A Quick Update: Grad School

A lot of people have been asking how things are going with school, or maybe it's that I've been talking to a lot of people I don't see very often. :)

Either way, I thought I'd just write a short update on what's happening with school. I finished the Spring semester just before the Memorial Day weekend. I had exactly 6 scheduled days off before I was due to begin my summer class and a part-time intership for the summer. I enjoyed seeing my cousin Ashley and her husband Mike that weekend, doing some shopping and catching up (if only briefly) with friends Kim, Andrea & Randy up in Temecula (I don't get up that way very often anymore) and a day at D*sneyland, which probably surprises no one.

Highlights of the day at D*sney included spending most of the day dripping wet after a careless decision to get on the Grizzly River Run "because I didn't get that wet last time," ruining the attraction photo of the people sitting behind me on Hollywood's Tower of Terror because I kept my hands up and therefore in front of their faces the whole time (Who really wants to spend $14.95 on a 5x7 of you screaming and with bad hair, anyway?) and riding in the front of the Monorail. Yes, where the driver sits and you have a 180-degree view of the entire ride. Very cool, I highly recommend it!

I am taking a summer class for two reasons. I registered initially because I didn't want to overload on units in the fall, and in the process earn my degree at the expense of my sanity. After registration the fall schedule was published and as it turns out, taking a summer class become necessary because I couldn't have taken enough credits in the fall semester to graduate because certain classes overlapped. So, two nights a week for six weeks I'm studying Real Estate Appraisal. Actually, I should be studying right this minute because I have a test tomorrow, but well, obviously I decided that could wait a few minutes.

After my class ends this fall, I will continue working 3 days a week at my internship job, then I am taking 2 weeks off at the end of the summer before the fall semester begins. I'm also still doing some part time work from home for 5-10 hours a week. The first three days of the August vacation are going to be meeting up with some girlfriends in Chicago, the rest is still undecided. I have to say I'm looking forward to visiting the midwest in the summer... which I haven't done since 2004 for Beth's wedding.

The fall semester will be my last semester - already! I can't believe it, with two semesters done, and only a total of three, it feels like this has gone really fast. Probably because it has gone really fast. :) Then... the plan after that is to go back to work full-time in the financial planning field, study to take my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam in February, move to San Diego to be closer to where the jobs are... and dive in to a new chapter in life. Life is busy, but good, and I'm excited for the future!

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Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

You know someone is a true friend when...

...they call to tell you about a great shoe sale! For whatever reason, Crocs was having a huge warehouse sale near where I live, for four days only. My friend called me on Thursday, the first day, to tell me about it. I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to make it to that part of town, and I admit I was skeptical that it would be worth an extra trip. But this afternoon I was able to stop by because I had another errand literally right across the street. So why not?

Well... four pairs of Crocs later, I'm pretty excited about my finds. The silver pair, which exactly replaces a pair I've completely worn out, was only $5!!! Holy cow!! I'd been planning to buy a pair of the flip flops for this summer, but for the regular full price of one pair, I got two pairs with enough leftover for... well, more shoes! Thanks Dorissa!!!


The sale also had boxes and boxes of Jibbitz, the little decorations for Crocs. I've been wanting some, and when I found this cute little turtle, I couldn't resist.

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Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

Great Gift Wrap Idea

If there is one thing in this world I will probably never run out of, it is greeting cards and scrapbook paper. I don't know what possesses me when I am in the stationery section of the store, I am seduced by the beautiful color graphics and colors, and usually something comes home with me. On my last trip, I managed to bring home only four sheets of scrapbook paper, but they are for a specific project, I promise.

So anyway, I have all this scrapbook paper and I've been using it up quite a lot lately by re-purposing it into gift wrap. A 12x12 sheet is the perfect size to wrap a small gift, and these gifts always get comments about how pretty they are. So I thought I'd share my idea just in case there are any other paper-holics out there.

The trick is to place your item diagonally on the scrapbook paper, and fold each corner over on the back.

Then I take a strip of a contrasting paper to make a band around the package, add an embellishment or gift tag, and it's done. For this one, I used paper punches and layered the shapes, drawing the first letter of the recipient's name on the top one, monogram style. This little package contains a men's t-shirt, carefully folded. Since it's for a guy, it's rather masculine, but the gifts I've wrapped for girlfriends are much prettier.

