STAR CHART

I’m really feeling motivated to make my whole life about creativity. How wonderful it would be to make everything myself…knits, food (growing the vegetables, baking bread), potting my own dishes, painting art for my own walls. I wish I could sew as well…I used to wish I could make my own furniture, but I am not too fond of working with wood. Maybe I would become fond of it if I kept at it, but I don’t like being in woodshops. Too much noise, too many blades, and too much dust in the air (achoo! achoo!).

Anyway. Romantic dreams. It’s something I can work toward.

I promised myself I would get myself to bed early tonight. It feels really sad…I love my evenings. But I have been suffering in the mornings, and I have to catch the 25 by 8:02 in the morning or I will have to be a half hour late to class. This morning I was five minutes late to my drawing class, and everyone was already set up and there was a nude model in a dramatic pose and as soon as I walked in the door, the teacher said, “GO!” and everyone started sketching furiously. No more late-ies. XD

Last night I made bread in the bread machine for the first time in a couple of years. I bought the mix for ten grain, and substituted a little hazelnut flour. It was good! Even Dan likes it! ;D He made a crab salad for dinner tonight. It was scrumptious. I put some radishes in that I’d bought from the farmers market. They’re amazing! They’re weird long skinny radishes…I don’t remember what they’re called, but they’re hot and spicy like the ones that Dad used to grow!

In fashion, the American way is to run out to discount sales and buy large quantities of clothing. That’s the way I’ve always done things in the past…or I would take $20 and run to Saver’s and see how much I could get for that much. I would come away with bags and bags of clothes. So I would have a wide variety of clothing to wear, because I got bored with my clothes so quickly. Usually I’d end up with scads of shirts and one or two pairs of pants. No accessories at all. I remember Jill Paay telling my mom the European way of shopping, where you would go in the Spring and in the Fall and get one or two key pieces, and a bag and a hat and accessories to match. What if I did something similar? Instead of running out and buying a bunch of stuff I like, really narrowing my focus to something I could build around, and focus my variety more on accessories than shirts. Scarves, belts (gah I never find belts I like), maybe some interesting flats, and a hat. Except I might space them out a bit through the year. Because I need a shopping fix every now and then.

Dan and I have been looking at our budget lately, and realized that if we’re going to spend a lot of money on food, it had better be damn good food. I have been reading exerpts from French Women Don’t Get Fat which talks about the difference between European and American ways of eating, dining, and shopping. In Europe there is much more focus on the quality of food, and even food stops in the middle of nowhere are going to have really good food, because they actually really care a lot about food. People sit and eat for longer and savor their food more, instead of shoving down a dry sandwich between appointments or eating a burger in the car. Dan and I have been eating lunches at work and school respectively and realized that we’re spending a lot of money on really crappy food. Six dollar sandwiches that you don’t even want to think about while you’re eating them just because they’re so boring and bland. Not terrible, not bad, just not good. Life is too long to eat boring food! So we’re working together to cook more often during the week and bring our leftovers to work/school with us the next day. And all our focus is on ingredients. The best food comes from the farmers’ markets. Stuff straight off the farms. Radishes with real bite to them. Heirloom tomatoes as big as your head that burst with flavor and have as many complexities as a glass of wine. Spring onions that make your eyes water when you chop them. Varieties of lettuces you’ve never heard of before. We’ve been getting our meats at Whole Foods, which is good for that. They have fresh seafood and they make their own sausages. I’m going to try to make more breads with the breadmaker.

Tonight Dan and I made seared ahi tuna steak with horseradish mashed potatoes and a farmers market salad (really flavorful greens, green onions, and super exciting giant tomato). Much cheaper than eating out, and just as delicious! Unfortunately, no one to clean up afterwards except ourselves. Next time we’re not doing the pepper crusted tuna though. The pepper was a bit too intense. XD

I have turned my exercise focus from quantity to quality as well. I give up on jogging. It’s no fun. I tried so hard to enjoy it…I tried for a whole year! But it’s just not fun. Instead, I’m just walking. I’m going to try walking home from school this quarter, and I have been trying to take stairs instead of elevators whenever practical. I take a walk every day down to the lake and sit there for a while. I found a nice little dock to sit on that’s off the road. It’s very peaceful. The waves rock it gently, and I watch all the boats go by. Now that’s quality. And do you know what’s interesting? I’ve lost five pounds and a few notches on my belt.

