T'was The Day Before Classes...

T'was the day before classes
And a student was blogging
"Doesn't this sound familiar?"
She thought while logging

"I did this last year!"
She exclaimed in her head
"This is sure to get boring
for people who've read

All of my other posts
from last year and on"
But with no more ideas
Originality was gone

So she sat and she thought
and decided at last
That her readers would forgive
and let this one go past


It's that time of year again. There's snow on the ground, excitement in the air, and the hustle and bustle of crowded stores. Yes... it is the beginning of a new semester.

With just one day left before classes, I'm organizing, reorganizing, and preparing myself for what is sure to be an insanely busy semester. I am taking 6 courses, as follows:

-Intermediate French
-Classical Humanities
-Trig/Calc
-Geomorphology
-Maps and Mapping
-Geography of Wine

It is quite a full schedule and is not made better by the fact that four of those courses are on the same day. Hopefully this Spring semester won't be curses by a dropped math course like last Spring. I am also going to try to juggle in extra-curriculars, which will be an enjoyable challenge in its own right. Although it is very busy, I am certain that it will be a very enjoyable semester. I am finally on the proper course of action to graduate when I want to and to study subjects that I love. I feel that this will be a semester that will really shape who I am and who I want to be.

Wish me luck!

Until next time.

New Year, New Experience

So, I have already missed my resolution of posting once per week. Last week was rather hectic and emotional and, due to lack of time and internet, I was unable to post.

Last week was so busy because my grandfather died and we all wanted to be up there with him. We received a call on Sunday night that he had had a stroke and was in a coma. My dad and brother drove up that night and my mom and I flew up Tuesday to be with my dad and his family. We packed out whole family into a tiny hospital room where Grandpa was lying and stayed with him as we talked about all of the memories we had. We were told that he could hear us, and so we kept conversation going constantly in hopes that it comforted him.

At one point, the nurses had to check on him and we had to leave the room. We weren't gone for more than a minute and he passed. It was almost as if once he couldn't hear us talking anymore, he decided that that was his time and he left the room with us. He passed peacefully and without suffering, and that is all we could have hoped for.

The week then proceeded with arrangements for the wake, funeral, and burial. My one job during this time was to make the centerpiece candles for the meal following the funeral. I felt that this would be my contribution and gift to him.

I have never seen a dead person or someone die, nor have I ever been to a wake or a funeral. The whole week was a new and overwhelming experience, but there was also so much beauty in certain aspects of it. The peacefulness of my grandpa, the eulogy given by my father and my uncle, the flowers we each placed on his coffin. Each of these were so beautiful and symbolic and made me remember the good times and memories with my grandpa.

While he will be dearly missed by everyone he has touched in his life, he will surely find peace and happiness in his eternal life.

One Year!

So, big news: I have officially had this blog for a whole year! I went back and read through the blogs and have realized that I have changed a lot and have become a much more confident individual.

I have found my Mr. Bingley, experienced countless days of beautiful snow, and have knit and baked either far too much or not enough. I have written 54 posts (55 including this one) and that was without posting for weeks on end in some cases. As a new year's resolution, I will try to post at least once a week in order to keep the blog updated, interesting, and free of "catch up" posts.

In other news, Christmas was wonderful. It felt very close-knit and peaceful. And, to top it off (quite literally) it was a white Christmas and a very white Boxing Day. With 14.5 inches of snow (which was enough to snap tree branches, tree trunks, and metal umbrella poles), let's say that we won't be leaving the house for a while.

Also, upon cleaning and reorganizing my bookshelf, I came across 12 books that I haven't read! They should keep me busy until the snow melts.

It has been a great year posting and sharing with everyone. I hope you continue to read as much as I continue to write and I thank everyone who has been here since December 28, 2009.

Until next time!

Bread and Bracelets

With Christmas just days away, I am surprised by how little I've baked! To remedy that, I decided to bake not one, but three loaves of Italian herb bread. I must say it is the most delicious batch of bread I have ever made!


In more exciting new, I officially opened up an online shop! For now I am selling a few necklaces and bracelets I have made, but I plan to add scarves and other original crafts. It's called "Market Turtle" (for no real reason except that I thought it sounded good). You can find my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Xethtine

My vacation from school has thus-far been a fair mix of work and relaxation. It's nice working in the store this time of year and seeing all of the presents and cookies being sent all over the country and a few going overseas. Its such a wonderful time of year with so many wonderful people and so many wonderful feelings. I cannot wait for Christmas morning ^_^

Anywhos, time to get back to baking!

Until next time! Happy Holidays! :)

Kanji Names

As with the Numbers Game blog, a surprising amount of people participated. Nine of you responded and so, without further delay, here are your "kanji names" in what you mean to me. I thought I would make it a little fun and let you all try to figure out your name.


Ambition (Yabou): Because you have never stopped striving for your goals and have always worked hard to achieve them.


