Hey, ya'll

Yeah, I'm still alive; I've just been incredibly, incredibly busy. But, save one project, my first semester back is complete. The semester has gone quite well. I don't know for sure (as there's still a good number of projects/exams out there yet to be graded), but I think there's a good chance I'll have a 4.0 this semester. And, for one of my classes we had a design competition for a courtyard on campus, and out of the 45 students in the class, my design got the most votes! And, while it doesn't necessarily mean that my design will be used as the top 5 designs are being presented to the committee overseeing the project; the dean of the College, the director of the library, the professors, etc.; and one of the designs will be chosen to be built by the class next semester. Although I've heard that what they may do is take portions of each of the top designs and implement them instead of just one total design. Either way, if any of my design is built it would be so awesome! It's one thing to have your designs in your portfolio, but it's quite another to have a built design in your portfolio. And, I'm going to be working on getting an internship for next summer this spring, so ... anyways, it'd be awesome.

Weight wise I'm doing ok, not really good mind you, but ok. I found myself mindlessly munching a bit too much while either studying or working on my studio projects. And, despite attempts at reviving it, exercising still isn't a regular thing. I really, really have to get back to it though. I've gained about 10 pounds since my lowest weight last October. Horrible, no. My surgeon is actually happier w/ me at this weight, but I'm not. And, I think exercising regularly again will help the problem areas I'm not happy with.

I hope you all are doing well and that you have a wonderful Chanukah or Christmas and New Year!

Woah

Well, yesterday was my first final critique in Landscape Architecture. It went relatively well; although, I knew there were some problems with my board (the thing that contains all of your design elements for review) going into it, and they were the things that were pointed out. But, I also had some good things too. So, overall, I'm pleased. I've also been doing very well on all of my quizzes and projects, so I've been pleased with that too. It's been a ton of work; I was at the studio until 2:15am Friday morning and ended up only getting 3 1/2 hours of sleep. But, I'm totally loving it. Below is my first board minus personal information. I'll continue working on it to complete the things I just didn't have enough time for (like adding more color), but I hope you'll like it anyway!

One down, fifteen to go ...

this semester! The first week went well; I had two papers due and one quiz this week, a project and another quiz next week and then another quiz and my first studio design project due the following week. It's hectic to say the least! But, I'm totally loving it! Below is my space in the studio and my faboo MacBook Pro.

Update

So, here's my overdue update on my previous post. I was, thankfully, able to work out paying for school (albeit with loans), so the whole getting fired thing didn't really end up mattering that much ... save my pride. Speaking of, I sucked it up and worked through the 15th of August as they offered to then pay me through the 31st of August if I stayed and trained the new person. And, while I really wanted to tell them to eff off, I couldn't turn down the money.

Today was the first day of classes, and if I were to describe in two words how I feel, they'd be exhausted and overwhelmed. I had class basically straight through from 11:15am this morning until 4:45pm this afternoon, and that was only two classes! And, despite taking a class last spring and over the summer while working full-time, it's still such a big change going from working full-time to now being a full-time student with a bunch of much younger students. I'm still excited about it all, but I'm also scared. And, I know it's just going to take time to adjust to it all; I just have to not wallow in the stress of it and stay on top of everything. Heh, much easier said than done, right? So, as I'm sure you can all imagine, I'm not going to have a ton of free time, and what I will have I'm going to try to spend with my husband. So, I expect my posts to be few and far between, but I'll still try!

Things just have to start getting better!

I can't take much more of so much going wrong at once. It's a long, long story, but I was basically fired today, and it's mostly my fault for opening my mouth months ago by telling my direct supervisor I was applying to school. And, now, I'm not so sure I can go to school b/c financial aid isn't giving me much aid. So, I owe $10K for just one year, and that's just half of the year's total for just tuition! Oh, and I ripped off a quarter of my toenail by hitting it with a door. Just NOT my day! Please, please could someone send some good mojo my way?! PLEASE!!!

No more Avandia!

I saw my PCOS specialist last week, and guess what?! She's taken me off my Avandia! I've only been taking 2mg/day for the past year or so, but the last time I saw her, she said I'd likely have to take the Avandia forever b/c I wasn't willing to take a glucose tolerance test. But, when I saw her this time, she said she was ready to take me off. I, of course, have to do blood draws at regular intervals to check my glucose levels, but as long as they remain in the normal range, I'm off it! Woo-hoo!

