Feeling a bit crappy...

Hi...

I just paid Sallie Mae $115.16 which is all I can currently afford and is not even half of the payment I owe them for this month...

It always happens that whenever I look at all the money it took to get me this Bachelor's Degree (friggin school!) & I look at their predictions on how long I'll be repaying the loans (until 2024 at the earliest) & I think about being employed hourly & I think about thing that I'd really rather be putting money towards (a working car...)... I just want to walk out of the office and go home.  I want to run away and hide and sell hats on the roadside.

Well, not really...

But it does get overwhelming... why does getting a degree have to be so expensive? I mean part of it is my fault for going to a private adventist school, but seriously?!?

My chest is tight and I can feel the weight of Sallie sitting on me... She's such a jerk... I wish someone would pull a Fight Club on her butt and pack her full of explosives and give all us Post-Grads a much needed break.

I hope that doesn't sound too crazy... But that's really how I feel sometimes.

It's like Sallie said,

"Hey aspiring professional girl! You want to get a degree but you and your parent's can't afford to pay cash? No problem! I am here for you! And don't worry about how you'll pay me back. With your degree and your awesome smile you'll be able to get a great job and your payments will be chump change. I believe in you. Now go pass your classes and don't worry."

And then graduation came.  And months after graduation came.  And jobs got more & more scarce. Then you look up and you're working retail or some crappy part time job barely covering your necessities.  And here comes Ms. Sallie,

Sallie: "Hey graduate! It feels great to be all degree'd up right!?  I knew you could do it. Now let's get these payments going. I'm going to need... oh... let's say $500 or so a month to begin then as you work more, we can up the amount since you'll be making the big bucks.

Me: But Sallie I only make enough to cover rent, utilities, gas, & food with very little extra...

Sallie: Well, you need to learn to make sacrifices. That's what adults do. I'll be expecting the money by Friday.

Sigh... I was looking at my repayment schedule & thinking... I should enter the lottery and when I win, give it all to Sallie... Too bad that's not going to happen... I wonder if I'm in some rich relative's will... probably not... Maybe I can fall down the steps at work and sue them... nope... Oh well... It's the post-grad struggle I guess.  Such is life.

Fujifilm Instax giveaway :: The Plaid Barn

Hello there, I came across this awesome giveaway while reading Apple Blue this afternoon.  I'm not normally one to try to win things cuz I never do, but I really want an Instax camera... O.O

...no... like, really...

Muse Poem

Hey you…
you- the whisper in my head and
the itch in my palms
you- the call in my heart and
the pull in my skin
I’ve missed you…
and I know you probably dont believe me
I mean I did walk away from you
an abandonment I called
“a time to listen”
but you’ve been so patient with me
occasionally sliding up next to my spirit
and nudging
whispering “hey… hey… remember…”
and me- I hear you
I just cant
cant write
cant rhyme
cant pull that old rhythm together
cant pen anything worth putting your name on
so I ignore you
the persistent whispers
your pleading hand on my shoulder
because I want to write the best poem ever written for you
and if its not amazing
and it’s not a slam perfect 10 or at least a 9.5
I dont want to write it
but you never were mine
simply a God-breathed spirit that took a fancy to me
you chose me
the sometimes manic
sometimes blue
girl learning to be a woman
and struggling at it constantly
thanks for staying with me
quietly following
knowing that relief would come my way
if I’d just write
but I’m stubborn and luckily, so are you
so this is my apology
I’m sorry.
please come make your bed beside my heart.

Ok... another work rant...

It's half an hour til lunch and I'm about to kirk out... I mean I'm here in this accounts payable office in the accounting department trying to make sense of what I'm suppose to be doing.  Now, I'd just like to say:

I am by NO MEANS an accountant!

Now that I've gotten that off of my chest... who am I kidding... I don't really feel any better... I know that I can do the work. I can submit the invoices and keep things in order... it's all very repetitive, but the kicker is that everything I'm doing right now, I pretty much learned within the last few days.  I've only been working here for about 2 weeks and I swear the people in the other departments think that the last lady actually trained me to take over her work.  When in all actuality, she pretty much bounced.  Left family photos and silverware in her desk drawer and everything... So no, I received NO TRAINING and I DONT KNOW what she was doing with all the accounts before she left... I am flying by the seat of my pants here and scrambling to pick up bits and pieces of information and details that ALWAYS turn out to be CRUCIAL to whatever case I'm working on...

