"MARSH" Hockey Drawing COMPLETE

ADDED 'JOFA' SHORTS and DETAILS ON KNEE PAD

ADDED THE HELMET
COMPLETED DRAWING BELOW

Feeling unproductive, but know that's not the truth

*YAY* I heard from my new boss, Rick. I start my job training Monday night. He made a point to ask if it's Liss or Liz, lol.
I'm nervous about when I'll be scheduled to work. For my communication class, I was assigned to volunteer for one day as a camp counselor at Camp Summit (next Saturday). I'll be assisting special needs children all day from 9am-7pm, then I have to give a speech about my service experience in the communication class later this semester.
I PRAY that I am not assigned to work that same Saturday. I'd hate to request a day off less than one week into a new job. But it's for school and I didn't know about the date of the service project until this last Tuesday. Feel free to pray on this one, that there isn't a time conflict that one Saturday.

*Booo* I got a sucky grade on a Spanish test tonight. Since it is graded automatically by a computer, I'm emailing the professor to see if I can get partial credit on some of the questions. It wanted like "anduve" and I wrote "estoy anduve". I gave too much info, but I knew the main part. I hope I can get more points. I'll just have to do better on the next one. I've had all A's til tonight.

*YAY* I spent about an hour and got a lot of progress done on Micah's mask for Halloween. (see picture below). Micah will send $ to cover supplies and shipping once I can estimate that amount for him. I haven't been able to price check the fake fur yet. Everything I've done so far has been free (paper mache from old newspapers, etc)
*HUGE YAY* Hope and Scott are gonna loan me money for bills to help me be less stressed while I'm trying to graduate.

*Yay* We got a letter from Uncle Sam, saying that legislation was passed to increase the amount that a family of four receives in Food Stamps each month. That'll take effect in October.

*I did some paper filing today, some dishes and laundry... so I feel like my world is less chaotic. Out of sight, out of mind. *

*Boo* Last night around 11pm, I realized what the DATE was and that I had forgotten to call my mom on her Birthday. Not good. Too late to call her then. I'm feeling sorry about that one.

Elaine the Handyman

Elaine was watching 'Handy Manny' and wanted to do something with a screwdriver. She looked around and found that her nursery door was missing a plate across from the doorknob. I fetched one and she set to work screwing down the little plate, so pleased with herself.

Grateful

I'm grateful that we have the van and Jim says it is running much better.

I'm grateful that I didn't have to ride the bike to campus this morning.


I'm grateful that this huge 'Sociology of Religion' exam was completed this morning. I was up late studying and then got up super early to study more. I feel like I did well, but I'm exhausted.

I'm grateful that Carol (mother of Elaine's classmate) gave Jimmy some Pumpkin Cookies today for our family.

I'm grateful that the financial aide has been processed and my Fall and Spring tuition will be covered. *phew* School is paid for, so I don't have to worry about loosing my classes. Evidently, I've reached a maximum amount of aid that I can receive from the federal government in my lifetime. I didn't know such a limit exists! My financial aide package for the two semesters is about $9000 shorter than normal. I typically have $4000-4500 after tuition is paid each semester to help us pay bills (or in the case of last spring, buy the van). This fall I will receive about $300 after my tuition is paid. It's more than I had when I went to bed last night, so I am grateful. I'm looking into loan options from banks and such. It's tricky since I have no credit history (since my loans aren't due until after I graduate, they don't give me good or bad credit) and no work history yet. I'll keep yall updated.


After I catch up on some sleep, I'm gonna finish the hockey drawing. I pray that it stirs up more business from other Hockey wives when it is delivered. I think I'll have to raise my prices after this client (not gonna change prices that I have already quoted to people). I don't like to rush these pictures and sacrifice the quality, so I have to be repaid for my time invested.

p.s. Allan started trying to sing the Barney theme song yesterday. He sings, "I love you. YOU love you." Then he attacks me with a hug.

We're getting the Van back!

It had a fried starter and a broken water pump. The mechanics are done and we get it back tonight. Steven just drove up from Garland and fetched Jimmy. He's taking Jim to meet Dave at the mechanic's office. Jim says he'll wait til rush hour dies down to drive back up to Denton.

