Bout time it gets Beautiful

Summer is just around the corner!! I love it. Bad thing, though, I got one more week of classes and then the dreaded finals week. Nice weather these days makes it hard to get work done!! So its been a while since we had a chat. I'm sorry about that. I had my concentration review this semester and you could say, that hogged my time. Below is a picture of how my case turned out. It took a lot of hard work. Each piece is mounted on foam board. All of these projects have been created by me. The big thing about this concentration review is that its graded. I have to pass this review to stay in my major, which is graphic design.


I wanted to throw this picture in too. Its a picture of the sunrise on my way back to Clarion one morning. Its beautiful. It was kind of rough driving into the sun the whole way, but you could say it kept me awake!! This is from interstate 80.


I got to give Clarion credit. With the river winding through and all the beautiful forests around here, its very eye satisfying. I could go out on a beautiful day and take tons of pictures. There is so much beauty around here and its natural. I love it. What can I say I'm a fan of nature.

So what have I been up to?
Besides art and camping out at Marwick Boyd, the art building, I've been really just enjoying the free time I have now. Been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of writing, and a lot of drawing. Its been great. I have plenty of time to catch up with friends these days. Well more pictures are coming soon. So stay tuned...

Thank for stopping by
until next time...
April Mae

March Madness

Here it is... March Madness.
One of my favorite times of the year. Some of the greatest basketball is played this time of the year. Below we have Tennessee vs. Marist game. I don't know how many of you follow the women's side of things, but in this game Marist is coming off of a huge win. They had just upset Ohio State. Ohio State, mind you, was one of the top seeds. They had a powerhouse you could say that goes by the name of, Davenport. For lack of better words, she's huge. Anyways, we got here one of the most famous women's programs in the country. Led by Pat Summit, Tennessee has been a powerhouse on the women's side of things for quite some time. Their following is ridiculous. Not to mention, their star player is Candace Parker, she's a heck of a ball player.



The Tennessee huddle.


Another huddle with the cheerleaders.



There she is, one of the best female athletes out there at this time. Her name is Candace Parker. She is awesome. She can do it all, standing easily over 6 feet tall, she can dribble, shoot, penetrate, and post up effectively. Not to mention, she can dunk, impressive I think.




I love this picture here. At timeouts, they always entertain the crowd and each team's cheerleaders take turns. Well this time around it was Tennessee's turn. What they did was have their male cheerleaders lie down and roll underneath the mascot. As the macot rolled on top. It was hilarious. I'd have to say this right here, is a pretty good action photo.

The games were a lot of fun. Some decent basketball and some fun times with friends. Tennessee ended up beating Marist pretty easily. After that game, we watched Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma. It was fun to see. My sister played against Oklahoma during her season. Here's a fun fact too, Oklahoma is the university that Big Ben's (from the Steelers) sister will be attending and playing basketball for.

Well, thanks for stopping by
Until Next time,
April Mae

A little bit of Art

Oh its been a busy week!!! Season just finished up on Sunday with a win over Slippery Rock. It was kind of sad though because I had to watch one of my best friends lace up her Adidas shoes and put on that jersey one last time. She's a heck of a ball player and I already know if a few things were different, every one would have been able to see it. I wish they could have. All last week we were getting ready for senior day, as well as, I was getting all my projects together for art. Here are two things I have made on the computer. Just thought I'd let you have a peek at just a few of the projects. Sad thing is, I don't have all my work with me that I can show you some better ones. These are two of my favorites so far though. Let me know what you think!!

This artwork here I drew freehand and then scanned in. I, then colored it in a program called Adobe Photoshop. I captured this image with this quote I heard, 'Discover how much your heart can hold.'

This project here captures the meaning of hip hop. I'm not talking about modern hip hop. I am capturing the old hip hop back in Bronx, NY.

There's your sneak peek... I hope you enjoyed it

Well I better get going, homework is calling.

Until next time..

Thanks for stopping by,

April Mae

SLED RIDING SLIGO STYLE

What do you do when all you have gotten the past few days is snow? Oh you guessed it, SLED RIDING!!! Here, I took a trip to Sligo, a place equipped with big cows and country roads. Okay, I'll admit that was slightly an exaggeration. Sligo is about fifteen minutes away from here and is home to the one and only Bethany Koch (my teammate, also known as BK). These are pictures from the cemetary we went sledding in. I'd have to say it was a first for me. I never went sled riding with dead people before. Okay, maybe that was a bad joke. Don't get any ideas, we weren't using the tombstones for jumps or anything. Okay, maybe that was a bad joke, too. The truth, there were no tombstones where we were, its just a hill that everybody in Sligo uses to sled ride. This hill just happens to be in a cemetary. Sligos kind of small, you could say, they make do with what they got.



Here I am heading back up the long hill we rode down. Of course, I had to carry the sleds back up. Now tell me if I'm wrong, but the worst part about sled riding is walking back up the long hill you just went down. I honestly think that is worse than having snow go down your sleeve. I can deal with some coldness, but that hill gets me every time.



Here's Bk and I showing off our new snow gloves. Those gloves might be a little puffy, but we make them look good. Not to mention, those gloves kept our hands pretty warm in this cold weather.



Now looking at that picture, do you understand why I said big hill? There I am in the back with the blue sled. I look like an ant for real. If it wasn't for that blue sled you probably wouldn't even see me. I'd have to say I like this shot. The trail going down the hill from the sleds, BK's brother trudging up the hill, and me in the back thinking ' do i really have to go back up there?'.



I'd have to say I'm looking a bit confused and kind of puffy. With all those layers I almost graduated to the 'A Christmas Story' level. In case, you don't know what I mean.. Its the movie that plays all Christmas day with the famous quote " You'll shoot your eye out kid!'. Just take note of the part when Ralphie's brother collapses in the snow and can't move because his mom bundled him up so much. That was almost me with all those layers!!


