Death Valley

So, as usual, I have been slacking at updating my blog!

However, that means that I have a lot to update you on now, and I've been working hard on more important things like my senior project.

We just got back from Spring Break, in which we had a whole week off. It was much needed for everyone, and as usual, it went by really fast. For the first 4 days, Geoff and I drove out to Death Valley to camp. We'd never been there before, but it is INCREDIBLE.

I mean, I love deserts and mountains, but I think even someone who doesn't care much for them would be amazed by the sights out there. The weather was perfect this time of year too, since it's still technically winter, so the high was around 80 degrees during the day, and the low was about 52 at night.

We went to Salt Creek, where we saw the "rare" Pupfish, which only appears in Death Valley at one point during the year before it dies when the stream dries up in summer. They were small and not that exciting, but it was the first thing we saw, so we were just glad to be in Death Valley.

Then we hiked through the Mosaic Canyon, which is this huge, gorgeous canyon made of smooth marble walls! The rock is beautiful and has all these different textures in it, so I took a TON of photos. If you have facebook, feel free to check them out. I posted about 200 photos in 3 different albums. All the mountains and rocks in death valley are different colors and have different patterns on them due to various mineral deposits. The mountains themselves are striped, as if a huge painter just dragged his brush across the whole range.. Death Valley used to be underwater thousands of years ago, so I imagine these lines are from back when there were different water levels, but I am not sure.

Another place we went to was called "Artist's Palette" or "Artist's Drive". It's about 3 miles long, and you drive through this canyon where you can really see the different mineral deposits in the rock that change them different colors. Geoff drove through and I popped my head out of the sun roof of the car with my camera so I could get lots of shots while we were moving. One guy even asked if we were from Google! Haha... Imagine if google was just one little girl poking her head out the top of a Jetta taking 360-view photos... hahah.

Anyway, we saw green rocks and pink rocks and orange rocks, and yellow rocks! I've never seen such colorful mountains. It really was a rock collector's paradise... Or a geology-nerd's heaven.

One of my favorite places we visited was the Mesquite Sand Dunes! There are these random, massive sand dunes in the middle of the desert that look like they belong in egypt or something! We hiked around them for a while as I searched for the perfect set of pictures... Man is sand a calf-killer! We were sore for days after visiting the dunes. I wanted to see a sidewinder rattlesnake like they show on the dunes in National Geographic shows, but we didn't get to spot any. :( Apparently they are really only around in the summertime.

We took my little Totoro/dust bunny stuffed animal with us and took his picture in some random places, so here is a photo of him at the dunes. :) I have many more of the sand dunes, but this blog is only so big, so please ask if you would like to see more and I will email them to you!

We also went to Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in North America! (282 feet below Sea Level!) It's a huge salt flat, covered in salt crystals because of the ocean that used to be on top of it. People are free to wander all over it, wherever we want. It was sooo windy there though that Geoff and I could barely take a photo together. In the end, we took a picture of our water bottles sitting side by side in place of our bodies, because the water bottles wouldn't fly away in the wind. :) By the way, I think you can click on these pictures I'm putting on the blog for them to get bigger... but I'm not sure.

The last place we visited before heading home was this ghost town called "Rhyolite".

I really wanted to see a real ghost town before we left Death Valley, and since we didn't get to see the hot springs I'd planned on visiting, Geoff drove all the way up to the Nevada part of Death Valley so that we could visit Rhyolite. It is officially marked on the map as "Rhyolite (ghost town)". So, naturally, we HAD to see it.

I took a ton of photos here too as you can imagine! It was a photographer's dream--all this old stuff in a spooky area! Almost every building left (mostly) standing had signs on it saying "Danger" or "Stay out, stay alive" posted so people wouldn't go in. And there were rattlesnake warning signs all over the roads too so we didn't wander through the grasses. No one lives in Rhyolite anymore, but most of these buildings were at least a hundred years old. At one point, Rhyolite was the 3rd largest city in Nevada. It was pretty hard to believe, standing in the middle of the waste that's left of it. But what a cool place!

Next time, Geoff and I are renting a Jeep so that we can go on the roads that require a high-clearance vehicle with 4-wheel drive and see more ghost towns and all the other cool stuff we missed! It really was quite the adventure. We needed an adventure too, after all the work we've been doing.

That's all for now, I think... I have other stuff I could update you on, but I've got work to do, and this is already a long entry! Again, if you'd like to see more photos of anything we visited, or cutesy photos of me and Geoff that we took along the way, please email me and ask for whatever ones you want, or check them out on my facebook. :) Love you!

