it's been...

ages!

i have had so much going on...throwing papers around...verifying the need (or no need) for a visa...and reverifying it just to make sure... letters faxed there... important papers stored here... please don't get lost.

and yes, there's a new boy in town and we all know how much time that takes up... cooking.. talking... time. .time. time. . .

so here's what i've been up to...

i went to texas in december to visit my dearest friend heidi:

she's a dream.

she let me wear all her clothes.

and i met her darling new nephew

(unfortunately we didn't think to get a photo of he and i) :(

in between these adventures i've been quilting...and that's about it. if you were hoping that i'd be doing something more interesting, i apologize. i've spent a majority of my free hours these last couple months sitting on my attic floor bent over my machine with fabric in between my fingers. occasionally i'd be on the phone saying, "no no...i'm afraid i can't come out..i've got a lot of work to do here..." and here are the photos of my progress (and proof that being slightly antisocial isn't such a terrible thing) :

ladadalondon

i've waited plenty to tell you this. mainly because it hasn't been til recently i was sure of it. and now i know.

i'm going to london.

i've bought my ticket.

i've paid for my place in the program.

i'm just working my ass off now so that i might be able to go out once in a while and see something the city has to offer.

in my head i'm thinking of maybe a quaint little room...one with a stove and a fridge so i can cook my meals in a quiet little place. i'm thinking that maybe i'll have a little space for either a potted garden or a backyard i can sneak some spinach plants into. one can hope, right?

apparently they have bikes at random stations across the city that i can use for free while i'm there. perhaps i'll be able to find one on craigslist or something.

i'd like to live in this little isthmus of an area....see how it has two large parks on both sides? and my school is just a couple miles to the right of it....near russell square.

am i asking too much? here's to hoping....

back to quilting...because before i leave i'd like to finish the quilt i've been working on for my parents. let's hope it turns out to look like something more than scraps!!

LSHTM

so...a few months ago (august to be exact) i sent in my app for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Tropical Nursing Diploma Program. (mouthful right?)

i tried to apply in march, but circumstances (several) didn't allow the app to go through and after hitting the wall so many times i suppose i procrastinated too long to send my application in.

there are 65 slots in this program and all of them were filled by the time they got my application and accepted it. i suppose i should be excited by that one key word "accepted." i don't necessarily feel extremely let down by it. i was just hoping that something would be settled this month. i could tell people "yes, this is what's happening next in my life." i could start preparing for something definite. and now, here i am, still waiting.

i'm so glad i wasn't 'rejected' tho. that would be terrible. kind of... at least it would be definite. i could start applying for travel nursing positions.... or looking into other programs...or something. bah. the fluidity of life.

how do i prepare for a maybe?

...such is life.

bikes & photos

passing the time and thought this was interesting...biking and photography. two of my favs :)

Downtown from Behind

veggie tomato soup

1 med onion chopped

1/2 cup green beans chopped

1 lg green pepper chopped

3 garlic cloves (i love garlic)

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs olive oil

fry these til near soft

i used a separate frying pan

add ~1 cup diced tomatoes

here i switched to the pot in the picture

1 can tomato soup

~7oz coconut milk

1 can corn

1 can drained black beans

1/2 small bag of spinach

~black pepper

~seasoned salt

~bouillon cube (i used chicken flavor - that’s just what i have)

~splash of worcestershire sauce

1 jalepeno diced

for the initial adding of ingredients i keep the stove at medium heat.

once the spinach has softened a bit and is more involved in the rest of the soup i turned the heat to simmer and stirred occasionally.

notes:

*dice green pepper and green beans.

*simmer vegetables to your desired consistency

i’m no expert.... but i, otherwise, find this fairly delicious served hot with a piece of whole wheat bread.

or...for the unhealthy one...or child inside of you....add goldfish. (the cheesy cracker kind)

one minute

good morning world.

can i see you different today.

scrape off the scrap

that might not hold me back

but wears me down.

through sewn cathedral windows

around the world we go

you grace over me

somehow drunken by twilight

tender pangs of lust

for love i can’t own

i’ll let you have a piece of me

so i won’t feel alone

so close to freedom

to my skin holding in

then my flesh betrays me

i’ve lost control again

scraps scraps i pull together

guessing on the pattern as i go

you overlook my creations

you want deeper things, i know

so here’s my body here’s your prize

i’ll get lost, i’ll close my eyes

warmth...warmth for one minute

for one minute you love me.

i've been cutting fabric for my next quilt.

caught myself in the blade. :(

went waterskiing with the family the other day. my time to shine. i finally got up! :)

and i don't think i'm ever going to be able to talk politics with my family.