My Mind

Finger Puppets

2009-11-10T06:18:29Z

I'm working on making finger puppets for my Etsy store, and I want to make some holiday sets, four or five finger puppets each.

What/who would you want to see in a Thanksgiving set?
A Hanukkah set?
A Christmas set?

I've also been making some fairy tale sets, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. What other fairy tales should I do?

Cats are better in the plural

2009-11-06T00:44:06Z

We went to PetSmart yesterday to get some things for the cats (including a few more toys than they need), and we went past the area where they have the animals up for adoption (which is where we got our boys). There were a few cats there, including three siblings, two of whom were orange tigers. I commented to Elijah, "Good thing that they weren't here when we were looking, or we'd've gone home with three kittens!" The volunteer who was there when we got our boys overheard this, and said that since we took both of the brothers, people have started adopting more than one cat, especially kittens from one litter. Apparently we started a trend! It's a good trend though, since it means that more cats are going home with feline companions, in most cases, a sibling.

More cat pictures are up on Facebook. Also, my jack-o-lantern from this year features Luke and Han:

Kitty pictures

2009-09-05T01:40:32Z

on Facebook!

The boys have names now- Han and Luke.

Kitties!

2009-09-02T04:31:45Z

Elijah and I are getting a pair of kitties! They're brothers, black 16-week-old domestic shorthairs. We're still working on names. We pick them up on Friday probably, and I'll post pictures once we get them home. =^.^=

Because Cody said so

2009-08-12T23:14:07Z

Firstly: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.
Secondly: Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

tagged by cordilleran2

Who sleeps in bed next to you?
Elijah. And sometimes my stuffed tiger cubs, Shani and Tristan.

Have you ever lied to a teacher to get out of a deadline?
Yeah, but I usually tend towards honesty. Teachers are often willing to give an extension for a good reason.

What kind of magazines do you read?
I don't really read magazines much. Wedding magazines, lately, though I used to read Reader's Digest regularly.

What's your occupation?
For a few more days, Arts and Crafts Specialist at Girl Scout Camp, then it's unemployed looking for a job in Flagstaff.

What's your motto for life?
I came up with one a few months ago, but I forgot it (that always happens). So currently I'm going with "Choose joy."

Who is your celebrity crush?
I have a bit of a girl-crush on Audrey Hepburn.

What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
Crafting! Haven't had a chance to do much cause of camp, but once I have more time again, I want to really amp up my site (http://kethrim.etsy.com).

What are you listening to right now?
Elijah being cute.

What are you most excited for?
Finish camp, moving to AZ, getting a job and an apartment!

What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Gmail, LJ, Google reader.

What was the last thing you bought?
Postage, for a book I sold on Amazon Marketplace.

What was the cutest thing you've seen today?
Pictures of kitties!

Does the weather affect your mood?
Sometimes. When it rains, I get a headache from the pressure, so I hate that.

What is your zodiac sign?
Aries.

Do you want to learn another language?
Oh yes! And then another, and another... On my list currently are Polish, ASL, Hebrew, and then probably some more Romance languages.

5 things you can't live without -
1. Elijah
2. cats
3. the internet (hey, it's my connection to most of my friends)
4. crafting and creating
5. words

Do you have any siblings?
I have a big brother!

What's something you'd like to say to someone right now?
On the road of life, there are hills and valleys. When you're in a valley, the hardest part is climbing the hill again, so you don't always realize that your life is actually getting better because you're so focused on the hard parts. But life will get better again. It always does. Have faith.

You're stuck in a reality show with Spencer and Heidi and you can't kill them, how do you survive?
First of all, who? And then I'd probably either ignore them or play mind games with them.

Say something to the person who tagged:
We are definitely having a geek party once I get settled in AZ!

I tag: akkara, 26_28_taunton, bookwyrm86, fighting_dreamr, kilo_foxtrot, taomagicdragon, tegurunrampant, under_pressure

Update post

2009-07-13T03:15:51Z

I'm Arts and Crafts Specialist at Camp Laurel, woo! We're going into the third week of camp (fourth week of work, since we had a week of training), and I'm really enjoying my job- at least, the part of my job where I work with the kids. Some of my co-workers aren't that great, but most are good, and a few are awesome. Elijah's Science and Nature Specialist, and he's been mostly enjoying it too. The regular eating, sleeping, and exercise schedule have been good for both of us. The job's also a good resume-builder.

We have our own apartment for the summer, about 35 minutes away from camp, so the commute isn't too bad. Living together has been really smooth for the most part. We've been able to do a bit of cooking, which I really enjoy. Most nights we stay for supper at camp, but our Saturday night homemade pizza has become a regular event (we put Guinness in the pizza dough. Delicious).

