Awkward and Awesome: Brought to you by Friday

I know, I know.  This is late.  But seriously, this week has kicked my butt.  I was driving back to work-home after class Tuesday night, and for the first time this quarter I felt completely exhausted.

But I've made it half way through and we were told in orientation that this first quarter is the hardest.  And once I get through this weekend and next week and a few more weeks after that, I will be on break.  So that's not so bad, right?

I have been working on my list of Awkwards and Awesomes, so I wanted to share, even if I am a day late.

Awkward:
- how sweaty biking too and from campus makes me.  Not that it stops me, but I don't have to like it.
- my level of tiredness this evening. Yesterday was long, this morning was early, and I was not as productive this afternoon as I had hoped. Sometimes you just have to take a break.
- a health scare with my mom last Friday involving her heart. A stressful afternoon. Things turned out much better than expected though.
- my sleep schedule.  For serious, my body wakes up on its own, at the earliest, around 8:30am.  But since I often have to be awake late into the night, I don't mind.  The only real problem is on the two work days when I have to be up around 7:30.  That's not fun.
- forgetting my homemade apple butter at my parent's house again.  Someday I'll get to actually eat some.
- the amount of reading I have to get done this weekend.  And of course, I'm choosing to blog right now instead.

Awesome:
- seeing pictures of a friend's baby sucking it's thumb in utero. So freaking adorable.
- roommate hangouts that involve long walks in the park and froyo. Yummy.
- getting to cook and bake. I've recently feel in love with sweet potatoes enchiladas and I whipped up a batch of apple butter over the weekend.
- some really beautiful fall weather. There were a few days that had the perfect fall weather. The sun was shiny and the temperature was crisp. So lovely.
- getting my hair cut and styled. It's the chance to have a hairstyle you could never replicate.  I'm always determined to make them last as long as possible.
- winning a $20 gift card at a styling event with Emerald Closet at Gap last night.  So fun to have my name called!
- lots of fun plans for the weekend and finally figuring out what I'm dressing up as.  And not having to buy a thing for my outfit.  I'll share pictures soon.
- the delicious quiche and coffee I had this morning.

This Week in Photos

Now that I've had some time to play with my iPhone and it's amazing camera, I thought I'd share my life in pictures.

I've always wanted to do a better job of documenting my life through photos and now that I will always have a decent camera with me, I think I might actually accomplish it.  Fingers crossed.

It's been a bit of a crazy weekend and I'm still working hard at school stuff while watching my team lose.  You know, the fun stuff.

At least you can enjoy (?) some pictures...

Have a good Sunday Funday Fatday tomorrow!  (A.K.A. Relax, enjoy yourself, and don't think about calories.)

Awkward and Awesome: #25

If my tags are to be trusted, this is the 25th time I've participated in Awkward and Awesome.  Wowsa.  Who knew I had could be so committed?!

Awkward:
- still in my pajamas after sleeping in until 11:30 this morning the schedule of the past week did me in.
- trying to muster up the energy to get some school work done. Hey, at least I already worked today.  At home.  In my pajamas.
- autocorrect on my iPhone leading my roommates to think I was drunk last weekend.  I was at Hard Rock, not Hard Rick.  Also, I had only had one beer at that point.
- having to edit a transcript twice for work.
- my time online just being increased by school.  I mean, now I have an excuse, but it's pretty much impossible to get away.

Awesome:
- the recent blogger bake swap.  Shanna over at Shanna Like Banana sent me some really delicious pumpkin dark chocolate chunk cookies.  Thanks!
- winning Katie's shop-my-closet giveaway over at Glamorous Without the Guilt.  More fun stuff in the mail.
- my cousin sending my watch and contacts case that I left behind on my last trip across the mountains. Now I know what time it is and I can see!
- Fun plans for the weekend including a visit with an old friend tomorrow and a birthday celebration.
- Baking.  I love that fall temperatures make something warm and delicious out of the over that much better.
- using Skype as part of our class this week.  It was so cool.  Also, there's constant Twitter conversations, in case any of you who follow me there are wondering about the #mcdm546 hashtags.

Apartment Tour, the bedroom.

I thought I'd finally share a little piece of our apartment with you all.  We're starting in the bedroom my sister and I share.  We've slowly made it home and I think we're happy with it.

If only there was a little more storage.  Like a massive walk-in closet or something.  That'd be nice.  But I don't think our bank accounts could handle it.

