helpful tips 101: "makeup spill...oops"

~I have decided to start "helpful tips" where I tell you things that I think could help you...things I have had to find out the hard way or simply by accident, like this entry, the inspiration that started it.~

Ladies, have you ever been in this situation:

You're in the process of putting on your makeup. While you are applying some sort of liquid makeup, it drips onto your shirt. You think to yourself "oh snap" (or enter word of choice here) becuase you know that makeup stains are super hard to get out and usually smear, and sometimes do not come out depending on the material and what you spilled. Yeah. I was there Saturday. Let me tell you a solution that I have found that works great on knits.

I was sitting in the car, reapplying makeup before going into the mall. I use liquid coverup. It dripped onto my sweater. "Oh snap!!!" Well, not sure what I should do, and not wanting it to dry but at the same time not wanting it to spread, I took a piece of ice out of the 16 0z paper cup of water I had gotten with my meal. I pressed the corner to the makeup spot and rubbed it around just slightly. At first I thought I had made it worse becuase the makeup got all watery and seemed to expand. I quickly took a napkin out of the glove box and pressed it to the new watery makeup spot. When I lifted it away however, most of the makeup had absorbed into the napkin and out of the sweater. Excited now, I repeated this process 3 times and got all the makeup out.

So here is my solution for getting liquid makeup out of knits (I say knits and sweaters, I have not actually tested this on other materials). The fresher the stain or spill, the better this will work. Take a piece of ice and rub the corner onto the makeup until it is pretty watery-looking (only takes a few seconds). Next take a napkin/toilet paper/tissue or other thin highly absorbent material and press onto newly watered-down makeup spot (do not rub!!). Repeat as necessary.

oh snap!!!

WHEW!!! Ok, so my midterm actually went really well! I studied hard, and studied the right things!!!! It is amazing how hard you can study sometimes and do terrible...cause you studied the WRONG things. Most of the questions were strait from the previous quizzes. Sweet!!! Becuase I actually studied my quizzes and the correct answers to them. Imagine that. And I turned in my project. And remember that brass arrangement of Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag I told you about earlier?? Got it back with FULL POINTS!!! Oh, and on top of that my rehearsals for symphony band and women's chorus went really well too. So a good day. I am happy right now. And this was the fruits of my labor right here...(i've discovered how to add video hehe)


(Hey kim, are you up again tonight?? Behold...and actually it wasn't that hard just took a long time hehe)

So now what am I doing now?? Actually, right now I'm studying for another midterm...this time for my weight training class, and most of it is no-brainer stuff. I can't believe I'm actually studying for it, I could probably go in tomorrow morning, take it without haveing looked at the book, and been fine. But, this is me, so I have to at least look at the material...so far I haven't read anything I didn't know or couldn't have guessed for myself. Great.

In other news...
I'm trying to stop saying the word "crap" when something unpleasant is happening or has happened...you know, like "oh my gosh" except I say "crap." I got hooked onto this word in high school...not becuase I thought is was a cool word to say, but that everyone was saying it and it just kinda stuck. (At least I didn't get hooked on a swear word, that would've been bad...) However, it is still not a very nice word, and kinda vulgar when you think about it. So I've been trying to replace it. There was one year I started saying "stripes" instead. It didn't stick, but I got another person saying that now instead of swear words so I guess it did some good. My old roommate last year got me saying "Grr" and "rawr," which I still use but they are more like sound effects. So I was watching Chicken Little the other day (I love that movie!!) and whenever something goes wrong he says "Oh snap." I thought, "that's awsome!!" and now that is what I am going to try to say for now on. And if anyone catches me saying "crap" again, I give you permission to take away my peanut butter....oh wait, I don't know if i could give that up...hmm, not my cookiedough either...how about to shamelessly laugh at my face while drinking milkshakes? That's a fair compromise right??

Anyone need a nightcap??

