Faking Intelligence

Basic Towel Ring

2011-08-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pop in to the land-o-blogs.

I -- literally -- just finished the "Basic Towel Ring" pattern and I love it. It's simple, clean design would look good in any kitchen (given that it is done in the right colour(s), and now that I have tested the pattern out I plan on making more for winter holiday presents/stocking stuffers, etc. Later I will post a picture of my tester.

ODAA Dinner

2011-08-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

So this was the first year that I have gone with my husband to the ODAA seminar, and accordingly the dinner. He keeps telling me that normally there is not as much talking/speeches/ect as there were this year and I don't quite know if I believe him. Despite the extreme boredom and my back spasming while desperately trying to sit up straight and be on my best, well mannered behavior, the video at the end that I will likely never be able to show anyone -- EVER -- was worth it.

Sadly, I think that is all that I am allowed to mention about the video. That's right, all I can say is that there was a video, and that it was worth watching.

If they had something like that video every year, I would say that sitting through the first 95% of dinner would be worthwhile.

I don't want it to sound like the dinner was horrible. It was pretty standard with speeches, awards, thanks, and the best attempt that chefs can put in to feeding that many people all at once (if I get to go next time, I will avoid the salmon and opt for the veggie plate if I can do so). We sat at the same table as the husbeasts' boss and a couple of co-workers of his, but I wasn't sitting next to any of them, only people I didn't know and couldn't giggle with. Sure, meeting new people is nice, so long as they actually want to talk to you and that was not the case for the people sitting around me tonight. The new aquaintance that sat to my right was only interested in discussing the proper use of Hawaiian red salt with one of Beau's co-workers. A great big fail on that man's part of the conversation IMO, that particular salt is only so interesting for so long. The internet junkie in me wanted to blurt out something like L2USEMOARSALT!

I also found myself wanting to say childish and pointless things through out the night like "poopy" but that could have just been the rum and cokes trying to poke through the proper behavior filter in my brain.

Approximately 30 minutes into the event I was seriously considering breaking out my knitting, and how much of a faux pau that would be in a room full of prosecutors and judges. I like to think that I choose correctly and did not break out the needles and yarn while the president of the ODAA droned on about people I didn't know doing things I don't remember and that they were giving said people a piece of paper for doing them. Good for those people, apparently they did something good! I applaud them, recognition is good, but it just kept going and going and going, like people would expect at a graduation almost.

Afterwards -- and this would be the real disappointment -- we went for drinks... and no one joined us. For some reason I still don't understand, I thought that the people that my husband works with were more social. Maybe it's because most of them go out to lunch on Fridays and seem like they are friends. My bad, that will be a good reminder to not assume that people who work and go out to eat together actually want to spend time together (especially after spending all day together in a seminar). The supper wasn't like some awkward company picnic where the boss breaks out the "Q" and grills while people hunker down in tenuous cliques with their families and the closest things they can call friends until it is socially acceptable to leave. It always seems that people genuinely like each other, so really, I was surprised that people were so anti-social after the dinner tonight.

We did get to meet some people from another DA's office in another county, and they were nice guys. Perhaps at the next conference there will be more people to hang out with.

It's been a busy year! Haha~

2011-08-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Holy zombie jeebus, I have not posted in a really long time for either real life stuff or my crochet and knit! Shame on me I suppose~
When will I ever learn to be a steady blogger? The world may never know.

The speedy update since my past post is that I am now married to my long time guy (woohoo!), we have adopted a new kitten (feisty, teething snuggler of awesome), one of my best friends recently had an adoreable baby girl and another one of friends is soon to have a boy. The husbeast and I finally upgraded to "smart phones" and now we are addicts like the rest of the people in the world with smart phones.

For part of this week we are in Sunriver, OR, (my husband is attending an ODAA seminar and conference while I get to roam around and play). It is gorgeous up here if you like high desert, mountains, clear skies, museums, golfing, horse back riding, bicycling, inner tubing and shopping (during the summer). Come winter, I would say it's a safe bet that there are a lot of skiers out here. I am hoping that we can come out here again sometime soon, or spend our next vacation. It has been really nice to go somewhere with sun (this "summer" has been very cloudy, wet and late in arriving where we live), and I am pretty sure that I would be happy just laying around on the balcony or floating in the water for a few more days. Sadly, we leave on Friday though (which is the start of the local music festival here).

When it comes to crafting, geeze I have been busy! Here is the list of things that I have finished:

16 amigurui turtles (wedding reception table decor)
7 purses for the wedding

Matron of Honor Purse
Brides Maid Purse (friend)
Brides Maid Purse (sister-in-law)
Mother of the Bride Purse
Mother of the Groom Purse
Bridal Purse (used - and apparently I never took a picture of it specifically. lol Apologies!)
Bridal Purse (unused)

2 coffee sleeves
Feather Scarf
Iris the Gourmet Monster
Learn to Knit Cuff
Head Band with Vintage Crocheted Flower (no picture)
Bear Ears for Newborn Hat (made for my friends' new baby)
Harvest Hands (made for my mother)
Crochet Lace Fingerless Mitts (made for sister in-law)
Yoga Mat Bag (no picture)
Pineapple Scarf (made for sister in-law)
Honeycomb Lattice Cowl (made for my mother)
20 Coffee Sleeves (made for my husbands office as a generic winter holiday present)
One-Skein Scarf (from Stitch 'n' Bitch Happy Hooker - made for one of my aunts)
Victorian/Steampunk Ruffled Spats
Easy Adjustable Slippers (I do not think that the pattern was well written at all).
Crochet Spring Scarf
Cabled Mitts (crocheted - the is the project where I really learned that using dark yarns for things that involve important design elements such as texture or cables, is not a good idea. lol)
Fit to be Tied (no picture)
Perfect Purse (no picture - made for my mother)
Airport Scarves - Romantic Hippie

Amikomo-9 Yawaraka Lace Café Curtain

2010-06-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Day One: This is the first time I have ever really used a chart to follow a pattern. If the pattern were written out in Japanese I would have a much easier time of it since I speak and read Japanese (luls). Eventually my brain kicked in though and I am done with the first motif square.

