Research

That time has come again.

Time for research papers and midterms. Oh the joy.

My next few days will consist of conducting research, reading, and studying.

Gross.

A large number of books will be opened and flipped through.
Journal articles will be skimmed through.
Reference pages will be noted and later thoroughly examined for information that could be useful towards my paper.
Charts will be drawn.
Questions will be asked and answered.
Notes will be taken, crossed out, retaken, circled, repeat.

In other words, A LOT is going to go on in the next few weeks.

Part of me gets excited when this time comes. The other part wants to go in a corner, close my eyes, and fall into a deep sleep until it's all over.

Obviously, the latter is not an option.

I will leave you with a few photos of what I anticipate my future days to consist of.


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Oh yea, I almost forgot.
Tomorrow, October 20, 2010, I will be married for 10 months. Awesome.

Sewing

Recently, I have developed a strong desire to sew.

Strange, I know, but nonetheless a strong desire.

I have not sewn anything since I was in middle school Home Economics.
I still have the pants I made though :)

I have already decided what things I want to sew, and where I want to put them.
I want to sew primarily for decoration purposes, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to make cute things too.

So, I have decided what my first sewing project will be, and would like to share it with you seeing as how its adorableness should not be kept a secret. I stumbled across it on the Viola & Pearl blog. I think it's such a cute idea.

Here it is.

"Love Birds"


Click here for a tutorial.


Have a Happy Sunday! :)

Decorating for Fall

All my life, I have envied those homes I have entered with such magnificent decor.

I have always wanted to have that home.

Well, now that I live somewhere with seasons, I have numerous opportunities to attempt awesomeness in decor.

Right now it's fall. My first fall. It's kind of a big deal.

I am probably the only one in awe of the multicolored trees and incredible weather.
I am totally ok with that.

I decided to go to Joann Fabrics to see what I could come up with.
It turns out that all Fall decor was 50% off. I definitely didn't mind.

So here goes, this is what I've come up with so far:
(don't judge - it's my fist time)











I am open to any and all suggestions.

Have a great Friday!

Coffee

Well, since I got married I have become a coffee addict.

What is the criteria for a coffee addict?
1.I have to have it every day (preferably at the start of each day).
2.If not, I develop the most horrific headaches I have ever felt in my lifetime.
3.Then, once I soothe my pain with a delicious coffee beverage, I am cured.

Is it all the adorable coffee shops on every corner of the Chicagoland area?
Maybe.
Is it the fact that I have coffee every morning with breakfast?
Possibly.
Or could it be that all the friends I have made here are also coffee addicts?
Perhaps.

Recently, we have started to use our coffee press as an alternative to our coffee machine. When using our coffee machine, we tend to make too much of such a good thing and it ends up getting thrown away. In an effort to solve our coffee wasting problem, we decided to start using our little, red coffee press. It it perfect for just the two of us.

After using our little coffee press so often, Ruben and I have discovered the perfect portions of coffee and water to create the most delicious cups of coffee.


Here's to all the coffee addicts out there.

I hope you had your cup today.

Exams

Today I took one of many exams that I have taken in my college life..

Thanks to technology, I have not taken a pencil and paper exam since my early undergraduate years.

No, I am not THAT old.
It's just interesting to see how schooling has changed over not so many years.

Lately I've been feeling pretty discouraged.

Surprisingly, having just moved has nothing to do with my discouragement.

I just found out that to change my license I don't have to parallel park, so that definitely added encouragement to my being discouraged about not understanding the concept of parallel parking.

So, what is it then?

I just moved.
I finally have a home here in Chicago.
We have a garage space.
I never have to think about parallel parking when I get home again.
I have an amazing husband.
He has an amazing family.
I am started to build really great friendships here.
The weather is extremely pleasant.

All great things.

So why on earth would I be discouraged??

School.

That's right. School. College. Graduate School.
The Masters in Mental Health Counseling program that I am currently enrolled in.

There lies the source of my feelings of discouragement.

Simply put, I just don't get it.

I don't understand why I have to be in school for so long to finally do what I think I'll love. I don't understand why other people's masters programs last one year and mine lasts THREE - at LEAST.

I don't understand what the point of this "read - study - take exams - write papers - give presentations - repeat" thing is all about.

I go into small depression modes on days I have to take exams.
Seriously. Ask Ruben. It's bad.

I have never been a good test taker. Not being a good test taker automatically means you never feel like you have done well enough. Papers, on the other hand, I can do.

Unfortunately, tests are part of classes. Always. Lots of them. It's great.

Yes, that was sarcasm.

Tonight I took an exam. Yet again, I felt unbelievably horrible afterwards.

Here's to the hope of one day being different.