Big Holiday Post

I might have to save this post and continue it later. We'll see :)

First, I shall start with Christmas Eve.

I got up at 7, so that I could shower and eat breakfast before my dad and I went to buy cannoli for our Christmas Day breakfast. I think I've talked about this before: we buy cannoli and other pastries from our local Italian bakery for Christmas Day breakfast. We also had to go to the grocery store to buy bread and cucumbers for our Boxing Day appetizer get-together - we had my Uncle Brent, Heather, and Heather's daughters over to our house for Boxing Day.

We went to the grocery store first to pick up the bread and cucumbers, and we also picked up a turkey TV dinner as a gag for my sister, who had mentioned that she didn't like pork (we had crown roast of pork for Christmas dinner) and would've preferred turkey ;) Despite the fact that the couple behind us in the check-out were a bit pushy (they complained a little about the line-up, and then pushed past my dad and I as I was trying to head to the exit), I was somewhat cheerful. There was a little kid jabbering away in her mom's shopping cart in the check-out line beside ours', which was really cute :)

After that, we headed to the bakery, but they weren't open yet. Another patron was waiting in his car when we pulled up to find a parking spot, and he laughed when he saw us. We sat in the car for a few minutes, then joined the line-up outside the door. The place got pretty packed when they opened the door; but despite the amount of people, the line progressed pretty quickly. I think it was because a number of people pre-ordered their cannoli. Dad always says he'll pre-order, and never does ;P

The rest of Christmas Eve consisted of cleaning, and wrapping presents. Fortunately, most of the stuff I got for people wasn't too tricky to wrap - it was just my brother's meat tenderizer that was tricky. After watching George Stroumboulopoulos's Christmas special, I went to bed so that my parents could wrap my stuff - and just before they started wrapping, I remembered I had to fill my hot water bottle, so I hurried upstairs to do that :p

And now, Christmas Day!

Christmas morning was very peaceful. After I got up, my dad put the kettle on for coffee and tea, and then we emptied our stockings. Mine was jam-packed with stuff - I can't remember everything that was in it, but I can tell you that it contained a new mug, a bath mitt, a box of Walnut Whips from our local British imports shop, Coronation Street playing cards (I imagine those were from the British imports shop as well), and a 'things to do' paper pad, to list things that are 'not done', 'almost done' and 'so done'. Pretty neat stuff :)

As for my main gifts, they were:

THE FIFTH SEASON OF DOCTOR WHO!!!
The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu
Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
Tokyo Godfathers on DVD
Home for the Holidays on DVD (now I don't have to wait for it to be on TV!)
The Heavy's The House That Dirt Built
A set of Ralph Lauren sheets in pink, green and orange stripes :)

As you can probably tell, I'm very excited about the fifth season of Doctor Who :D I didn't get to watch it on TV, because Space is the only channel in Canada that carries it, and we aren't subscribed to it.

After we opened presents, my mom and I tidied up the spare room for my sister to use while my dad went to pick up Nathan (my brother) and Steph (his girlfriend). We had to hurriedly wrap the knit throw blanket my mom made because she decided to give it to my brother, and we had it wrapped just in time for when they arrived - I literally brought it downstairs and put it under our awesome red tinsel tree as they were taking their shoes off and saying hello to the dogs! :p

From my brother and Steph, I got a bag of assorted candies: two boxes of Pocky (I had asked for Pocky because they know a place that carries the fancier flavours), a box of Lemon Heads, some Necco Candy Buttons, a Chupa Chup, a candy stick that I'm not sure what the flavour is, a mini Cow Tail (a caramel fudge candy), a box of Japanese candies that Nathan wasn't quite sure what they are (they're some kind of strawberry candy, from what the packaging says), and a pouch of Pop Rocks. My parents got similar bags of candy, but instead of the Pocky and the unknown box of Japanese candies they got Malteasers and Peanut Butter Bats. I don't think they got the Candy Buttons, though, or the Lemon Heads.

At around 2:00, we headed to my grandparents' house. My sister was already there, and she gave us her presents to us first. I got a bracelet from Disney World (she had gone to a conference for her pedorthics internship, and the hotel she stayed at was right next to Disney World) and two sweaters from Old Navy - one is a brown and blue argyle cardigan, the other is a black cabled cowl-neck pullover. From my grandparents, I got a set of five pairs of earrings from Avon, a red and black wallet-on-a-string also from Avon and a Chapters Indigo gift card. I don't know how much is on the gift card, though, because Grandpa didn't write the amount on it.

Uncle Brent, Heather, Heather's daughters and their aunt arrived shortly after we did, and we gave Brent and Heather their wedding gift and watched Grandpa open the gift that Brent, Heather and my mom got for him (a new TV for in the kitchen, to replace the one he had), and we left afterwards.

When we got home, Katie opened her stuff from us and we ate dinner: crown roast of pork, mashed potatoes, turnip (which I didn't eat, because I don't like turnip), Brussels' sprouts, dressing, and lamb sausages for Katie. The pork was very yummy. We had trifle for dessert after we'd all digested dinner.

Lastly, Boxing Day.

We did more tidying up before Brent, Heather and the girls came to our house. Brent put on the World Junior Hockey game on and we snacked on cheese and crackers, veggies and pickle dip, chicken liver pate, smoked trout pinwheels, smoked salmon devilled eggs, kielbasa, and Christmas cookies. After the hockey game, Nathan plugged in his Nintendo GameCube, and I watched Nathan, Katie and Heather's daughters play Mario Kart Double Dash - which was highly entertaining.

After Brent, Heather and the girls left, Dad put on Kill Bill: Vol. I on MoviePix. I was pretty happy about this, because I hadn't been able to see all of Vol. I when it premiered on the movie channels, because Mom didn't want me watching past the hospital scene for some reason. I guess she thought the fight scene in the Japanese nightclub was too graphic for me :p Anyway, I absolutely loved it. MoviePix was showing Volumes I and II back-to-back, but I only got to see the first fifteen minutes of Vol. II because it was on really late and Mom wanted everyone to go to bed :p

So, that was my Christmas :) Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!

BIG update post :)

Clearly I need to post more :p

I've been a bit busy. I went Christmas shopping at the mall with my dad Friday night, which was a success - I won't say what we bought, just in case my mom accidentally stumbles on my blog. Besides the actual shopping, walking through the mall was fun: we stopped at Second Cup to get a cup of coffee for Dad and a white hot chocolate for me, I saw a guy who looked like The Situation or Pauly D from Jersey Shore as we walked up the big staircase in the mall (the guy was tanned, with a plaid shirt and super-gelled hair), and I found out that we now have a Bath & Body Works in our local mall :)

On Saturday I went to the library to pick up my stuff - Debbie Stoller's book Stitch N' Bitch Superstar Knitting, Phil Collins' newest CD Going Back, a huge book on human anatomy, a National Geographic book on birds, the DVD of The Girl Who Played With Fire and the new Karate Kid movie. Oddly enough, as soon as I picked up my stuff I checked my account online and saw that another item - a book on writing screenplays - is in transit for me. Huh.

My parents went to a Christmas party on Saturday, so I got to catch up on my reading a little - but for most of the evening I watched The Breakfast Club again :p It was on MoviePix, but it was halfway through when I put it on; and then I caught it from the beginning on A Channel. I absolutely adore that movie - it's just so awesome.

I didn't do much on Sunday or Monday - just an errand on Monday. Today I went to Shopper's Drug Mart with my mom to look for stuff for Dad for Christmas, and we were fairly successful :) All I have to do now is buy a present for my sister.

We have snow!!!

It snowed last night :)

It was just a dusting at that point, so I was hoping it wouldn't melt in the morning. I woke up this morning and saw a bit more than a dusting when I looked through the living room window, so I was pretty happy about that. Hopefully the weather will be seasonable for Christmas, because last December I didn't get to wear any of the scarves I've made.

In honor of the snow, I give you: 'Walking in the Air', from The Snowman...






I really should find that movie on DVD. Our VHS tape of it won't last forever, and not many TV stations play it over the holidays.

Speaking of TV, this Christmas will be the first Christmas that we've had AMC and TCM. My mom and I watched Meet Me in St. Louis on Saturday, which was nice. And yesterday afternoon we caught the last twenty minutes or so of The Bishop's Wife. I'm hoping to be able to watch A Child's Christmas in Wales, but I don't know if it'll be on TV - sometimes a channel like Knowledge Network or TVO will have it on, but it isn't always on every year. TVO and Knowledge Network are kind of like PBS stations in Canada - they're commercial-free and often have educational programming.

Yesterday afternoon, after we watched The Bishop's Wife, I found one of my favourite Christmas movies, All I Want For Christmas, on YTV. After that was Call Me Claus, which I watched the last half of (I had gone on my computer when it started); and then after that was Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

In knitting news, I'm halfway through my bobble pillow :) I finished the bobble half, and now I'm doing garter stitch for the back half of the pillow - which will be a lot easier on my hands. The bobble side took so long to get through, and my hands hurt from knitting the bobbles in acrylic on metal needles, but the pain was worth it. Now I can zip through the rest of it.

