The end draws near...

We're nearing the end of the semester, and I've been a writing machine these past few weeks.  Yes, I finished NaNo. *cheer jump*  Then I proceeded to write one research paper, one French composition, and one senior portfolio.

Okay, so the pieces were already written for the portfolio.  I did edit one of my short stories to include in it, and I had to write an introductory essay.  The most aggravating part was putting all five pieces into one document, then adding the essay and the check sheet.  I had to rearrange all the pages so that each piece was starting at the top of a new page, and they all kept reordering themselves, but I finally got it done.  Now I just have one French final, another research paper, and one take-home final to do.  That'll be my life this weekend.

Oh, and I wrote a flash piece for my fiction writing "final."  After a couple false starts, I finally hit inspiration and I actually really like this piece.  At the moment, anyway.  Couple hours, give or take, and I may feel differently.  But that's the quickie update.

I'm also thinking about maybe starting a Wordpress blog that has all my writing shtuff there, and I may start doing some chatting about the things I'm reading in my classes, too.  Might even do some Shakespeare gabbing over the winter break if I get around to it.  I'll definitely post details here.  Happy end of the semester!!

A bit of a reprieve

Well, I am pretty far behind on my NaNo novel at the moment, although I'm at least past the halfway point.  As far as schoolwork goes, I've got two research papers, one presentation, one French composition, a batch of French homework, and one recitation left to do.  Oh, and my senior portfolio.  *gulp* Wondering if finishing NaNo is going to be a possibility at this point... *mental face slap* Of course it is.

Just got done typing up all of my info about sales for Black Friday through Cyber Monday, hoping that those will be good days this weekend for sales :-).  Note to self:  remember to start posting info tomorrow morning.  Going to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving.  Second note to self:  remember to go to bank and finish laundry tomorrow.

I should try to get some more writing done tonight, as well as whip up a few more pieces to add to the shop. Oh, and here's some preliminary info about the sales this weekend (but the codes aren't active right now so don't get any ideas! ;)


From Black Friday through Cyber Monday I will be running a few storewide sales.  Please make sure to note the differences in coupon codes as they will only be active on their respective days.
11/23:  Coupon code is BLCKFRIDAY20 for 20% off storewide.
11/24:  Coupon code is SMALLBIZ20 for 20% off.  Support handmade & small businesses!
11/25:  Coupon code is ENJOYFREESHIPPING for (you guessed it) free shipping on domestic orders ONLY.  For obvious reasons, I won’t be doing any actual shipping on Sunday, but you get the point.
11/26:  Coupon code is CYBERMONDAY25 for 25% off storewide.
A note on how shipping will work this weekend:  I will be out of town from 11/21-11/24.  Purchases made during these days will not ship until Monday, 11/26, probably around 4pm EST (I do still have class).  Purchases made on Monday will not ship until Tuesday at the earliest, probably around 2pm EST.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

NaNo: Day 6 and my week so far...

Well, we're coming to the end of Day 6 of NaNoWriMo, and I've only gotten in a hundred or so words for the day.  I'm not too far from the recommended 10k, though, so it won't be a problem to finish.  Schoolwork is rearing its head, though, especially since tomorrow is my 5-class marathon.  I've got breaks in between at a couple points, though, and luckily I don't really have that much to do.  What I DO need to concentrate on is my Shakespeare paper due next Monday, so after shining up my cover letter for class tomorrow, I'm going to dash off the 900 or so words to meet today's goal, and then start an outline for my paper.  There.  I've written it down and put it out on the Internet so everyone can see me and hold me accountable for it ;-)

In other, perhaps more exciting news, business in the Etsy shop is picking up quite nicely.  Definitely need to craft some more Once Upon A Time pieces since those are getting the most views, hearts, and sales.  Sold one of my babies the other day--I was very proud of that piece.  Etsy's also added a way to print/purchase shipping labels through them, which made my life INFINITELY easier when it came to getting stuff ready to ship.  Paypal is just so pricey, and I hate having to go to the post office--especially the one closest to my apartment.  The people aren't nearly as nice there.  Which reminds me--I've got to find time in there somewhere tomorrow to go to the post office.

Aaand I'm procrastinating at this point--more NaNo updates to come!

NaNo: Day 1

Well, we're nearing the end of Day 1 of NaNoWriMo, and I'm starting to not freak out as much as I was earlier this week.  Last year, my strategy was just writewritewritewrite, and I had schoolwork at the same time, but the enormity of writing 50,000 words only really hit me near the end when I was racing to catch up.  This year, I knew exactly what I was getting into, and I had some moments where I was almost to the point of hyperventilating (not literally, but it sure felt like it at times).  After having done over 2k words so far on this first day of NaNo, I'm reminded that I'm not writing 50k words overnight.  These research papers I have to write are not due until the beginning of December, and therefore I'm not going to write them overnight, either (7-10 pages is a little much for a "night before" paper).  This Shakespeare paper I have due in eleven days isn't going to get done overnight, either.  In fact, since I'll be at a wedding the weekend before it's due, I'm already brainstorming ideas to try and get it done this weekend, or into next week if I have to.  Then I'll start working on my research presentation for one of my papers, which will then become the outline for that paper.  These huge projects don't get done all at once.  They're broken down into little bite-size pieces so people don't spontaneously combust.  I will survive this month.  I WILL!

The Doom of my month draws near...

Here it comes.  It's almost time for NaNoWriMo to start, and I couldn't be more excited.  Of course, I'm supposed to be finishing up some character sketches and various other loose ends--and there's a lot of those--but I think tomorrow I may just start scribbling sketches in my notebook during class.  I won't take my laptop with me because I only have one class Tuesdays/Thursdays so there's really no point if I don't already take notes on my laptop.  Gah, I'm so EXCITED this year!  I'm also rejoicing in the fact that I've completed my last short story for my fiction writing class, and therefore can turn my editor brain off without restriction--until I have to write other papers for school, that is.  Just a little blurb of an update!  Onward to Nanoland!

The Impending Doom that will be the Month of November...

According to my Official NaNoWriMo Countdown Clock, which I cannot find a way to transport here, there are five days, one hour, and various change of minutes and seconds until November 1st, aka The Longest Month of My Life. Apart from this 50k novel I am DETERMINED to conquer/complete, I will also have two 7-10 pg (each) research papers and one 1800-2k wd Shakespeare essay due. No sweat, no...*looks at previous sentence* *gulps*...no sweat. I will do this. I WILL. I have the most adorable little writing buddy owlet, whose name is Percy. Look him up on my Twitter/Instagram. Tres adorable (say it in French!)! I have a feeling he's going to take on a WHOLE personality during the month of November, if he's not already firmly established by then. I may even write him into the story in some way/shape/form, if I can think of one. Trying not to get carried away here...

