Saturday, January 14, 2012

Jan 14: Contest Submission

American Idol Audition

American Idol Audition by bunni711 featuring via spiga coats

So, I submitted the artwork above for a competition on Polyvore today.  The contest is for the best outfit to wear to an American Idol audition.  I really like it, so we'll have to see how it does!

I have been very fuzzy and tired today.  I spent a lot of time worrying about getting my homework done but not really wanting to do it/ feeling like doing it.  Well, I actually just finished it, so I'm feeling really good now that it's out of the way.  I really have to work on this homework anxiety thing.

Other than all that, I did make a few more pieces of Polyvore art today.  You shall see more in upcoming days.  I may end up with a backlog of these if I keep making so many of them. I made a cute cupcake themed one, and one about what a puppy dreams of.  They are both really cute.  I also got a like on my Birdies in a Tree artwork, but I don't think that one's up on the blog yet.  Well, you'll just have to wait for it, then!

I didn't do much else besides play around on Polyvore and read today.  My nephew is over for the weekend again.  Teddy has taken to jumping up and down all the time now.  We have to grab him really quick before he goes for it (with little or no notice), and it doesn't always work out.  Confound that dog!  But dang, that dog is so adorable!  You can't help but love him.  <3

Well, I think that's it.  I didn't have time to watch the first episode of Face Off season two, although I may stay up.  I probably shouldn't since I've been so tired all day, but we'll see.  I had to watch a video for my homework assignment (the one I just finished), and it was a bit confusing and also narrated by a British man, which didn't help.  I think I wrote a good paper on it, though.  We'll see how nitpicky my teachers turn out to be.  Anywho, gotta go call James back before bed.

Love,
Christen

Friday, January 13, 2012

Jan 13: Friday the Thirteenth!

Frame Bookshelves

Frame Bookshelves by bunni711 featuring black pearl jewelry

Well, I stayed up pretty late last night making that french travel journal (see previous day's post), and I was still full of ideas and inspiration when I went to bed.  I made five more pieces of art on Polyvore today, which sounds nuts even to me.  I don't know why, but I find it a lot of fun and I'm getting a lot of ideas.  I think they all look really cool, and since I made so many today, there will be new ones coming out on the blog each day for a while!

I also found out that there are competitions on the site, so I think I'm going to submit something for it.  The theme is what you would wear to an American Idol audition.  I don't watch the show, but I used to watch the tryouts a few years ago.  They can be pretty funny. I think I should try to get to bed at a better time tonight, though, and it's already getting late.  I'll tackle that tomorrow, I guess.

So, apparently our other book for the networking class won't be here in time to do our homework this week.  I'm going to have to write to my teacher again about it.  We're going to be a bit behind and I'm just hoping that she will understand and let us take the quizzes late, too.

The cell company never called me back, so I'm going to have to call them, AGAIN.  It's getting so ridiculously old.

I'm about halfway through Wicked.  I like it so far.  I think it's really cool that the author included political turmoil in his land of Oz.  He shows the story in a different light, but I think it will end up in the same vein as the original story.

Teddy is feeling much better and is now jumping on and off the furniture whenever we turn our backs.  It's so frustrating because as soon as he feels better, he starts again.  I just really don't want him to hurt himself again.  We are working on ideas for stairs and I already have a plan on how to teach him to use them.  It involves looots of treats.  You know, that gives me an idea for another Polyvore artwork, hehe.

Other than that, I finished the first season of that Face Off show.  I wish there had been more than four episodes online, but I enjoyed what there was.  I'm probably going to watch the first episode of the new season tomorrow.  And, I should probably get that networking homework (what little I can do!) out of the way.

Well, I'm super tired.  I'm gonna read and then hit the sack.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

Love,
Christen

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Jan 12: That Kinda Day

Paris Travel Notebook

Paris Travel Notebook by bunni711 featuring a cashmere beanie


Well, today hasn't been that great.  I woke up tired and foggy, read some, and mostly loafed around all morning.  I am liking Wicked better, though.  It seems most of the racy stuff was in the first part of the book.  I think it was just a shock, seeing as I have been reading mostly Jane Austen books recently.  Anyway, it's getting pretty interesting, so I don't think there will be a problem finishing it.

After my mom got home from work, my sister Shaina came over with some presents - groceries and a new vacuum cleaner for us since our last one went kaput a while ago.  Then we went and picked up a few things at the store and stopped by the bank - nothing special.

After we got home, I settled down to write that letter of introduction for my technical writing class.  It was frustrating.  A lot of people in the class did the "workshopping" on the discussion boards, but I didn't have time to.  We don't have the text books yet, either, so I didn't have a lot to go on.  I also worry a lot about the stuff I write.  The teacher seems like she is married to grammar rules, so I'm a little worried that she will find faults where I didn't think there were any.  I think I generally don't like to take writing classes.  Oh well, I'll manage.