On an unfortunate note, the class I'd registered for this summer which would have applied to my program was canceled at the last minute, literally. So, I scrambled to find something else that might apply. So, I'm taking Electronic Media in Art. Not totally sure it's going to work, but for the most part, I'm enjoying it. (I had kind of a difficult time with the first critique.) See my work at Flickr.

Two and one

Two years since gastric bypass and one year since my sweet Koba died. It's still difficult for me to fathom either. Although, both are certainly easier than they were originally. The memories of actually going through surgery are so distant, but I don't want to forget it. I hope it can serve as a reminder of what I went through to get to where I am now. I strangely wasn't too scared at the time (well, until I was about to be wheeled into surgery), but any thoughts of going through that serious of a surgery again scares me to death! Just the minor wrist surgery I had last fall put quite a scare into me.

We watched videos of Koba last night, the anniversary of his death, and when I saw myself I almost couldn't believe it. Who in the heck was that person? Was I really that big? I didn't bring it up with my husband, but there was a scene in the video where I was taking video of our house. I walked up a short flight of steps (maybe 8) and could hear myself breathing more heavily after just those few steps. I can't even imagine how I lived that way! I missed out on so much that I just couldn't physically do so I wouldn't even consider it. Just this past weekend, we walked about a mile to our local farmer's market, then walked about 2 miles to a downtown restaurant, and then walked home stopping at a creek along the way. Two years ago, walking would have been out of the question! Admittedly, I'm not in as good as shape as I was a year ago as I haven't been exercising as regularly as I had been (although I do want to get there again), but I'm still significantly better off than I'd been in years. It's just been such a gift.

I have decided, though, that I'll likely not mark the anniversary of my surgery again as I don't want to dwell on the past. I want to continue moving forward. I'll certainly never forget how I got here, but I think it could be a mistake, for me, to dwell too much in the past. I'll try to post here on a somewhat regular basis, but once I start school, who knows! I'm soooo looking forward to it, though!

I GOT IN!!!!

The title says it all! I finally learned today that I have been accepted into the Landscape Architecture program for the Fall! Woo-hoo! I can't tell you how happy I am about this news and what a huge relief it is to finally know. Now, I just have to get the financial details worked out ... fun!

To Grandma With Love

Grandma and Grandma & Mom
My grandmother was laid to rest this past Wednesday at a cemetery near her home. And, despite the absence of a close relationship with her, it was a very difficult day for me, but I was so glad I was able to go. It allowed me time to catch up with my uncle (whom I hadn't seen since I was about 15 or so) and my Grandfather as well as meet 2 of my grandmother's brothers and others who had been a part of her life for many years. She truly was suffering in the end, and knowing that she is now in a better place makes the loss easier. I do wish I'd been able to spend more time with them, both in my childhood and more recently. But, it is how it is, and I am grateful for what time we did have and the memories.

Her suffering has ended

My grandmother passed away Thursday, May 10th at approximately 10:30pm after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. Her last days (at least as I understand them) were filled with suffering, so this truly is for the better. But, this still makes me sad and brings back memories of losing my sweet Koba. Thankfully, my husband's given me his air miles so that I can go to her funeral on Wednesday. I will miss her, but I'm glad she will suffer no more.

I'm struggling in a lot of ways

I'm having a really difficult time with the fact that I still don't know whether or not I've gotten into my desired program. It's a much longer story, but I should know by now and don't. And, it's driving me crazy. Top that off with the facts that my grandmother's likely going to die any day now and someone who I thought was a really good friend has totally cut me off, I'm just really struggling. Work's not so good either; I made the mistake of telling my direct supervisor that I was hoping to go back to school. And, despite asking him not to tell anyone else, he did, our director, and she was all prepared to post my job even though I hadn't submitted my resignation. I'm so thankful I have my husband here to support me, but he's been really busy with work. And, last year taught me that I shouldn't fully depend upon him. I need to find strength within myself to get me through struggles too. Oh, and I'm finding myself dealing with stress by eating, and I'm really unhappy with that. I know just how much sugar I can ingest w/out getting sick, and I do. And, I'm still not exercising regularly. I keep telling myself I'll start again when ... but I never do. I've gained some weight back, not a lot, but it's enough that some of my clothes I was so happy about buying are a bit too snug to wear comfortably. And, that, too, makes me unhappy. I know the key is exercising and getting the snacking under control, but the stress doesn't make that too easy. I must do better, and I sure hope some of these stressors resolve themselves soon.

