post my main 2010 goal was achieved! Because of this, Mr. C. and I will actually be able to save some money and eventually set a date for the wedding (2 of my other goals for the year). I'm fairly certain that my free time is going to be cut significantly meaning less time for crafts but I will be able to support my habit much more easily because of this job so I'm super excited about this opportunity. Thank you everyone for all your love and support this year and I hope you all have a great new year!

End of the year wrap-up

So Christmas ended up being really good. Everyone enjoyed their presents and the cookies mailed across the country were a hit. I scored some great knitting supplies, books, games, jewelry and a Roku to be able to play my beloved Netflix watch instantly movies and TV shows on the TV instead of the computer. I feel incredibly lucky and loved. Probably the most exciting part of the holidays was a surprise visit from Mr. C's older brother, sister-in-law and nephew. My future mother-in-law conspired with Charlie to bring them up for the holidays to surprise the family, and let me tell you, I was so surprised that the scream that came out hurt my throat for a good 12 hours. Sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed having my family expand as much as it is but then I remember how wonderful they all are and how welcome they make me feel in the family and feel so grateful. I know, I'm getting really cheesy but it's true.

Speaking of Christmas, now that it's over and presents have been dispersed and opened, I can finally upload pictures of the one gift I was super excited about giving this year. For my wonderful step-father who has a chronically bad back, I made a pillow! I took a scarf pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation and with a few minor tweaks, I turned it into a pillow. I knit the two sides for the pillow cover and sewed three of those sides together:



Pillow pattern detail:

Then sewed and stuffed the inside pillow:


And finally, sewed the inside pillow into the cover. Voila! Super manly (a.k.a. cute) little back pillow!



On the baking side of things, I was able to make some Pecan Butter Balls (a.k.a. Russian Tea Cakes) for the Christmas party at our friends' house on Christmas Eve. I absolutely love this recipe and can't wait to make more. For those who also love baking here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups pecans
2 cups flour
1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Chop the pecans in a blender or food processor until you have two cups. Combine all of the ingredients except confectioners' sugar. Gather the dough into a ball. With floured hands, shape into one-inch balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheets (can line cookie sheets with wax paper or parchment paper and spray them with Pam). Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Pull the cookies and papers off the cookie sheet and onto the cooling rack and let them cool slightly; be sure they're still warm and then gently shake them in a bag with the confectioners' sugar. Place them back on the paper and add more confectioners' sugar while they cool.
Makes about 5 dozen.

I got the recipe from Ann Pearlman's wonderful book The Christmas Cookie Club. It's a quick and easy read but so good. I bought a copy for my mom and a friend for Christmas and will probably end up getting a copy for myself when it comes out in paperback. Incidentally, the Cheeseburger Cookies I made last week were also from this book and so far, they have been a massive hit! I plan on making them again for the New Year's party my future in-laws are having on Thursday.

Speaking of New Year's, after the year I've had, I'm really looking forward to getting a fresh start with 2010. 2009 wasn't terrible but it certainly was not my best year. Between finishing up the work to graduate, having to move into C's parents' basement and not getting a job for 5 months (and still not getting one in my field), it's been a rough year. I'm not big on making resolutions since I never seem to keep them, but my goals for the upcoming year are to get a job in archives, be able to move us into our own place, save a significant amount of money for the wedding, finally set a date for the wedding, craft more, and enjoy my life with Charlie as much as possible. Think I can do it? I guess we'll see this time next year.

Easy, peasy fun Christmas cards

I bought a pack of these beautiful Christmas cards (which I love!) from The Black Apple and sent them out to some people, but I ended up needing more than I originally thought. My future mother-in-law has a bunch laying around the house that she's already offered to let me use whenever I need, but I really wanted to send out cards with a more personal touch. So today, I found some plain white cardstock (a pack of 5 smaller sheets), some self-adhesive forest green felt and some brown felt. I created my own Christmas tree template, traced it onto the felt (I was able to fit 6 onto each piece for a total of 12) and traced a small card onto the cardstock (each sheet was able to make 3 cards).


Then I cut it all out, folded the cards in half and stuck the trees to the front of the cards.


I still need to add the brown tree stumps to the bottom of the trees (I'll just cut small squares of brown felt and attach with my hot glue gun) before I can sign them all and send them out. Of course, that means none of these cards will actually make it to people by Christmas but oh well. It's the thought that counts, right? Anyway, I think they turned out pretty good and I'm so happy I get to send personalize Christmas cards this year!

Worst/best snow storm in who knows how long! and Christmas cookies!

View out our front door Saturday morning while it was still snowing.