I'm not really in the best mood.  It's been a stressful day for various reasons and I just want to keep this post short.  Nothing interesting is going on, really.  Teddy is better, but still hurting, I think.  I touched his back earlier and he yelped a little.  It's hard to see your baby in pain.  We are doing our best to take care of him, though, and making sure he gets his medicine and takes it easy.  He jumped down off of the couch a couple of times, which means he's feeling a bit better; it's so hard to watch him all the time when he's so sneaky.  I hope the stairs thing works out.

I'm going to try out that Face-Off show on SyFy.  I guess only episodes 4 and on are available online - oh well.  It looks really interesting.

I stayed up pretty late because I couldn't sleep.  But I did make a pretty Paris-themed travel journal on Polyvore.  It helps me feel less stressed.  I think I'm just not ready for the semester yet.

Love,
Christen

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Jan 11: Presents!


This is what I spent a good portion of the day making!  It's the second day in a row where I got on Polyvore and went nuts for a couple (a few?) hours.  It was a lot of fun though and I'm very happy with my little tree up there.  It's also given me a few more ideas for other art to make.  You shall have to wait and see...

So, in other news, last night I finished Persuasion and started this book:

Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years, #1)Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire







I am really very on the fence about it.  It has come off overly sexual so far, which is very strange.  I'll read some more before I decide if I will finish it or not.  I hate not finishing books - I try to avoid it (sometimes at all costs; I mean, c'mon, I muddled through Moby Dick for crying out loud!).

I had to call the cell company AGAIN today because I realized that I no longer have the minutes I had before this whole debacle started!  I have the new ones, but now the old ones are gone.  I was told that they will call me in 24-48 hours.  Hopefully it will be fixed finally!

I headed back home today and found out that Teddy got hurt again on Sunday.  : (  My poor baby!  This is the third or fourth time that he has hurt his back/legs from jumping on and off the furniture.  He's on pain meds and muscle relaxers, but he is trembling sometimes and not able to step over very short things (I mean, even shorter than usual, seeing as he is a dachshund).  He is also making a terrible little whiny noise that breaks my heart.  We have to watch him so that he doesn't jump on/off the furniture and we're going to train him to use stairs now.  I feel so bad for ever letting him jump up and down in the first place.  : (  He is doing alright, though, and I don't think he is suffering.  We're all taking really good care of him.

In happier news, Jamie's surprise came today!  I ordered him a late Christmas present back in December, and snuck around a little in order to keep it a secret from him.  The reason it was so late was that the seller on ebay was away until a few days ago, so it actually got here in good time.

I had arranged a little scavenger hunt for him that would give him clues to what the present was, but he wasn't feeling well today and, to be honest, I kind of chickened out about it.  It started seeming really silly once I knew the package was coming today.  Well, he read through it afterward and the clues weren't written that well, but he enjoyed going through them at least!

But yes, what is this mystery Christmas present?  James is a big fan of hockey, and especially the Penguins.  He was also in need of a new wallet.  So, this is what I got him!


He had no idea I got him anything, so it was a really fun surprise.  I think I did a good job.  I had felt so bad because I had no money to get him anything for Christmas, but I got some Christmas money and was able to get him something I think he really likes.  Good day.

Love,
Christen

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Jan 10: Having Fun with Fashion

Colorful Accessories with Neutral Clothes

Colorful Accessories with Neutral Clothes by bunni711 featuring antique jewelry

This is a fun little fashion board I did on a new site I found called Polyvore.  I think I spent way too much time on it, but at least it was fun and relaxing!

I've had an interesting day today.  *sigh*  I found out that one of my books was cancelled because the site was out of stock.  I can't imagine why they wouldn't tell me that BEFORE I ordered it and paid for it.  I'm worried that I won't get the refund back, order a new book, and get it shipped out before my homework is due for that class on the 15th.  I e-mailed my prof about it, though, so hopefully it will work out and she'll let me turn it in late.

I woke up in a bad mood today.  I'm having a lot of trouble getting my sleep schedule right and I'm just tired all the time.  Ugh.  Other than that, I called my cell company again and was able to get my minutes.  I awkwardly mentioned the "compensation" I was promised but the lady (a dif one from yesterday) said she didn't know anything about it and couldn't do anything.  At least I tried, though.

I'm almost done with Persuasion - last chapter.  I'm going to read Wicked next.  I know it's been very popular in recent years, especially the play (or musical?), so I am excited to check it out.  I think after that I will read 1Q84 - hopefully it will still be at my library!

