Shop Class?

My sculpting class is basically shop class for awhile. We are working with wood for the next little bit of time. I never took shop in high school or learned how to use the tools, but thank goodness I grew up with a father who is a builder! My oh my....some of the girls in my class are scared to use the tools. I think that the power tools are pretty sweet. 


Today we learned how to use the band saw, miter saw, and the belt sander. The unfortunate thing is that we have to use all the tools the "right way." I mean come on... Like when we use the miter saw the correct procedure is: 1. Press the power button so that the saw spins 2. Pull the saw down in a even motion to cut through the wood 3. Leave the saw in the down position until the blade stops spinning completely 4. Release the saw back into the starting position. That process takes forever... I've watched my dad and all the other guys at work use the power tools the "wrong way" for so many years!! And they still have all their limbs.


Anyways, that is shop! Time for bed :)

Spring Semester Classes

Yesterday morning I started up classes again. At 8:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Digital Media. Digital Media is basically a class about learning how to use Adobe Photoshop. The professor I have for that is also the professor I have for Sculpting.  He told us that he will be hard on us when it comes to critiquing our projects. He does this, he says, so that we will be more prepared for the art world when we get done with college- because not everyone will like what we do and praise us for our work. This could be a challenging class. Right after that I have Art History. I have the same professor I had last semester and I liked his teaching style. This class will be a bit harder this semester because it is a 200 level course. Yay :(  From there, I go straight to Sculpture. The sculpture class will be pretty intense too. We will be working with wood, welding and doing some other cool projects. I will keep you posted on my projects in this class. That concludes my art classes!


On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have English and Philosophy and then work in the gallery. English is at 9am, Philosophy at 11am, work at 12:30pm. My English professor is really funny. The English class is called, Intro to Literature, so we will read lots of books and write papers about them. Good thing I love to read! The first book we have to read is a comic book!! Yes, a comic book-

Blankets, an illustrated novel by Craig Thompson

My philosophy professor already annoys me. He talks all proper, and when a student raises their hand in class he points and them and says, "Yes please!" Yes, please....really? Who says yes please? I also have to read "The Giver" this weekend. Hmm, not sure about this class yet.


Also, on Friday mornings I have Weight Loss and Nutrition at 8am. This morning the students showed up but the professor didn't. We waited 10 minutes in the classroom for him and then we left. We got up early for nothing! He actually emailed us and said that he thought the class was at 9am not 8am. Wow! I'm kind of excited for this class because I really enjoy learning about nutrition and calories and the food pyramid and diets.


And that concludes the review of my new classes.

Changes in the New Year

Sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted something! I had been working again while I was home and then I was busy doing things after work (wrestling meet, running, packing, putting together my portfolio). So...this morning, instead of going to work, I slept in and then finished packing up my things. I had stuff scattered ALL over the house :) I only needed two suitcases and four bags to carry all my things. Apparently, I was told, I have too much stuff! We fit everything in the car though. I rode back to school with two other girls that live right by me; we left around 1pm. It took two hours and fifteen minutes to get back to school- a fast trip. When we arrived I unloaded all my bags from the car, with Emily and Jenna's help.

And then....the fun began!! My roommate moved out last week, meaning I now have the room to myself! I wanted to rearrange my room and redecorate it. I had some grand ideas. Jenna was more than happy to help me move furniture! Yes mom, JENNA & I moved all the furniture. We did in fact move the bed down and restack it, as well as move all the other furniture around by OURSELVES. We did not need help from guys because Jenna is strong :) We kept all the funiture in the room, plus all my bags, and moved everything in circles it seemed. It was like one of those puzzle games where you move one piece and then the other and then you move the first one again and so on and so forth. One giant, heavy puzzle. Next, I reshelved all of my things and started unpacking. After a short dinner break, I came back and continued working while Jenna went on the computer and gave me advice. Here is the end result...



A few of the posters I made on my interim trip.

Pictures!

 I must say, we did a pretty awesome job! I love the new arrangement.

Tomorrow morning classes start. I'll fill you in on that later.

