In His Steps

Merry Christmas, my loves. Now is the time to celebrate Christ's birth and the light He brought back to the world. It is a beautiful California morning. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and while it's cool, it's beginning to warm up. I missed my sunshine Christmas-es. So far today, I have showered and dressed, eaten breakfast, fed the cat and dog, and stolen the ethernet cable so I can use my laptop and post this (don't worry, I'll give it back). Being at home with my mom and siblings made it feel like Christmas, and my dad called me this morning. That really made my day. For those wondering, Mama Kitty is a chubby purrbox, and Hershey is a very old dog but seems to be content. This is the time I reflect back and see what kind of person I was this past year. So far, from what I can tell, I've made some serious, positive changes. I moved to the Frozen North (mwahahaha, I escaped it for Christmas), I got an excellent job, and I've started school at

This is not a lecture or story blog post. It's a plea. Given that Christmas is here, I am pleading with my watchers to be patient with me. I decided two things this year: that I was going to make gifts for my family and friends this year, and that I am absolutely insane. That being said, I have completed my gift for my mother. I have everything but one critical part to start to make my sister's gift and I intend to get this part tonight. My brother...I am not sure yet what to make, having just completed his beanie hat for his birthday (check for it a few posts back--apparently he loves it). Two of my friends have completed gifts waiting for Christmas day or to be shipped so far. Now, I might not be able to make something for everyone  on my list, but I'm gonna give it a try. I have one hand-knitted item that has no one specific assigned, but it's nature implies cold weather, so I'm considering who gets it. If it gets cold enough, I might just keep it, but I have y

I am thankful for: ...my family, my mother, father, brother, and sister (and all the extended family). They are awesome. ...my friends. They are my support, and make living so far from my family bearable. ...my God and my Savior. Without Them, I'd be nothing. ...my job. It's a wonderful job and my coworkers are amazing. ...my school. I've never learned so much, so quickly, so well. ...my teachers. For being real, knowing their business in the real world, and supporting my dreams. ...my skills. They helped me survive. ...my talents and hobbies. They keep me sane. Thank you, everybody. I love you.

I wasn't sure what to write until I read an article today entitled " I'm Christian, unless you're gay. " It got me thinking back on my life, and reflecting. Most of the time, I don't recall being outwardly hostile or hateful to those different than me. Cautious and uncomfortable, yes. Now, I could be wrong. When I look back on my life, particularly in the first twenty two years, I wonder how anyone was able to stomach my presence at all, much less still be friends with me today. I was whiny, selfish, and exploding my emotional fallout on everyone around me. Emotional fallout that I don't know that I deserved to have, much less inflict on others, frankly. But mostly, I was reminded of a dear friend of mine. He was one of my first guy friends, and my only one in high school for most of the time. I developed a code for us to write notes in (loosely based on Elder Futhark runes) and one day he handed me a two word note. The hilarious part is I misread it thr

Just some random facts about me: 1. I'm terrified of being in the same room as a mirror if the lights are out. 2. I love learning all the traditional things that make a housewife: cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, etc. 3. I've never had a 4.0 in my life until now. 4. I collect ball-jointed dolls (in case you didn't already know that). Their blog is here . 5. I don't actually dislike snow. I dislike having to leave the house when it's there, is all. 6. I miss the peace I feel standing next to the ocean and communing with my Lord. 7. I love ghost stories, but as soon as night comes and I'm alone, the freak out begins and there are things at the windows...waiting. 8. I love reading scifi, but not writing it. 9. I cry easily when I feel love. 10. I collect earrings, too. 11. I want to be a housewife. 12. I want to get married more. 13. I've watched Mary Poppins  three times this past week and I feel no shame. 14. I love 1940s fashion, minus the s

