The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.

The Epic Semester of Doom known as Spring 2010 has officially ended with the submission of grades this afternoon. I am done taking classes; please don't ask me what my next degree will be in - I've sworn off school indefinitely! Now I can settle into my planning for summer classes and feel relieved that all of my energy can be devoted to teaching and to the ever constant organizing and packing of our house.

My dad drove down for my graduation weekend, which was a great respite after a very hectic week! I did not attend commencement (there's been enough wearing of black polyester in the Mississippi humidity for me, thank you), but we had a grand time going out, cooking out and enjoying the company of good friends.








Now that I've had a bit of time to be creative (and now that I got a new camera for graduation! Thundercats, Ho!!!), I can share my latest graduation endeavors:

For Friday night, the Graduation Dress Challenge! I had three hours waiting for my dad to arrive and decided to tackle a wearable muslin. In the end, it took three hours and 20 minutes. And I don't think it turned out half bad, considering how quickly it was constructed, and the fact that it originated as a 99 cent curtain panel from Salvation Army:


For Graduation Day, the Graduation-Superhero-Retro-A-Go-Go-Party-Girl Dress! I worked on this one bit by bit in my spare moments during finals week! It began its life as one of my childhood bedsheets!


And, during the last crazy weeks of the semester, nothing can make you feel more girly and giggly than coming home to this brood:

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.

8 years.

That is how long I've been a student.

As of 3:00 pm, Thursday, 6 May 2010, that era has ended.

Feel free to call me Master-Master Jess now.

Any sewers out there know how to do this?

I keep forgetting and then remembering how anxious I am to try this stitch that Shirin used for waistband of her dress for the Maternity challenge in Season 6 of Project Runway. I thought I remembered her calling it a "lattice" stitch, but can't find anything searching for that (outside of embroidery and crochet, of course). Any ideas?

The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE.

I hadn't really thought about how much I rely on my camera to capture feelings and memories until after I'd lost it. When I was younger (before the digital revolution), photography was still a hobby, but a more expensive one, and therefore reserved for vacations and events. Then, I "saw" things and retreated to my journals.

I don't know when photos replaced words as my life-markers, but, in the absence of Happy Pink Camera, I will attempt to return to words to describe my experiences over the last few weeks, taking a cue from a friend who loves music that "sounds like air-conditioning smells":

What I've SEEN:

Affliction. Sadness and relief combined in the days leading up to and after my grandmother's death. It is the blurry wrinkled edge of an old photo. Its color is butter.

Ability. On my students' faces, confusion at times, but also smiles of a "Eureka!" nature. It is moments when completion sneaks up on you. Its color is pomegranate.

Awakening. Green trees and sprouting shoots, snows of pollen, and wispy clouds. Its color is sunrise and mangoes.

Achievement. As I slowly sift through mountains of possessions once thought priceless, I find more and more that *this cherished _____* morphs into *thing that keeps me from doing _____* It is the hiccups that keep you trying more and more ridiculous cures until they magically vanish. Its color is lime peels.

Artistry. Though I haven't had much creative time the last couple of weeks, when I have found time, I have pushed myself to try new things. It is a twitch behind your eye at the most perfect and inconvenient time. It's color is magnetic.

Anticipation! This already amazing year still has so much in store for me! It is melty ice cream in the sun and the sound of a loved voice. Its color is caribbean.

A new home!....But no pictures...

This weekend, B and I drove down to our future hometown of New Orleans to look for an apartment. We have some wonderful friends who generously offered to let us stay for free!...Very generous indeed, since the first night I sleep-walked and pulled a bookshelf off the wall!...don't ask, I have no idea...

Friday afternoon I had an informal meeting with the coordinator of an exciting IEP program! It wasn't an actual job interview, folks, so don't get your panties bunched up! But it was a truly enjoyable time, and got me itching to work on some cool ideas for my summer classes!....ah, but I must get through the rest of this semester first....

