A Change of Sorts

If you're reading this, then you've likely noticed the new layout happening over here on my blog! I've been trying so hard to find a new layout, a new design, a new anything to spice it up. I'll just be honest—what I had been using...well, I'd been using it for quite some time. And I was ready for something a little different.

This here is my new layout, folks. What do you think?

This is probably only the third true 'revamp' I've done. This is mostly due to the fact that I know little to nothing about HTML and the like, so once I get a template working for me, I'm hesitant to go back to the drawing board.

But it was time. I hope you guys like the new layout. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure that it'll really stick around. I'm still in the process of looking at other options. Actually, I've been spending the bulk of my time trying to figure out how to make one of my own. Or at least use one of my own photos for a background. I have high aspirations, but unfortunately it's much easier said than done!

That being said, I'll probably leave this up for a little while. I may keep tweaking things.

So if you come back to my blog tomorrow and things look different, never fear! It's still me here. And all is well.

And don't worry—I've got more blog posts in the works.

I was just excited about the proverbial face-lift my blog has gotten.

What do you guys think? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

Also, for you Facebookers out there, feel free to mosey on over to Pencil to Paper on Facebook and "Like" what's going on over there!*

We're having fun over on Facebook! I'd love for you to join in! :)

*Yes, this is a shameless plug.




EDIT
I know I literally just posted about how I made some changes and whatnot, but...I've made some more changes. Again. Not just because I'm weird and I can't commit to a new design, but actually because of an issue with the 'Comment' feature. The issue being that with the new template I had, there wasn't a way to leave a comment without a few extra steps.

So. I've got another new look happening now. I think I like it. I'm still toying with it in Photoshop to see if I can't personalize it a little more, but by using a background instead of a template, it's easier for me to customize my blog using Blogger's page editing tools. So consider this The Revamp, Take 2.

What do you guys think?

New layout. 2.0.

A For Effort

Hey guys! I've read a million times that when one has failed to post a blog in awhile, one shouldn't apologize for it and/or point out one's absence. But rules were made to be broken, right? So. I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I'd say it's because I've been busy, but that's not totally true. I have, in fact, been busy enjoying not doing much of anything. If that makes sense. But I am finally taking a moment to sit myself down and write up a little something for you all.

Proof that I don't always suck at Math!

First of all, some excellent news! I'm officially finished with that pesky Business Math class! And guess what? I made an A! A freakin' A!!! This is cause for celebration. That's what I think. Because despite the fact that I did much better than I'd anticipated, going to class and wrapping my brain around equations and numbers even just long enough to apply it on test day was like pulling teeth. So I'm very proud to say that Math is behind me.

So there's that.

I've also begun the countdown to the start of the Fall semester. I go back and forth on how I feel about that. In some ways, I'm excited for school to start again. Especially because, honestly, I'm just taking one class. And it's a writing class. So I'll get to really focus on that and that alone, which is awesome. But thanks to Math, this summer seems so short. Like it's flying by and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not ready to start being responsible again. (Yes, I've basically shirked all of my responsibilities this summer. It's been great!) And I'm not ready to leave my friends back home. But the good news is, only 38 more days until I get my Aggie Ring! That's practically less than one month! Yes, I'm super excited.

I've already commanded my parents to make sure they aren't working when Aggie Ring Day rolls around. Because I expect them to drive down and celebrate with me. (Ring Day is a HUGE deal down in College Station. I mean, a really big freaking deal. You will get a glimpse of just how big a deal it is when mine rolls around and I blog about it.) I keep telling them, "Don't you want to be there to see what all that money paid for?" I also keep telling them, "Be glad I am not a boy. Because boy's rings are basically twice as much as the girl one." I'm not sure that's making them feel any better about the cost. But—I admit it—I don't care! Not that I don't care how much in the sense that I don't appreciate what they did for me, but I look at it this way. I will wear my Aggie Ring for the rest of my life. So if you divide the cost of the ring by the projected amount of years I am statistically likely to have left, it's really not that much.

But anyway. More things that I am excited about.

