Aaaaaaand We’re Back!

26 04 2010

I didn’t realize how busy my life had become, two game nights a week takes up a lot of time!  So, now to try and catch up a bit

Mittens still = 1 cuff done and now that it’s warm out I feel less and less inclined to work on them.  The shopping bag is now 5 inches tall but I’ve sort of stalled out on that too.

Now, on to the nerdery!!

First, lets get some knitting nerdery out on the web!

The Settlers of Catan ‘ghan!!  Amazing!  If you click on the picture it will take you to the website where the free pattern lives.  Go make it!!  (and then invite me over to play….)

Now for Star Wars nerdery!!

IT’S A TRAP!   Ok, this time it’s not a trap (as the website at the bottom of the billboard states).  This is an advertisment for making Admiral Ackbar the new Mascot for the Ole Miss Rebels.  Freaking amazing!

Now for general nerdery with an emphasis on chart nerdery.

This is a super informative chart.  This is the best way to explain the difference between geek and nerd.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I ride the line between the two :)

And now for something completely different!

The Waffle Cookie!!  This is just straight up awesome.  You take some cookie dough, and put about a Tablespoon of the dough into each section of your pre-heated waffle iron and then close it.  90 seconds later you have a fresh melty happy cookies.  I imagine putting a dollop of ice cream on top and enjoying. *drool*

Ok kids, take this and run with it.  I’ll try to be more diligent in posting but I make no promises!!


Comments : 5 Comments »

Categories : Knitting, Sci-Fi, Weird

Update!

18 01 2010

It’s been a while!  Wow, I’m a slacker!

I have been lax in my knitting, mostly because I’ve been highly pressed for time for the last 2 months.  But now that things are slowing down I’ve run into another roadblock.  I have double jointed thumbs, and double jointed anythings are prone to some arthritis.  My thumbs have always ached when it was cold out or overly humid but lately they have been aching all of the time.  Unsurprisingly, this makes knitting rather uncomfortable.  Surprisingly, playing video games, not uncomfortable.  I cannot explain it, maybe it’s the ergonomic design of controllers, maybe it’s because I don’t play video games non stop for hours at a time but that’s how I normally knit.  Who knows!  So, Gloves = 1 cuff done, Shopping bag = 4 inches tall

But, Left 4 Dead = finished!  We’ve had the game since we got our 360 but we also had Fallout and Bioshock and then we got Resident Evil 5, The Orange Box and Dead Space, so it kind of fell by the wayside.  But one night I decided I wanted to play video games WITH my husband (not by myself or watching him play a video game) so we put in Left 4 Dead and tore through it!  We were both sad it had ended and wondered why we waited so long to play the whole thing!  We might buy the DLC (down loadable content to those who don’t know) but we aren’t sure yet; It only gains us two chapters.  I’m thinking we might rent Left 4 Dead 2 and give that a whirl.

In Computer news, our laptop gave up.  One day it was fine, the next it wouldn’t turn on.  We couldn’t get anything off the hard drive either.  It was sad times.  We decided that what we use our laptop for most is surfing the web and making the occasional document.  A full blown laptop seemed like overkill, so a netbook it would be!  We bought a shinny new netbook (Acer Aspire One) a few weeks later.  It’s lovely!  The screen is only 10.1 but honestly I don’t really watch movies on it so that doesn’t really matter.  At Christmas my dad gave me a copy of Windows 7 to install on it.  Now it is amazingly lovely!  Now it networks with my Xbox seamlessly and I CAN watch movies on it, because they play through my Xbox onto my TV!  Extremely happy about that.  I also like that I can play my music through the TV now since the speakers in my little netbook are not the best.

On a personal note, everyone I know has been in and out of the hospital for the last two months!  Stop it!  All of you!  My Grandma went in for something minor but she has Alzheimer so it’s hard to know what’s wrong with her because she doesn’t even know.  My one friend had a double mastectomy so that was several days in the hospital and weeks of recovery.  And my Godson has been in and out for about 10 different things (he is trying to break your record Oneika!) Bronchitis, bump on the head, allergic reactions, the flu, respiratory issues, and now pneumonia!   He was admitted for observation but the doctors aren’t really worried, they just want to keep an eye on the little bugger.  Get better buddy!


Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : Uncategorized

Kitten Theater

30 10 2009

I’M SMEAGOL AND I’M A PRETTY KITTY!!!!!!!

This is Naomi, she’s my sister!!!!!

OMG SHINY THING!!

Back!  Mommy says my head is too small and that’s why I’m…… WHATS THAT!?!?

I am going to write a post today because I am special!  Naomi says that I am VERY special.  I am going to show her I lover her by jumping on her and biting her face BRB!

She loves me, she showed me by hissing and smacking me in the nose!!  We are the best of friends!

Mommy likes yarn!  I like it too!  I like to eat it and chase it, once I wrapped the whole house in yarn for Mommy while she was gone.  She was so happy she cried!  I am the best kitty!

