Spring, Oh Where For Art Thou Spring?

I love Spring, the warm days with just a hint of the passing winter's cold.  The newness of it all; the birds looking for mates, the flowers opening up and accepting the sun into their souls, the trees as their buds open, exposing the large, gentle, green ogres. Insects and animals search for their new homes, in hopes of finding the perfect spot. I love the warm sunny days, which seem to be created just for good photography or even a little sketching.   Everything is new and fresh, and the world, if for just a moment, seems right.

 

The light streaming through the windows, the cool breezes as they flow into the house, clearing out winter’s drudgery.  The smell of the Spring air is clean, refreshed, anew.   The songs of birds, and the laughter of children dance through the house. Laughter is clearer and louder, and it would seem, even happier.  Everyone seems to love spring; the dogs get a bit happier, more playful.  The kitties bask in any available sunlight, including that on laps, tables, windowsills, even the floor will suffice.

 

Winter still lingers in the night, as a cold breeze cuts through the darkness, but the sun rising in the morning brings hopes of warmth, happiness, and peace.  Mother Nature has renewed herself once again; a time for us all to begin a new growth in our lives.  We are but one person, each of us.  We may not be able to save the world, but we can save ourselves….in the hopes that the world will follow, and that is all that matters.

 

 

Well, nothing new....LT has learned who 'Maw' is and is now following me around chanting, "Maw, maw, maawww, mmmaaawwww!!"  Every once in a while I'll get a 'mawm' from him, but usually it's just 'maw'.  BT says 'Mom' so I'm pretty sure that LT is trying to say the same...it just isn't working.

School is going well, I took both tests this week and made an A on both, yay me!  Well, off to let the dogs out and let you fine people move on to other blogs with some decent content to them   Have a great day and I'll be back with something better tomorrow!

My Life, Mapped Before Me
And Other Reasons Why I Want to be an Architect

I have finally figured everything out.  Well schooling-wise that is.  Until recently I wasn't sure how long I'd be going to school, I wasn't sure how much it would cast in the long run.  I just wanted to go to school.  Now, however, I have finally decided on my educational destiny....Architecture.

My mother worked as the Secretary to the Dean of Architecture at a local technical University.  She had tons of friends who were Architects/professors.  One such friend, Ted, told me one day.."Turtle, Don't EVER go into Architecture, the pay sucks and you have to do what other people tell you to do, no creative outlet, whatsoever."  So I told him, "You don't have to worry, I have no desire to be an Architect!"  Well that was about 12-13 years ago and here I am deciding that I want my Bachelor's in Fine Arts (Interior Architecture & Design) and a Master's in Architecture.

I sat down with my trusty calculator and figured up that if I can take on 3 extra classes a year (2 in summer semester and one during Winter intersession) then I can graduate in about 5 years.  I'll be 30.  Then I can go to University that my mother used to work at and take night classes for Architecture, or if I'm lucky they'll offer some online classes.  If that doesn't work, then I'll just apply at Georgia Tech, I figure if I keep my 4.0 for 5 years and graduate with honors then GT *might* take me.

Why do I want to be an Architect? Why because!  You get to buy all sorts of COOL ASS TOYS!!! like;

Antique Drafting Set at eBay..I can't bid on it but I want it!
OR

Antique Drafting Table also, on eBay...nope not bidding on that either.

Ok, so now you're saying, "Wow what a superficial 'HO! To just want to go into a profession so that she can buy cool things, she should be a personal shopping or lackey or something!"...Well, ok, I could probably go the personal shopper route, but nahh those women would drive me batshit!  Besides, even if I were to just get my degree in IAD I still would have to have all this cool shit!

Why do I really want to be an Architect?  Well, it's calming, to me, to design something from just an idea or concept.  I love to sketch it out and figure out all the kinks and strong points.  And I just LOVE (with a capital LOVE) designing things.  And, well I'm not going to be a traditional Architect, I'll be an interior designer just with architecture knowledge...ya know like Vern, only Vernette!  It just makes sense to me that if I am going to be an interior architect, I might want to know about architecture in general...don't ya think??  Besides, people will hire me if I tell them, Oh I have a master's in Architeecture, but my bachelor's is in Interior Design..."Why Mrs. Turtle, YOU'RE HIRED!!"  And besides, I'll be working for myself basically (not going with a design group or anything) and I'm sure that I won't get many clients but hey....I'll have knowledge that will come in VERY handy when we want to design our dream house and when all my friends start doing remodels, I can help them!  or something....I don't know I'm drunk with the happiness of finally having an educational plan to my life..yay me!

