I'm told debt is worth it.

Hello Everybody!

Haven't been keeping up with my blog (like I said I would *hangs head in shame*). 

But, I've been super duper busy with school and other life things have been giving me grief, as always, and haven't thought about it to be honest. 

Anyway, here's a little bit of what has been going on in my life. 

Halloween didn't have much going on for me as I had thought it would have. I didn't have to work which was a bonus, so my friend, Mel, and I went to lunch, in costume (I was Jessica Day from New Girl and she went as lazy batman), spent too much on candy, and then she helped me hand out candy to the kids. I got about 45 trick-or-treaters this year, which was pretty good considering it was rainy, and pretty much every other town had their trick-or-treating on the same night. Afterwards we watched Hocus Pocus, classic, and had a pretty relaxing night!

Mel in her batman onesie.

In early November, one of my close friends, Van, came home for a visit and we had a great day in Point looking at antiques as Tyler and I found horrible cheap gifts for each other. I totally won. 

Amazing mural in downtown Stevens Point. This saying really resonated with me. 

Van, myself, and Leah. I'm holding the dumb gifts Tyler got me. I got him potato shaped salt and pepper shakers. Sorry Leah, you have to use them too. (photo credit goes to Tyler, kind of :)

It was a nice weekend to forget about school and work for a while. (Sorry I was a crabby butt, and thanks for the succulent, Van c:)

For those of you who see me after a long while and ask the age old question of, "how's school going?" Well, my answer for you as of today is, pretty good.

Am I stressed out because of the work load? (which is a normal load by the way) Absolutely.  Do I enjoy my classes? Four of the five, I am thoroughly enjoying. The fifth one is pretty much mandatory for graduating so...yeah.

Next semester I will only be taking 12 credits, and only 9 of those I will actually be in a structured class, as the other 3 I will be a printmaking intern, which is pretty exciting!

Heres a peek at my artwork that I've been working on so far this semester!

I promise to keep y'all updated about how everything turns out after this semester is done. I know there's about 3-4 more weeks (omg!) of class left. 

So, still plenty of time to make more! 

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, and rest of your Autumn!

xoxo

About Me; Monday

Hello, Everybody!

For those of you that do not know me in person, or know me that well, or for those of you who are just kind of nosy, don't worry, I'm one of you too. I thought that I'd put together a (kind of) few random facts about myself to let you get to know me better.

So, without further a do, my 50 random Facts about myself:

1-I make amazing guacamole.

2-I will always sing/hum/whistle in the car.

3-I am deathly afraid of spiders.

4-I sneeze uncontrollably when I pluck hairs under my eyebrows

5-I used to tell people I was Jamaican because my parents had their honeymoon there... but I wasn't born until 3 years later. 

6-I'm not the best at baking, but I love doing it. 

7-I won an art award when I was in 3rd grade and at the time, I was the youngest recipient, this gave me confidence to embrace art. 

8-I'm the 2nd cousin, twice removed, of former Packer, Mark (baby face) Tauscher. (Not that big of a deal unless you're a packer fan...) 

9- I can moonwalk

10-I have 14 scars on my left hand. 

11-My last name means 'lumberjack' in Dutch. 

12-My favorite color is maroon.

13- I am a hufflepuff.

14-I collect dream catchers. 

15-My eyes turn bright green when I cry or I'm very upset. 

16-I've never broken a bone. 

17-I believe in ghosts. 

18-I believe Santa could exist. 

19-I listen to Sinatra when I bake and draw. 

20-I think Johnny Depp is the best actor on the planet.

21-And best looking :)

22-I correct peoples' grammar in my head constantly. 

23-I love to read young adult books.

24-I only read fiction. 

25-I hate Reece's peanut butter cups, but I love reeces puffs. 

26-Breakfast is my favorite meal

27-I can't sleep, if I have socks on. 

28-My favorite word is 'spoopy'

29-My favorite movie is Forrest Gump. 

30-If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life ,it would be soup. 

31-I hate confrontation. 

32-My pinky ring size is 3

33-My favorite parts of my body are my eyes, then my hands. 

34-I wish I had a solid relationship with my brother. 

35-I honestly think that somehow I can tell the future, or make things happen by concentrating on the thought of it. 

36-If I could have one superpower it would be to time travel/stop time. 

37-I have reoccurring dreams where I'm running and I try too hard so I float upwards and can't get my feet to touch the ground to keep running. 

38-I have a horrible memory. 