I have a new computer! It is an absolute beauty.

My temporary set up.

If it looks like it's set up on a table...in my kitchen... Well, that's because it is. But that's only temporary! Being home for the summer means struggling to find extra space for new things I acquire. In the case of this computer, there's simply no room in Dad's office. We already have something of a Mac Museum happening in there. But I have plans to relocate it to my desk at my apartment when Fall rolls around. The best part? It's so big, I think I'm actually going to have to rearrange my desk. Probably I will need to move the shelf thing off of it. I don't mind. I've been using a laptop since I started college. Don't get me wrong, I love my laptop! But there's something very pleasant about using a desktop computer. I had almost forgotten how much I love it. Especially for writing. Which is basically all I'll be doing next semester. So I'm pretty thrilled. Isn't it beautiful!?

Also. I started working again, sort of. Picking up odd jobs and doing a little work from home for my old boss. It's nice to be getting paid again, even if it's just a little spending money. That's about it for what's going on in my life at the moment. Besides the unbearable heat going on in my neck of the woods right now. So many days over 100º. And no rain. I would throw a party if we could just get one really good thunderstorm. I'm just sayin'.

I hope everyone else's summer is going wonderfully!

Painting with a Twist

Last week, I unleashed my inner Van Gogh.

Literally.

It was for a birthday party. Instead of seeing a movie, or going out to dinner, we all met up at this place I'd never heard of—Painting with a Twist.

Painting! With a twist!

It was actually a really cool little place! It was already set up for us when we got there, and we each had our own easel. It was BYOB. I stuck with a bottle of water, but someone brought some wine, and there were a couple of beers cooling in a bucket of ice. There was an artist there to walk us through our painting. We recreated Starry Night. Which just happens to be my favorite painting. So I was pretty thrilled about it.

My work space. Appropriately labeled.

We started off by painting those trademark swirls in the sky. I think I got mine a little too big. But...creative license, and all that, right? Anyhow, it was time consuming (especially for a perfectionist like me!) to get the sky where I was happy with it. But it was worth it.

My sky. Minus moon and stars.
I was mostly happy with it at this point.

After that, we worked on some of the hills and ground stuff. We didn't get as complicated as Van Gogh did—we only had a few hours to do this. But we included something our artist called the wheat field. I think. And some rolling hills. That part wasn't so bad. That is to say, it's hard to be picky when you're just painting hillsides.

We'd break periodically and take our canvases to a table in the back where, two at a time, we hit 'em with some hot air via a couple of hair dryers. Then we went back to painting, without the fear of smearing what we'd already painted.

After the wheat and the hills, we moved on to that famous...green thing...in the foreground. I think it's a tree. I've always thought that, but our artist talked about it like it was up for debate. So maybe it is. Either way, I think mine turned out pretty darn good.

Pretty much the last thing we did was add the buildings. I didn't go too crazy with them. I was afraid I'd spoil the painting. The smaller details were already giving me trouble. So I stuck with painting a church. And two little buildings. I probably could have added more without it looking bad, but I decided not to risk it.

My finished product!

All in all, I was really proud of what I turned out! I hadn't painted in quite some time, and honestly I hadn't expected to walk away with anything I'd ever consider hanging. But you know what? I think I'm going to hang this piece. Somewhere. Surely there's room on at least one of my apartment walls. I even went as far as to paint the sides of the canvas, so I don't need to frame it. And I didn't just paint it a solid color—no. I had detail. I continued the painting around to the sides and top. Not as much on the bottom, but really, who's going to see that?

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to tap into some creativity I don't usually work with. I play it safe and stick to writing typically. But this was so much fun. It made me want to branch out and stretch some creative muscles I tend to ignore. I used to love to sketch, paint, what have you. This experience made me take a second look and think, why not now?

Fun is fun. Creativity is creativity. Why limit myself to one form or another? It's all fair game. And hopefully seeing this hanging on my wall will be a daily reminder that just because I think I can't do something, doesn't make it the truth.

Ta-da! Move over, Van Gogh. There's new talent afoot.
;)