Brian's Amazing Studio

Mom wanted me to take some pictures of Brian's amazing studio apartment, and by amazing, I mean amazingly tiny. It is actually quite cute, but so very small!

Here is the very small kitchen area. Hopefully he doesn't want counterspace.

And this is the bathroom. It's not too small, but again not much counter space.

This is the view of his studio standing in the kitchen as far back as possible.

And this view is from the above corner between windows. It really is incredibly small!

This place is small for one person to live in, but with me staying here, there is absolutely no walking room. He bought an inflatable twin mattress and an egg crate mattress cover, which is very comfortable, but it leaves no room for anything else. Honestly, I'm impressed this small place doesn't reek to high heaven, as his bedrooms always did at home, but it actually doesn't have a strong stench. Thank goodness! I will post more on our trips soon!

Baltimore and DC

I spent yesterday in Baltimore with Brian and we had lunch with some of his coworkers at a place called Bertha's. I got a pretty sweet bumper sticker that says "Eat Bertha's Mussels" because they are famous for their mussels. Baltimore has some pretty cool buildings and spots to see, but for the most part it is a dangerous city with tons of drugs and crime. But I did enjoy my time around the city and I took some nice pictures.

Brain showing his "love" of Baltimore.

Us at the Pier at Fells Point.

The National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor.

A view of Baltimore from the Inner Harbor.

The ESPN Center, huge Barnes and Noble and Hard Rock Cafe.

We had a full day in Baltimore, took a nap, went to dinner, then came back and played scrabble for a few hours with Brian's neighbor, Eva. We had a great day and then went to bed to get ready for DC.

Today, we woke up early and headed off to DC around 8:30AM on the train. We arrived in DC around 10AM and traveled around to all the memorials we could think of and even a museum.

Here's Brian napping on the way to DC.

The first thing we saw was the Capitol Building.

Next we went through the National Air and Science Museum.

These are some of the first airplanes.

The first orbital to go around the world.

Amelia and her airplane!

The Washington Memorial

The White House

World War II Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial wall

Lincoln Memorial

Brian demonstrating the dangers.

Jefferson Memorial

Where the money is made!

These are about all the things we saw. It took us 5 hours to walk around and see all of these memorials but it was a lot of fun. We really wanted to see the Holocaust Memorial Museum but we would have had to wait a few hours in line so we may go back this weekend if we have time. I got a lot more great pictures but these are the better ones I have. We are off to Philadelphia tomorrow and then New York City on Thursday and Friday. We are very excited to go! I will be updating more soon.

Pretty Sunset, Lunar Eclipse and Marvin

Well I've had a few more opportunities to test out features of my camera and I'm still very pleased with it! There are so many times that I see things that I want to take pictures of but I don't like carrying around my camera everywhere because I fear it will get stolen or broken, so I usually only take pictures when I'm at home. A few weeks ago, there was a really beautiful sunset that I got a couple pictures of:

The sky at a distance.

A closer view, testing out the scenic zoom.

Also, as I was driving home one night, I noticed the moon looked different but I couldn't tell what was so different. I hadn't heard anything about the lunar eclipse, and I believe it has been since 4th or 5th grade since I've seen it, so it took me a few minutes to realize what it was. Unfortunately it takes me longer to get home living out in Marcola now, so by the time I got my camera and got down to the end of the driveway where I could see it, it was starting to get darker pretty quickly. I did, however, get some pretty good pictures, although they're a little blurry.

I liked this one because you can see the stars around the moon.

Here is a closer picture of it.

Another thing I finally got around to taking pictures of is my furry little child, Marvin! I love this bunny, even though he's a bit of a pain in the butt at times due to his messes. My friends got together last year for my birthday and bought him for me. I haven't had a pet in awhile, but I'd have to say that a bunny is probably more work than a cat or dog even! Although I don't have to take him on walks or anything, he is so messy and is not potty trained very well, even though I tried my best. He's still a lot of fun to watch though and he's so cute.

Meet Marvin, the bunny.

My favorite part of Marvin is his tuft of fur between his ears!

This is Marvin's favorite activity.

And here is Marvin's sweet pad. Yes he is a tad spoiled!

