The Dreamcatcher Workshop

forgive me

I realize that I've been negligent. I'm sorry. This'll probably be my last post before we (meaning my aunt, cousin, mom and I) leave for Rockport, Massachusetts. Yes, we're driving from Arkansas to Massachusetts. And staying for a week, then driving back. It should be awesome. I'll take tons of pictures and post them when I get back.

I'm feeling kind of stressed and burnt out, which is weird, because summer is usually the least stressful time of year, but...whatever. It'll go away.

about perfection, I guess...

I can't think of anything to say. So I'm going to start making random lists and see where they take me. This is probably the only post where you get to see the process, and not just the end result (or the part of the result my perfectionist self sees fit to post). Because I have to admit, being a perfectionist gets tiring after a while. There are times when you just Stop Caring about being perfect. And now is one of those times for me. So...

Things that scare me (in no particular order):

other people getting mad at me
watching people I love get hurt (especially when they hurt themselves)
disappointing the people I love
not being content (I can never just enjoy the present. I'm always -almost always- looking forward to something. And I don't want to look back at my life later and realize that I missed some of the best parts.)
being a failure (I don't mind making mistakes half as much as being a failure. But everyone hates making mistakes)
getting angry enough to pretend I don't care what happens
people lying to me

Okay, that's getting depressing. And personal. Personal is nasty. But it also makes me think about stuff I really don't want t think about. But that's enough nasty for now.

Things that make me happy:

hugs
animals
dreams
feeling comfortable enough to be myself
taking chances (part of that might be my natural rebellion)
waking up
laying in bed with the lights off, daydreaming (Um...would it be called nightdreaming?)
reading, writing and 'rithmetic (I mean it)

And I'm thinking of a ton of things for that list, mostly books that make me happy.

Books I like (Not quite the same thing, but...what the heck. And these are only a few of the good books I've read recently):

Incantation, by Alice Hoffman
The Moonstone, by William Wilkie Collins
The Giver, Gathering Blue and Messenger, by Lois Lowry
Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman
A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, Richard Peck
The Outsiders and That Was Then, This is Now, by S. E. Hinton
A Mind to Murder, by P. D. James
Hope was Here, by Joan Bauer
Cage of Stars, by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Whirligig, by Paul Fleishman

By no means a complete list. I haven't even attempted to include some all-time favourites. And actually, those aren't the most cheerful of books. But I love the characters in all of them, and for me, the characters are (on average) half of the book, while plot is 45% and voice is about 5%. Those numbers can shift though.

This is an okay length now, and it's 9:44 PM. I'm going to bed. And maybe I won't delete this post tomorrow morning when I wake up sane. Just maybe.

happy Learn Nothing Day

Today is LEARN NOTHING DAY. Dangit, I've already failed. I learned that the root of the elephant ear plant is taro.

Have fun learning nothing, or at least trying.

Landscapes 2.0

I have two fetishes: earrings and cyber eye-candy. I bought a pair of (pottery) earrings when I was in Mountain View, so that part of me is satisfied. This morning, I was searching for something else online (I truly can't remember what) and found Landscapes 2.0.

Landscape photos really make me drool. If I see one, I immediately have the urge to

go see the place for myself
daydream about the place
imagine myself in the photo
write about the place or
write something set in the place the photo was taken (I hardly ever use writing prompts, but if I get stuck, I'll often browse through eye-candy I've collected. I also collect photos of interesting people to use as characters. )

I just wish that the site told you where every photo was taken. Other than that, I think Landscapes 2.0 is awesome!

clothes and Savannah College of Art and Design

I got back from Mountain View on the day before yesterday. The visit wasn't really bloggable. I tried writing a post about it (three times) and failed miserably. So let me just say that it was really nice to see my mom's side of the family, and that I wish all my cousins who weren't there could have been there.

My Uncle Joshua is getting married on August 16th. I had a (small) heart attack at the thought of finding wedding clothes. Today, I found a brown skirt with flowers on it that I can wear with a red shirt and black ballet flats I already have (the skirt has little streaks of black, so I think the shoes will be alright). And some of the flowers on the skirt are outlined with little beads and/or sequins. Gasp! I'm wearing sequins? My excuse is that there aren't very many sequins on the thing, and it's a wedding. Anybody should be allowed to wear sequins to a wedding. And that is that.

And today I got a thick, hefty package from Savannah College of Art and Design. It includes a letter (Greetings! Thank you for your interest in Savannah College of Art and Design. We take great pride in preparing students like you for blah blah blah), a magnet with tour dates and their website on it, a "Application for Admission" which has everything I would ever need, were I actually considering applying, and a magazine/brochure thingie that has 320 pages. Needless to say, I'm not planning on reading it. Some of the photos are pretty though. Maybe I can cut it up and make a collage? At least that'll be doing something useful with it.

B&C

I'm going to go see Brynne and Carew! For almost a month! Is it possible to be this hyper without turning into a pogo stick? I think not. Mom and I have a three-hour drive to Mountain View ahead of us this morning. I'm going to drive her crazy. It should be fun.

mainly pots

The show room--pots on the bottom, antiques on the top, and in a beautiful building. What more is there to have (besides blackberry cobbler)? Oh, and the sign says 'Stamp's General Store'.