Dec. 31

I have a good reason for not posting in so long. The day after Christmas I threw up eleven times starting at 5:20 in the morning, and couldn’t stand without doing so. Since then, I’ve been sick with various things and haven’t felt like doing anything but lying around until today. Now I just feel like I have a cold.

I don’t have much to write about, since I’ve been sleeping and reading and watching TV since my last entry. I finished reading White by Ted Dekker, which I was able to borrow from a friend. The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, and White) is great. I highly recommend it to everyone.

We rented The Santa Claus 3 and Meet the Robinsons. I like the other two Santa Claus movies better. They should stop making them now, methinks. Meet the Robinsons is very cute, however.

Don’t read any farther if you like Eragon.

My dad bought the movie, horror of horrors, and not even in the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart. I suffered through it :p You might even be able to call the book “good” compared to it. I have some comments to make aside from my magic-is-evil-and-should-not-be-portrayed-as-anything-else convictions.

1. Whoever played Galbotorix played him very poorly. The character didn’t come across strongly or as a threatening bad guy. Durza was a more menacing and evil character.

2. They completely should have gone with Arya not liking Eragon as in the books. Her instant affection for him is unwarranted and unbelievable in the movie. I could pass his for her off as infatuation with a beautiful elven princess, but she should know better.

3. The movie strayed far from the book’s lines, though they’d have had to make it much longer to stick to the book.

4. Eragon, despite what some believe, was not cute.

5. I found myself almost liking Murtagh against my will. But he was only in the end, so even if the unlikable elements of the plot were excluded, he wouldn’t have redeemed the entire movie (and then there’s the knowledge that he betrays everyone in the next book).

So even you don’t share my convictions (please note that I’m not a’tall condemning you if you disagree with me), the movie really isn’t worth watching. If you’re a fan of the book, you’ll dislike the movie because it’s so different, and if you’re just watching it for a fantasy movie, it’s a poorly done.

You can read my friend’s notes on the book here, and I agree with everything she says above the essay: http://nimelen.wordpress.com/notes/eragon/

Have an amazing rest of your life.

- WM

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Remember the reason for the season – Jesus. God loves you.

I’m not feeling very well, so I’ll hopefully remember to write a longer post later.

Christmas Cookies

Finally an update!

Christmas is so close.

My eyes are irritated.

We baked a lot this week.

I need to clean house.

I’m going to the youth meeting tonight!

Two friends are spending the night afterward.

On Saturday we’re going to see my great-aunt for a bit and eat dinner with her. Then we’re going to church.

On Sunday, my mother’s sister is coming to stay with us for a few days.

On Monday, we’re going to a relative get-together.

On Tuesday, we’re staying home. =-D

My sisters and I put together and decorated a gingerbread house. It was fun. Here’s a picture:

We made gingerbread cookies, too. My lil’ sister only let me decorate one pan with the white tree of Gondor on the cookie “tunics”.

Here’s my failed version of the Tolkien symbol:

I made some of them crusaders.

I did the bottom three in this picture:

My sister told me to put “DKC” for “Dragonkeeper Chronicles” on one:

Bottom row, the YMCA was the result of complete randomness, followed by my sister’s initials and my first name.

Have an amazing rest of your life.

- WM

Renaissance Shirt

I finished it! I did most of it last Sunday and Monday, but the cuffs kept getting put off by various circumstances until yesterday. Here’s a picture:

If you’re a member of Clean Place you can see some better ones I posted in the photo album.

I half followed the directions here: http://www.reddawn.net/costume/shirt.htm and half followed Mom’s instructions (because she knows how to attach sleeves – I had no clue – so she told me the order in which to sew things and helped me pin a few things in place). We changed some things to make it look the way I want.

My next project:

I also want to make a skirt. I don’t have fabric for it yet, though.

Have an amazing rest of your life!

- WM

12/11/07

First of all, The Bourne Ultimatum came out on DVD today! We do not own a copy yet, though. ;(

My mom and younger sister and I met Nimelen and her mother and sisters at O’Charley’s for lunch today. It was the first time I’d ever eaten there. I had a ceasar salad, potato soup, and a roll. The food tasted good. The potato soup was cheesy. We had a good time talking and eating and writing and then went to JoAnn’s, where I drooled over fabric and patterns and bought nothing ;p

We parted ways, and Mom and Younger Sister and I went to Hobby Lobby. I bought seven yards of fabric for the dress pattern I got at Wal-Mart, and two and a half yards of silver cord for the belt.

On Sunday and Monday I worked a lot on my new project (not the dress), with Mom’s guidance.

Last night we decorated the tree, and this year the Battle of the Balls – my rush to put every blue and silver ball we own on the tree, and everyone else’s to put every other color on to stop me – was not as fierce. I put lots of blue balls on, but not an overwhelming number, and the tree looks quite nice. I shall probably post a picture at some point (and probably more than one picture).

I’m hungry.

Have an amazing, blessed forever.

- WM

The Past Week

I know, I just wrote an entry. But that was about sewing, and this one is about everything else.