My parents are so very nice to allow me to have Marvin here, as he obviously takes up a lot of room and requires lots of cleaning-up after, which my mom does a lot of for me! Poor little guy has some kind of allergies or something and has been sneezing lots and rubbing his eyes. He seems to be getting better now, but he has had these problems off and on for a few months now. I did take him to the only vet in town that sees rabbits, and she just gave me some ointment to put in his eyes, which worked til I stopped using it. I'm hesitant to take him again and pay a big vet fee if he's getting better, but we'll see. I just feel bad for him.

This term is finally nearing the end, and I am so ready for it to be over! This has been the most challenging term I think I've ever had! Mostly the amount of work to do and the big projects all term long. But I'm down to only 3 projects/papers left! I have really loved being at Department of Human Services this term, but I am going to intern at Courageous Kids next term and I'm sooooo excited! I've already gone to 2 trainings and 2 groups early just because I wanted to. It's an art therapy grief support program for kids who have lost a parent, sibling, grandparent or other family member, and my niece Emma is actually in it. I really love it there, and the program leaders are such amazing people! I am so happy to be there, and I will be doing my senior project there as well, which I have not figured out yet. Anyway that is the latest with me. I will be on the East Coast with my brother from the 16th to the 23rd, going to Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, DC, and possibly more places if time permits. I will definitely be blogging about that!

It has been awhile!

Well it has been awhile since I've posted something, so I decided to post some pictures I took around the house when it snowed here last week. I would have to say my favorite hobby right now is taking pictures, and I love every opportunity to be able to test out new settings with it. All of the pictures were just around the house, and it is definitely more beautiful living out in the country when it snows, with all the trees around and everything.

The sun peeking through the clouds

The house surrounded by the snow

I just liked the look of the mailboxes, though the paper didn't make it that day!

A visual of how deep it was to walk in

The pool looked really neat also, so I had to capture that!

Well I haven't had much time to take pictures other than when it snowed and we were snowed in! I moved in with my parents at the end of December, and then I started up school and my new internship at Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Program. I have really enjoyed it at this site so far, and I've learned a lot! I have a really great case worker that I shadow, and he has been excellent at finding ways to get me really involved and for me to get the best experience possible. I've been able to read case files and go to court hearings and home visits. I also got to shadow an intake worker one day, which involved interviewing children in danger and going to see the environment the child was living in off and on (disgusting and terrible, I must add!). It is really heart breaking to see, but at the same time it is such a good feeling to be able to get the kids out of their horrible situation. I could never imagine going through half of what the majority of these kids have gone through, and they are so young! It is really sad, but again it can be rewarding to get both the parents and the children the help they need.

School has been really busy and hectic this term, probably one of my busiest terms thus far. It involves so much group work and extra time getting together outside of class, as well as it has been confusing for everyone in the program having a new online course that they are just trying out this year, and a really difficult research class, as well as a class that is very unorganized with cranky instructors that don't appear to really know what they're doing. It has been really draining already, and its only half way through the term! But I'm hoping for a more relaxed term in the Spring.

Other than school and my internship, I'm still working about 10 hours a week mentoring a girl in therapeutic foster care. I really enjoy my job, it is challenging but incredibly rewarding. I experienced my first incident report this past week over some information she told me that was scary and very serious. I stressed over it all weekend and I was very nervous to report the information, but I felt so relieved and I knew I did the right thing when it was over. I think it is really the first time I can actually say I genuinely enjoy being challenged at a job and having to make serious and tough decisions. Though it can be very stressful often with the responsibility the job requires, it is so wonderful to know what a difference I am making for her. I really hope I am able to find a full time position similar to this after I graduate.

Well this is what I've been doing over the past month, and what I will be doing until mid-march. And then I will be off to the east coast traveling around with Brian! I can't wait!

12 Days of Christmas

I was tagged by my mom to do this, so here it goes:

1. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year, no matter how bad the weather is or how mean people can be when shopping, or anything else. I never let anything bother me because I love it so very much! I love knowing that my family will all be together, and looking forward to our traditions.

2. Speaking of traditions, my favorites are the sparkling cider in my stocking from Santa each year, as well as all the candy and an ornament from my parents.

3. The ornaments from my parents in my stocking each year has really made my ornament collection grow into a full sized collection! It is so awesome to have all my ornaments be ones I received from family.