[breathe caleisha breathe]

It seems that getting out of one office where I "wasn't the right fit" dropped me right into another office where I'm totally outside of my knowledge base... I know stretching oneself is good, but this has got to be the extreme view of that idea.

...This is rough...

Instagram Photo-a-Day June

Hey there! I actually completed a photo-a-day challenge on Instagram!!! yay me!  Anywho, here are the photos from each day.

1. Morning//2. Empty//3. On your plate//4. Close up//5. Sign//6. Hat

7. Drink//8. 6 o'clock//9. Your view today//10. Best bit of your weekend//11. Door//12. From a low angle

13. Art//14. Time//15. Yellow//16. Out and about//17. In your bag//18. Something we don't know about you

19. Imperfect//20. Fave photo you've ever taken//21. Where you slept//22. From a high angle//23. Motion//24. On you mind

25. Something cute//26. Where you shop//27. Bathroom//28. On the shelf//29. Soft//30. Friend

There you have it... the month of June in photos.  You can find me on Instragram as Nadiratani.

The search for place & purpose continues...

Here are my last few days in a nutshell: we are moving you to another office because you're not the right fit for this one. Your work is awesome though, so don't be upset. We want to keep you in our system, just somewhere else.

June 30th will be my last day working as an admin secretary in the pres office at Oakwood. There are other openings on campus that have been notified of my "work awesomeness" but truly speaking, I'm having a hard time feeling solidly positive.  I know that, really really, I should've quit this office like a month ago because working with the admin assistant is like pulling teeth while explaining grammar to a chihuahua... But hey, now I won't have to work with her anymore.

The Social Media Specialist/Photographic Services position in PR opened up yesterday.  It's a glimmer of hope for me.  I spoke about the opening with one of the ladies in HR that has been really supportive throughout my whole President's Office struggle, and she said that many times God has to allow us to work through something to get to His better plan for us.  She also said that He often gives us hints that maybe where you are is not where you should be & if we miss those hints He may have to move us by other means... My mom says things like that to me all the time.  She says she & I are "run into the brick wall then try everything to get around it kind of women..."  So more than I'd like to think, God has had to remove me from situations when I was hellbent on making it work.

Come the first of July, I'll be in another office... not sure where & that makes me anxious, but I know that wherever it is- it'll be TONS better than my current environment.

So my search for place & purpose continues... 

Looking for my place & purpose.

It seems that every few months or so I run into an event that poses itself as a major life change.  Recently, these events have reared their heads in the form of potential job loss.  I think I'm looking at it again... this would be the third time in a year... loss by potential employer contract loss, loss by budget cuts, loss by... I really don't know about this one. 

I've been working as an administrative secretary to the president of Oakwood University since January & have been full time since February.  This sounds all great and such, but the kicker in it all is that I've been TEMPORARY  for the entire time.  I even told them upon getting the temp position that the only reason I was even interested was because as a PERMANENT employee of the university, I would qualify for health benefits... But alas, here we are 4 months of full time & overtime & many MANY MANY struggle days later & I'm no closer to my goal of getting health care... Everytime I bring up my status to my "manager" she has nothing to say & a bit later I hear that she has complaints about something. Those somethings often present themselves as her opinions & not things that affect my job performance, ie. I have natural hair, I don't wear suits everyday, etc...

Yesterday, she says "I need to talk to you about employment tomorrow... probably towards the end of the day" & the pessimistic side of me says, "great... you are about to come with some bullsh!t... lemme go on down to HR & see what my movement options are since you want me out of this office."

So, we'll see what happens at the end of this day.  Regardless of what she says, I have a glimmer of hope at a photography job opening that I'll be applying for in the very near future.  I want to get super excited about it because it would be a position IN MY FIELD OF STUDY. I would actually be doing PHOTOJOURNALISM... actually using my degree!

