A Post Mostly About Knitting (Sorry!)

I started a new knitting project last night, and remembered that I never shared pictures of my other projects. I know you've all been foaming at the mouth with anticipation (can't you at least pretend?) so here are a couple, as promised:

This one is, as you can see, a bag to hold my knitting projects. This was my first big project and I'm pretty proud of it. I even sewed in the lining, which is a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric. I love her patterns and luckily I had enough fabric left over to re-upholster a chair cushion. (You can see the chair in the corner of the top picture here.)

This one is, duh, a headband. I did it to use up some extra yarn from my second project (no good pictures of this one yet) and also to practice doing lace work. Even though this may not look like "lace", the open holes in it technically make it lace. I'm not sure how I feel about the finished piece, but I learned a lot of new techniques and all it cost me was a few bucks for a new set of needles.

My newest adventure is an honest-to-goodness sweater and is definitely the hardest project I've tackled yet. It's going well so far, though, but we'll see how I feel in a few days.

As a reward for all those who suffered through my knitting pictures, I do have one small piece of CP news: I officially opted out of roommate notification. I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may when I get there. Adventure, thy name is living-with-whoever-you-just-so-happen-to-stand-next-to-in-line. (Hey, Adventure, you might want to consider getting a nickname.)

A Quick Vacation-y Update

Well, hello there, friends! It's been a while! I've been on vacation for the last few days with limited internet access, and limited interest in blogging (sorry!). It's been a nice rest, so here I am for a quick update.

My wonderful grandma had some travel points, and used them to make reservations for my mom and I in Orlando. I'm not really sure which hotel she used them at, but I know it was close to Vista for check-in, and that it's a reputable hotel chain. Sounds good! So this means that, even though we still haven't sold our old house, my mom may go with me now because she was reluctant to pay for the extra 3 or 4 nights for her hotel. So now that's taken care of. Thanks, Nana! :) (yes, I call my grandma 'Nana'. Don't make fun of me!)

Well, now I'm off to do more vacationing! See you guys again in a few days when I return to real life. Happy 4th, everybody!

Some Less-Than-Two-Months-To-Go Musings

This past Wednesday marked the beginning of the two month countdown before I leave for Florida. Crazy. So I now have less than two months before I'm going to be living on my own, in a new city, working a new job, hanging out with new friends, living under a new, made-up name, going around with a new post-plastic surgery face...wait a minute. Those last two aren't going to happen. But the first few are! And not only that, but I will also be going to Disney World basically every day! For free! Amazing.

I've begun to sever ties with Missouri. Last week, I notified the nursery coordinator at church that I would need to be off the schedule starting in August, and my boss is beginning to look for temporary help for the office while I'm gone. Today, I even kept the cardboard boxes when we got in supplies at work. I'll need them to pack in!

I feel like I keep saying this here, but I just can't believe that this is really real. Every day I get a little more excited, apprehensive, reflective, and prepared for the whole experience. A while ago I caught a special on the Travel Channel about Disney World. And I watched it, thinking how crazy it was going to be to pass Graumann's Chinese Theatre every day on my way to work. Or to walk through Cinderella Castle on my lunch break. Unbelievable. In 58 days, I will be somewhere completey different, living an almost completely different life. And as scary as that thought is, I really, really just can't wait. :)

My Life Lately, in 696 Words or Less

Updates on a few of my summer goals:

• Work Full Time--Check! At least one thing on my list is being done. But, boy, is it being done slowly! Since I work on campus, a large part of my job depends on the demands of students, faculty, and administrators thrown into the full-fledged tizzies that are the fall and spring semesters. But during the summer, things are oh-so-quiet.
  They make working in an office seem so glamorous on TV...
  
  Last summer, working part-time, I felt like things were slow. But they were sort of pleasantly slow. In the "take your time with what little work you have to do and pace yourself so you don't get too bored" sort of way. But working full-time, there's just not nearly enough to do here. I've gone home early several days the last few weeks. My supervisor encouraged me to stay, because she knew I wanted the hours, but I just feel bad sitting around being paid to do nothing. In the three weeks since school got out, I have dusted every surface of the office, organized my work space, and even ventured into the dreaded "back room" to organize the mess we call our storage space. It's all stream-lined, cleaned, and de-clutterfied now. Which makes me wonder...what am I going to do for the next 2 months?!
  