I watched Jonah Hex the other day. It was good - I wasn't totally wowed by it, but it was good. I still have another library DVD, Driving Lessons, to watch. I might watch it tonight if there isn't anything on TV tonight. Or we also have plenty of Christmas movies to watch.

I can't think of a witty title.

I'm really at a loss as to what to call this post. So... yeah :p

My cat was being a little devil yesterday. She kept sneaking up onto the stove to drink meat juices - I had to chase her away five or six times - and she later puked them up on my carpet. The stain looks like a red wine stain, so it proved troublesome to clean up. It doesn't look as bad as it was when I discovered it - it looked like a crime scene when I started cleaning it up. I half-expected David Caruso from CSI: Miami to be standing there, taking his sunglasses off and putting them back on and commenting on the stain. I got some of the colour up, though, which is good. I may have to ask my parents to buy carpet stain remover, though.

I went to the library yesterday, and picked up some CDs (Cyndi Lauper's Memphis Blues, Sting's Symphonicities and The Who's Tommy) and two DVDs (Jonah Hex and Driving Lessons). I'm kind of excited about both movies, but a bit skeptical about Jonah Hex. I hope it's good.

I got more Christmas shopping done last week. I got some cooling racks for baking for Steph, because she likes baking. I still have to shop for both of my siblings and my mom, though.

Well, that's what's happening lately. I should probably go eat now.

December

So, NaNoWriMo is over, which means I now have time to post regularly. Sorry for the long gap between posts, I was really busy :p

NaNoWriMo actually went pretty well. I'm happy with my novel, unlike last year's novel, which sounded silly to me. Next year, I want to try something completely different - either science fiction or an adventure-type novel (think National Treasure). I started a synopsis for each novel idea, and I have a protagonist for each one as well. I need a break from urban fantasy writing... :p

Now that NaNoWriMo is done, I'm itching to read a lot of books. I started Un Lun Dun by China Miéville, but I'm still in the prologue because I couldn't focus on it when I started it. I read a bit more today, but got distracted because the dogs wanted inside. I'll probably read more later.

But there's so many books I want to read. I really want to start Terrier by Tamora Pierce again, but I promised myself I'd try to read all of Un Lun Dun. Plus, I have the books I just bought a month or so ago with my Chapters Indigo gift card from my grandparents, which is just too tempting. But Un Lun Dun is a library book, so I kinda have to read that first.

I'm kind of in a panic about what to buy people for Christmas. I have no idea what to get my sister. I have some ideas for my brother and his girlfriend, though, which is comforting. I like to get my shopping done early so that I can relax. I hope to only go into the mall once, to shop for my mom, because the mall gets a little crazy during Christmas shopping season - and sometimes it gets crazy outside of that season. For instance, one year I was in the mall with my dad (I think we were shopping for either Mother's Day or Mom's birthday), and out of nowhere this woman almost walks into us on a diagonal and gave us a pissed-off look.

I'm happy that it's December, though. It means that I can put on the Galaxie Traditional Holiday channel on my TV and sweep the living room, or listen to my holiday playlist on YouTube while on the internet. Speaking of sweeping, I have to vacuum my room...

Anyways, that's my post-NaNo update of sorts. I'll try to post more often :)

Michaels Sale of Awesomeness!

Yesterday, I went to the Michaels sale I'd mentioned in my last post. It was 20% off your entire purchase, including sale items; but not including things like books, magazines, Christmas trees over a certain height, etc. And I got yarn!

I wound up getting up before my alarm. Somehow, I tend to do that; probably because I'm anticipating the alarm. I had set it for 7:00 and got up at around 6:15, so I had plenty of time to eat and get dressed. I had to get up early because the sale was only from 9:00 until noon (I think), and Mom wanted to get there early so that she could get the yarn she needed.

After helping Mom pick out some colours, I started looking for yarn for the patterns I'd brought with me - Ysolda Teague's Lace-Up Opera Gloves, and Jenny Dolan's Punk Rock Corset Gloves. I wasn't sure what colour to get for the opera gloves, so I picked two colours for the corset gloves instead - Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in 'Cranberry', and Loops & Threads Impeccable in 'True Gray' (I think that's the colourway!). I thought about making the gloves in black and another colour like red, but then I realized that black yarn can be tricky to work with, so I didn't want to plunge into applied i-cord using black yarn. I liked the idea of red and grey, so I went with that. I think they're gonna look great :D I'll still make the opera gloves, but I might use some worsted that I already had before going to Michaels.

I felt really tired that afternoon, probably because I was up so early; so I rested for a bit on the sofa, watching/listening to Robin Williams' HBO special (which, I should warn you, is R-rated). After that, I think we watched the news, and then the Tina Fey Mark Twain Prize special on PBS (which was really great).

That's pretty much it. I'm starting to love my novel for NaNoWriMo, but I feel like it isn't moving quick enough. But I'm excited to write tomorrow, because I have a really good scene in my head that I want to write :D

Christmas shopping woes

Sorry about the huge gap between posts. NaNoWriMo is eating my soul. I'm at something like 31,903 words, which is pretty great. My story hasn't plunged into adventure quite yet, but I'm working on it. I think I'll throw a curve ball in tomorrow to make things interesting.

So I'm having a minor dilemma with Christmas shopping. I know it's early yet, but I like to get my shopping done ahead of time so that I don't have to go to the mall more than I need to. I'll probably have to go to the mall to shop for my mom, but that'll be it, I think. I already have my dad's present (I won't say what it is, just in case he comes across my blog by accident), so that's one person down.

I've been trying to read Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, but I'm still at the prologue :p My dogs seem to interrupt my reading, which is a bummer. I also want to try to get Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince finished, because I want to be able to see the second part of Deathly Hallows when it comes out. Finishing Half-Blood Prince and reading all of Deathly Hallows might be a bit of a stretch, but it's a challenge I'm willing to take. I think I'll make it a goal for the new year.

I'm getting up early tomorrow to go to the Michaels 20% off entire purchase sale tomorrow. I have to get up early because it's only a four-hour sale. I don't know if I'll get anything (I really don't need yarn :p), but I might look at the clearance yarns to see if there's anything I like. Or I could pick up some Vanna's Choice to make a hat or a pair of Ysolda Teague's Lace-Up Opera Gloves.

I also want to make a Doctor Who scarf (you know, the one Tom Baker wore), but I have to do my research on what yarn to use. I think that'll be another goal for 2011: knit a Doctor Who scarf.

So that's what's going on right now. I will try to post sometime soon, but it may be a long break between posts while I'm doing NaNo. Later!

Halloween, NaNoWriMo, and other happenings.

Wow, I haven't posted in ages :p I never did write a Halloween music post. Sorry! I'll try to remember to post Halloween songs next year.

First, I'll write about Halloween.

My Halloween was a little different from last year, because I went to a coffee shop in the afternoon for the local NaNoWriMo kick-off party. I hadn't seen some of the local NaNo'ers in two years, so it was cool to see them again; and a lot of the folks at the party were unfamiliar to me. I brought my handknit eyepatch with me, but it was a pain to wear because I made the patch part a little bit big. I had a lot of fun at the party, and came home with an awesome party bag (with chocolate in it!).

We had a timer set up to change channels to America's Funniest Home Videos that night, so I didn't get to put on Rocky Horror at 7:00 on Treasure HD. I put it on halfway through, at the 'Touch-a Touch Me' scene, but then my dad changed the channel and pretty much hogged the TV for the rest of the night, so I couldn't put my Rocky Horror DVD in :( I did listen to the soundtrack later that night, though, and I did the Time Warp :D

We didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters - about 42, I think, was our final count. One of the kids that came to our door was adorable - she got her fairy wing caught on our screen door, and said, "My wing is caught AGAIN! It keeps getting caught on things!" It was really cute :)

The only problem with having very few trick-or-treaters is that we have a LOT of Tootsie Rolls leftover. I'm pretty sure I'm going to OD on Tootsie Rolls pretty soon.

And now, for NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month) started on a Monday this year, and a lot of people on the boards felt a lot of pressure because of it. I was all right, though, because I'm not enrolled in school right now. I have been neglecting my GED work, though :p I started out with a pretty good word count, and now I'm at 11,904 words. Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself :)

I really like how my novel is going so far. Last year I wasn't too happy with my novel - it felt a bit like a silly soap opera. I really liked how my novel from two years ago turned out, though. I totally didn't know what I was doing with my idea, and it kinda morphed into an urban fantasy. My novel for this year is a werewolf urban fantasy, which I find is easier to write than vampire urban fantasy because there's less lore to memorize.

And now, Other Happenings.

Aside from NaNoWriMo, not a lot has happened. My sister came up to visit, and my brother and his girlfriend came up as well, and we ordered Chinese take-out for dinner. We had fun chatting about cats and other stuff, and we had fun teasing Steph (my brother's girlfriend) about going back for seconds, because she's really tiny :p

That's all, folks. I'll try to post regularly, but I might not post a lot because NaNoWriMo takes up a lot of time.

Maybe I'll be a pirate.

I don't have a proper Halloween costume, but I do have a hand-knit eyepatch that I made for a House Cup assignment. I think I'll wear it tomorrow.

I wore it for a bit when I went to see Grandma at the nursing home today. We went downstairs for their Halloween happy hour, and I drank 'Pumpkin Guts' (a non-alcoholic peach drink) and snacked on cheese puffs.

