Here we go again.

Well, after a whole week of shirking my duties and drinking more alcohol than my liver probably appreciates, it is time to go back to the school work. I always feel like taking a break will somehow make homework easier and in some ways, it does. My brain has had a whole week to think about things other than anthropological theory and Maya archaeology. But now I'm exhausted from playing so hard, my body is all outta whack and I seriously need to clean my apartment. At least it is gloomy outside, so staying in and working seems like a good idea rather than one I'm forced to make!

10 Things

10 Things that made me happy about my Sunday-drive-on-Saturday Outing:

1. Good beer at microbrewery
2. Pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato fries
3. Sunshine (high 70's!)
4. Drive into the mountains
5. Snow on the side of the road
5. Little towns with livestock, fields, and farm equipment (Almost like home!)
7. Real Apple Cider
8. Bakery Aromas
9. Chatting with friends
10. The afternoon/sunshine nap I took afterwards!

Health vs. Homework

Another weekend has come and gone. I'm no farther ahead on my homework, but I am a little tiny bit healthier! I figured out the best way to procrastinate reading for class: exercise. It is good for you, plus you don't have to do homework while doing it, plus you don't feel guilty about it later! There is a trail near where I live that I actually like running on. I also have a friend that uses the same trail and today we met up and walked together which made exercising about 4 billion times better. Hint: it is much easier to do something you don't like if you turn it into a social activity. Basically I had an awesome weekend at the expense of my homework, which I was trying to get ahead on. Oh well! But now I'm headed back to the grindstone to whip out some reading comprehension skillz.

Bam.

This has been a week of productiveness. Not only did I own my homework, I did my taxes, got my new CA driver's liscence, changed my voting registration information, found stuff at work by myself, AND I kept my apartment clean all week. Well besides the pile of dishes in the kitchen, but I did those last night so I feel like that still counts as clean. Basically all that is left on my to-do list is homework for next week (there is always more!) and fun things like check out the museums in Balboa Park. Part of my productivity this week has been based on the fact that the weather outside is yucky. It was raining so hard yesterday that I decided it was a bad idea to try and drive in it to the farmer's market. But on the plus side, bad weather seems to make me a better student!





So just in case you were curious what productivity looks like, it's kinda like this:

And there you have it. Tea makes everything go better!

Show and Tell

I pretty much love pictures, and I just figured out how to upload them here. So in honor of Saturday, here are some pictures of how my life has been going for the last month!

Last weekend, one of my archeology friends invited me over to learn how to flint knap (that's making stone tools for those of you not as nerdy as me). This is how beat up my leather gloves got, the flakes I made, my hammer stone, a chunk of obsidian I was working on and the glass at the bottom was the closest I came to making a bi-face. It was so cool.

In observance of the first Valentine's Day I have been single for since I was 15, I bought myself purple flowers at the Farmer's Market! I also decided to go for a rose, because I feel like I deserve one :)

I'm making jam today out of these! They aren't as sweet as the ones from the fall, but I'll have fresh strawberry jam on my homemade bread for breakfast tomorrow.

Some more of my Farmer's Market goodies. I went for tangerines instead of oranges this week and I am so glad I did! These are amazing!

This is where I go to school. Also, just so we're clear: I took this yesterday, February 11. That purple hillside has been in full bloom for two weeks! I kinda love how green and beautiful it all is! Also the stucco buildings are starting to look normal.

This is the view from outside my bedroom window. It is kind of hard to tell but the tree is budding/ starting to flower! Spring comes so early here.

Freeways and highways and over-passes and under-passes, oh my! Driving in San Diego has been an adjustment. Not only are there crazy roads going in every direction, but 70 is the normal speed on the freeway! But they are starting to feel normal, the other day I got upset at someone going 60 on the freeway!

This is me, and my 603 reading that takes up most of my life; we read a book a week for just that one class! I went to the beach to read and take notes my first weekend back in SD.

So there you have it. My life in a picture montage: Homework, farmer's market, nerdy archeology, and adjustment to life in Southern California!

Although I cannot say I'm fully adjusted; I still can't say SoCal with a straight face!

Procrastination

If you ever are signing up for class assignments and think: "it would be a good idea for me to do this super hard presentation early in the semester so I won't have to worry about it later. What a great way to break my bad procrastination habits."

Don't do it!

It's a bad idea. Because then you can't procrastinate.

Friday!

Just so you all know, I don't have work or class on Fridays. Be jealous. So instead of spending my day sorting shell miden (that's what I do at work) or stressing about having enough to say in class; on Fridays I get to do fun things! Usually, I drive out to the beach and do some reading for class in the sand and sun and then about 3ish I head over to the farmer's market and pick up some delicious fruits and veggies (PS: Going to a farmer's market in February is Amazing!).

This Friday is different, though. For one thing, it's kinda cold outside! It's not like 40 inches of snow and a night temperature of -15, but it is under 70 and that makes it just too cold for me to enjoy the beach. For another, I have a colloquium to attend at 3:30, so that discounts the farmer's market part of my day, too.

DON'T PANIC!

I have a back-up plan! Instead of Beach/Veggie shopping, I have decided to have a baking day! As we all know, a baking day is one of the best things in life, but it tends to put a little strain on the waistband when you live by yourself. But I have thought this plan at least half-way through. And the plan is this: Only bake things you need or can give away. It's basically brilliant. I'm baking bread (cause I stopped buying bread in September, if you didn't know) and I'm also baking cookies cause I owe some people some thank yous for helping me out in a pinch.

I'm also thinking maybe I should do laundry at some point because I haven't done any since being back in San Diego, which has almost been four weeks. Aaaand potentially clean my apartment because it is even scarier how long I've let that slide.

Anywho, the point was this: Happy Friday!