Now, to just figure out that career path..hmmmmm

HOOTIEHOOOOO!!! The Taxes Are D O N E !!!!!!!!!

And our refund will be in our checking account in (hopefully) 2weeks or so.  THANKYOUVERYMUCH! I'm so excited! I actually sort of look forward to doing the taxes, probably because we always get money back...well we USUALLY get money back.  Now to figure out how to spend my new found riches.......

I could always get this:

 

But that would take up every last cent that I have (or just about) We’re talking the whole bedroom suite, not just the bed.

 

Then there is always this:

New kitchen Cabinets….but yeah, that’d take every last cent that I have also.

 

There is always the last resort……

SHOPPING SPREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Or of course, I could do something responsible and pay off the remaining credit cards, that wouldn’t take ALL of my return but it would take half of it…damnit! Course I could pay off the card, then take the other half to Dick Blick! hehehehehehe or just use the fucking cards at Dick Blick! ok, ok, ok.....reasonable...think, REASON...got it!

 

DH does have a bonus coming later on, like March-May time frame. (stupid French Fucktards that he works for…they don’t understand the whole idea of setting a date and then actually following through with it..dumbasses)

 

1,200 Advil Liqui-Gels
And Other Wonders of Warehouse Clubs

I found out yesterday, the absolute WONDERS of shopping at BJ's.  You see, Target had some iron garden edging, 6ft for $19.99, BJ's had some even PRETTIER; 10ft for $17.99, and no, that wasn't what made it prettier, it really was better...I'm going back to buy a few more boxes.  Hope they still have it.

Also, at BJ's...WORKBOOKS!!! And all sorts of Homeschooling paraphernalia.  I think I'm going to love BJ and all its cool stuff savings.  And tons of food and big HUGE bottles of Advil, I'm talking 1,200 Liqui-Gels...man, I'll never have a headache AGAIN!  I just love all the big huge boxes of things that you can buy and then not run out of in 5 days...it's COOL!!!!!!!  This is my first membership warehouse thingy that I've ever belonged to...probably because I got a year's membership..FREE!  I like Free Stuff! Yeah, after the year's up I probably won't be back but ya never know, they might send me ANOTHER free membership, there was NO ONE in the place when we went (Sunday afternoon/evening) so they need all the customers they can get, it seems.  I'll be one, FOR FREE!

And just so you don't think I'm some sort of sheltered hick with no life, I HAVE gone to Sam's Club, and Costco and all that shit, but I never had the money to buy $12 bottles of Advil (Actually I think they're more at Costco, like $14..I digress) or $7 worth of american cheese singles.  Now, with 2 kids I have all the reason to buy $7 worth of cheese singles...and even $12 bottles of Advil, OH YEAH I'll buy the Advil!  And I was never member and they wanted something ridiculous like $60/yr so that I'll come into their store and spend money...even though a lot of their things  aren't really bargains...just look that way.(ahemsamsclub)

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Well, the party was fine..everyone had fun, even the surly birthday boy.  Although B's oldest was grating on my nerves.  He was just talking at me (not to) constantly..it got annoying and old..well that and he kept saying, "You're so crazy!"  Over and over again.  It was funny the first time then he just continued with it over and over.  But I just avoided him and all was well!  He's a great kid, just a little annoying that day.

BT got lots of cool things for his birthday..one of them is a little primary color pup tent.  He really likes it, as does LT.  It is currently set up in the dining room and they are running around inside of it.  Silly boys.  Hey, it keeps 'em happy!

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Picture Taken yesterday at Sis' house. Click for full view.