39-I imagine what life my events would be like with people I just meet. i.e. Marriage, children, etc. 

40-My favorite song changes constantly, at the moment it is 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' by Crosby Stills and Nash 

41-My favorite snack will always be deli style mustard gardettos. 

42-I'm really good at recognizing smells. 

43-I use my teeth to open almost every thing.

44-Sweet scented candles/fragrances make me gag.

45-When I was younger, I always wanted our house to burn down so we could build a new one that had a fully functioning basement so I could hang out with my friends somewhere. 

46-I feel like I definitely give more than I receive, sometimes it's a little irritating, most times I'm glad to be that person. 

47-I really don't enjoy very spicy foods. 

48-I absolutely cannot rock a middle part in my bangs. 

49-I'm proud to be from Wisconsin. 

50-My parents are my favorite people on the planet. 

Hope that helped to get to know me a teeny bit more.

I'd love to get to know all of you better, let me know a little bit about yourself!

Have a great rest of your week!

xoxo

My Non-Haitus Break

Hello, Everybody!

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been posting lately like I said I would have and let me take this moment to sincerely apologize, but as of now school is definitely most important! 

I got away from my blog for a couple of months to really focus on school and work and to really freshen up everything else in my life. 

So far, school is going very well. I haven't stressed about a lot of things yet, even though mid-terms are going on now. I did get some not so fantastic news from my advisor last week though. He says I am not eligible to graduate until May of 2017, which is a huge bummer for me. That means that I'll have been in college for 6 years, working on a 4 year degree. On a bright side, I guess that gives me more time to actually focus on my art career and develop who I am as an artist. I'll also have more time for work, which makes my bank account happy. 

My first painting of the semester.

My printmaking class, which is very small (only 5 of us!) have been working with Tom Uttech, an artist from Saukville, which is near Milwaukee, on one of his prints. We're printing one of his prints in different ways and are trying to get exactly what he is looking for. He recently came up to work with us on the prints, and wants us to come and see his studio (which is so cool of him!). He enjoyed working with us all and was very impressed with our skill, he wants to hire us to do more prints for him. Can I get a heck yeah? We each get an edition of the print after we are finished (which can usually run from $400-$600!). 

In late September, I gathered up a few friends of family, and family members and threw my parents a Surprise 25th Anniversary party. The greatest part of it was having my brother, sister-in-law, and niece come to town to see everyone. I didn't expect many people to show up as I took the lame way out and just did a Facebook invitation and contacted everyone else through other family members. I also did it a bit short notice as I was still unsure if I was going to throw it. Ryan was down for fixing up the house to make it party ready, and it was a success, they were definitely surprised. 

I had my brother go pick them up, which they figured was their surprise, and once they got to my house they were totally surprised by everyone being there. The food was fantastic, thank you sooooooo much to everyone who brought anything and thank you all again for sharing their special day with them!

(sorry for the bad quality, photos wouldn't edit)

Preparing for a party was an extreme stress fest. Sorry to everyone who had to deal with me for the few days leading up to it, totally unsure if I could do it again. *groans*

Stress levels went completely back to normal after that week. Just focusing on school and work, and making Ryan happy. The weather is definitely changing here, I think today's high was something like 56? We put up our cornstalks (thanks again Jake&Chrissy!) along with our pumpkins to give our house the ol' razzle dazzle for the trick or treaters. Gotta make my scarecrow and carve our pumpkins now. 

As I type this, I'm listening to Tommy James & The Shondells, drinking some cranberry lemonade and baking some pumpkin spice cookies, while I'm burning my newest candle from Bath&Body Works called 'Thankful' and its absolutely amazing. So amazing, I just bought two more online! And you know what else, they're buy one get one FREE! What a friggen STEAL! So, get your butts to Bath&Body Works to stock up on all of your favorite Christmas scents because they're in! 

Okay, enough exclamations. 

This coming weekend is Halloween and I'm super excited for my costume this year. Last years was cool too and I actually got to wear it somewhere. This year I was hoping to wear it to work but since I have off, the Trick or Treaters will be the only ones to see it. 

I'll post a pic or two here for your viewing pleasure. 

So, stay tuned!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

xoxo

Monthly Favorites | August

Hello Everybody!

It's the beginning of the month again and you know what thaaaaaaaat meeeeeeans.....

August Favorites!

Holy crap, September is here. Like, the school starting month. 

Well, for me anyway. (Woo year number 5!)