I'm getting away from the point of sharing the pictures with you though.  So here you go...

 Left: view walking in the door; Right: Looking left towards the shower.

Top view: vanity with bedroom door on left; Bottom: looking into bedroom from the vanity area.

Top left: back towards the vanity and blackboard vinyl decals on wall; 

Bottom left: wider view of wall with dresser, TV, my bedside table; 

Middle: My side of the closet, organized by type of clothes and color;

Right: Our only window and bookshelf (mostly shoes).

Top: My bed and artwork, decal from etsy & framed pictures from Michaels, duvet cover from Ikea;

Bottom: My sister's side, tin artwork was mostly gifts, I bought her the duvet cover from Marimekko in Finland this summer.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, our shoes.  The right picture is mine and the left is ours combined.  Luckily enough we wear the same size shoes.  Winning!

The obsession is just beginning.

I don't actually have my iPhone 4S yet.  But the phone is in the same city as me now.  It's a long convoluted story that I won't get into today.  Suffice it to say, I'm a little itchy to get ahold of it and start playing.

In the interim, I've been obsessing researching iPhone cases to protect my baby from my clumsy ways.  There are a ton of options out there.  It's overwhelming.

So I did what anyone would do when overwhelmed...I bought two.

There was the practical, recommended choice, which is pretty:

Speck Candyshell

And the fun, nostalgic choice (via my brother):

eBay Etch-a-Sketch case

What do you think?

Awkward and Awesome: Yep.

My brain is a little shot.  I think it's the whole grad school, work, wandering the state, etc. stuff I have going on in life.  So this is what you get for Thursday, because I've been staring at this box for way too long.

Happy almost Friday all!

Awkward:
- Headaches
- Having a box of wine in my trunk for three weeks. It finally made it inside today.
- Being "this close" to being able to hang all the art in our living room. We need a couple frames and a good day of crafting.  And some paint and glue.
- Class all day long this Sunday.  I'm sure I'll learn a ton of useful stuff, but it's going to be a long day.
- The downpour on my drive home on Tuesday.  I could barely see getting off the freeway.  Crazytown.

Awesome:
- My purity ring that my parents bought me fitting again. This losing weight stuff is something.
- A few free groceries from my dad. And free laundry at my parents.
- Froyo...there's a fabulous place right in the neighborhood. You make your own concoction and pay by the ounce. Delicious and totally reasonably priced.
- The Sing Off.  I love a cappella music.  Times a lot.
- Sunny fall days.  The air is crisp and clean. I can't get enough.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from not very recently.  But enjoy anyways.  Also, these are completely untouched.  I just thought I'd add that disclaimer.

A gorgeous sunset.

DIY Sparkly Frenchtip variation

Soap making with the mom and sis.

Gorgeous flowers.

Driving an old farm truck.

Froyo and sunnies--back when it was summer.

On a wine tasting adventure.

Weekend Snapshot (pictures not included)

The weekend was a blast.  It's always great to spend time with family and I have a growing fondness for driving whenever possible.

Not only did we celebrate my cousin's soon-to-be born little baby boy (can't wait to meet him!), but I got to hang out with one of my closest friends from college, and bonfire it up for my other cousin's birthday.

I'd love to show you pictures of the weekend, but I completely forgot it on the kitchen counter.  I know that seems like a weird location, but I just had to take pictures of homemade pizza last week.

Instead, I'll improvise with a few verbal "pictures" (a.k.a. descriptions) for you.

Friday: Driving across the state, after a little meander through Redmond.  It was lovely little side trip.  Catching up with my cousin's wife, who tagged along for the ride.

Saturday morning: My cousin's shower, full of lots of food (because that's how we roll), family and friends, and some really adorable baby gifts.

Saturday afternoon: A visit to the organic farm for pumpkins and u-pick flowers.  Games at the friend's house.  Hearing about exciting life changes.  Drinking homemade strawberry lemonade.

Saturday evening: scoping out my cousin's new tattoo, his delicious birthday dinner and present time, and a bonfire with 50 or 60 of his closest friends.  Also featured at the bonfire, a pitcher of margaritas shared by my sister and I.

Sunday: Mostly spent driving across the state after watching Bridesmaid with the aunt, sister, and a completely different cousin in the morning.  Finishing up a video for work.  Watching some TV and snuggling with the Jamaica-dog.

That brings me to Monday.  During which I worked and did a little more driving.  It was a blast, thanks for asking.