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8/29/08

I just did another one of these, and it falls into the cutesy category, so I thought I'd add it.

Economic Stimulus

Today I spent almost half of the $600 that was deposited in my bank account a couple months ago, courtesy of George W. Bush and the U.S. Treasury. Just doing my civic duty to stimulate the economy. Most people I know are making a more conservative choice - paying bills, taking care of an unexpected expense, or just saving for a rainy day. Normally, that's where my tax refunds go too, after all, it's not really "extra," it was mine to begin with. Uncle Sam was just "borrowing" it... interest free. But this time it was different, and I don't really have an explanation for why.

So I bought an iPod. I know, I know, I'm definitely not the last person to go digital with music, but I'm pretty far from the first one. I've been talking about it for months and thinking about it at least twice as long. I didn't wake up this morning thinking "today I'm going to buy an iPod" but just finally decided there was no time like the present. It helped that I was shopping with a friend who offered to help me set up my laptop and get started, which no doubt saved me countless hours of reading help menus to figure everything out.

So here I sit with plenty of time on my hands while I rip one CD after another into iTunes. I'm kind of excited. I rarely indulge in something like this, a "toy" for grownups, so it's sort of fun to set up playlists and think about some new music I might like to download. Or maybe some TV shows, or movies, or fun podcasts. I can't wait to listen to any or all of my music this fall when I'm commuting 300 miles a week, without sifting through three visor racks crammed with CD's.

Oh, but wait. My standard-issue car radio isn't quite up to that... and it happens to be broken. So, any guesses how I'm going to spend the rest of the money?

(Three guesses, first two don't count.)

Super Cool

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Starbucks. I do try to limit my consumption since my favorite beverages usually do run pretty close to the “fourbucks” nickname for the place. Not only is the coffee great, but these people are brilliant marketers and their sense of style and design is fabulous. Every time I walk in there, I want to buy one of the cute new mugs on display! And for a while, I saved my used-up Starbucks cards because they had such cool designs on them.

Around Christmas, they rolled out this new program where you can go online and design your own Starbucks card. Of course, I thought this was the coolest thing EVER, and immediately wanted one. REALLY wanted one. So, naturally when I received one as a gift last week, I was VERY excited. I blabbed about it to anyone who would listen, most of whom looked at me like I had 2 heads (one of which was clearly insane) and failed to see how “cool” and “fun” it was to create your own card. I did not let their enthusiasm dissuade me. I ordered my card and it arrived yesterday.

I designed it with a quote about friendship, because when I use it, I want to remember the sweet, thoughtful friend who gave it to me. Thanks, Sherri! I worked with Sherri at my last job, and I will miss her a LOT!

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Retail Therapy

I know I've been absent from blogging for a couple of weeks. Without being too detailed or depressing, let's just say that issues with my job are getting me down... again... and I just haven't really known what to write about. It's a slow day at the office again today, here I am blogging and it's not even 9 am yet.

OK, so yesterday, I drowned my sorrows in a little retail therapy. The $20 was worth it, I found a great new top for work. Didn't find what I went for which was new pants for work, but well, that was a long shot anyway.

However, on Monday, I took the day off to have a 3-day weekend, and my route took me past a shopping center I haven't been by in a while. I was so excited to see the words "Pottery Barn" getting hung on a retail building right next to the freeway!! Oh, is my wallet in trouble. Because this particular shopping area is an outlet center!!

I have a little Pottery Barn.... ummm... problem. I don't usually spend a lot of money there, but I could browse for a long time, just taking in everything. And for a few years now, I've been collecting dishes from their Sausalito line. Also, with the nearest locations about 50-55 miles in any direction from my house, this one will be about half that far away, and did I mention it's an outlet??

I can't wait until they open...

Cute Shoes

So it's been a quiet couple of weeks, not much new going on, really. I could write about spending my Saturday cleaning out the kitchen cupboards, but WAKE UP! I'll be sparing you that boring monologue. Yeah, so nothing really exciting going on.

