Wedding Update

I won 2 free books from Inkubook.com. Just wanted to share some of the fun stuff that I've been working on! As a reminder, we're getting married in Vegas with a few friends and later, having a reception in Miami for the other 100-150 people.

Cheers!

Summer Games 3... Fears!

One of my biggest fears is spiders. I hate the little buggers. My dorm room has the all over the place and they creep me out!

However, a little cry of ridikkulus! and they turn into.....

Summer Games 2, Part 2

Here's my answers to the next set of the summer games... this was so much easier and made more sense once that problems were fixed.

17-4, 14-1, 9-6, 3-3
When
18-2, 3-3
in
19-4, 11-2, 9-3, 8-5, 15-9
doubt
7-1, 11-2
go
15-9, 11-2
to
15-9, 14-1, 9-6
the
13-8, 18-2, 8-5, 16-3, 6-5, 16-3, 5-3!
library!

My guess is Hermione Granger.. who else would dart to the library on a constant basis?! :)

well I was incorrect, but at least Ron was talking *about* Hermione.. that's gotta count for something, right?

Summer Games #2 - Anagrams!

Astrid's Answers...

1. Chamber of Secrets
2. Harry Potter
3. Ron Weasley
4. Hermione Granger
5. Gryffindor
6. Dark Arts
7. Gilderoy Lockhart
8. Chamber of Secrets
9. House elf
10. Harry Potter
11. Moaning Myrtle
12. Harry Potter
13. Ron Weasley
14. Harry Potter
15. Voldemort
16. Horcrux
17. Ron Weasley
18. Ginny Weasley
19. Gilderoy Lockhart
20. Prisoner of Azkaban

In the second volume of the HP books by JK Rowling, The (#1)Chrome Cab Festers, we continue to learn the incredible adventures of Hogwarts student (#2) Parry He Trot and his friends (#3) Oral Weensy and (#4) Angering Her More. Belonging to the house of (#5) Dry Off Grin, they attend Defense Against the (#6) Ark Darts taught by Wizarding celebrity (#7) Oracle Dorky Light, a none-too-bright fellow who cannot even handle pixies!

In The (#8) Chrome Cab Festers, we also meet Dobby a (#9)See Flu Oh for the first time. Determined Dobby seeks to sabotage the return of (#10) Parry He Trot to Hogwarts and is pretty persistent but is unsuccessful. After a few weeks at school, the deceased Ravenclaw student who haunts the girls lavatory, also known as (#11) My Molten Grain, shows (#12) Parry He Trot and (#13) Oral Weensy an old empty diary that dropped through her ghostly form out of thin air!

Many nifty things continue to happen for the next several months… we won’t go into all the juicy details right now… however, the ending is prime reading indeed!! (#14) Parry He Trot finally kills Tom Riddle’s (a.k.a #15 Mold Voter) sneaky diary (which we now know is a #16 Crux Rho) and saves the sister of (#17) Oral Weensy, (#18) Gayly Nine Sew!!!

Oh! Of course, we must mention that the thickheaded (#19) Oracle Dorky Light unintentionally erased his own memory, so he won’t be back for book three, The (#20) Snob In A Froze Parka…

Truths and Lie Revealed

This is a follow up from this post.

1. I tried watching LOST but don't get the appeal
LIE! I am completely and totally obsessed with this show. I would name our daughter Juliet Katherine and our son Sawyer Desmond if my fiance would let me.. but I'll be vetoed on both surely.

2. I am getting married in Las Vegas... eventually
TRUE - We are planning on either 01-11-10 or 10-10-10 in Vegas with a few friends and family members for 5 days of fun! oh, and a wedding ceremony..

3. I learned to knit in a bar
TRUE - my friend Carrie's SnB group met in a pub and she invited me to join them. After 2 or 3 amaretto sours, she taught me to knit off the needle. Prior to that I could cast on like nobody's business!

4. I was born in Miami, but feel more at home in a small city/ town
TRUE!! - I despise Miami. More than any other place I have been. I don't get the appeal to vacation there or to visit. I struggle with my yearly visits to see my entire family, who all still live there. I currently live in Chapel Hill, NC which is about 25-30 miles west of Raleigh. I have lived in Gainesville, FL (another small college town) where the biggest cities (Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa) were all 2 hours away.

Testing mobile posting

Week #1: New to Camp!

Part 1: "What's in your trunk?"