This weekend, starting Friday night, we were hit with a massive snow storm here in Maryland. By the time the snow stopped Saturday night (yes is literally snowed for at least 24 hours if not longer), we were left with between 16 and 20 inches of snow. Charlie and I headed over to our friends' house because they have a great sledding hill. Once the fluffy top layer was plowed and packed down by James tugging Charlie down the hill on the sled, we had a great time. It was my first time sledding ever (born and raised in Southern California) so the first time was a little nerve-wracking but once you get the hang of it, you don't really want to stop. I can't wait for James to get the rope-pull working right so we don't have to walk back up the hill anymore. :)Pictures of sledding to come soon!


This is the view out our front door at night with the Christmas lights on. You can see how deep the snow is by how high up the little trees it goes.

In other news, I stayed up most of Friday night making cheeseburger cookies for Christmas presents.


You start by using egg white to stick sesame seeds to the top buns (a.k.a. Nilla wafers).


Next, you use cheese (a.k.a. almond flavored, orange dyed frosting) to attach the patties (a.k.a. grasshopper cookies) to the bottom buns.


Spread more cheese on top of the patties and dip into the lettuce (a.k.a. green dyed coconut).


Finally, spread more cheese on the bottoms of the top buns and place on top of the lettuce. You now have cheeseburger cookies! Aren't they adorable! And so veggie friendly for the non-meaties.

Christmas survey

I've been reading the archives of lots of blogs lately and found this Christmas survey on Miss Pixiegenné's blog. I thought it was interesting and obviously relevant with how close it is to Christmas so here we go:

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Well, Santa doesn’t really visit me anymore since I’m all grown up, but as a kid, he would just set them under the tree. Wrapped presents were always from Mom and Dad.

Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I like white lights on the house and colored lights on the tree.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

Probably the pork roast my mom’s been making the last few Christmases.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child:

Oh god, there’s so many of them! I think decorating the tree and house with my parents and brother is my favorite memory. And going to see Cherry Hill in San Diego (where I grew up) with my dad and brother is up there. It’s a neighborhood where every house on the street goes all out with Christmas decorations.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Yes, one present on Christmas Eve, and usually Mom or Dad got to pick it out.

How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

Lights and ornaments with a star on top. Pretty basic but I don’t like overwhelming the tree.

Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love it when it first happens but hate it when I have to drive in it and by February, I’m usually pretty tired of it.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Apple pie a la mode.

What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is always good. :)

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

yum

Favorite Christmas Tradition growing up:

Watching Christmas movies with my dad.

Least Favorite Christmas Tradition Growing Up:

Going to my step-grandmother’s house on Christmas morning. So glad that’s over!

Breakfast or Presents First?

Presents, then breakfast. I have no idea how my mom did it. Maybe we were just so excited about the presents we never noticed how hungry we were. The last couple of years, though, we’ve been doing breakfast first, partly because we’re all old now and partly to give my Aunt Donna time to drive up to do presents with us.

Keep it going if you want. I'd love to have your answers posted in my comments!

Christmas just keeps getting closer...

I'm really off my game this year in regards to Christmas presents for everyone. We're trying to save since we both just started working about a month ago so I'm trying to make as many gifts as possible. Of course, like always, I let time get away from me and here we are, almost a week away from the big day and I still haven't mailed out my gifts. Oh well, I think everyone knows me well enough by now to know that that's just the way I am. I do hope to be done by this weekend though. There's one gift in particular that I'm really excited about. I'll try to post pictures after Christmas. Hope everyone else's holidays and holiday planning are going well!

The Magical World of Disney

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a freak for Disney--not so much the merchandise, but the movies, the theme parks, the art, the aesthetics...I even love It's a Small World.I can't help but love the idea of capturing the imagination and bringing it to reality? Tonight, I came home to our roomie making yummy smelling pumpkin cookies. Later, I turned on the TV to find something to watch while I worked on a Christmas present for my stepfather, and was so excited to see that a special show, Behind the Magic: Disney Holidays, was about to start on HGTV. David Bromstad, of Color Splash fame, takes us behind the scenes for how Disney World is transformed at Christmas. Being a former Southern California girl, I always thought of Disneyland as a home away from home and I have to admit that their efforts to bring the holiday spirit into everyone's lives have always, always been successful with me. Seeing Sleeping Beauty's castle all lit up every Christmas always takes my breath away and what they do to Cinderella's castle in Disney World is even more spectacular. I can't wait to see it someday.

Things are looking up...