(For anyone who has gone through 4 years of college & worked hard to get a degree, then not use it because the job opportunities just don't exist & end up being a secretary or a cashier or a customer service rep... you know my utter delight at this possibility.)

I'm praying for that job.  I'm praying for guidance & the clarity of mind to realize God's hand moving me.  I'm praying for employment that is FOR me because I want to wake up in the morning happy about it. I want to use my gifts & talents.  I want to see that Red Bull commercial & be like 'yeah, I've got that' instead of crying 'yeahhhh, i wanna wake up with a passionnnnnn tooooooo' (that commercial kills me...)

Going through the process of finding your place & purpose is a hard thing.

So, if anyone reads this, please say a prayer or leave me a prayer.

Having a Hard time...

My bestsisterfriend, Amber, got married Saturday. She married her childhood friend & boyfriend of 5 years, which is pretty cool if you ask me. They looked great.

Why is this post titled 'Having a Hard Time'?  Well, I now live 14 hours away from her (Delaware to Alabama) and outside of the fact that I miss her terribly, the only time I've gotten to spend with her was the maybe 10 minutes helping her out of her wedding dress... Now, I know that a wedding is a big deal & it's probably a big unrealistic expectation to want to be able to get any quality time with the bride/newlywed... bestsisterfriends or otherwise...

Maybe I'm just taking everything a bit too personally...

Like how last night the majority of the wedding party went out to TGIFridays & they were like "Caleisha you should come home more, because that drive is HARD" and right after that Amber said "yeah cuz we're not coming down to Alabama!"

I am feeling really second-hand right now.  Like not important enough for the best friend to want to make a trip to visit...  I'm having a hard time making this okay in my head... I kinda want to go back home now... but the friend in me is pondering ways to get myself into her plans...

I miss my friend.  I miss having her to talk to.  I miss hanging out with her.  I hate only being able to 'maybe' see her every 6+ months when I'm able to make the trek back to Delaware... I hate feeling like I don't matter... like not really anymore...

I thought writing would make me feel a bit better... it didn't.  Now I just want to cry, sleep, eat some chocolate, & go buy things I don't need. *shrug*

--------edit--------
I'm glad to report that Amber & I were able to get together this evening. We went bowling & I told her how I'd been feeling.  She reassured me that our friendship is nowhere near trouble & I need to stop being crazy.

Sometimes a bit of assurance is all you really need. :)

The Fritz Project

Good Sunday afternoon!  I hope your weekend has been pleasant.

On Friday afternoon, Lamar & I visited one of the local animal shelters to 'play with the dogs less fortunate than mine' as I like to say.  Whenever you go to an animal shelter, the dogs have their "please adopt me" faces ready. Anywho, on this particular trip, we met a number of adorable dogs ready to be adopted.

Click for Petfinder Website

The point of this post is a dog that is not pictured.  His name was Fritz & the attendant said he had been sitting in the same corner for 3 days.  He was scared of everything & everyone. She climbed into the corral with him & tried to coax him out of the corner... he didn't move... just crouched there with his huge scared eyes.  Sadly, because of his immense fear, they determined that he wasn't fit to be adopted. So he was taken off of the adoption list & scheduled to be put to sleep. :-( When the attendant told us what was going to happen to Fritz, she got teary eyed... I can only imagine how hard it must be to work with these dogs everyday & then have to put one down for any reason... let alone because it's so fearful. 

I know... sad story... I cried for a while because I wished there was something I could've done for the little guy.  So I've decided that while I couldn't do anything for Fritz, I can do something for the rest of the dogs hoping for homes.

The Fritz Project is a donation project.  I am going to make blankets for the shelter dogs- crochet, knit, sewn.  All handmade. All donated to the animal shelter here in Huntsville.

The beginning of the first Fritz blanket.

Kiva is my own shelter dog. Give pet adoption a try. It's very rewarding!

If you'd like to join in, you are quite welcome to come spread a little puppy love!

I have been working with a great momentum until about 30 mins ago... then this huge cloud of melancholy rolled in.  I wanted to listen to some music to lighten the mood in the office, but pandora wouldn't load. Pretty much, the only nice thing about the last half hour to an hour has been that Ms. Battles is still at lunch. 

