In which I report on things and decide to prioritize my priorities

Instead of doing the cleaning that I really should be doing, I just read over my BFS list (for those of you who are new or don't remember what that is, click on the link. No seriously, you won't understand most of this post otherwise.)

And it was both exciting and frightening. Mostly frightening. 

It was exciting because I've actually done some stuff of the resolution part of the list (aka the icky stuff.) 

I got on top of my school stuff. This is going well enough that I consider this item crossed off. Other than that, I haven't really finished anything exactly. I've improved in everything but a better sleep schedule (good sleep or good grades I suppose), but I still have a lot of work to do on these.

Now, the BFS part (aka the fun stuff) is not going so well.
Seriously, I can't honestly say that I've done anything on this list. I've read half the books I wanted to. I haven't even started my afgan or my novel (On that note, NaNo is getting alarmingly close). Etc etc.

I do feel kinda bad that I haven't gotten to these things, but I'm actually not guilt tripping myself about it like I usually do. I feel like my priorities have changed a bit during the past few months.
Actually my new priority is to prioritize. Last school year I had a lot of time on my hands, so I could just about everything I wanted to. This year is a bit different. My free time, what little I have, must be budgeted carefully.
The things on my list aren't really important any more. My new goals are to actually do the simple things. I want to crochet. I don't need to make an entire afgan this year. I just want to write. I don't need to finish a novel. I want to make time to read. I don't need to read a certain number of books.

And there you have it. My long over-due update on the BFS list.

In other news, I have a Shakira song stuck in my head on loop, and if I don't get something else instead soon, I think I will be forced to stab myself in the head with a spork.

Eureka!

Apparently the cure for blogger's block is to tell everyone you have it, cause I seem to be cured! Eureka, I am a genius! So what if I discovered this by accident....

Anyway.

while I was feeling all bleh, and bored, and blogger blocked, I randomly found this awesome little note pad. The front has all these different languages on it, and it's just cool. I took it and wrote down all my plans for my BFS list, and my resolutions, and life plans. It was so great to finally get all of it into one spot, instead of floating around in my head and random bits of paper.
This also prompted my second Eureka moment. I seemed (yes, past tense) to have a problem with fitting all my hobbies in. I'd end up doing a lot of one thing, and neglecting the other things. So I came up with a system, and divided them into 7, so I could have one a day for the week. That way I can be sure to get them all (baring the fact that I don't always have free time one some days)
and it's worked so far! I'm super happy about this!

Also, this weeks Blog Challenge of Epicnessishness is a very complicated one, involving drawing and I quote, 'standing at the edge of a cliff looking down
like the world suddenly has no gravity and we're standing on the ceiling'
or some such randomness. It shall take a long time, and in the mean time we will carry on with our challenges, but just not this week.

And, I magically found a picture of a Crafty thing to show you this coming Crafty-time Tuesday!

Bother, and now I'm tired. I had stuff to say!!!

An odd ramble about evil plans, and a watchamer

For the first order of business, I'd like to explain why I did not post yesterday.
So, at approx. 12:00 I set out on my usual blog stuff (meaning answering comments and then posting) My computer was running slowly, but nothing too bad. I still had time to post, and everything looked cheery.
Then, BAM, my computer or internet or both or something went ka-put and it took somewhere around 30 seconds to select one email, and hit delete.
At that point I cried uncle to the evil whatever-it-was and went to bed.

For the second order of business, I'd like to apologize to everyone who has been waiting for me to reply to comments. I love when you guys comment, and I love replying, and I usually keep up, but this week has been....ishy. So here I am, all caught up as far as I know. Thanks for bearing with me.

And for the third order of business, the actual post! Woo!

