the world needs more magnolia trees

My favorite thing about college campuses are the FLOWERING TREES!

Unfortunately they are already starting to drop their petals, and it's not even May! Freaky weather.

I had a great birthday on Monday, and am now stuck in paper purgatory.

aaaaaaaa

I am looking forward to being DONE and sunny relaxing fun weekends coming up so soon!

But for the next week I will be stressed and frantic and will probably drop off the face of the earth.

That's just the way it goes.

right now

It is pouring rain.

I am faced with a ridiculous amount of work to get done this week.

My birthday is tomorrow but I really miss my family and friends and feel a bit alone.

I'm trying to keep looking on the bright side.

So here is a little list of things that make me happy right now.

-a weekend with Ben! even though these weekends are always too short.

-eating fudgey chocolate cake with sprinkles right out of the pan

-getting a food processor from the best boyfriend in the universe (!!!!!) I am so excited about this. I feel like my life has changed forever with so many new food opportunities opened before me...seriously. Even though I know I am probably the only person ever who would love to get a food processor for their birthday. ;)

-hanging out with ridiculous friends who wear brown velour jumpsuits, plaid pj pants with olympic hockey jerseys, American flag headbands, and have talented hockey-playing sisters who bring their silver medal when they visit so their brother's friends can play with it.

-finally seeing the end (though still too far away) of this blasted long-distance thing. I am sick of saying good-bye all the time. 

-downloading crazy mash-ups 

-knowing that I will be DONE with my first year of grad school in 10 crazy stressed-out sleep deprived days.

For better or for worse.

earth day

Happy Earth Day !

I celebrated by going for a mid-morning run in the sun

(that was kind of an energy zapper...)

Working on fire scar data (from trees) for a climate project

and also on my nature reserve paper

I am exhausted.

If you are in the mood for some earth-ish chill folky music,

you should check out Patchouli

Julie and Bruce are amazing people. 

Back in my college environmentalist days we would get them to play an outdoor concert at the end of Earth Week.

As we tie-dyed shirts with dye that we convinced the art department to give us for free.

Oh, the days.

p.s. I put wayyyy too much chili powder in the chili. That I still have like 5 servings left. oops. But it is still edible. I know this because I have eaten it four times this week, and have survived.

crunchtime

[Tulips everywhere, blooming for my birthday next week !]

OK so. There are two weeks left in the semester.

And I have two 20 page seminar papers to write.

plus the regular classwork and presentations and finishing my proposal.

I am FINALLY starting to feel the stress!!!! Which is how I operate...I can only get things done at the last minute, when I am under so much stress I motivate myself to be productive every single second of the day.

I don't think it's procrastinating, it's just my way.

It's painful, and it sucks, and it makes me hate my life and go all dramatic,

but it is effective.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective because through much painful, dramatic experience, I know that it will all get done and no matter how sleep-deprived or stressed I get, life will return to calm by May.

And knowing that the next two weeks will be insanity I have prepped my life as much as possible by

• putting away ALL clean laundry
• keeping the dishes under control
• stocking up on groceries
• discovering free 20 minute yoga lasses from yogadownloads.com REALLY calm me down
• baking a stock of my new favorite quinoa nut muffins
• making enough of my favorite comfort food to feed a family of 12, or one Anna for the week

mmmm chili and cornbread

• giving myself permission to buy as many cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera as I need to
• and maybe a loaf of tomato basil bread if things get that desperate

Aaagggh ok here we go.
A part of me is psyched because I get to spend hours and hours on two topics that I think are fascinating...the impacts of protected areas on indigenous people AND the use of historical reference conditions in fire restoration. (Geography Nerd!!)
Plus, this is quite possibly THE LAST semester I will ever feel the finals crunch, since next year I don't have to take as many classes, just work on my thesis. And after next year I intend to be a working member of the Real World, where you don't have to do work for 6 hours after you come home from work.  If everything goes according to plan.
I have low expectations, frankly, with this economy and based on my friends' experiences with the Real World.

I do love school, but a job is starting to sound appealing. 
Like, someday I will have enough money to buy new clothes and real furniture?
And have time to watch tv and relax in the evenings and do fun crafty things?
That sounds way cool.

Now I'm rambling. Back to the grind.

Fill in the Blank Friday

photo from Lauren's blog

Okay I'm jumping on the fill in the blank bandwagon because it is fun, and honestly I have nothing exciting to say about life right now! This weekend is going to be a WORK weekend filled with papers, 40 degree weather and no boy. Blah. 

1.  The first thing I do in the morning is    Listen to NPR as I realize that I am awake. It is a great alarm-clock setting! Hearing voices talking instead of the dreaded BEEEEEP and maybe getting the weather or the latest natural/political disaster makes me feel...productive??