Apocalyptic Weather, No?

Los Angeles had tornadoes yesterday.

Picked up boats and cars 50 feet in the air, they say.

[The very day after I finished telling Geoff "as a matter of fact" that there were no tornadoes in Southern California. Seems I've jinxed us all! Karma has certainly shown me not to be so sure of the weather.]

It's been raining and thunderstorming here since Sunday, and is expected to carry on at least through Friday... Bleh. You know me - I tend to avoid falling water at all costs, so you can imagine how yucky it's been dealing with this weather! We've had floods and mudslides, high winds and falling debris. The coastal cities are feeling the worst of it, but it's still pretty nasty down here too.

I'm trying to stay indoors as much as I can, but I feel really bad for our poor little Bonsai tree who is starting to wilt because she misses the sun so much. Geoff got me this Bonsai Tea Tree on our way back down to SoCal so I would have something to take care of while he was in class this semester... we still can't afford a pet, so the Bonsai tree will have to do.

My classes are going well so far. I'm really relaxed, and barely have times where I'm actually in a classroom. It's a huge change from last semester, but I am trying to keep on schedule for my senior project. I also get to work more hours in the costume shop and at BevMo which is nice. I'm putting practically all the money I make this semester into Geoff and my savings account. It was originally set up as our "Puppy Fund" so that we could try again with a dog, but it's looking like we're going to need a really large reserve of money to get our lives started this summer when we move into L.A. New things we never thought we'd have to pay for are starting to present themselves, and we're slowly realizing how hard real life is going to be. Although we're definitely moving into a building that is dog-friendly, we may not be able to afford one of our own for a while yet, what with paying for the rest of life. I'm definitely not looking forward to paying for Health Insurance and paying off my student loans! Yikes.

I've been cooking though, which has been fun. Since I have more time in the evenings, I can actually set things up and make yummy meals. I made this bacon bowtie pasta the other night that turned out fantastic! It's a recipe from a restaurant in Lake Tahoe that Geoff and I really enjoy. I'm finding that cooking can get a little pricey too though, what with having to run out and buy all those ingredients all the time. Grandma is sending me her recipe for oven-cooked macaroni which I LOVE, so I'm super excited to try to cook that for Geoff and me.

Other than that, I've just been hiding from the rain and struggling to keep up with the massive amounts of reading for my Environmental Non-Fiction class. (We were supposed to read this 625 pg book on Island Biogeography in a week, and my book I ordered arrived yesterday... haha. I am on page 80.)

Anyway, I must go back to reading. My class starts at 6pm, so I've got another 4 and a half hours to read. Ciao!

Games.

Geoff bought me The Sims 3!!!

What a trip to my childhood....

It's a good thing I don't have homework anymore, or I wouldn't get anything done with this game available at all times on my computer.... :)

My crime scene business went well last week. My final project for Calligraphy is done, and will be presented tomorrow afternoon. Then, I have my politics exam on Wednesday, (which will probably only take about 20 minutes or so,) and a presentation of our Crime Scene findings on Thursday morning. Then I'm done with my fall semester!! Woohooo!!

Cooking Success!

Geoffrey and I had the house to ourselves tonight, so I made (for my first time) Stuffed Bell Peppers!!

They were super awesome (to my surprise,) and Geoff liked them a lot, so I'm pretty much the happiest little girl ever tonight!

Mmm... delicious!

Finals next week! ...and this week! Wish me luck!

Month of November

So, early this November, as some of you know, was Geoff and my official 2 year anniversary.

November the 7th, to be exact. (This is what we've decided anyway.)

Last year, I took Geoff on a glider plane ride in Hemet. Remember?

This year, our dear friend Robyn gave us the keys to her beach house on the water in Newport Beach so we would have a place to stay over the weekend instead of paying for a hotel. (Awesome!) It's the same beach house I lived in the first summer I was out here, and the one we throw parties in with Robyn and friends every so often, so we were quite familiar with the area already. We spent the day lazing around the house, watching movies over the open balcony overlooking the sea, and just enjoying our time off. In the evening, we went to the Melting Pot, which is a very cool looking fondue place. (We'd never had fondue before, so this was a totally new experience for the both of us.) The food was FABULOUS, and was well worth the large hole the bill ate in our bank accounts. It was a very dark, intimate place, (perfect for a special occasion,) and they even gave us complementary champagne and strawberries to celebrate our anniversary. It took about 2 and a half hours for us to finish eating all the food in the 4 course meal. Definitely one of the coolest eating experiences I've had.