Something important for people to note on the chart that at the very center of the motif, the character for "wa" indicates to ch2.

Initially I attempted to Magic Ring this pattern but the look changes and the yarn I am using made the ring more difficult in the pattern than just doing a straight ch2 start.

Currently, I am wondering how it is I am going to be joining all of these motifs together. I have never done a piece made up entirely of motifs so my brain is wrapping itself around that issue at the moment.

First Etsy Shop Listing!

2010-06-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, my first listing is finally up! When I first took the Census job I thought that I was going to be working a lot less than I am (I'm not complaining), but it has taken me such a long time to get my shop going!

Hurrah for having it up and a listing to show! I will upload more in a day or two to keep my listings fresh and at the top of the pages. :3

Blue Face Scrubbies (or Coaster) Gift Set

Honestly, these little scrubbie sets are a breeze to make and if I have the dedicated time I could make a lot of them in a hurry, but after the ones that I have made I will be so glad to go back to making purses, hats, scarves and little, random projects!

I worked the majority of Memorial Day Weekend in our states attempt to catch up the people in Cannon Beach to the rest of the nation. It was a lot of fun even if frustrating to go through a ton of EQ's with so many brain fart errors. I really do not see how so many people just do not understand how to fill out a questionnaire correctly. EVERYONE had at least 5 days worth of training. There is no reason to have any of these mistakes. Rabbble rabble!

Anyway, as I said, it was fun! I had lunch with my CL and FOSA both Sat & Sun at Mo's and both times we had a fantastic table right at the windows. It poured on Sunday and I was soaked for almost the entire day, BUT I got to meet 8 corgi puppies when I went to someone's house in an attempt to find a proxy that could tell me if the other houses in the area were seasonal/second homes or not. I still have a joygasm whenever I think of all those little puppies.

Granny Square Market Bag - Completed

2010-05-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am still not in love with this pattern, so much so that it's a "I barely tolerate it's existence and it's glad that I cannot see where I sewed in the ends otherwise I would have three balls of yarn back to use for something better."

The bag functions just fine. Aesthetically it's a mess unless it's in use because of how the pattern is structured in making the bottom and side panels. I was going to put a flower on the bag, but that just didn't look good on the bag for some reason. =^O.o^= Over all, I love the front and back panels, but I hate the bottom and sides. The pattern would be much better served if the sides and bottom were done in three separate pieces and attached rather than one large piece of floppy doom.

Materials used: Lily Sugar'n'Cream cotton - Key Lime Pie (3 skeins), US H hook

Generic picture

Close Up of Front/Back Panel

What the bag looks like when not in use....

Etsy Shoppe Now Open!

2010-05-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

That's correct, I finally have my Etsty store! Now I just need things to sell. =^>.>^=;;

I've been so busy with the Census that I have had hardly any time to work on my current projects, but I am almost done with a second granny square market bag for my future mother in law. :3 I hope that she likes it when it's finally finished. And I am hoping that I DO finish it before they take off into Portland because I had originally wanted it done for mothers day but I messed up on my counting for the sides and bottom. =^>.<^=;;;

Max's Shadow Cap

2010-04-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

My friend on Ravelry (Melbav) sent me this pattern. :3 I am really happy with how the hat turned out, but I will do some tweaks to the brim and make it smoother and rounder than how it came out this time, the next time I make it. xD

Beau thinks I should make one that is green and yellow to show my UO pride. =^>.>^=;; That might look a little odd, but that's OK!

Currently, I do not know what to make next. Since I started taking belly dancing classes off of FitTV, I really want to make one of the following, but I don't have a color of yarn (or enough of it) right now to make a set.
Josephine Halter
Josephine Scarf
Josephine Gauntlets
Although, I could always just make the belt! (Huge image, apologies!) Josephine Belt

Rabble Rabble Update

2010-04-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Rabble rabble! So, alternately I have been lazy and then as soon as I wasn't lazy and wanted to take pictures I was unable to find the USB cord for my camera. /fail But now said cord has been located and pictures of the things I have made are up!

First off, the list of finished projects:

National Crochet Month Mystery Crochet-A-Long project: Surakarta Board (I know I messed up on it, but it isn't an item that I see myself using any time soon and I do not think I will make another one; However, this was a great project for me since I learned how to carry yarn and do tapestry crochet).
Grocery Bag - Made for my mother. There was a smidge of a depth perception moment when I attached the handles, but that's OK since there is now more effective room to tote things like tall produce and bread!
Winged Hairkerchief - Materials used are a mystery yarn that my mother found when she went out garage sale-ing. Over all, I enjoy the pattern but if I make another one of these I will use a lighter weight yarn or just a yarn of better quality so it drapes nicely.
Divine Hat - I love this pattern. The textures are firm enough without being uncomfortable and the yarn I used (not stellar yarn but I still like it) makes this hat soft and warm. I think this would make an excellent chemo cap for anyone in need of one, and it is super cute for just wearing around on a cold day.
City Girl Cap - By far, this is my favorite project that I have done in the past month. Now that I know the pattern works and the minor changes I will make to camouflage the joining stitches, I will make a hat or two in colours I wear more often.
Flowered Cloche - No picture yet since it technically is not finished yet. I need to make a decorative bit for the side, but the hat itself I hate due to the pattern royally sucking.
100-Yen pouch - No picture yet since I am lazy. But this is a simply, cute little coin purse. :3 When I finish the cloche I will take a picture of both the hat and the coin purse. xD

This weekend was a good one. We went in to Portland ti pick up my engagement ring (it was being resized), and we got to have lunch with Syd, Pete and Joe. :3 Sydney loaned one of her knitted sock books to me and I can hardly wait to start working and learning how to make knit socks. xD Hopefully I don't entirely FUBAR the socks the first one or two times I make them!