Honestly I calculated it and I'll have graduated after 5 1/2 years of college. Now, I know that a lot of people say that it's more difficult to get through college in the typical 4 years, and you know what? 

They're right. 

So, if you're like me and are going to college longer than the usual time it takes to get your degree, don't fret! You're not alone. Here's to super seniors *thumbs up. 

Anywhooooo, check out what I've been loving throughout the month of August!

1) I brought out my cheese head because it's nearly PACKER SEASON! Pre-season football has been on pretty much every night at this household and it's definitely getting me all sorts of pumped! Now, just because Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb are out doesn't mean the Superbowl is out of reach. We can do it! Go Pack Go!

2) These cute little paper page flags have been so nice to use as bookmarks, and page markers or little reminder flags. Of course I'd color coordinate them with the item it belonged to (like the blue floral one for the lovely book featured here). I got them from Target in the $1 section a few months back, I hope they come back!

3) My silver owl book locket from Maggie & Christine! They got this for me when they were camping with their parents and finally gave it to me about a week ago. And of course, they put their faces in it. But, not only that, they put their baby faces in it. So cute and chubby. And, I wear it everyday!

4) Papermate Inkjoy pens. I saw the commercials for these (I know, pen commercials, right?) Anyway, I tried them out and fell in love as soon as I wrote with them. They are triangular in shape so they're super comfortable to write with and omg to they write smoothly. Look out essays, you're going to be dominated. 

5) Essie nail polish. This polish is in the color 'Stylenomics'. It is a very dark emerald color and I absolutely love it for the autumnal season! I also love the staying power of this formula. I might have turned my cheek on my Sally Hansen polishes. Might have. 

6) My little pearl earrings! I usually wear pearl earrings everyday, and I actually lost these back in July when I stayed in Waupaca, but they were returned to me and I am too happy about these little guys. The perfect size for my ears!

7) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I've had this book in my bookshelf for like half a year now and it has been staring at my face yelling at me to read it, and I finally did. And, I loved it! I couldn't put it down. I wanted to talk to Ryan about it as I was reading it but of course, he hasn't read it so he wasn't interested. Although, I will say I'm not super happy about the ending, and I hope a sequel is coming soon! Until then I'll be reading Rainbow Rowell's other book on my shelf, Fangirl. 

8) My eighth favorite is New Girl. I've been watching it on Netflix and have been completely binging on it. I love it. I can't say that enough. I LOVE NEW GIRL!!!

So funny, gets me too involved, and omg I just love it too dang much! If you haven't seen it before you must see it!!!

Hope your September is going well! And for those of you in school, good luck and have a great year!

xoxo

Mancl Family Campout | Volume 4

Hello Everybody!

Top Row: Uncle Jerry, & Bacon
Middle Row: Dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Linda, Jordan, Grandpa, Grandma, Aubrey, Leah, Aunt Nancy, Tyler & Rayden.
Bottom Row: Nate, Jess & Sawyer, Mom, Me, Allison & Natalie
Photo credit: Leah

So far, this month has been all about family. The weekend before last was spent with my Dad's side of my family and this past weekend was spent with my Mom's side. 

Every year, the Mancl's have a family campout at North Wood County Park towards the end of the summer or beginning of fall. For the past three years the weather hasn't been too kind to us but it was tolerable. This year was ungodly hot. And humid. 

I think Tyler said it got to about 104!? Yuck. This year I only went for Saturday, which is the day that counts as we have our potluck and the annual bean bag corn hole tournament!

I think I've been on Uncle Ron's team every year, and we never win (mostly my fault). 

For those of you who do not reside within the beautiful Mid-West or the rest of the U.S. and do not know what corn hole is, it is a game where two teams throw bags of beans (or corn) at a board about 30 feet away and try to get it in a hole at the far end of the board.

 Here's a diagram.

(Not my photo)

You get it, right? Cool.

Uncle Ron and I were one of the first teams out, so naturally, we could sit and relax as one does on vacation.

To be honest, I don't know who won as I was making dessert when the last few games were being played. And you know what, it doesn't matter because we're all winners. 

*rainbow shoots across sky*

Food was great as always. Sorry not sorry to the unattractive photo.

It was ungodly hot and humid out, so why on earth did we all huddle together around warm food? Because we're family, that's why.
About an hour later, it began to sprinkle a bit and then turn into, as Forrest Gump says, 'big 'ol fat rain'. Leah, Allison, and I took a walk around the park in the rain and it felt amazing.
We walked across the swinging bridge all fast n' junk to make it bounce up and down because we all live to be children once again.