The Bitch Rears Her Ugly Head

So, today is BT's birthday party...am I ready?  Well if half-ass ready is ok then, yeah, I'm ready.  I still have to go get balloons, and I should probably pick up some ice cream for those freaks who want it with their cake...  I did manage to get BT's gifts and get them wrapped before 8am this morning.  I also have party plates and napkins.  Tablecloth?  Party hats?  Goodie Bags? Uhhh no, you see Toys R Us thinks that just having plates and napkins is just fine for a youngster's birthday party...they don't need other coordinating shit, nope not those youngsters that want Monster's INC. anyway...fucktards....But hey, want Scooby-Doo, Toy Story2 or some other lame ass shit that went out in 2000?  They have it, ALL of it. Rat-bastards.

I've been a bitch all day.  It started when I came home from sis' last night.  See, I have been doing laundry ALL FUCKING WEEK, load after load of laundry.  We have a TON of it.  Well I took yesterday off and went to the sis' place, leaving DH and the boys to finish picking up the house and all that jazz.  Not thinking clearly, I forgot to inform DH that this includes DOING THE FUCKING GAWD DAMN LAUNDRY!  So I come home to a half clean house and NO FUCKING LAUNDRY DONE!  I ask him just what he'd been doing all day and he says, "Well I was on the phone with my boss for 3 hours, then I started cleaning."  Let's see how this excuse holds up....3hrs talkin' to the boss, I left at 2:30 so 5:30 he's off the phone, I came home at 10:30 and the kitchen was halfway clean and the family room was picked up (not dusted, but he did say that he vaccuumed, not sure if I believe that).  So for 5 hours he cleaned 2 rooms and not all that well...yep sure, I'll believe that. *sarcasm*

So laundry is being done now, the party is in 3 hours and we have at least a whole day's worth of washing to do.  Now had he just kept the cycle going while I was gone.  We would have about 2 loads left to do.  Instead, he played on the internet and probably started cleaning around 8pm.  That man is horrible when it comes to cleaning.  We have a rather small kitchen yet it takes him 2 hours to clean it...and it isn't even done WELL!!! I can clean it in about 30mins and it'll sparkle. Gawd damnit.

There you have it, I've been a bitch all day because of this shit, and I STILL need to vaccuum the formal living room.  Oh, and get balloons, ice cream, and probably something else that I'm forgetting.  Have a good weekend, the birthday boy is now crying because I won't let him eat cookies...GAWD! Will this day EVER end??

My Inbox is Empty
And Other Ramblings

My email inbox is empty, nothing sittin' in there...usually I have an email or two some sort of notification of an online order I placed but have yet to receive or a bill that needs to be paid (I pay all my bills online, save a TON O CASH on stamps!) Right now though, NOTHING!  It's all empty and barren and it looks sort of pathertic and lonely.  Too bad I can't hop in there and cheer it up, or would that just cheer me up?

My life is running a little slow, like it usually does this time of year.  Feb. is such a sucky month for me, it's too damn cold to do anything and not cold enough for some pretty, cool snowy days..Sure, my Bday is in Feb and I've been informed by B that my Bday this year will be awesome...I sure hope so!!

School, so far is going well...my IAD professor is such an interesting and brillant person, I am overly excited to be in this class.  His insight on design and art in general is so amazing and thought-provoking.  I just hope that I get more classes like this in the semesters to come.  But for now, I'm going to print out every lecture from each lesson and keep them in my design journal. And, no I'm not saying this because he's so fucking cute *drink* ...He is truly an intelligent being.

Well sorry for the boring-ass entry, I have been sketching and you would not believe how therapeutic that is...I just have to make sure to write everyday also. Have a great weekend everyone! BT Birthday party is this weekend, mine is being celebrated with friends next weekend, sis' is on the 15th then I have ONE WEEKEND to rest then it's LT's birthday party...no one is having a party on (or really near) their birthday(s) this year..how STRANGE!  But damnit will I ever be glad when March gets here..birthdays are over with, YAY! lol

 

NEW PICS! HOOO HOOO!

I uploaded a few new pics to my albums and put the albums into new categories.  You'll have to find the new pics, but they're there.

I took my first Art History test and made a 100...HOO HOO!! And I finished all my homework for the week and took my IAD quiz (we won't talk about what a fucking moron I am and how I missed 2 out of FIVE fucking questions..nope, not talkin' about that at all!).  I even did my sketches and they came out ok, seeing as I haven't sketched anything in over 10 years they were pretty good...here's just one of my sketches, you won't see the others, they're bad! lol

That says, 'convenient' below it, we had to give a word that describes the 'concept' of what we sketched.