I felt it time for a small knitting project run through. My friend Anki taught me to knit at the beginning of August in exchange for me teaching her how to crochet. She bought me a delightful pile of gifts, too. The Knitter's Handbook: Essential Skills and Helpful Hints from Knitter's Magazine, darning needles, a needle size gauge, twelve cards for tablet weaving (AWESOME), two sets of stitch markers (so. bleeding. useful.), and then the bandanna it all came wrapped in. We then trooped down to the awesomest yarn store ever and selected the needles and yarn for my first project, a simple beret, using this pattern . I fell in love with the Classic Shades yarn in Wine, a machine washable yarn (still haven't tested this, mostly for my own piece of mind--I don't want this project felted). I made it, and got to blocking it, like so: And then I realized something. It wasn't deep enough. It was perhaps the depth of a beanie hat. I decided I was not satisfied with such

I know I just posted, but I had so much fun at this event I had to post about it! I went to Great Western War this year in my home kingdom of Caid . Just getting there was an adventure. We left the frozen north (it's been thawed for awhile, but after our drive I know it was just lulling us into a false sense of security) in the kingdom of Artemisia  at the butt crack of dawn. Our intention was 3am, but it was more like 4am. We immediately stopped and gassed up and then we had to change the windshield wipers. Without knowing how to do so. In the cold, wet, darkness. We numbed our fingers more than once each time. It took us an hour. In the rain. Finally, after much praying, we got the wipers on and were on the road at around 5am, two hours late, but that's ok. We drove until 9, stopped for breakfast and gas, and Rosslyn, the driver, needed a nap. So we all took one, got some food, and hit the road again. I drove a bit in Nevada, then finally we hit California and went north t

This post is about the amazing giveaway prize I won by being luck from the lovely Kate at Vintage in a Modern World . I received a package in the mail yesterday and eagerly cried, "Presents!" The package and I went off to my room and out came the camera. Package! I opened it and then, lo, a smaller package! I tried to get the colors right, but my camera and I have been having many long arguments lately. Isn't it cute? Rose stationary and a cute card! So I opened the card, which asked me if I wanted cream or sugar...Both! Ahh...the cutest note from Kate. Thank you for the lovely stationary and the joy of having a present to look forward to in the mail!

I speak rarely of what is deepest in my heart, finding it too personal to post of. But I feel it is time to declare my feelings and knowledge openly once again. I know that my Redeemer lives. This is a lyric to a hymn I love, but more importantly, it is the truth. I've felt myself slipping away from what is most important to me, and have spent the last two weeks scrambling to find my ground once more. I focused too hard on my work and my schooling, and not enough on my Savior and my spiritual needs. This is not to say that I should not focus on school and work, but that my life is very empty indeed if they are all I have to fill it. I've gone through a deeply personal trial recently and found myself needing to go through the repentance process. What joy filled my heart today, when I realized the love my Lord, my God had for me. I am an ever changing work in His hands, and I delight in calling Him my Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, my Brother. I am without eloquence enough

Having spent yet another Saturday devoted to my hobbies, I came home tonight afire with ideas. Last week I had attended a mini-war and didn't have any photos, but it did bring something to my attention. My red raw silk dress needed work. So today, my amazing friends Camilla and Rosslyn fixed the problem. Forgive the night shot--I would've forgotten entirely if I hadn't taken the photo tonight. They added a modesty collar to the dress. Before, the dress revealed my under-garments. Now, they are covered by a false collar to look like I am wearing a chemise under it. Simply amazing what those ladies can do in an hour. Rosslyn also made me a mockup pattern for bog shoes, so I can stop running around wars in my mary janes. Just need a good leather to make them out of. I did a ton of mending though. So far this month, I've mended two pairs of pants (one twice), two pairs of socks, and a skirt. I have another skirt in the mending pile, but that one will be tricky. It's

A few weeks back, I went to my first SCA event here in the frozen north (not so frozen right now) with my friends Rosslyn and Camilla. The two local baronies of the area had heard contentious words about the state of their cooks and declared a war to find out who is the best cook, and which barony produced them! It was so much fun! First, some pictures from the war itself, where of course there was some fighting (I only got pics of the rapier fighters running through the woods in their skirmish--pretty awesome), and then onto the dishes! We liked the look of this cooking setup and received permission to photograph them in action. Ambience--one of the rapier fighters' gear left behind. A lovely Viking. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: The War of the Cooks! The theme was Flock and Field, so each cook had to come up with the ingredients from the Frozen North itself's natural land--no store bought ingredients that don't grow here