With the title all signed by the lawyer guy (thanks to me), Jim can get the registration updated tomorrow while I'm in class. AND Jim can run his paper route tomorrow. I was afraid he might loose that job if he missed the paper route. Also, I wont have to ride the bike to campus tomorrow! :)
I woke up today with achy calves. Jim let me sleep in til almost 11am. My sunburn or windburn, whatever it was, has subsided. I just look a little tan.
I'm doing the review sheet for my Sociology of Religion exam all day today. It's a 3 page review and all the questions require short answer or essays in response.

13 miles

Google maps tells me that I covered almost 13 miles today. I'm not in good enough shape to get the bike going uphill without being winded. So I walked uphill and rode the bike on even ground or downhill.
I made it to University Drive in an hour and to campus from there in another 3o minutes. That was about 6 miles total. I left the house at 7:30 and ended up with 30 minutes of free time before my first class. I went to the Methodist Center. It's a safe place to lock up the bike and I was able to change clothes in their bathroom. I went to my classes and realized I had forgotten to pack a lunch. I splurged and got a $4 sushi plate in the Student Union. I told myself that I needed food for energy.
After my last class, I took the bike across campus to the transportation office to get it registered. Bikes parked on campus have to have a registration sticker (free) or the bike lock gets cut and they are impounded.
After registering the bike, I rode to the Denton town square. The lawyer that we bought the van from has his office near the square. I got the signature we needed on the Windstar's title, so Jim can get it registered. I rode home through TWU's campus and made it back home right about 6pm. I was so worn out. I am red. Jim isn't sure if it's sunburn or windburn. It doesn't hurt (yet?) so it's hard to tell. My body isn't super achy, just my feet and butt from the bike. I have calluses on the back of both ankles, where they meet the top of my sneakers. It just feels like a lot of effort to move. My body is asleep but my brain is pretty awake. Jim made pancakes and eggs with meat for dinner. :o)

With all that said, I had my first exam in Personal Finance today. I studied before class. The professor, who is barely speaking English, said that there would be easy math on the test and we wouldn't need calculators. So I brought one anyways, my math skills being what they are. I think I did well on the tests. I'll let you know. He said we'd have then back in a week.
I have a Sociology of Religion exam on Thursday. It covers 7 chapters and I have yet to purchase the book. I have taken notes on every word of lecture and I feel like I know the material. The questions are all short answer or essay. Those can be good because if a student puts in enough facts, they get the points for the answer. I'm studying for this one tomorrow.

Show off

I forgot to tell yall. On Friday Mrs. Wallace (Elaine's teacher) told me that Elaine is gonna be put into a special class for readers. They will work with flashcards and stuff while the rest of the class is learning their basic alphabet. Elaine has been bringing home classwork where she spent the day learning the letter 'C', etc.
Mrs.Wallace, who is 8 months pregnant, wears funny pregnancy t-shirts. She said that she realized that Elaine needs to be in the reading class when Elaine walked into Pre-K the other day and said to Mrs. Wallace, "Hey! Your shirt says 'Baby'!" Elaine's little friend Cora is gonna be in the same reading class.

Marsh Jersey Drawing so far

The Van needs a Professional....

EARLY Saturday we drove the van out to Dave's apartment in Mesquite, TX. The boys were gonna take apart the engine and replace the gasket that was leaking. They worked from around 10am until 1pm getting it all taken apart. Then this dude from the apartment management said that Dave's neighbors complained about him working on a vehicle in the neighborhood. Dave checked, and sure enough it is in his lease agreement that he can't work on cars in the parking lot. All the boys were allowed to do is put the van back how it was to begin with. BAD NEWS: once it was put back together, the Van wouldn't start!! It had something to do with leaking antifreeze. The boys (well, at least Dave) could tell you better than I can. Are van is stranded at Dave's apartment in Mesquite. We went ahead and slept over at Dave's apartment Saturday night. I've never been so glad about my over-packing tendencies! I knew I'd have to keep the kids occupied all day while the boys worked on the van, so I brought stuff to keep the kiddos fed and occupied. I had at least one spare shirt for all four of us, lots of underwear for Allan and we brought a bunch of Pixar DVD's.