So guess what i'm supposed to be doing right now...even though it is almost 2 in the morning...and it's not sleeping. Nope!! I'm not sleeping tonight. I'm supposed to be studying for my midterm tomorrow, but I hate studying. So i'm taking a "break." Who likes to study....seriously??

Ok i'd just like to put this down. I'm not outspoken. Most of the time I'm pretty quiet. I laugh at jokes, smile and nod, and even say a few words now and again. That doesn't mean I can't have fun or be crazy or go out and have a good time...because I can, and do sometimes. But unless you are carrying on a real conversation with real topics and really actually talking about real things, i'm probably not going to participate much in the "talking." I'm all for the witty banter...I just can't do it myself very well. Too nice I guess, that's what i've been told anyway. Ok I just really needed to rant about that...thanks for listening.

So this weekend has been like SUPER CRAZY!!!! Let me tell you how absulotely crazy. I have this big midterm project that is due tomorrow (or today actually). I have to arrange a Chopin etude for brass, strings, percussion and piano. Actually I chose those instruments but I had to choose them from among others. But that's beside the point. I have to do this project on a music arranging and composing software called Finale. Let me tell you what I think of Finale. RAWR!!!!! It's just plain silly! Finale was programmed by the computer nerds who wanted to write music. The way it is put together is awful. You can't find anything, and its more oriented toward a computer nerd process of thought rather than a musician. Now on the other hand, Sebelius is another composing software that is like Finale only it is a software programmed by musicians for musicians. Much better.

Anyway, I have to use Finale and the only place to do it is in the music computer lab, which is only open at odd hours in the day. I never have time to get in there and work on it! So that is what I have been doing all weekend. TRYING to get into the computer lab. Well, after getting someone to open the lab and let me in, I sat in a vinyl chair (actually I don't know what kind of chair it is but I've always wanted to use that word) for 6 hours and finished my project. FINALLY!!! But no, no freedom yet. I still have to study for this midterm in the same class that should have been last week, but he cancelled it. Blah. So now I have to try to make sure I know everything for the midterm as well too. Plus I have a rehearsal tomorrow that I'm not ready for becuase some of the music is not up to tempo. We'll see how it goes. After wednesday afternoon, I'll be able to breathe again. So I guess I should get back to studying...stupid tests...

Oh...and it's cold and wet outside. I don't mind wet, but its too cold!!!! brrrr.......

weather blurb

Ok, remember when I said that it has been getting cold out lately?? I take it all back. It is hot here!! It was 85 today!! What is with that? Not that I'm complaining, I'm a very warm-weathered person. I just wish the weather would make up its mind! Last week was 50s for crying out loud (and I am, on the inside at least). This is Indiana weather for you though. It is sillier than Texas weather, which is really silly as far as storms go (they just pop up out of nowhere). Here it's the temperature (which is worse), and sometimes precipitation, which adds massive confusion.


For example....


Last winter was so stupid. It would snow, then get warm after a couple days, rain, get cold for couple days, freeze, snow some more, get warm and rain again. I think the longest cycle was 2 weeks between cold spells. This happened ALL WINTER!!! And can you imagine the mess?? Everything was always soggy because it would snow then melt a couple days later, then rain on top of it. And this isn't just an inch of snow. It would snow several inches (like at least 5) every time, then rain again. Ick. I don't care at this point if it is warm or cold outside (though I prefer warm) but it should either just stay warm, or stay cold. REALLY!!

OMGsh!! I love handbags!! Don't you??

waking up is overrated

Sometimes I'm like this.

Sometimes i'm more like this:

Yeah. It really is. For me. You have no idea....then again, maybe you do. I am pathetic when it comes to waking up in the morning...I hate it. There is rarely anything more satisfying than waking up all warm under your covers, not wanting to get up becuase you know it is FREEZING out there...yeah...you know.

Take this morning. It has been getting cold outside lately, so this morning I woke up grudgingly to my alarm at 8am. I was all warm and toasty. I REALLY didn't want to get up, but I had a class at 9, and I had already missed it on Monday becuase I didn't wake up. Here's the bigger issue with me...

