six months...

And here we are, almost exactly six months since I've posted a thing. I have an excuse. Actually, I have plenty of excuses, but none of them are nearly good enough. Suffice it to say, I went through a bit of a lack of creativity.
But here we are in December. And not only should I have more things to say about school, but I should also have more creative and good things to say about my wedding planning. Yes, legitimate wedding planning. For my legitimate wedding. This wedding will occur on June 16th, and I will be marrying my best friend and love, Andrew :)
So friends, I plan on blogging much more. I plan on blogging about school and about my students and about my adventures during my first year of living on my own and most importantly, I plan on blogging about my wedding and my planning and how great and stressful that will be.
I am so excited. But for now, I will merely post a picture of myself and my fantastic Andrew.

This photo was taken at a Halloween party. He was dressed as Ron Swanson (of Parks and Rec) and I was dressed as a Capitol Citizen (from The Hunger Games).

10 reasons i can't wait until fall...

 1. legwarmers...

2. tights...

 3. cardigans (backwards...










and regular)...

4. oversized sweaters...

5. hats...

6. layers...

7. socks...

8. jackets...

9. scarves...

10. and, my most recent fashion discovery that i haven't been able to try yet: tights and shorts!...

making a grocery tote.

i've been thinking for a while that i need a reusable grocery bag, and as a knitter, i have wanted to make one of those awesome knitted grocery bags. so today i did some research and found three patterns that may be possible for me to make, considering my limited knitting skills. all three also look purty nice too :)

this is actually my favorite looking. the pattern
can be found here

this is my second favorite
and the pattern can be found
here

of the three this is my least favorite
looking. additionally it does
not seem like it would be as effective
because the handles are ribbons,
which would make me extremely
nervous. but this is also the
easiest as far as stitches, etc.
the pattern is here

i would like to make a decision about which one to make before tomorrow night so that i can run to the store after work to buy the supplies to get started. but i can tell you now, i think i'm going to take a risk and try #1, just because it is so gorgeous :)

wondering...

so...here's what i've been thinking about lately:
since i'm moving to canton in a few months, i will be very close to places...within walking and bike riding distance of places.
i've been thinking for a while about getting a bike and riding around to work and school every so often. but also having a car in order to have the freedom to drive places whenever i need to. like my parents house, which is a half hour away.
but today my dad came in to talk to me about this idea. he suggested that i invest some money in a good bike and take some bike safety courses RATHER than buying a car.
i honestly love this idea for a variety of reasons.
firstly, riding a bike everywhere would help me stay in shape...it would be exercise that is included in my necessary daily routine.
secondly, i don't like being reliant on oil companies for my transportation.
thirdly, biking is good for the environment
fourthly, i'd save a ton of money by doing this...not buying a car, paying for insurance, paying for gas, etc.
fifthly(?),  i would very much be reinforcing everyone's view of me as a hippie :)

so now some downsides:
firstly, weather...what about the days when the weather is really crappy? (my dad suggested just riding the bus on those days...which would be better than riding the bus all the time, which i was considering for awhile).
secondly, what about when i want to visit my parents (for food) or my grandparents (for free bread)...i guess i could always bum my boyfriend's car from him whenever i need to do something and he doesn't need it. i don't know. only if he lets me.

so...what should i do?

OR.....

fairest of them all...

yesterday my parents took my siblings and i to a water park. it was great fun, especially since i hadn't been to a water park in several years. it was a lot of fun, really. here's the thing: i have extremely fair skin. the last few weeks i have been trying to get some color on my legs by just not putting sunscreen on them. so yesterday, although i put sunscreen on my back, arms, face, etc. twice, i didn't put any on my legs. every safety break, i would lay on my stomach to try and help my legs. this plan probably would have been alright, except that i accidentally took an hour-long nap...

now the back of my legs are super, super red. and on fire. i don't think i have ever had a sunburn this bad. i'm literally hobbling around my house like an old woman. i know this is gross, but i feel like i have giant scabs on the back of my knees, which makes stairs and sitting incredibly painful.

this said, i'm trying to find some natural relief for sunburn. i usually trust aloe with my life, but when i used it this time, my legs stuck together. unsticking them was so, so, so painful.

just to let you know, googling natural relief for sunburn is rather confusing because there are far too many things to choose from. the two things i settled on: black tea and this weird mixture of water, vinegar, lavender oil and tea tree oil (found here), which smelled SUPER weird. i'm really not sure how well either of these things worked. my legs are feeling slightly better right now, but still not great. i think i'm going to try avocados tonight. maybe. for now i'm just sitting in bed trying to not move excessively. i'm really sad that i can't run or really do many other productive things today, but it is really not fun to move. and of course, i have to work tonight.

oh well. at least i'll have some color on my legs now :P

SUMMER TO-DO LIST

1. make some moolah!


2. get a job for the school year.


3. pack up my stuff (down-size too!)


4. make purty things:

make a gorgeous maxi dress

a crocheted shopping bag...

a ribbon necklace

earring hanger

paint chip calendar...dry erase!

glue and fabric flower pots

5. buy a super awesome vehicle.

6. buy college textbooks.

7. sell college books

8. start an online store!

9. spend some wonderful time with arch-man :)

10. visit New York 

11. BLOG MORE...

best friend.

Best friends: they are awesome. Louisa and I have known each other since we were 5, and have been best friends since a little bit after. The stories are different on both sides...I thought she was my best friend by the time we were 6, but apparently she hated me until we were 10 :P

Regardless, we have been friends for a long time. When she moved to Montana when we were 14, right before our freshman year of high school, it was the most heartbreaking time. Ever. 

Since she left, she has visited Ohio several times, and I have been to Montana once (wow, I suck). And hopefully she will be visiting again this summer. And today is her 20th birthday. 

It's crazy to think that we are both 20 now. Time has flown by so quickly. I wish that we could have spent the last 6 years together, but I am incredibly thankful for the times that we have had together, as brief as they may have been. Long distance relationships are always really difficult, and we've certainly had our good times and our bad, but no matter what happens, I always know that you will be there for me. Every time we talk on the phone or anytime we see each other, it's as if you never left. 

I hope against hope that you will be able to visit this summer. I can't wait to have sleepovers again. And eat toilet paper. And stalk Mitchell Davis. And go on roadtrips. And most importantly, I can't wait for you to meet my other best friend, Andrew. 

I love you and I am blessed to have such a best friend as you. Thanks for the insane memories...here's to 20+ more years of those crazy times!

one of our very first wonderful sleepovers :)

the two of us before we sang a duet of "red river valley" together
at a co-op program :)

louisa's first visit after she moved away. according to the
date on the bottom of this picture...summer 2007

we were pretending to be queens...?

a scanned photo from louisa's childhood scrapbook.

i think this was before she left? regardless, we had just had
hot chocolate from muggs, which was really thick and kept
coating our teeth with brown gross-looking stuff. so what
did we do? spent the entire time trying to freak people out
by smiling at them....

summer of 2009

january 2010

summer 2010, our excursion to zacharyland :)