Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody! I know it's been a while since my last update, but I've been a busy little bee. Between Christmas shopping, baking, and wrapping I'm amazed I have even had time to knit. Unfortunately, I didnot finish mini-banff on time for our visit to grandma's yesterday, but she wants me to visit again befor eI head back to school so I will give it to her then. (I told her I was still working on her gift so now she has two things to look forward to in the next week or so!)

Last night was OK. Pizza Cottage has sadly closed down. It was our favorite pizza place, and our usual Christmas Eve restaurant. My parents are friends with the owner. He closed down not too long ago, and we actually got some of the furniture. My parents did think ahead and we had two frozen pizzas that we made at home for dinner. Also, we don't really get along with our extended family. My uncle Tim and his young'uns were there though, and they are very fun. Plus I got to see my grandma, who I haven't seen since summer, or talked to since Thanksgiving (I know, I know...). Things weren't as awkward as they could have been though.  Usually there is forced conversation, but my family does love gossip. They just couldn't wait to get the scoop on what happened to my dad. In the end we stayed much later than we had planned, and it was pretty fun.

Today was a lot of fun though. It was a pretty fun Christmas for all of us. Lots of good movies and video games all around. MY parents got a Wii for the family, so that was a lot of fun. My sister Candi got Trauma Center for it (she is obsessed). Even though the bf and I rented this game before, I never got to play so today wa my first time. That game is so fun...and addicting...and hard. I'm kind of sad I won't be able to bring it back to school with me. I do have Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass to tide me over though. My other sister Cassie got that for me. I've been playing it almost all day until Candi conned me into trying Trauma Center. Even though Zelda is super stylus-oriented, I am enjoying it.  I have a feeling I will be playing this all week at work ^_^

We usually spend all of Christmas Day together at home, or at least until dinner. My dad had a Pirates marathon going in the family room pretty much all day. This morning we ate pierogis (not your typical ones either...these have unique filling and are saturated in butter from frying). Dinner was turkey with homemade stuffing. It was very delicious. After eating all that food though, the parents did not last very long. They went to bed pretty early and I snuck away to the bf's for a bit. While we are exchanging gifts in February (because he is a brat and knows he is getting Smash which doesn't come out until then), his mom wanted to give me a gift. She bought me the most beautiful swarovzski crystal jewelery set. Its mostly pink with a little bit of green: matching necklace, bracelet and dangly earrings. She also got me a cute little anklet and a belated birthday gift of matching bracelet and earrings (because she never saw me in October). His little sister got me some origami paper too.   

I'm in: home! (STC)

Feeling: yay!

Listening to: The Pixies--Wave of Mutilation

Oh October...

October is my favorite month ever. I love the fall: watching the leaves change colors, raking and jumping into leaves, Halloween (big-time fan here), the weather (ever-changing from sunny to rainy, but with a nice temperature range), etc.  I was actually pretty sad that it has been so warm lately, but that is not the case anymore. At least when it was warm, I was prepared. Now that it has gotten cold, well normal really, I am completely unprepared. All of my warm clothes

are still at home because I didn't need them. Now, it seems I have to wait until Thanksgiving to get them, because that is when I'm going home net. Normally, it would be on Halloween for all of the fun and festivities, but they were put on hold this year because of my daddy's accident (I'm sure you'll learn more on Halloween ^_^).

Anyway, what with the cold and my lack of proper clothing, I decided that it was a great time to learn how to knit a sweater. Now, all my previous knitting expenditures have already been recorded in just the last few posts, so you can see how lacking my experience is. However, since I could not find a comfy sweater that I approved of at my local Walmart or JC Penny (seriously, the only stores in Macomb, or within 45 minutes driving distance...the next closest places are an hour away at least!), I decided to make one. I'm attempting to make Jenna Wilson's Banff as published in Knitty. I am using a much lighter yarn color, but overall it seems to be working out. I am only now just finishing up the ribbing on the back, so I still have a ways to go. I'm hoping to have it done before winter lol--wish me luck!