All in all though, it was the first time I had been sled riding in a while, a long while. It was a blast. I came up with a few bruises from those random rocks and the branches I hit. I'd have to say, it was worth it. They were just some battle scars so I'd learn to stay out of the bushes when you are flying down a hill. I now know to bail out but not on the rocks. See, a lesson learned.

Until next time...
Thanks for stopping by!
April Mae

Good times with Great People!

So what is there to do in Clarion?
I know it is a little town, but we always find plenty to do. Here are some pictures of a few things my friends and I have done recently. Even with the snow, we know how to have fun.



Here's a whole bunch of us,we decided to try country line dancing!! It was a blast. Now I realize me admitting this could really jeopardize my "tough girl I play basketball" attitude. It is, however, proof. I'm not just a jock and hey, why not give something new a try? It was definitely an experience. I never realized how difficult line dancing is when you are just thrown into it. I'll admit this; I was the girl on the floor running into everyone else because I kept going the wrong way. Oops!



This here is the Clarion Women's Basketball team. I'd say we clean up pretty well. Remember on my first blog about how I wrote about being up here all break? Well here's us on New Years right smack in the middle of our season. This was a great night. We decided that since we were in sweats all break we'd break out and dress up.



Here's some pictures from the bowling alley. We usually end up going almost every Thursday, just for a little fun and break from our everyday schedule of practice and class. It is always fun. I must admit, I am one heck of a bowler. Seriously, just ask any of my teammates. Okay, really, don't ask them. I'm just going to stick to basketball, put it that way. Haha!

Bottom line: Clarion can be fun, we manage to have plenty of it!

Until next time...
Thanks for stopping by,
April Mae

Good afternoon!! I hope you are having a great day! I'm reporting live from this snowy weather up here, but don't let that scare you. The snow is beautiful. Its a little cold, but it doesn't stop any college student from enjoying their experiences here. Last weekend, I took a road trip with one of my teammates and my family. We drove, in the snowstorm, across the snow belt, into Columbus, Ohio. Why you ask?? (Because I know that sounds a little crazy.) We had a good reason. My younger sister is a sophomore at the University of Illinois where she plays basketball, that day they were playing Ohio State. Since Ohio State is a lot closer than Illinois, we took the trip. It was great to see her. She's a good ball player. I like to say I taught her all she knows. She learned from me, just don't tell her that. To the right are some pictures I took at the game. She wears number 35 and wears her hair in that bun every game. She's so much fun to watch. I'm very proud of her. I'll confess, she's my hero and my best friend.

Enough about her, I don't want to make her head too big, now. I'm just kidding! Back to here in Clarion, things are going really well. Classes aren't dragging on too much. This should be a good semester. I am actually taking my first online course. Its definitely a different set up, but its interesting. You do a lot more of teaching yourself and discussion then what you do in a regular class, but I feel like I learn just the same.

Its game day here, so I'm sorry this is short. I have to get focused. We won two amazing games, then fell off a bit losing a few in a row. Tonight has got to be the bounce back. So come on out to the game. Its tonight at 6 p.m. in Tippin Gymnasium. We play Edinboro, a section game. Fan support always helps. If you don't know who to cheer for I'll help you out... number 53! Just kidding. We're hoping to grab a win tonight for us and Clarion University. We've definitely put in the hours to get it!!

So if my teammates read this:
Let's get that win tonight!!!

In the mean time..
Thanks for stopping by,
April Mae

First Day and Back at it!!

Phew! The first day of spring semester is over and done with. I started it with a lovely 8 a.m. art studio class and ended it with sprints on the hardwood. That's life right now. To tell you the truth, I've been up here all Christmas break. I play basketball here for Clarion University which earns me the privilege of holding down the fort here at Clarion while the rest of my fellow classmates journey on home for a month. Now, its not so bad. I don't want you feeling bad for me, by any means. Basketball, as hard and as time consuming as it is, it is getting me through college. It basically keeps me going, of course, along with other important motivators I carry.

Its always an interesting feeling on campus the first day back. Walking around, you can tell who's excited to be back with their book bags already full and who can't believe they are back dragging into class still in their pajamas. There is always a good mix, however, I'm a "tweener" you could say. I can't say I'm totally bummed to be back, but I can't say I'm totally thrilled either. I love going back into my classes and sitting next to the friends I haven't seen in a month. We just pick up where we left off, giving each other a hard time and finding a way to get through what sometimes seems like the longest fifty minutes of our lives or two and a half hours depending on the class. Regardless, we survive.

Don't get the wrong idea, if I didn't enjoy learning about new things, I wouldn't be in college. I will complain about the work or the length of the class, but in the long run it will pay off. In the long run, I'll probably wish I was right back here where all the knowledge in the world is in front of me if I would just take that step and grab it. So here comes my fourth semester here at Clarion, I say, bring it on. I have gotten through three of them, what's a few more. This one is starting off pretty good, setting aside the fact that I have only been to half of the classes, its a good feel. I'm actually pretty excited for my art classes. That's my major by the way. Now don't go assuming that I prance around in dark black clothes or mismatching ones. My coach won't let me. No, I'm just kidding! There's more to art than the crazy stereotypes that are thrown out there. I, myself, am an aspiring graphic designer. I love it. I could work through projects all day. I figured, if I'm going to work the rest of my life, why not be happy doing it? Why not pick something I love? I'm just one of those blessed people to find it so early. So every semester I see it as one more step closer to that dream.

Well its off to bed, more classes tomorrow, and more dreams to chase.
Until next time...

Thanks for stopping by.
April Mae