coffee + sunsets... aka the only thing on my camera roll worth posting (besides cute pics of the littles)

I take waaaay too many pictures of sunsets here, so I started up a hashtag on instagram: #tonightssunsetinaz

I'm not loyal to just one coffee shop. :)

 kids corner at an adorable coffee shop about 10 mins away.

"A shadow proves the sun."

 Dutch Bros Coffee: this drive-thru & outdoor coffee shop is growing on me.

Actually, it's amazing! 

 mountains!

 Running weather has been everyday, basically. 

I just wish I had the motivation to do it  e v e r y d a y. 

 When the barista says, "The drink's on me," my day is made.

 The medium coffee drinks are 24 ounces here (well, 2 shops... not Starbucks), which blew me away because I've always known them as being 16 ounces. Also, a day made.

 Besides studying & job shadowing non-stop, I discovered Gilmore Girls and haven't stopped watching it. 

 french press + caramel gelato

stoplight moments

art

hands down, ceramics was my favorite class this semester (maybe even this year). 

these are the start to 3d stars. they almost took as long as forming the deer.

so. much. time.

at this point in time, he's not fired yet, and i'm surprised he can actually stand.

those legs were (and are) extremely fragile when they're wet.

he was fired on his side, so that the legs could become sturdy, and i didn't attach the antlers (and one ear) because they too would have broken off.

horror story: the kiln heated up too quickly and things started exploding.
surprisingly enough, my piece didn't get the worst of it.
some people couldn't even find their project because it was in a big pile of pieces.
i had to go to lowe's to get spackling and epoxy glue. yeah, i didn't know what that stuff was.
but now i do... thanks to my broken deer.

all finished!
this final project had to be a pun, so i did starbucks, except there are many stars and one buck.

so it's a starsbuck.

 

 

 mask project: i made mr. tikki.

25+ pounds of clay later, my coiled pot was finished!

ten-sided project: it turned into more like a fifteen-sided piece. haha oh well.

my dad said it can be a fancy kleenx box. if it's not that, i'm not sure what it'll be used for.

hybrid project (we had to incorprate animal and plant features)

i made a girraffe tree. :) i'll admit, it's kinda weird.

college stuff

this drink did its job. :) i think it's my favorite at the moment.

------------------------------------

today was crazy busy. it was non-stop go go go. 

class, homework, quizzes, another class, lab, studying, and (the icing on the cake) a chemistry test 

filled my day from 8am to 8pm. 

on days like these, i always have to remind myself to "be still, and know that He is God." psalm 46:11

He helped me through the day, and i'm not sure what i wouldn't done without that help.

chemistry homework covered up by a plethora of starburst wrappers. 

"reduction", haha. how ironic.

finals week

 finals week is already over for me. i had my last final yesterday morning: two on monday and two on tuesday. i'm kinda happy about that, because now i'm completely done. no more studying for a whole month!  

i debated about posting this now seeing as a lot of people still have a couple tests left. i don't want to rub it in; instead, my encouragement to you all who are still taking tests is:

finish strongly! and

do your best, and let God do the rest.

when i was in an empty classroom waiting for my last test to start, i doodled on the chalkboard.

i have a love/hate relationship with chalkboards. i absolutely hate the sound of screeching chalk. it's probably the worst sound ever, but i love all the cute things you can do with them! :)

#chalkboardsarenotformath haha

you know that awesome moment when you open up your Bible and the perfect verse is right there in front of you? it doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, well, it's amazing. about 10 minutes before one of my hardest test, i did that. (it was the app on my phone though):

"i am the vine; you are the branches. the one who remains in me and i in him bears much fruit...
*and the best part*
...because apart from me you can accomplish nothing." -Jesus (john 15:1)

thanks for that reminder, Lord. i was encouraged.

this round of finals (compared to ones in the past) seemed low-key and simply unstressful. i blinked, and they were over. don't get me wrong, i did study- a lot, but i felt like i was on autopilot the whole time. i think it was partly because i wasn't concerned with getting +95% in all my classes like i was at pierce for dental hygiene. but also, the other reason is because i'm learning that God doesn't love me/us more or less depending on the grades we get. he loves us for who we are (not what we accompish). i did my best and let God do the rest.

God really gave me peace. and without the stress factor, more info can get into this little brain of mine.

thank you, Lord, for your goodness and that little faith booster.
You're pretty incredible.