So, one day I was playing with my blog settings, like one does when one is procrastinating, and I found that the loverly little html code was having some issues, and not doing what I wanted it to. Naturally, I googled it, and tried various tutorials until I got the gadget to do what it was supposed to do.
It was then I had realized I had spent two hours tutorial hunting and gadget fixing, simply because I didn't know what I was doing. But I enjoyed it once I figured it out! (I bet you all know what's coming next. Ok, actually probably not. Well, you might)
I found a new hobby! I've decided to finally look into html coding watchamer. Woo! (and yes watchamer is a technical term. See? My coding career, with all it's exactness-by-a-single-letter-or-it-gets-messed-up is getting off to a great start)

But, more important than my getting another hobby, is that it got be thinking about my other hobbies, which got me thinking about my BFS list I started a while ago, and I was thinking of how I should revamp that, and maybe do some resolutions....

A trip through my random mind later (and yes I totally went through a debate with myself over ice cream before arriving at this conclusion) I decided to get excited over life again! You see, I depend on the weather for my mood to much. In the winter I mostly drudge along, managing to not die from the homework, and blog. But today (actually two days ago now. I think this post has a conspiracy against it) I decided to just say 'well la to that *sticks tongue out*'
So, I've gotten a plan to get on top of my homeworks here, I'm going to revamp my BFS list, and my plans for it (after I get a breather from the homework :P) and I've finally started working out. You know, sit ups, crunches, push ups, that sort of thing. And with the weather getting warmer I'll be able to start pounding pavement soon.

So over all, life is good over here. Except the sore part, but such is life I suppose :P

I'll prolly talk more about my newly refurbished evil plans some more, but for now, I think that's good (also, I think I've used the () a bit much today, wouldn't you agree?)

Book reviews and demon posts

Ok, so I know I said that I would post this yesterday, but yesterday got crazy. Plus the fact that I got it almost all typed out, and then thought I deleted it (I just somehow managed to save it instead *shrug*) so I didn't have time to type it out again. Anyway, here we go, yesterday's post.

So, to start off, I'd like to apologize if anything in my last post is unclear, and for the pictures being sideways.
I started it at Midnight, got it all typed up, and the pictures loaded up by 11:20. Not too shabby.
Then, after I posted it, I went to proofread it. And I realized that for no reason what so ever, huge chunks of text had been deleted, and a picture or two. After fixing that, my post completely disappeared. POOF! So I started over.
and then I battled with the pictures that were stubbornly turning into html.
and then I finally got it post okishly. I finished all of this at approximately 12:20 >_<

Title: Redwall

Author: Brian Jacques

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 6

Back cover of book: (from Goodreads)
As the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey bask in the glorious Summer of the Late Rose, all is quiet and peaceful. But things are not as they seem. Cluny the Scourge, the evil one-eyed rat warlord, is hell-bent on destroying the tranquility as he prepares to fight a bloody battle for the ownership of Redwall. This dazzling story in the Redwall series is packed with all the wit, wisdom, humor, and blood-curdling adventure of the other books in the collection, but has the added bonus of taking the reader right back to the heart and soul of Redwall Abbey and the characters who live there.

Review:

I liked this story a lot. It's starts off kind of slow, and the plot isn't the most intense ever, but this story pulled me in. I cared about the characters, and wanted to know how everything turned out.

Things that were awesome:

• The description of the food makes your mouth water. I have an aunt that simply stated that you have to have a sandwich while reading this book.
  
• I found it awesome that the author was able to take a very common storyline, and put a new spin on it with animals instead of people. It was something I wouldn't have thought of.
  
• The villain, although he never explained his motivation or reasons for being evil, was very believable to me. Almost more so than Matthias.
• Though this is a common story line (star wars *cough cough*) he added elements that were quite original.
  
• Also the way Brian used Matthias's name to fulfill the prophecy/poem. I won't say how, because that would spoil the surprise! But it was quite amazing.
  

Things that stunk:

• Matthias and Cornflower become friends over the course of the book, and in the end Brian uses one sentence to tell (not show) that they are in love. This irked me, because people don't fall in love in one sentence!
  
• The description of things was lacking in spots. At times in the story I had a hard time getting a picture in my minds eye. and related to that...
  