Maybe I'm just being moody... moody moody monday...

Stargazing... Bust

Sadly, our plan to watch the Lyrid shower was a bust due to complete & utter cloud cover -_-  So instead of watching Mother Nature's awesomeness, I worked on my striped granny squares. I decided to finish all of the blocks for the rest of the afghan instead of piecing it together a row at a time.  After 2 episodes of Breakout Kings & most of a skein of green yarn... I'm done for tonight.  Tomorrow I'll finish the 3 grannies needing the green stripe & put the last cream stripe on all of them.  This afghan will be completed very soon!

15 grannies in the works...

Good night :)

Lyrid Meteor Shower

Lyrid Meteor Shower Tonight!!!!!!!!!!!! (click for article)

I am excited to see the shower tonight. It's supposed to peak around 1am or so. The last meteor shower I watched was a Leonid shower like 8ish years ago. If you have the opportunity to watch it, do! It's an unforgettable experience.

I found myself getting rather frustrated with the fact that I don’t know what I’m “suppose” to be doing professionally.  I’m currently a secretary at Oakwood University, but that doesn’t give me the kind of environment that I’d really flourish in.  Sure I’m learning a lot about how the organization works & how to do requisitions & book trips & such, but there is no creativity… no color…

I’ve gotten into wearing these long skirts to work.  Some of them are bright colored or floral printed. I like how they make me feel when I look at them.  I just found out today that how I’ve been dressing (for like 2 months) is not how they’d like me to dress… I sort of feel like I’m overreacting to this, but I feel so choked by this recent development.  I don’t want to wear suits all the time.  Or blouses or heels… I don’t want to wear black, blue, and tan… I don’t want to be stuffy. I just want to wear my skirts & be nice to people & do the job at hand…

Anyway, I digress from the initial point of this post… the frustration of not knowing what I’m “suppose” to be doing.  I never was that kid that decided on a career & followed it all the way through college. I went through so many occupations while in school… oceanographer, teacher, artist, novelist, editor, columnist, veterinarian, art director, interior designer, architect, layout designer, photographer, etc… Both of my parents regularly remark at the amount of skills I have & how I can do so many things… and that leaves me feeling like ‘being able to do so many things & doing one thing are completely different…’

I just want to know my purpose…

I just want to create… I just want to be moved & satisfied by my occupation.

I want to know I’m doing the right thing.

The right thing for my life right now.

Hump Day

It seems that I'm getting more & more annoyed with being at work today... I'm trying to be productive & get all these tasks done, but as soon as I start making headway on one thing 2 more jump on the list... le'sigh... It's really a shame that I want to take a break already & I've only been here for an hour 15 mins. 

So I'm taking a secret blogging break. The kind where whenever the powers that be come back into the office I hit that good ol' -alt/tab- to pretend that I've been working on this travel itinerary all along. *shrug*

I decided to do the 'photo an hour' today. The biggest challenge I foresee is not having 7 pictures of my desk or computer... oh and I'm going to try not to be frustrated at the fact that I can't seem to EVER upload a photo from my phone in this office!!! grrr... oh well.

Speaking of uploading photos... I just got instagram on my phone a few days ago ::cheers from the android market:: I'm using it as inspiration to photograph more. I am slowly finding users to follow & one of them is Meredith of OneSheepishGirl. (check out her blog, it's lovely) Today she yarn bombed her desk in her media class & it has totally inspired me to actually do it. I've been wanting to yarn bomb something but never really put much thought into it. But now, I've decided to bomb my favorite OU bench. (there use to be the most awesome tree next to it, but sadly it was cut down...) I'm going to bomb my bench ^.^ There will be pictures of this endeavor!

I feel so much better now :)

Update!

Sad News: My computer is going on week 2 of being in the shop after a sad tumble off my bed :( Hopefully it'll be back to my antsy fingers soon.
Not so Sad News: I'm blogging from work... this is highly frowned upon... *shrug, oh well*
Good News: This last weekend was 'Alumni Weekend' for Oakwood University & I got to see my family.
Great News: My mom is staying an extra day! Yay me!!!