Daddy likes his XBOX!!  I like it too!  I wanted to show Daddy that I like the big white box too so I chewed on the cord!!  Daddy picked me up and said “do you want to be electrocuted?!!?”  I don’t know what that means!!!  But it sounds like fun so I chewed on Daddy’s phone charger too, and then on Mommy’s.  They were so happy that they bought more for me to chew on!!

I am a good cat!

Daddy got to busy to do the dishes so he got little tiny flies to help him.  Then there were too many flies and Mommy got angry and used her bad kitty voice.  So I helped by hunting them!  I am a hunter!!

I just stole a piece of plastic out of the recycling container!  I like to eat plastic!!  But Mommy took it from me.  Now I am a sad kitten.  Naomi will cheer me up!!  I will go fight with her tail!!

I hear Daddy at the door!!!!!  I have to go and let him know I love him running in front of him and tripping him!!!!!!!!


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Personal, Rant, Weird

Mountains of Mittens

13 10 2009

Well, now that I have a 5 minute walk from where I park my car to my desk (about half of that is inside) I’ve decided I need a new set of mittens.  My current set of mittens are from 2002 and are starting to fall apart.  I like to have the convertable mittens so that I can have my bare fingers free to fish around for my keys or sign a receipt or put on my lipstick in the car because I never have time before I leave the house. So I’ve been looking around Ravelry for different patterns, and I’ve found that there are many variations on the “free fingers” mitten

Fingerless mittens.  I like these when I work in an office that is cold, they let me type freely but they aren’t great for when you need to scrape off your car in a harsh Midwest winter.

These are pretty classic, there are no individual finger holes, just a mitt flap and the rest of a regular mitten.  Simple, quick, easy.

Slightly more complicated with the half fingers inside the mitts, this is what my current pair is like, I like this because I feel like it keeps the mitt from moving around, I’m sure that’s in my head.  This means making fingers (which I’ve never done)

This one comes with the option of making a full glove inside the mitt.  This sounds extra toasty, but I like to have free fingers (it’s easier for me to find things blindly when I can actually feel them)  but if having bare fingers isn’t important to you this sounds like a great idea.

This pattern does away with the mitt flap and just gives you one hole to stick your index finger through.  It’s called a photographer’s mitten.  I have several friends who are photographers who may require these mittens :)

This takes the idea of the photographer’s mitten up a notch, these are shooting mittens.  Leaving the index finger out at all times to freeze all by his lonesome.

These are a slightly warmer variation on the shooting mittens but I feel as if you would loose some of the sensitivity one might want for shooting by covering the trigger finger, but since I don’t plan on shooting at anything this is a better option for me.

And then there are these.  The are called bicycling mittens.  Now, maybe it’s because I don’t know how to ride a bike (I know, le GASP!) but I’m not sure how they would help in bike riding, but any of you are welcome to explain it to me.  They look like mittens Mr. Spock would wear so he could tell people to live long and prosper even on ice planets.

This seems like a wondersous half way point!  Two fingers and the top of the thumb exposed, the other fingers gloved, and a mitt to cover the whole shebang.  Brilliant!  Although I am concerned about the top of my thumb always being out there in the cold. I do believe these are the mittens for me!  I will have to figure out how to make fingers but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of help from my knitting buddies


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Knitting

Workin’ Girl

9 10 2009

Well, I’ve just finished my first week at my new job!!  I feel truly blessed to have found a job in only two months.  I’ve got plenty of friends who have been without work for much longer.

So far I’m really enjoying my new job, I like the guys I work with, I like the perks this particular company offers me, I like the work.  Although I haven’t been doing too much since I’m still learning the ropes.  I’m doing Help Desk work again, but this time for a for profit corporation and not a non-profit religious association.  It’s a very different dynamic but it’s more what I always thought working in an IT department would be like.

So you are aware, I am still knitting that shopping bag.  It’s taking way longer than I thought it would and now that I’m working I have less time to work on it.  I did make a dice bag though, and I have to take a picture of it and post it because it’s pretty cool looking.  I recently acquired 2 more sets of dice so I could no longer just carry them around in the box they came in.

I’ve also gotten to play a bit of Scribblenauts which is worlds of fun!  I haven’t really gotten to experiment as much as I’d like yet but once I’ve had a bit more play time I’ll do a real review :)


Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : Knitting, Personal, Video Game

Shaun!!

1 09 2009

I’ve finished Shaun the Sheep!!!!

Isn’t he cute!!


Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Knitting

Filling up my Free time….

31 08 2009

Well, unemployment has given me a lot of extra time.  When I’m not applying for jobs or fighting with the unemployment office I’ve been reading, knitting and playing video games.

Our last video game purchase was the day after I got canned, we bought the Orange Box.  Used it was only $18 and since it had 3 different games (5 if you count the two other Half Life chapters) it seemed like a good deal.  I have to say, it’s kept us busy.