• In a few places, he didn't show enough. He told the reader what was going on instead.

Overall:

It was an enjoyable read, and I will probably read more by this author. I liked the story line a lot. Would recommend it highly (can you tell I'm sleepy right now? :P)

And yeah, there you go. I'm a bit groggy though, so if it seems like this booked bored me, it didn't. *yawn* well, I think I shall end this post now, and hopefully get to bed soon. Night everyone! (ironic that almost everyone will read this tomorrow morning :P)

Crafty-time Tuesday--Wednesday edition :P

So for some reason or another, I can't seem to get back into the swing of life. I'm still in denial that school has started, and I've been at it for like two weeks! I still get like 30 emails every time I check my gmail. Gah!
I want to shake this mood off desperately! I'm yanking on my hair as we speak!
It's annoying!

So anyway, to help with this, I promise to post a review of Redwall, by Brian Jacques tomorrow (one down, 29 to go. I need to get to the library :-/), a Writing Friday actually on Friday, and probably something on Saturday, because after a super awesome nerd party, I'm bound to gush about it here :P (and then I will sort through my emails also, tomorrow)

Oh, and before we get going on our craftynessness here, I'd like to say that my previous decision of posting one new project or two old ones is hereby proclaimed lame, and I will post whatever I darn well feel like it! Ahem. Moving on now :P

Okey dokey! This first one is something I *gasp* actually used a pattern for!
It's made from this loverly soft fleecy fabric that my amazingly wonderful sisters got for me when I was going through a time of misery (dentists are evil.....) to cheer me up.
And me (or is it I in this case?), being a horrible person and all, didn't get around to actually using it till several months after the fact. >_<

and it's side ways.... >_< Bring out the Christmas presents! (duh nuh nuh!) This is for my bestest friend. I made it using the same kind of yarn and pattern as my purple one (http://dorksideoftheforce.blogspot.com/2009/12/fuzzy-attack-dragon-kitties-and-british.html)


And, the big one... (duh nuh nuh nuh nuh)

This shirt I am insanely proud of. This concept has been floating around in my head for a while, and I'm ecstatic that it turned out so great.
so with out further ado, I give you,

The Jailbird!

(AGH! another sideways picture! NOOOOSSSS!!!)

(uh, yeah I have no idea what I am doing with my hands in that one >_> <_<)
super duper long sleeves, which I loves to death!
(WHOOT! Another head turner! >_<)

so yeah, I took two shirts that were the exact same (different colors) and cut strips and sewed them together :D
I'm thinking I might stencil 'Jail Bird' on the back, but seeing as my skilz in that area are some what rudimentary, I'm undecided.

So yesh, that's this week's episode! Tune in next time to see if Jessica chooses Blake. Does Jake win her back? Will Nancy find her car keys?!? (yeah, sorry, it just sounded like some soap opera XP)

Lol, now that I've established that me+tired+blog post=dangerous thing, I think I'll call it a night :D

My eyes! They burn!!! and cows, plus Fridays

So, I absolutely love bright colors. Especially greens.
But my old blog template was starting to hurt my eyes, with that insane green on the black. Oi. It just started to get to me. So I got a new one ^_^

Anyway.

Some of you may remember that one of my resolutions this year was to eat a lot better. So I have officially cut dairy, almost all sugar, chocolate (in my book, chocolate has its own food group), and as many un-healthy oils as I can avoid. (In case you are wondering, I'm doing this because those foods are not doing kind things to my face *growl*)
The verdict? I feel like a cow.
Today for lunch I had some humus bean stuff, on a wheat tortilla, plus alfalfa sprouts.
There is nothing to have for lunch!!! I don't always get breakfast, so that's not much different, and dinner has mostly meat and potatoes or something.
But a sandwich without cheese? A salad without dressing? Toast without butter? It's nigh on impossible!
What should I do?! I don't know what in the world I can eat.