Afterwards, we headed home to digest for a few hours, watched a movie, had some of our own champagne, and went to sleep.

This past Saturday, Geoff and I competed in the Redlands Diamond Dash, which is a fundraiser game in Redlands for Diabetes. Couples, or teams of 2 enter to play a sort of treasure hunt game around town, and compete to win a $15,000 Tacori Diamond ring. If you aren't familiar with the Tacori line, I highly suggest you check out their website. They are among my favorite brands, (all hand-made pieces,) and make just the most gorgeous rings (their bands, especially). Anyway, there were tons of people there. How it works, is we all meet at one place to begin, and then we get a text to our cell phone giving us clues about a location in town, and then we ride our bikes (or scooters, or run, or whatever as long as it doesn't have a motor,) to that location, where we receive a trivia question about that location. There is some sort of complicated point system depending on how many questions we get right and wrong, but all in all, it's a lot of running back and forth, and searching for the answers to clues! It was a ton of fun, but needless to say, we did not win the ring. Oh well. It was great exercise.

This week I have faculty critiques, which is where all the senior art students, and all the art faculty dress up and gather together in the Peppers Art Gallery, and critique your work. I've heard it's pretty terrifying, and I'm totally afraid of my work getting torn apart, but we'll see how it goes... I still don't even know what works I'm going to be presenting to them... ahhh!! :(

I've been doing Wardrobe Crew for the play this fall over the past week, so I've been extremely busy every night, and not getting home to start homework until 11pm. So, I'm quite grateful it ended yesterday, even though it's been a lot of fun, and I really loved the cast. (The play was Macbeth by the way, so we had a lot of quick changes, and a lot of blood to clean off costumes every night.) Nick and Robyn, two of my very close friends played the leads! (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth!)

I am so glad that next week we have Thanksgiving Break! (We REALLY need a break...)

Our last day of classes is Tuesday, and then we have the next few days off until Monday. Geoff and I are driving up to Lake Tahoe to stay in his parents' condo in Truckee for the break to have our own Thanksgiving together. We bought some nice tasty red wines, and will be making a mini-sized two-person Thanksgiving dinner up there, which I am very excited for. I can't wait to just get out of Redlands and relax for a while... Also, it will be our first Thanksgiving where we have to cook, so that in itself is also rather exciting... I've got the stuffing and mashed potatoes covered.. (you do just mash them, right?) but the turkey will be an interesting feat. We'll have to see how that works out. I'll be sure to take some photos.

Ciao for now!

Oh, and be sure to tell me what you want for Christmas!!! I expect emails!

Spring Semester Already???

Yikes! It's been ages since I've updated! For starters, I've cut my hair just recently so it's short now... I've got a sort of "bob" thing going now, so it has room to grow over the winter. Here is a before and after! (Sorry my hair is up in the "before", so you can't see its full craziness of length... but you get the idea.)

(BEFORE)

(AFTER!)

Besides that, here are updates on other stuff!

I just registered for my Spring Semester and Mayterm classes!! Can you believe it?? I just finished registering for my LAST college classes EVER. Probably. I mean, isn't that intense? I'm freaking out.

But regardless, I'm sure you all want to know what I'm taking next spring. :)

(By the by, I've been awake for about 38 hours now, so this entry might be a little spacey... I had a huge project for Graphic Design due today...)

I have to take my Senior Project course, (which I have not decided yet what I am going to do, so don't ask me!! I am super stressed about not knowing...) so that is the first one I'm registered for. (I don't have to wake up until 1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays for it! Woo-hoo!)

Second, I am taking a course called "Environmental Non-Fiction"... which sounds rather boring to me, but it is my last LAF I need in order to graduate. (It's an intensive writing course.) I've heard the professor is really good though, so we'll wish for the best.

Then, I am taking Ceramics! (Which I've wanted to take for some time.) I don't actually need to take ceramics, but I need to take at least 12 credits per semester in order to be considered a full time student, and collect my financial aid, so I needed one more class. If you remember, Geoff brought home beautiful, useful things from his ceramics class last fall, including gorgeous bowls and mugs that we use daily. So, I am VERY excited to finally be able to contribute to the house as well and make pretty art pieces that we can eat and drink from. (Also, the professor who teaches that class is super sweet... I had her for 3D Design.)

Only 3 classes in the spring! Hoorah! It will be quite the relief after this hectic fall semester, let me tell you!