I went to the periodontist's yesterday, because he has me coming in to get my teeth cleaned between my usual cleanings at the family dentist's since my dead tooth was removed. The hygienist told me to remember to floss, and we had a small conversation about Lady Gaga's meat dress and George Michael. It was interesting. I couldn't really say much in reply, considering that I was having my teeth scraped with metal instruments, but it was still interesting.

So tomorrow I'm going to the local NaNoWriMo kick-off party, and I think I'll wear my eyepatch. It shall be rockin' :) I'll probably post some Halloween videos tomorrow.

A Touch of Narcolepsy

Okay, so technically I don't have narcolepsy, but I'm quite tired today. There are two possible reasons for this: 1) I took an Aleve last night to relieve a sore shoulder, or 2) the weather went from average October weather to crazy winds. I'm thinking it might be due to the wind, because I sometimes feel tired or get headaches from the weather changing.

I still managed to get things done despite my tiredness, though. I did a couple of exercises in my GED book, read a little bit of my library book, went over some stuff in my Japanese book to refresh my memory, and did some laundry.

That's all for now. I probably shouldn't blog when I'm this tired :p

Turkey and 'taters and books, oh my!

I guess I should recap a little...

Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving, that is) actually went well, despite the fact that Dad and I argued and Dad left a lot of the cleaning 'til the last minute. We went to pick up Nathan (my brother) and Steph (his fiancee), and I got to meet their new cat. He is adorable :)

I didn't get to watch any Thanksgiving movies, but I can save those for the American Thanksgiving next month - I imagine one of the networks will show Home for the Holidays, which is tied in first place with Pieces of April as Favourite Thanksgiving Movie. I got to watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles though, which is my second-favourite Thanksgiving movie.

I finally spent the Chapters Indigo gift card I got for my birthday from Grandma and Grandpa. I bought Leviathan by Scott Westerfield and Eon by Alison Goodman. Mom talked me into getting The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones as well, because a clerk gave us a 25% off coupon. I don't know if I'll read The Uninvited - it's a murder-mystery written for teens, but I don't know if it'll be too gory for me or not. But with the coupon, The Uninvited only put me $7 over my budget, and Dad paid the $7. So, even if I don't read it, the book wound up costing less than the regular price. And Mom will read it if I don't.

Yesterday we stopped at Len's, because I still had $5 of birthday money leftover (I used the other $5 from my birthday money to pay library fines :p). I found the Patons 'Monkey Business' booklet (which is a sock monkey booklet) there, and it only cost a little over $4 after taxes. I found it in the clearance shelf, but it turned out that the booklet was regular price and somebody had just dumped it there. But I'm not bothered, because it wasn't too bad a price, and the patterns look great :D

I just finished watching season two of Primeval, which is EPIC :) It ended with a total cliffhanger, too. Now I'm watching Survivors, which really intense. It's a series about a super-flu that wipes out 90% of the world's population and about the people who have survived it.

Late-night post

I figured that, since I'm already on the computer, I'd blog before I got distracted.

I had a good morning. I listened to the garbage truck roll down the street - trust me, it's a lot more peaceful than it sounds. It was kinda cool to listen to it come down the street from a room other than the living room. I started my library book, too: Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly. I think I'm gonna like it. Not sure if I can finish it in time for when it's due back to the library, but I'll try reading a bit of it every day.

After I got up and ate breakfast, I finished the essay chapter in my GED book (I start the social studies unit next) and re-read a chapter of my Japanese book. I should be back to where I was in no time (I took a break from the book and I'm out of practice).

The rest of the day wasn't as nice, as some family drama decided to invade. Lovely. I re-read a bit of The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology, though, which took my mind off the drama, but now I'm back to being stressed. I'll probably have to practice my martial arts later so that I can get my frustration out. I find that katas - patterns of stances, strikes, blocks, etc.; which are designed to be an 'imaginary battle' - are good for relieving stress. I can't remember my red-belt kata, which is annoying, but it doesn't bother me too much. I always hated that kata.

I do have something to look forward to, though. My grandparents gave me a $25 Chapters Indigo gift card for my birthday, so I'll probably be going to Indigo soon to buy a book :) I might buy Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce, but I'll browse the shelves at Indigo in case something else strikes my fancy.

I have to go to the library tomorrow, because I have an overdue DVD; and I have four things to pick up: the 2010 Griffin Prize Poetry Anthology, Canadian GED for Dummies, season two of Primeval, and a DVD called Monty Python: Almost the Truth. That makes me excited, too :)

Went to Michaels today...

...But I didn't buy anything.

It was kind of disappointing. I had $10 to spend, and nothing really jumped out at me and screamed "BUY ME!" Maybe I'll try the other Michaels.

We went to the British imports shop, too, and bought some more kebab-flavoured Pot Noodle cups. They're highly addictive :) Mom and Dad bought some chocolate for me (I can't remember what they're called, but they're chocolate-mint balls, like the Aero Bubbles), Dad got some Walkers crisps and biscuits, and Mom picked up some tea (we were running out) and Custard Cream biscuits (which I love :D).

I watched the pilot of The Big C, which I had missed when Super Channel first ran it - fortunately, they were having a marathon; so I wound up watching the first three episodes before the soccer game came on.

The soccer game was a shambles... Toronto lost to Seattle. It was a 3-2 win, which isn't too horrible, but Toronto won't make the playoffs now.

I can't remember if I already mentioned this, but I finished my Calorimetry. Now I'm focusing on my Ravenclaw scarf.

A quick post, before Coronation Street comes on...

So I'm kind of mad at my uncle...

I might have said in an earlier post that my uncle and his fiancee were planning to get married abroad, despite that it's their second marriage for both of them. Well, it's official: they're getting married abroad. And of course, we can't go because boarding the dogs is very expensive. And Grandma can't go because she's in a wheelchair. And... well, you get the idea.

Otherwise, I'm okay, but I really hate my uncle right now. He's an insensitive jerk.

Hopefully, I'll post something happier soon. I just wanted to get that out of my system. It's raining today, which is pleasant, and I just finished watching season four of Doc Martin :)

Blaaarrrgggh

I couldn't come up with a clever title, so there you go.

My teeth on my right side are hurting a bit. I think it's from chewing a very tough candy, or from brushing too hard. Or maybe both. I'm trying not to poke at my teeth too much, but I'm like a little kid picking at a scab :p

I think I might refine a short story I started a while ago and try sending it in to a magazine. I sent a short story to a magazine for a theme contest, but it didn't get accepted. I still want to put my writing out there, though. It can't hurt to try, right?

Actually, I managed to remember to work from a writing prompt in the special issue of Writer's Digest that I got from Indigo. One of the articles is a year's worth of writing prompts, and the idea is to do one prompt a week. I got kinda lazy and only did a handful (some of the prompts just didn't spark anything), but a few days ago I wrote a few paragraphs. Pretty awesome, I think.

I did some GED work today. Actually, I think I got a fair bit done in the essays chapter. I'm doing exercises on paragraphs, and I wrote two practice paragraphs, did a quiz on which sentences in the example paragraphs were unnecessary, and an exercise on finding main ideas in paragraphs. The only one I'm unsure of is the main ideas practice, because there weren't any answers so I was like, "Wait, did I get that right?"

I watched the first two episodes of season four of Doc Martin and worked on my Ravenclaw scarf this afternoon. I probably should finish the Calorimetry though :p

I just sneezed on my arm.

So... yeah :p

Anyways, now that I'm not busy, I can reveal my diabolical knitting plan...

Merenwen's Knitting Plan!

Stuff to finish:

1. Calorimetry (I've only got two rows and the bind-off to do, but I'm procrastinating ;P)
2. Irish Hiking Scarf (only got a little bit left to do)
3. Ravenclaw scarf (about 45% done)
4. Fingerless gloves (need to be seamed)

Stuff to start:

1. Lacy Baktus (I'll have to finish the Calorimetry first, because I need the circular needle)
2. Lacy Waves Scarf (I can start this at any time, but I'd like to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf first)
3. Boneyard Shawl (again, I can start this at any time, but I want to finish other projects first)

I think I'll use my Patons Decor in 'Woodbine Ombre' fur the Lacy Baktus, Red Heart Super Saver in 'Light Sage' (the colour I used for my cat/mandrake blanket) for the scarf, and Decor in light blue (can't remember the colourway name) for the shawl. Fun! :D

I also have an itch to read a gazillion books. I think it's because the weather is cooling off, because I think I read more during fall and winter than in the summer - and any books I read over the summer are light, like manga or girly novels. I still have to finish Blood and Chocolate (I know, I'm lazy), but I really want to start my most recent library selection, Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly. It's about a girl names Drea who has symptoms of Asperger's and joins a band with two classmates who don't judge her. You can read the full synopsis on Goodreads here.

I also want to read Terrier by Tamora Pierce, but I also want to read her Tortallan quartets from the beginning - a 'book marathon', if you will - because I feel that if I read the last Immortals book, The Realms of the Gods, right away, I might have to go back and re-read parts of Emperor Mage. I also have $10 birthday money from my estranged grandmother, which I might spend on a paperback or hair stuff. I can't decide.