Alumni Weekend is always a lot of fun.  Spending time with family, seeing classmates from college, & watching for the outrageous church outfits girls manage to put together.  The final alumni weekend activity is a block party where you can browse booths. Sadly, my favorite booth (a bookseller) wasn't present this year :/ I once got a signed copy of a Nikki Giovanni collection of poems from him, I was psyched. :)

Anywho... I'm glad to have experienced another homecoming! Now it's back to work... le'sigh...

Dress: thrifted - leggings: walmart - belt: borrowed from roommate - bag: handmade granny strip tote
Hair: day 4 of a twist out

This dress has got to be one of my favorite warm weather pieces to wear. Its quite comfy & relaxed. I just wish it was a smidge longer so I wouldn't have to wear leggings with it.  I plan to make a pattern from this piece & reproduce it. We'll see how that goes ^.^

For All the Thrifters :)

For all the thrifters, crocheters, & knitters... For all the crafters & recyclers... For all the music makers & all the dreamers of dreams... :)

Blog Love

from: terasue.com

While browsing blogs this afternoon, I found this photo on Terasue.com. I love finding affirmations like this. They are always very uplifting and it's comforting to know that other people are going through similar struggles & epiphanies as I am.  We are truly never alone in our difficulties.

Check out the lovely site --> HERE!

ps... she's a doggie mommy too ^.^

Paper waste

The amount of wasted paper I see on a daily basis in this office is RIDICULOUS!  I mean, WHY must a particular document be copied 3 times when you have access to a SHARED COMPUTER NETWORK FOLDER?!?!?!  And when I keep the majority of my docs in the computer instead of printing them & when they do have to be printed, I choose double sided... you look at me like IM CRAZY?!?!?!

We killin trees like its nothing in here... Mother Nature is NOT pleased...

Need More...

• Colorful tights
• bright blankets
• floral prints

Spring has sprung and I want flowers EVERYWHERE!!! ^.^ I think I'm going to crochet a bouquet of flowers for the living room.  Time to plan that craft :) I hope you are having a smashing Tuesday :)

February Photo-a-day challenge final posting

Day 15: phone

Day 16: something new

Day 17: time

Day 18: drink

Day 19: something you hate to do

Day 20: handwriting

Day 21: a fave photo of you

Day 22: where you work

Day 23: your shoes

Day 24: inside your bathroom cabinet

Day 25: green

Day 26: night

Day 27: something you ate

Day 28: money

Day 29: something you're listening to

February is officially finished & I'm 6 days behind on March's P.A.D. challenge. I really like these. :)

FINALLY!!!

I HAVE OFFICIALLY STARTED APT-203!

YAY!!!!!!!

I wrote my welcome post and I'm already thinking about my post for tomorrow. =D

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Lamar and I finally found Value Village this afternoon. So we went back after I got off.  We've dubbed it as his thrift store because he found like 3 games he wanted and a huge crochet blanket.

 Yes, I crochet and I buy thrifted crochet blankets!  Whenever people come to my house, they always ask if I made the huge blanket covering out sofa.  I'm always like, "Nope, got it for 5 bucks at the thrift store." ...It takes too long to crochet a WHOLE BLANKET...  I have no crochet shame ;-)

So, I'm not sure how this blog is going to evolve with Apt-203, but I'm not planning to close it.

Busy Bee...

I decided to take a little break from working... I'm waiting for the Admin Asst to return from lunch so I can go get something to eat... I'm so stinkin hungry... arg... Anywho, in other news, I've decided that tomorrow is going to be the launch day for Apt-203! Yay!

What is Apt-203, you ask?

Apt-203 is my new crafting blog. A few months ago, I was flitting between tumblr and blogger looking for crafty blogs run by ladies of color... only to find maybe 3... that don't post often... *sad face*  I was talking to my roommate about it and she gave me that well do it yourself look. You know the one with the raised eyebrow. At first I didn't want to commit to it because I had all these different worries... what if it sucks... what if no one reads it... what if I can't keep up with the consistency... on and on my mind went until I decided that above all my worries, there's surely some other little crafty black girl wondering where are the crafters that look like her.  And so, Apt-203 was born.

