Living the Creative Life

Just a reminder that sponsorship is closed for September and October, due to my crazy schedule. Feel free to  grab a button  if you like. If you would rather have a different size, let me know and I can accomodate that. I will accept any buttons from you, within reason, to display on my blog for these months. I don't want to do a traditional sponsor swap or anything for these months, so whatever you submit is fine.  Guest posts  are welcomed, as well, but I won't solicite them from you since I don't have the time to worry about that right now. I will accept buttons in the following sizes: 300x75 150x75 Please send any inquiries, buttons, or guest posts to: desertrose0601 {at} gmail {dot} com.

It's interesting watching people on campus. I can definitely spot the second-years. They know what they're doing... have a certain confidence. I, for sure, am not a second-year. Lol. I was realizing the other day, as we were introducing ourselves in class, just how many people come to community college to reinvent themselves. I know I did, and so many people I've been meeting seem to be doing the same thing. Sure there are the 18-year-old "true freshmen", but there are also quite a few later-in-life students who are here for a purpose and a reason. It's actually quite inspiring. Anyway, today's photo was taken on a break during my night class last night (Drawing I). We spent the first hour in lecture and then the last part of the class drawing a still-life (I drew a teakettle). I was struck by the quiet beauty of the campus at night, quiet and still. Usually during the day it's anything but. Beautiful sure, but definitely not quiet and still. L...

Been majorly busy lately. Moved last weekend and am still in boxes. Yesterday I started school and today is the second day of classes. So far those are really cool - learning the Adobe softwares in relation to graphic design. Sorry for the short and sweet, but I'm just on break between classes and wanted to say hi. Hi!

I am feeling much better today about my paperwork snafu . One of the advisors finally emailed me last night and say he'd be there at 10am sharp! Okee dokee!! I'll be there! :D I was feeling nervous when I went in this morning because I wasn't sure if they would think I'm being a pain to keep wanting to come in and have them look over stuff. But as soon as I walked in, my advisor was all smiley and like, "Oh good morning! How's everything going?" While he was looking at the paperwork, too, he was like, "You're the one who already has a Bachelor's right? I bet that's why they're requiring all this extra stuff." It really made me think that he probably is just majorly right-brained and only remembered me once he saw my face but didn't really have a remembrance capacity for dates/times/details over email, which is why our email conversation wasn't very to-the-point at first. I know I can to be like that too (remembering fa...

I thought I'd finally gotten my school paperwork all turned in to the financial aid office, only to discover that there was yet  one more thing  I needed to submit. I guess there was a class I forgot to drop about ten years ago , so they had me listed as being in academic suspension. Basically I need to get an advisor's signature on an appeal statement that explains why this happened and how it will never happen again. The trouble I'm having is in finding an advisor to meet with me! The counseling office "only helps undeclared students", which I'm not. The graphic design advisors all seem to be in meetings or "in and out" whenever I have time to meet with them. It's entirely frustrating, to say the least. You ever feel like you're banging your head against a wall?

I went on my first walk this evening for the Couch Potato Workout! I had to wait until just before dusk, since it was pretty hot today. Even still, it was about 80 degrees at 7:30, which is when I set out! My mom told me about a loop path near our house that takes about a half hour to walk, so that's what I did. It took me about 40 minutes, but I wasn't walking as fast as someone else might. Still, I came home all sweaty, so I'd say that was a pretty good workout! The path was paved and surrounded by gorgeous Oregon countryside. Along part of the way, I was greeted by the smell of fresh blackberries (which is actually a weed here, if you can believe that)! I was tempted to stop and pick some, but I kept going. All in all, I thought it was a doable workout and definitely made me tired out by the end, which seems just about right for a workout. I'll try it again on Saturday. My walk ended just as dusk was setting in. The temperature was finally cooler and I stretc...

I'll be the first to admit it... I'm a couch potato. A grade-A, certified, tv-watching couch potato. Is this necessarily the best thing for me? No, of course not. Have I tried to motivate myself to get a move on and get in shape? Yeah sure... sort of. I'm really good at starting exercise programs... just not so good at continuing them. Know what I mean? ;P I found this interesting work-out online: A Couch Potato's Six-Week Workout . It sounds do-able, especially for someone who's idea of exercise is walking to and from the kitchen for more tv-watching food. Here's what is in store for me for Week One : Repeat the following routine three times a week: Warm up for five to 10 minutes. Cycle or walk (either outside or on a machine) for 30 minutes at a light speed. Your heart rate should be around 55 percent to 65 percent of your maximum target heart rate. Cool down and stretch for five to 10 minutes. If I don't die of exertion after this week, ...