2.  Every night before bed  I    eat cereal or ice cream, call Ben, read something.

3.  My favorite thing to do when I'm having a bad day is      probably have a teary break down. Okay not my favorite, but it's how I do .

4.  Something that makes me cringe is   people with long fingernails. ew  .

5.  Social situations    are fun with friends, I feel awkward with strangers or big groups .

6.  I like to collect      cookbooks and random kitchen gadgets !!! .

7.  Weekends are for      sleeping in, trying to catch up on the endless school slog, baking muffins, sometimes being lucky to hug Ben and be awesome together :)   .

au revoir simone

photo

It is perfect sunny weather outside.

But I am stuck inside my windowless lab playing on the computer with tree fire scar data.

Au Revoir Simone radio on Pandora is keeping me happy and calm.

Bubbly and pretty, I recommend!

How To: edit photos without fancy technology

Over the past couple of years I've gotten obsessed with digital photo editing (which is probably obvious on this blog!)

I love how you can take a boring normal photo and instantly turn it into a gorgeous technicolor piece of art that makes the world look much better and brighter than it does in real life.

I've discovered that you don't actually need expensive software like Photoshop or an expensive fancy camera to do some very fun things, and it is so easy! (although I do want to get a fancy camera someday)

I take all my pictures with a 7.1 megapixel Canon Powershot SD1000 Digital Elph from 2007.

I highly recommend Canon Powershots if you are looking for a small, portable point and shoot camera.  I love mine, and these days they are even cheaper and better.

I usually edit my photos with the photo program that came with my computer.

With this computer (Windows Vista) I use Windows Live Photo Gallery.

I also sometimes use Microsoft Office Picture Manager, which is especially good for cropping your pictures into different sizes if you want to print them out.

When I upload a picture and then click "Fix" on the menu bar (or Edit in Micosoft OPM) a screen like this opens:

On the right hand side are lots of things you can change using the slide bars.

The most dramatic and fastest category is "Adjust Exposure"

Sliding the contrast bar almost all the way to the right results in this:

Usually all I do to my photos is increase the contrast. 

It makes the colors pop.

You can also do this using free online picture editing programs like Picnik.  It's fun to play around!

If my picture looks a little dark after I increase the contrast, I increase the Brightness bar and play with the Shadows and Highlights.

You can also boost the color under "Adjust Color" by increasing Saturation and make your photo look sunnier by increasing Color Temperature.

So here is the original picture (which still looks pretty good because of the sunset lighting):

And here is the final technicolor-edited version:

(which is kinda intense, I probably would have stopped after the contrast!)

Here's another before and after:

Before

After increasing Contrast and Color Saturation

You can also make people look better!!

Ben and me Halloween Before

After (contrast and brightness)

hmm. looking at this picture makes me realize I need a haircut...

So there you go!

All my magical photo secrets revealed on the internet.

Go try editing your own photos if you have never tried before.

Use your computer photo editing program or Picnik.com and increase the contrast first, then see what happens! 

You can always hit "undo."

springtime in Baltimore

I have spent all day today driving home, running errands, restocking my sad neglected refrigerator and trying to put some order in my life and get back into the swing of things after a beautiful beautiful amazing weekend that included

-delicious Greektown dining (pretty much obsessed with Greek food)

-Panera work marathon

-runs in the hot sun

-randomly running (literally) into a Privateer Festival complete with pirates, ships, and cannons in the harbor

-Saturday night homemade pizza and wine tradition

-GELATO!! 

Baltimore is only a three hour drive south from me, but it is seriously in a completely different climate zone. The MOMENT you leave Pennsylvania, the sun emerges, the temperature spikes up at least 10 degrees, and the trees all have their leaves already.

Proof: scenes from the park

sunset is my favorite time of day when it is warm and green out

awesome old twisty tree

the last daffodils clinging to life in the summery heat

fun paint-by-numbers sycamore bark

 

Cherry blossoms EVERYWHERE!

When I have a yard I want to plant it full of cherry trees.

Ben makes me run super fast and then overheat.

but I still love him because he is cute and buys me food.

CAUGHT YA! hehe.

Ships!

 Now it is time for a Reality Check for Anna.

Back to the school grind. Tomorrow.

happy friday !

It has been a looooong week.

After school I am headed down to Baltimore to see Ben for the weekend and I am so excited.

I need some hugs and gelato in between the endless reading for my term papers. 

He is finally nearing the end of his two year Teach for America experience. And wow, it has been an experience. I would NEVER be able to handle what he deals with on a daily basis!!

It's hard to believe I'll only visit him in the city a couple more times before he moves closer to me!

It seemed like the end of these two years would never come.

And now that it's so close, I am realizing that I will maybe miss the endless restaurants, brick streets, and waterfront of Baltimore.

Strawberry Shortcake Oats: part 2 in a series

Strawberry Shortcake Oats

These are pretty self-explanatory.

Now let's see if I can remember what I put into them...