I am wearing really cute shoes today, though. Not that this is profound, but you know how it is some days when you get dressed and you just feel like a million bucks? Any guys who might be reading this and are falling asleep - sorry, it's kind of a girl thing, feel free to tune out. So these shoes make me feel like a million bucks. It almost doesn't matter what I'm wearing with them. Last week it was favorite jeans, today it's office dress. Which reminds me that since my job makes me crazy, at least I can look good doing it. Not that anyone notices. Sigh. I need to take these shoes out for happy hour. Mental note: call sister-in-law to schedule that girl night we've been plotting!

A day to give thanks for turkey dinner and other blessings

Today is Thankgiving, and topping my list of thanks this year is that I am currently on vacation, having a fabulous time, and so relaxed that I don't even want to think about how my vacation is closer to its end than the beginning. The vacations always go by too quickly don't they? But today is about giving thanks! So here's my stream-of-consciousness list...

* Friends, who although they live far away, remain an important part of my life and have warmly welcomed me into their homes and lives again to renew our friendship, remember the shared memories that brought us together in the first place, and celebrate the blessings in our lives today.
* My "Michigan Family" - the Hekmans - who invited me into their home as their "California daughter" for more holidays and occasions than I can count! I enjoyed a full Thanksgiving feast with ALL the trimmings at their house today: turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, and my favorite: homemade pie. Seriously homemade - crust and all. Mmmm.
* Since I now live in CA and have lost all ability to drive in snow, I am grateful for a relatively snow-free vacation!
* My rental car has leather seats and a 6-disc CD changer. Now, why you would buy an affordable car like a Ford Focus and then add bling is sort of beyond me, but I've been enjoying it. :)
* My flesh and blood family who loves me and did not have a collective cow about me missing a family holiday event while I was on vacation. I love that about them.
* Enjoying a jump start on the holiday season with some time off and relaxing shopping in some of my favorite stores. I know, I know, commercialism is not what Christmas is about... but when I walked into Pottery Barn on November 15 and there were Christmas trees and gorgeous ornaments and Christmas music, it was officially the Christmas season in my heart.
* Yesterday, Tracie and Sarah hosted a brunch for 11 women, which meant I had the chance to catch up with even more people, and enjoy some quality girl time! Tracie, thank you so much for opening your home and to both you and Sarah for all your work preparing the yummy food and doing all the planning and phone calls for that event to come together. I so much enjoyed it!!
* ... and many more.

Well, this list could be literally endless… I am so blessed. When I take time to think about it, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and am reminded that spending more time counting my blessings would be a good thing!

Cruisin' with Joe

Today I got to meet Joe for the first time. We've been exchanging messages through a friend for a while, and I've seen his picture online, but of course, you never really get to know a guy until you meet him in person. As it turns out, Joe is snappy dresser, he likes to hang out at the mall (a dream date!) and has a pretty snazzy set of wheels. I've never really had a thing for younger men, but Joe's smile changed all that for me.

Don't we make a cute couple?

Joe is the son of Beth and Jeff, good friends in Michigan. Beth and I met our freshman year of college and became fast friends. During some of those years and for several years after, her family became my Michigan family and I spent lots of holidays with them, got to know her sisters, brothers, in-laws, nieces and nephews, and made a lot of memories!

It was fun to meet the new little guy in their lives, who's already 2 1/2 months old. He loves to smile, eat, and ride around in his stroller (his "wheels,") where he was content to hang out during our visit to the mall.

Skinny Jeans and Cute Shoes

I went to the mall yesterday. A fairly rare event, to be sure, but a good opportunity for people-watching. At one point I found myself walking behind a couple, arm-in-arm, and all I could think was, "Men shouldn't wear skinny jeans. EVER." In my state of general disbelief that not even skinny jeans were exempt from "it all comes back," it never occurred to me that this was a trend for women and men. Shudder. Try to delete image from mind. Did I mention that I'm going to an 80's themed party tonight, and I find it rather scary that I could actually just buy brand new clothes to wear rather than dig through my closet??

On a different fashion-related note, all was not lost in yesterday's shopping adventure: a very cute pair of shoes are now in my closet, just waiting for the right opportunity to debut....