  
• Volunteer--It's not my fault! I applied at the Make-A-Wish foundation, but they said they didn't need any help right now. So, basically I'm blaming this wonderful charity for my lack of volunteerism. It's all their fault! Just kidding. I know I really should try to find somewhere else. Someone out there needs help! But I just haven't yet. I'll get to it.
  
  
• Learn Spanish--This is going...okay, I guess. To be honest, I haven't been practicing much, lately. I need to get back on that! But before I got lazy, I was really doing pretty well. I can now give basic directions. However, they translate to something like this: "Left. Go straight and right at next to bank." As you might have figured out, I haven't really gotten to grammer yet. Hopefully I'll get motivated to do that very soon so I can stop sounding like I learned Spanish from a broken See 'n Say.
  
  
• Get Crafty!--Check! I dove back into crafts with a passion after my DIY binge at the ever-wonderful DesignSponge.com. And the one that really ended up catching my fancy was an old friend--knitting! In the last couple of weeks, I've bought knitting needles of all types and sizes, deliciously candy-colored yarns for hats, gloves, and scarves to come, and almost completed a bag. Seriously! The first project of my Craft Revival is almost finished! I started sewing the lining in yesterday, but here's a picture from a couple of days ago when I was blocking the sides:
  Instead of being completed and sewn at the top, this bag is actually designed to be finished on the needles--making this a very cute bag to carry my future knitting projects in! I'm very, very proud of my baby, so expect to see more pictures in a few days! I've already started my next project, even. No pictures of this work-in-progress, but don't worry...you'll get to see them (I know you were worried! Oh, come on. Can't you at least pretend that you're really excited to see these pictures?)

Other than these things, I've spent the rest of my time lately being robbed by homeless people, (He was drunk, my car was unlocked, and they arrested him. The only thing he got was some worthless text books. Seriously. I couldn't even sell them back. Worked out real well for him, didn't it?), unintentionally providing shelter for baby mice in the air filter of my car (This didn't work out so well for the mice...or for me! Smelled horrible!), and seeing Shakespeare in the Park (Unlike the other things mentioned here, this was a very pleasant experience.)

It's been a little crazy lately, but in a fun, interesting kind of way. And, yes, I just described being robbed by a drunk guy as sort of fun and interesting. Makes for a good story, anyway!

Getting my DIY On

Lately, I've been feeling very crafty. I used to do lots of crafts, even knitting and crocheting, but it's been a long time since I've had a real project to work on, and I'm really starting to get the itch. Part of my newfound inspiration could be my recent gorge on old Design*Sponge DIY posts. They're always entertaining, and their ideas are adorable, but at the same time make me want to smack myself in the forehead for not thinking of it myself.

I'm also thinking of how I can use these ideas in my apartment in Florida. Some of them are definitely ones that I'm going to tackle, and soon.

First, I'm going to try out the "Paper Coasters/Trivets" project from Design*Sponge.

I was using one lonely hand-me-down glass coaster rescued when my mom decided to get a new set for herself. Until, that is, it got wrapped up in my computer cord, and crashed to the floor. So now I have no coasters, and I'm thinking that my old N*Sync and Britney Spears CD cases would go to good use if I used them to make these coasters. (After I remove and carefully store the CDs elsewhere, of course. ;))

And this project from Photojojo is going to have me scavenging for glass jars for months, I fear:

Super cute, right? And this is one of those projects where I go "why didn't I think of that?". I'm seeing a lot more jelly, pickles, and other things that come in jars in my future.

This has also inspired me to finally finish a few DIY projects that I've been planning to do for months now: I'm finally going to make a headboard for my bed, and I'm going to finish that jewelry tree that I've already bought a gorgeous vase for.

Jewelry tree inspiration

It's going to happen! I'm gonna get my DIY on! I'll be sure to post pictures of my awesome completed projects. :)

Remind Me: Why Am I Doing This, Again?

For the most part, it’s been a good week—I finished up the semester, working book buyback is going well. But today has been a little discouraging.

I was giving my degree audit a second look today to see if I was admitted to the program. Good news: I was. The paperwork went through. So then I started figuring how many hours I have left of required classes for my major. Since the semester is over, I have 60 hours under my belt, and have another 51, including my degree-required internship and Gen Eds, to go. So far, so good, right?

