tidbits & updates [long post]

grrrr, I caught a chest cold at some point in the last week or so and have been at home in bed for the last 2 days. thankfully, I'm feeling MUCH better and am back at work today. woo! so... now for some updates on what's going on lately... 




SCHOOL
I started fall semester courses last night. I will be taking classes on campus this semester for the first time in 5 years. I'll be at school three evenings a week... Monday nights (Drawing I) from 6-9:45 and Tuesday/Thursday nights (Physics... barf) from 7-8:15. Sean is taking classes on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and he also has season tickets to Ravens home games, which means that we'll really only see each other and spend time together on Friday and Saturday nights until December. super sad face about that. 


I'm really nervous about the physics class. in high school, the highest level of science that I took was biology, because it wasn't a requirement to take anything further... which means that I never took chemistry or physics or any of that. the instruction is on light & sound, which makes total sense for my degree, but I hope it's not as scary as it sounds. 


the drawing class, on the other hand, is going to be a lot of fun. I went and got all my supplies last night, which included a couple 18x24 size drawing and newsprint pads, a bunch of different kinds of charcoal and graphite pencils, and other tools such as erasers and a portfolio to carry everything in. I wish I would have held onto all my supplies from years ago, and I would have saved a lot of money, haha. the main project in the course is the homework portion, in which we have to do 7-8 drawings a week in our sketch books, totaling up to 100 drawings at the end of the semester... which means my social life can pretty much be thrown out the window. I think it'll be interesting to see how the quality of the work changes from now until December. 




READING 
thanks to vacation, I've been on a roll with getting through my to-read list. I just finished Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah over the weekend, and can't wait to review it. while at the beach, I also finished Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, and am now reading the second book in the series, called Pretties. I'm glad I scaled back my goal for the Good Reads Challenge, because I'm right on track. I'm extremely proud of myself for reading so many books thus far, and I have no doubt that I'll reach my goal of 35 by the end of the year. 


here's a list of what I've read so far this year... 


1. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
2. A Scattered Life - Karen McQuestion
3. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
4. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
5. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
6. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
7. 19 Minutes - Jodi Picoult
8. Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin 
9. Something Blue - Emily Giffin
10. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin
11. Matched - Ally Condie
12. Delirium - Lauren Oliver
13. Love The One You're With - Emily Giffin
14. Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris
15. If I Stay - Gayle Forman
16. Where She Went - Gayle Forman
17. Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat  - Gwen Cooper
18. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephanie Meyer
19. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
20. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me - Chelsea Handler
21. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
22. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah 



KITTIES
Skillet went to his new home on Friday night. I'm going to be honest. I may or may not have cried a little bit. he was that poor little sick cat that, at one point, was being medicated for three different illnesses and had to be quarantined in my bathroom. he grew to be such a little lovebug, and therefore, I grew VERY attached to him. and while I'm very happy to sleep past 5AM without a little purring, I miss him SO much. I know that his new mama will take good care of him, and I look forward to getting updates and watching him grow. 


the other kitties are doing well, with the exception of Pheobe, who is still on eye drops for a little conjunctivitis that she received via Skillet. her eyes are looking much better than they were last week, so she should be off the meds soon. Bear seems to be ecstatic that Skillet is out of the house, and relieved that he is no longer the object of playful torture from a little kitten. 




HOUSE
not a whole lot of updates on the home front. the table we bought from IKEA is still in a box waiting to be put together, which will have to happen soon since I'll need the space for art stuffs. we did finally order roman shades for the windows in the kitchen and dining room, and since they were all custom sizes, they took 7 weeks to arrive. they showed up at our door last week, so hopefully we'll have time to install them this weekend. 


I also want to take time in the next few weeks to get more things on the walls. I have a mirror and a few prints that I bought a looooong time ago that I want to hang in the living room. photographing the gallery wall in the entry wall is on my to-do list as well... especially since the frames actually have prints and photos in them now. 


now that we're not constantly taking care of kittens, we should be able to get quite a lot done inside. what I NEED to do is make myself a list of things that need to be completed in each room and start attacking one room at a time. I'll put "list making" on the to-do list. ;)




HEALTH
as of the 12th of August, I am 10 months smoke-free, and it feels AMAZING! I honestly don't even think about smoking anymore, unless I smell it, and in that case, I think nothing but "GROSS." I still can't believe that I was a pack-a-day smoker for so long, and that it completely ruled my life for years and years. 


I'm still eating pretty healthy... not perfect, but much better than I did a year ago. we eat at home most nights, but will treat ourselves to a meal out about once a week/every two weeks. I very rarely eat fast food anymore, and it upsets my stomach if I do have a craving for a greasy burger. when we eat at home, we eat mostly quick meals like breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast), pasta (usually salad, ravioli, garlic bread), or chicken (marinated chicken with fresh/steamed veggies). we have a bunch of regular recipes that we stand by during the week and usually introduce new things on the weekends. I drink 1 cup of coffee and 1 20oz soda everyday, and other than that, it's water ALL day long. occasionally I'll have a cup of sleepytime tea at night. 


with both of us in school, I'm not sure how dinners are going to work. I brought a sandwich for dinner tonight, but I know that's going to get old pretty fast. if anyone has any easy to-go dinner ideas that don't require heat, they'd be much appreciated! 


as far as exercise goes, I'm sad to say that it's pretty much non-existent. I do work up a sweat doing things around the house, and I've been pretty busy running errands on weekends, but I'd hardly call either of those things true exercise. although because I'm eating healthier and not being AS sedentary as I was before I started my workout program, I've maintained my weight... so while I've not lost any, I haven't gained any either. 


so even though I still eat fast food once in a blue moon, and I'm not working out as much as I should be, I FEEL great, which is the most important thing. instead of coming home and sitting on my ass most nights, I try to do things around the house or stimulate my brain with words instead of mindless TV. don't get me wrong, I still watch TV at night, but I feel much more active in taking care of my home, and my mind and body are grateful for it. 




EARTHQUAKE
this just happened. please never ever let me feel one again. at first I thought a military plane was flying over (I work right outside of DC and next door to Andrew's Air Force Base), but then I realized that I didn't actually hear the plane, and that the floor was shaking. and then my desk... and then the walls. and I looked outside, and the cars in the parking lot looked as if they were bobbing along in a body of water. my heart is still pounding and I may or may not have peed myself a little bit. 






ummm. so I guess that's it, I think. I figured I'd write up a little post for you guys full of updates, since it seems pretty rare that I actually dive into those subjects here lately. I'm sure you'll be hearing MUCH more about school though, since it's sure to rule my life for the next few months!


on a completely unrelated note... is anyone else ready for fall weather? I'm ready to decorate my house in warm colors, and I'm excited for boots and hoodies! 


Happy Tuesday!