On to happier news.
On my BFS list I put 'write a novel'. That plus 'regular blogging schedule' means... (and I'll spare your eyes this time :P)

Writing Fridays!

I'm going to use Gail Carson Levine's book called "Writing Magic:Creating Stories that Fly" (which I got for Christmas ^_^)

There are about a million bajillion exercises in the book, and I'm going to try to do two every week and *gulp* post them here. *cringe*
Did I really just commit to that? I'll probably scare all my followers away with my awful prose >_<


Anyway, number one.

Take one of the beginnings listed and write a story with it. Write for at least twenty minutes.

I chose "I have one green eye and one brown eye. The green eye sees truth, but the brown one sees much, much more."

When I was just a baby, my parents held a big celebration for my christening. They sent several evil fairies 'You're not invited' cards, just in case. I couldn't blame them. My second cousin hadn't even had a good fairy show up.
Let me back up here. In my world, all royalty, and some commoners, are assigned a fairy tale. Usually families all have the same tale, and lately our family wasn't having the best of luck with 'Sleeping Beauty.' So my parents logically took every precaution. They took one too many.
They brought me to our local healer, who was known for dabbling in a bit of magic. She gave my parent a few charms to use, but she also put a spell on me for luck.
It worked. Boy, did it work. Twelve evil fairies, and seven good fairies came. It seemed like everything would go better than expected. I sat cooing in my cradle, perfectly happy.
But then something terrible happened. All twelve evil fairies stepped forward to curse me at the same time. They all started chanting and shouting and yelling at the same time. They were each determined to get it right, and were spurred on by the effects of my spell no doubt. I'm told that it was quite a mess and that there was a lot of very powerful magic being thrown around.
Then all off the good fairies came to save me form the evil curse. Their chanting only added to the noise. My parents tried to calm them down, but their voices were lost in the drone.
While all this went on, a storm rolled in. The winds blew and it rained hard, rattling the window panes. With a very powerful gust, the stained glass window exploded with a shower of sparkling shards.
There was a stunned silence, and wind whipped around the room, teasing at people's clothes and wrapping the ladies' hair around their faces. Then I let out a cry that shattered the silence in much the same way the wind had shattered the window.
For in the quiet, the unattended spells had found their target. everything was mixed up. I had hair as red as poisoned apples. I had one green eye, and one brown. I was doomed to spend one hundred years without a wink of sleep. And these things didn't even scratch the surface. Even as a toddler I could see thing others couldn't. I knew when my cousins were lying, for I can see the truth. This is what my green eye shows me.
It was the royal gardener who discovered my abilities at fortune telling. He was watering all the crops by hand, for it hadn't rained in several weeks. In a fit of frustration, he kicked the bucket over and shouted,
"Is it going to be a hundred years before it rains?" Without even looking up from the book I was reading I replied,
"No. It will rain in three and a half days." Of course he scoffed at this, but when it did rain when I said it would, he didn't mock me. And he took the matter to my parents. I can predict the future, but this is only one thing that my brown eye shows me.

bleh. That is my gloriously ugly unedited prose. ugh.

Anyway, happy Friday everyone!

PS-yeah, I know that's only one, but I'm feeling lazy, so deal with it.

Introducing! Crafty-time Tuesdays!

So, as part of my BFS thing to keep a regular blogging schedule, AND as part of my BFS thing to post a lot more of my crafty stuffs, I give you,

Crafty-time Tuesdays!

(yes that was designed to hurt your eyes. What? I like neon...)

Every Tuesday I will either post a picture of something new I've made that week, OR two old things that I made a while ago.

This way I'll eventually get all my old projects posted :)

So this weeks installment is two old projects, because I'm still in shock of it being the new year, and school starting, and haven't been doing much.

This first one is one of my all time favorites. Mostly because it's soooo comfy. :D I think I might of got this shirt from my out-of-state sister. I'd rather it didn't have the Utah on it, but meh.


The sleeves make it feel all flowy-ish
Note the corset lace upness of the sides.
Woohoo!

