Studying for my OWL's.

So, you all think I'm doing chemistry, when really, I'm doing a correspondence course from Hogwarts. Or so I wish. This is however, a real picture from my textbook. I can't tell you how many odd looks I've gotten when I've opened my textbook and couldn't resist a small giggle.
I'm kind of sad, I'd planned to have something exciting for my blog post this week, but between one thing and another, it just didn't happen. So instead, I'll give a quick update on chemistry.
I'm more than halfway done, only two and a half more weeks! It's actually been really fun, and while it exhausts me, I've glad that I've met so many new people and made so many new friends. I'm learning that I can handle this sort of class and that college is very different from high school. I'm also learning that I had better know exactly what I'm looking into if I choose a major in college that will be heavy on chemstry.

Here is an example of the fabulous foot wear (and my scrubs- the sacrifice I make for wearing shorts the rest of the day) that they make you wear when you have on flip-flops. Yup, I am wearing moon boots made out of a garbage bag and masking tape. Classy, right?
I promise I'll have something slightly more interesting to say next week, for realsies! 'Til then, toodles!

Well, that's failed...

Okay guys, I have a serious problem. Really. So, it's summer vacation, right? Time to have fun in the sun, work on a ton of projects,maybe get a little tan by taking a good old Agatha Christie out to the hammock with me. Better yet, I should plant a garden!Ya, not happening.
So here's the problem- I spend almost all my time hiding away in my cold dark basement. Seriously, I can't even see the sun down here!
Now, it is partly to blame on the fact that I have chemistry, and I can sort of accept that (by the way, almost half-way done! I almost peed myself when I realized this, I was laughing so hard with total and complete joy.) But really, that's no excuse. I went and did my homework outside today. It was heavenly. The bigger problem is that when I go out in the sun, I pretty much just burn, and when I go outside, it takes about half an hour for my allergies to kick in, and that's NEVER pretty. So I freeze in my basement.
There's one other factor that goes into this too. I seriously don't like yardwork. I love flowers, and I don't mind dirt (provide that i can wash it off the second I go inside), but I hate not being able to see what's hiding under a bush or in the rocks. That, and if it's possible to have an anti-green thumb, I most definetly have it. I can kill just about any plant given a few weeks, no matter how hard I try.
But I'm having a thought. What if I tried to grow a cactus? Seriously, those things have got to be some of the sturdiest plants (a.k.a. harder to kill), so I'm kind of thinking I might be able to handle it. And, as  an added bonus, it might force me to leave my basement. Will this actually happen? We'll see. But right now, a cactus sounds good. Toodlies!

I'm Still Alive!

But barely. You know how I said I was going to be taking Chemistry this summer? Ya, I had no clue what I was getting myself into! There was one day this week that I did chemistry for a good nine hours. NINE HOURS! My brain nearly exploded.
But it's all good, because I'm secretly enjoying this, a lot. True, I don't appreciate having my brain explode on a regular basis, but when I get what's going on, I really do like that. And that's just nerdy me, so deal with it.
And, I've still had some free time. I finished two projects (besides the slippers I just showed you) since school (real school that is) got out. No, I will not make you read another how-to right now, but I"m still going to proudly display my work.


I hope I get the chance to post a DIY on this some day, because it so easy, and so cute, so watch for this at a later date!



I also finished this really cute bag today, which I'm very excited about. I got the pattern at Lion Brand here. I had to change it a little bit to add a liner for the inside of the bag, but the pattern itself is actually really great. I just need to add a liner because I have this serious problem where if I don't have at least five chapsticks or lip gloss tubes with me, I die. And it's not pretty.
And there's my life for the past week: Chemistry, bag, and nest-necklace.

Time For A Correction.

So you know how I said a little while ago that I'd found the most comfy slippers ever? Well, I've now been proven wrong. Seriously, I think I've found one of the comfies slipper patterns EVER. And you, lucky people are going to get a walk through! By the way, be forewarned I'm experimenting with a new photo editor, so be prepared for lots of labels, I kind of went a little trigger happy with that.
(I'm only going to sum up the crochet pattern, if you want the full thing you can find it at this website
So, to start out with, get some nice soft yarn (obviously something that you think will do the job around the house while feeling nice and cushy) and a crochet hook. The original pattern suggested an F hook, but I had to use a slightly larger hook to get my stitches big enough. Then, chain 6.

Next you have several rows of SINGLE crochet. Whoever wrote the pattern does not use the US abbreviations, so the entire pattern says dc, when it really does mean sc.
This will make up the toe of your slipper.