My progress thus far ^_^
I actually started this about a week or so ago. I'm not quite sure if I got the right kind of yarn, but I thought it was pretty. I am currently using Lion Brand Homespun in Cream:

After giving it a try and working about a quarter of the ribbing, it seems to be going alright. The package gave the same guage that the pattern is asking for, and so far my ribbing is matching it:



Now, I feel confident that I am doing alright. I just got to the point where you begin the decreases, an dI think it is looking pretty good. It looks a little scrunched in the picture, as I am only working on 14" needles. When I take the time to spread it out over the two, it does meet the measurements. I just think it looks a bit narrow, especially since the ribbing does that zig zag deal when it gets scrunched (which makes it look way narrow). Anyhow, this is the final progress mark for today:

As I am too bouncy to sit still and knit all the time, I have taken to video games yet again. I wanted to get My Sims for the DS, but instead settled for renting the Wii version. It is so insanely cute and I just love it. To be honest, the cuteness factor is really the only reason I even wanted to get it--I'm not really a Sims kind of gal. This game is not really like any other sims game, though. You basically collect "essences" and rebuild the town while making friends and recruiting new townies. It kind of reminds me of Dark Cloud (ps2), in the respect that you are rebuilding a town to meet people's desires. I am already a huge fan though. The only problem is that now I am a little nervous of the DS version, because you are recruiting tourists instead of townies, so I think it will be less involved. Unfortunately for me Gamespot is not working right now, so I can't really get a good comparison. So far it looks like I might have to break down and get the Wii version instead of the DS...

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: giggly

Listening to: The Hippos--Paulina

Yay Mario!

So I got a Wii for my birthday...October 2, just a few weeks ago. The only game I got for it is Super Paper Mario, which rocks. I love this game so much. It is adorable, maintains the traditional play expected from a Mario side-scroller, and has a good story-line, not to mention it's an RPG (yes, I am that nerdy...I am surrounded by D&D players, could you expect any less?). Unfortunately, I do not get to play it as often as I would like, since the

boyfriend seems to have taken it over. For a while I was way ahead of him, then he surpassed me. I finally catch up and he beats the game. Oh well, I guess that leaves more time for me to play ^_^

In the meantine I have been on a hunt for Harvest Moon DS, which apparently is not an easy game to find. I remember when Tut bought it for herself, and I swear it wasn't that long ago (a year, maybe two...I think she pre-ordered it though, and then it got pushed back, so still not that long ago). I figure I can at least find it at Gamestop, but even they don't seem to have it (in the store or online). So I resort to eBay and Amazon, and manage to find tons of them...no wonder Gamestop doesn't have any. So I go and order it for my little sister (she is a huge Harvest Moon fan, and I figure it'll make a good gift). Turns out the boyfriend also wants to play. Since I kind of wanted a copy for myself anyway, I buy another figuring at least I'll have something to play while he takes over the Wii. Guess who has been playing with it since it arrived? That's right...the boyfriend.

On the bright side, the copy that has arrived also came with Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, which I am obsessed with. It's like Lemmings, but with more of a puzzle aspect. It has completely distracted me from Super Paper Mario, which is sad because now instead of battling over who gets the Wii, the boyfriend and I now battle over the DS (because he is a loser and opted not to get one for some reason that I don't understand). I'm about 2/3 of the way through the game though, and I only got it yesterday! I think I might just beat it before I go back to Super Paper Mario. 1.) I get to keep the Ds from the boyfriend, which I find too funny. 2.) The bosses in Super Paper Mario suck. They are getting harder and harder, and I am not really getting any better lol. Oh well, at least I know how to beat most of them after watching the boyfriend play all the time.

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: geeky

Listening to: Opening theme from Bleach (yay Japanese!)

First Post

So this is my first ever post to LJ. I have some other blogs, but I'm really not that good at posting so... Anyway, I started this blog mostly to post my knitting accomplishments and to perhaps let my nerdy side show. For example, I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I recently have become obsessed with Paper Mario, and so on.

My next post or two will probably be of my first few knitting endeavors. Technically, I have been knitting for two years, but between being a college student who works part time during term and full time out of term, my time is a little limited (mostly to writing papers and the such). So, to date, I have only knitted three very simple scarves, a cute scarf and lace glove set, and this scarf/heat pack cover (I know it sounds weird, but it was a request by my mom).

Once I get beyond these, I plan to work on some original projects. I'm not much of a designer, but as the lace gloves (which you will see soon in the future) were my third-ever project, I fell rather up to the challenge. My first project that I am designing is a Zelda scarf featuring some of the NES sprites. After that, I think I have cracked the pattern to a Harry Potter design. I need to work on making hats first, so that upcoming pattern may be quite a ways ahead. For those who are interested, it is the hat that Ron wears during the snowball fight in Hogsmead (PoA I believe). I've read in various forums that there is an actual pattern, and one person thought it was a chullo desgin. Well I got my cogs turning and think I have it figured out. Stayed tuned, and I'll try to post it in a timely manner.

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: nerdy

Listening to: Deathcab for Cutie--I Will Follow You Into the Dark