This one was a ginormous t-shirt that I re-sized. It is also very comfy.


The sleeves, neckline, and hem all have this cool twisty design. It's kinda hard to see in the pictures, but these were the best I could get.




Lol. I just realized that both of these have random state names. I really don't know where I got these. :P
Good thing I like those states right? or I'd be in trouble.

AND, a bonus one to celebrate the grand opening of this.

Yep, it's the halloween costume that I said I'd post about and never did. Isn't the skirt epic?!
Oh, in case anyone is wondering, I am holding my wings up with one hand. So I didn't get my arm stuck behind my back. (I had to hold them up because I had started taking the whole thing off when my dad reminded me that I wanted pictures of it. Thanks daddy!)
And sorry about the crappy face covers today. As some of you may know, I have to use paint for this, and today I had to use a lap top mouse as well >_<

So yes, this shall be awesome.

The Big Fun Scary list, among other stuff for 2010

So, it being New Years (ok fine, January 3rd) I've made some plans for the next year. But unlike most people, I've not just made resolutions.
You see, resolutions have always bothered me a bit. Some thing about the concept sends the message that everyone will grudgingly stop being bad people. What a way to start off the new year! Yeah, not going for that.
So in addition to my resolutions (I mean, everyone can improve :P) I've made what NaNoers call, a Big Fun Scary list. It's a list of all the cool exciting things I'm planning on doing this year. Much more of pushing myself to exciting new things instead of focusing on all my character flaws.

So without further ado, a few of my resolutions (the ones I need other people to kick me in the pants in order to actually do) and my Big Fun Scary list.

Resolutions
I'm trying to improve my language. I don't use anything really bad, but the other day I slipped up and said something extremely French. So that has got to change.

I'm also going to improve my diet. I'm NOT eating wheat grass or what ever, just less of the bad stuff (as I sit here eating chocolate fondue.... >_<)

The biggie. Exercise. I'm not looking to lose weight per say (it would be nice for sure!) I just want to be the one that yells "SUCKER" over their shoulder to their friend as a rabid squirrel takes them down instead. (and if I'm going to complain about my stupid fat calves, I might as well do something about it *glares in their general direction*)

I want to get on top of my school stuff. I've been just a tad behind for forever now, and it's getting old.

And it would be a good idea to get to bed before 12 am ^^; Hey, being optimistic is a good thing right?
 
The Big Fun Scary list

I want to open my own Etsy (or other on-line) shop. It has been a dream of mine to sell the stuff I make to people who like it.

I'm going to write a novel. First and Second draft. (if I get through the first draft and start the second, I won't shoot myself if I run into New Years again.)

I'm going to start a regular blogging schedule. Probably two or three times a week or something like that.

I'm going to try really hard to post a crafty something once a week. oi. This could get a little crazy XP.

I will read at least 30 books this year, and I might even do a review or two.

I want to get into a regular schedule for my comics too. That one won't be very often, but regular at least :)

And I want to learn how to ink them, so I'll be less likely to pester my sister with the photoshop and tablet to edit them :D

I also want to learn how to knit finally. I'm pretty ninja at crochet. Time to become a novice at something again :P

I'm going to crochet an afghan by January 1st, 2011 (holy cheezits! is that really next year?! it seems that 2009 was just yesterday!)(.....i promise i didn't do that stupid pun thing on purpose >_<)

Also, I shall learn to cut my own hair. This will prolly wait till later this year, so my hair will be longer. Or it will get bumped into next year. We'll see if I like the length later this year.

I'm also going to learn how to cook more things. This should be humorous. Be prepared for pictures of charcoal that was once a blob of dough :P


And that's it! I know that that's kinda a lot, so I'm going to work on two resolutions and three BFS things at a time (Get on top of school stuff & Exercise, and Write a novel, Regular blogging, & Post craft stuff weekly), so that I don't burn myself out :-/

What are your plans for 2010, this gloriously fresh year?