Here is a close-up of the face:

Before we added the color, first we painted the whole thing monochromatically. We had the choice of working with complimentary color schemes…red/green, blue/orange, or yellow/purple. I don’t think anyone did yellow/purple, now that I think about it. Anyway, I chose red/green, and the base monochrome that I used was burnt sienna, which is a neutral red. The other colors I was allowed to use were cadmium red medium, sap green, phathlo green, van dyke brown, titanium white, and flake white.

And of course, here I am being a dork.

Summer is my least favorite season. I hate the heat, and there are too many bugs and spiders around. But they’re much more mild here than in Boise. I want to learn how to enjoy the good in everything. Summer brings sunshine which makes plants grow and keeps the ground dry so I can go outside and sit on things. Yay for everything not being covered in a layer of water. As much as I love water…it’s nice to not always be sitting in it.

So Paula and I planted vegetables in her yard! I helped her dig up the grass along the fence and we put in four tomato plants, two squash plants, red and green bell peppers, and it seems like something else. She already has a gigantuan rosemary bush there. On her patio we potted some strawberries, basil, and lavender (English and French). I’m really excited for the tomatoes…and someday I hope I can grow some radishes. I really miss the ones Dad used to grow in our yard on May St.

Tomorrow is my last weekday of vacation before summer classes start. I’m taking Figure Drawing, Wheel Throwing, and Photography. They should be fun. They start at 8:30 every day though, so it will be a challenge. Tomorrow night Dan and I are seeing Avenue Q, and then Saturday we’re spending the evening at Paula and Grant’s to celebrate his 30th birthday! I’m excited. There will be much delicious food and alcohols consumed by all.

I did a life-sized self portrait for painting class! I need to upload pics of it. I need to upload a lot of stuff. I tend to put the uploading off.

I was planning on doing some art this week, but I haven’t been able to do any. I haven’t felt like painting, and when I went to use my digital art program, it was still broken, even after uninstalling it and reinstalling it. Bleh. Instead this week I’ve mostly been reading (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, a lend from Paula, knitting, and cooking. Also getting my hair cut and getting a massage and wasting money and then starting a budget campaign and then promptly wasting more money. That always seems to happen when I decide to do something. I immediately do the opposite, and then repent and am more successful after that. It’s like somewhere inside someone is having a tantrum. LOL Not a violent or angry one…but a rather cute and quiet one.

And I’ve finished my book and can’t decide what next to read. I always hate the limbo in between books. I spend a lot of time thinking over what I’ve read and it’s too soon to start another book…but I want to read something! So my brain does some flopping around instead until I’m finally ready to start on something new.

Moby was…Moby. He didn’t play a lot of stuff that I recognized, but there were a few snippets here and there that made me go “HEY, I know that!” Moby was beautiful. I was thinking to myself that there was sheer talent oozing from the stage, but no, it’s more like there was sheer talent projectile vomiting from the stage. In a good way. The kind of projectile vomit I’d love to be covered in. He went from sheer joyous dancing music to his wonderful ethereal stuff and back again over and over. I heard snippets of “Porcelain” and some songs from his newest CD. And then he played “Thousand” in its entirety, which blew the top of my brain off. It is a song Alyssa and I used to play for each other all the time; we called it our “fear” song. He came out to the edge of the stage and shook everybody’s hand and waved. I cheered and jumped around until tears were streaming down my face. :’) He just looks like a genuinely nice, sweet guy. And when he came back for the encore he invited the crowd up onto the stage to dance (and I did), much to the security guards’ dismay. But they let us stay up there and crowd around his little setup and jump up and down while he played “Paradise City” by Guns ‘n’ Roses. ROFL! He sang along and pumped his fist in the air with the rest of us, then shook hands and smiled and signed autographs and waved on his way out. What a sweet guy. I didn’t actually get to touch him or anything, but it was good enough for me.