I've decided to start sketching on a daily basis, I hope this will help me become better at it, that way when I have to take the sketching course, I'll be better prepared...won't be the best in the class and probably won't make an A but I'll be giving it my all, and that's the best I can do!

I went to Dick Blick Art Supply for my IAD materials and the lady up there was SUPER nice and gave me the California Student discount (10%, which I think is the discount everywhere, but I had to get CA's because I go to school in CA).  That was super cool, because I don't have a student ID, seeing as I go to school online and all...so I couldn't actually prove it to her or anything, but the whole time she was helping find my supplies I kept saying, 'Keep it cheap, remember that!' ROFL So she helped me out!

School Girl Crush
And Other Idiocies of a Lonely Housewife/Student

I logged into school yesterday and being an IAD major, that was the first class that I logged into (Design Concepts)..I figured it makes sense, right?

The first page when you log into a class is a basic introduction of the instructor and the outline of the class, included is a picture of the instructor.  When I pulled up my IAD page this morning I was met with the picture of my IAD professor....and's he's CUTE...I mean he's FUCKING CUTE!  He’s nothing like what I’d go for, but damnit all he’s so fucking cute!  Maybe I’m just a lonely housewife with two children and I need a fantasy escape.  But, right now I feel like I’m gawd damn 15 all over again!  Yes, I’m married and happily at that…wouldn’t trade my DH for anything, we’ve got our little niche in life all carved out and I don’t want to start any new carvings, nope not this mama….but damnit all He’s so fucking CUTE!!!  I’m sure that come midterm I’ll hate him and be saying things like, “I don’t care how fucking cute he is, he’s an ass and I hate him!” But for now…HE’S SO FUCKING CUTE!!! And no I won’t put a picture up, that wouldn’t be fair and he probably wouldn’t appreciate it… But, check with me at the midterm....I might just despise him enough to do it! LOL

Oh, here’s a new drinking game called, 'He’s so fucking CUTE!’ you have to take a drink every time I say that about my IAD professor…so start drinkin’!  

 

I will be in my hole listening to the gales of laughter that will come with you all reading about my sorry pathetic life..I’m terrible, and will surely burn in hell for this..But, DAMNIT! HE’S SO FUCKING CUTE!!!! *drink*

"You go to school ONLINE?!"

Well, school starts today.  I have logged in and introduced myself, like anyone will remember, I know I don't.   My Design Concepts class is going to be FUN...Art History will be...interesting.  I like history so that's cool.

It seems that my family thinks that my online education is second rate or something.  They couldn't be farther from the truth.  I enjoy online classes and actually think that I gain more with them than I would with a traditional clasroom setting and for the classes that I have to take, online is perfect.  I guess that it is just hard for some folks to get out of the stone age of traditional institutionalized learning and into the information age of internet classes and cyber quizzes (and I don't mean those that tell you what color you are lol).  Sure, it's easier to 'cheat' on the quizzes online, hell no one is there watching you...but your grade doesn't rely on quizzes alone, there is a LOT more to it.  Actually, with the classes that I'm taking, quizzes only account for 10% of my final grade..that isn't much.  Most of my grade will depend upon, discussions, essays, and midterm projects...you can't cheat in those areas, well maybe you can but I haven't figured out how.

When I called my mother about my 4.00 GPA she just sort of shrugged it off as, "yeah well, how could you NOT make a 4.00 in online classes?"...she never knew the work I did to make sure I got that 4.00 or how I fretted over my final grade in IAD, thinking I had made a B, or worse.  Online classes are not second rate courses for the stupid...Trust me, I saw many a stupid student taking them and I'm sure their grades reflect that.  I also saw an English Instructor who truly cared about his online classes.  He enjoyed his profession as a teacher and it showed.  I saw a college that would phone me regularly to make sure that I was enjoying my college education as much as possible.  When you aren't on campus all the time, the school checks on you, like you're a real person and not just another number.

And come graduation, I might just drive out (I don't fly, thanks to the government) to San Fran and walk with my fellow classmates, online and on campus.