I have to set at least 2 alarm clocks to get me up. sometimes I even set 3 or 4, and set them in various places around the room. One of my alarms is usually my old phone, with the mono sound that is really loud and obnoxious. I'll lay down and get settled, then set the alarm on it, then toss it somewhere across the room so the next morning i have to hunt for it, and it forces me out of bed. This works pretty well since my room is usually cluttered somewhat. Even still though, if I know I have time to sleep a little more, I'll get back in bed, hold my phone in my hand, and snooze the alarm several times. Usually when I sleep, I am on my side and i don't move. When I snooze, however, I turn onto my stomach, with my head facing one wall, and everytime I hit the snooze, i'll turn my head so that it is facing the other wall. I will do this until i'm coherent enough to realize that maybe I should get up. Which is bad becuase studies say that snoozing actually makes you more tired than if you just get up the first time.

Pathetic yes??

...I saw an ad for an alarm clock that rolls off your endtable so you have to chase it to turn the alarm off. Crazy huh...

saturday, september 20, 2008 - senior recital part I

Ok, my senior recital!! Man was it a crazy weekend. There were so many things I had to do...such as get cups and napkins and platters, not to mention what I was going to do about food. I'd like to say I was a complete wreck, but somehow I remained very calm and somewhat less nervous than I would have originally thought. Nevertheless, here is a recounting of my weekend.

I woke up Friday morning in the usual routine...hitting the snooze button on BOTH of my alarm clocks for like an hour before I am awake enough to realize I should get up (I have now decided to devote an entire chapter to my sleeping habits. You would laugh). So I rolled out of bed, not bothering to shower, and went to work at 9am. I get home by 11am, drop my stuff off, and get in my car to proceed to run all the errands I had been putting off for this weekend. After making sure I didn't need gas and stopping into the bank to deposit some checks, I headed over to the Dollar General, which happened to be right next door on the strip. I went in knowing that I could get a white tablecloth for, guess how much, a dollar. As i pulled it off the rack in the party section, I noticed the napkins. I am a sucker for arranging and wanting colors to match and be thematic. So I started looking at different colored plates and napkins. I already had some at home, but black would look classy for a music recital, i thought. This is my downfall....I can't make up my mind about things very fast. I probably stood there in the party aisle for like 10 minutes trying to decide to get colored plates and napkins. I finally decided that after I would decide while I was running other errands and come back later. So I went around to the other side of the store where I happened to see some excellent cheap platters, two smaller silver and two large, round and clear. They would be perfect for putting cupcakes and fruit on (which is what I had decided to make). I also picked up some wood polishing cloths. I thought I could find some better napkins at Hobby Lobby, like something bright and totally crazy or funny that would say a little about me. I found these cute napkins of jeans and bandana pattern, with Texas Rodeo printed on them. I resisted buying them.

I didn't like how my dress was not very flattering in the waist and thought I could make it look better if I tacked the back in a little. So I looked for something to use that would be temporary at both hobby lobby and Joanns, but found nothing. I decided to resort to earring studs if I really wanted to mess with it later.

Next, I went over to the mall to look for a necklace. I didn't have anything really fancy that matched the style of my dress, and claires usually have sets of matching earrings and necklaces. I also wanted to find some way to put my hair up, since it is now short and I wanted to do something different than usual and make it look fancy. The lady at Claires was really helpful, even doing up my hair right there in the store using various hair accessories that were there. It was pretty cool, and I have a new way to wear my hair (esp. when its dirty and I don't feel like completely washing and drying it). I wasn't sure, so I went to Target and Sally Beauty supply to see if they had anything better, though I ended up getting some velcro rollers, which I love!! But going back to Claires and bought gator clips in varying sizes, the big one silver and the small ones bold pink. I also found the perfect jewelry for my dress. Stopping at Aunt Annie's on the way out, I headed next to Party City to search for napkins and punch cups. The cups were easy enough to find, but they had so many different themes napkins there I didn't know what to do with myself. I started down one aisle though and came across the PERFECT napkins. It was as if light from heaven were shining down upon them (though it could have been the bright flourecent light right above my head too). Printed in that slightly fuzzy way in which most napkins are printed, was a picture of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, two of the newest My Little Ponies. They were perfect for a night devoted to ME. I bought them. (Note to self--write a chapter on My Little Pony.)