Both my current and former academic advisor told me that they thought I would be able to graduate early. So I was hoping that I would still be able to graduate on time even after my CP. To do that, I would have to finish up in 3 semesters after I got back from Florida. 6 of the 51 hours are a summer internship, so that means I have to take 15 hours per semester for the next 3 semesters. I should easily be able to accomplish that!

But then there’s that one stupid little requirement: I have to have a total of 125 credit hours to graduate. Even after I’ve completed all of my required Gen Eds, the requirements for my major, and a couple of electives that I’ve already taken, I will only have 111 hours down. That means that I will still need to take an entire 14 credit semester of just electives.

On top of that, I discovered today that I may have problems with my Honors College Membership. To remain a member of the Honors College at my school, you have to meet the General Honors Curriculum requirement, which basically boils down to this: during your first five semesters, you have to take five honors classes. Which I have done. But, even though I’ve read the requirements many, many times, I never caught this little jewel until today: “…in addition to the Freshman Honors Seminar.” This entire time, I thought that the Seminar counted as one of my five classes. So this means that next semester—my fifth semester—I am technically required to take another Honors course. But I won’t even be here!

I don’t really think this will be a problem. I haven’t talked to them yet, but I’m sure they will make an exception for a situation like this. And regarding my graduation date, I have been skeptical since the beginning when they were telling me they thought I could finish in 3 ½ years. So graduating a semester later now doesn’t really surprise me that much. But the stress is just starting to build, and with the problems I had with Student Employment last week (even though that’s all been resolved; I can work this summer), I’m starting to get a little discouraged.

So, today, for the first time, Disney isn’t looking so hot. I am having a few doubts, and today it even crossed my mind how much easier it would be to just stay here and finish up school as originally planned. I know that I still want to do Disney, but it just isn’t sounding as exciting as it did a few weeks ago. The reality of the situation is starting to set in and I’m not loving every aspect of it. I know I just need to work though it, though, and things will look brighter when all of this is settled. After all, none of these are major problems. But I guess I was hoping for no problems at all!

It’s a little cheesy, I know, but I’m just going to make this my mantra for the rest of the discouraging days (weeks? months?) to come: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Know who said that? A pretty smart fella named Walt Disney. :)

Por Favor Manténganse Alejado De Las Puertas

Perdoneme, ¿dónde está el baño?

Habla mas despacio, por favor.

Hablo español un poco solomente, pero estoy aprendiendo.

Don't worry--your translation function isn't broken. I've decided to try to learn Spanish. Over the summer, I'm going to really try to teach myself the basics. I've got a couple of CDs from the library, and I've been listening to them on my commute to and from work each day. It's going pretty well, except that I look like a weirdo to the people next to me at stop lights, sitting in my car mumbling "Me llamo Bethany. Mucho gusto" along with the CD.

I learned a lot of Spanish from Monty Python...

which means that, naturally, I know how to warn

people about the dangers of llamas. Very helpful.

I took some classes in high school, so I already know a lot of the basics. The problem for me is just coming up with the right phrase at the right time. I can remember the phrases without any hitch...but I really have to think to remember which one means what. And don't even get me started on feminine/masculine forms!

The one thing I do have going for me, though, is that I pretty much have the pronunciations down. Spanish pronunciation is a lot easier than English anyway, and that is one thing that stayed with me from high school. I can read the words, and generally have a pretty good idea about how they should be pronounced.

I don't expect to be fluent in Spanish in just a few months, but I would at least like to be able to work my way through a basic conversation with a minimum of charades-playing. It'd be nice to be able to take an actual class, but there's not one offered at any time that I could make. I think this self-teaching method will work out okay for me, though. Really, what else have I got to do this summer?

Finished With Finals (Already!)

Yay! I am done with finals for an entire year! I just took my last final, and since I will be at Disney next semester, I won't have to take another final until NEXT MAY! That's a very exciting prospect.

So now that the semester is officially done, I am just trying to figure out how I'm going to pass the next three months. For the next week, I'm going to continue working at my regular job part-time, and picking up extra hours at the school bookstore doing text book buyback. Then, I will be able to go to full-time, something student workers are not really supposed to be able to do.

Student workers are only allowed to get 1000 hours per calendar year. Under normal circumstances, this works out to abot 20 hours per week. But since I won't be here to work between August and January, I can work 40 hours per week over the summer, and still not go over the 1000 hour limit. I really love my job, so this will be a great way to spend the summer. And it feels really great to have a definite plan for the next few months, because I wasn't sure that they would be able to find enough hours for me to be in the office full-time. But I guess it's going to work out after all!

