it was a pretty fun class, mr. lineberger.

in hindsight, maybe i shouldn't have taken the chemistry class that went to bojangle's to learn about molarity or grilled steaks to understand the concept of kilocalories. it's true - i had absolutely no interest in science at the age of 16 so figured it would be pointless to take the honors chemistry class. and ap chemistry? psh.

similarly, my science classes at unc-ch consisted of geology (rocks for jocks, natch) and psychology. whichever classes i heard were the least painful, i was there.

now i find myself in chemistry 101 summer school, wishing that i had pushed myself harder back in high school. but, all there's to do is move forward.

our first quiz is tomorrow and it covers stoichiometry and balancing equations. sadly, that bojangle's sweet tea experiment won't help me much now. i know that it's basic stuff, but it's just challenging enough for someone who took the goof-off chem class back in 2000.

wish me luck. in other news, i have to run a timed 3-mile fun for my pe 101 class. i'm working closely with my personal trainer mr. smith to get up to speed. no pun intended!

i started school and hosted a party. no big deal.

somehow, several years ago, i was able to take a full course-load, maintain a B average, go to parties, date a boy, sleep, eat, dress in cute clothes and successfully graduate with a degree.  i am going to pat myself on the back now. that took a lot of good time management, as i am now being reminded of since i decided it would be a good idea to try it all over again. only this time with a dog, a cat and a boyfriend, all in the same house.

i am taking two traditionally freshman courses, biology and pre-calculus, as well as principles of horticulture and landscape graphics. there's also a 1-hour lecture specifically designed for transfer students to prepare us to enter the professional world. we have to create a resume and a linkedin profile, as well as sit for a mock job interview. awesome. i can do this.

it's overwhelming. there are so many people. i have lots of homework. i am paying lots of money. i quit my job for this, and the pressure to succeed is heavy. i have turned into the brown-noser, the girl in the front row, the shouter-outer of answers, the person who does their assignments ahead of time and gets the answers right. i will join the horticulture club. (it meets monday nights. first meeting is august 30th. you know i wrote it down in the calender and highlighted that junk, along with the horticulture career expo, which is in october.) i want to be a better and more engaged student than i was the first time around, and it's not easy. the reassuring part is that i know that i made the right decision. i find myself hanging onto every word that comes of my professor's mouth in the principles of horticulture lecture. i caught myself looking at the course catalog today for what horticulture classes i can take next semester. i am still nervous and excited, and i'll be sure to keep you posted.

in other news, we entertained our first gathering of people at the house this weekend! heather's bridal shower/party was saturday night, and i think it was a successful event. unfortunately, andrew and i were busy getting ready up until the very last second, so i wasn't able to take as many food pictures as i'd hoped - by the time i had a chance to get my camera out, most of it was eaten - but below are a few i managed to catch. after the shower, we met up downtown with the groom and some of his friends for a few drinks at natty greene's. it was a very pleasant evening.. and we are all eagerly anticipating their sure-to-be beautiful wedding this december!

heather & jason, the happy couple!

mmm.. empty plates & cherry cupcakes.

almost-drained pitcher of the crucial sangria.

update: chairs and avocados and bridal showers

chairs!
andrew continues to work hard on our vintage patio chairs! we are several layers of primer into our first chair, and will be ready to add the color soon. the chairs sat in the backyard over night one night last week, and we woke up to a couple wet and dirty chair pieces. before we could paint the next coat of primer, we had to clean them. i set the pieces in the shower with the intention of getting to them later in the day.. but looks like a couple of other goobers got to them first.

avocados!
less than thrilling news. it is still a brown pit on two toothpicks in a yellow glass. however, i must admit we had a slight mishap. let's just say the present pit is not the same pit as the one i photographed several weeks ago. a less than perfect tooth-picking job, mixed with a high-cat-traffic area, caused the pit to fall and sit submerged in the water for a while. the pit eventually split, and so i went on the search for a new pit. we found one, and it's doing quite fine so far. no roots. will photograph as soon as some excitement hapens.

bridal shower!
it's happening this saturday. it will not be outside in the backyard. awful mosquitoes (what is a cheap way to get rid of those jerks?!), deconstructed metal chairs with gray primer, HOT, mosquitoes, and a landscape-work-in-progress. however, the inside of the house is shaping up nicely, so i'm looking forward to having people over. we'll have some quesadillas, spinach and artichoke dip, chips and salsa, cupcakes, sangria and more. i am pretty pumped, but busy getting it all together. i'll post some pictures after it all goes down.

oh, and once again, SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW! my backpack is packed, my clothes are picked out, and the coffee maker is ready to go. let's gooooooo.

little pitbull's first trip to logan's!

last week, jane and i ran some errands in seaboard station, including a walk around logan's! it was super hot, but worth the stroll. jane found shade under some perennials and laid down. she also got an ear-rub and some sweet compliments by some logan's employees. we'll be back!

on another note, TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!

small victory.

easily one of the scariest things about my endeavor with school is the funding. my last day at work is next friday, and then i am depending mostly on savings, grants and loans to get me by. i will work part-time, but the fact of the matter is that my concentration is on excelling in class and i am dedicated to making that happen.

nevertheless, my first tuition bill arrived yesterday. yesterday morning, to be exact. to my email. it was clearly something i was expecting and was not meant to induce such a freak-out, but seeing a bill for several thousand dollars at 6 a.m. has a way of spurring unnecessary emotions i suppose. 24 hours later, i can breathe, i have a plan, and i know my financial aid will arrive at my door with a bouquet soon (no?). it will be alright.

until then, i'll revel in accomplishments such as not completely screwing up a baking experiment. i'm an over-mixer, under-mixer, impatient, and stressed-out baker. however, i present you with aloha bread: bananas, pineapples, coconut, walnuts and orange zest. andrew ate all the muffins and half the loaf. what a man!

make your own aloha bread!

the state of thangs.

( from top: 1. a few cuttings, verbena on right; 2. the little pitbull! 3. tomatoes, rosemary, basil, chives; 4. lilac, blueberry, gardenia; 5. snake plant & unknown acquired-from-my-first boss plant. )





it is said that two of the three most stressful things a person can go through are moving and changing careers. well. here i go.

my love and i moved almost two months ago; thank heavens we now have that behind us. i'm convinced that the fact that we made it through and still want to spend the rest of our lives together is an excellent sign. since that was clearly not enough for us, i am quitting my job at the end of the month to go back into debt, back into the depths of undergrad, and seek a second bachelor's in horticulture science. four years at a nine-to-five desk-and-computer job and this is all i can tell you: i'd rather be playing in the dirt.

i'm starting at the bottom with this thing. i am taking freshman biology and precalculus. i will not pretend to know what i'm talking about because i promise you that i don't. i do, however, know this is what i want to do. so let's start.