I also need to get in gear (majorly) involving The Etsy Shop, since November is the Ultimate Shopping Month (mostly). Well, it contains *shudder* Black Friday and Cyber Monday, anyway. I finally have my usual backdrop with me, so I can retake pictures of my most recent pieces and that way they'll actually match the rest of the shop. The Once Upon A Time line seems to be doing rather well, that phrase in general is generating a lot of views and favs onto my site. I'll post some pics once I have the new ones. I love trying to recreate Regina's jewelry from what I have; it really challenges me to think creatively and then I come up with some *coughs modestly* truly spectacular stuff. I must say, though, whoever does the Evil Queen's costuming on that show has fan-freaking-tastic taste. I'm also thrilled to have a bought pendant of Nancy Schindler's to play with for a Captain Hook-inspired piece! Note to self: must get that done this weekend!

Therefore, I shall plunge headlong into the month of November and hope I come out alive (and with passing grades)!

Behind the Curtain FlashFiction Contest

Well, I finally sat down to scribble out some thoughts for Anna Meade's Behind the Curtain FF Contest.  Needless to say, I think I may have creeped myself out.  Here goes!


Fade to Black

   She was once the hottest light in the theater district.  The brightest star.  Now, age was beginning to show through the cracks in her makeup.  The mask was beginning to wear off.  To dance, to sing, had been her life’s dream.  A dream which was now fading, the bright colors of opening night giving way to the greyness of a deserted theatre after the play is closed.  Discarded snacks and leftover playbills littered the otherwise empty corners.

   She stared at her image in the mirror, turning her head this way and that, endeavoring to find the youthful beauty that had once been so naturally conjured in her face.  She had been able to imitate it long after the youth had flown, until yesterday.  A new star was rising to light the stage that had been hers for so long.  It was rightfully hers, and she’d been told to step aside like some pathetic chorus girl.

   She sat at her table in the dressing room one last time, memorizing its appearance.  A tear tracked through the stage makeup and landed on the vanity.  She lifted the object she’d been turning over and over in her hands, finding her reflection in the knife’s blade as well.  She gave her reflection in the mirror a sad smile before letting the pain consume her.  Red, everywhere.  Colors faded into greyness.  Fade to black.

Typing machine....

I feel like a typing machine this semester.  Kind of glad, in a way, that I haven't been able to find a part-time job, because honestly, I have been flooded with classwork/homework/papers since the semester started.

So far, for my Shakespeare class alone, I've turned in two papers, read two and a half plays (we're on Henry IV, Part 1 now) with daily reading quizzes, memorized one 30-something line speech, and participated in two staged readings.  There's a good reason for not having a midterm or final.  One of those papers had to be over 1800 words and was due today. I feel like a boss this week.

For my Phonetics/Phonology/Morphology class, I haven't really had a lot of papers, or particularly difficult homework, but I have had a lot of homework.  It's hard to keep up sometimes because the professor covers the material so quickly, but I at least manage to take decent notes.  We've got our second exam Friday, and this one I'm a bit nervous about. *gulp*

My advanced fiction writing class is a lot of fun, but there's a lot of writing (duh) that has to be done-- not just when it's my week to turn in a story.  Which was this week, btdubs. 2k minimum requirement.  I miss NaNoWriMo.  It put things into such perspective.  Anyways, the bulk of the writing is commenting on other people's stories, which isn't really too bad.  I feel like I'm running out of ideas for plots, though.

History of English is a lot of fun, although the text could really use an update.  The information in it is fascinating, but it's not presented that way by a long shot.  I have a test in there tomorrow, but I'm not too too worried about it.  I'll look at some notes tonight and tomorrow morning and I should be fine.

French IV is getting to the fun stuff as far as vocabulary goes-- we're learning how to discuss emotions, favorite TV shows/movies, make suggestions. I totally rocked my exam from last week. *fistpump*

I'm really liking my English Professional Seminar class, too.  We're starting to have speakers come visit (free pens!!) and I feel like it's really helping me prepare for The Job Search coming after I graduate.  Especially all the links on our Career Center webpage.  Lots of reports to write, though.

That's the basic rundown of what my life has been like this semester.  I've had time to make some jewelry, and I'll start posting it eventually.  Possibly tonight if I can get some decent lighting.  I've found lots of inspiration from ABC's Once Upon A Time, which had its second season premiere this past Sunday.  LOVE that all of my shows are back!!

Show lineup:
Once Upon A Time
The Mentalist
Castle
Criminal Minds
AND, once it starts, The Vampire Diaries

I'll try and get some DWTS in there somehow.  I also watch a lot of TV on Netflix-- Doctor Who is my absolute favorite right now, and I've just GOT to get ahold of the new season.  TTFN!

MIA

So, I've pretty much been MIA these last few months.  I've moved back to Greenville for the fall semester of my senior (!!) year, and the classes I have are pretty demanding.  The shop, needless to say, has been pretty neglected as a result, and mostly because I don't have my camera with me, or very much time to make new pieces.  I'm hoping things will start to slow down a bit for school now, since I'm done with the required staged Shakespeare readings for that class.  And yes, the main reason I'm taking a Shakespeare class is because it is required to graduate.

My writing's also taken a hit (fiction writing, anyway), although I am taking an advanced fiction writing class.  I've already turned in my first story, which, because of an intense bout of writer's block/stress, was a rewrite of an older short story.  I did get some useful feedback on it, however.  It actually helped me to see the characters in it as completely new ones, which was kind of a shock for me because the story was originally a snippet from my novel and I just changed the characters up a little.  Now I'm starting to see them as their own people.

In the realm of all things shop-related, I'm getting ready to buckle down and do some reorganizing so that I can try to sell more as we approach the holidays.  Yes, I know it's September, but it's never too early, but Christmas always sneaks up on everyone and it's good to be prepared, too, at any rate.

In the meantime, enjoy this hey-I'm-not-dead post!

Spotty blogger....

I guess I'm just doomed to be a sporadic blogger until I can learn some discipline...