International Crochet Month

2010-03-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Since it is International Crochet Month, I thought I would share this link and encourage people to learn to crochet (or knit). Not only can it be fun, but if you are looking for ways to "go green" this is also a great option! :3

Learn to Crochet OR Learn to Knit

Mmmmm tasty fiber arts~

2010-03-09T14:16:00.001-08:00

I really have very little to post... ever. So, Beau suggested that I turn this into my crocheting blog! I think this is a fantastic idea and now anyone who reads this shall be tortured with my love of yarn!

First, I shall catch everyone up with a quick view of the projects I have completed so far.

November 26th, 2009 - Rainy Day Wristers - Made for Matthew
January 27th, 2010 - Pumpkin Market Bag - Made for Mother
February 20th, 2010 - All Season Wristers - Made for Matthew
February 22nd, 2010 - Crochet Hook Case (Inside & Outside) - Made for Self
February 28th, 2010 - The PDQ (hat) - Made for Robyn

And now we are all caught up to March, 2010~

March is not only National (for the US) but it is INTERNATIONAL Crochet Month! As such, I have decided to celebrate this along with many fantastic people on Raverly by participating in the Mystery Item Crochet A Long. I have no idea what it is yet, and this is the first time I have attempted to do "tapestry crochet"... as such, my project is a disaster. Still, it is nice to learn and work on a new technique! At the end of the month or project (whichever comes first) I will post pictures of what so many of us have been working on.

I should add that I have never done any sort of group project that involves the phrase "a long" before, so that in itself is fun and very informative for me. =^n.n^=

Aside from the Mystery Item, I am also working on another grocery bag for my mother, and I have finished a "Fat-Bottom" bag/purse for myself.

The purse I made for showing my Duck pride and I hope that I will be able to figure out how to make an appropriate O or a Duck applique for the bag which I can change out with the flower whenever I feel like it.

Fat-Bottom Bag Pictures Here: One, two, three

Probably the most difficult part in making the bag was hand-sewing the lining. I should do better on the next purse I plan on making now that I know better when and what to do.

Rawr pictures!

2009-06-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Beau! Post pictures from vacation or share them with me! lol

Love you!

=^e.e^=

Edit:

=^v.v^=;;; Apparently I hit something and my friends list disappeared entirely... bah!

Life In General

2009-04-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

I know, as usual I am lacking in the post department but I have not been inspired to write -- anything -- in almost a month now. Even less inspired to blog something over a longer period, but maybe blogging my disjointed thought process will help get my creative juices flowing again.

It would be very nice if I could climb over the deceptive mountain in my path for writing. I have tried so many different things in terms of ideas and perspectives to write from, but something always happens to make what I am working on... not work and I am very frustrated about this. There is a story in my head, but the time and place for where to start it is killing me creatively.

Lately, I have read the blogs of my friends and loved ones about happy memories, how life changes and how our priorities change with it (as well as the feelings that go with it). While these things often cause a feeling of depression and despair about mentally being able to hold on to the "good times" that everyone has had in the past, I am somewhat disheartened that no one seems to look forward to the future. It simply seems like everyone is still clinging to the past; as if there is nothing to be happy about for the rest of their lives or as if people cannot be happy or thankful for the good fortunes that they have even now.

True, Beau and I are not in the best financial situation on earth, but we are more fortunate than some people. Work is slim in this area, and as I once again log in to Worksource and scour the Daily A for want ads, things are looking just a little bit worse than before. There is an want ad for an "experienced" waitress that I missed yesterday on Worksource, and it wants someone with three years experience. I know that I do not qualify, yet I will send in a resume and application despite the requirement since they chose to freely give out the contact information. Most companies are smarter than this place, unless this particular hotel & spa was hoping for a flood of resumes. Nothing else new has been posted in a week though, and tourist season has officially begun.

This isn't so bad though. Perhaps it is the endorphins from this mornings work out, or maybe I am just a tiny bit more crazy today then the day before. Still, it isn't so bad. I have the person I love to share my problems with, to spend my time with. There is a good home (where I desperately spend most of my time in an attempt to keep myself from spending money and staying on a healthier diet) environment for us. Also, I have my strange cats to keep me company during the days in this oddly complacent and quiet little community. Life is -- in general -- calm despite the slue of expenditures that have piled up over the past couple of months: washer & dryer, Duck tickets, car parts, new suits, lawn mower parts, etc.

As some people may have heard, we bought a new High Efficiency washer and dryer. Beau was not the only one astounded at the lack of noise that both machines made. We also discovered the joy of fabric softener and bleach/color protection depending on the load which has been at least a little bit amusing. One of my favorite comforters that I have had for years now is a Hello Kitty comforter (garishly pink and white, I assure you). That thing was so old I did not expect it to be soft by any means, but it had always been comfortable and warm to me. Now though, the fabric softener has made it soft and even more comfortable. So comfortable that I steal it at night when both of us are sleeping and find myself wrapped up and hogging it all come morning.