Eh, I should probably be doing GED work... or maybe I'll eat lunch first. I feel like making a tuna melt for lunch again.

Knitting plans and Venn diagrams

I can't seem to remember to post. Maybe I should mark some blogging days on my calendar...?

Anyways, yesterday I was having a hard time drawing a Venn diagram. Venn diagrams are two overlapping circles, and you use them to show similarities and differences - you write similarities where the circles overlap, and differences in the parts that don't overlap. Well, I can't draw circles for the life of me, so yesterday I thought, 'forget it, I'll try again tomorrow with the compass from my math set'. So today I got out my compass. First I looked in my nice, newer math set, but I didn't have the kind of compass with the bracket for holding a pencil, so I had to use my cheap, purple plastic math set. And guess what happened?

The pencil wouldn't fit.

Yes, my purple compass's pencil bracket wouldn't open wide enough for the pencil that came with it to fit in it. So I tried with my double-pointed compass, but that didn't really work (I think they're more for lines and triangles in geometry), so I decided to use just the pencil and wing it. And it turned out okay. The circles weren't perfect, but the diagram worked okay, which is what matters.

I have some diabolical knitting plans (hehe ;P), but dinner's ready so I can't list them right now. Basically, I want to finish some stuff and start some stashbusters.

Bye!

Look! A post!

I'm kinda bored, so I figured I'd put my boredom to good use :)

Mom ordered a book for me from Elann on sweater finishing, which looks nice. I've been meaning to knit some sweaters, but I've got a bunch of little projects to finish. I'll probably work on my Ravenclaw scarf or my Irish Hiking Scarf tomorrow, while watching one of my overdue library DVDs :p

The dogs have been morons today. Every time I tried to focus on my library book (The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology), they'd bark at something or whine to go outside. Or the phone would ring, which can be just as annoying. I managed to get a little bit of GED work done this morning, though, and I read through an old algebra book to refresh my memory while watching an episode of Cheers - my latest addiction. Ted Danson is a hoot.

I've been skimming through Grace Llewellyn's The Teenage Liberation Handbook, which is about unschooling. I feel inspired when I read it, and I needed a bit of inspiration. I think it helped a little, because my brain kind of went, "Okay, for Canadian history I can read Canadian History for Dummies and Famous Dead Canadians 2, and I can watch Ian McKellan: Acting Shakespeare and read my Simply Shakespeare copies of Hamlet and Macbeth..." So I think I'm kinda going somewhere.

The second season of Vampire Diaries starts tomorrow! So excited! :D

I should probably update.

So, sorry about the lack of posts. I've done most of my computer stuff on Dad's computer, because mine lags on sites with a lot of Flash, and my cousin was always up in the spare room where my computer is, so I had to use Dad's a lot. Not that I minded much - his computer is so much faster than mine.

Not much has happened since the tent sale. Justin (my cousin) didn't come back for his stuff, so Mom and I had to bag it all up... including his dirty laundry. eww. There's still a pair of his underwear that we somehow missed, and his umbrella. Dad came home from work not long after we started packing things up, so he helped with packing boxes and the heavy lifting; and when Brent (my uncle) arrived, he helped pack it all into Brent's Jeep.

Anyway. We couldn't go out for dinner on my birthday, so we went out for breakfast/lunch/brunch instead - the restaurant we went to has all-day breakfast, so my parents ordered off the breakfast menu and I ordered off the lunch menu. Then we went to the British imports shop and bought candy and stuff. We even bought a kebab-flavoured Pot Noodle, which I ate for lunch yesterday. It tasted pretty good, although I had to add a little bit of the chili sauce that came with it to perk up the flavour a bit.

Yesterday we went to Denninger's to buy a cake. I decided on a cute little square cake, because it didn't make sense to buy a huge cake since only three people were eating it. It's a chocolate/mocha/caramel cake, and it's absolutely delicious. We bought cold-cuts and chocolate, too, and ordered Chinese take-out for dinner.

Mom annoyed me this morning by telling me that tomorrow I had to 'hit the books, make a schedule and stick to it, and take my GED stuff seriously'. I guess she didn't notice all the GED English work I've done. Granted, I did my work in spits and spurts, but whatever.

Anyway, that's pretty much it. I'll try to post more often :)

Rain = awesome :D

Finally, we have rain! This summer's been so hot and muggy, I've been craving rain. And after those few excellent, balmy days, we started getting rain. It's been making my head ache, but otherwise it's very welcome. We've had the doors open and let the fresh air in, and it's just wonderful.

And yet I can't seem to read today because I'm all antsy. I realized today that I haven't finished Blood and Chocolate, which I started a while ago. Problem is I can't seem to focus on novels, but I really want to start a Tamora Pierce book. I don't know why I'm so worried about finishing that book, but I am. Maybe when I'm done reading my manga from the library, it'll become my nighttime read. Or I'll just abandon it and start Terrier! MUAHAHAHA!!!

...ahem.

Anyways, I watched the other two Doctor Who specials, The Next Doctor (the Christmas special), and The Waters of Mars. Both were pretty epic.

I haven't been able to write much for fiction, but I might write a rant. And I've thought about trying script-writing, so I got a book out of the library on film-making, but I've barely looked at it. It looks all right, but I think I'll reserve library books solely on writing scripts.

There are a bunch of knitting projects I want to finish, and now that it's not so humid, I think I'll try finishing my Calorimetry. I'll have to shrink it, but that's fine. At least I use the right weight of yarn this time, and it won't turn out to fit around my waist :p I also want to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf. I haven't been able to wear any of my handknit scarves, because last fall was so warm, so I'm hoping for a seasonable fall so that I can wear my scarves.

Tent sale!

I went to my LYS's tent sale yesterday. I went $24 over my budget, but dad floated me the extra money and said it was fine. He'll probably have me doing yard work to pay it off, which is fair. I still felt bad about spending $60, though :p I've always felt bad about spending money, though, which is weird because I rarely spend money on myself. The last time I bought myself something was last year when I had birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa, and I bought a skein of Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool, a gauge ruler and some used books from the library book sale. And I think I still had change leftover.

The fact that summer is almost over is kinda freaky. I didn't get to do much because the weather was ridiculously hot and muggy, and things just didn't seem to work out. Oh well, there's always the fall - a season I prefer over summer anyway, because I don't get sunburned.

Anyway, I'm rambling. After the tent sale, I found out at the last minute that Nathan and Steph (my brother and his girlfriend/fiancee) were coming up for dinner, so I had to sweep right away and didn't have time to put laundry in or go on the computer. So, I was freaking out last night and this morning because I absolutely had to do laundry, and I was worried that I had more overdue library stuff, but fortunately, I had already renewed the items. Crisis averted!

I took a photo of my tent sale loot, but I haven't uploaded it yet. I'll put it into my Flickr and post it eventually :)

Finally, some comfortable weather!

I realized I haven't updated in a little while, so I thought I'd post.

Yesterday the weather was so nice, we didn't have to put the air conditioner on - which is great, because we'd had weeks of muggy weather. Last night I sat out on the front porch with my mom, and stayed out there long after she'd gone inside. I think I was outside for around 20 minutes, maybe longer. It was awesome. I just sat and listened to the trees rustling and the crows cawing, and watched cars and people go by. I even heard a loud chirp as a sparrow flew by. It was nice.

I did hear some not-so-lovely sounds, though: a siren, a motorcycle ripping down our street, and our neighbour's son's car stereo. But, oddly enough, one of my favourite sounds was that of a bus driving down the street that crosses ours. It's odd because buses are known for sounding ugly, and when I was little I used to freak out whenever I heard a bus coming - but the older buses didn't bother me as much. Nowadays buses don't bother me much, probably because the newer designs are quieter and more fuel-efficient.

I'm itching to read Terrier by Tamora Pierce, for some reason. I just picked it up and flipped through it - I knew some of the beginning already, because I had tried reading it from the library but couldn't finish it in time. I even took it out of the library a second time, but I must not have been in the right frame of mind because I didn't get very far in it. I have my own copy now, though, so I can read it at my leisure.

The weather seems to be behaving today, so maybe I'll read my manga from the library (Full Moon O Sagashite #3) or Terrier outside.

Ouch...

My teeth hurt.

So does my head. I think it's because of the weather changing, because we're supposed to be getting rain overnight. I sometimes get headaches from changes in weather (I think it has to do with air pressure), and sometimes I get eye pain, or a toothache. It's usually my molars that ache when the weather changes, but this time it's my bottom front teeth.

Actually, I think I can take another Tylenol now. I should probably do that.

Whoa, I just got a sharp pain in my left eye.

Okay, I'm taking that Tylenol now.

Still, I'm reasonably happy, because I was able to renew my library book today! Sometimes I can't renew something one day, but the day after I can. It's odd. So, I have another three weeks to read it.

I might actually try reading Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce again. Last time I started reading it, I got side-tracked. The same thing happened with Emperor Mage, but I was able to read back enough to finish the book. I might re-read the first three Immortals books before reading Realms of the Gods, though, because I might have forgotten some details. And I kinda want to read the first book, Wild Magic, again :) It's probably my favourite book of all time.

