Difficult Decisions

I’ve been in a funk lately.  This week I have been faced with the realization that school is just too much for me right now.  I’m not sure if I’m burn out per say…but I’m ready to be done.  So ready…. I am struggling in one of my courses…after only the first week.  I am recognizing the fact that it’s more difficult than I had anticipated and that I will actually have to work…make that very hard… to be successful in this course.  Normally I push through classes and easily get A’s…. Only two classes away from my degree and I’m struggling.  So what’s a girl to do but drop a class…and NOT graduate in June.  So sad…and disappointed….I completely stressed over the decision of which class to drop…the easy A or the work really hard for a B (if I’m lucky) class.  Stressed so much that I gave myself a migraine.  I’m sticking it out in the hard class because I think it will be helpful in my career.  So that’s my not happy news….and if I really want to torture myself I can take my last class this summer…on Thursday nights which is generally a traffic nightmare in the city.

With working full time and school this year, I’m thankful that I have a hobby that I find incredibly relaxing.  I can work 8+ hours a day, come home and do 2-3 hours of school work, and as long as I get to sew,  everything is ok in my world.  We may not eat a gourmet dinner or have a very clean house, but I’m happy.  Just call first before coming over :)

Things to be thankful for....

~being healthy and having a healthy family. Knock on wood it stays this way for many years to come.

~my job. My company has laid off a few people and fortunately Hubby and I have managed to keep our jobs. Other companies in the same industry have either gone under or laid off a significant portion of their staff.

~almost being done grad school. Only 4 classes to go! Yay!

~my family. I have such an amazing family that has been incredibly supportive through all the phases of my life, from high school, to college, to marriage, to grad school. The get-togethers aren't as frequent as they were when I was younger which is why the holidays are my favorite time of year. I can't wait to see everyone!

~ and finally Maggie. Yes I am thankful for a crazy, rambunctious puppy! She is a great companion to Paige and is literally a 50 pound, cuddly, lap dog. I'm glad we were able to save her from the shelter system.

So what are you thankful for this year?

Public Speaking Anxiety

I know I'm not alone in this. It was obvious last night during my grad school presentations that there were other people even more nervous than me. I have to say their nervousness put me at ease....just a little.

Speaking in front of a group of people is nerve wracking no matter what the topic of your presentation. I could have given a presentation on sewing or baking and have felt the same way as I did last night presenting a technical talk. I think the more familiar you are with your presentation the better you will do...but let's admit it. That only goes so far.

Each time I have a presentation, the anxiety I experience is a little less. Public speaking is something I would love to do more of (honestly) because I want, no NEED to be good at it.

I also hate having a set time. Saying my presentation has be exactly 8, 12, or 22 minutes, no more and no less, doesn't make me any less anxious. I'd be more comfortable with a range of say 10-12 minutes. Each time I practiced my presentation it was 17-20 minutes...way too long. I almost considered deleting some slides. Good thing I left it alone because I think I was just a bit under...I was able to catch myself a few times, take a breath, and continue much slower. I almost wish someone had recorded the presentations so we could see how nervous we all were.

I have no tips, but if you do, feel free to comment and help a girl out!

Now that that's over ::::sigh of relief:::::, I can look forward to the upcoming holiday and hopefully some much needed sewing time!

Time to get busy...

Classes start again after my teeny, tiny summer break.  While I'm not looking forward to driving fighting traffic through the city, I am looking forward to new television starting this week (Grey's Anatomy) and last week (Bones).  Oh Grey's, how I've missed you!  I'm looking forward to my online Toxicology class, which if designed well, will help me with my career.  UGG season is almost upon us people!  Other things to look forward to:  my first wedding anniversary :)

Things I'm not looking forward to:  lack of time to clean house, the warm summer air, fresh veggies from the garden, flip flops.
 
The zig zag quilt is basted and ready to be quilted.  I basted with pins to try something new since the spray adhesive was far too sticky last time.  I found an amazing backing fabric at JoAnn's.  It's the perfect print, was wide enough I didn't need to piece the back, and was incredibly soft!  Amanda Jean over at crazymomquilts has a great blog post about where quilters buy their fabric.  There are alot of interesting comments over there so check it out!