Balance (Kinkou): Because you are able to manage an extremely busy life with a very calm and happy demeanor.


Best Friend (Shinyuu): Because you are and always will be my best friend.


Kindness (Shinsetsu): Because you have never been anything but polite and kind and sincere to me and I truly appreciate that :)


Labyrinth (Meikyuu): Because I never cease to be confused by you, but it is fun to try to figure you out from time to time :P


Protector (Shugosha): Because you've never stopped looking out for me and you will always be there for me.


Sincerity (Seijitsu): Because you are always honest with me and have always been very kind and loving.


Spirit (Seishin): Because you are filled with it and love to share it with everyone around you.


Welcome (Kangei): Because you have always made me feel like a part of your family.

Here are two additional joke names. You know who you are :P


Bad Influence (Akueikyou) and Son (Musuko).

Thanks again to everyone who participated! I will try to resume normal blogs within the next few days. If you enjoyed the past two blogs, I'd be more than willing to come up with some more participation blogs.

Until next time!

Holiday Cheer

First off, this blog is blog #50!! Woohoo! I made a mistake and thought that the numbers blog was #50, but simply miscounted.

It has been a great weekend thus far. With today being my "study day", I feel that I have been able to relax, de-stress, and have a lot of fun. I went to my second Christmas party last night (it was actually a banquet) and I was able to talk with a lot of my friends whom I haven't seen all semester.

The theme for the party was the Roaring 20's and so the room was filled with feathers and very sharp and snazzy outfits. I personally went with a feather in my hair, a white blouse, and a pinstriped vest and pair of pants. All-in-all, I feel I had the appearance of a poker dealer, but the outfit seemed to fit in well.

The main event of the banquet was another White Elephant gift exchange. This was infinitely more hilarious than the exchange on Wednesday night as it involved over 50 participants and many "stolen" gifts. I did opt to steal a gift and my reason was quite silly: I only wanted the basket it came in. The basket now sits proudly in my room, its contents re-gifted or traded. I ended up with 2 bracelets, a horse-giraffe-goat stuffed animal, some candies, and a set of jacks.

It was nice to be with all of my bible study friends in such a happy and lively atmosphere. There was so much celebration and laughter and simple good cheer. It makes me feel so good to have a surrounding of good-natured friends that I can feel completely safe and happy with and it makes me sad that I don't spend nearly as much time with them all as I should. I will make a much better effort next semester, as I shouldn't be as busy, and I feel that this holiday season is really going to invoke a lot of positive change.

With exams fast approaching, I feel that this weekend (aside from today) was meant for relaxing and being with friends. I am in a great state of mind, I am happy, and I am ready to take my exams head on!

Until next time!

Cupcakes and Critters

This is blog number one for today. The Numbers Game blog will go up later today once all numbers are in. I look forward to seeing who participates and why they chose the numbers they did.

This blog is simply a blog about some of the fun things I've gotten to do this week!

First off, Wednesday was officially the last day of the semester! I can't believe that it's already over, it feels like it went by extremely fast. I still have a few exams to take, but I'm essentially done and this time next week I will be home!

Wednesday was really a lot of fun. I was able to do some baking and go to a very nice Christmas party with my bible study. I baked Devil's Food cupcakes and put nonpareils (Snocaps) and edible pearls on them to make them a little fancier. I think they came out quite well and people seemed to enjoy them at the party.


The party was a lot of fun. I got to talk with people I haven't heard from in a while and meet new people. Towards the end of the party, there was a While Elephant gift exchange. I realised in horror that I had left my gift at home. I quickly found some paper and made a 12 point star origami and made it an ornament. I felt terrible because everyone else had brought really nice gifts. I've told the person that ended up with the star that I'd be more than happy to give them the original gift, but I haven't heard back from her yet.

During the exchange, I ended up with quite a hilarious gift. I haven't had a chance to program it yet, but it should fix the issue of constantly losing the remote.


Again, it was just really great being able to celebrate with friends that I haven't been able to talk with in a while and to make new friends. There is another celebration that I am going to on Saturday. It is a Christmas banquet and the theme in the Roaring 20's. I haven't yet decided what to wear, but it should be a lot of fun.

Thursday was cleaning day, but that only lasted until about 1 pm and then I became terribly bored. One day in and I already am missing school! To relieve the boredom, I decided to break out my polymer clay and create. What I created, I'm not exactly sure, but her name is Fanny and she likes to protect my Christmas cookies from other wandering creatures.


Thursday night, my boyfriend and I went and saw Tangled, which had a lot of very funny parts to it, but as a whole felt very "fluffy" as a movie; there was a lot of filler material (there was far too much singing, which I suppose is characteristic of Disney movies) and about 30 minutes of actual, substantial plot material. I would watch it again, but only for the humorous parts.

It is now Friday and, after having cleaned some more, it is only noon! I'm sure I will find something to do...

I will be posting the special Numbers Game blog later today, so keep an eye out for it :)

Until This Afternoon!