Light Up the Sky

Start your day off right. "When you awake in the morning think about all of the things you are grateful for in your life. When the sun is shining give thanks. Surround yourself with positive people and smile and laugh." (Adrienne Langlois)


The last morning I was in Wisconsin two other girls and I woke up early to see the sunrise. It was beautiful- worth waiting for in the cold.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

Psalm 19:1

"Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me
I, I, I can’t deny
Oh I can’t deny that You are right here with me
You’ve opened my eyes so I can see You all around me
Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me"

~The Afters

Update, Part 1

1) Parents- if you have ever wanted to dress your baby as a Yeti it is now possible. You can get a pattern for the hoodie at Berroco and the monster bootie pattern is by Kelly Hogaboom. I saw this on my favorite blog, howaboutorange.blogspot.com.

2) Professional bull riding is on TV right now! I would love to go to a professional bull riding tournament some day :) I love watching it because it is so exciting.

3) It was beautiful outside this morning when I left for church, so I took a few pictures...

4) Last night....

Tori and I helped Alicia get ready for the Unity Winter Dance. She is one of our friends in high school; we had a great time helping her get ready! I curled and styled her hair, and Tori painted her nails.  Then Tori and I went to the church where the girls had their pictures taken and snapped a few photos. She had fun at the dance!

Tori, Alicia, Stephanie, and I

Later that night I hung out with all my friends. Most of them are heading back to college within the next few days. We watched the movie, Inception. It was a great movie! The plot was very complicated so you had to pay close attention to everything that happened in the movie for fear of missing one little detail. I would highly recommend this movie.

Life is Staggering

I arrived back from WI late Friday night. The trip home from Chicago took three and a half hours! There was lots of traffic and snow. I don't feel like posting pictures right now, but I will later. 


I had no plans this (Saturday) afternoon- it was a very weird feeling. So, I sat down by the fire and read a book. The book is called, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years," by Donald Miller. I read his other book, "Blue Like Jazz," and that one was amazing. Here is a passage from the book:


"Back then I'd be lying in bed or walking down a hallway at college, and the realization I was alive would startle me, as though it had come up from behind and slammed two books together. We get robbed of the glory of life because we aren't capable of remembering how we got here. When you are born, you wake slowly to everything. Your brain doesn't stop growing until you turn twenty-six, so from birth to twenty-six, God is slowly turning the lights on, and you're groggy and pointing to things and saying circle and blue  and car and then sex and job and health care. The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe that life isn't that big of a deal, that life isn't staggering. What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We all are like spoiled children no longer impressed with the gifts we're given-- it's just another sunset, just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral."

A New Adventure

We arrived in WI today around 2pm. Then we went to the museum for an introduction to type. I'm pretty excited now...we get to print type already tomorrow! We'll work from 9-4 every day and then we get the nights free. I'll have plenty of time to read and text and come up with design ideas!

Fun fact of the day from Hannah: "TV remotes are the dirtiest parts of hotel rooms!" So I touched the remote :)

This Bright New Year is Given Me...

Ecclesiastes 2: 10-11 

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
 I refused my heart no pleasure.
 My heart took delight in all my labor,
 and this was the reward for all my toil.
 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
 and what I had toiled to achieve,
 everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
 nothing was gained under the sun.

17-19 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

24-26 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

3: 19-14 What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

3: 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

Let's find satisfaction in our toiling this year, for God gives wisdom and knowledge and happiness to those who please him! Let's enjoy our work, because it is from the hand of God.

Resolution Run 2010

After the epic girls sleepover, Friday afternoon I ran a 4 mile race. The weather was very warm- about 50 degrees.  I ran the race with some people from work. I finished in 33 minutes and 43 seconds! I felt so good while I was running and my time was excellent.

Kathy, Me, Julie, and Jim

Finishing the race with Kathy

"People ask why I run. I say, 'If you have to ask, you will never understand.' It is something only those select few know. Those who put themselves through pain, but know, deep down, how good it really feels.  ~Erin Leonard, athlete 

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Thursday night we (my high school friends and I) had a girls sleepover. We decided to do something fun/crazy, so we ended up dressing up and going to Meijer's at 2am! Need I say more....!

Tori and Alicia

Julie 

Julie, Alicia, Tori, Stacey, Me