True, there was a time when I would have balked at the idea of a new washer and dryer being an exciting buy, but not anymore. As I have begun to accept that I am aging, I realize what "tools" we use to make ourselves comfortable in life. Buying something comfortable or to make our lives easier has become exciting to me. Not exciting in an 'Price Is Right - Showcase Showdown' winner sort of way, but the excitement of knowing that yes, we are adults and we know what we want/need to smooth the path before us. A calm-excitement if you will, that only deepens my confidence in life as a relaxed individual.

Perhaps something that also comes with age is the unwinding of being high-strung. I know that I am still easily stressed out (not holding a job stresses me out a great deal as does a cat still recovering from nerve damage), but I don't believe that I am nearly as bad as I was before. The exercise regimen is probably helping with this as well as our upcoming trip to Hawaii.

With the quickly approaching vacation, I have gone into super exercise-diet mode. I seem to go through phases where I exercise "normally" but then become sick after about 3-4 weeks and fall off the healthy living track which has landed me at a steady, size 12 waist. My body is in even more pain after one of those derailings which makes it even more difficult for me to convince myself that I should work out again. There was a good 2-3 weeks where my lower back and hip would spasm constantly throughout the day no matter how much I stretched and I am pretty certain now that it was just because of the lack of exercise. Since I have started my regimen again, I haven't had a day filled with back and hip spasms: an abundance of sore and tired muscles, yes, but sore in a good way. The exercise has also assisted me in consuming fewer calories. I do not know why this is the case -- and honestly I don't care except for that it somehow helps me -- but I am simply not nearly as hungry when I work out. Also, I do not crave as many sweets/salty snacks. I sat here in front of the lap top for most of the day yesterday with an open bag of home made, chocolate chip cookies. The smell of sacrin goodness wafting out of the bag whenever I would shift or stretch, unintentionally moving the table. But I just didn't want one until much later in the day, and that One was almost over kill. I think I practically chugged down the rest of my nalgene of water and a glass of milk after slowly nibbling my way for an hour through a single cookie.

This is such a huge improvement. There used to be a time not even a year ago when I could eat an entire pan of my triple chocolate, super moist & rich brownies in less then a day. I don't think I could do that now, and I probably shouldn't be surprised when I see someone else that can do that (but I am). It isn't a willing reaction, this surprise. It's more like my brain has forgotten what tortures my body was capable of handling in a dietary manner; and as such, surprise ensues from witnessing someone else enjoy tasty treats like I used to.

Over the past three days, I have really been enjoying working out and this mornings change in DVD's was really fantastic. Beau thinks that the DVD's that I have are silly, and they really are if you're watching someone else do it or are extremely self-concious. But they are fabulous for me. Having grown up doing dance, gymnastics, volley ball (and an assortment art and music), this is something that really appeals to me. I also really get into it which is nice so I don't realize how pleasantly exhausted I am until I am stretching out on the floor. As I was saying though, the DVD that I used today was a nice change to switch things up and I can understand the necessity for it so I don't hit another plateau like I did when I hit my size 12 waist (for a few months I was up to a size 16 after we moved out here and my body was so heavy that I HAD to do something or I thought my back would tear itself apart from the weight of my chest). So today, I did the sculpting and strength training for an hour.

Since I have no weights aside from the gloves I use for my aerobic work outs (which, honestly I could and should have used today... maybe. I thought that I was weaker than I am), I decided to do this work out for the first time with no added weight at all. This particular DVD brought back the mental and muscular memories of warm ups and workouts from my days of doing dance and gymnastics, and I felt even better about myself when I realize that my legs were not entirely lost even after eight years of not dancing. (That's right, for those of you that didn't know, I was still taking dance classes for my first 2-3 years at the UO). Still, without the glove-weights on, that was quite a work out. I went as full-out as I could and was feeling fantastic, exhausted and sweating -- which is a rarity for me despite the amount of liquids I consume in a day -- after an hour. I may or may not try the added weight next time, because lifting my own considerable weight seems a good step for now (it does not look like it to a lot of people, but currently I weigh in around 185 lbs, most of which is still fat, but I actually gained some muscle weight. Hehe, I never thought I would be able to say again that I gained weight in a positive way). We'll see though. With my current rotation of two days aerobics and one day sculpting and weight training, I might lose enough flab and gain enough energy and muscle to use the gloves without killing myself. I certainly hope this is the case.

Right now, my goal is to loose enough flab and gain enough energy to go down one more pant size (and a bra size I hope!) before the Hawaii trip. It would be nice to have enough energy to go do the touristy things that I love to do and then play in the ocean for a bit. I want to go on some hikes while there and I do not want to be out of breath five to ten minutes in. This doesn't seem like a very big goal, and it really isn't in my mind, so maybe I will surpass it!

In other rambling news, Sierpi has been improving slowly but steadily. While we slept last night, there were only two "accidents" that were "expected"; however, one of the cats seems to have been sick all night long. I wasn't very pleased to have to roam the house picking up cat vomit before my work out.; however, I was happy that -- for once -- my stomach staid where it should have when doing something like this. It is apparently not always a bad thing to have a cat recovering from nerve damage that helps control her bodily functions I say! Maybe I will eventually be able to stop gagging at certain smells, sounds, sites and... textures that are easily felt through toilet paper. Still, I don't know which kitty was ill, and both seem to be fine now so I will not worry about it.

I think I may be allergic to holidays, not my family

2008-12-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

(Sorry in advance for typos)

Ok, so every year my mother teases me and claims that I am allergic to my family (which is the reason I am sick almost every holiday in her opinion)... I claim that I am just allergic to holidays in general.