Mom's watching The Wolfman. I'm not, because I hear it's really gory and I don't know if I can deal with it. It and Nine are waaaay overdue from the library, because I was waiting for Dad to want to watch them, or I kept forgetting I had them out, or other people were watching things on TV. We have a DVD player upstairs, but it's hooked up to a smaller TV, and the upstairs DVD player is older and tends to not read discs as well as the newer player. Plus, it's been known to overheat if you're using it for over 2 hours straight - we found that out when we were watching my cousin's Robot Chicken Season One DVD a few years ago. Nathan (my brother) had to unplug the DVD player and plug it back in again to get it running. When I was watching season two of Buffy last December, I watched the last couple of discs upstairs, and sometimes it wouldn't read a disc properly and would start playing the first episode on the disc. So, I had to re-watch the last episode on the downstairs DVD player.

I should probably check my FishVille fish. See ya!

Early morning

The dogs decided to start complaining... just before 7, I think. So I got up to let them out, and they woke Mom up, too. And Teddy would not go outside.

It pissed me off immensely. Normally, she'll run outside and Lulu will be the one to jump over the baby gate (which is up to keep them from the cat litter) and bother Mom. But this time, Teddy stood with her paws on the gate (she doesn't jump over it, probably because she knows she's not allowed) and wailed because she knew Mom was awake.

I was feeling nervous because last night I got an e-mail from somebody I knew at my first karate school, whom I haven't spoken to in years. It went to my junk mail, so I didn't open it, but I told my mom about it and she said I should open it, but I wasn't so sure that I wanted to dig up the past (I left the karate school because of our opinions of the teaching, so I wasn't sure what kind of tales my old friends had been told by the instructors. My brother's old friend had said that, when a kid asked where me and my brother were, an instructor gave them a bullshit story). So today I thought, I'd better open it before I lose my nerve. So I did.

It was a spam link.

facepalm

All that worry for nothing! How ridiculous!

I found out today that I can't renew my library book, so I'm a bit annoyed about that. I couldn't focus enough to start it, though, so it's not that big a deal. Plus, I added it to my Goodreads to-read list, entered a giveaway for it on Goodreads, and the new library catalogue keeps track of recently returned items!

Anyway, I might pick up some light fiction from the shelves at the library I go to. There's a bunch of books on my library 'for later' list that are at that location. And I have the third Full Moon O Sagashite manga coming from the library, too, so that should be cool.

I should probably eat something. All I've had is some water :p

A brief-ish update

Hi. Sorry if my last post sounded weird; I was feeling very unusual when I wrote it.

I'm still stressing about my relatives and their behaviour, but I reserved a book on film-making from the library so that should keep me busy. I also have The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology out of the library, which is cool. I'm only a few pages in and haven't really gotten into the basics of the subject yet, but I think I'm gonna love it. It's making me want to dig out my anatomy book again - actually, when I flipped through the Manga Guide the other day, I saw an illustration of a cell and actually recognized some parts of it from my anatomy colouring book. I don't remember what they were exactly, but the names and shapes looked familiar. It was kinda cool.

I can't seem to get into a novel I have out of the library. It seems really interesting, but my brain just won't relax enough to let me read. I'm thinking of starting another Tamora Pierce book, because I used to zip right through most of her books. I have Terrier, which I tried starting twice but couldn't get into; and Realms of the Gods, which my parents bought for me at Indigo but I never got around to starting it. I might start Realms because it's a Daine book, and I just love Daine's personality.

I'm thinking of writing a blog post of books I recommend, because I've read some books that are really awesome. And I like writing reviews of books.

Oh yeah, and I sliced my fingernail - I was trying to snap a thread, and it sliced my left pinky fingernail. It was a clean break, though, so my mom was able to super-glue it back together and cover it with a band-aid.

I watched The Men Who Stare At Goats today. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually. I laughed quite a bit. And I got to hear one of my favourite songs - 'Itchycoo Park' by the Small Faces - in it.

One of those days

So it's been one of those days where I don't know what to do, what to say, or how to feel. I want to put this strange feeling into words, but it's tricky. I sometime try to put my feeling into rhyming verse, but that doesn't always work.

I might try rhyming poetry or songwriting again. I need to do something to express how I feel - speaking doesn't seem to be enough. A rant can be helpful, though - I usually feel a lot better after a good rant. But lately I've been having trouble finding the words to use in rant form. Part of me is scared of saying too much, or scared of looking pathetic or like I'm whining. I don't want to appear pitiful. But at the same time, I want somebody to hear me.

It's like I want to shout, but can't find the words. And it pisses me off when shit happens to people I care about, but other people connected to said persons just don't care. It drives me up the friggin' wall. If I could take kickboxing classes, I probably wouldn't feel this awful, but the only place that offers semi-contact kickboxing is my old dojo - and I am NOT going back there. Not a chance. And I don't want to take cardio kickboxing, because it's not to my liking. Maybe I can just shadow-box at home. But hitting a punching bag feels so much better.

I feel like I want to cry out a plea to someone I know, but I don't want them to push me away because of it. But living every day feeling like a kettle about to boil is not very pleasant.

Maybe I need to start a new knitting project. A big knitting project, like a shawl, that will keep me busy for a few months. Or maybe I'll dig up a novel draft to work on, or dig out my oil pastels and attempt some art. Something to distract me from the drama in my life.

First update in forever! Or, Family Reunion and Other Happenings.

So, the family reunion wasn't so bad. And it wasn't too hot outside, either - quite the opposite. It rained. A lot. And it was very windy. I got to see some old photographs of my mom, my great-grandparents, and a bunch of other people whose names I can't remember.

My computer monitor died a few days ago, so Dad hooked up the monitor from our old Hewlett Packard computer. The contrast has gone on it, so the colours come up very dark. You know those old NES games, with the bright oranges and blues, often on a black background? That's basically what my screen looks like. When I play FishVille on it, the orange fish seem to glow oddly, and my darker fish disappear. So, I go on my dad's computer when no one else is using it. I'm using it right now, because I wanted to feed my FishVille fish.

I watched Growing Up Twisted on A&E last night. It's like Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, only this time it's Dee Snider's family. Dee Snider, for those who don't know, is the frontman from Twisted Sister. The show is hilarious - Dee's sons, Cody and Shane, are a riot. Dee has another son, Jesse, who is a musician as well and was on a VH1 show called Rock the Cradle. I've blogged about the show before, as I was watching it on Much (a Canadian cable/satellite music channel, like VH1). Rock the Cradle was a reality show where children of musicians competed against each other. Some other kids of musicians were Crosby Loggins (son of Kenny Loggins), who won the competition; Lucy Walsh (daughter of Joe Walsh of the Eagles), and Chloe Lattanzi (daughter of Olivia Newton-John). I wasn't happy with the end result; I think Jesse should have won.

I watched a bit of And Now for Something Completely Different yesterday. So funny. "This is an EX-PARROT!"

Anyway, I can't think of anything else to say. Except that I'm hungry. I think I'll have a chicken salad sandwich...

Haven't posted in a while.

I know, I'm terrible.

I vacuumed up a spider today. It was quite liberating. The spider was huge, too - probably the size of a quarter, at least the size of a nickel, anyway.

Crap, now I have a sharp pain in the back of my head. We must be getting rain this week.

I watched The Breakfast Club today. It was AWESOME :) The DVD I have out of the library has a couple of featurettes, both of which were interesting.

But now I'm feeling melancholy again. It has a bit to do with an upcoming family reunion, and the fact that I can't even bring a book to said reunion (because Mom says it's 'rude'). It's gonna suck: outdoors, in the middle of frickin' July, with a bunch of people who aren't gonna take me seriously. At least my sister's gonna try to come up for this thing, and Justin will probably come with us, so I won't be completely alone. I'll still be bored to death, though.

If I didn't care about how Mom would react, I'd just stay home. But I hate to upset her, so I'll go and try to behave. I really don't want to go. I don't think Dad does, either, because he keeps joking about how he wants to go visit friends elsewhere. I can't say I blame him for wanting to ditch. Neither of us seem to be well received by relatives.

I still don't think it's fair that I can't bring a book. What else am I supposed to do?

Also, this video is awesome...

Awesome :)

So today I logged on to Q107's listener's club, because I got my bonus code in my e-mail. Remembering that one of the DJs did a phone interview with Meatloaf, I go on to her blog on the site and listen to the interview, and post it on my mom's Facebook because she loves him.

I'm a fan, too. He's performing in Oshawa tonight, but I didn't get tickets because: 1) Oshawa is a long drive from where I am, 2) there were no draws for tickets on the listener's club, and 3) as much as I wanted to try to call in to the radio station to win tickets, I knew I wouldn't get in, because the station is in Toronto and not only would it be a long-distance call, but I wouldn't have gotten through because there were probably loads of people in Toronto calling in.

So anyway, after I posted the interview link, I decided to try sending in a request for the All-Request Lunch Hour, and I asked them to play some Meatloaf - either 'You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth', or 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light'. They played 'All Revved Up With No Place to Go', which made me happy. I actually got up and danced around when the song was playing, and sang/lip-synced along ;) They didn't play either song that I requested, but that's fine - I imagine they'll play more Meatloaf later as they're gearing up for the concert, and after the concert as everybody's going home. They usually do that for concerts that they cover.