Astrid is bringing...
apples
art supplies
ant spray
atomic fire balls
aspirin
antibiotic ointment
Alice in Wonderland (the book)
animal crackers
alpaca yarn
apple jacks cereal


Part 2: WINGO! Wizard Bingo
I am an overachiever and went for a full black-out.. or at least I'm trying to do so. Some of these are hard to find!

W1 Cassandra Crimsonchin (over 100, but closest at about 260miles)
W2 Bevin Rae Mooney
W3 Thistle Lovegood (lion)
W4 Pren Wilcox
W5 Ophelia Ballycastle

I1 Felly Pinkstone
I2 Ferula Vector (2 sibs)
I3 Antonio de la Weasley (Casa Lomo)
I4 Rowan Dragonsinger
I5 Cassandra Grubbly-Plank

N1 Madame Ferula McGonogall (Starbucks!)
N2 Helga Ze Horrid
N3 Piper Poplartree
N4 Gryphon the Great (Trumpet)
N5 Emma Wigworthy (Edinburgh)

G1 Clara Clovenhoof
G2 Olive Bumblebirch (favorites: 425/ I have 331)
G3 Fleur Sweeting
G4 Intarsia Bindoff (Dragon)
G5 Wisteria Lovegood (Arabic)

O1 Lizzie Wychwood (England)
O2 Cassie Grubbly-Plank
O3 Winnie Wartbobble (stitch markers)
O4 Emma Scamander
O5 Bevin Rae Mooney


Part 3: Get to know your Spoiler & Spoilee
My spoiler is Felly Pinkstone (dreamwalker on Ravelry). She's got some cool stuff in her queue/ favorites. I really dig these socks, the Mirabella Socks, and even added them to my favorites!

Perhaps one day I will finish a pair of socks completely. I ususally finish one, cast on for the other, then start on a new project.


My spoilee is Winnie Wartbobble (MissWartbobble on Ravelry) and there are quite a few projects in her queue/ favorites that I have in mine. My favorite non-duplicated project is the Doctor Who scarf. My fiance has been asking for one for ages! I don't have the patience to knit knit knit knit.. and knit some more for it.. plus, he doesn't wear scarves! I am thinking that he's getting a Dalek instead..

HSKS8 Camp: First Post!

the ring post was just for a general update, now on to the good stuff!

Summer camp has begun in HSKS-land and I'm in cabin Hinkypunk!

For my spoiler, I only knit and sew; I am not a crocheter; I am not allergic to anything fiber-y, just mangoes; my wish list has just been added to my sidebar.

For my spoilee, I can't wait! Even though it terrifies me to send to the Head Mistress.. hehe

Three Truths and a Lie
1. I tried watching LOST but don't get the appeal
2. I am getting married in Las Vegas... eventually
3. I learned to knit in a bar
4. I was born in Miami, but feel more at home in a small city/ town

we can haz wedding rings

so yes, needless to say, we have our wedding rings! both are titanium with a stripe of sterling. mine is a tension ring with a mystic twilight topaz... it is the coolest stone with pinks, yellows, oranges and reds!

wedding riiiings!

yeah... i'm pretty sure i just found our wedding bands. gotta show Steve tonight. the guy said that a set takes 1 week to make then ship and i can get any color stone i want.

i'm thinking deep sapphire-blue color, or maybe green, or a yellowy-orange topaz... oh hell, i haven't the slightest clue! i know i don't want a diamond though, so that's a start.

blah

i have got to post more. the problem is that i am swamped as all get-out between work and school. this week at work, i'd worked 34 hours before i'd even clocked in on thursday. we had 6 meetings including an 8am and 7:30am one, plus 2 9pm nights. needless to say, not much studying was done. and i have 2 midterms this upcoming week.

plus dealing with wedding planning stuff. we've been talking a lot about chucking it all and going to Vegas. more likely then not, we will be doing that and having a big party in Miami a few months later.

Her name was Lola... she was a show girl!

Steve and I got her just shy of 2 weeks ago. She's a Miniature Pinscher, but don't tell her that she's tiny! She barks and growls at all the dogs in the neighborhood that are about 10-15 times her size! She only weighs 3.5lbs, but man, she sure is a great watchdog. It's awesome.

Phoenix, our cat, wasn't too pleased when she first came home, but now he's used to her. He watches her like the best live action TV show. He sits on the bottom step and watches her race all over the living room and kitchen. He's finally used to her enough to sit on the couch with her... and me in the middle!

update

i'm still alive.. but with school and work and life in general taking over i have no time to knit. yeah yeah boo hoo. hehe.

this is the latest thing that i've been working on... a baby blanket for my cousin's new baby.