4. We always enjoy a yummy Christmas breakfast made by mom and dad after presants are opened.

5. I became pretty suspicious about the whole Santa thing. One year I asked for a chunk of gold, and lo and behold on Christmas morning, there it was in my stocking! Thats when I just KNEW he was real! A few years later I became a little suspicious again so this time I went to the extreme to really prove whether this guy was real or not, and so I asked for a real baby on my front porch that I would get to keep, and the police wouldn't take it away. Well... I got a bike.

6. My mom found herself being quite clever one Christmas and instead of putting names on our gifts she put peach, pear, plum and orange. She liked how well that drove us up the wall, that the next year she put numbers 1-4. It was awful!

7. Every year we get to open a gift on Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house, and for years its always a gift card which I love! I can always look forward to shopping after Christmas.

8. I love driving around looking at Christmas lights every year, and there are 2 houses in particular that are always decorated beautifully up on the south hills. I drive up there several times around Christmas and every time there are tons of cars lined up. Its so pretty and its fun to see everyone driving up there to see them.

9. My favorite gifts that I get are always the hand-made, crafty gifts. Both my mom and Kyla have cross-stitched pictures for me and last year Jill made a cool wiener dog that sits at the window seal, or the bottom of a door, that blocks air from coming in through doors and windows. I also have some hand made ornaments that I love as well. I just love having things that people have made for me.

10. I love that I still get the same feeling on Christmas morning that I did when I was little. It still feels so magical and fun!

11. I don't like how occasionally Santa forgets to put his name on the gift from him. He still stuffs our stockings, but I have a hard time finding his gift to me, mom and dad always just claim it and put that it is from them.

12. I LOVE all the Christmas music! I play my Christmas cd's over and over, and I never get sick of them! They are always so cheery and happy! I start playing them at the beginning of December and I don't stop til after Christmas!

I tag anyone that reads this!

Chuck E Cheese's and Santa

Chuck E Cheese's just opened yesterday here and I have never been before so I was SO excited to go! A few of my friends and I were supposed to take another friend to a birthday dinner, but she cancelled so we decided to go to Chuck E Cheese's instead and it was SOOOO fun!!!!! The food wasn't that great and they actually had to bring out our pizza 3 times because they messed up twice, but the real reason I was there... the games... was amazing! Then good ol' Chuck was more than willing to have his picture taken, so I whipped out my phone and started snapping away!

Chuck E posing with a little kid

Chuck E modeling for me, what a stud!

Me and Chuck E!

Shauna, Chuck E and Erica!

The only set back to Chuck E Cheese's is that there are TONS of little kids running around and not being closely monitered so I had a few little ones "helping" me out... But it was funny. So after a very fun-filled evening, we started back to our car, and what do we see???? It was SANTA!!! But wait! Santa wasn't getting into his sleigh...

Santa drives a Honda?!

Well apparently the elves are working on the sleigh, and the reindeer must be resting up for the big night ahead. There was a lot of people taking pictures and calling others telling them of the news that Santa was getting into his Honda and talking on his Cell phone. It was quite the sight!

Winter break!

Well now that I'm on winter break, I have lots more free time. So something I'm really irritated about is that at the U of O (and I'm sure most other schools) when you get a (-) or a (+) on a grade, such as and A-, it drops (or adds for a +) your gpa 0.3 points! I haven't had a 4.0 gpa yet since i started college and I really thought I was finally going to get one this term, but I got an A- which is a 3.7! But my other A brought it up to 3.85, which is closer. I just think that is rediculous! An A is an A! Oh well, maybe next term.
My friend Erica came over yesterday to do a photo shoot, and it was lots of fun! I am really loving my camera and it is fun to try different things with it. Erica and her brother want to take pictures together and get them framed for their mom for Christmas, so we were doing a practice run with just her and it was pretty fun. Here are just a few of the many pictures we took:

Erica with my furry child Marvin.

Outfit number one!

Looking like a true model!

Close up mug shot in outfit number 2!

Oops! Caught her lovin the tree!

Erica's favorite hat!

I'm holding Erica's hat for her.

And back to seriousness, this
is a really pretty picture also!

And after uploading the dozens of pictures
and playing with the kodak program, we came
up with this lovely picture! Love it!

So there are so many more pictures but these are just some of the ones I like most. I have more to talk about but I will save it for another day!