If I were my own Santa ...

     I love Christmas shopping: even when I was younger and had $10 in my pocket to divide between a dozen family members, I loved looking for gifts. The picking, planning, wrapping, and eminent surprise on Christmas day always excited me even more than the childhood excitement over what Santa would leave for me. This is the first year that I've had any substantial amount of money saved up for the holiday season ... I'm still a fairly poor college student working in retail, but thanks to frugal/smart/early shopping and several months of saving up I've managed to splurge on several people (especially my sister Nicole and brother Skyler).

      I'm not wanting for anything; I have pretty much everything I need and the few items I'd like to get in the future are expensive enough that I'd never expect them as presents, like my someday laptop. I did, however find some pretty cool things as I shopped for other people and have my own little Top 5 list for Santa. I wouldn't ask anyone to get my anything on it, but one of these days when I recoup from my holiday shopping spree I'll be getting them for myself. Birthday coming up soon? xD

1. A Kindle eReader

     I've always been a bookworm, but work and college life have limited my time and book access. The few times I find spare minutes I could use to read that guilty-pleasure Nora Roberts novel, I'm far from any kind of printed literature. Any eReader would be great, though I love everything I've heard about the Kindle and the access to e-library books. It'd definitely make getting and carrying my textbooks easier as well. ^_^

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005890G8Y/ref=famstripe_kt

2. A Nikon s3100 or s4100 Camera

     Quite literally anything besides a drugstore disposable camera would be a step up from my ten year old, AA battery, 3.2 megapixel Kodak camera. I've used it for years and never minded it, but now that it will no longer turn on, a new camera is definitely on my to-do list. In addition to being a cute girl with a rarely-updated facebook photo, my sculptures and art assignments need to be documented for a final portfolio and the cellphone camera shots are hardly professional. I'll never be one of those crazy DSLR kids with a camera that's worth more than my car, but a current point and shoot would be handy.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00353172000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

3. Dr. Who Fan-girl Swag

    The wonderful menagerie of cheesy Doctor Who merchandise, especially The Van Gough Tardis print and anything David Tennant/10th Doctor related; as much as I love the show, I have absolutely nothing cool or commemorative. It's my favorite tv show of all time, Santa should really fix that :3

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/posters/eaf4/?srp=14

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/a150/?srp=4

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/9223/?srp=11

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/8cff/?srp=22

4. Adorable Plushies

     I've seen too many cute plushies this year, though the quirky and often video game related ones are my favorites. The sushi and fuzzy microbes on ThinkGeek are definitely a winner. 

http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/on-sale/c4a6/
http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/on-sale/d351/

5. Clothes!

     More specifically, a gift card to H&M/Ross/Target etc ... or even someone to accompany me on a little shopping trip. I've got enough garments to cover my back, but I'd love some cute things I feel good about myself in that actually FIT me. I've dropped so much weight that even the clothes I've picked up along the way are far too big or baggy on me now. I know I'm not a kid anymore now that I actually want clothes for Christmas: shirts, jeans, blouses, bras, shoes, pretty much everything needs to be replaced. That's my mission for the upcoming year, so any cute clothes or accessories would be a huge hit with me <(^_^)>

Introduction to Sculpture

     I've got a few pictures of each project this year, my final is about halfway finished so there are a couple in-progress pictures of that. We work in sulfur based wax modeling clay, the same kind you'll see if you watch behind the scenes interviews for any animation studio. Each sculpture has an underlying armature, so there's a fairly technical aspect to each project as well as the artistic process. The armatures consist of varying gauges of wire, hot glue, plumber's epoxy, styrofoam, hot glue, and any other materials I might need to MacGuyver. I don't have any pictures of the naked armatures, but I'm sure I will next semester when I take Figure Sculpture. The grades I got are noted, and although I'm generally an A student, I'm even proud of my B's as Thomas Applegate's sculpture classes are notoriously graded.

Project #1 - Master Copy of Rodin's Meditaton (B+)
The reference from Stanford's Cantor Museum Sculpture Garden

The copy I made, my first foray into armature and modeling clay.