I really hope that Meatloaf comes here sometime. It'd be a real treat for Mom and me.

Also, I watched An Education the other day. It was pretty good. I kinda want to try knitting Jenny's school scarf: it's grey and dark red, striped just like a Hogwarts scarf. I like it. I have The Breakfast Club waiting for me at the library, so that makes me happy. I might reserve more manga, or perhaps a light novel, after I pick up my stuff.

YEAH!!!

The Netherlands beat Brazil in the World Cup!!!! :D

Also, here's a picture of the dishcloth:





Cute, right? :) I love how the corner striped. I'm quite proud of this little cloth.

The new HPKCHC assignments have been posted, and I'm trying to decide what to make. There are a bunch of assignments that I like, so it's tough to decide on what to attempt first. The month is still young, though.

Also, the new items got added to the library catalog yesterday, so right at 6:00 I raced upstairs to fire up my computer. I went through the new CDs first, and they had added a couple of Freddie Mercury albums and a Queen album that I had sent in purchase requests for, so that made me happy. They also added a live Sting album, which I reserved. After that I went through the DVDs and found lots to reserve: Cop Out, a Peanuts collection, the fourth season of Doc Martin, Skellig (which is based on a really good book by David Almond - I highly recommend it)... I think there was one or two other DVDs, but I can't remember the names. I didn't reserve a lot of books, just a couple of knitting books and a National Geographic book.

Some idiots were in the alley yesterday setting off fireworks in broad daylight. Yes, daylight. It started at around 11:30 in the morning, I think. One of them actually made me jump while I was on my computer.

That's all, I think.

Le sigh...

Japan lost to Paraguay today. Spain beat Portugal, so the quarter-finals should be interesting...

I watched The Blind Side the other day. I loved it - Sandra Bullock was amazing in it. Next library DVD for me to watch is An Education.

I'm trying to finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm about a quarter, maybe a third of the way through.

I've been drinking tea again. I stopped for a little while because it was tasting odd to me, but I think I realized why: I was brewing my tea in my mug instead of in a measuring cup. I heat up the water in a plastic measuring cup in the microwave, so sometimes I would just put the tea bag in the measuring cup. Now that I've started doing that again, my tea isn't tasting funny, and my mug isn't too hot to hold.

Also, I'm knitting a dishcloth with some white and pink variegated yarn. It looks so cute! :)

Footie fever

I watched Japan's match against Denmark today, and they won 3-1!!! So now they advance to the Round of 16 :D

I'm thinking about doing a timeline post soon. I saw a post like that on one of my Ravelry friends' blogs and thought, hey, I should do one. After all, there are many karate and Girl Guides/Brownies/Sparks stories I haven't told.

I've been thinking about Guides lately. I was a Spark for one year, a Brownie for two, and a Guide for one. The only reason I didn't go back for my second year of Guides was because the group was very small and disorganized - it was hard to get any badge work approved by a leader, because they only did an organized badge work 'judging' once in a while. And if I had gone back for a second year, I wouldn't have joined karate and met Holly, so I'm glad I didn't go back.

I do want to work on putting the rest of my badges on my Brownie and Guide sashes, though. I still have a handful for each sash that haven't been sewn on yet, and I should practice sewing anyway. I have to look in my mom's sewing box for thread, though, because I don't have any spools of my own. Either that, or I'll go to Len's or Fabricland to get a few colours of thread - I imagine there may be a 'starter kit' of thread.

That's all. See ya!

First post in four days

Sorry for the lack of posts. I think the World Cup has distracted me a little.

Not much has happened lately, which is probably why I haven't posted. The World Cup has been exciting: today, England won their match against Slovenia, but I'm not sure if they're advancing to the Round of 16, because I didn't catch the Group C stats.

Well, according to the official World Cup site, England and the USA are top of Group C! Huzzah! And Germany and Ghana have advanced, too! :D

I really don't know what else to say. Nothing's really happened.

These are the things I can do without

Yes, I'm listening to 'Shout' by Tears For Fears. But I actually have a list of things I can do without:

1. Dad dozing on the couch when he's supposed to drive me to the library.
2. Uncle Brent canceling Father's Day dinner at his place without actually telling us.
3. Dad acting like I'm a miserable bitch when I say something non-miserable.
4. Dad opening new containers of food (like jam) without looking through the entire fridge for an open one first.
5. Dad bitching about us 'reserving too much stuff from the library', as if we can control what comes in and when.
6. Dale (Grandpa) being such an ass, especially when we try to buy him a nice gift and he sneers about it.
7. Dale not asking what I want for a career, or asking me what activities I'm doing. I hate it when Mom had to tell him everything, because he just didn't give a shit - and he still doesn't!
8. Feeling like I'm inferior to my cousin Becca, because she got more attention when we were kids.
9. Feeling like I'm ugly, or overweight. I'm not really overweight, just a little out of shape.
10. Feeling like I have no skills.

That was a much longer list than I'd intended. oops.

I think I take things way too seriously. Nobody's perfect, obviously, but I often feel like I have to be. It just pisses me off when my aunt won't even say hi to me or my parents. What did I do to her? Nothing I can recall. She didn't even put my name on the Christmas card she gave us, just 'family'; and gave cards to my siblings. WTF?

I still don't have a clue what I want to do for a living. I haven't even worked through my GED book in about a week - I'll get back to it on Monday, though. It's bad enough that my lazy-ass brother beat me to getting a beginner's permit. It's even worse that people don't 'get' why I don't have a license. Never mind that I had dental surgery done, right?

This post is far too long, and very bitter. Oh well.

I hate feeling incompetent. I hate feeling mediocre because I'm not a carbon-copy of Becca. I'm sorry that I was homeschooled. I'm sorry that I'm an introvert. I'm sorry that I don't have a boyfriend, that I don't have a driver's license, that I don't have a career plan on a presentation board. I'M SO EFFING SORRY.

I don't think humidity agrees with me. I'm getting a killer headache, and I've got a bad temper.

World Cup!

I've been the World Cup, and it's been exciting. Today, New Zealand and Slovakia had a tie game, and so did Portugal and Ivory Coast. And yesterday, Japan won their first game. I was so excited :)

I watched Funny People the other day. It was okay. I thought Sandler was kinda crude in it, but I liked Seth Rogen.

Hmm, what else... I have a DVD and a CD to pick up from the library, and I'm expecting another DVD and CD.

Thank you, dog-creatures.

Thank you ever so much for waking me up. Now my stomach is all out of whack.

All I've had today is a McIntosh apple. Which isn't too bad - I mean, it could be worse. This morning I felt repulsed by bread, so I had fruit. Wise choice, I think. I've not been too enthused by store-bought bread lately, but whatever, it needs to be eaten up.

Maybe I'll have a can of soup for lunch. Although, leftover brisket with a little barbecue sauce sounds great, too. But again, store-bought bread = gross in comparison to homemade.

I really should go through my GED book today. I watched the first episode of Let's Learn Japanese on YouTube, though, so that's cool.

It's been rainy for the past few days, so I haven't had that humidity grumpiness, which is good. I did a little bit of writing... yesterday? I think? I worked on a short story.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the Writer's Digest special issue magazine I got has writing prompts in it. It's done as a prompt-a-week thing that goes right to December. I'm gonna start doing the prompts this week.

Kinda funny

So, someone on Ravelry put up a video montage of 80s music videos, and I recognized one of the songs. So I watched it on YouTube and asked in the comments if anyone knew what it was.

Then I decided to try finding this INXS song I had stuck in my head. So I type in 'inxs' in the search bar and clicked on the first title in the drop-down thing. That song turned out to be the one I was asking about!

Here's the one I asked about...




...and here's the one I was looking for...




How weird is that? They're both INXS songs!

Last night I watched the season premiere of Lie To Me, which was pretty awesome. Then I went on my computer, and then I watched the season finales of and Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara. I didn't really watch the first seasons of either, but I watched the first and last episodes of Jackie, and caught the season two premiere of Tara, so I don't think I had much catching up to do.

Glee is on tonight! :)

'Cause I'm bored

I haven't posted in a while. So I'll post now.

I went to see Grandma yesterday afternoon. I put together an outfit that I'm very proud of: army green shorts, white tank top, and a red bandanna worn like a headband with my hair pulled back in a ponytail. I felt very tough. I was going to wear my blue sandals, but I didn't want my feet to start aching, so I wore my beat-up black sport sandals instead.

I went to the library afterwards to take back a knitting book (Handmade Underground Knitwear) and a Bruce Springsteen CD, and picked up Crazy Heart. I watched it last night, and it was pretty good.

I watched Toronto FC's match against Kansas City, and the reffing was TERRIBLE. The ref red-carded Nick Garcia for a complete accident, and when Chad Barrett got kicked in the face, the ref didn't even card the Kansas City player - all we got was a free kick! It was ridiculous.

I re-watched the pilot of Ashes to Ashes today. It was on Showcase either Wednesday or Thursday, and Dad recorded it yesterday. I hadn't seen it right from the beginning since I watched it on YouTube (the clips got removed right after I had watched them), so I wanted to refresh my memory. I'll have to catch the rest of the series either on Saturdays or earlier in the week.