While we were at Dave's apartment, we learned that Allan has become allergic to cats. There's no doubt about it. Allan's exposed skin, especially wherever he scratched, broke out in a rash. His eye was swollen for a while and he kept scratching it. I gave him baths, which seemed to relieve the itch. Dave found a blanket that was put up in a closet away from Cleo, Dave's kitty, so that's what the kids slept on.
The plan is to have the van towed to a real mechanic on Monday. Dave is gonna handle the paperwork, since we wont be in Mesquite on Monday. We don't know how long the van will be at the mechanic. My job is supposed to start this week, so we had to think of an alternative way to get me to school and work.

Dave drove us home, but we swung by Steven's on the way. Steven has built me a new computer! No more dinosaur laptop!! My laptop was running so slow. Now I'm on a computer comparative to Jimmy's, but with a lesser video-card, so he wont try to play video games on my new computer. (Do I sound territorial?). Unlike my laptop, this new computer can burn to DVD+R's and can play any type of CD or DVD. My laptop would not save to a CD or DVD, only 3 1/2inch floppys.... seriously! I am use to typing with my hands close together from the laptop so Steven gave me a keyboard with very compact keys. I'm overjoyed to be on a better computer.

Anyways... Dave drove us by Stephen's house. We heard that Fumi's blood sugar is doing much better, since her diabetes medicine was switched. Steven said that depending on the time of day, he might be able to help Dave later this week, when the van has to get back to us in Denton. Dave and Steven could drive the van and Dave's car to Denton, then they could share Dave's car for getting back to Garland/Mesquite. It sounds like a plan.

In the meantime, I needed a way to get to school and work. What we came up with is fixing my bicycle. It needed it's chain repaired and a new bike seat. Dave took us to Walmart and Target and neither store had the type of seat my bike requires (it needed to have a pole coming down from under the seat). Dave decided to just bless me with a brand new bicycle. He wanted to know that it was gonna be a reliable bike to get me around. When we got back to the trailer, Dave and I worked on the bike. We wanted to try to move my saddlebag-style baskets from the old bike to the new one. Whatever Dave and I tried, the baskets kept messing up the tire's alignment. I'll have to get some longer bolts from like an Ace hardware, if I want to attach the baskets (*note to self).

While at Dave's apartment and the night before, I worked on the drawing for his buddy. *pics to come*

Drip drip drip goes the nose

Coffee has always helped my allergies. I skipped drinking coffee yesterday and was fine until night time, then my allergies hit me hard. And I didn't want to start drinking coffee at 10pm. My throat is scratchy and my nose is dripping. COFFEE TO THE RESCUE!

Heard from Mark and Berta

My brother sent me a myspace message saying he had reached California finally (back from Fallujia for those of you who haven't kept up). I called Berta (my mom) and she said that she got a call from Mark in the middle of the night when he actually arrived in CA. They Navy had him travel to Maine, then to CA. And soon back home to H-town.

Goodies!

Today I was vacuuming dead bugs out from underneath the kitchen cabinets. And then *knock knock* It's the mail man at my door.
I got a surprise in the mail today from my buddy, Moo. She sent me a card, some vellum stickers, chipboard stickers and a pair of Eeyore pajamas out of the blue! How sweet is she?! :)

p.s. What does it say when no one sends "care" packages anymore? hmmm.... lol

hockey art

Do yall remember this drawing (above) that I drew for Dave in May?
Well, one of Dave's hockey friends wants me to draw her hubby's hockey gear this week, if I can. She emailed me some great pics of her hubby's gear tonight, from a couple of different angles. I am gonna print her pics on campus on Thursday, since my home printer is out of black ink. I can print it in the Art Department's computer lab, large enough to really see detail. :)
Dave's friend said that I can give the completed drawing to Dave, so he can give it to her at one of his hockey games this week.
She said that if she receives the drawing at a game from Dave, maybe other hockey wives will want to do business with me. :) Sounds like a plan.

Pics from this Weekend

Sunday, Dave came over and worked on the Van.