This past weekend, Charlie and I were finally able to move into our own place! Well, it's a rented room in a friend of a friend's townhouse. Our new roomie is really nice and way cool. He has great taste in decor and in TV shows and movies so I'm happy. :) He has a cat named Oliver. He and Caramel aren't friends yet but we're hoping they come around to each other soon. In the mean time, I think Caramel is just happy to be able to hang out in our room with us again since we wouldn't let her down into the unfinished basement with us (fiberglass from insulation in kitty fur = bad). Anyway, we're still unpacking and decorating but I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can.

This past weekend also brought the first snow of the season (2-3 inches!). We went over to a friend's house and played Munchkin and played in the snow with the 3 year old. Later that night we went to see The Blind Side, which was oh so amazing! It's an absolutely beautiful story, and even more so because it's true. I loved Sandra Bullock's performance. She's such a strong actress and when she gets a chance to do dramatic roles, she's brilliant. I highly recommend it, even for those out there who are less then thrill about football, like me.

In other news, I have discovered Miss Annette's blog, and have fallen completely in love with it. I went to graduate school with Annette and one day when I was missing talking to her, I stumbled upon the link to her blog on Facebook. I started from the beginning and am still working my way through to the present (just my way with things), and I am so inspired by her crafts and eagerness to just jump into projects that all come out looking amazing. Like when I discovered Miss Emily, I find myself longing to just keep reading to learn more about them and to keep getting inspired for my own crafts.

Life continues...

Early in November, I finally got a job--in retail, part-time seasonal. I love the store I work in and I really enjoy working with the other women but I can't seem to get over the fact that I've spent 7 years of my life and close to $100,000 getting 2 degrees that are supposed to keep me from having to work in retail ever again. But if my having this job means we get to move out on our own, I'm more than happy to stick with it as long as needed.

However, because I want a job in archives more than I can express, I continue to apply for jobs as they come. The two most recent prospects are a part-time temporary contract position in DC and a full time, faculty position in Boise. The Boise job sounds perfect but means another cross-country move. The DC job also sounds amazing but means I will need to go through all this all over again in 9 months, right when a new batch of library grads are out looking for jobs. As great as the Boise job sounds, I really want the DC one. I know I can do that job and it would mean staying here which makes everyone happy. I should know about that by the end of the month. If I don't post anything, assume I didn't get it. The Boise job is currently reviewing applications but who knows when I'll hear back. Again, I'll let you all know if I get it.

In other (much happier) news, our good friends got engaged this weekend! Miss J and Mr C, I'm so so happy for you both! I only wish we could have been there to celebrate properly with you both, especially since you were so great to us when we were in your position. I look forward to hearing all the details though. :)

Until next time, happy very early Thursday everyone!

Still alive and slightly kicking

Our trip across country to move to Maryland was quite awhile ago now (sorry about the silence!). Packing was not fun, saying good-bye was awful, leaving LA was pretty exciting--though I'm so desperate for good non-American food (Mexican mainly, but also Indian, Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean...) that I'm almost willing to move back. My friend Stephanie and Charlie's dad came out to help us drive the truck towing my car and Charlie's car. This was my first time driving across the middle (as opposed to going more to the North or South) and the Colorado mountains really are awesome!

Before leaving, our friends Jessica and Clint came over for one last game night and dinner and brought us a going-away present full of yummy goodies for the road trip. Each little goodie had a message attached to it to explain the reasoning behind including it in the care package. On top of all that, Jessica made a mix-cd for me and Clint for Charlie, both of which I was listening to for the first day and a half of the trip (love them!). Charlie, being in the truck, unfortunately did not have access to a cd player (his loss, my gain) :).

The first week in Maryland was a little hectic with some unpacking, showing Steph around a little before she fly home, and celebrating my future mother-in-law's birthday and the 4th of July. Afterward, for me, it's been a pattern of reading books (finally!!), applying for jobs, watching How I Met Your Mother, and playing lots of board games. Charlie is enrolled in a Criminal Justice program and will be starting classes in just a couple weeks. We've agreed he will go to school full time and I will work full time. Helping him look at classes though is making me actually want to go back to school and take all those history and art history classes I didn't have time to take the first time around. (I know, I'm weird and a bit crazy.)