This year, Beau and I got to/were stuck at home for Christmas due to the lovely winter weather that has hit our area en force. I thought it was a very calm and good holiday, and it was fantastic to just spend it at home. Beau missed his family though and I am sad that he didn't get to see his family on Christmas (we will go see them this weekend though -- weather permitting). There was tasty prime rib (thank you honey for cooking!), snuggles, nap time and hilarity watching kitties that were doped up on catnip!

And despite all that, I still felt like crap. =^>.<^= I had a horrendous headache all day and had a bloody nose a couple of times. (At least I didn't complain about it that I can remember =/). Beau took a good sized nap on the couch and I passed out for a couple of hours in his chair while he was playing the game I got him.

Let's see, Beau got me these spiffy, fingerless/convertible gloves/mittens that I am wearing right now (since the office is freezing), he also got me a Bejewelled game which I like but was a little confusing at first. lol It's a little strange to have to think in circular patterns with a puzzle game but I like it. He also got me the new wrist support/rest for my mouse that I wanted (those things are so damn fun to poke and play with!), and he picked up a WoW book which looks like it will be entertaining to read.

Rather than writing yesterday, I took the day off and played WoW with my friends. That was rather good for my head I think. I had been stressing about what I wanted to happen next and if I wanted to just leave one story line where it was and pick up another until I got over my writers block. My brain came up with something though while I was busy smite spamming some poor "Loot Crazed" hunter in the Borean Tundra... in Northrend on the planet of Azeroth D: (I am way too ... I don't know what but I shouldn't remember what I was killing let alone the specific area I was in. =^-_-^= )

Anyway, I had a writers block break through and that made me relax a bit. Now... if only this cruel headache would go away. Although I would be ecstatic if I could go home early, wrap presents for my parents, get packed up and ready for the trek to Portland tomorrow (if we are even going). I'ld say that we should leave tonight, but I don't think we would be able to get over even on 30 due to ice on the roads. It was bad enough for me trying to get to work this morning with a good yard of ice between my parked car and the driveable section of the street. =^>.<^= Beau came out in pj's though and got my car out so I could go to work (I'm glad that I got to go in though, I would have felt bad for Steve if he had to be in the office all by himself today. Kent apparently broke his wrist when he slipped on some ice and is driving all the way to Vancouver today to see an orthopedic surgeon -- since apparently the one that Astoria/Seaside hired quit after a month and went back to Arizona. LJ is out sick and Kim has the day off so she can spend a belated Chirstmas with her family. Deb came in though... and Deb is simply awesome even though she is on the phone all day long with her clients lol. <3>

So this weekend, Beau and I are going to Portland to visit our families... and I just know that my father is going to throw a hissy fit. Why will he throw one? Well:

He wants us to come in tonight
He will be gone for part of the afternoon on both Saturday and Sunday
Beau's family's gift-exchange party is Saturday night which means....
I will see dad for maybe an hour on Sunday which means

.... a tantrum. Personally, I don't think I want to go in at all this weekend since Beau wants us to caravan in so he can stay in Portland and I can drive back. With the roads still icy and my not being able to see at night, I am less than thrilled. I may need to talk with Beau and work something else out because seriously... I really want a drama-free fucking holiday and that isn't going to be the case if I go in this weekend.

It isn't that I don't love my family, I just don't love the drama production that goes on. Ever since I was little -- my family is insane by the way -- Christmas/Solstice/New Years/Thanks Giving/Easter/Halloween/etc has been nothing but stress for various reasons (like procrastiantion, drama, everything has to be perfect, the lack of feeling like just being present and spending time with my family is enough for them..., etc). Now why is my family insane? Because my father is a Catholic-Buddhist (yeah, that's right... Catholic + Buddhism = dad) while my mother is Wicca-Taoist (and people wonder why I'm crazy).

I think my family celebrates almost every holdiay known to man aside from the Jewish holidays (which sometimes sound like a lot better holidays than others)! Anyway, it's just a huge production every year and it makes me think that my father is the holiday-nazi. He tries really hard to provide a happy holiday for everyone... he just goes overboard on a regular basis and makes everything stressful instead. I suppose that really isn't that bad, he could be all super christian and be completely intolerant of all other people and religions which would be much worse. =^>.>^=; I'll just stop griping now and look forward to seeing my family lol.

Maybe I really am allergic to my families -- just more so on the holidays than usual. Actually... make that I am allergic to drama from my family and it's worse around the holidays.

I really didn't mean for this to end on a note like this, but oh well... I'm just rambling now to fill the empty time at work while I am by myself lol.

Writers block ramble #1

2008-12-17T23:22:00.000-08:00

It's been another difficult night of writing. At least I did get a little bit of writing done. When I finally got to sit down at my machine I really wanted to talk to Sarah and Emily but neither were anywhere to be found. =^>.<^=

...So I sat and stared at an empty page for almost an hour. Eventually I pushed out three paragraphs and then what I had fizzled out on me which is doubly more frustrating since my head was buzzing all day and dying to get home so I could write.

On a side note, a few of songs for my writing playlist. They are not in any particular order right now but eventually I will put them in an order as the playlist develops into separate play lists for each individual story or character

1.Sing for Absolution - Muse (Gabriel)
2.Dark Blue - Jacks Mannequin (Judas)
3.Here With Me - Dido (Liana)
4.The Truth About Heaven - Armor for Sleep (Liana)
5.Rest in Pieces - Saliva (Judas)
6.Point of Extinction - Motion City Soundtrack (Joseph )
7.Chase This Light - Jimmy Eat World (August)
8.Will I - Rent (Helen)
9.Imaginary - Evanescence (Helen)
10. I Dreamed a Dream - Le Miserable (Helen's mother)

Now before Sarah can glower at me, I just have not run across a song that fits Sitara at this point in time. Strange -- I know -- since the first perspective is hers. Like I said though, some of these will be moved to other "perspective" playlists as the list develops more.

