Spreading the music - Jon Schmidt

Found this posted on a friends blog, and she said to share it. After I listened to it, I coudn't help NOT sharing it. It is absolutely amazing. I think it is songs like this that remind me why I like music so much. Most of the people who know me fairly well know that I always have music playing when I am able. Otherwise I hum little tunes or sing parts of songs I know the tunes and words. Take the time to listen to it, and I mean LISTEN to it. Ignore any distractions and FEEL the emotion and passion and joy that was put into this song.

Crochet Fun

I have known how to crochet for about 8 years now.
However, during the last 5 years I haven't been able to fervently on a project

(namely I haven't been able to finish anything I start).
It has been quite frustrating because I learned all these different crochet stitches and now I don't remember anything past a slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, chain stitch, and a front post double crochet stitch. I used to know all these neat, decorative stitches and I've lost them all. My friend and I decided to start crocheting together, with me relearning and she learning altogether. It was a hilarious experience. Imagine two women sitting on a sofa, with yarn and hook in hand. In front of them, sitting on the coffee table, is a laptop. On the screen is the youtube.com main screen. The two women are searching for self-help videos to learn how to do these stitches.

Yeah, that was us. We started and finished winter hats together that same night. We felt very accomplished. Actually it was more like we started that night and worked into the early hours of morning. It was 5 a.m. before I finally looked at my watch. We have a great time together. It's nice having more estrogen around. The testosterone is killing me.

Below are two small afaghans I've made, once is still being made. The hat is the one mentioned above. The unused skeins of yarn are for a new project for my neice. I hope she likes it! The afaghan I'm currently making is kind of skee-whomp-us. I wasn't paying much attention to the number of stitches I had so it's not my best work. It's one I can look back at and laugh about because I am so clueless sometimes. Ask my mom. She can tell you stories....

Moving Day Looming Overhead

So far, Brant and I have not heard from the weird lady living in our soon-to-be new home. We're fervently, yet exhaustedly packing more boxes and I think it shows. We're getting excited again too. Right now, we are down to 5 days til the morning of Moving Day.

We're going to be tight for a while, which means we'll be relearning frugality. We're setting new rules, and I'm tempted to turn it into a household 'constitution' Hee hee.
Anyway, I took some pictures of us packing so you can see how many boxes we are living around and out of. It's crazy how much stuff and junk we have. I am going to have a hayday dejunking as we move. I'm sure brant will too. He's excited to take boxes of stuff to the local D.I. As this day has crept ever closer, I've been jumping ahead of things and looking at the curtains I want, rugs, wall decor, side tables, etc. Its torture! Don't ask me why I do it. I can't help myself. I'm so excited for a place to call my own.

Moving Day complications... GAHH!!!

Alright, so Brant and I are supposed to be moving into our new place by the fifth of June, as I have aforementioned. WELL.... Brant called the lady who is the current tenant of our new place to see if she still needs help moving (she had knee surgery recently). Come to find out, she still hasn't found a place to live and is telling us to find another place to live.

Um, I DON'T THINK SO!!

Needless to say, Brant was over at the new place in a flash, without saying a word to me, only telling me "he'll call me later" to explain things. He also went to Coldwell Banker (who rent these particular townhomes out) to tell them what this lady is trying to do to us. She has already signed her 30-day notice to vacate and we have already signed OUR contract to be moved in by the fifth. Well, Coldwell is trying to cater to both of us, even though this lady is totally taking advantage of us and giving us ONE WEEK notice of her current plans.

She told us to move into low-income housing, which Brant explained, we don't qualify to move into them. We make a little too much. Then has the gall to tell Brant he's taking advantage of a jobless women with a child (who is 17 and should be working to support his mother, not sitting around doing nothing) and is getting TONS of money from the government.

We're both really bitter about this and Coldwell says we can't move in til the ninth. If she isn't out, she's getting all her stuff tossed out on the street.

She is a grown adult, whom I assumed was responsible to enough to find a place to live BEFORE filling out a vacate-notice. Apparently not. So, now we have to pay an extra month on the storage unit we should be rid of by the seventh of June.

I hope she doesn't get caterred to anymore. Granted she has been through a divorce and all, but Brants' mother has been through two knee surgeries involving several blood clots, two divorces and responsible to for raising FOUR children. She had it way worse than this lady. If Brants' mom can do it, so can this lady.