I'm still catching up on internet stuff, though- we finally got internet at the apartment, after a while of trying to find a decent deal (we're only here for about a month more, so it would be ridiculous to pay some of the prices that the companies want. Even dial-up would be too expensive, because we'd have to pay for a phone line). Elijah finally managed to get someone to waive the installation fee, so it only cost us $30 instead of $80. We are able to go online a little bit at camp, and there's wifi at the nearby community center, but they have a lot of blocked sites- LJ, Facebook, chat, etc. So now we're back on normal internet use, yay!

I've gotta start looking for a job for the fall again. I'm going to email the Girl Scout people I worked with last summer in Flag, maybe they know of something, in GS or elsewhere. It's hard to look for a job when I don't really know what kind of job I want, though. But it doesn't have to be the ideal job, just good, since I'll be in AZ for only two years anyway.

Have to figure out how I'm going to move out to AZ, too. It's about a four-and-a-half day drive, at about 8 hours a day. So no going home on weekends to pick up stuff like I did while at Wheaton. And also, I'm MOVING out there for two years, not just for one semester. It would be impossible to fit all my stuff plus Elijah's stuff that he has here for the summer into my car, and my dad absolutely does not want to make the drive out in his car, with Mom. And a van or something from Uhaul or wherever would be really expensive. So at this point it's probably either have my mom drive out in her car with a friend or sister or something, so I can have the extra space in her car (she got a new car! It's a pretty blue Ford Fusion), or Elijah and I will just go out in my car, and Mom and Dad will have to ship stuff for me, which also gets really expensive.

Either way, I have to start working up the list of what I'll be bringing. I won't have much time after camp to pack, so the list will help me get my thoughts together before I start packing. I also anticipate some Saturday trips home to start getting stuff ready. That will probably start happening in August.

Life is pretty much just camp for now. I'm enjoying being with Elijah so much. Last summer we spent two months together, living in his parents' house; this summer is a longer time together, living in our own place. I really enjoy being with him, and everything's going so smoothly that it's definitely a good sign for our future.

Request for more responses

2009-04-25T18:11:35Z

Remember that poll I posted about pricing for my Etsy shop? Only Kyle and Cody answered, and I really need more responses if I'm going to get a better idea of what prices I should set, so if you have a couple minutes, I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks!

Poll

Pricing poll

2009-04-16T21:52:16Z

I've been working on my Etsy store, and I'd like to get some input into my prices. Pictures are posted under the cut, with a poll for how much you'd pay for each product. Please answer the poll before looking to see what the prices I currently have are.

Finger puppets:

Flower Hair Ties:

Flower Barrettes:

Crocheted Rose:

Catnip Toy:

Crocheted Beanie:

View Poll: How much would you pay for a handmade...

After taking the poll, please feel free to go check out my Etsy shop! http://kethrim.etsy.com
Thanks for your input!

Etsy listing frenzy!

2009-04-13T01:00:16Z

A bunch of new items are now in my Etsy shop! Sparkly flower hair ties and pom pom critters are up now, and keep an eye out for crocheted roses soon!

http://kethrim.etsy.com

Late-night wondering

2009-04-12T05:27:05Z

Why is it that my most creative, productive time is at night... after craft stores are closed and I'm just missing a few things to do what I have in mind? Must... resist... the call... of ebay!

I'm crocheting long-stemmed roses- they're adorable, but I need pipe cleaners for the stems. I made one without, to test out the pattern, and I think that I might make a few more, as baby-safe toys, until I can get my hands on some pipe cleaners.

Going wild with sparkly flowers

2009-04-07T05:46:38Z

I have to buy more barrettes- I've made so many flowers that I've run out of barrettes! I need to make a trip to a dollar store and see if I can score some for cheaper than at CVS.

I'm also thinking of doing some other things with the flowers, like magnets maybe. I'm not really sure what else I could do with them.

I now have a twitter account! I'm Kethrim, unsurprisingly- http://twitter.com/kethrim

Think Spring!

2009-04-05T20:29:59Z

This weekend, I got inspired to crochet lots of little sparkly flowers, and then I made them into barrettes. They're up on my Etsy shop now, and I think that they're adorable: http://www.kethrim.etsy.com

I'm hoping that since it's (starting to be) spring that these will sell; I haven't made any sales yet on Etsy and it makes me sad. :( So although it's hard to capture the sparkly in a picture, I'm hoping that these will sell well.

Buy some! Buy some for your friends! Tell your friends to buy some for you! Or for themselves! Or for someone else!

!!!!!