Free At Last!

The semester is finally over!  One class was a breeze...the other completely made up for it.  Only 6 more classes to go for my degree.

Now that I have time again (for only 2 weeks until classes start again) I have so much to do.  The house is a mess, the pets have been ignored, and sewing has been non existent.  Luckily I am still motivated to work on the zig zag quilt top...which is almost done!  Pictures coming soon.

It's coming along great and I'm loving the colors.  Now to pick out some backing so I don't stall out.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway - open until September 11th!  Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions.  I have an idea or two of what to do with the jelly roll...now to find some Wonderland backing fabric at my LQS.

Race Against Time

Looking back this time a year ago, there was no way I would be able to spend an hour (or 2) a night sewing. I was planning a wedding, working full time, and taking classes. I never had time for hobbies, other than pottery. Now that the wedding has passed and I've stopped taking classes, I've had so much time to spend on hobbies. The problem is I have too many hobbies!

By the end of the work day, I'm usually so tired and frustrated that all I want to do is go home and veg...which I do...ALOT! Not to mention all this weight I have gained since the wedding. Who has time (or energy) to work out after working all day, and then even more energy to create? Not me! I can't even imagine what having kids will do to my "me time".

Well I have bad news...classes start on Monday. Yes, classes, plural. The good news....they are online. My hobby time will be gone once again. It's time to prioritize and make some cuts. Scrap booking has been long gone. I'd rather spend $300 on fabric than on a Cricut. I'm sure I'll revisit scrap booking later, like when I have kids to take pictures of. Pottery is on hiatus too. It's too expensive and in this economy it's all about saving money. Besides, how many bowls or cup-like things without handles do I really need? Knitting and cross stitch are good traveling crafts so they'll probably survive the downsizing (at least this time around). It looks like sewing is here to stay! Goals of the week, by Monday I need to finish AB purse #2 (fabric is cut & ready to be sewn) and ORB quilt. I'm still behind in the quilt along. I have one strip set left to complete. Hopefully I'll finish the top tonight :) Then I'll need to pick backing and batting up from the store.

Wish me luck!

Annoying neighbors, crappy weather, and a stinky dog

Things are pretty sucky right now.

I'm a terrible blogger at the moment. I'm highly unmotivated to blog or do much of anything that does not involve sitting on the couch under 3 or so blankets and watching television. Oh, I can blog while sitting on the couch watching TV? Ooops!

I fell off the church wagon. How hard is it to give up an hour of my Sunday for God you ask? When that hour is in the morning at 8 am, it's pretty darn hard right now, especially since it's winter. I've been meaning to go back but church then leads to me going food shopping (Acme is right up the street) and I hate food shopping, especially when it's all little old ladies (coming from church of course). I want to be in, then out, without knocking little old ladies to the ground. It scares me because I look at them and think, wow, that will be me someday. Makes me want to cry quite honestly.

I've also fallen off the gym wagon. I was motivated to go, along with everyone else right after New Year's. None of the machines I like to use were available so it was pointless going. I need to go back especially with the 7 boxes of girl scout cookies Hubby bought, the baking I've been doing, the huge bag of Swedish Fish (mmmmm!) from Christmas, and all the take out we've been having.

It's been an especially cold winter here. Last night it snowed more than has in the past 2 or so years. The snow covered trees are beautiful. I love snow, except when I have to drive in it. Beetles are not made for driving in snow and unfortunately I had an exam last night. The teacher bumped the exam up to earlier in the evening because of the weather but was 40 minutes late!! By the time I left after the exam the roads were messy and snow covered. Weather forecasters predicted 1-3" of snow and damn were they wrong. Philadelphia received 8" of snow last night!

I couldn't get my car up any further in the driveway after class because it was mostly covered in snow.

The beginning of the storm!

Our neighbors are ridiculously (insert negative adjective here). We try to stay out of their way, avoid eye contact, etc but sometimes its hard to ignore them. For the past 48-72 hours we've been experiencing a round the clock rock concert. Brother #2 who occupies the upstairs apartment has all of his windows open (yes, it is very, very cold here) and is blasting music starting around 730-8am until 10pm. It's annoying because there is no escaping it in our house. I don't know how the people (his brother & family) deal with it!!! I've going to get a copy of the local noise ordinance tomorrow.