Rav link

Quiz #1 - HLBOE Swap

Here we go for our first quiz of the swap. it's also posted on my Ravelry

Cheers everyone!!
Astrid, Hufflepuff 1st year

Start of term!

Astrid Cloverleaf here, Hufflepuff 1st year in the Hogwarts Little Bit of Everything swap. the semester has begun at Hogwarts, and this friday, my 4th to last semester of MBA classes begins in the muggle world.

This is going to be a very full year for me! Not only this swap which seems like it's going to be a very active knitting few months, but also 3 semesters of muggle MBA classes, and planning my wedding to take place on November 29, 2009!

ME! (this is not my actual wedding gown in the off chance that my fiance finds this blog..)

my beloved car... violated

my neck's been hurting for the last few days so i took some Tylenol PM before bed and was zonked out by midnight.

this morning Steve got up to leave for work by about 9:20am. i heard him shut the door then come back in a few minutes later and he yelled up the stairs "Becca wake up and come outside!" somewhere in my drowsy state i thought.. oooh snow. yeah, not so much since his next words were "your car was broken into last night!"

i bolted out of bed, ran downstairs, managed to grab a jacket along the way and outside cursing up a storm. socked feet, no bra and all. yeah, it was special. there was a big muddy brick in my passenger seat, my window was blown out and glass was just everywhere. it looks like they'd attempted to go through my front windshield too since there's a nice 10-12" spider (only with about 20 legs heh) right below my rearview mirror.

i ran back in to grab my phone and call the cops. by the time i came back outside our neighbor and her dog had appeared and a few others. our neighbor said that around 1:30am her dog bolted downstairs barking like crazy, so we think that's when it happened. i reported what happened, gave my address and hung up. after running inside to super fast get dressed, grab my camera and run back out the police were pulling up. yeah, seriously, less then 10 minutes. CHPD rocks.

Officer Mitchell took down all my info, write up a report and gave me the number. seriously within about 35 minutes of Steve finding it, i had a report number in had.

Steve started cleaning up all the glass. for 1 window, it sure shot everywhere. we found glass behind the 2 rear seats, on the passenger side by the door, everywhere.. he swept up the parking lot, then went at the car seat by seat. i called my insurance company (Geico) who won't cover the cost until i meet my deductible but they gave me the number for a glass place to see how much it'd be. so i called Safelite Glass and got a quote. umm yeah, $415.90++ and my deductible? $500. *sigh*

then i called my renter's insurance (USAA) to see if they covered what was stolen - my GPS, cell charger and triple cigarette adapter - and they're sending out an adjuster monday or tuesday. they said they'd have covered the window but unfortunately i don't have my auto policy with them. grr, yeah thanks.

meanwhile, i called around to find other prices for the 2 windows and was quoted well over $500 by the only other place i could find to answer. i guess Safelite really is the best price. *sigh*

i'm so mad and annoyed and violated. seriously, i'm more pissed about the car charger then anything else missing.. and of course the $425++ price tag!!

oh yeah and.. i'd spent $275 yesterday getting new brakes, fixing her alignment, etc.. and now this. Steve already told me i don't have to worry about getting him anything for Christmas. cuz $700++ for my car is enough to ruin any holiday season. good thing i have the yarn for everything i'm making for everyone...

My package arrived!

Owl post arrived this afternoon all the way from Tennessee. Agatha Vablatsky sent me a wonderful package and I'm definitely nominating her for Best Kit!

first the box all nice and packaged with a note on top.


all my goodies laid out!


Phoenix decided to take a sniff around to see what I was getting.


the book of patterns! it contained Minerva's Lucky Quidditch Socks (which have been in my Rav-queue for ages!), Go Gryffindor socks, and Minerva's Argyle Socks


the fantastic red and black stitch markers, Harmony 47" 2mm, Bodycology lotion in vanilla buttercream (perfect size for my knitting bag!) and a really cute Cats mini-calendar


the best part! haha... my favorite snacks cuz Agatha is AWEsome! Craisins, Sour Patch kids, Mint mojito Orbit gum and white chocolate Lindor numminess.


a close-up of the stitch markers - did you make these, Agatha??


the wonderful yarn goodies: the bag and scarf were crafted while Agatha was on the plane to and from her honeymoon... talk about good luck! and of course KP Essentials yarn in Gryffindor colors.


a close up of the scarf.. i want to learn to crochet now!

thank you so much for everything Agatha! i love love love it! the bag is the perfect size for small knitting projects to take to work with me. and now that it's freezing here in NC, i'll be making very good use of the scarf.

