Wish Me Luck! Classes Start Tomorrow!

Here we go again. Fall semester starts tomorrow.

I hope I can do well. I have 4 classes on campus and 2 classes online. I hope it all goes well. It won't be a failure for my lack of trying!

Please, check out this shop! It is run by one of the nicest people I know online. She is always up for the challenge of helping others navigate their online experience, and I want you to buy something from her.

I have been mired in getting caught up with my stores and editing photos, etc. since my last blog post. Also, spending more time in the Etsy forum than I probably should. I have also been getting an Artfire store up and running. I will give it a couple of months to take root. I hope it does well.

I do have one order for a custom Blythe doll carrier, yea!, so I will be getting that done this week and sent off on its way. I also have a bag I am finishing up for my mom. She is quite picky as it turns out. She keeps wanting revisions. When she calls, she first says, "is it too late..." I know then that she wants it different. lol

Wow time flies even when you are not having fun...

I don't want to bore what readers I actually have left at this point, but I do feel the need for some explanation of my long absence.

As most readers know, from September to May I am not much of an online presence because I am currently finishing my degree at MTSU and that seems to suck up all my time and all the energy I can must each day. That explains part of the reason it has been so long since I have been posting.

The balance of time has been spent feeling like holy hell because I have thyroid disease, am diabetic, and have fibromyalgia, and had to have knee surgery. Now I am not one to go on about health issues, but I will say that mine seemed to decide to gang up on my all at once. So there you are with a reason for my long absence.
This summer has been spent with my leg up on an ottoman being barely productive at anything.

Currently, I am trying to dig myself out of this funk and work on my health, etc., so things are picking up.

I am worried sick about school starting because I have a class this semester up two flights of stairs in a building with no ramp and no elevator. Worried I won't be able to stand the pain of walking up those stairs. We shall see what happens.

Want to know something that really sucks ass? Many teachers at MTSU have an attendance policy that lowers your grade based on number of absences. Two times now I have had an "A" in a class only to have it lowered to a "B" because I missed more than 4 days of class. I am sick dammit! What kind of people punish sick people who still do their work required for the class? I am twice the age of my classmates, and do twice the work they do. What kind of people punish people with health issues who obviously work their asses off on their assignments? And still obviously spend a ton more time working on their assignments than some of the other people in the class? Given the habit of many of today's youth to come to class admitting they slapped some crap together as fast as possible, and it shows, I can't believe they pass on while I lose a letter grade. Sucks ass. I hope they read this, too. Your policy sucks ass. My grades should be based on my efforts to complete assigned work. Period.

Rant over.

I failed miserably on my blog giveaway I did in conjunction with the Greetings Team. I totally forgot about it after I sent her the first item!! I can't believe I did such a thing. I have contacted my winner, and apologized up and down, and she was so gracious and forgiving! I sent her a package of goodies to make up for my stupidity, and I hope she likes them.

I did have a successful school year though.

I created this block dress for an assignment. The dress was also worn on the runway at the fashion show put on annually at MTSU by the Textiles, Merchandising, and Design school.



We also had an assignment to recycle/upcycle denim pieces into something new, so I took two pair of denim pants and created the following outfit. A top and a wrap skirt. The two together looked like a flower at the bottom. I liked it over-all. Given less limited resources, I would have better closures than ribbon, and, of course, wouldn't real jewels encrusted on the medallion be wonderful? The outfit was featured in the window of our local Buckle store at the mall for an auction our classes did to benefit St. Jude.I also submitted this bag to be considered for inclusion in the Textiles, Merchandising, and Design School's upcoming publication called "The Little Black Book", and it was accepted! It will come out this fall.

Of course, you can purchase the bag at my Etsy shop.

This summer, in June, we went on a camping trip to Nathan Bedford Forrest State park in TN, and stayed in the cutest little log cabin in the world. Secluded. Nice. It was way too hot, but we didn't care. We sat outside on the cool evenings, and had air conditioner to run in to.

School starts in a week. I am not ready, but I will be there. I am really looking forward to my textiles class. I already suffer from a very developed addiction to fabric. As I have said before, I really have a problem. I buy fabric and won't use it because I can't stand the thought of cutting it. I need help.

My oldest is going to Japan on Sept. 8. He will be there, with a winter break home from about Dec. 24 to the end of Jan., until July. I am excited and scared about this all at the same time. I cannot express my pride in him enough. He has accomplished so much all on his own and the sky is really the limit for him. At the same time, he is my closest confidant, and I will be missing him so much.

I guess that is enough for now. I am going to try to post at least once a week, as I was doing before.

I want you to check out this Etsy shop, after you look at mine, of course :), because I just love this shop and the art in it.