Reveal Time

So...I started this mini-scrapbook in November in the hopes of giving it to The Boy for Christmas. Um. Yeah. Apparently, I don't work well with crafting deadlines. Oops? 

What I learned from this little project (other than I suck at deadlines), is the only way to escape uber-preciousness while scrapbooking, and this is not a sure thing either, is to use random things for the background. Above, I used part of a San Francisco Bread Company's print catalogue, a Woot t-shirt bag, and a sale add from an Asian grocery store from our trip to California this summer. (Yes, I am a pack rat.) Its cheaper (if you don't count the cost of the airline ticket) and its recycling. What's not to love?  

I also made the Boy a braclet with some embrodiery floss. I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture of it in full, but you'll just have to believe me that it is rainbow goodness incarnate.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to in the crafty department as of late. Feel free to comment and let me know what you've been up to, you know, if you want to share or whatever... ^_^

Weekend

Its still February, but my toes are feeling a little tropical. Also, pastey. Oh well. Hope you have a delightful weekend. If all goes well, I will be attending the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe on Saturday afternoon and then having an honest-to-goodness date. What are your plans?

Vintage/Knitting/Giving

I bet you didn't know the Red Cross has vintage knitting patterns on their website? Well, they do! The pdfs can be found here. I am not good enough at knitting yet to tackle these, but I bet these patterns would be the perfect craft-ivism (to steal a term from Etsy) project!

How's Your News?

Image credit: flickr, Creative Commons Liscense 

MTV has a news/variety program on Sunday nights at 10:30. The catch? The hosts are all mentally handicapped. I've not seen it, but the preview I saw looked like it was tastefully done and still pretty funny. The group got started in 1998 at a camp for adults with disabilities. That lead to a short interview program that became a independent film and is now an MTV show. What do you think? Would you watch this show? 

Works in Progress

After completing the Dr. Who scarf (finally), I thought I would get over my love affair of yarn for a while. Well....I guess I was wrong. I have the above lovely color combination taunting me. Not quite enough to make a Dr. Who-length scarf (not that I'd want to do that again any time soon), but maybe I could try something new. Perhaps a wrap? 
I've also recently sacrificed a plate to my water color habit. Silly me, I should have realized mixing watercolors on a green plate would be difficult. Oh well. So far, its not been a disaster. I hope to finish this piece soon enough to submit it to the literary magazine here on campus. Maybe. 

Nail Polish and Books

This week was so busy, I didn't even notice it was gone. I tutored high school kids on Monday, turned in a paper on Tuesday, ran most of a mile and half in PE on Wednesday, studied on Thursday for a test on Friday. Somewhere in all of that, I painted my nails this obnoxiously perfect purple. I've decided nail polish is my new cheap pleasure and this was under $2 at Walgreens and worth a couple day's worth of fun. 

 

Student Government sponsored a build your own critter, hence the bunny. 

I've also completed my first classic book of the year. Better late than never, yes? Pearl Buck's The Good Earth won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize and became a best seller in 2004 when Oprah picked it as a book club book. It follows a Chinese family from eking out a living on a small farm and fleeing a horrible famine in the city to rising to the heights of decadency. I really enjoyed it and would easily recommend it, particularly for anyone interested in gender studies. 

The Short Stories of Richard Bausch is for my Studies in Fiction class. So far, they've all been amazing stories and I can't wait to meet Richard Bausch. (He's coming to campus March 2. ) Delights and Shadows is for my poetry class, and so far I'm not a fan. I hope it grows on me. My Norton Anthology is for my Brit Lit class and is just huge. 

For my next extra book project, I've narrowed it down to finishing Paper Towns or A Separate Peace,  or rereading Eat, Pray, Love. Suggestions?   

Weekend Update

I guess you guys remember that ice storm we had a few weeks ago? The one that made for some pretty/interesting photo opportunities? 

Well, my parents still do not have power from said ice storm, but I decided to go visit them this weekend anyways. Which was pretty fun, though I didn't get much homework done in the electric-less wastelands of the Homeland. All the trees are broken and sad and look sorta like a very selective nuclear bomb may have went off. 

My Homeland has been declared a natural disaster as a result of all the carnage, which is awful, but we did get bottled water and MRE's delivered by the powers that be earlier in the week. My mom insisted I take three of them, which for some reason the photo refuses to be rotated. Perhaps I will blog about my experiences with the MREs....

And in case you thought I forgot about the crafty bit of this blog, here's a hint at my latest creation. I can't reveal it just yet (its a gift), but I had fun playing with my camera while creating it. Okay, to the homework now! 

Resolutions and a Question for You

Photo Unrelated, Just Pretty

I'm thinking of making a resolution. Sure, most people have already failed at their New Year's Resolution, but I skipped that this year. (Go me?) I'm thinking of trying to read one *good* book a month for a year. 

I am an English major (taking Modern Poetry, British Literature II, and Studies in Fiction this semester), so its not like I don't read. Its just that I've tested out of a lot of English classes and have skipped some of those "classics" that everyone else has read. For example, I've never read The Inferno, Silent Spring, or The Jungle. I've started some really great books lately too (The Good Earth, Good Omens, Paper Towns) that I just haven't finished. 

My current plan is finishing two of my current reads for January and February, and coming up with at least 10 books to read the rest of the year. I'd like more than 10 because I know I am capable of burning through more than that, but beyond 10 is just gravy. 

So, anyways, gentle reader, suggest me books! What should I be reading? Literature, popular, I don't care! Suggest away, kids!