I've recently decided that my shop needs a MAJOR looking-at.  Overhaul.  Renovation.  Whatever.  It just needs it.  I've never really know what my "brand" is, and, looking back, I should have thought about this at the beginning before I started selling jewelry at all.  I have two distinctive styles that seem to have emerged:  elegant and usually sparkly, and bright, colorful, whimsy.  These two things really cannot be reconciled.  I did, however, enjoy the time I spent making jewelry to go along with my whole Once Upon A Time tv obsession.  Fairytale jewelry.  Now that's a theme that can get away with both elegance and whimsy.  So, I'm now reordering my shop to be all fairytale-like in nature.  A bunch of listings keep expiring, and, honestly, they're the el cheapo earrings and bracelets that shouldn't have made it into the shop in the first place.  So, I'm only renewing the listings that look remotely fairytaleish.

In the meantime, I'm attempting to reconcile hummingbirds and fairies for a new banner, since I'm not changing my shop name.

Business as usual....

Back to business as usual this week with the Etsy listings!  Not that my usual was the usual it is now, but I'm going back to one listing a day if I can, I suppose until I run out of stuff! (Never!!)  So, without further ado, here's today's newbie:

Gold Dust

Last of the earrings....

Here's the last of the earrings for this week's huge shop update!  Next week:  bracelets/necklaces!

I Like Big Pearls

Faerytale

Snowflake

Today's newbies....

Purple Flowers

Forest Leaves

Regina Mills

Be Inspired blog hop

Okay, so I got tagged by Matt Sloan, aka @falcon_feathers, for another 10 question cross-examination (jk).  Here goes...

 Rules:

1. Answer ten questions
2. Tag five other writers, link to them in your post so we can hop over and see their answers too.

The Questions:

1. What is the name of your book:

Currently? Leaning Into A Left Hook, though I'll probably change it.

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

Spin-off of my major character’s friend when I got tired of writing about the major character. 

3. In what genre would you classify your book?

Adventure/Romance

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

Hmm, maybe Mischa Barton or Alexis Bledel as Eva, though the dark hair/light eyes combination doesn’t have to be natural. Though I just saw Jemima West with dark hair for the Mortal Instruments series. She'd make a better Keeley (the main character before the spinoff), though, with blonde hair.

5. Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book:

Young military wife is thrust into a downward spiral until she’s offered a job for a very unusual-- and secretive-- company.

6. Is your book already published/represented?

Pssh, no.

7. How long did it take to write your book?

I’m technically still editing (majorly—and when I have time), but I did the rough skeleton of it during NaNoWriMo last year (that’s a month).

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?

Ted Dekker’s always been one of my favorite authors, though his protagonists are male and mine are—not. Possibly with his book Saint. Or Dee Henderson’s The Negotiator.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Ummm…. Most likely the above mentioned, though this was a spinoff from my WIP.

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

It’s got a couple women doing the name-taking and doing it better than the boys. ;)

Tags: (sorry if I repeated anybody, I didn't bother to check!)

Anna Meade (@ruanna3)

Lillie McFerrin (@LillieMcFerrin)

Jessica Grey (@_JessicaGrey)

Ang (@ang_writes)

Lisa Shambrook (@LastKrystallos)

One day only sale!

In celebration of the first day of summer, take 20% off in the Etsy shop with this code:  HAPPYSUMMER.  Hope it's not too hot wherever you are, and happy shopping!

Today's listings

Motion of the Ocean

I've Got the Blues

Stay tuned here or on Twitter (@2CAHummingbird) tomorrow for a one-day-only coupon, or "like" my Facebook page to get it now! (Still valid tomorrow only!)

Big Shop Update Coming This Week!

There's going to be a lot of new shiny stuff coming to the Etsy shop this week!  I've got a bunch of photos ready to go from this past week's shop overhaul, so I figured I'd start with the earrings.  Here's a look at what's been listed today:

Aquamarine Elegance

Bells of Gold and Pearl

Getting It Done

I've been pretty busy today.  Had to go to the grocery store for my mom since she's helping my dad paint stuff for VBS (like a giant mural), so I did that earlier.  Then I spent most of the rest of the day editing the large amount of jewelry pics I'd amassed, then photographing the pieces I hadn't yet, and then editing those.  Now all of my jewelry has been documented. Whew.  I'll probably start posting next week, I'm thinking I'll take tomorrow to come up with good descriptions, measurements and whatnot.  Attempting a new system here.  Hopefully it works.  I've got a little photographing station set up so I just have to take the finished piece and my camera and click away.  I'm tired of trying to fill up all five spaces on Etsy, too.  It's good for some pieces, but for most, I can just get everything people need to see in one shot.  If I need two, then that's fine.  But I've been spending too much time taking picture after picture and it's clogging up my hard drive.  So, we'll see how this new system works!

A Long Process

Well, here's what I've been doing for the past couple of days...  I got the idea sometime Monday that I really needed to clean my room.  It was...well, a mess.  I pretty much got everything put away Monday.  But then I decided I needed to organize my bead stuff.  Yeah, about that.  I have been sorting, organizing, compiling, and throwing away since Monday afternoon.  Granted, I haven't been doing it for eight hours a day every day, but it's been a long process, and I think my spine gave out around Tuesday night.

Wednesday we went into town and my mom tells me she's got some kind of Michael's gift card, but she doesn't know how much is on it.  She waits to mention this, of course, until I was asking her if we should look at Michael's or Target for storage stuff.  Though in retrospect, if she had told me about it earlier, I probably would've spent it on beads.  I ended up getting 1 32 compartment container, one organizer with little circle containers like for seed beads that had 24 containers, a 2 pack of containers with eight dividers each, which kind of put me out for a moment because I wanted to fill both containers with compartments at the smallest divisions (I have a lot of small quantities of beads/components).  But I managed to get them set up in a more or less satisfactory manner.  I also got a 2 pack of little magnetic circular containers with four compartments each.  I am happy to say that I had space left over.  Of course, if I'd really separated everything, I wouldn't have had enough space, but it's good for now.

I also decided I needed a better system for storing jewelry.  My finished pieces are in the process of getting cleaned (by me), and then they're being stored in the nice little airtight spaces I had left over for now.  The plan after that is to get the pieces I've photographed edited and ready to list, and then set up a better system for once I've completed a piece.  I tend to make a lot of things at once, and then not want to take pictures, edit, etc because it takes forever at that point.  So, I'm pretty much not making anything new until I get everything listed that I've made so far.  Whew.  It's gonna be awhile.

Faerypin Contest!