Fun with Construction Paper

Bedtime story

a LITTLE progress

My financial aid should come sometime within 5 weeks of when I re-applied. So that's October 2nd at the latest. I have been praying that is comes sooner rather than later. Tonight when I checked my financial aid records online, I saw that there has been SOME activity. A new folder has been made for 2008 aid and a new item was put on my to-do list. For my to-do list, I just had to read a letter about how many classes I can take as an undergrad before not receiving federal aid (I'm gonna clear that number without problem). No new info is IN the folder for my 2008 aid, but I'm pleased as punch that I can tell that someone at UNT has been looking over my financial aid account. I'll take any sign of progress. :)
I think my speech went okay today. I wasn't nervous before it AT ALL. But as soon as I started talking my heart started pounding in my chest like I was running a marathon. I got lots of compliments for the charcoal drawing after I finished the speech. I heard from a classmate that I had "good eye contact" but I felt like I barely looked up from my cue card or facing the drawing. I dunno.
I just checked my grade online. I got an 82. For this class that's pretty great. The syllabus says that if we meet all the requirements for an exercise, then we get a C. We have to go above and beyond to get an A or B. I still feel like it didn't go as well as it could.

I started working on the mask for Micah's bunny costume. I need to make the lower jaw, ears and eyes still.

I read online something clever my brother wrote today. This is me passing it along because it's well-written:
Sep 13, 2007 2:16 PM
I GAVE HER AWAY ! ! ! !
After a looong 7 month relationship i finally got rid of my girlfriend !!! it definitely hasn't been the best 7 months i've spent with someone but hey at least we left each other on good terms and hopefully i'll never see her again!!!! hell, what can you expect ?? she was a real hassle keeping up with and i constantly had to bathe her..now she'll get tossed into a wooden crate along with a crap load of others just like her ...and all of their previous mates handing them over with giant sighs of relief..it was fun while it lasted and i'm just glad i didn't have to unleash your wrath on anyone..good bye old my 8 1/2 Lb. paper weight. i hope you find yourself a man that can truly use you for all that your worth...good bye M-16 !!!

~Scetch
--------------------------------
Here's a link to the most recent story about Jessica Birge, who has been missing for 34 days.

Entered a Contest

I saw in Country Living magazine (Margo got me a subscription for my last birthday) that they are having a Halloween Costume contest. The winner wins a Kodak V1003 digital camera! (Value: $ 299.95) Worth a shot!
I read the contest rules online. Costumes that infringe on any other 3rd party's trademark WONT win the contest. So that means that a lot of store-bought costumes couldn't win. Like if a kid has their photo taken in a store-bought Dora The Explorer costume, they would be infringing on the rights owned by NickJr. This all made me think Elaine has better odds than kids with parents who didn't read the full rules online.
So I dressed Elaine up in the Pirate costume I sewed for her and took some pictures today. That first picture *above* is the one that I submitted to the contest.

I think before 'Happy Hallelujah' I'll try to find her a sword and make a different head scarf from my scraps. This scarf is a little too pinkish-red. Maybe something Black & white... I dunno.

Oh! Micah wants me to sew his Hallelujah costume, if I have time. It's a big bunny suit. He's gonna pay for the supplies and to ship it to Kentucky.

not much going on

I checked online today. No word about my financial aide yet. I think I'm gonna write that speech about one of my charcoal drawings of the kids. I can talk about how my talent has grown at college, how it shows what my priorities are, and how I make extra money. I have to write it tonight and memorize it tonight and tomorrow.
I got a 100% on my Spanish quiz last night!

I talked to my new boss, Rick, today. The job begins the last week of September, so I'll be trained before the late October rush. So I have about a little over a week to get ahead on homework where I can. I was hoping it started sooner than that (looming bills) but I'm grateful for the position all the same. Rick said I can tell my theatre classmates to apply too, because they are hiring 8 in all for the Halloween season.

Elaine has memorized most of this book. She "reads" it to us before bed.

Gotta run, Jim made meatloaf and skin-on mashed potatoes!!!!!!! :)

Objects ala Liss

I have to do a speech this Thursday for my Communication class, talking about an important object and why it is significant to me. The trouble is, the only things I can think of are either furniture that I can't take into class (the speeches are done in a show-and-tell fashion) or my scrapbooks/photos.
I mean, I like my eeyore dolls and they are very me... but not necessarily significant enough that I could talk about them for 5 minutes. I thought about maybe using my engagement ring because I can talk about that story for a few minutes.

Does anyone else have ideas?