On the job front, I have had only a couple of interviews and a whole lot of rejections. As a recent grad/entry level professional, I fall into the category of under-qualified for anything in my field but over-qualified for retail or any other position that will get my money to pay my bills. Charlie's GI Bill will definitely help but I feel like such a mooch having to ask my parents to pay my bills and live in my future in-laws basement. I'm also thinking of knitting a few things and trying to sell them. If it works then great, I'll have a bit of spending cash to play with. If not, I might be back on here seeing if anyone wants a present. :)

Speaking of presents, my 26th birthday is a week from today and for once I'm not looking forward to it. The truth is, I haven't updated this blog since moving here because I'm too depressed, dejected and embarrassed about my current status to want to update anyone. I keep hoping things will look up and Charlie enrolling in school is a start but it would be nice to get our own place, become self-sufficient once again then finally be able to set a date for the wedding...all dreams that are apparently much farther in the future than I anticipated. Oh well, I'm trying to keep my spirits up. A friend of a friend has taken on the task of knitting 60 scarves for soldiers in her husbands unit that apparently do not get a lot of mail and I have been helping. I like having something to do that feels productive (even if it's accomplished while watching TV shows and movies on Netflix all day) and is for a good cause. Focusing on that gives me a bit of sunshine in my life.

I'll end here with a Happy 3rd Day of Fall! Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures uploaded soon for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Roller Derby and Cupcakes

Last Saturday, May 30th (does that still count as last Saturday?), some friends and I went to a LA Derby Dolls game (roller derby) between the Sirens and the Tough Cookies. The Tough Cookies were so my girls that night and did me proud kicking the Sirens' asses. During half time, I wondered around the stalls of merch and found this adorable necklace:


Then just this past weekend, I took a break after finishing the first two of my three final papers and made cupcakes with my roommate and watched Kiki's Delivery Service and The Cat Returns.


Who doesn't love adorable cats, witches, and cupcakes? We made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and blueberries on top and chocolate cupcakes with orange zest, cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on top.

Graduation Gear

I picked up my cap, gown, hood, and tassel today for my Master's degree graduation ceremony. I can't believe how much nicer (and creepy looking) the master's degree gown is from that undergraduate gown. Instead of being that cheap, thin fabric with a cheap zipper and absolutely no embellishments, this is all detailed and fabric that's actually somewhat a nice quality fabric (or at least worth something more than the other kind) with folds ("fluting") and weird arms that really remind me of Harry Potter. Here are some visuals to demonstrate:


That thing hanging down the back is called the hood (why?? who knows...) and mine just happens to be this absolutely hideous combination of black, gold and neon lemon yellow-green. And if that's not bad enough, it's a not nice velvet and it smells nasty. Oh yeah and my tassel is that same puke yellow-green. Wonderful. It's like UCLA's way of saying "we hate librarians and archivists and your whole information studies department and this is our way of saying close your department now or we'll make you and all your graduates regret it!" Again some visuals to help you image the color (I'll show the terrifying/hilarious photos of me in the get-up after graduation):

Of course I'm not wearing shoelaces with my cap and gown. This is just for the color.
I'm so thrilled to let all my friends and family see me in this! (note the sarcasm)
Happy Tuesday!

Lewis Carroll Scrapbook

I was looking for articles for my term paper today and came across this article about Lewis Carroll's scrapbook in the Library of Congress. Apparently they have digitized images of the scrapbook available online.



How exciting is that?! I love scrapbooks so much. I think it's so exciting to see what people think is important enough to save. It can really say a lot about the person. Head on over to see for yourselves!

The end of the school year is fast approaching. It's already week 8 of the quarter, which means only 3 1/2 more weeks until I graduate with my Master's degree and will be done for school for good (or until such time as I see fit to return).

with the end of school comes our move to Maryland. About a week and a half after I graduate, Charlie and I will be moving to Southern Maryland, close to D.C.

I think what I'm most excited about is how much time I will have to myself to do what I want to do, not something school related. I can't wait to have evenings and weekends to myself to do crafty things like knitting, crocheting, and learning to sew. And as much as I love my children's books, it will be nice to not be brain-dead and actually enjoy reading a non-children's book without going "oh! my brain doesn't want to think...". Of course having a job is a big part of being able to enjoy such hobbies since many crafty activities can be draining on the wallet. So far, no word on jobs yet but hopefully soon.

In the mean time, here are some pictures of things I look forward to making in the somewhat near future:



This is a bag created by Ms. Hilary of Wee Wonderfuls.



This ingenious button sweater was created by Ms. Emily, a.k.a. The Black Apple.

Portfolio

I passed my portfolio!!!

The portfolio is the alternative to writing a thesis in my program and involves writing a new paper and including work from throughout your time in the program, a resume, career goals and other things relating to our program. Then, we have to give a presentation on our original paper and answer questions from 2 faculty members and 1 outside professional. Needless to say, this is a pretty stressful thing since not passing delays graduation, especially for someone who is absolutely terrible at public speaking.

So last Friday was my presentation and it went well enough. I was pretty stressed out all day but I passed! So everything is fine. :) This means that pending passing my 3 classes this quarter (which will happen, no worries), I will be receiving a Master's degree in Library and Information Studies this June!