Project #2 - Hand of God (B)

We were tasked with, using our own hand as live reference, creating a narrative about God's hand in any literal, figurative, silly, or serious sense we could think of. My piece started out as tendrils of energy catching falling figures to symbolize our sense of security in God as our safety net. The tendrils and figures developed into something far more creepy, and in my mind the concept changed to how entangled we become in religions and dogmas. Our respective belief systems can entrap us in life and separate us from those whose struggles are akin to our own.

Project #3 - Animal Morph (A-)

This time we were told to create a creature, mythical or realistic, that was a combination of three different animals. The mix was supposed to be 40/40/20 % but mine turned into a more blended amalgamation of a Ball Python head and neck and the body, tail, and arms of both a lion and a velociraptor. My beloved animal, dubbed the Pylocilion, was the only project so far that I got an A of any kind on.

Project #4 - Final: Creature/Mythological/Gravity (TBD)

As I said, this guy is in progress and due 12/15, I'll update this blog post with finished pictures and a grade. He's a stone golem who will be emerging from a rocky mountainside. I went the extra mile, as the last frame shows, and gave him led eyes and a lit geode in his belly. Going well so far, I hope he turns out as successful as the handsome Pylocilion!

Short, Sweet, and Light!

     I'm dying to get back into blogging, so I plan on updating much more often but for the moment, just a quick update, I met all the goals I set for myself last year. I've lost a total of 80lbs, am a size 10/12, and feel fabulous. Some people gain the freshman fifteen, I lost the sophomore eighty ^_^ I've learned new ways to live and cook, as expensive as organics might be, and am loving life. I've recently chopped my hair into a ruby red severe a-line to match the new curves, and am in the process of grabbing new clothes that fit when I can afford them.

     Things have been solid with my high school sweetheart for almost a year straight, after all of our ups and downs we've finally managed a serene balance in our now-adult working lives. One of these days we'll have the means to live together, but for the moment we juggle weekends and evenings nicely.
     My 4th term at Cogswell (counting summer semester) is over next week, grades as good as ever. Although the material gets more challenging I've managed to do much more than keep my head above water; College and I have been kind to each other.

     I'm jumping for joy as I count down the days until Christmas Eve, the day I drive to my mom's house in frosty Southern Oregon for a home cooked white Christmas with the family. Cookies, old movies, presents, cocoa, and family galore. It's always nice to spend the holiday with those who truly cherish it; my mom has always made even the most frugal holiday seasons an absolute extravaganza of yuletide spirit. I've already finished my shopping and wrapping, early as it is. For now I wait, make sugar free cocoa, and watch classic Christmas movies :D I'll be off to the Vasona Lights tomorrow night with my San Jose family, followed by low-carb cookie baking and finishing touches on my sculpture final project. I'll be posting pictures of this semester's Introduction to Sculpture projects soon!

Getting Ready for the Holiday Season - Low Carb Style!

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

1.3 grams of carbs per cookie
Makes about 40

1/2 cup sugar-free chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup heavy cream 
1/2 cup chopped pecans 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 packets of sugar substitute 
2 tablespoons soy flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat, or spray it with non-stick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl blend together all ingredients. Drop by teaspoons on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute on baking sheet then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Low Carb Almond Sugar Cookies

1-1/4 cup almond flour
1 cup Splenda
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
additional Splenda, for decorating

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Stir together flour and Splenda. Blend in butter, egg and vanilla until well mixed. Form into 1-inch balls on a cookie sheet and flatten each with a fork. Sprinkle with additional Splenda. Bake for 8 minutes or until set but not brown. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet then remove to wire racks to cool.

Low Carb Snickerdoodles

Makes about 26

1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup granulated Splenda
1 large egg 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 
2 tablespoons granulated Splenda 
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add half the ground almonds, 1 cup Splenda, egg, vanilla, baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat until well combined. Beat in remaining ground almonds. Cover and chill in bowl for 1 hour. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. In a small bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons Splenda and the cinnamon; mix well. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls. Gently roll each ball in the cinnamon-Splenda mixture to coat and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned at the edges. Carefully remove from pan to cooling rack to cool completely.

Low Carb Hot Cocoa

Makes about 4

3 cups half and half
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 tablespoons Splenda or your favorite sugar substitute (add more or less to taste)
extra cream for whipped topping (optional)

Heat half and half in saucepan over medium heat, add cocoa and Splenda, wisking continuously. Do not allow to come to a boil. Add whipped cream for garnish if desired.