February Stars and Snow

Billy Bragg & Wilco - California Stars

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Hi loves.
Phew! SO many things going on lately, both the good news and the bad news, it's enough to really make a girl want to cozy up at home with good wine and the husbie and yummy dinners for nights on end. I've had loads of homework what with my Photoshop, Poli Sci, French, Business, and Health classes. I really really love and am fascinated with each and every class, I love nurturing my brain and feeling it grow! My Health class is really informative and fun, oddly, cause it's an online course. We are reading a textbook called An Invitation To Health, which is actually a thoroughly enjoyable and wise read. It addresses a completely holistic outlook at being healthy and views total well-being through physical, mental, social, spiritual, environmental, and emotional filters. Each part of our self health plays into another part of our self health, directly affects it. Literally and scientifically the thoughts you think (whether you worry too much or stress out or feel hurried, whether you take time to breathe and slow down and completely chillax) make a DIRECT impact on your immune system through something called the HPA axis- which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands. Your glands send out messages (hormones and chemicals) that can block or propagate T-Cell growth, which in turn can break down OR strengthen your immune system. I always knew being and optimist could save a life , but now I have the diagrams and chemistry knowledge to back my gut instinct up! Although I was already a believer in a holistic view towards health, this book is cinching the deal. I'm reading it through online version on a website called Coursesmart. I like old fashioned books very much, but I also love technology a whole hell of a lot!
On a different note, my Photoshop class is blowing my mind! This past week I got to learn how to make a layered composite graphic. We started with this picture and had to dress Max (our textbook author's son I think) any way we wanted! Plus put him in a new environment!
Here's the start photo.


Here's the first dress up photo.


And here's what I dressed him in!


Needless to say, I am LOVING classes, but extremely busy! But I managed to take Thursday night off last week from French class and venture with my Pops and Art to Russian River Brewing Company where we got to taste the once-a-year-only cult classic Pliny the Younger! I had so much fun and Dad drank root beer and Art and I got a little toasted tasting all the delicious beer at RRBC and eating tons of Cheese Louise pizza (local salty DELICIOUS cheeses)! It was so kind of my dad to be our Designated Driver and put up with my inCESSANT talking cause I was having such a blast. I tend to talk a TON when I am in a good creative mood, poor dad! Unfortunately we got some really cool pics of a few other things like giant 50 gallon (or more) muslim hop bags with the names of the hops on them but they are all on my dad's awesome camera!
Here are just a few I took on ye ol' Iphone. The black and white one of me I just messed with in Photoshop. I got rid of this tiny area on my front teeth where one tooth juts out! I can't wait to get adult braces to make my Photoshop touch-ups a reality!







In the meantime I looked out my bathroom window this morning and this is what I saw. I LOVE IT. It's been really nice to have such a warm beginning to 2011, but MAN I was craving a bit more winter before the full Spring begins! I do love it though when it's beautiful and clear out on a February night and the stars are blowing around like in the Wilco song.