Clearly, I'm old-fashioned...

I've been listening to Tom Jones lately. I guess it's because I heard 'It's Not Unusual' on an episode of Will & Grace. Gosh, I love that show.

Of course, loads of people, myself included, think of this video when they hear 'It's Not Unusual'...





Oh, Carlton.

I've been struck with menstrual cramps, which isn't fun. Yesterday I had a pain in my side, but that might have been because my period was coming up. Nevertheless, not fun.

I went to the library on Saturday and picked up the tenth Fruits Basket and a couple of CDs. I haven't listened to the CDs yet, but the Fruits Basket is funny. I actually have no DVDs from the library, because I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox and took it back, and I had no DVDs to pick up. I thought I'd be getting The Blind Side and An Education soon, but I haven't yet. And I don't want to reserve anything until after the new items get added, so that I can reserve things that are on order.

I've been working on characters for my crime novel, jotting down little facts. It's going okay.

Humidity, Tim Curry, and a finished dishcloth.

It's ridiculously hot outside. We've been putting on the air conditioner a lot this week. I remember having to wear a light jacket this time of year to set off fireworks on Victoria Day!

So last night, Tim Curry was on the season finale of Criminal Minds. Normally I don't watch that show, because it's a bit too creepy for my liking, but I watched this episode because Tim Curry is awesome :) The episode was creepy-cool. Tim makes a good villain, and I always like a good villain. It made me feel like working on the crime story I started a while ago. I'd like to work on that again. When we were watching it, there was one character that said something like "I told myself to be strong..." and Mom said, "And try to hang on!" like in 'Don't Dream It', from Rocky Horror ;P It was rather funny.

I finished my dishcloth last night, and took a photo of it this morning...

Rocky Horror - on stage!

I saw my very first stage production of Rocky Horror last night! It was brilliant! It was at a theatre downtown - not a huge production like in Toronto or New York, but it was still great. This post will have some swearing and R-rated mature content, so proceed with caution, and don't let little kids read it ;)


My parents surprised me, so I didn't dress up. Katie had come up to give Mom her birthday present (today is her birthday - happy birthday, Mom! :D), and we went out to our favourite Mexican/Central American restaurant. I had a bad stomachache and heartburn from dinner (I overate a little), so I was panicking about where the hell we were going. I honestly thought they were going to take me to a tattoo parlor or something! But I was pleasantly surprised when we were walking towards the theatre and Mom pointed to one of the Rocky Horror posters and said, "Look! Look at what you're going to go see!"

They were selling party packs and t-shirts in the lobby, but we wound up not getting any - I think they stopped selling them after the show. We had fabulous seats: dead centre, and I think eighth row. There were people in the row in front of us that knew some other folks in the row behind us, and they were chatting before the show. The actors playing Columbia, Magenta and Riff Raff were dressed as ushers and were walking through the aisles with flashlights, chatting with the audience and handing out glowsticks (our row wound up not getting glowsticks for some reason - I think they ran out), and the actor playing Riff Raff was shining his flashlight at people and quizzing them on audience participation lines. He'd say, "What do you yell when someone says 'Brad'?" And people would yell back, "A**hole!" "What do you yell when someone says 'Janet'?" "Slut!" "And what do you yell when the narrator appears?" "BORING!" It was pretty fun. Out of those three, I only knew 'slut' for Janet, because I'm used to Mom yelling 'no-neck' for the narrator when we watch the movie, because Charles Gray wore a suit with a very tight collar that didn't show his neck. The only other audience participation line I knew was 'Say it!' for the 'I see you shiver with antci....." part, before Frank says '...PATION."

When the show was just about to start, the actor playing Riff Raff got up onstage and did a little intro to tell us where the bathrooms were, using his flashlights to point the way; asked us to not throw anything onstage, etc. Partway through, he said, "I know we have some virgins here, ooohhh!" and shined his flashlight around. I didn't see any virgin sacrifices, and I wasn't sacrificed. Actually, I'm surprised Mom didn't yell "We have a virgin here!" when we arrived!

The show was awesome. I really liked the actor that played Frank - he was rather cute, and very cool. And the actor playing Rocky was so buff! I loved the whole cast. I tried my best to keep up with the audience participation, but I forgot 'slut' a few times, and I kept forgetting 'a**hole'. But I tried to yell 'BORING!' when the narrator appeared, and when Frank said "I see you shiver with antici...." I yelled, "SAY IT!" with everybody else before he finished, "...PATION." Dad really got into it, too, and Mom was yelling and singing so much she went a bit hoarse. Mom and I were both a bit stuffed up from springtime allergies, Mom more so than I, so Mom was already a bit gravelly. I heard some interesting AP (audience participation) lines. When Riff Raff told Janet "You're wet," somebody yelled "YOU'RE ALWAYS WET, JANET!", or something like that. It was freakin' hilarious. My favourite one was when, just before Frank was supposed to say "Come!" (I think it was just before the floor show scene), somebody yelled something like, "What's your favourite flavor protein shake?" and the actor playing Frank actually broke out of character for a few seconds! I don't think he was expecting that! And then he said, "Come!" (get it? ;D) and I nearly fell over laughing.

And during 'Planet Schmanet Janet', Magenta continued singing "You're a hot dog, but you'd better not try to hurt her, Frank N. Furter!" after the band stopped playing, and Frank yelled, "Shut the f**k up!" It was hilarious!

I really liked how they did some of the more tricky scenes, like the bedroom scene (which was funny beyond words), and the pool scene in the floor show, and the driving scene (also funny beyond words). And both acts went by so fast - there was no lull at all. It certainly didn't feel like two-ish hours! It was just so awesome. During the Time Warp, I had to stand up because EVERYBODY was dancing, and I couldn't see by sitting! So I made Mom get up and do the Time Warp with me ;D It was tricky, because the rows were so narrow, so we couldn't do a full 'jump to the left, step to the right', but we managed the pelvis thrust okay ;) At the end, after the actors took a bow (I yelled, or perhaps screamed, a little when Frank came back out), we all did the Time Warp again. It was just so freakin' awesome.

As we were walking to the car, my hands were tingling from all the clapping, and Mom's voice was really hoarse. I was a little croaky, too - and my shirt was drenched under the armpits! I wore the blue floral shirt I got at Winners when I went with Mom and Katie a few months ago (I think I mentioned the shirt before) with my brown belted shorts.

If we get tickets for another show, I want to dress up. I have a red lamé buttoned shirt that's a tad big on me, and a black sleeveless dress to go overtop of it, so I can go as a party guest. I have a black catsuit dress from an old Halloween costume, too, but it's a bit too small and I put it in a bag for Value Village. I still have it, though. Or I might be able to find a sequined jacket and go as Columbia, or I can buy a French maid costume just before Halloween and go as Magenta. Even easier, I could go as Janet - I have a modest dress that's a bit big on me - it was my mom's old dress, a white cotton dress a blue and purple flower print. All I'd have to do is find a belt to cinch up the waist and a sunhat, and voila! Mom was saying about maybe getting four of us together for their ladies' night package. I hope we can do that someday.

Wow, this post is really long. My right arm is beginning to hurt, and I think my fingers are tingling a little! I'll close now, and I might write more about Mom's birthday in another post. Peace :)

edited to add little things I forgot :p

I need to post more often...

Hi there. Sorry for not posting for nearly a week, lol. I just keep forgetting.

I went to Michaels on Saturday, and... I actually got yarn! There was a skein of Red Heart Collage in the 'Rust' colourway in the clearance shelves, so I grabbed it. They had more Collage in another colour, but I wanted to only get one skein in case I didn't like it much. I think I'll like knitting with it, though - I might make a hat.

I saw a rabbit in the backyard the other day, and I got scared when Smiles started chasing it. It got away, though. I had seen the rabbit (I think it was the same one, anyway) in the garden before, a few months ago I think. I think I may have seen two, even.

That's all, I think. I try and come up with a slightly more original post next time.

'Nother recap

Sorry for not posting. Still a bit busy.

Mom and I made some progress with cleaning/organizing yesterday. We went through a storage tub of books and magazines and put some aside for a yard sale, then we went through the cookbooks. We still have to clean off the dining room table, though - hopefully in a week or two, I'll be able to do my GED work at the table.

Speaking of GED work, I haven't done that in a couple of weeks, and Mom got on my case about it again. The only places I can work are in the living room (which is noisy) and my room. My room is the basement, so I hear everybody's footsteps, which is rather annoying. Plus, my table is a tip, and it's cold down there, AND I have two storage bins (one for yarn, one for blankets) to work around, AND there's a cat tunnel thing I have to work around. So yeah, GED stuff can wait a bit. I can't take the prep courses until the fall anyway!

I also haven't knit in a few days, which is a bit odd. I started a dishcloth for one of the HPKCHC assignments (which I probably already mentioned), and it's nearly halfway done, I think.

I watched the season finale of The Vampire Diaries last night, and it was EPIC :)

ETA: I moved my 'Links' box up below the 'Books I'm Reading' box, and added a link to this blog's commenting guidelines. Please read them before you comment. Thanks! :)

MAJOR recap time!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been crazy busy! Justin (my cousin) is staying with us for the summer, and we've been sorting stuff for a yard sale, so I just kept forgetting to post.