And, at the eleventh hour, I finally have my entry for @ruanna3's Faerypin contest (at exactly 300 words)!  Enjoy!
Oh, and here's my inspiration pic:

Marvelous Light

They said the place had once been magnificent.  On fire with color.  Now everything about the castle, the whole land, really, was cold and grey and full of shadows.  The windows, intricately designed, let in watery, colorless light that did little to actually brighten anything.  Every now and then, though, a flash of the most beautiful colors could be seen, flashes of the glorious past destined to remain only ever in the past. 

I had never seen this myself, but the servants occasionally brought it up for entertainment.  I would pace up and down the hallways, hoping for a glimpse of this colorful light, only to be disappointed day after day by the stalwart grey glass.  It was clear glass, actually, but it was so wavy and everything was so bland outside that it appeared to be grey.

I was making my usual rounds through the castle hallways when one of the servant girls rushed up to me, breathless and slightly fearful.  Or was it tearful?  I waited for her to catch her breath before speaking.

“What is it?” I asked. 

“Your father,” she said, “has fallen ill, and the physician fears that….” she trailed off at this, but it was all too clear.  

My father was not a young man.  He would most likely not recover.  I stood there in shock at the realization that I was to be king, and in that moment, the sun broke through the constant cloud cover and the halls lit up with glowing colors: scarlet, magenta, gold, purple, emerald, azure.  It was breathtaking, and we both stared in awe.  I thought back to the last time the servants remembered seeing the colors.  It had been when my father’s reign began.  When there was the potential for change.  And so there was once more.

On a ledge waving my hands

At this point, I'll do almost anything.  Almost.  Here's the deal:  I've been applying for jobs left and right since I got back from college, and I've only heard back from one, in a negative manner, but at least I heard back.  And now I've just remembered that bosses will look at potential employees' online social stuff and I shouldn't say what I was getting ready to say.  But I will say this:  This time next week, I'll be officially broke.  I.  Need.  A.  Job.

First OUAT Piece Reveal!

This necklace was inspired by my getting sidetracked while watching Once Upon A Time and focusing on the little rose off to the side.  Points if you get which episode I'm referring to (it's subtle)!  Blue goldstone is probably my absolute favorite stone to work with.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Oh boy,

I've been tagged in the 'Kreativ Blogger Award' by Matt Sloan.  So....

Rules:

1. Thank & link back to the person who nominated you.

2. Answer the ten questions.

3. Share ten random facts/thoughts about yourself.

4. Nominate seven worthy blogs for the Kreative Blogger Award.

The Questions:

1. What's your favorite song?

Ummmm, heh.  Let’s see.  Currently?  The might iPod declares that my most played song right now is still “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift w/The Civil Wars.  I have been listening to “Poison & Wine” by the Civil Wars a lot recently, you should check them out!

2. What's your favorite dessert?

Our local fudge is awesome.  Any kind, though I’m pretty old school & usually just get the chocolate with some kind of nut in it.  They also give free samples ;-)

3. What ticks you off?

People not USING THEIR TURN SIGNALS. *ahem* That is all.

4. What do you do when you're upset?

Usually listen to music, read a book, maybe try to write something.  That usually doesn’t work—although I was pretty upset when I wrote the flash fiction that got shown on the Flash Flood Journal site.

5. Which is your favorite pet?

My dad doesn’t let us have pets, and the fee at my new apt complex is….expensive…. but I’m a cat person.  Not really a fan of dogs, although if I raised one from a puppy that would be a different story, but I’d rather have a cat.

6. Which do you prefer: black or white?

If we’re talking clothing, black.

7. What is your biggest fear?

Apart from the financial mudslide I’m in right now?  Heights.  Particularly with any kind of ladder.  I suppose the fear of falling applies to both there….

8. What is your attitude mostly?

Uhm.  In person, I suppose I come across as unfeeling or uninterested, but really I’m just nervous around new people, or people I’m not comfortable with in general.  If I know you, you’ll have a hard time getting me to shut up…  I’m pretty easygoing, I guess, but I tend to overanalyze and freak out about things waaay too much sometimes.

9. What is perfection?

Something that can never truly be achieved.

10. What is your guilty pleasure?

Watching The Vampire Diaries.  Don’t hate.  It’s pretty awesome.  And the vampires don’t sparkle.

The Random Facts:

1. I might be a little older than the average rising college senior, but that’s because I worked full-time in retail after deciding not to go to another college that was infinitely more expensive.  I learned that I do not wish to have a career in retail.  It makes you hate humanity.

2.  Once upon a time, I sang and I was a music major before I realized all I’d be able to do was teach.  And 

I do not want to teach.

3.  I’m an English major now (NO, I do not want to teach!!), and I’d like to go into the editing world, if not writing.  Maybe both.

4.  I got a Nerf gun for my 20^th birthday.  My brother and I still occasionally have wars where we’re finding darts a month later.

5.  I really enjoy photography, but I don’t exactly have time for it, especially in Greenville, where there’s not a nice, pretty old downtown area like here.

6.  I was in a play entitled “Candlesticks” once.  Pretty much the extent of my acting career.

7.  I am a Star Wars Lord of the Rings Chronicles of Narnia Harry Potter Almost Any Crime Drama nerd.  There, I said it.

8.  I love the beach, and unfortunately, my seven day forecast shows rain and clouds with lightning.

9.  I prefer the fictional realm of my stories and other stories, and if that makes me crazy for watching a TV show, knowing it’s a TV show, and yet still seeing it as possible, then call me mad.  It makes me a better writer.

10.  I love hummingbirds, if that wasn’t evident from my username/blog name/etsy shop name.  Ours are currently fighting over the feeder.  Business as usual.

The Nominations:

I really don’t read a lot of blogs, so sorry if I put someone up here that’s been up here before!

http://yearningforwonderland.blogspot.com: @ruanna3

http://lilliemcferrin.blogspot.co.uk/:  @LillieMcFerrin

http://www.angwrites.com/:  @ang_writes

http://anonymouslegacy.blogspot.com/:  @angela_goff

http://www.morgue-of-intrigue.blogspot.com/:  @Evermore_Evil

http://sjiholliday.com/:  @sjiholliday

http://thelastkrystallos.blogspot.co.uk/:  @LastKrystallos

Busy busy bee....

Hey look, an update!  Well, I've been keeping rather busy despite not doing much of anything.  I applied for a couple more jobs and I have an interview Monday.  Still haven't mentioned that one to my mother.  Maybe I'll save it for Sunday....?  Lol. Which reminds me...still need a gift. I wanted to get her an Amazon gift card, but there's a decided lack of funding. Maybe my dad will take pity on me :-).