Moving Day??

Today was an exciting day for Brant and I. We went to check out a few places in a complex in Southern Logan and we put in an application for a place!! They are Fourplex-Townhomes and there are only like 12 buildings. They're mostly young familes (no drunk college kids) so it will be MUCH quieter than where we live now. Plus no more people running up and down the stairs, causing the stairs to rattle like crazy. It's right by a golf course, two parks, a small zoo, the fair grounds and further away from fast food places, so it's not so tempting to eat out. It is right along a VERY quiet street with lots of shade trees. We can BBQ and there is a small deck (6' X 4' or so) so I can have a small planter for tomatoes and and flowers. We're hoping the current tenant in this place (a single girl) isn't a messy person. So far we're sure she doesn't smoke, so that is a plus. Hopefully we'll be moving in June 1 or so. YAY! moving pictures soon to follow.

One Week Left To Go....

As of today, I have one week left of school - which is FINALS WEEK

I was able to take one final early because it was on the same day as another. I love my professor! She's the greatest! Now, I only have two to worry about.

I am so excited to be graduating! I was a little disappointed that graduation was going to be longer than I thought, but then I thought,

'What is a couple hours compared to FIVE years of college??'

Yeah, I think I can handle it.

I have already sent out all of my announcements and am enjoying feeling the stress lift from my shoulders. Brant may be more excited than I am. He's been with me through two of those five years, and after many 'Jessie-freak out sessions' and many sleepless nights, he is definitely ready.

Now we just need to get ready to move. We found a place across town away from noisy, drunk, obnoxious students. It's a rental townhome with two bedrooms on the second floor and an open first floor. It's really well-sized. I can't wait to move in and decorate.

We'll definitely need to buy a lot of things. We need at least 4 sets of curtains and lots of little things to make it feel like our home. We're excited because we currently have a roommate. She's been my friend since I started school here in Logan, and we got an apartment together because we got tired of our living conditions at the time. We thought everything would work well, but it has been awkward. Having a friend live with a newly-wedded couple isn't a good pairing. I know it's been tough on her, just as much as us.

I'll be sure to have moving pictures up when moving day comes.

H.A.S.S. Award Ceremony

It was a Tuesday afternoon, say 2 p.m., and I was sorting the mail. Lo and behold, there was a small envelope for me. It was from my college within the University and apparently, I had been named Student of the Year in Interior Design Sales and Marketing! However, the ceremony was to be held THAT FRIDAY! ACK! I was freaking out, wondering if I could get anyone to come and then noticed that I was supposed to RSVP three days previous to my receiving the invite. I called, the lady at the other end apologized like crazy, then called my mom wondering if she could get off work early, THEN I had to call a girl I work with to see if she would take part of my shift friday so I could go.

Well, then my mom calls back, says she and my dad are taking the day off and coming up! Yay! But wait! I still have to work part of that night! AHH!! So I call up my coworker again and ask her to take the whole shift since my family was coming. She agreed which I am ETERNALLY grateful for.

It was a stressful two days for that. The ceremony was great. They awarded awesome staff, faculty and students. I was amazed at the achievements of some students. For my section of the awards, I was awarded by my department head, Joann Wilson. She is a really neat lady. She wants to entirely revamp my emphasis within the major because she feels it doesn't receive the attention it deserves.

To reiterate for you, this is how it kind of works: During your sophomore year, you're with 50-60 other people doing studio work. Then you have to go through Sophomore review, the most stressful week of your LIFE because what projects you have completed determine whether you get into Design Studio, Design Sales & Marketing or neither. Well, I got Sales and Marketing. I cried and got over it. During your Junior year, you have two design related classes and then all business classes. Lastly, by the time you reach your Senior year, you feel like you practically belong to the Business College because you live in the Business Building. However, they won't claim you and you never see anyone from your department besides the 8 little Seminars throughout each semester. You feel like you have been orphaned or abandoned and you feel like your classes are repetitive and redundant. It sucks. But, this is the good part, Joann wants to meet with me if I'm still around next year to possibly help out! I would love nothing more than to revamp my emphasis. It would be awesome!

Joann and I (with my totally awesome award)

My totally wonderful family who got time off to come up and support me

Needless to say I am excited about this, but I am much more excited about graduating and being done with homework for good. Unless I go crazy and decide to go to Grad school later on...