So the spring/summer term of the House Cup has begun again. I wanted to aim for two complete projects per month, but that might not happen, lol. I started a dishcloth for one assignment, and I may start a keyhole scarf for another, but I'm not sure.

Went to see Grandma today. I stupidly wore a short-ish skirt in cold, windy weather, so I was cold going into the nursing home. Good thing they keep the home warm!

I tried to wrap Mom's Mother's Day gift, but I messed up because I set it on the paper upside-down and tried to fix it, which was unnecessary, but whatever. I'm a fussbudget. So Dad had to wrap it, and cut one of my bedsheets in the process because I stupidly tried wrapping it on my bed. Luckily, I have a spare sheet for tonight, and my parents bought me a new sheet set.

I watched Toronto FC's match against Chicago Fire. They won 4-1! Needless to say, I was very happy.

Toronto FC = AWESOME!

I watched the Toronto FC match against the Seattle Sounders today. Was awesome. Toronto won 2-0. Both goals were beauties. My throat was sore from screaming. My head hurts. Awesome.

I have a lot of laundry to do, but Dad's washing his stuff so I'll have to do mine later. My laundry's at the top of my hamper already, but that's because I never washed my dark shirts. Must do that, and wash my new black top with them.

Happy Friday!

Fridays are awesome whether you have plans or not. I don't think I have any plans for the weekend, except that Mom said we should go visit Grandma.

My appointment wasn't as stressful as I'd predicted. When Dr. G came in to talk about my options for an implant, he thought that me wearing the flipper for now would be fine. When my dad mentioned a dental bridge, Dr. G actually winced and said he'd hate to grind down the adjacent teeth for a bridge because they were well-shaped, and a bridge requires maintenance after ten or fifteen years. And I said I didn't want the surgery where they take a piece of bone from the chin and put it in my mouth, because I'm really sick of dental procedures :p So I'm going to keep wearing the flipper for the time being.

And then after Dad's appointment at the family dentist's, we went to the library to pick up me and Mom's stuff and pay our fines. Then Mom and Dad went to Costco, and I started Howl's Moving Castle over again, because I took a break from reading it and lost track of the story.

And today I ate a croissant (Mom and Dad bought a pack of them at Costco) and put towels in the washing machine. I'll try to get some GED work done today.

On Glee and teeth

So tomorrow I have my appointment at the periodontist's. I have to decide if I want to have a bridge put in, or if I want to keep wearing the flipper. Right now I'm leaning towards the flipper.

Glee was pretty awesome last night. It was Madonna-themed, and even though I'm not a huge Madonna fan, I really liked it. I like some Madonna songs - 'Like a Virgin', 'Music', and 'Like a Prayer' - but I wouldn't buy her albums. I really liked what they did with 'Like a Virgin' - it was very tasteful, and the voices of all the characters (Rachel, Jesse, Finn, Santana, Will and Emma) all blended so well in the sequence.

Mom's cooking, and the smoke detector keeps going off. lol. Well, at least we know it works!

Weirdness continues

I can hear an ice cream truck somewhere in the neighborhood. I sat and listened by the window, just to make sure it wasn't somebody's TV (there's a commercial for some bank that has an ice cream truck in it), but when I heard it continue I yelled, "OH, HELL NO!"

I think it's gone away now.

So I had trouble sleeping last night because I had all this anxiety over mostly stupid stuff. And then this morning I just got so pissed off at everyone - well, not everyone, but my extended family, because I feel like everybody's whispering about how I don't have a job, a driver's license or a career plan. Honestly, is it so bad that I don't have my beginner's license yet? Loads of people survive without one! I just hate how people think that as soon as you're old enough, you have to go out and get your license! And I don't need to hear that my bratty, spoiled cousin has a job at the mall. I really don't! That, and I'm not very impressed with Uncle Brent right now - I won't say much, because relatives I actually like (read: not Brent, Patti, or my grandfather) deserve their privacy, but let's just say Brent needs to get his priorities straight and show some consideration for his kids instead of focusing on his upcoming second marriage.

After my 'I hate my relatives' ranting, I started to feel very "Screw the world! I'm not gonna open the door, I'm gonna friggin' kick it down!" A lot of Green Day songs were played.

I finished watching Mad Men. One more DVD to watch, and then I'm off to the library. and Pirate Radio is in, which is great. Off to watch Castle on the PVR now. Sayonara!

Feeling weird

I feel a little weird. I blame stress.

Aside from that, things are good. I watched the first disc of Mad Men yesterday. It's pretty interesting. I'll probably watch more tomorrow, or I'll watch Whisper of the Heart.

I watched Ponyo Friday night. It was brilliant! The animation was beautiful (especially the underwater scenes), the story was so cute, and Liam Neeson voicing Ponyo's father... I just about melted ;) I can't wait to watch Whisper of the Heart!

I've been working on my Irish Hiking Scarf and my Ravenclaw scarf lately. The Ravenclaw scarf is really wide, but that means it'll be really warm. The Irish Hiking Scarf is coming along great - I'm gonna try to finish it this month, but lately I haven't felt like working on it. I'll probably get it out tomorrow and work on it.

I'm bored.

Yes, a very original title :p

I actually haven't posted in two days. 'Tis odd.

So last night Toronto FC had their home opener match, but I didn't get to see it because it was on Gol, a channel we aren't subscribed to :( And I won't get to watch a Toronto FC match until next Sunday, because their match this Sunday is on Gol. So I'm kind of annoyed.

I watched the SNL special last night. It was pretty awesome.

Hmm, what else... I have a strange itch to go on Jeopardy!, so I looked online to see if they had online auditions. It turns out they have them once a year, and I missed the deadline :( Oh well, there's always next year.

I also have a new goal - or, rather, a goal for a goal. One of my New Years' Resolutions was to get my beginner's driver's license, and yesterday I decided that I want to work towards getting it before Thanksgiving Day in October (Canada's Thanksgiving Day is earlier than the US Thanksgiving Day). That way, when I get my beginner's I can get some practice driving in the snow. So I'm going to read my driver's manual every afternoon upstairs and watch The Facts of Life on DejaView on the little TV :p That show is my new addiction, because I've seen almost all of One Day At A Time, which they seem to have cycled out. And maybe tomorrow I'll watch Nikkei TV on Omni BC and read my manual.

♪Hello, it's me...♪

I've had this song stuck in my head since last night - I was watching Glee, and the theme for the songs was the word 'hello', and this song popped into my head...






I used to think it was a Neil Young song, because the first line sounds a lot like Neil Young :p

I did a bit of writing today. I might do more tomorrow. I did no GED work, though :p

And I went to the library to take back The Manga Guide to Physics and pick up Ponyo and Patti Smith's Horses album. I thought I was gonna be fined for The Manga Guide to Physics, but I wasn't! :)

Blah, punctuation.

Normally I don't mind punctuation all that much, but today I totally screwed up a practice test on it. I think I rushed through it, because when I was checking my answers I was going, 'oh yeah, I should've gotten that!'. I got most of the exercises right, though.

Also, when typing a song name, it's proper to put it in quotations. But I like apostrophes better for song names ;p

I think I'm going to paint my nails bright orange soon. One of my nail polish sets that I got in my Christmas stocking has a bottle of bright orange. It'll be a nice change from hot pink or blue.

I've got an idea for NaNoWriMo '10 already. Crazy, yes, but at least I'll be prepared. I was going to work on last year's NaNoWriMo novel today, but I forgot. I think I'll write some character outlines for my '10 novel later.

Bored on a Sunday afternoon

I'm bored. I was going to start watching Mad Men, but Dad's on his computer, and he wanted to watch the series. Oh well.

Hmm. I don't have much to post about. Uh, I read a bit of Stewart Copeland's autobiography last night, but I didn't read much of it because my head and teeth were aching from the weather.

And we went to Michaels, but I didn't get any yarn. I did get a couple of pendant beads, though. They're both glass beads. One of them is blue and rectangular with what looks like yellow flowers (so it looks like a vase), and the other one is a set of two, actually - a black one with a white flower thing and a streak of brown (it looks like a Japanese painting), and the other is a silvery grey. I should probably take photos of them, because I'm not describing them well :p

We went into Indigo, too, but we only got the Spring/Summer issue of Knit Simple. Then we went to visit Grandma. She had her TV on the Food Network, and there was a program on called The Supersizers Go..., where Giles Coren (a food critic from the UK who often appears of Gordon Ramsay's program The F Word) and Sue Perkins try out diets from different time periods, and then undergo medical tests to see what kind of impact the diets have on them. The episode we saw was about the Restoration period in the 17th century, and they were cooking things like eel pie and lobster. It reminded me of when Jonathan Ross was on The F Word and they were cooking eel, and Jonathan was freaking out :p It was pretty entertaining.

It actually snowed on Friday. It was odd. It wasn't a lot of snow - just a few flakes. But it was still pretty unusual. It's lovely and warm today, though. I actually changed into shorts because I was too warm in my jeans.

edited for spelling and clarity