it's been a long week.

it's been a long week., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

My second-to-last semester as a full-time student started on Monday.

This semester is going to be so writing-intensive...oy. o.o
A German journal entry is due every Tuesday. Plus a lab report due every Wednesday for Biology. Not to mention the stories/poems due every other week for Creative Writing. And, of course, the 10-12 page cumulative report for Comp 2, and all the random, general essays that the course entails.
Granted, I realize that I am the one who chose the schedule, but I didn't have access to the syllabi before the semester started. Meh oh well.
I will survive.
I may hate my computer after this, but I will survive. =)
(There will probably be eye-strain headaches, but there is ibuprofen -and sleep- to help combat those.)

I have been on the go ever since Monday.
Monday morning was getting my financial aid, paying for books, going to class, and clothes shopping. Tuesday started the night-class schedule, with a five-hour break between classes. (I was kinda hoping for a work study position.) Wednesday and Thursday were the other two night class days, and then today was a kind of chill day, even though I had to run gran to her video visit with my uncle.
...and tomorrow I go to help mom and dad finish packing up their store. (All that's left now are the displays, racks, and other store-use items.)

...plus, we need to go grocery shopping at some point.

Sunday, Sunday, is my day.
I'm staying home all day, doing homework and uselessly surfing the net.

hello, cupcake.

hello, cupcake., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

Jake's aunt had her summer party on Saturday.

After a car complication, we made it there.

It was good to see her and catch up.
(We hadn't seen her since Christmas.)

She also made these awesome cupcakes, which is something I've been meaning to try forever.
It's a family recipe that is traditionally made into a cake, and I've been meaning to turn them into a cupcake variety.
I mean, I have a working oven now.
...but it's just been too hot.

Hopefully I can try this version in the fall.
...there's also the family recipe that Jake always loves for his birthday: four-layer chocolate cake. That needs to be perfected in bite-size form too.

Look for that.
I'm putting it on my to-do list.
It's going to happen. =)

golden hour.

golden hour., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

I've always been a summer girl. My opinion is changing.
We don't have a functioning cooling system in our house, and without it, the inside is a baking tin can. When we put water in the cooler, all it does is add humidity to the factor, and that makes it more of a boiling tin can than anything.
We finally got a window unit AC from my parents' secondhand shop...only to find out that none of our windows are wide enough to support it. So what do we do? Put it on a TV tray table, but that makes it leak water all over the floor. So we suffer through with fans and escapes to places with AC. (Maybe that's why our electric bill last month was only $34?)
So I definitely won't miss summer's heat. (Especially after THIS summer's heat!)
..and I won't miss the mosquitoes. I got so many bites this year, I thought my legs were never going to stop itching.
Oh, and this is the first year in thirteen that I have gotten stung by something. I think this one was a wasp. I couldn't see it. It was caught in the breeze, came flying up over grandma's garden shed and landed on my nose, then stung me. I do not recommend getting stung on the nose. It hurts. There's swelling. And involuntary crying. Dogs tend to look at you funny for the first little while after it happens.
In fact, everyone but grandma has gotten stung this year. Mom twice, dad once, Jake once, me once, and even Jake's brother has gotten stung this year. They're not the worst I've ever seen them, but they are pretty bad.
I will miss the golden hour most of all. Those wonderful times when the sun rises early and sets late, and produces beautiful golden light that fades fast. That light that photographers always strive to shoot portraits in. It's quite amazing, and summer has the best golden hours.
I'll miss the warm nights, too, and the dynamic skies. But most of all, those golden hours.

Via Flickr:
This summer has taught me a lot of things.
The first thing it has taught me is to hate it. (See blog post for more on this.)
..but, besides the amazing nights, early morning and late night light, I will miss the extended golden hours.