What a fabulous day!

Lounging in the park
Yesterday turned out to be one of the best spring days thus far! It started out gloomily enough but then turned into a gloriously sunny, slightly breezy meant to be enjoyed outside day! So, after enjoying our bi-weekly dim sum tradition, we decided to pick up a loaf of bread and head out to a local park to feed the fishies, duckies and anything else that happened our way. To our surprise, there weren't any ducks in the pond when we arrived, so the fishies reaped the benefits. It was so cool watching them swarm after the bread crumbs. And, eventually, one lone Mallard flew in, ate a few small pieces of bread and took off. And, we even got a few other small birds to take some bread. We said hi to a few doggies and walked around a bit but then both decided we'd better get back home to get to work (I needed to review for my final which is on Tuesday and my husband had major work on a website revision that's being launched today), but on our way out of the park, we both decided we just needed more time outside. So, remembering the blanket we keep in the trunk for just such occasions, we turned around and found a nice spot at the top of a hill overlooking the park. And, there we laid for about an hour just soaking in the sun. Oh, how glorious! We limited ourselves to just that hour, but we were both glad we did. I only hope for more days like that one.

Playing in the sculpture garden

The New Me

I'm not entirely used to it yet, but the cut is exactly what I wanted, edgy and different. And, one benefit I never even considered, there's no hair to get all stuck to the back of my neck when I get sweaty (like I did yesterday while taking a 3 mile hike in and around one of our many gorges)! It's a beautiful thing! Let me know what you think, k? I personally think it's different enough that it would be kind of hard not to notice, but not one person said a thing to me today, other than my two friends who both knew I was doing it. It's not hideous is it? I know it shouldn't matter what other people think; it should only matter if I like it. But, you know how it goes ...

I suck, I know!

It's been way, way too long since I last posted, and I didn't follow through on my promise to post pics of my portfolio. I'm procrastinating right now, stupid financial aid applications, and sitting at the right computer (where these are all saved and I have Photoshop). :P So, here's the promised portfolio pics. They asked for examples of design aptitude; whether it be in garden design, art, photography, graphic design, etc.; so what I'm showing here are a few pages (of the 12 total) that show my breadth. Well, not my breadth but you know what I mean. I've still not heard if I've gotten in or not yet. I'm hoping to hear within the next month, though. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Oh, and I'm probably going to get my hair cut off/differently in a couple of weeks, so if I do and I like it, I'll post new pics of me!

It's complete

Well, the application process at least. I'll try to post one of the pages from my portfolio sometime to show you an example of what I created. I am exhausted. Not only have I been working on my application and portfolio, but I'm also taking a Landscape Architecture class which has been requiring a lot of time. And, of course, I'm still working full time. But, it's all worth it because it will get me where I want and need to be. I can't wait to get started; although, I guess I need to wait to find out if I get in before getting too excited. :) I hope all's well with you all. I'm going to try to do some catching up. Thanks for sticking around those of you that are still reading. :)

No, I haven't gone missing ... yet

I'm in the midst of applying to grad school right now and will be for the next three weeks or so. The program, Master of Landscape Architecture, requires a portfolio, and that's what's taking up most of my time. Although, I still have a statement of purpose to write. So, what I'm trying to say is, you're not going to be seeing much of me, either here or on visits to your blogs for a while. And, even after the application deadline, I'll probably need time to recover. Thankfully, my sweet husband gave me an IOU for my choice of treatment at a spa. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I say it again, it's great, to be, a Florida Gator!

In a stunning, thrilling, fantastic upset of the former #1 Ohio State Buckeyes, my University of Florida Gators capped off an impressive season with a win in the BCS Championship! Florida is now the first university to hold both the NCAA football and basketball national championships at the same time. Amazing! Congratulations to the Gators!!!