Later, we sat around the fire and discussed how Leah and Tyler now live (and sleep) where some guy we (kind of, not really) knew, OD'd.
So, there's that information.
Once everybody began to leave for the night or go to bed or shower, I decided it was time to go as well. I said my goodbyes and on my drive home I had the same thought as always, 'I should've stayed, I love my family'. Can't wait till next summer!
And, hopefully I'll see you all soon!

Photo credit: Leah (of course)

Enjoy all of your end of the summer trips!
Especially the ones with family, you never know when it could be the last time you're all together. Cherish every moment!

xoxo

(Almost) The whole Fam-Damily | Devil's Lake

Hello Everybody!

For about six months now, my Dad's side of my family has planned on taking a family camping trip to Devil's Lake State Park and since we only get together about once a year, I was super excited! I love my family!

It's pretty difficult for us to all get together since theres about 55 of us total! 

Three of Dad's brothers and one of his sisters live out of state (along with various cousins) so for some it is more difficult to find time to travel, especially for just one weekend.

Pretty much what we were surrounded by all weekend. Definitely not complaining. 

Using Grandpa's original Coleman lantern. Took a bit to get it working, and man did it work!

But, for those of us who could get together, we had a fantastic time! Friday evening we all compared stories on how difficult it was to find the camp and our sites. Mom, Dad, and I ate dinner pretty much last as our grill wasn't heating up the fastest. But, we all got together afterwards around the fire. Once almost everyone got to sleep, a few of us were left and my cousin, Cody, couldn't grasp the concept of 'quiet hour'. We also heard coyotes, and had a good laugh as Ralph tried to find the bathroom, with Cody's help, of course.

Although, the weather didn't cooperate like we wanted on Saturday, so we didn't get to go swimming or kayaking. 

Total Bummer.

We did, however, go hiking on the bluffs along the lake. Which, was a bit more of a work out than I had expected, but totally worth it!

It was quite foggy/hazy out (as you can tell) but still a beautiful sight. 

Anyway, check out our hike!

 Me, Aunt Ann, Uncle Paul, Brook, Veronica, Tim, Aunt Mary, Erica, & Ralph

My fave.

Demi rock formations doe.

After our adventure, it was dinner time! 

We had a pot luck which consisted of a competition for two groups, smoked meats, and some sort of chocolate dessert. There were ribs, meatballs, bacon wrapped dates (which were surprisingly delicious), fajitas, and a plethora of salads. For dessert there was lemon bars, and rice krispy bars with chocolate on top (with or without peanut butter). Everything tasted great. I just wished I had pictures of everything!

We celebrated Stella's (Brook's daughter) Birthday. She was definitely a princess for the day; tiara and all. 

Couldn't put her balloons down.

Saturday night, we sat around the fire rhyming names. Aunt Mary's was the most successful. Veronica and I checked out people getting kicked out around quiet hour, and were called guys by some foreign men. We used hashtags in front of every sentence and played Sequence until we got too tired and started to hear weird noises in the woods.

 

It was a fantastic weekend, and I loved seeing everyone! I can't wait until we can all get together again. 

I love you all!

Hope you are all enjoying your August so far and are really enjoying the end of summer. It's one of the best times of the season, so enjoy it while you can!
Fall is right around the corner (oh boy).

xoxo

Monthly Favorites | July

Hello Everybody!

It's that time of the month again........time to show my monthly favorites!

July seems to have gone way too fast, like every month so far. 

Oh my gosh. 

It's August already! 

Nooo! Summer has gone way too fast. 

Well, let's try to enjoy it as best as we can!

This past month I haven't been loving too many new things as I've been sticking to the same 'ol stuff for traveling and I haven't ventured out for new products at home. 

Maroon Floppy Hat

I bought this hat from, you guessed it, Target. For some reason I cannot find it online, but it was about $20. As soon as I saw it, I had to have it. First of all, it's my favorite color, and I can definitely see myself sporting this at school. And I will. Also, my mom always tells me I have a face for hats, and well, I can't argue with that!

Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn

A few weeks ago, I got a super craving for kettle corn as it is the summer, and for me, it's a definite staple at any festival. When I think of sweet and salty, I think, kettle corn. I didn't know at the time that I had bought the single serve bags, but that was perfect so I could have them for a snack. And I have every day. Sometimes I've had two. How scandalous. Anyway, I have to run to the store today, and I'll be getting more!