-1/2 cup oats

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup milk

-dash of salt

-cinnamon

-nutmeg

-vanilla

-sugar and almonds for topping

-chopped strawberries, frozen or fresh

Bring the water, milk, and dash of salt to a boil. Add oats, lots of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the strawberries and finish cooking the oats.  Stir in about 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and top with sugar, almonds, and milk.

I've been buying bags of frozen organic strawberries because they go on sale quite frequently, and are cheaper than fresh, for now.

narcissus sunset

When the sun sets it slants across my front yard and lets a tiny bit of light into my cozy cave apartment.

I like coming home to all the flowers glowing.  My landlords are from Alaska; when they moved here they let their suppressed inner-gardener selves go wild and planted up the whole front yard and backyard with vegetables, herbs, and flowers. I think I convinced them to string lights in the walnut tree over the picnic table in the front yard for amazing al fresco dinners. [Yes, I have the best landlords ever. Yes, we are probably "those" neighbors.]

I am so happy that things are starting to grow again!

The front yard is looking like a Breck's advertisement. The only thing missing is a Dutch flag flying in the background...

I like Wednesday nights because I finally have a chance to relax and breathe after the mad-dash stressful rush of the first part of the week.  I'm starting to get that spring-induced calm that everything will work out.  Even when there seems to be way too much work to fit into the last four weeks of the school year,

It will always all get done.

Keep that in mind if you feel like you are losing it :)

So I'm just trying to appreciate the blast of warm hot weather we've been living through lately.

Even if it is maybe a bit TOO hot and dry.

I love opening windows and smelling fresh air indoors.

And taking outdoor lunch breaks.

Hello, freckles!

Hot Cross Bun oatmeal: part 1 in a Series

[that is supposed to be an icing cross, not a mountain waterfall]

I admit that I am completely addicted to oatmeal. I don't know why I haven't ever posted about this before. 

Whenever I actually have time to make breakfast at home, nothing else sounds good enough in the mornings (unless it is hot out, when I pursue my love affair with cereal, but that is a story for another day).

I've decided to start posting a series of my favorite oatmeal recipes whenever I do have a rare amazing moment to have stovetop oatmeal for breakfast, in the hopes of convincing the world that oatmeal is amazing and full of wonder. If you don't realize that you are also an oatmeal fan, I hope to bring you to the light. 

Starting with the Easter-appropriate Hot Cross Bun Oats! Lightly zesty, studded with dried berries, and drizzled with powdered sugar frosting. Oh, yes.

The best part about oatmeal is that you can take your favorite dessert recipe and easily convert it into a healthy form that is even more satisfying.

Please do not ever use "instant" oats. The "old-fashioned" kind only take 4 more minutes to cook, and are so much thicker and chewier! If you have a health food section of your grocery store with bulk bins, you can get organic thick rolled oats for very, very, cheap.  Okay enough blabbing, I didn't realize I cared this much about the topic. 

Hot Cross Bun Oatmeal

(serves 1...)

-1/2 cup old fashioned oats

-1/2 cup water

-1/2 cup milk

-dash of salt

-raisins or currants and other dried fruit you have around

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-dash of coriander

-dash of nutmeg

-orange and lemon zest (just a little bit.)

-vanilla

-1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Heat water, milk, dried fruit, and dash of salt in a small pot on the stove.

When it is boiling (WATCH THE MILK), stir in the oats.

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, and citrus zest.

Cook until oats are done and liquids are absorbed (~5-8 mins)

Stir in the vanilla and remove from heat.

Mix the powdered sugar with a couple drops of milk or water to make icing

Top the oatmeal with an artful drizzle of sugar, as well as some butter and more milk if you like.

Delicious!

On another note, I can't believe it's Sunday night.  I don't know where my weekend went !! I think all this sunshine and warm weather is wiping me out, because I've been feeling very lethargic and lazy. Or maybe just thinking about diving in to the craziness of another busy week is making me tired.

I need to snap out of it!

the view of the garden fairy

Oh my gosh it feels like summer here and the flowers everywhere have exploded just in this past week!

I am sooooo happy.

How can you not be happy when it is sunny and dry 78 degrees out?

Plus, it's April, which is birthday season for me and several of my girlfriends!*!*!!

24 days until I am 23!

Life is proceeding at breakneck pace as usual, but I have still managed to find time for relaxing outdoor coffee breaks and happy hour pitchers of Bud Light on the patio.  Keeping it classy.

[Even though every single person with a motorcycle (aka a lot of people evidently) is out on the streets revving their engines so you can barely hold a conversation. (seriously?)]

This weekend I am going to get a grip on life (ha!), start working on my two seminar papers (eek!) and definitely hold a flower photoshoot on campus. Is there a market out there for flower portraiture? Because it is calling me.

I hope you have a beautiful Easter weekend!

p.s. photo editing how-to post coming soon