(I really should come up with nicknames for each of my cousins so it's less confusing, but I don't have the energy for that right now.)

Now onto the rest of a week, which includes work, class, and a to-do list a mile long or so.

My Memories Winner

The winner of the MyMemories software is Brittany!  Congrats!  Shoot me an email at lizard22w(at)gmail(dot)com for your download code.

And don't forget you can buy your software for $10 off, and get $10 to use towards downloads, with my code: STMMMS68576.

(Disclaimer: I will receive $20 for every purchase made using the discount code. But hey, we both win!)

Weekending

I'm headed off to the east side of the state for the weekend.  My cousin is having a baby and the next month and it's time to give her some gifts to prepare her.  

I'm pretty excited to see family, maybe a friend or two, and use all the time in the car to get some reading done for school.  The joys of being back at it.

In other exciting news, I ordered an iPhone 4S last night.  It was a bit of a pain, but I got an order confirm so I'm not going to complain any more than that.  Pretty much just a first world problem anyway.

Before I take off for a land far, far away, I wanted to remind you to go enter my giveaway.  Free online scrapbook software.  And your chances of winning are really high.  Don't even stop to think about it--just do it.  

And have a great weekend.  I hope to be back next week with more than three posts.  But no promises.  Life is a little crazy.

Now excuse me while I go pack.

Ten on Tuesday hits the century mark.

Psst! Don't forget to enter my giveaway. 

This week is the 100th of Chelsea hosting Ten on Tuesday over at her blog.  That's practically two years. Crazy!

Feel free to head on over to her blog and join in on the celebrations.  She'll be drawing for the 100th giveaway tonight, so there's still a chance to win.

1. How do you take your coffee?
Lately I've been taking my espresso in my chai.  However, this summer I started drinking coffee with just a little milk thanks to the Finnish relatives.

2. Do you prefer soft or crispy chocolate chip cookies?
Soft.  Less baked.  A cookie dough consistency.  Okay, really I just like cookie dough.

3. Do you wear a belt everyday?
No, though I probably wear a belt more now than I have in years.

4. What is your favorite color combination?
For real, I have to pick one?  Um, lately I've been digging turquoise, white, and black with pops of red.  But it really depends on the day and what I see on Pinterest.

5. Do you like sour candy?
Yes.  I don't eat it often though because it makes my cheeks hurt.  Just me?

6. How often do you do laundry?
Recently I've been doing laundry weekly, when I'm back at my parent's house, but that's unusual.  In the past, I've lasted for however long I still have clean underway.  Everything else I can improvise.

7. Did you ever wear braces?
Yes, and for much longer than the orthodontist told me I'd have to.  But I don't have the overbite anymore, so that's good.

8. Are you good at Roman Numerals?
To a certain point, then it's all letters jumbled together.

9. What is your favorite form of social media?
Twitter has been my top choice of late.  Or Pinterest.  I have been neglecting Facebook and G+.  Pick your battles.

10. How do you feel about chin dimples?
They are cute.

First Giveaway Ever!

I'm super excited about this, guys.  I am doing a giveaway.  For you.  And it's all thanks to the people over at My Memories.

This is award winning digital scrapbook software that is extremely easy and fun to use.  My Memories Suite is rated #1 by Amazon and TopTen Reviews.

I am not a scrap booker.  I love the idea of it, but don't have the patience or creativity to make what I would like.  So the idea of a digital version, when I do most of my photo work on a computer anyways, is very appealing.

I am especially excited to put it to use in documenting my trip from earlier this summer.

For example, I can highlight major locations I visited in Great Britain with a simple collage:

And while My Memories is scrapbook software, it can be used for other projects as well.

As you know, I recently moved south for the winter for grad school and still haven't had many people over to see the new place.  Someday soon we hope to have an open house for family and friends, so I whipped up a little invite:

There are countless other fun projects I spotted on My Memories, including Christmas tags, calendars, and much more.

Entering to win is simple.  Visit MyMemories.com, look at the digital paper packs, layouts, etc., and leave me a comment about what you liked.

You have through Friday to enter (before 12am PST Saturday, October 8).  I'll do a random drawing and announce the winner over the weekend.

Now go check it out!

If you can't wait for the end of the giveaway for the software, you can buy it now for $10 off the price and $10 to use on downloads.  Just use the code: STMMMS68576.

(Disclaimer: I will receive $20 for every purchase made using the discount code.  But hey, we both win!)