March Madness

Fear not, this post has nothing to do with basketball, and I have not suffered a personality transplant that would cause me to write about the NCAA tournament. It's simply a reference to how insane March has been. And, this evening, I fly to London, so I figured I'd better play catch-up on here before sharing news from across the pond. I'll split the events of the last 4 weeks up for ease of consumption.

At the end of February, I hosted Girls' Night for our small group at church, which was a much needed reason to clean our apartment and finish some decor projects I had been working on.

We visited, watched a movie, and ate fondue. Oh my word, where has fondue been since the '70s? Sam and I went to Simply Fondue for my birthday, and if I had known then how easy it was to do at home, I would have tried tons of recipes before now. Try the Weight Watchers cheese fondue for a real treat without worrying about tons of fat.

Up next, pictures of my latest artistic endeavor.

Business Trip

Sorry I've been MIA this week. I got some exciting news at work on Monday, and the week kind of spiraled into busy preparation from there. I get to travel for work...wait for it...to LONDON!

If you know me, which is probably the only reason you would be reading this blog, you know that I love to travel, especially when it involves traveling over a major body of water (i.e., international travel). I spent a semester in college living outside of Florence, Italy, and I fell in love with Europe. To be fair, I was in love with the idea of Europe before I signed up for a study abroad program, but spending three months there sealed the deal.

So, basically, this has been a week of counting my many (career-related) blessings - I enjoy my job, I am appreciated by my managers and clients, and I get to spend a week in London doing work that I feel confident in my ability to do.

It's crazy to think that two years ago, I didn't know anything about the field of technical writing. I knew that it existed and figured that people who made a living doing that job spent their time in a cubicle writing instruction manuals for DVD players. Oh, how very wrong I was. I'd love to catch you up on what I actually do if you care to continue the conversation, but for those of you readers drifting off to sleep with boredom, I'll leave you with a picture of the souvenir I've already decided to purchase for myself.

Have a joyful, surprise-filled week! Coming soon, a post about my new painting and fondue-chick flick girls' night.

Valentine's week

I'm a bit behind, but we had a happy Valentine's Day around here. We spent the weekend in San Antonio for the music educators convention and then came home to continue celebrating.
On the 14th, my sweet husband made a delicious dinner (chicken parmesan with pasta and breaded zucchini) and my gift is a trip to a B&B in Fredericksburg this summer! I bought him a card and pink Starbursts because that's what he asked for, and I am nothing if not good at complying with specific requests.
Hope you're surrounded with loves ones this week!

Reading for Fun

Since my days are no longer filled with professor-mandated reading, I picked up some reading material at the library this weekend. So, working my way blissfully through this stack is what I'll be doing with my evenings this week.

In other news, I got to see a local high school production of Beauty and the Beast last night with my niece. She loved it, and I loved watching her reactions.

Also, husband and I are doing Weight Watchers, and their recipes make me excited about eating healthier. So far, we've eaten lots of deliciousness that is better for us than the junk we were eating.

Have a healthy week filled with the joy of a small child and lots of good reads!

Cough Syrup and Crafting

I spent this weekend taking a couple doses of cough syrup to ward off a cold and spending some time in the aisles of Hobby Lobby. Since Husband had to work all weekend, I had a chance to watch some TV and engage my inner craftiness.

For less than $10, I created unique wall art. And by unique, I mean one-of-a-kind because the only edition is hanging on my wall.

First, I bought a 2-pack of canvases on sale at Hobby Lobby, and then I browsed at Goodwill for an interesting, aged-looking black and white book (preferably a children's dictionary with pictures). If you find one, I'm still interested. That search was a failure, but I did find an atlas from the 1960s, which inspired me to create a map-themed collage.

Next, I tore out map pages that adhered to a similar color scheme. Then, I applied a healthy layer of Mod Podge to the canvas and layered the maps at different angles. I find it helpful to only apply Mod Podge beneath the paper until the first layer dries. For those of you who know me well, or who lived with me during college, you know about my love affair with Mod Podge. It has my whole hearted endorsement for all things crafty.

After the first layer of Mod Podge dried, I used another beloved craft tool, my hot glue gun, to glue the paper around the edges of the canvas. Then, I trimmed the edges with scissors so that the paper just covered the frame of the canvas.

Then, because I love Mod Podge, I applied another thick layer over the top of the maps. And, I used some scrapbook paper to add a catchphrase to my crafty canvas display.

If, like me, you don't have a Cricut, you can always find a boxy font, (to make it easier to cut out the letters) reverse it, and then print your letters. Or if, like me, you forget to reverse the letters, you can just use them to trace your letters on the correct side of the scrapbook paper. I added the words with another healthy coat of Mod Podge, and voila, I have a new addition to the henceforth empty walls of my stairwell.

Happenings Around Here

There have been some big developments around here:

1. I joined Pinterest as my graduation present to myself where I have found several brilliant ideas, including my new favorite cookies.

2. I received an iPhone for Christmas. Siri is a fairly impressive personal assistant, although she has punctuation issues and sometimes gives Husband attitude when he asks "arbitrary" questions. Some favorite apps include Angry Birds (yes, I have bought into the hype) Words with Friends, the Reminders that I can set to go off when I arrive at a location, and the photos in this post are courtesy of my newest app, Instagram.

3. We got a piano, which Husband has been playing faithfully for hours each evening since it was delivered on Tuesday. I need to rearrange the pictures hanging above it, so don't judge.

I'm looking forward to a fun and relaxing weekend! I hope your Friday is a great end to the work week and an auspicious beginning to the weekend.

That Much Closer to Thinking of Myself as an Adult

Happy belated New Year! I'm making my way back into the blogosphere as I take the next step in my gradual transition into adulthood. I've decided that it's easier to take one step at a time. Here's what my adult milestones have been thus far:

In 2009, I earned a Bachelor's degree. In 2010, I got married, which is a lifelong commitment and thus to be taken seriously, but in many ways it's a super fun perpetual adventure that includes living with your best friend and having someone to come home to every night. The latest event is my graduation with a Master's degree (2011) and beginning to work full time.

As long as I was balancing work and school, there were vestiges of college life (read: late nights studying, attending class, and homework) that postponed the feeling that I was really grown up. There are definitely milestones that I haven't reached yet, (like home ownership and having a kid) but working full time seems like a significant step toward my tenuous claim on being an adult.

So, forgive my continued absence from the blogging world as I adjust to the exhaustion of sitting at a desk all day. I've been told I'll adjust to it and someday have more energy in the evenings, so here's to hoping that's true and I can devote some time to writing on here!

On another note, (pun intended) Husband and I bought a piano today. We both used Christmas money to make purchases to further our careers: he got a piano, and I got some new work clothes. Expect a future post with pictures of our new musical addition!

In the meantime, have a blessed weekend and productive week.