Days of Free Time Left: 6

Winter break at the University of Minnesota is much longer than the winter breaks I am used to at NDSU, so that has given me an abundance of "free time." The phrase "free time" is rarely used by graduate students, because there is always something you could or should be doing. It has been a unique blessing to wake up and create a mental list of everything that has to get done that day and find that the list is short or empty. Per usual, I filled some free time with some art/craft projects. My painting supplies are all at home (in Lakeville), which is probably beneficial to my productivity levels because sometimes painting can absolutely consume me.

My first adventure in the land of scissors and glue puddles were windchime suncatchers. I made beads out of magazine strips and I was definitely glad my roommates weren't around to see the disaster I made-- uff da.

I spread glue on one side of a long strip of magazine paper, roll it around a drinking straw, and then I let them dry on these screws. This is a picture of several of the beads drying.

I mixed the magazine beads with some glass beads from the craft store on craft wire and added some loop-de-loops in the wire. The large silver charms on the ends create a unique sound when they "tink tink" together!

This is the finished product.

Later in the week I created some collage art greeting cards. I wasn't really sure what I was doing, but I think they turned out pretty cool.

Here are the three of them completed.

And these are close ups of each card design.

My days of unlimited free time are numbered, however. Starting next Tuesday, I not only begin my second semester of grad school, I also start one of my new jobs as a barista (that sounds so cool) at Caribou Coffee near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. On my first day I help open the store, which means being at work at 5:30 in the morning. Luckily, there is free coffee because that is a time of day I am not very used to. In addition to that job, I have been hired to be a regular babysitter for a wonderful family in Minneapolis. The kids are adorable and the family is very nice and understanding of my sometimes crazy schedule. And I definitely can't complain about getting the chance to get paid to play!

Today's nugget: "Remember, happiness is a way of travel, not a destination." Pack lightly and put on some good walking shoes; it's a beautiful journey!