Happily checking out, I headed to Walmart to buy my cupcake mix. My favorite cupcakes are Betty Crocker's Rainbow Chip, complete with Rainbow Chip iceing. I could eat that stuff out of the jar...and I do. Becuase I didn't want to seem selfish, I also bought a box of chocolate. After that, I went to the fruit section. I couldn't decide what to get besides strawberries, but i wanted the colors to contrast nicely, so something green. I called my BF to ascertain her opinion, and we both decided that grapes would be a better choice than apples, which would turn brown. I headed home, it being about 4 in the afternoon by this point (I am terrible at running errands, as I have mentioned). I got home and anxiously awaited for when my family would show up, as they were getting to Muncie around 6. Well, finally they gave me a call saying they were in town. I gave them the directions to my house. They parked in the back where my car was, and came around to the front porch, where I was. But the person who rounded the corner first was not either of the two ppl I was expecting. It was my 15-year-old sister Aly!! Although, i was not surprised to see her at all, since she was the only one out of the four of us still living at home, I figured in the back of my head that mom and dad would bring her. The next person, however, was not mom or dad either. It was Grandma!! I have to admit, I was completely surprised to see her there, and I got over the shock enough to be excited and hugged her. Mom and Dad came around next. I was so touched that they all came to see me play, even though now it sometimes seems silly. All that attention for 1 1/2 hours of playing....seems kind of anticlimactic sometimes when I think about it, though knowing at the same time that this is a major stepping stone for me. So we all went out to eat at Red Lobsters, though there was some indecision on my part between that or Texas Road House. To make a long story not as long, the cheddar bay busquits were AMAZING!!!

sticky rice and other tales

So this past Sunday I made sweet sticky rice for the first time. It is a Thai recipe, which we were introduced to when my Thai sister was here. It actually is pretty good, though not as good as the sweet sticky rice that we had at the Thai restaurant in Coppell back at home. Still, I sliced up some nectarine witih it (becuase my mango was not ripe yet) and it goes really well with it too. I can't wait to make some coconut soup next!!

Well, the sweet sticky rice did not go over very well when I brought it to Break the Fast Sunday afternoon. I think everyone was scared of it. That is ok, becuase now it is all for me!! I love the stuff, i've already eaten almost a whole pan by myself in the last couple days....mmmm....

I talked to Noon again on Tuesday! I miss her so much...she is tutoring now for a test similar to the SAT she tells me. Good luck Noon!!

I want to post about my senior recital but I still don't have any pics yet from Dad. So I'll just have to wait to post it. It was a pretty awsome (and stressful) day and I can't wait to tell about it.

Other than that, not much has happened to me of late. I failed a quiz this week in my orchestration class...it was horrible. I remember studying about all the stuff, but when it came down to it, I couldn't remember. I even had to leave one question blank. ick. I'm making good grades on my projects though. Our next one is arrangeing Scott Jopoin's Maple Leaf Rag for Brass choir (trumpets, tombones, horns, and tuba). I think it might actually be fun to arrange, since it is a piece I like. I really want to make a good grade in this class so it doesn't bring my GPA down, but in the end I think I will just be happy that its over. December is so close....its October already!! Speaking of October...I want to dress up this year, wear some sort of wings, maybe butterfly or angels wings. I could go completely against the steriotype of the harpist and where devil horns, that would be funny. But I probably wouldn't. Maybe cat ears??? I am playing for the Halloween wind ensemble concert, and we are performing Danse Macabre from Saint-Saens. And we are dressing up for it. How cool is that?!