Right now, I'm off to do text book buyback for the first time. It's going to be a great way to pick up some extra cash over the next week, and I'm excited to do something new for a while. Manual labor is fun when you don't have to do it very often! :) Actually, I'm not exactly sure what this is going to entail: I am assuming that we will be sorting and boxing up the books, but I really won't know until I go in in a little while. But I'm sure I'll be back complaining to you guys soon about how much my muscles hurt, and how much I'm ready for the week to be over. lol. I'm a wimp! :)

Trying To Find My Laughing Place!

Well, I've run into the first (but I'm sure not the last!) problem with the school regarding my CP. I am a student worker, and to be eligible to work in the summer, we are required to be pre-enrolled for the upcoming fall semester. Even though I'm not going to be getting any credit from Disney, I will still have full-time student status through my school. But that status won't show up until right before the fall semester. So right now, one week before the semester ends, I am not eligible to work during the summer.

Originally, I talked to someone there who said that all I would need to be eligible to work this summer was documentation from the Career Center that I would have full-time student status this fall. But the Career Center said there's nothing that they can give me until I actually have the status!

So I called back over to Student Employment, and the new woman I talked to told me about an exception form that I have to fill out. So I have now filled out the form, and am getting ready to take it over to Student Employment. I will let you all know how it goes! *Fingers Crossed!*

Here We Go...

In a way, yesterday was the start of a lot of changes coming my way. Last night I said goodbye to my boyfriend, who is going back home for the summer to do his internship. I already miss him like crazy, and although we're already planning meet-in-the-middle trips to see each other, it's going to be a difficult summer. And to make matters worse, I probably won't even see him before I leave for Florida. So for the next 7 months, my boyfriend and I will live half a country away from each other.

For a few months, this has been my countdown--how much time do I have left with Erik? But now the deadline is here, and, thinking about it this morning, I realized how many other deadlines have been creeping closer: I've only got two weeks left of classes, including my final exams. After that, I'll be working full-time (location TBD, but I have a promising lead) and only be three months away from Disney.

I just have a feeling that things are going to start snowballing out of control (in a pleasant, exciting way) very soon. Before I know it August will be here, and I probably won't feel ready. That's just the way things go. But I'm trying to brace myself and prepare for all of the changes as best I can. That's all I can do for now.

Hustle, Bustle, and...Something Else That Rhymes With Bustle

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon. This semester, I took mostly easy classes--a bit of a reward to myself after a crazy semester last Fall. But I am taking one truly challenging class: AutoCAD for Interior Design. Yuck! The program has a lot of really neat features, but also a lot of bugs which make for a really frustrating experience at times. Plus, it's a night class, which is never a good thing.

In all, I have four exams, two sculpture projects, and two final projects due in my classes before finals can start. I also need to apply to my degree program, and register for classes for next semester (just as a backup--you never know). *whew!* I'm definitely getting ready for a break.

But I don't think I'll get one in the near future. In the next couple of days, I'm going to begin searching for a part-time summer job. I'm currently a student worker at my school, and we're limited to 20 hours a week. But I'm going to need some money, and I'm also going to need something to kill the time. Last summer I made the mistake of only working my regular part-time job, and found myself bored more often than not. And, because my boyfriend is going halfway across the country (aka: home) for the summer in only two short weeks *sob*, I'm definitely going to have more time on my hands than I've had in a while. Finding another part-time job would basically mean that I would be occupied full-time.

Becuase I'm going to have SO much free time, I'm also going to try to get in some volunteer work this summer. Last week, one of the corkboards at school had a list of volunteer opportunities for the summer, and one of the locations was the Make-A-Wish foundation. We actually have a local chapter, and I think that would be an amazing organization to be a part of. After I get all of my job stuff settled and I know what my schedule is like, I might try to see if I could help out there on weekends or in the evenings.

I'm tired just thinking about all of the changes that are coming my way! I've got a lot to do, and here I am, blogging away. I'm not getting anything done! I'll talk to you guys again after I've achieved something (or just the next time I have something interesting/silly/noteworthy on my mind)!

Extra Note: After publishing this post, I noticed that yet another of my post titles is two lines long. I wish one of three things: either that the title font was smaller, that the column was wider, or that I would learn to be more succinct!