Paige is going to the vet tomorrow. It's time for annual check up, shots, etc. I'm glad she's going because her eyes have been runny lately. I'm not a bad fur mommy though! Her eyes have always been runny, just really bad lately. She's also quite stinky! We're going to have the vet check out her situation but it's pretty bad. I'm afraid she's making our whole house smell like butt!

Pretty (my parents beagle) & Paige napping during Pretty's visit last weekend.

Hubby's bday is tomorrow so it's time to get cracking on his birthday cheesecake.

DONE, well sorta!

Ugh going back to work after a week off was unbearable!


On a positive note, I'm finished with my Environmental Law class. I submitted the final at 10:00pm Monday night and it was sitting in my inbox at 6:51 am Tuesday morning with SEVENTEEN comments!! Yes, the teacher was nice enough to offer us the option of revising our finals if we sent them in early but I figured, eh it's good enough. Nope, not really. I addressed each and every one of those damn comments. I resubmitted last night and prayed that it would not be in my inbox this morning. It was due at 12 noon today so I wouldn't have time for any more corrections. Nope, instead of being in my inbox, she posted my grade.....an A! Thank God it's finally over, I was beginning to lose it!


Now what to do with all this spare time I gain from not having class on Wednesdays or homework due every week you ask? Plan a wedding! Duh! I thought I would feel a weight lifted from my shoulders after being done class but I'm starting to think the giant knot in my stomach is wedding related. So instead of sitting here blogging I should be assembling the favors (blah), contacting my vendors, figuring out how I want my hair, buying wedding day jewelry, starting a seating chart, creating programs...I think you get the picture.

RSVPs are due tomorrow and I'm still waiting to hear from 50-something people. That's literally half of the people we invited! How hard is it to fill out the little card and put it in the already addressed/already stamped envelope? Seriously? Seriously! (End Rant)

So instead of sitting here...I'm going to get off my butt, go to the gym, and maybe try to accomplish something wedding related tonight.

Bitter Twilight

I'm down to the wire on my paper and I made the mistake of starting a new book yesterday during lunch. Silly me!

I just finished reading "Bitter is the new Black" by Jen Lancaster. It was such a hard book to get through but for my sanity I had to see if the damn girl got out of her huge financial hole. And I thought my spending habits were bad! The format of the book was horrible. There were footnotes on every page. Who writes with footnotes? It's not like its a research paper or anything. The plot was horrible and outside of the plot nothing much else happened. Jen lost her job as a vp after 9/11 and it deals with her trying to get a job, keep her apartment, and not go insane. It was rather depressing when I'm sure it was supposed to be funny. Who gets married just to get money to try to get out of debt? You can't tell me she couldn't get a job at a retail store making $7-$8/ an hour. I wish someone would have just told me the ending so I could have done more important things with my time.

Which brings me back to the paper....I finished the book so I'd have no other distractions/reasons to procrastinate. I made my goal of 3 additional pages completed by Monday night:) and I was doing great until someone at work gave me another book to read. I started it yesterday and got completely caught up in the story. It is called Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I couldn't put it down. I brought it home from work (mistake #2) and for a few hours after work. At 7 I yelled at myself and got back to work on the paper. I managed to get 3 pages done last night for a total 9 pages. Only 1 or so pages to go but it could be more if I don't feel like I've fully covered the topic.

So after feeling a sense of accomplishment on my paper I got back to reading and finished the book around midnight! If you like vampire-ish stories Twilight was really good. I found it to be suspenseful and an easy read. It had me hooked from the first couple of pages! There are 2 other books in the series that I can't wait to get my hands on plus one coming out in August. The series is for young adults though, with a little Harry Potter feel to them. Meyer's first adult novel, The Host, was released last month. It sounds a little too science fiction for my liking but I'll probably pick it up. I think I'll wait until this weekend to get them though as the goal for tonight is to finish my paper :)

Check out Meyer's website since I know I didn't do the series justice: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html