I loved Portal, that is my kind of game.  I also like Team Fortress 2 but I can’t get a chance to play it since my husband monopolizes it *shakes fist in air*  Games like Half Life always look fun to me but when I play I just get frustrated, I much prefer to watch games like that, same thing with Bioshock.  I enjoy the story, its easier for me to take the story in when I’m not playing.

I’ve also been playing Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.

I simply love this series.  It’s funny and it gives me a bit of a challenge.  I do dislike the fact that if you don’t show just the right piece of evidence to the right person you can go in circles for hours trying to get to the next part.  But, that’s what walk throughs are for :)

I’ve also recently gotten the chance to play Professor Layton and the Diabolical box.

I also love this series.  Oh Hershel, you solve puzzles and mysteries all while being a proper gentleman!  I’ve only just begun playing it but I’m already hooked.  I just like puzzles I guess!  That’s sort of what the Phoenix Wright series, the Professor Layton series and Portal all have in common, they are really all logic puzzles.  Those are the kinds of games my  husband is bad at.  Sadly I’m bad at platformers (curse my parents for not letting me have a Nintendo when I was young!!).  There are parts of Portal that are very Platformery and, I’m ashamed to say, I had to have my husband help me out with those sections.

As far as Knitting goes, I’m nearly done with my Shaun the Sheep!!  My parents went to England for vacation and My dad bought me a Shaun the Sheep knit kit.  I’ve pretty much just got to assemble and stuff him!  Once he is all done I’ll post a picture.  I’ve also started a shopping bag.  Even though I have a TON of reusable shopping bags I always seem to leave half of them in the house when I go shopping and I end up needing plastic bags.  I might make them for Christmas presents if this one turns out well.  Again, I’ll post a picture once I’m done.

I also saw the movie Moon at our cheap theater.  I highly recommend it!  You will probably  have to check your local Second run theater or wait until it’s out on DVD, but it’s worth it.

Ok!  Time to finish Shaun and apply for jobs!  Wish me luck!


Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Knitting, Sci-Fi, Video Game

Unemployment Office Report

27 07 2009

Ok, well, you DON’T dress up to go to the unemployment office.  And they are nicer than the DMV people.  You also find out that you apparently need to call to file a claim instead of going there.  Who knew?  You also find out that the more you fight and the louder you are the more likely it is you will get through the system.

When I called the girl just said “Your former employer didn’t pay into unemployment insurance so you aren’t eligible” (my old employer is a non-profit so they aren’t required to pay into unemployment) to which I retorted “well, my HR lady said I could still apply and you guys would just bill the company” and all of a sudden she was all about taking my claim.  So let that be a lesson to all of you, keep pushing.

Now I start my journy through the red tape.  I have to call them between 6pm and 7pm on August 10.  I’m not sure why, or what I need to talk to them about, but they said they’d send me stuff in the mail.  I apparently need to take my resume to a Michigan Works center to get it stamped.  Um, I’m not sure why, but I’ll do it if it means they’ll pay me.

In other news, there was a cute little 5 year old Asian boy who stood behind me while I was waiting for my  number to be called.  He got VERY close.  I think he was alternating between watching me play Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations and looking at the d20 Apocalypse book my friend was reading.  The child is well on his way to nerdom.


Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : Personal

New Life Chapter

27 07 2009

Well, I know I’ve been absent from this site for a while and I apologize for that.  But now I find myself with some free time.  I recently lost my job.

This is the first time in my adult life that I’ve not had a job.  I’m a little out of sorts, I don’t really know what to do with myself.  I mean, I’m applying for jobs and cutting coupons and whatnot, but it just all seems so surreal.   Every morning I feel like I should get ready for work.  I even had a nightmare that I had to go back and they just kept moving my stuff around the office without telling me where they were moving me and treating me like I wasn’t wanted there.   I’m sure that’s just a lot of pent up hurt trying to find a way out, still it threw me off all the next day.

Today I’m going to the unemployment office with a friend.  I have no idea what to expect (except that I should bring a book :) ).  Do you dress nicely to go to the unemployment office?  What paperwork should I bring?  If you cry does that help or hurt or does it do nothing for you?  Are they as lovely as the people at my DMV or are they a little more understanding since every one coming in has lost their job?

I guess I’ll find out today, I’ll try to report back to you on how the unemployment office works out.  My company didn’t pay into unemployment so it should be interesting.  I was told that it doesn’t mean I wont get it (they will just charge my old job for my unemployment) but it still makes me a little uneasy.


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Personal

Still not dead!

19 05 2009

This Knit village took 23 years to complete, it is going to be sold off piece by piece to raise money for a new town hall.

It’s got little people and flowers and everything!  Adorable.  

In other news, I’m crazy busy at work and that is why I’ve been rather absent.  Too much work to do in the time I have to do it.  Also, I need to do laundry and do dishes and buy groceries.  Did I do any of those things today?  Nope!  Fail.


Comments : 1 Comment »

Categories : Knitting, Personal, Weird

« Previous Entries