Next come 13 rows of sc going straight across, and another 14 to make the sole. I had to play around with the size A LOT. I saw several people say that it fit them the first time they attempted it, but I had to adjust my size a ton of times, and I have tine size 5 feet. It depends on the size of your stitches, your yarn, and your hook, but one basic hint I discovered was that by the end of the first 13 rows, the slipper should reach almost midway through the arch of your foot.


Almost there! Next will come building up the sides. You'll loop around 6 times. I found that it's really important to know there are 6 decreases in 1 row, which I missed the first time I read the pattern.


For the last of the 6 rows, you can change the color to add a border. The pattern said to swap colors in row 5, but I waited until row 6.


After that, you can add bit to it to 'decorate'. I've seene everything from bows to straps to simple cute buttons on the sides (which you can find here)

For my slippers, I just did a pair of old metal buttons I found in our ribbon-bin upstairs. It was really simple, but truthfully, I just needed a way to tell right from left!

And there's my new favorite slippers! There are two things I really love about these slippers. One, they are just like ballet flats, they slip on and off, but they are soo cozy! Two, they are so stinking easy to make. Seriously. I can finish a slipper in about an hour and a half, and that's with a few messups. The entire thing is just a giant spiral, there are no turns (except on the sole), and so long as you can keep track of moving your markers to count rows, it is so easy!
So, there is a nice little DIY from me. I'd say expect more, because I have tons of projects to do, and I'm rather enjoying my craftiness. Toodles!
P.S. I'm secretly really happy that my subconcious chose colors and buttons that remind me of Gryffindor. My nerdy side just needed to get that out there. And now, toodles for realsies!

So, What Does a Geek Do Over the Summer?

Well, this summer, I will be spending a lot of time up at the U. Why, you ask? There are times I wish I knew. I seriously question whether I have this insane need to see how far I can push my brain before it explodes. I'll be taking Chem 1060 up at the U, from this coming Monday until July 18. Ya, that's right, I'm taking college chemistry over the summer while I'm still in High School. Add to that my practicing, chores, and online classes (because just the one isn't enough apparently), and I'll have essentially no life all summer.
I exaggerate! Greatly! More than likely, I'll have pretty much the same schedule I do during the school year, which leaves me plenty of time for finding other things to do. Which is good, cuz I got some big plans. Seriously, I spent all of this week coming up with a list of projects for me to do sometime this summer, and I gotta say, it's LONG. But we'll play with this. Part of this is I need to take more pictures of everything I do, especially when I have a project I want to share with you guys.
And here's my problem. I seriously suck at taking pictures. Really. I went and got myself all excited today because I got all crafty and made something, and took pictures of the entire thing. Guess what? I loaded them to my computer, and it looked like I was taking pictures of those fuzzy pieces of candy you find when you clean under the couch cushions. Nast, I know. But, I'll keep trying, so you'll just have to put up with my terrible pictures until I get a bit more practice. For today though, be grateful, you've been spared.
Oh, and I have this really BIG secret project that I'm working on- we'll see if anything comes of it. I'm actually really excited. If all goes as planned, I'll get a huge chunk of it done this summer, but we'll have to wait and see!

12 years down, one to go!

Sorry, life just gets busy. However, I can now proudly announce that I've got 12 years of public education down, and 1 more to go! That's right, I've now survived my Junior Year! Goodbye to AP American (Sorry Peterson, loved the class, but the homework kinda stole my life) and AB Calc!
That's not to say that I didn't love my Junior Year, quite honestly, it was one of my favorite years, if not my most favorite year of school yet! I'm so grateful to the friends and family who helped me through my breakdowns, put up with my bad days (and they're not infrequent), laughed with me, helped me through, and loved me for who I am. This year wouldn't have been as memorable with a single one of you missing, and I love all of your (collectively) stinkin' guts! Here's just a few of my favorite memories:





All of the dances were so much fun, and I loved every group that I got to go with! By the way, for anyone wondering, yes, I am a complete sucker for getting asked or answered with flowers. Ask my family if you need proof of how ridiculously excited they make me. It's pretty ridiculous. Seriously.








Hanging out and getting to support my musically amazing friends! I got to hear so much amazing music this year, and I'm so lucky that I'm surrounded by so many amazing people who happen to share my odd sense of humor.







And then there were the little things, like building with play dough in seminary and that one night (namely last week) that my friends decided it would be fun to draw on my feet. By the way guys, I still have the drawings ALL OVER MY FEET. Ya, four days and as many showers later, and I can still see an elephant and happy faces all over my feet, so laugh in your success that you definetly have left your mark.

So that essentially is the past year in a nutshell. I loved loved loved it, and I can't wait for next year when I'm a senior!