Saturday morning we set off to look at rentals in three different neighborhoods. We'd decided a while back that location was our highest priority, and that we'd just have to compromise on size and storage space in exchange for a great neighborhood. The first place we looked at was in the most TO DIE FOR location....unfortunately, there was NO way we could compromise enough to live in it's teeny-tiny rooms. We sighed and set off for our next appointment...

The second place was amazingly huge, had independent bedrooms, had been completely remodeled, and, aside from having carpet, it was fabulous!....and on a very undesirable street a great distance from the places we want to be.....Sighing again, we began to consider the possibility that we might have to keep drive back and forth from Oxford to the Big Easy many times in this already insane spring before finding a home....

Then we arrived at the third destination. Now, let me tell you, this place has some small drawbacks: it's a non-closed-off shotgun - which means you have to walk through the bedroom to get to the kitchen; it's certainly not tiny, but certainly not ready to handle all of our stuff; and it's a bottom unit in a 4-plex (hope we have cool neighbors!)

However, it is two blocks from the streetcar, 1 mile from campus, two blocks from parade route, and in a very safe neighborhood full of beautiful homes, tree-lined streets, a local theater, shops, restaurants, and history: the Garden District!!!

I took many, many pictures of the house, all the rooms (with plenty of angles, so I could plan furniture arrangements), the block, the neighborhood....and then lost my camera Saturday night.

So that's my weekend, folks! I hope yours was swell! This week I begin the epic process of cleaning, organizing, and downsizing possessions! Let me know if you need anything, you never know - I might have it!

We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are.

There have been no less than five moments today when I honestly felt like I couldn't continue. It seems I have either nothing or fifty things to do at any given moment. The realization that got me through today was that I didn't HAVE to continue, but I wanted to. As of this moment, 10pm, I have successfully (well, somewhat) maneuvered yet another hectic day...and I still love my job, my life, and all the people in it!

This weekend I had a whirlwind trip home to Kentucky to visit the fam! I had a brilliant night of hanging out with the Hardy clan on the back porch around a fire pit on a beautiful evening - what could be better! I visited with my grandmother in the hospital, and I'm ecstatic to report that she's doing remarkably better and will be moved out of the ICU into a regular room soon - what could be better! Saturday night a fab girlfriend and I went to my favorite Lexington drag show at Pulse - what could be better?!?!? This pic was intentionally blurry, but also adequately captures my condition toward the end of the evening...

After feeling stressed all day, I also thought I'd share some of the things I have to look forward to after a few days of chaos:

I have a meeting on Friday in New Orleans! We're *hopefully* going to find a house on Saturday! AND I have a fabulous new stash (thrifted as well as gifted from my fab hoarder mom) to explore soon! Check out these patterns I got for 29 cents each at a thrift shop in KY!!!! The 60's dress is my most fave!


And this gigantic ziplock bag? FULL of fabrics and fab childhood bedsheets!

And some gorgeous non-thrifted (but on sale) fabrics for spring dresses!

One of these days I'll have enough free time to use these things, but for now, it's exciting just to contemplate them. Enjoy your night, folks! And, when all else fails, just remember: as bad (busy, ugly, stressful) as life gets, at least you're not being mauled by a bear!

The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague.

I've been trying to get around to blogging for days, but have, once again, been having technical issues. Not to mention, I'm still busy as a moth in a mitten, even after surviving comprehensive exams last week! But I have several things to be excited (and somewhat vague) about!

I'm excited that it's spring!!!!



After several weeks of feeling like my responsibilities were trying to draw and quarter me, this week I'm excited about teaching again! In both my writing classes, we're discussing advertising, and ways to use words to "sell" your ideas. We're working on a big group project that everyone already seems excited about (*crossing fingers*)!

I'm also excited about the ever so slight possibility that I may be much closer to having a job lined up for the fall! I'm afraid to talk about that too much right now, so I'll just give you this image...

And I'm also excited that this week I've found the time to return to my creative endeavors....with a vengeance! I'll leave you with some images and hopefully be back soon!