Actually, half the songs in the current playlist don't even belong in this story line. lol

OK, now I am just sleepily rambling. =^-_-^=

Thank you, Honey!

2008-12-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to my other -- very tolerant -- half for pointing out how to make a PDF file. =^>.>^=

Thank you! <3

Aside from that, writing is still going all right. The night before last night, I had the hardest time writing. I sat there and went through editing and polishing what I had written the night before that. Last night though, I actually managed to drag out a few pages and got myself back on track.

My current -- mighty two -- pre-readers (one of which knows the background of what is going on and the other doesn't) have become fangirls after only 3.5 chapters. One of them really loves the character that the current perspective is being written from, the other one is a Helen fangirl like me and is harassing me to write a perspective of Helen.

That's a tall order since she IS supposed to be a supporting character (highlight below for quasi spoiler).
You see, Helen has a much shorter life span compared to most of the other characters in the story, AND there is a relatively lengthy amount of time before she comes back in to the story. Sure, I could write a short story on why she is the way she is, and maybe I will. I don't know yet if I want to include the entirity of Helen's story inside Sitara's story.
Anyway... /end spoiler ramble

The other thing that amused me last night was the conversation that came up about how my readers think that the current main character looks. I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised since everyone has they own concepts of beauty, but their opinions were different then what I envisioned in my own mind. OF COURSE they asked me what she looked like in my mind (with an actress comparison) since I have said character designed down to the B-W-H measurements in my mind. I am hesitant to give my opinion since I rather like hearing the different visual thoughts that they have. :3

Helen Fangirl

2008-12-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that makes almost no sense to anyone that might possibly read this, but oh well!

Helen is a character in the book I am writing and will possibly be one of the most over-looked characters. At best, people will recognize her as only a supporting character which does bring me a twinge of sadness, but she is so much more to me!

Oh Helen, scary Helen, perhaps I shall write a short story for you someday that will bring you to contentment!

Edit: I also officially have my first car in the book~

Winter Storm Ramble

2008-12-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

Last night was a good night for me writing wise. I got to ramble and bounce ideas off of "Nee-chan" (who is actually one of my best friends and surrogate little sister. lol It's a lame but sweet story for why everyone calls her that so it's probably better off not told xD).

Which also reminds me and makes me sad, she's getting married on New Years Day and I can't be there. =^;_;^= Silly living on the other side of the country!

Anyway, so I got to ramble at her for a good 2-3 hours which really lightened my mood. It was nice to have feed back on all of the work and thought that I have so far put into the setting of what I am working on (as well as all of the character concepts I have -- even the partial ones). Later we had fun doing name searches and trying not to laugh at people with very unfortunate meaning names.

So far, three names that I will never name ANYTHING unless they are places or animals that too aptly fit the names:

Beverly : BEV-er-lee : anglo-saxon "beaver meadow"
Capri : KAH-pree or kuh-PREE : anglo-saxon "the goat"
Damaris : DAH-mar-is : greek "heifer"

Steve is still out sick today with some stomach bug, so Kim and I are trying to come up with a plan to keep him quarantined to his office when he returns. Kim is lucky and got to leave early today because it is her son's birthday and they are going to Portland despite the horrendous storm coming into town. I had to shoo her out the door after lunch though so that she could take off before it really hit and now I am all by my lonesome with a years worth of receipts to go through and this months tenant filing (I really wish that they wouldn't give me all of the filing all at once, it becomes an all day project when they do that =^>.<^= ).

Oh well, at least I have something to do!

As things are right now, I am hoping that the power manages to stay on. It has been flickering on and off since 10:00am today. I don't know how the weather looks higher up on the hill, but so far down here on the river front, it has been almost non-stop pouring rain or sleet with very heavy wind. The wind is so strong that it actually blew one of our 50+lb potted plants into the street... I did not have fun going to chase that down. Well, that's not true. It was very entertaining for me to chase a plant that was rolling down the street. Returning it to the office was the far less than fun part! So, since that happened I had to move all of the plants inside the empty office next door. lol I probably should have asked to take a few minutes and move my car closer to the office too. =/ Oh well, a lot of sleet, rain and 70mph wind gusts never hurt anyone, right? *rolls eyes*

Honestly, what I worry about the most right now is that the storm is hitting now, it will knock out power to the area like last years storm did and then the snow will hit so people are going to be freezing... and our fire place doesn't work well due to a broken flue (is that even how it is spelled?) and something on the top of our chimney which is facing the wrong way and causes the wind to blow the smoke back DOWN the chimney into our house. lol

Ok, ok, I'll stop complaining. After all, Jes and Paul are coming down this weekend! So no matter what there is bound to be fun, even if we ARE freezing!

**UPDATE** Kim just called and said that she has to drive all the way to Longview to use the bridge there to get home due to waves crashing over the 101 bridge from OR to WA. :( Poor Kim, I hope she makes it home all right tonight.

Late night ramble~

2008-12-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

I went through and finally did a "Christmas List" for my family over the past two days. Apparently, this year is my year for CD wants which I don't think I have ever claimed before since I have -- in the past -- always just bought whatever CD it was that I wanted.

Right now I am really enjoying a group by the name of Jake's Mannequin (sample here).

Story Progress:
Today I finished the general descriptions on my takes of the different races, abilities, lack of abilities, etc and I feel a lot more confident for a setting. I also have some character ideas but am severely lacking for names at the moment. For now, I am trying to come up with my own names for characters rather than use something generic, religious, historical, etc. It isn't that I think some names wouldn't fit so aptly, but some of these characters -- despite them not being a main character -- are so old that language didn't exist as we know it now. So far, this is proving to be a huge challenge. =^>.<^= But that's OK. No one ever claimed that naming something or someone that old was ever easy! =^n.~^=

I can't find what I want to read, so damnit, I'll write it!