Benefit's -They're Real- Mascara

I bought this product last winter, actually, which is kind of bad, but I've only used it a few times as I was kind of disappointed in it. And my usual mascara has run out so I thought I'd try it again and for some reason, I love it! It makes my lashes look super long and super full and dark, like falsies. Usually I don't like plastic applicators, but this one seems to work well!

A definite recommend to all. 

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Crayon

I've had a few of these products for a while now, and of course I always think I need another one! I found this color and thought it would be a really close neutral color to my lips, and it is. Its just slightly more mauve than my natural lips and I wear it almost everyday. Everyday that I put on makeup, that is. It is in the color Honey or 001. I love it!

The Sims 3: Ambitions; Expansion Pack

I've had this for years now and for some reason, I've decided to pop it back into my computer and give it a whirl. I know that The Sims 4 is out, but I've heard mixed reviews on it and I think I'll stick with this for now. I can spend all day playing this, but for some reason, my laptop doesn't like running the fan when I play so I have to call it quits after about an hour. Oh well. 

My Dream Journal and Sketch-A-Day Journal

I've had a Dream Journal for a few years now and I always seem to write them down for maybe a couple of months and then I either move the book so I forget to keep writing in it or I just forget to write them down all together. Same goes with my Sketch-A-Day journal. So, I've decided to combine them and write down my dreams from the night before, and then sometime throughout the day I'll add a little sketch. So far, it's been going well. I just hope that I can keep it up!

I hope your July hasn't gone too fast and I hope that your August stays nice and slow for you as well! 

Enjoy the rest of your Summer!

xoxo

Donnie's Little Friend's Weekend | Waupaca 2015

Hello Everybody!

If you have been over to my old blog, you may have seen my post that I have made about my summer weekend trip to Waupaca, Wisconsin with Maggie, Christine, their parents, Don & Ruth, and friends of the family.

This year our friend Hannah came too!

Saturday we drove up to Rhinelander (where I was for the Hodag) to pick up Christine at her summer job at Camp Tesomas. 

She was getting so excited and anxious on the ride home, a bit rubbed off on me as well, even though I've only been there three times, I always have such a great time-it keeps me coming back!

Christine had only forgotten her towel this year (We're proud of her). 

We ran down to the (new) boat, named Leslie, and checked out her sweetness. 

She's definitely a party boat!

Maggie and Hannah left for a canoe ride and Christine and I jumped in the water with her mom. Family friends, George and Rick, followed shortly. 

The water is so clear and the sky was as well. I was soooooo happy the water was warm. 

(With 82 degree weather, it can't get any better than that!)

View ft. Leslie

Dunvegan (named after the Scottish family castle).

Shortly after, we dried off and Christine and I took a kayak ride to Marl Lake (Green Lake)

I made sure to take some form of photo taking device with me this year because it is so beautiful!

I now know that Christine has the bladder of a squirrel and should always make a rest stop for her, as she needs to pee every half hour. It made our trip a bit longer, but less rushed.

You can see how clear the water is; thank you, Wisconsin.

It was absolutely beautiful!

And finally we got to Marl Lake!

The reason why we call it Green Lake.

 No, it's not algae, the lyme in the sediment makes the water this beautiful blue-green color. 

Christine says it is about 80' deep!

I'm so arty.

We spent about a half hour there until, you guessed it, Christine had to "go". 

We were on our way back, almost half way home, when she felt her sun glasses slip off her head and fall into the water. She reached over to grab them and fell right in. It seemed much more frightening to us than to everyone else we had told later that day...

She walked waist deep in muck to the boat landing to drain the kayak and get back inside. It was an experience, and I'm glad that I was with her. Who knows what could've happened.

Later that night we went to Clearwater Harbor for dinner, which could've been a lot better if the live band that they had playing there wasn't inside and so VERY loud. I feel like I sound like an old lady complaining about it but honestly, we had to yell at each other just to have a conversation. Ugh! The food was pretty good, but it seemed like all of our orders had something missing or wrong with them and I partially blame the noise that the waitress had to filter out while taking them.
In the end, Maggie won best meal choice with the avocado burger (also, thank you again for footing the bill Don&Ruth!)
Afterwards, we played a few board games until the early morning and went to bed.
Sunday, we were woken up with pancakes and sausage (which I was super grateful for, as I haven't had breakfast made for me at home in years).

It was a great weekend with friends that I look forward to each summer and I absolutely cannot wait to get invited back next year!
Thank you to the McClure's for having me!

xoxo