I've pretty much been watching ABC's Once Upon A Time nonstop since last week's episode.  Hulu's awesome.  Even if they are charging now. It's the same price as my Netflix plan, and since I'd rather watch TV shows than movies at the moment, I've discontinued my Netflix for now.  I'll probably start it back up in the fall, though.  Anyways, all the fairy tales have me inspired for once, and I thoroughly embraced that in my jewelry-making.  Kinda run out of steam at this point, which means I need to stop sitting on my hands and start photographing these pretties.  I may hang on to one of the necklaces.  It was one of those moments where I was laying it out on my tray and I knew it was going to be amazing once I finished it.  I'll have to post pictures once I take them.

As far as writing goes, I'm honing my flash fiction abilities.  And rather enjoying it, too.  I submitted a few pieces to National Flash Fiction Day's Flash Flood Journal, and one of them got accepted!  It will be featured on the site at 2 am on May 16th.  I'm so excited! I've also sent another piece out elsewhere, and I'm looking in to other writing contests.  Maybe if I start hacking my way into the writing world now, slowly, while I'm still in school, it won't be as painfully difficult to get in once I'm done with school?  I'm staying positive, and looking at lots of options so not all of my eggs are in one basket.  As long as I keep writing....

I think I've discovered that my tendecy is toward the fantastic when it comes to fiction.  I tried a work-related flash piece, and it honestly wasn't my favorite.  The romance is fun, too, but there's just something about fantasy  and magic, drama and romance, murder and the unusual that draws me.  It's what I enjoy writing, and if I enjoy it, others will, too, right?  That's my logic, at least. :-)

Five Sentence Fiction

Decided now that school's out to try my hand at some more flash fiction--cutting it close on the deadline for this one, but here's my entry for Five Sentence Fiction with the topic "Explosive."  Enjoy!

Launchpad

Never, never, never let the child of a chemist and a mechanic play with explosives.  No one’s child should play with explosives, mind you, but especially not the child who has one parent always tinkering with different machinery to see how it works, how it’s put together, and can it be done better, and the other parent mixing things together to see how they react and can she invent some new medicine with a really fancy name that's hard to pronounce.  It’s not generally condusive for a good parent-child relationship, though it does give a whole new meaning to the term “nuclear family,” come to think of it.  Anyways, I don’t know what that boy was thinking, lighting the fuse on his homemade fireworks in the middle of the yard, but I do know that rocket went a good ways into the sky—he might be stupid in the common sense department, but that boy’s got talent, apparently.  Heard the NASA recruiters are already swarming for him to join their program after high school, can you see them doing that if my Johnny lit off a homemade bottle rocket in the yard?

Once Upon A Time Flash Fiction Entry!

Yes, I did something productive today not related to schoolwork! Cue drumroll, please!

Love Rekindled Through Social Networking:  We’re Going to Disney World

Looking for specific people online can seem stalkerish, obsessive.  Then you find a boy from your past that likes different movies, books, but they’re still the same ones you like.  Seems like kismet.  Fate.  Meeting him again makes you wonder even more.  Long distance relationships get such a bad rap.  They never work out.  But it’ll never happen.  That stuff only happens in the movies.  But then we find that….spark.  And thank the stars up above it’s so easy to search for people online.  We swear we won’t grow apart again, that we won’t drift again.  We keep talking through e-mail, texting, phone calls.  We meet up again the next summer, just as we had that first summer.  We go to an amusement park and act like complete and total idiots.  Leaves change to ruby, goldenrod, sunset orange.  Caught on fire.  Fall break in the mountains of Virginia.  Official “couple.”  Heavily frosted lawns, iced branches, bitter winds.  Christmas isn’t white, but it’s a good one.  Mutual visiting and celebration of completed finals.  Birthday.  Valentine’s Day.  Explosions of color. Azaleas.  Dogwoods.  Bradford pear.  Wisteria along the highway.  Spring break in Virginia.  He says he’d like to get me a ring but doesn’t have enough for one right now, will I accept his class ring?  I say that sounds like something out of a movie, or a country song.  He laughs because he hates country.  I give a longsuffering, sarcastically dramatic sigh.  Yes, I’ll accept it.  Summer.    Beach.  Bridal magazines in the sunshine.  Smiles.  We’re going to Disney World.  

Le Sigh

I went home for the day today to discuss finances with my dad.  We sat down and figured up a budget, and how much of a loan I'll need, and exactly how broke I'm going to be this summer.  The answer:  flat broke.  Those two words really hurt.  Of course I'm going to get a job, and right now, it's looking like my chances are better here, even though I'd save money by going home because I wouldn't have to pay for groceries.  Or Internet.  I have about a gazillion papers looking over my head, so I better get on that.  Just needed to write all this down.

Just Bear With Me

Bear with me while I use this blog to once again keep myself from dissolving into a puddle of tears or my head from exploding.  So.... (I tend to start serious subjects with that word). I had to get ahold of my new apartment complex today to sort out why they wanted me to pay rent in by June when my lease doesn't start until August. It's basically so they can determine who's definitely renting, and try to lease out the apartments from the people who are definitely not renting.  And then I don't have to pay rent until September. ^-^  The problem is that my financial aid doesn't kick in until the fall semester starts, and I'm already having to use what little loan money I have left for summer tuition.  Money which, since I hadn't planned on taking any summer classes when we sat down and figured out loans, I'm already running low on.  Like, I won't even have enough left to pay rent on this place for ONE month, let alone three.

Next problem:  Job.  My not having one over the summer was totally out of the question to begin with since I'd planned on going back to the exchange.  The dilemma is, do I stay here over the summer and work here, or do I go home and work there, and still pay rent either way?  I'll be paying for everything on my own here, like groceries and Internet and such, and I won't be paying that at home.  But at home, I'll be paying rent on an apartment I'm not even staying in.  I'm also torn in a minor manner between communities/friends in both places, though that's not factoring in quite as much.  If I do stay here, my lease is up 12 days before my other one starts, so I'll also have to haul everything home and then haul it all back.

Next problem:  Where in the heck is this money going to come from?!?!  I HAVE NO MONEY.  Even with a job, that's barely going to cover rent on this place, how the heck am I going to pay for my first month's rent at the other place?

Add all of that to the amount of papers/essays/exams/homework I've got in the next two weeks and you get the general idea as to my state of mind right now.