This week was very busy. As you already know if you read my blog, I had a lot of chemistry homework to do (which I did). On Monday night, my mother and younger sister and I went to a place where there is an iceskating rink, to meet Michaela and her mom and iceskate. Well, it turns out that the iceskating rink is closed on Mondays. I just used an indefinate it. Don’t follow my example.

So instead of iceskating, we went to a coffee shop, ordered decaf mochas, and talked. I enjoyed the outing.

On Tuesday, I made biscuits for chemistry class, and went to art class, where I started coloring in the outline of Spiderman that I drew on Sunday. Before that I went to Hobby Lobby and bought fabric – two yards of the blue, a yard of white muslin, and three yards of black cotton.

Wednesday morning, my mother and younger sister and I went to a house at which a lady who was a friend of Corrie Ten Boom was staying and speaking. What she said was very interesting, and I’m glad I went. Before we left, I printed out the script I’d just gotten in an e-mail from the friend who edited it for the friend who wrote it, and I read that on the way and inserted commas for my own benefit where I felt they were needed. :6: The pink pen I started using bled all over my fingers, so I got the purple one out of my purse. I think I need some new pen colors!

After the speaker we went home, I sewed a seam, and went to chemistry class. I’m feeling very uncertain about all this figuring out the charges of atoms and molecules – rather sick, actually, until I think about something else. I’m not sure how I’ll do on that.

Thursday I sewed, cleaned house, and did schoolwork.

This morning, I went to my sister’s orthodontist appointment so that I could go to the Wal-Mart nearby afterward, and that’s when I bought the pattern and interfacing mentioned previously. I came home, finished the vest, read a story in The Book of Dragons by E. B. Nesbit (very amusing), and did some chemistry homework.

I need to go to sleep now, desperately, so goodnight.

Have an amazing rest of your life.

- WM

The Explanation

I haven’t posted here in a while because my sewing machine arrived on Tuesday.

Mom showed me once how to thread the bobin and needle, and after that, I figured it out, and now I can do it quite easily. The machine is simple and easy to use, though it comes with the basic problems – such as the occasional jamming of the thread.

My first project was a tabard. It ended up being too small because I did not measure to the right part of my armpits. But I had enough fabric left to do it right.

I used a dark blue broadcloth:

And for the cross, muslin. The cross turned out rather…interesting. It doesn’t look too bad, though, and I like the tabard overall, even though it’s shorter than it’s supposed to be

 I found some black fabric in an art box left over from something Mom made years ago (I don’t remember what), and so I decided to make a purely experimental vest out of it. It was supposed to look Renaissance-ey, but to me it seems more sci-fi, probably because it reminds of me of Han Solo.

It’s rather short, but after I accidentally ripped some seams just a little bit, it was easier to put on. *whistles innocently* I decided not to hem the edges of the armholes. Oh well.

I went to Wal-Mart today and bought a pattern for a dress that looks like a cross between Elvish and Medieval. I also bought the interfacing needed, but not the fabric. I think I’ll use the black fabric I originally intended for a skirt for a shirt instead. I hope my idea works.

God bless you amazingly and abundantly and may you draw closer to Him every moment of your life!

- WM

*Deep Breath*

I’m feeling a little stressed over chemistry homework. I have so much to do before Wednesday and I’ve forgotten whether to add the element charge when predicting the outcome of a chemical reaction. So if you’re reading this, prayer is appreciated.

I hope your day is spent in the presence of the Lord. God bless.

- WM

Drawing Spiderman is Detrimental to one’s Mental Health

There are way too many lines on his costume. I’m drawing him for my mother for the younger of the two boys that she tutors in math. He saw some of my drawings and loved them, and so Mom said she would give him a copy of my Pirates of the Caribbean drawing if he worked well on math that day, and he did, so she did. He asked her if I could draw Spiderman, and Mom said something along the lines of, “I’m sure she could, but I don’t know if she will.” And then she asked me to draw Spiderman for her to use to get the kid to apply himself (he’s autistic and is easily distracted). She did say she would pay me for it, after my comment about my mental health (though I think she mentioned it before).

I’m going to send the gift for the Callie’s Place gift exchange tomorrow, if I remember. I wonder who got my name.

A friend of mine sent me a script that she wrote and is having a bit of trouble with, so I hope I’ll be able to help her with it.

I’m kind of tired today and am not currently inspired with anything terribly interesting to write about, so, goodbye for the moment.

Have a prodigious day

1.	extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree, force, etc.: a prodigious research grant.

2.	wonderful or marvelous: a prodigious feat.

3.	abnormal; monstrous.

4.

Obsolete.

according to number 3.

- WM

Handflower

I made this handflower (note their very real existence: http://www.blackprincearmory.net/store/flowersetc.php ) over the past two or three days.

Granted, it looks better on an eczema-free hand I enjoyed making it, but I got a little impatient with all of the changes I had to make to perfect the fit. I’m pleased with the finished product, though.

God bless you.

- WM