irony

confession: i haven't been to my american heritage class in a week and a half... or so. this morning as i sat deeply pondering my life while eating a stack of oreos and vanilla frosting (separate of course) i remembered this quote from my sixth grade teacher: "an education is the one thing americans are willing to pay for and not receive." that mrs. walker, she was one smart lady in a purple pantsuit. so i resolved to try harder. i went to american heritage an hour early today. i did all the reading and even made myself repeat definitions in preparation for the quiz in class. during the quiz, i accurately traced england's monarchs from henry viii to william of orange. i oozed knowledge. nailed that quiz!

and then the TA stated that the quiz was actually an object lesson, and everyone got 100% just for showing up. really? so much for staying motivated.

today i bartered with my professor. in pretzels.

i also got a haircut. four inches. it now looks like this:

i know. so different, right? my hair has looked exactly the same since an unfortunate incident in ninth grade when i chopped it to my chin and dyed half of it dark red. i was super edgy back in the day. 

my classes this semester: advertising design, poster design, packaging design, motion graphics, aaaaaaaaand american heritage? one of these things is most definitely not like the other. let's cross our fingers it goes better than my d&c class last semester, which i legitimately forgot to attend for about six weeks. it's just much too strange to venture out of the hfac.

we also set up the printer for save the date that we moved from annie's house. well, mike did anyways. i was asleep on the couch and woke up to find the following as the test print. exhibit a:

a light into the world

a few months ago there was a competition to design a christmas card around the theme "i am come a light into the world" for the college of fine arts and communications. well, remembering my past reflection contest days, i decided to enter at the last minute. so this is the design i submitted. they didn't get very many entries, and mine actually won. go team!

it was actually a really cool experience for me to reflect on the birth of the savior and how my life is what it is because of him. his influence in my life is very personal and very real. merry belated christmas!

don't you worry 'bout a thing

ever heard of it? it's a fascinating documentary about the food industry in america. we watched it in one of my design classes yesterday. i realize that the filmmakers have their own agenda, but i will recommend anything that makes me think and encourages conscious decision making. however, you might cry. baby chicks. that's all i will say.

interesting quote from the film: "the idea that you would have to write a book about where your food came from shows you how far removed we are" (author of fast-food nation) + a fun fact for the day: the average american person consumes 200 pounds of meat per year.

i have seen quite a few books about this topic and i really would like to read some and see if we can implement some better food decisions into our daily diets + have some different perspectives on the subject. recommendations?

here's to being more informed.

small and simple things

the best surprise

this would be my work desk while i try and sort out which posters go with which order. 107 posters to be exact. mostly due to this surprise post by nie nie last week. i wish someone had been around to hear my yelp of excitement when i saw that link. but, alas, it was 3 am and only my shiny laptop and my magazine assignment were keeping me company. but i couldn't have asked for a better christmas surprise. i love that lady.

in other news, i desperately need a haircut and color. but i feel like sitting in a chair for three hours to pretend like i am still a blonde is a little much.

also, i spent six hours making monogrammed soap last week. oooooooh the adventure. but definitely worth it when my bald professor told me he heard it contained a miracle cure for baldness and was using it diligently and saving the other half for my other bald professor.

mike turned our gingerbread house into a barracks. he also grated the chimney with a pretzel ("no creepy old men will be popping through our chimney"), mounted some weaponry to the roof, and caged a chocolate santa in the front yard to ward off other... enemies? mike is too awesome sometimes.

and now, i will finally start catching up on all of your blogs :)

wish lists

i have some very talented friends. and if anyone needs some unique christmas gift ideas for this year, let me give you a few...

adorable treasure hunt necklace from kat's store katch1

rose drop necklace, also from katch1

panda bear hat from rachael at her talk2thetrees shop

aspen necklace from rachael's treetalker store

and hopefully kendahl re-opens her pomegranate & pink shop soon because she has amazingly cute hair accessories :) anyone else have a store i don't know about? i'm always looking for new products to drool over.