This is crazy.

I have this craving to knit mittens. And hats.

It's insane.

I've been trying to knit in the round on DPNs, without success - then again, I was using size 1 DPNs and Red Heart Super Saver. Hmm.

Now, don't get me wrong - I like Red Heart. But the partial skein I was using was being very splitty. And splitty yarn isn't good when you're trying a new knitting technique. But, in my defense, I have only sock needles. I'll have to try using fingering or my scraps of Rowan Lightweight DK. Either that, or I have to look for some DPNs in worsted weight sizes at Len's or Michaels.

For mittens, I might try either the 45-Minute Mittens pattern, or the Inner Child Mittens from Hip to Knit.

Oh, and I'm itching to start either a cardigan or a hoodie. I think I'll use my green Berella Muskoka to make a Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. I'm not sure what I'll make with my pale blue Patons Decor, though - maybe a long vest like the Talia pattern from Knitty.

So I've pretty much abandoned my February lesson plan, since I didn't really make it ahead of time. I'll still read up on black history, but I'm not sure how much I'll be doing this month, as I have a book on the history of Afghanistan and a book on the Spanish civil war to read. The latter is a very thick book. Plus, I'm reading 10 Things I Hate About Me, but that's a 'fun read'. I don't really have a book started for English, since I was sick for nearly a week and I had given up on Drop. I'll try reading it again over the summer, I think. For now, I think I'll read 10 Things, but for a more English-y book I'll probably pick up Howl's Moving Castle. Maybe I'll finally get it finished. It's not that I'm bored with it - I love it, but the font is so small, and it's the kind of book that, when you take a break from it, you have to read back a few pages so that you know where you are in the story.

I've also recently picked up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yeah, I know, I'm behind :p Hopefully I'll get it done for when the movie comes out in.... June? July? I can't remember which month.

For March, I'm going to finally pick up 1984 by George Orwell. I'll also read Macbeth. We have a book of Shakespeare's works, and I think Macbeth is included. I might look for Macbeth in a seperate volume at the library, though. They have some Shakespeare plays in single volumes - I'm not sure if there's Macbeth, but I think there's Hamlet. Ah, Hamlet - I watched the film when I was, like, nine. Hardly remember it, though.

I'm a big fan of The Reduced Shakespeare Company, though :)

I'm worried that my sore throat is coming back. Or it could just still be my dry throat. Oh joy.

This is getting to be a very long post indeed.

I have to get some more water.

Hi again

I'm back. Now then, more about my lesson plan! :)

Art: try to pick up manga drawing again.

Art: PAINT!!!

I should probably use my calligraphy kit, too.

World History: read the DK Biography on Martin Luther King Jr.

I think that's it.

I went to the library a few hours ago. I took back The Encyclopedia of Punk and Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin and picked up Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah and a book on Afghanistan. I still have a DVD in transit - The Sarah Jane Adventures, which is a spin-off of Doctor Who. I might have more in transit soon.

I also went to Shopper's Drug Mart to get candy for the Valentine's swap.

My stomach is still being weird.

Ginger ale is my elixer

I've had a weird stomach today. I've been eating in spits and spurts, instead of gorging like I normally do. Thanks to ginger ale and some Pepto, though, it's not too bad now.

In fact, I'm feeling hungry again.

Yesterday I decided that I needed to make a lesson plan, to which my know-it-all mother replied, "That's what I've been saying all along." I'm convinced that the reason why my education has been all weirded out is because...

1. She taught me science when I was younger, and now I've forgotten a good chunk of it.

2. She would focus on my brother and give me busywork to do while she turned him into a boy genius. Now, I know my brother was lazy and stubborn, and he needed to be badgered to do his work, but I was left hanging with annoying fractions, not-so-annoying English and a French book that I didn't really like. I used a science workbook as well when I was about 12 or 13, but I was still lacking something. For history, we had all these heavy books on Canadian history, or the childrens' books from the library. I honestly preferred the childrens' books, because it was the same stuff, but in an easier-to-understand style. And they have pictures. And the font is a good size. I also flipped through books from the library on the Romans and the Celts, and some books on Japanese culture and history. But something was still lacking. My mother now claims that she was going to order owl pellets for us to dissect, but she didn't, because I had told her that I 'didn't want to touch owl poop'. Well, that's a load of bullshit, because I had been reading Skellig at the time (great book, by the way), and I was interested in owl pellets. And, if I remember correctly, they aren't 'owl poop', because owl pellets are coughed up! And, I'm sorry, but Canadian History for Dummies and other textbooks aren't the way I like to learn Canadian history. I learn it in smaller chunks. Deal with it. And I can't learn science from a friggin' fact book, either! I've tried it, and while it works for some things, it doesn't work for others! And if you want me to study geography, I am not learning it from Don't Know Much About Geography, because that book is dry, boring, depressing and nigh colourless. All of the pictures are in black and white. That's no way to learn geography. I also don't want to read that awful book because I'm sick of Columbus (or whoever it was) rambling on about how the world is a pear.

I feel a little better now.

Anyways, I started my own lesson plan for February.

For Biology, I'm sticking with Human 3D. I have to ask Dad to help me get rid of the old shortcuts, though, so I can reinstall it. I guess when Windows updated, it dumped the program. Whee. I might also use my anatomy colouring book as a study tool.

For World History, I'm going to read through the Lucent Library of Black History books (I think that's what the series is called), for Black History Month. I'm also going to continue reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Mythology until it's due back to the library on the 19th.

For Japanese, I'm going to continue watch Let's Learn Japanese, and try to practise writing in Japanese script.

For math, algebra. Polynomials at the moment, but hopefully I'll be rid of them in a few weeks.

For English, I think I'll read Roots by Alex Haley, and any library teen fiction I pick up.

For Art, Photoshop, Knitting, and maybe Corel Painter.

For Music, I started compiling a list of songs to practise.

For Creative Writing, refine my NaNo story and work on another story I started.

That's all for now.