Just Another American Saturday Night....Oh Wait, It's Sunday Night....

Well, I've calmed down from my near meltdown involving finances.  It's still gnawing at the back of my mind, but I've shoved it aside for now because I have more important things to concentrate on at the moment.  Like finals and last weeks of class.  I have a paper due on Thursday for my Lg Studies class, and I've at least read the four chapters in the text that the prompt is based on--that's considered progress at the moment, I'm letting the info and ideas marinate now.  I also have a homework assignment for my Intro to Linguistics class due Thursday as well.  That's got a little more work involved.  I've done about 85% of it, I'd say, including finding a comic strip that violates one or more of Grice's maxims.  There's also a two page essay required to go along with it, so I suppose I should at least read the articles involved tonight.  Along with the usual reading and commenting on stories, that's about it for this week.

Next week, however *laughs slightly hysterically*, is a whole different kettle of fish.  I have a British Lit paper due by midnight Monday, French homework due by midnight Monday, a British Lit 250 word Blackboard post due by midnight Tuesday (but no class!!), my Intro to Linguistics research paper due Thursday, and also the final exam for that class as well. *whimper*  The week after is slightly more tenuous, with the only definite confirmed exam being on that Monday for my BritLit class, and the take-home final for Lg Studies being due by that Thursday at the latest.  *Sigh*

In other news, I somehow managed to come out on top this Etsy billing period *yay!*.  Went through a whole ordeal to mail that last package, too.  My mom was going to be passing through anyways, so she brought me the necklace and one of my boxes.  My plan was to take it to the post office Saturday and buy a bubble mailer and the stamp.  Got there and discovered that the post office here is closed on Saturdays. Urg.  So I had to go to Target and buy a bubble mailer with the other things I needed to buy, and then I came back and packaged it up all pretty and went to print a shipping label--the box didn't fit the bubble mailer. Arg.  Unearthed a small pouch and managed to get the necklace in it, wrapped it in some bubble wrap for additional protection, fit it in the mailer with no more problems.  Even got a Priority Mail label so it gets to the customer on time.  As much as I'd like another sale, I really hope I don't have to go through that again until I'm home.  It was painful.  My room looked like a tornado had passed through.  I'm not joking.

In totally awesome news, I've lost 3-4 pounds and a couple inches on my waist since starting this whole SELF Drop 10 diet/excersise plan.  I feel awesome.

Insert Head Into Hands

Yeah. Things were going great.  I had my tuition for the summer all calculated out and I was starting to not stress out.  Got my first tuition statement today.  And flipped.  Obviously I either calculated wrong (which is more than likely), or they had some sort of typo on the website, or I still have to pay a mess-ton of fees even though it's a flipping online class.  Sigh.  So, even if I hadn't just bought my new iPod I'd be up a creek.  The problem is that I still have to pay three months' rent even when I'm not going to be in the place.  I'm seriously considering terminating the lease early even if I do have a couple (just 1 for now) exams in the first week of May.  Gas is still less than rent.  For now, anyways.  And I need printer ink.  Large sigh.

Really trying not to hyperventilate here.  Still have three stories to scribble all over, which isn't going to happen until I get more printer ink.  Statement or whatever about my next paper for my BritLit class due Friday--it was originally due tonight.  And my impending research paper for my Intro to Linguistics class is due on the 26th....*whimper* Oh, crap, I have a test tomorrow. Ugh.  Shouldn't be too bad; it's all essays. At least I can ramble on like I know what I'm talking about.

 I got my French homework done, that's a bonus, right? And I've got the highest quiz grade in my BritLit class? Dwelling on the good things here....

I'm Alive

Well, I managed to make it through the Day That Everything Was Due.  Of course, it took me nearly six hours (there was procrastination and general stalling in that somewhere) to finish one little paper.  The prof was very non-specific about this one....the only thing I knew he DIDN'T want was for us to mention "the American dream" or "freedom" or "the melting pot," which I wouldn't have done at any rate.  Seriously, for that topic, who would even think of bringing up something as cliche as "the American dream"?  It's kind of a joke now in this day and age, anyway.  Geez, just look at the economy.  Okay, I'm done.  As excruciatingly painful as it was to do the six pages of homework for my other linguistics class, I still got that done in about two hours tops, compared to the Paper of Doom.  And then I proceeded to read and edit the three stories we had this week, along with the model story.  I was kind of on fire.

I was also excited that my tax return finally deposited, so now I can buy my new iPod tomorrow!!  Ran out of time today, but homework was more important :).  I really want the white one.  I also have to remember to take a look at cases while I'm out, and buy trash bags and paper towels since no one else in this apartment seems capable.  Ahem.  I'd also like to try to make an iPod touch case out of bamboo.  I've seen them for the iPhone and iPad, but not for the iPod touch.... the obvious method for doing this would be to do all the cutting and stuff while the bamboo is still wet, 'cause once it dries....it's pretty darn indestructible.  I think my dad damaged a saw or something trying to cut bamboo that had dried.  It'll take some planning out.  Just an aside on bamboo:  seriously, it should replace hardwood flooring and stuff in general, because it grows REALLY fast.  Well, it's grass, of course it does, but it's really durable, and it saves trees. There's my mini-environmentalist rant for the year.  I'm having to double-read everything because of typos, so I'm gonna go ahead and call it a night.

Procrastination Station

I have a ton of stuff due tomorrow, so of course I'm wasting time online and taking the time to update my blog.  I'll get it done, don't worry....  Had a fun time this weekend.  I went home Friday and dragged my brother off to the beach.  It was glorious.  We found THREE still connected sets of disc shells.  I held mine in my hand because I was afraid of breaking it (I kept depositing my shells in his jacket pocket).  He put one in his pocket because it was dangling by a thread and he was going to reinforce it, and the other one broke in his hand while he was still considering it, but they were great finds.  I had a small assortment of other shells too, some baby's ears, slipper shells, jingle shells, and one Atlantic auger (sp?).  Saturday night I went to help out and become a paparazzo for the night at my brother's youth group's Academy Awards.  That was fun.  I also spent that afternoon making more jewelry, but I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to take pictures, so that'll have to wait until this weekend.  Just wanted to give a quick update.  Hope everyone's Monday is going as good as Mondays can go!