But I've saved the best for last...

For Mayterm, I, (and Geoff, and like 5 or 6 of my good friends,) are taking a class called "Mother Earth Chemistry", which we've greatly been looking forward to. While the name sounds deceiving, we basically brew beer, make cheese and tie dye all during the month of may! And on Fridays, we take the occasional trip down to the Hangar 24 Brewery for a tour and free beers! What could be better to end my college career? Anything? I think not.

I will have to put up photos of my self-promotional package, which was my great big project I've been working on in Advanced Graphic Design. I may even be purchasing a domain name and launching my website in the near future. When that does happen, you will definitely be the first to know, friends and family. :) It looks pretty cute so far, if I do say so myself... I just need to budget my money again so that I can afford to keep it up!

In other news, this weekend is Halloween!

My friend Angelico and I (and Geoff of course,) are throwing a big Halloween party at Angelico's house with lots of music and dancing and lights and people! I am super excited, since Geoff and I are usually not in Redlands for Halloween.

The weekend after this weekend is Geoff and my 2 YEAR Anniversary... Can you believe that? We've been together for-EVER! Hahah.. Anyway, we are planning on going to Newport Beach to spend the day and evening there celebrating together.. nothing huge, just the two of us hanging out. That should be really good for us stressed out college kids.

That's all for now! I need my sleep before I pass out on this computer...

Love to you all! <3

Old Trees, New Lifestyle

This week has been chaos.

But first, let's update everyone.

Geoff and I had a wonderful time in the Sierra Nevadas. It was cooler up in the Giant Forest, and the trees were almost fairy-tale-like in their size and appearance. The Giant Sequoias, (particularly the General Sherman,) are the largest living organisms on the planet. (I think I may have mentioned that before.) And truly, you don't fully understand until you are standing beneath them, trying ever-so-hard to not fall over backwards as you squint to see the top.

(This is one of the smaller ones, I think... just another Sequoia in the Giant Forest.)

We were out in the wilderness for about 4 days, camping at two different campsites, and swimming/bathing in the Kaweah River. (Which was freezing at first, but once you were in, it wasn't all that bad... Better than being smelly! Thank you river water and camp soap!) Despite all the other people who were there to tour the beautiful forest, it was definitely a good time for us to reconnect with nature.

(Geoff particularly enjoyed the naturally made Jacuzzi jets we found in the river, right near our swimming area!)

(Chilly and wet, but happy to be clean!)

(This is a photo I took of the roots of a tree that got overturned... really beautiful roots. I took a little series, actually, but this is just a mini of one of them.)

(And this is our touristy picture in front of the General Sherman! We FINALLY got all the children out of the way, so there wasn't anyone else in the photo.)

Anyway, there are a bunch more photos on Facebook of us on our trip, so feel free to check them out! If you don't have Facebook, or don't know what Facebook is, you are welcome to email me. (I accept special requests for emailed photos, but only if you say "pretty please".) :)

We returned to civilization just in time for school!

...which is why this week has been so chaotic. The first week of school has been super stressful for all of us here in Redlands... at least for us Seniors, anyway. It's funny how in high school, senior year you get to slack off and become lazy, eventually but inevitably contracting a disease they call "Senioritis"...and now that we are Seniors in college, it's almost the opposite. I've never worked so hard in my college career. Granted, much of that is due to the fact that I have taken on far too many activities this year.

Not only am I swamped by my Advanced Design class, (which I had homework for over the summer! Jeeze.) but this year, I am Vice President of the Photography Club, Editor of Photography for the Bulldog Weekly Newspaper, working at Bevmo on the weekend, and at the Costume Shop on Fridays... Bleh. Lots of work and responsibilities for me this year. But don't worry, I will take care of myself... if things get too intense, I'll make the sacrifice of dropping something. (Not a class... I mean an activity.) But at least I am making a few extra bucks here and there to put away for when I leave school... Geoff and I are going to need to save a lot for our move out to L.A. next summer.

As far as classes go, I'm taking Advanced Design, Chinese Calligraphy, Forensic Science, and American National Government & Politics. So far, the government class is the only one that puts me to sleep... I simply hate politics, and I know all the reasons I should want to know about it, but I just can't bring myself to become interested in it. Sigh. Oh well... I'll get through it. I need the class for an LAF requirement. (That's a Liberal Arts Foundation requirement, in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, that's all for now! I'm giving the silver Jetta back to Geoff's parents tonight, so I must bid it farewell. It has been a good partner in crime... and I will miss it. :)