2008-12-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

So, I spent several hours going through a couple of different online book lists trying to find something that I WANTED to read... and out of about 500 books there was nothing that I could find that sounded appealing. Then all of a sudden I had the urge to write something very badly.... Very, very badly and it has been plaguing my brain ever since.

I hope that I actually have the stamina and patience to write this one this time, especially because this is something I would love to read. Of course there are a ton of other things I hope about it, but who knows? Maybe someone else would actually want to read it.

Right now though, it's all just so complicated inside my mind with so many different aspects! AND it's driving me doubly batty since I am at work with kind of something to do but not really and I COULD just sit here and type away.... So tempting!

Illness & the Power of the Senses (aka, I think I am going insane)

2008-12-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

Illnesses can be an odd thing sometimes, so I apologize for this likely insane ramble.

It seems like I have been sick for a long time, but I guess it was one thing that weakened my immune system and then something lingering invaded as well. While I am finally starting to feel better bit by bit, I still tire easily and seem to be plagued and gifted with a few side effects.

Lately, my sense of smell has been returning and it feels like it's ten times stronger if not more depressingly picky. I cannot stand the smell of a lot of things that I used to like to eat, everything just smells like it is tainted unless it's a vegetable really. For the past few days I have taken to eating plain pasta with olive oil and parmesan, but even that smells rancid like it will kill me or something. It's very difficult to even put it in my mouth but I can keep it down. The only things that do not tend to offend my poor nose and result in me resisting the urge to cover my nose and mouth and run to the restroom are vegetables, some crackers, and some breads. This does actually help with my appetite though. For a long time I never realized how much I ate, and this has really pounded into me how much I used to eat and how much food my system actually needs to be healthy. If you have ever had to choke down something that your body thinks will kill you, you might understand how that feels! lol

Last night was a challenge: There was a fund raiser dinner last night (that one of my bosses helps organize every year) and I was a volunteer there. Initially -- from long before I became ill -- I was supposed to be the "lead" server and walk around singing/leading carols. My lungs choose to not cooperate with this job and neither did my stamina so I was assigned to "back of house" where I was supposed to just fill pitchers with ice & water as well as take care of making coffee. Well, that didn't exactly happen either. Somehow I ended up being one of the cooks/food preps (meaning I was the one placing food on the plate and making it look pretty). To say that I was uncomfortable all night is putting it mildly.

Due to my surprise position in the kitchen for the evening, I tried very hard to not breathe through my nose but that didn't help much. After a couple of minutes it was like I could smell and taste the scents of the food... with my mouth. It was very bizarre to say the least and I can only hope that I didn't look like I thought all the food was horrible while I artfully went around placing delicately curling piles of cucumber and carrots on plates, or zucchini spears precariously balanced on steak, crab and risotto. I don't really know how to explain it I suppose, but it was sort of like tasting a room just by breathing... and it tasted like death on a hot plate. =^-_-^= (At least the zucchini was tasty).

And at least I had the chance to escape the kitchen and cool off in the servers room every once in a while.

I can't say that my capability of hearing has changed much unless I am just insanely in tune or familiar with my surroundings. Hah, I rely on my selective hearing too much I suppose because I could swear that I am half deaf most days from all my time spent wearing headphones. My eyesight has become a little bit better since I have not been on my computer so much. I really hadn't noticed how stressed out my eyes were until I was in the car with Beau driving and I realized that once again while we zoomed around town I could pick out individual leaves and details on plants and buildings that have been just a blur for the past year or three. So it's nice to be able to see things like I used to again; however, I don't know if this really applies to night time. I wish it would, it's very limiting to be unable to drive in the dark safely. As things stand now, any light directed where I am in the car threatens a blinding headache, and my sense of depth and color are horrible at night.

My reaction to being touched lately has been weird too. It's like my skin is incredibly sensitive. While we're in bed, if Beau nudges my foot or pets me to help me fall asleep it's like a ticklish, sharp, static shock. The fabrics of the clothing I wear seems more... intense? Or at least more noticeable to me. What I hate though is when I meet someone new, there is the social obligation to shake hands. It's like I can feel every god damned detail in their hands: not just the calluses or scars, but the usually imperceptible ridges and lines in hands that make all of us humans unique. And it's even worse if they have dry hands, or "workers" hands. My skin practically crawls and the hair on the back of my neck and arms stands on end while I try not to grind my teeth. And everyone else's skin is so much warmer than mine which makes them ask me if I am "OK". I hate that.

I hate that so much, even if it isn't just because I run a few degrees colder than everyone else in the world (last doctors visit I was an awesome 92.7 degrees and I thought the doctor was going to freak out when I told her I am almost always cold like that at check ups and that if I am ever much warmer than that I can feel it in a bad way). Chances are I probably look like hell most days. LMAO There was someone that came in from the Redcross at the beginning of the week handing out fliers for a blood drive going on and she actually gasped when she looked at me and took a few steps back before edgily handing me the flier and saying that I looked like I needed blood more than I could give it. I could have sworn that she was going to cross herself when she said that too. And here I thought that I was the crazy one... even if the person crazier than me made me feel like some freak of nature or zombie.

I think my skin could just be in hyper sensitive mode since it's winter.

