So my friend Jen and I realized tonight that she has known me since I was 19.... a little teenager who was missing home and figuring out life in Seattle. Fast forward to now...I am almost 24 still missing home and figuring out life, only this time in Portland, with Jen still by my side. We went to a new coffee shop to celebrate her birthday and begin planning our Seattle adventure in December to celebrate appropriately both our birthdays in the city we know and love so much. Planning our trip was one of the good reminders for me to continue on through this fall quarter of school. With 3 papers left to write, 3 assessments and a test it can easily feel overwhelming...so I will end this little update with a few quotes that have been circling around in my thoughts for a bit...until the next edition, much love.

"Grace arrived, like tiny stitches in torn fabric" -Anne Lamont

"Hope begins in the dark. The stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." -Anne Lamont

"But Jeremiah reminded me that the pain that comes from one's identity, that grows out of response to a call can't be escaped or pushed aside. It must be gone through. He led me into the heart of pain, forcing me to recognize that to answer a call as a prophet, or a poet for that matter, is to reject the authority of credentials, of human valuation of any kind, accepting only the authority of the call itself" -Kathleen Norris

yes, I am still alive.

Question: How do you fit all of the information in these books onto 12 pages?
Answer: To be determined.
I am writing the literature review section of my soon to be determined manuscript also known as the art therapy form of a thesis, this weekend partly because I have to and partly because it helps me figure out how to be a better art therapist....ok, mainly just because the literature review is due on Monday but I tried right. I spent the day, the entire day, weeding through these little ones attempting to find golden nuggets of information to put in my paper. The paper is due Monday and at the moment I feel like it can be easily accomplished. The hard part is over,now comes the fleshing out of thoughts and ideas along with my sources. So yep, that is my life these last few days, and I am hoping that some day soon I will be back to lugging my camera around and processing through pictures what life has looked like for me these last couple of weeks. Much love.

lacking..

so while this picture may easily be 2 years old and my niece looks about 15 years old these days, I am loving it at the moment. I have temporarily lost my camera and have been skimming through some old photos and think that for the next few photo editions I will go back into the Natalie archives and bring to light many a photos that have yet to see the blog, and pretty much the rest of the world. Thus far in life I have been busy. As I sit here I can hardly believe that it is the fourth week of school...the fourth week, which means only six more to go, which also means that I have some work to do if December is ever going to come around. Right now June seems like a far off date, and I have no clue where I will be which is a terrifying thought. When asked if I have any thoughts or plans about it I say that I haven't gotten that far in my life, which is true. I am trying to take this year step by step, allowing God to guide each step of the way. Tomorrow is family dinner and I am looking forward to the weekend...I have a date with paper writing and art therapy books, fantastic. I promise, the photos and thoughts are coming soon...

...puppies!

This is a montage of puppies. Mal took all of these pictures and in no way can I take credit for them, other than I add my presence. For the last few fridays we have gone to play with the puppies that Jason's dog Madison had a few weeks ago. I have come to the conclusion that his family must think that I a. don't bother getting ready in the morning and b. really must love SPU because every time I go I am rocking an SPU sweatshirt and have literally gotten up five minutes prior to leaving the house. Oh the things I do to get to play with the little pups. It is a form of self-care in some way after a long week in school and practicum to see the little ones and how Madison dotes on them, keeping an eye and making sure her babies are alright. Every time I go I try to convince Mal to let me keep one...she has yet to say yes. So yeah that is a little light photo edition for the day. I had a night class today and am in class all day tomorrow to learn about art therapy and addictions, pretty rad ey? Until the next edition, much love.

taken today...they are getting so big!

when we first met....it was love.

A quilt in works...

I am currently in a studio class that will last for three quarters and our assignment is to make 1 of 3 art projects and write a paper on it, lovely ey? I get to make art again. So this quarter I decided I am going to tackle the portraits part of the assignment and since I can't draw for beans I tried to come up with a unique way to create portraits and relate what I am learning about myself in my practicum, and for the most part, life in general....what I am in the beginning stages of is a quilt. I have never sewn before but the lovely Kym has offered to help me learn, she has no idea what she is in store for. I have bought the fabric and my thought on quilts is this..what has got me through practicum thus far is becoming more aware of the safe and healthy relationships that I am surrounded by, and to realize that there is indeed hope for those that I encounter and a quilt to me symbolizes that comfort and saftey. I know that when I have had a tough day or just feel scared there is nothing like hiding under the covers. Yep, that is the thought process thus far. The photo today is a sample of how I am going to incorporate photos into the quilt. The front will be these transfers of photos done with my little ol' printer and water on muslin. The back is going to be two different fabrics that I just bought this last week. I am excited for this process and am excited to see the outcome come December when I am finished with it....hopefully :) So Shmal makes her blog debut today as the photo sample, congrats. Until tomorrow, much love.

Day 3....Puppies and lights...

There is nothing better after a long day at practicum than coming home to "family dinner". What is "family dinner" you might ask...well Mallory, Kat, and I decided that it was time to have a weekly dinner night. We switch off every week with who cooks dinner and we just eat, lounge, laugh... and watch gray's anatomy all of which is needed for me at the end of a long week. So ladies and gents, that is how I ended my second week of practicum. enjoy the shots and until tomorrow...much love.

Jason's (Mallory's boyfriend, for future reference...) dog Madison had puppies last week, and well, as a child who only grew up with a cross-eyed cat whom I tried to name Lucifer, I have never seen puppies before and these were the first ones I laid eyes on. Such cute little ones!

Mal, Kat, and I went out exploring the town and these are the lights of the place where we ate dinner, they are reminiscent of the Alice in Wonderland ride at disneyland....a very merry unbirthday to you!

Day 2...

So here they are ladies and gents...fall quarter has brought me these lovely books to read. How much of them have I actually read thus far? Not very much. I believe I have some major senioritis, if that is what you call it in one's last year of grad school. It is fitting since my hair is already growing in gray and my joints are sore. Until tomorrow, much love.