---hours later---

 I'm really excited about starting Apt-203 tomorrow. I was planning to write the welcome post tonight so that it would be all ready to go, but alas, I must go to bed. Wish me luck with my new endeavor! Good night all :)

Good Things: 26th Birthday

Yesterday was my 26th birthday, and it was a very pleasant day. Here's my list. :)

• Roses & a birthday card from church coworkers

• Jewelry music box from Lamar
• Raggedy Ann doll from Lamar

• Lots of doggie cuddles :)

• Afternoon naps
• Bones marathon
• Polka-dot wrapping paper

• Crochet works in progress
• Birthday cheesecake made by Lamar
• Reading crafty blogs
• Deep conditioning
• Craft project planning
• Gifted bags from strangers (This girl came in the office Wednesday & I told her I liked her bag. She thanked me & said that when she gets a new one I can have it. I thought she was just being nice, but today she came in & gave it to me ^.^ How nice!)
  

Kids are Awesome ^.^

At Lamar's basketball game tonight, I met a 5-year-old named Alexis. She was sooooo bold. I was just sitting & working on a crochet legwarmer & she walks up to me like 'What are you doing.' So we started talking & she asks to play a game on my phone. Now, most of my games are not easily translated to a 5 YO level (chess, sodoku, scrabble, etc) but I do have tangrams. At first she was trying to move & fit the pieces herself, but it wasn't working so we worked on it together. It became this educational shapes session, lol. Her dad even made a point to ask me if I'm an education major. (I really should've been a teacher... oh well)  Anywho, my phone died & we played I Spy for a good 15 minutes before her sister came to pick her up.

I know that some people may not understand why playing a couple games with a first grader would be a highlight of my day, but there's something about the clear & unbiased way kids do things. It's so plain & simple.

I think that often times we lose that in the hustle of everyday.  Matter of fact, I know I do.  So here's to resurrecting a child-like clarity in my days & finding the fun in the ordinary.

Crafternoon Project

Today's crafternoon project was this lovely gingham circle skirt! I've had the fabric for... probably a year & the yellow bias tape used in the waistband for longer. o.O

I used the pattern found here and it was really simple to follow. The only snafu I ran into was running out of fabric, but in the spirit of Tim Gunn, I made it work by sewing scrap pieces together to fill out the needed space. I also covered a little button with the same fabric & put it above the zipper. The bottom still has to be hemmed, but other than that, it's all done. ^.^

Little Dirty Thrift Store

Cherie & I took a therapeutic trip to the thrift store yesterday afternoon. Normally we go to the main store in our area 'Thrift Mart,' but this time we went to Break Free Thrift Store aka Little Dirty Thrift Store. It's really dusty & dark & filled to overflowing with thrifty goodness.


[Miss Super Reader was so excited about finding these two books. "They are my hearts," she said.]


[I don't know if you have ever felt eel skin, but it is the weirdest thing I have touched thus far... Plus some lady in the store said if you put your credit cards in an eel skin bag they will get demagnetized because of the charge of the skin... interesting.]


[Tag from the bag.]


[Our thrifting haul.]

These were our thriftings of the day. All of this cost us a whopping $2! Two sewing patterns, 3 books, a bow-tie, a mug, & 5 crochet hooks... the cashier looked at everything & told me $2, I looked at her like "huh what?" Then handed over my money & promptly left lest she decide to charge more. So yay for the little dirty thrift store!

February Photo-a-day Challenge: Week 2

Ok, here are my photo challenge pictures from Feb 8-14.

Day 8: Sun

The view from my balcony.

Day 9: Front Door

Apartment 203, Home Sweet Home.

**Launching Soon "APT-203.BLOGSPOT.COM" my new craft blog! Yay!**

Day 10: Self-Portrait

Tired face on lunch & wearing one of my absolute favorite over-sized sweaters. It's a chunky maroon cardigan from Thrift Mart, my go to thrift store. :)

Day 11: Makes You Happy

Lamar & I went to Cheddar's for a dinner date & this was our dessert. A HUGE wedge of cake with 2 scoops of ice cream. He was in heaven! Such a sweet-tooth... shakes head...