Enough Is Enough

After waking up today with the usual post-exercise fitness muscle soreness, I've finally decided that enough is enough.  I've signed up for SELF magazine's Drop 10 challenge on their website, even though my goal is for more than 10 pounds, but it pretty much helps you get to your goal, whatever it is.  Tracking the amount of food I'm eating, and I'm currently sitting here trying not to gorge myself on chips.  Because I can put away a bag.  They've also got these workouts that are really simple, but man, do they make you feel the burn.  I did....I think six or seven of the moves and burned over 100 calories in just under 15 minutes.  I don't have any barbells, but I do have a set of resistance bands, and those pretty much did the trick for the moves that used barbells.  FYI, did you know that just adding a resistance band/tube to squats (like standing on the bottom and holding the ends in your hands) can make the squats a little harder?  It's awesome.  With the food diary calorie tracker, I can even still squeeze in my guilty pleasure mocha frappuchino for the night. :)  I'm honestly going to try to keep this up, because right now I feel pretty awesome.  I didn't get any cardio in, which is the real fat burner, I guess, but it was too lateto get to the gym and back in time for class by the time I realized I hadn't done cardio.  I might see if I can get my Kinect to work in my room and get some in either now or after class.  Hmmm, now's good.  I'll be too lazy after class gets out tonight. :P

Another Week Flown By

My plan to go see the Hunger Games this past Friday wasn't without its hiccups, but I ended up seeing it nonetheless.  Originally, I was going to go see it at 12:15 at the theater on Firetower Rd. The stupid ECU bus sat at one of the stops for literally 5 minutes.  This wouldn't have been a problem if there had actually been people getting on the bus, but no one was there!!  Then, I accidentally turned on to G-ville Blvd at about 12:13 and basically said, "screw it, I'll just go to the theater on this street." I knew there was another showing sometime pretty close after, and sure enough, I got there in plenty of time for the 12:45 showing.  I even had time to use the restroom, grab popcorn and a drink (which was also my lunch, btw), AND scout out a seat toward the front and in the middle. And those seats are awesomely cushiony.  The theater wasn't packed.  It was an awesome movie. Life was good.

Of course, I had to go steam burn my hand Saturday night on a popup bowl of popcorn that split past the plastic to where I couldn't see it.  Kept ice on it for awhile before I decided to go digging through the giant first-aid kit my mom bought me, where I found the perfect little wrap-around bandage for burns with a cooling pad on it <3.  Life was good.

And we're full circle back to Monday.  It's my group's last workshop tomorrow, and I am so nervous about this story.  I loved it until I re-read it and started cringing. I'm already editing.  I left out a word!  A whole word!  I know I'm not perfect and everybody makes mistakes and we're all only human; I just had to get that out of my system.

And now I have to get back to editing/commenting on stories and reading the stuff I'm supposed to be reading for tomorrow. Life is....on the positive side, if not "good."

That Was Interesting....

This past weekend being a "light homework" weekend, I pretty much shoved everything to the side and sat down to finish reading the Hunger Games, which I started over spring break but put down because I forgot I was in the middle of another book.  Finished it in about three hours.  Maybe four.  Luckily, when I was out earlier in the day, I bought Catching Fire.  Started it Saturday night before I remembered I had to be up early Sunday, and reluctantly put it down.  Finished it Sunday afternoon.  Bought Mockingjay yesterday after class and read it.  They were awesome.  I'm still working out my feelings toward the characters and the whole rpemise for the stories, but I don't want to put any spoilers out there from me yet.

I managed to finish my Keeley/Jasper waltz mini-story and work on the piece I was actually submitting for my class.  Got about halfway through before turning the computer off for lack of inspiration.  Started working it out in my head and I realized it only had three possible endings: C1 kills C2.  C2 kills C1.  C1 and C2 band together to get rid of the people trying to kill them both.  Sounds very Mr. & Mrs. Smith-like, but it really wasn't.  But I had a stroke of brilliance that somehow managed to (I think, anyway) combine the first two options.  Kind of.  It's hard to explain.  Then I decided that the character in the end ends up being the head of the organization I've created that my NaNo novel and, eventually, Keeley's novel, are both involved with.  This was all after I turned off my computer, so I furiously tapped out a short note on my iPod, finished it up on Sunday, and edited yesterday.  Story's submitted now.

And I just got a dazzling, brilliant idea for Keeley's first novel.  About where it ends, anyway.  It unfortunately means I'll have to dive into the world of legal procedures.  I'd honestly rather stab myself in the eye with my pen.  Maybe it's not that bad.  But it does work out some snarls in my storyline and helps me establish a more clarified purpose for the story and the things that Keeley goes through.  But I need to buckle down and make margin notes and comment on this week's stories AND do my linguistics homework before I do anything else.  AND read Oliver Twist and do another chunk of my French homework.  Where did my day just go?

Attack of the Plot Bunnies!

I enjoyed explaining to my friend what plot bunnies essentially were.  After being so inspired by Tuesday night's writing class that I couldn't concentrate on one thing at a time, we were texting and I mentioned finally understanding what plot bunnies were. The plot ideas that multiply like....rabbits, obviously.  But I've finally settled down and started focusing on one specific story I wanted to tell.  It's more of a scene from the novel I started when our class started, but I decided I'm going to submit a normal short story for my last deadline.  Which is starting to breathe heavily down my neck as it's this Tuesday.  But the plot was stuck in my head, and I've decided to write it down before it drives me absolutely insane.

I've got a killer headache right now, and the yelling and screaming outside my apartment is NOT helping.  You have to wonder exactly what goes on that induces people to start screaming randomly in the middle of the night.  Tomorrow being St. Patrick's Day ought to be...fun...with even more screaming than usual.  I can hardly wait.  Yes, that was sarcasm.  Anyways, I can barely see straight, and a beatnik is playing the bongos in my head right now, so I'm calling it a night.  Hey, I updated in a timely manner for once!

Blerg.

I suppose now that spring break's essentially over this blog will probably drop off the face of the earth again.  Sigh.  I'll have to think of a way to keep it up.  The plan so far for the whole jewelry-making thing is to take what's listed in my Etsy shop back with me since I've reopened it, and also take my toolbox and a small (SMALL) assortment of general jewelry-making stuff.  Don't ask me how that's all going to work, because I haven't the slightest clue.

Ever get a storyline stuck in your head?  No?  It's a bit like....waking up and realizing that you're out of coffee, going to work/school and discovering that you were supposed to turn in something important, and being so preoccupied with all of that all day (without coffee) that you forget about your first date in months and then attempt to apologize/explain yourself to the person you've just accidentally stood up.  Exactly.  What do you say?  There's so much TO say, but no way you can possibly articulate it in any way that conveys what you wish to be conveyed. In the manner you wish it to be conveyed in.  Maybe that was a bit too overwhelming of a comparison.  At any rate, you are left frustrated  and stressed and feeling somehow incomplete. And also a bit like you're going to explode if you don't do something about it.