Anyway... aside from being sick and my different senses being strange, I have been reading a lot lately and sleeping probably nearly as much with the kitties trying to keep me warm. :3

It's actually a little bit sad and funny at the same time since both Misha and Sierpi love to be snuggled and pet, but they both seem to be terrified of Beau. Well, at least Misha mostly tolerates Beau (most of the time). He just wants to snuggle, pet and play with them and they usually flee in terror, look annoyed or hide next to me mistakenly thinking I will protect them. lol

Aside from that, Solstice / Christmas is quickly approaching and I have no idea what to get anyone for presents. Usually my mom has some books or magazines that she wants that I can get for her but she has a huge amount of in-store credit with Powell's and nothing really on her list that she wants for once. Beau hasn't given me even a hint of what he wants and neither has most of his family. Fortunately we have his sister covered and my father mostly covered. Aside from that we just need something for Paul, Jess and Josh. =^>.o^= Again, not even a hint of what they would like. It isn't like I don't see things they would like... but when I do see something I think they will like I tell myself to remember what it was so I can tell Beau later... only to entirely forget about it. *rolls eyes*

Anyway, this has been a tremendous ramble for my normally silent blog. Again, my apologies for letting my fretful insanity out.

Mini-update

2007-09-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

I really don't have much to say in the way of an update... at least I don't think I do. Knowing me though, I'll ramble on about nothing! ;)

The work on the house is still progressing, Beau's parents are here for the rest of the week at least and it's that womanly time... so trying to not be crazy in general is difficult. Really, I'm hoping to be moderately left alone so I don't just randomly start crying for no other reason than I got paint on me somehow. *rolls eyes*

Admittedly, the entire house situation stresses me out, but I cope as best as I can and do what I can to help speed the fixing up the house situation along. I think the things that bother me most about the house are the lack of a kitchen and the lack of some little niche that I can have to myself. The latter more than the former, and I am fairly certain that Beau knows this. lol He knows that I go crazy without my own, personal space. Right now, my personal space pretty much takes up about 1/3rd of a wall between the tele and a plastic set of drawers for our socks, in our bedroom. lol It can be a pain sometimes since it's essentially just my computer, but I sit and talk -- and I do mean verbally not textually -- with my friends on it. I lead "raids" in World of Warcraft on it. Sometimes I am excitable and then Beau feels like he needs to turn up the tele so then I start talking louder. It makes talking to people and telling people what and when to do rather difficult. lol Other times I do try to be quiet since he's taking a nap or trying to sleep.

However, I know I will have my own space eventually and my emotional tidal waves will calm down.

I suppose that this is an odd thought, but I feel more than absurdly happy and blessed by association by whatever powers that be, that Beau loves his job. It's so rare for someone to have that and I hope that I can find that again. I do miss my job, it wasn't an impressive job by anyone's standards, but I loved it none the less. So now I really must search for a new job! And hopefully it will be one that I can tolerate without hating it too much.

Let's see, I also have a trip coming up that I am really looking forward too. I get to go see one of my friends that I have not seen in almost eight years. She is going to be competing in a tournament for TKD in Orlando, FL. Her parents did not want to go to FL.

Aaaand my break time is over for now. /sad Back to working on the house lol

OMG why!!

2007-06-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.iloveegg.com/index.htm#

Mini-update

2007-05-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

There hasn't really been anything to update as of late. Recently I got a part time job which I am really enjoying, this weekend I am going up to the Seattle area for my friends (twins) birthday and to be fitted for a bridesmaid's dress for another friends wedding. On Saturday evening or Sunday during the day I will treat my mom to dinner/lunch and then I'll return to the cute little town I call home! So, not much of interest to update about. Sorry! ^^;

Yet again, something from my baebes on Kilrogg in WoW

2007-04-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

"It's Raining Men"

I don't want to know why... but my minions like to send me things like this. I am not sure if I should laugh or be afraid. X.x!!

PG 300

2007-03-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Look what I found! =^O_O^= PG 300!

"FROSTING!!!"

"BRUSH YOUR TEETH!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k

=^>.<^=

2007-03-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I want to know where my guild finds this stuff....

Meet me here on IRC l-o-l-o-l

2007-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

....

I love my guild some days... I hate my guild some days... I am not sure which this inspires besides catchy crack DDR-type songness... v.v;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzqMa9hZew

less than three you love me
typing out my fantasy
meet me here on irc
l-o-l-o-l

Youtube+WoW = lol <3

2007-03-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

The last in that list features one of my friends from Tacoma (Cirdan) literally... being "pwned." I think I can happily say that I have never run into that shaman in pvp.

Smalll Update小さいアップデート

2007-03-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

So over the past couple of days I have come to the conclusion that this will just be a lot simpler to complete design my own template then to figure out the overly simplistic way that blogger has made their templates editable. O.o; Beau wants me to design something too. lol

Let's see, in the past few weeks I have been to see 300, which is wonderful in the sense of enjoying visually stunning, hour and a half long music videos which feature men with not just 6-packs, but 12 packs and the occasional half naked women. Besides that, most of what I do is stay home, work on a story I am writing and manage my guild in WoW....

WoW -- sadly -- takes up a lot of time, more time then I would like it to and I think I end up neglecting the people I care about (even if they are members of my guild.... 343 accounts and I know everyone by name and their families and their issues... and what raids they want to run, what specs they are and how good of a player they are, ect >.<>

Hmm, aside form WoW, I've begun to work out again. Today I was feeling overly ambitious and tried to cardio myself to death on an elliptical. l-o-l I lasted about 10 minutes before escaping to a treadmill and then a bike. (My stamina is improving, I worked out for over an hour today O.o)

Aside from that, there really hasn't been much in the way of news from my end besides that I am warming up to Astoria.

simple test

2007-03-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Test post~

I am just trying to figure out how to set things up.