A Bold Experiment

Fall has arrived! I love my windows in my bedroom, because I look out of them and see trees and leaves! Oh, and also an old skool fire escape, which reminds me I live in NYC. Not that I need that reminder...but sometimes I do. And I'm sure other places besides NYC have fire escapes, but this is a first for me.I am almost half way through midterm paper madness!! I turn in #2 (but kind like #3, since there are two parts to one particular midterm), tomorrow, then two more next week. Gaaaah. I'm not getting too excited, though, because right when the last midterm paper is handed in, I'm sure I'll be starting on final papers. Waaaah! But! On a lighter note...
At least I have things like the above to cheer me up! When I went to a church activity last week someone's daughter was there selling them for school! It was crazy, seeing the "World's Finest Chocolate" bars in their box, staring me in the face. I made sure to tell the girl that I used to sell those same exact candy bars when I was in elementary school!! And I went further to prove it, by stating that I bet they had a coupon on the backside of the wrapper. Sure enough, I was right! It was even a Pizza Hut coupon, which I'm pretty certain was the same coupon on the back of the ones I sold. I had no idea these candy bars were still in circulation, even at an elementary school on the opposite side of the country! I was quickly saddened by the fact that I didn't have any money with me to buy one. To my surprise, someone else overheard my elation upon seeing that nostalgic chocolate and bought me one! I made sure to make it last, enjoying every bite.=)

On a healthier note, I finally went grocery shopping last week and actually bought food with a meal plan in mind...kind of. I just knew I didn't want frozen meals for dinner. I didn't want to eat out either, because that is pricey. So, the other night I cooked some whole wheat pasta noodles with Alfredo sauce, sauteed some mushrooms and peas.
Wah-la! The result! It didn't have much flavor to it, but that's pretty typical for Alfredo sauce dishes, right? I'm no cook, but I was pretty proud of myself for stepping up from where I have been (aka: frozen pizzas or frozen veggie burgers).
And this one above is a new one for me, introduced by my roommate. Beans and hard boiled eggs, with a little hot sauce to give it kick. When I first saw her eating it I thought, that's a weird combination. And then I tried it, and it's delicious! It takes more patience than I am used to (a whole 20 minutes or so just to boil two eggs!), but I'm learning. Ha. One of these days, I'll actually try and get past cooking the things that just require heating up in water, straight from a can or bag, and they're ready to eat. But baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Artistic Weekend-Part 2

Today I got to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was nearly free. Admission is by donation, FYI. There are fees that are "recommended", but really, you pay what you can afford.I went with my girls, Abby and Jess (we each paid one dollar. yep). I love it when the three of us hang out. It's familiar and easy. I guess it makes me feel a little closer to home. =) (image above taken Christmas 2006, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, UT)

And here are some art pieces we saw:
Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece, The Milkmaid, 1657-58

Pablo Picasso's Dying Bull, 1934

The Angel of Death and the Sculptor from the Milmore Memorial, 1889–93; this carving, 1926
Daniel Chester French (American, 1850–1931)
Marble

And so, so much more. This museum is HUGE. We barely scratched the surface.

Artistic Weekend-Part 1

Ok, so it's been awhile since my last post. Basically, that translates to school is kicking my trash. I'm reaching midterm point, and THAT translates to lots of writing (which I should be doing now, in fact, instead of posting on this blog). But I guess I'm not that worried. I have till next Thursday to complete one that I'm already half way done with. So yeah, I should be ok. Here's hoping.

This weekend was the first in several weekends that I actually went out and did fun stuff with my friends, and it was full of wonderful art, which is why I am going to break this post into two parts. Last night I did two amazing things. I met up with my friend Jess to visit MOMA (Museum of Modern Art),which is free on Friday nights. The first and only time I had been to that place was my first time to NYC, back in 2001. It was well overdue. The place was hoppin', with tons of people everywhere, thanks to the "free"-ness of it all. People LOVE free stuff. And not just Americans or Mormons. Ha. The visit was a little hard to enjoy fully because of all the people, but it was good to see some great art. And I was sure glad Jess was there to point out the technical details and stuff to the photography (her specialty) and other art.

After MOMA, we went to see this movie:And I LOVED it. I want to go see it again, that's how much I loved it. I could see it tonight, THAT'S how much I loved it. I'm just sayin'. L-O-V-E. I was enthralled in the story, in the world of "wild things", the entire time. The acting was phenomenal (where did this little boy come from?!), the scenery/imagery was beautiful, the storyline (that is only like 10 sentences in the children's book) was deep and meaningful (I even choked up a bit). I'm no film critic (I'm fairly easy to entertain), but man, that was good. Oh, and the soundtrack? Forget about it. So stinkin' good. Everyone MUST go see this movie. I really have loved the name Max (short for Maxwell) for some time now. It may just be my first born's given name, girl or boy. I'm claiming it now, just so you know.

A Bulgarian Comes to Town

My dear friend Petra stopped by for a visit on her way back to her homeland. It was very nice to see a familiar face, someone from my life before NYC. We went on a search for the perfect pair of boots, tried on many, bought none. It was fun, though. We also went on a Staten Island Ferry ride to visit Lady Liberty and see the city in all its sparkling glory. Unfortunately, my camera does not feature the greatest zoom lens or night shooting options.And sadly, I only got one picture of us together. Oh well. I got proof, and that's what counts!I also have proof that my roommate's cat (that I pretend is my cat) is more than adorable, especially when sleeping.