Now, I'm off to attempt to get some writing done.

And With A Broken Wing....

Yep, I've got a slight nondisplaced radial head fracture.  Translation: broken elbow (annoyingly so).  Last week was the Week of Papers.  And when we were running laps on the basketball court in gym class, I possess that innate ability to trip over flat, shiny surfaces (they must be shiny), and I still don't know how to fall correctly.  All I did at the time was scrape myself off the floor and get back to running.  I knew something was off, and I knew my wrist wasn't broken; I actually managed to do a couple pushups before realizing that it was a little more than just a major OUCH from the floor.  Took myself to Student Health Services after class, had it x-rayed, preliminary look saw nothing, but the radiologist found the fracture.  I have a sling that drives me nuts, and unfortunately, it doesn't hurt to type, so I still had to type two more papers :P.  I had intended to get back into the jewelry thing while on break, but I can't rotate my arm back and forth so that's out unless I can do a little stringing without too much pain. 

My brother likes to meddle with making things out of wood, and I've suggested that he start making things and selling them, like on Etsy.  He said he'd thought of it, but I think he's going to need a little push.  I've been thinking about trying to make some wood components, ever since I bought some through FusionBead from someone whose name escapes me.  They were very cute.  I think I'm going to nudge my brother into helping me attempt to make one or two tomorrow. I suggested opening a joint shop with jewelry & stuff made by the two of us, and splitting the profits.  I feel like I keep jumping from one thing to the next, though.  I guess I'm still trying to find my niche?  I don't know.  I also might break out the Shrinky Dinks and some colored pencils tomorrow, too.  Yeah.  I'm bored.  Getting a lot of reading done, though!

Ten Things NaNoWriMo Taught Me

Ten things NaNoWriMo taught me:

10.  Improve my typing speed.

9.  Not care about spelling things wrong in the first draft.

8.  Do 700 wds in a fifteen minute word war.

7.  How to appreciate coffee.  And possibly become dependant on it.

6.  How to properly snag a table near the only outlet in the B & N Cafe.

5.  How to order a cup of coffee in the most efficient way.

4.  With enough determination, desperation, and support, a 13k word day is more than possible.

3.  Fellow Wrimos are the best support group a person can have.

2.  It is possible to write a 50k novel in 30 days.

1.  I CAN FINISH A STORY!

Friday!!

I'm sitting here watching the Return of the King on TNT tonight, and even though it's a trimmed-down theatrical version, I'm reminded of how much I just love the dialogue, the music, everything.  I've been putting quotes up on Facebook and Twitter practically non-stop since I found it while flipping through channels.  I'll share the latest exchange I put on Facebook--definitely makes the Top 10.

Pippin:  I didn't think it would end this way.

Gandalf:  End?  No, the journey doesn't end here.  Death is just another path....one that we all must take.  The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass.  And then you see it.

Pippin:  What, Gandalf?  See what?

Gandalf:  White shores....and beyond.  A far green country, under a swift sunrise.

Pippin:  Well, that's not so bad.

Gandalf:  No.  No, it isn't.

There's so much dialogue in this movie that I love, but that's the only one I'll post for tonight.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Recipes you CANNOT make in my apartment!! :-(

Didn't know there was a waiting list to join Pinterest.  Oh, well.  I still found these yummy recipes through their site.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can make ANY of them in my apartment!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (mention that and you have my instant undivided attention!) from The Comfort of Cooking

Actually, I probably could make this one myself, although we don't have a muffin tin.... Also from The Comfort of Cooking:  Bacon-Wrapped Egg Toast!! I'm getting hungry....

Aaaaand Oreo Truffles from Chef-In-Training!  I might be able to make these, but for a college student with mountains of homework, it's a little much for a snack ;).  If i was going to a party or something, I'd put out more effort.  Don't they look yummy?

Well, that's it for today, hope this got everyone's taste buds going!  As for me, I'm gonna go open up a can of soup or something.... ;P

Somethin's Gotta Give

Okay, so even though I'm not having the shop open right now, I still need to blog in order to 1.) Not go crazy and 2.) Keep this blog from crumbling into the abyss of dead, unwanted, unupdated blogs.  SO.  This is going to become less of a "just jewelry, all the time (and the occasional lame excuse)" blog and more of a "so this is how my day went...." blog.  I know I should have been doing more of that in the first place.  So I'm going to post more treasuries maybe, maybe waste some time on Pinterist, though I'm not entirely familiar with that world-- I have noticed the button on Etsy now where you can "Pin," along with tweeting and facebook "liking."  I guess being more involved in what's around me and not just what I'm doing (or not doing) is probably the best way to go about this.  And then I need to start mentioning this stuff on Facebook and Twitter directly instead of just linking it to my blog.  Perhaps this should be my rather late New Year's resolution.  Taking time off from the beading to develop a more solid networking group or system or strategy.  Sounds like a plan.  Stay tuned and hopefully I'll keep this up!

Forgot I Hadn't Updated....

I honestly thought I'd updated since the last post.... Well, I'm updating now.  So, here's the deal.  I didn't want to haul all of my beads and junk back to my apartment in Greenville.  Up the stairs.  So I've decided to keep the shop on vacation for a little longer until I decide what to do.  I'm definitely not closing it down or anything.  The only thing I would be doing is maybe taking a few (FEW!!) supplies with me for things that are relatively easy for me to make, along with the pieces that are already listed in the shop, of course.  But I haven't decided yet.  I'm leaning more towards keeping it closed until the semester is over, so that way I'm not stressing about my shop along with everything else.  I suppose I'll keep everyone posted.... or at least rant about more roommate troubles, and classes....general school-related stuff, basically. 

Yuck.

So I'm back from my little trip to Atlanta for Passion 2012 this year.  And I'm sick.  So no, I haven't taken any pictures, and I promise I waited to open everything until the proper day.  Although I should have cheated a little on Day 12 from Lori Burek because I forgot to bring a notebook!  The irony....  But I feel terrible right now, so I'm not going to go into any kind of detail about my week in GA until I'm better.  The shop's still on vacation until January 11, after I've had a decent amount of time to go back to Greenville and start classes up again.  Now, I'm going to go hunt down some soup.