Day 12: Inside Your Closet

This is the beautifully colorful sweater section of my closet! I loves dem ^.^

Day 13: Blue

Thrifted blue American Eagle top & little miss bad dog.

Day 14: Heart

My hand + Lamar's hand = oh how cute... *.*

I am really enjoying this photography challenge and I'm glad that I'm actually keeping up with it. Yay Me!

R...A...N...T...

I am finding that working with ms battles is more & more irritating everyday. She has not only told me that I can't play any "hard gospel music", but today she says my nails are not upholding the principles of this office, and that I dont get paid to use my laptop.
Now, I'm not even going to rant on the stupidity of Adventists having issue with nail polish when they allow much worse behaviors to continue uninhibited... Ugh! The amount of gossip & double-standards you see if you just take a minute to look is ridiculous. But at least their nails are flesh colored... -__-

This laptop thing kind of pushed me over the edge today. I understand that it is true that I'm not getting paid to "surf the net" on my computer, but when you havent given me ANYTHING after I've asked MULTIPLE TIMES!!!! What is a girl to do? I am not the type to just sit twiddling her thumbs... not in the least... she better be happy I left that scarf I'm working on at home. (just to interject... she STILL HASN'T GIVEN ME ANYTHING TO DO!!!!!)

I am completely ready to kick sh*t over in here...

So what I'm going to do, now that I've ranted, is take a breath, organize my purse, & set up a blog entry for my Photo challenge week two ON THE OFFICE COMPUTER!!! And when she finally decides to give me something to do, I'm going to finish is quickly & quietly & then go back to blogging... I need my own office...

*breathe*baby*breathe*

Don't Forget to Zig!

I did my nails last night using this tutorial I saw on LoveElycia & The Danty Squid. (Both quite lovely blogs.)  I mostly like how they came out, but in the future I'm going to change a few things. I'll write that later. Anywho, here are my progress shots. ^.^

Step 1: Cut strips of tape with your handy zig-zag scissors & stick them over your solid painted nails. (I used regular scotch tape, but it was a bit too sticky even after sticking the tape to my hand a couple times... next time I think I'll try drafting tape or something less sticky.)

Step 2: Paint your contrasting colors. (On The Dainty Squid, she said to pull the tape off while the paint is wet. Mine was a bit tacky by the time I pulled it off, so the edges aren't as clean as they could be. Lesson: follow the instructions, lol.)

Step 3: Cover your awesome chevron nails with a clear topcoat.

Step 4: Enjoy!

I really liked this idea. It was simple & fun. I'm thinking about taking these colors off in a couple days & doing it again.  I also want to go back to walmart & get all the little decorative scrapbooking scissors to make more pretty stripes ^.^ Oh the possibilities!!!

Ugh... Just Ugh...

I am currently at work and very frustrated because I am sorting through incomplete travel reports... nearly a year and a half of them... Why is this frustrating? Because not only am I adjusting to a new work environment, I have to finish the work that the last person didn't. So I'm getting further & further behind while trying to tie up the ends left before me... Why am I blogging right now?  Frankly, if I don't give my brain a break from this foolishness, I'm going to kick some stuff over!!!

I feel a tiny bit better right now...

February Photo-a-Day Challenge: Week 1

I am currently working on the February Photo-a-Day challenge.  I tried to do the January one, but I missed a day & then fell off completely. :(  Anywho, Lamar said that the challenge for me wouldn't be to take the pictures, but to get them posted. So my goal this month is to get them posted! That being said, here is the challenge list followed by the first week of February.

Day 1: Your View Today

[What's with these rainy Mondays?!? Come on Alabama, get it together!!!]

Day 2: Words

[This is my Serenity Prayer bracelet that I wear everyday. I rarely ever take it off. It's a really good prayer to have around, especially in stressful times.]

Day 3: Hands

[Yin Yang Hands ^.^]

Day 4: A stranger

[College students at an intramural basketball game]

Day 5: 10AM

[So technically it's 10:35, two days later, but whatever]

Day 6: Dinner

[Burger King... Dinner of Champions]

Day 7: Button

[Close up of my skirt today. $1 from Thrift mart! woot!]