I spent ridiculous amounts of time today on Etsy, pinning stuff onto my Pinterest boards.  It was a lot of fun, though.  I hardly ever let myself actually relax, so I think all the weird messing around online was actually good for me.  Nothing much else happened except that Jamie's parents brought back pizza, which was a really nice surprise for a weekday.  Now I should really get on that homework calendar, but I think I'll go finish my book first : )

Love,
Christen

Monday, January 9, 2012

Jan 8 and 9: A Long Time Waiting

First of all, I'm going to add one thing that happened last Friday which I forgot to add in my last post.  James and I were going to make chocolate chip pancakes for lunch.  I switched on the burner and we started getting stuff out to make them when we started smelling something burning.  Well, I had switched on the wrong burner and James had happened to set the pan on it while we were making the batter.  The whole burner caught on fire, which is very weird because it is an electric stove.  The fire went out when we switched off the burner, too, and there wasn't any residue left behind.  It was very strange and I like to think it is a problem with the stove and not my silliness that caused it.  We ended up buying sandwiches at the market, though.  Mmmm...

Jan 8: Not much happened today, just trying to enjoy my last day of vacation and not get too stressed about the new semester.  James and I watched some Warehouse 13 on Netflix and hung out.  He played God of War III until it went kaput on him for no good reason.  The disc looks fine but it keeps freezing up at this one part, which is actually pretty late in the game, I think.  He's in the Labyrinth part with Pandora.  I spent most of the day online - blogging, surfing, and playing around with this new site, Pinterest, which my friend Amber introduced me to. You pretty much pin up pictures of anything and everything you find online to some virtual bulletin boards of your choosing, and you can look at what other people have pinned up and add it to your collection, too.  It's pretty fun and addicting.

I am still working on Persuasion, but I'm getting near the end.  I'm really liking it and I just read a very interesting part, so I'm happy on that front.  The only thing really worth noting about the day was that I had to call customer service for my cell phone because the code for my prepay minutes wasn't working.  I was on hold for pretty much ever.  I think they may be based in India, just from their accents.  They aren't too hard to understand, but the connection seemed bad.  : P  The first guy almost immediately transferred me to his supervisor and I was on hold again for a while.  The next lady I think I have spoken to before, actually.  I think I actually recognized her voice.  Well, they were having all kinds of trouble with it and couldn't get it to work.  I was on hold a lot and waiting around while she worked on the computer with it.  They finally ended up telling me that they would be working on it and to call them back in 24 hours if I still didn't receive any minutes.  I was promised "compensation" for my trouble.  All in all, I spent about an hour on the phone.  It wasn't fun, needless to say.

Jan 9: Even though classes officially started today, I didn't have anything to do for them.  I need to get all of my assignments written down on my big calendar, but my first assignment isn't due until Thursday.  I have to write a letter of introduction for my technical writing class, which, from what I can tell, is a really basic-level writing class.  I mean, we are going to do resumes and that kind of stuff, which I learned long ago in high school and have no need of relearning, except that the class is required for this degree.  Ugh!

I ordered my books today and was pleasantly surprised to have saved money on two of my books and didn't have a bad deal on the third.  James is buying the books for the classes we share; he's such a great guy!  <3  I looked up coupons for them, too, and actually found one that saved me $5!  I know it's not a lot, but you can really get some good deals if you just look up coupons online.  I saved 30% on my HP laptop (which I am happily typing away on right now!).  If you're curious, I blogged about it before.  Oh, one note for those earlier posts, though:  the Design Destination blog has been discontinued, so the links to it will not work.  Anyway, I hope my books are here in enough time.  I do have some homework due on Sunday for which I will need my books.

It's been a pretty good day, overall.  Since Jamie's game broke yesterday, I got to spend a lot more time with him today than usual.  We cuddled a bunch on the couch and watched some Pawn Stars.  It was quite an enjoyable evening.  : )  Well, that's all for now, I think.  I guess I should try not to be afraid of saying more about how I felt throughout the day or what I thought of rather than just events - I always used to do that whenever I kept a diary.  This is a double post though, so I wanted to keep it shorter.

Other than that, I'm feeling excited about my new website classes; hopefully they will teach me a lot about web design and will be lots of fun.  I have the same teacher for my two web design classes and she seems really nice.  I tried to pick good teachers this semester, but I do have a word of caution:  do not use ratemyprofessors.com!  That site has tried to give me viruses several times before.  It's very useful, but there are many other sites to find info about profs, which are much safer!  Just google prof ratings or something, and you should be able to find some good ones.  I installed a little thing on Chrome which shows safety ratings for every link I come across on the Internet -  it's called WOT and it is very useful.  If you have Chrome, you should give WOT a try.

I almost forgot!  I never did get my minutes for my phone, so I have to call customer service once again.  I was supposed to do it today, but got caught up doing other things.  I will update you further tomorrow!

I think I shall leave my faithful readers for now.  Adieu, adieu!  (I am really reading too much period literature right now!)

Love,
Christen