What my brother has been up to

That is Mark to the far right, over the President's left shoulder (the one with both eyes visible).

School and clothes

On Thursday I had to break down and buy a textbook. I've been trying to make it without buying any. I already owned everything I need for Spanish. Most of the reading for my Theatre history class can be done online or in the library. My personal finance professor's lecture is very similar to the textbook (from what I'm told) and he prints out his lecture notes for the entire class. So I'm pretty set there. I think I will need to buy the textbook for Sociology of religion, but I can last a few more weeks. With all that said, I bought one of my Communication books since it is a workbook and I have to use it for my in-class assignments.

Saturday night I did *ALL* my online communication quizzes for the entire semester. We are allowed to take them as many times as it takes to get a good score. So I took two hours or so and did them all multiple times until I got 5/5 on all of them.
My new boss, Rick, hasn't called me yet about when to show up. I tried calling the store today, but it isn't open on Sundays (besides near Halloween). I'll call tomorrow morning after we drop Elaine at school. The store opens at 9:30am and is open until 5 or 6pm all week. I like that with the store hours in mind, I don't think I'll be pulling late hours.

In other news: One of my pairs of jeans was too long on me. I got in the habit of rolling them up, to avoid walking on the extra fabric. Sure enough, they kept coming unrolled and became frayed from me walking on the hems. They looked kinda gross with all this wear and tear. So today I hemmed the pants higher to become Capri pants. They don't show any wear and tear now. I like them.

I'll give you one guess which movie was on TV tonight. Elaine dressed them both for bed.

I got a job!

The kids, Jim and I ran by the Krogers on University Drive to fetch milk. Jim pointed out that next door there was a help wanted sign in the door at Denton Costume and Dance World. I told Jim to get the kids strapped into the van and I'd run over to pick up an application. They said I needed to fill it out on the spot.
They asked if I had any theatre experience, if I know anything about theatre makeup and if I'm familiar with dance at all. Lemme think... 6 years of majoring in theatre at UNT, my specializations are scenic painting and makeup design, and my best friends have always been dancers (who I helped with quick costume changes). The girl who was talking to me, lead me to the owner for an immediate interview. Meanwhile I am in shorts and a T-shirt with my hair in a bandana, since I thought I was just out fetching milk.
The owner seemed thrown that I don't drive, but I told him my hubby takes care of me. They are looking for someone to work 3 days during the week and Saturdays. My schedule is open all Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. He asked if I'd be willing to work on Sundays close to Halloween (they rent/sell Halloween costumes & makeup). I said that I'd prefer to go to church with my family, but I can if it's necessary. The owner said he goes to church too and that the shop doesn't open until 1pm.
Then he got to references and I had my pastor's name. The owner asked. "which church?" Long story short he is good friends with a family that goes to my church, The Merritts. Jimmy worked with the Merritts at the Ponder steakhouse, Elaine is friends with their youngest daughter, Larissa, and Micah dated one of the other daughters. The man said "I think this is gonna work out". He is calling me tomorrow or Sunday to let me know when to show up. :) He said that he hires people for the Halloween rush and keeps 2 or 3 for the rest of the year. He said he'd start me out at Part Time and increase it later if it works out. Sounds good to me.

All Boxed In

When Hope was here, she got Jimmy and I a new vacuum for our anniversary. The kids have been playing in the vacuum box for days. Yes, Allan is running around in just his underwear... what can I say? He's potty training.
Today Allan said Elaine's name clearly for the first time. He also said "Excuse me" when he wanted help with something.

Potty Progress

I forgot to mention yesterday that Allan FINALLY used the toilet for it's full purpose (If you get my drift). It didn't go as well today, but we're hopeful.

Kiddie Pool

At church today we were invited to a "Others" pool party that was happening tonight. Photos ensued.

When 2 Nerds become 1

C.K. & Brandon's Cake Topper

C.K. is looking down at Allan. He had a disposable camera and was taking pictures of knees.

C.K. got down to Elaine's level.

Brandon (the groom) and Jimmy.

I liked getting to see a bunch of the gang from the Methodist Center who I hadn't seen in 2 years. Jim is close friends with both the bride and groom. We knew most of the ushers and the best man. We got lots of hugs and everyone played with the kids.Elaine and I before we got back into comfy clothes.