Last Quiz of the Semester!

Here it is... we're down to the last quiz of the semester. And my kit is done and all ready to get mailed out tomorrow morning to Ceciley. It's got lots of little bits of everything and hopefully she loves everything!

1. Who was Tom Riddle Sr.'s girlfriend before Merope gave him the love potion?
a. Eleanor
b. Cecilia
c. Sally
d. Mandy

2. What does Luna say floated into Harry's ear when he was in the train car that supposedly caused him to lose focus?
a. Demiguise
b. Jobberknoll
c. Wrackspurt
d. Runespoor

3. How much do the primary Apparition lessons cost?
a. 10 galleons
b. 8 galleons
c. 15 galleons
d. 12 galleons

4. What is Professor Merrythought's first name?
a. Eileen
b. Galatea
c. Carol
d. Jocelyn

5. What Hogwarts club was Eileen Prince captain of?
a. Charms Club
b. Gobstones Club
c. The Slug Club
d. Occlumency Club

6. Who is head of the Goblin Liaison office?
a. Ambrosius Flume
b. Dirk Cresswell
c. Ciceron Harkiss
d. Barnabas Cuffe

7. Mrs. Weasley offers Fleur a goblin-made tiara for the wedding with Bill. What family member is currently in possession of the tiara?
a. Aunt Muriel
b. Aunt Ethel
c. Aunt Edna
d. Aunt Thelma

8. How many points does Snape take from Gryffindor for Harry's late arrival and muggle attire?
a. 30
b. 70
c. 50
d. 90

9. When Profressory Slughorn first meets Hermione, he asks her whether she is related to Hector Dagworth-Granger. What society did Dgworth-Granger found?
a. The Most Extraordinary Society of Charms
b. The Most Extraordinary Society of Herbology
c. The Most Extraordinary Society of the Defense Against the Dark Arts
d. The Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers

10. Which of these describes Golpalott's Third Law?
a. The antidote for blended poison will be equal to less than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components
b. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to less than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents
c. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents
d. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separtea components

Swap Box Done!

So i finished my swap kit - finally! - for Ceciley. The problem is that now my lazy butt needs to wrap everything up and get to the post office. I sure wish they were open tomorrow. It's some sort of muggle holiday. It's also the 19th anniversary of my bat mitzvah. um, wow.. that means I'm old.

I'm not the best knitter, or the fastest, so I made 2 small things for Ceci. I really hope she likes them.. and all the tons of other things in her swap box! I haven't got a clue where my darn camera is.. and even less of a clue where the battery charger is....

I need to have my kitty Phoenix go round up some owls to carry the heavy box over to the Slytherin tower (in Tennessee) for Ceci...

HSKS6 Gryffindor Homework

Homework time! Looks like this week we've got an essay to complete. Well here goes...

1. Name your favorite magical creature, and describe why it is your favorite.
House elves.. well, more specifically Dobby. I adore how loyal and wonderful he is to Harry even though he belonged to the icky Malfoy family. He knew that Harry was good and the Malfoy's were bad from the beginning and kept trying to save Harry's life... even if he did get him into loads of trouble at home and school!

2. Tell us your favorite charm, spell or curse, and explain why you like it.
Lumos, because I just don't like walking around in the dark! I like to keep my wand around all the time and be able to turn a light on in an instant.

And of course, Muffiato, since I am a bit of a gossip (a yenta) and this way no one will overhear my friends and I.

3. Describe your favorite holiday family tradition - which holiday and what makes it special.
For Halloween, I always carve 2 or 3 pumpkins and then roast the seeds. This year I made a "standard" pumpkin face and a Jack pumpkin face (from The Nightmare Before Christmas). Jack was a huge hit with all my neighbors.

For Christmas, since I am Jewish, I have been celebrating it with my best friend and her family since 1993. I stay with them for about a week and on Christmas Eve, she and I wrap all the gifts and assemble whatever needs assembling for her little boys. And then we have gift opening around 7am at her house with breakfast and a second round at about 3pm at her parents house with an early dinner.

4. Name your favorite fiber-based (knitted, crocheted, or spun) finished object.
I call it my Flower Power hat in Ravelry, but it never received its' flower. I would wear this baby everywhere if I could. It's fairly open weave and made of yummy Malabrigo and for real, THE softest item I own. Plus it's a really simple and fast pattern.