I like to sell stuff

2009-04-03T02:29:51Z

I've started up an Etsy shop- right now all it has is catnip mice and hats, but I have some more stuff I need to put up there.

www.kethrim.etsy.com

Go check it out!

Also, I have two CafePress shops-

One has fencing stuff- www.cafepress.com/gofencing

and the other has my photography- www.cafepress.com/minperfection

Let me know what you think of my stuff, and feel free to buy some if you feel the urge... especially from my Etsy shop, as I haven't sold anything there yet.

Happy news

2009-03-16T02:25:04Z

So Elijah said that he wanted to go to Harkness today. We walked around the gardens for a little while (they manage to be beautiful even when most of the plants are dead and the flowers are gone), then when we got to a nice little alcove in the Oriental Garden, Elijah pulled out the ring and asked, "Will you marry me?" and I said yes, and he slipped the ring onto my finger. It has 19 purple sapphires channel-set all the way around in white gold, and I love it, and Elijah. :D

More pictures on Facebook, in the Elijah and Me album.

I am at a loss

2009-02-20T07:30:43Z

Have more work than usual due tomorrow. Had time today to do it. Did some of it. Still have Latin and French and more Latin to do. Still can't make myself do it. I'm resigned to a long night but I still would like some sleep. And this isn't stuff I can just blow off, the French is two short papers that I need to turn in tomorrow, so those need to get done. I can blow off some of the Latin, but the other Latin is for my independent study, which means that if I don't do it he'll know and not be happy, cause I didn't have it all done last week or the week before and I have a week to do each assignment so really I should be able to get it done. It's not that hard, it's mostly just that it takes a long time to do cause I have to look up every other word. Tried turning off the internet to take away some of the distractions but that didn't work. Need to focus and stay awake but don't know how. I hate this. I know now that I'm not really cut out for the academic world, I don't like studying stuff like this, reading articles and writing about them, studying literature, etc. I want to do stuff, make stuff, stuff more physical than typing out a paper and printing it. That's not what makes me happy and I'm getting really sick of having to do all this stuff that doesn't make me happy. Two weeks until spring break. Just have to make it through to then then I'll get a little break.

Today's happy- Day #7

2008-12-15T04:36:22Z

This semester, I took an education course pass/fail, which means I need at least a C to pass it and get the credit. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for me, but because of the way he structured the grades (four papers, each worth 20%, with the remaining 20% from class participation), and because I didn't do one of the papers because of homework-induced stress and depression, I need an A on my final paper in order to pass. So yeah, that's a bit of pressure (not only do I not want a failed class on my record, I need the credit). But I've been working on the paper today (it's due tomorrow morning by 7, yes, I'm a slacker), and I think it's actually a pretty solid paper that will hopefully (oh, be nice, professor!) get me that A that I need. I have one more paragraph and the conclusion to write, and then I'll turn it in.

So, a good paper that will mark the true end of the semester for me is today's happy.

In other news, I have surgery to get my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. I'm not especially looking forward to the surgery, but I am looking forward to having the teeth out, so my other teeth can have enough room again and my jaw will stop clicking, and so it won't hurt to chew anymore (AFTER I finish healing, of course!).

Yesterday's happy- Day #6

2008-12-14T15:31:45Z

Well, forgot to post yesterday, so here's a happy from today but I'll post it for yesterday.

No matter how bad the nightmare is, when I wake up, it's not true.

Today's happy- Day #5

2008-12-13T04:28:01Z

This:

Today's happy- Day #4

2008-12-12T03:54:06Z

More crocheting. I'm making fairy tale finger puppets for my baby cousin for Christmas (he's almost 2). Will post a picture when I'm done with all four, if I remember. I've already done the dragon, horse, knight, and body and dress of the princess, so I'm almost done.

Today's happy- Day #3

2008-12-11T02:33:33Z

Can't think of anything, and if I tried to force it, it would just be sarcastic.

But Elijah always makes me happy.

One of those song meme things, slightly tweaked, because I wanted to. I commented some, in parentheses.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Heroes and Villians -The Beach Boys

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Let It Be -The Beatles (sometimes, yes)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
School for Monsters -Avenue Q

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Good Enough For Now -Weird Al Yankovic (Kinda how I feel this week.)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Cable TV -Weird Al Yankovic (Nnnnnot really.)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Being a Girl Scout -Teresa (Accurate enough.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
L-O-V-E -Dane Cook (Very true)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Un Jour -Roméo et Juliette (Interesting answer. Makes some sense, in an abstract philosophical way.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Recognize the Miracles -Shlock Rock (Very true. I'm so lucky to have Elijah in my life.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Wanna B Ur Lover -Weird Al Yankovic (*grins*)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Don't Let Me Down -The Beatles

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Eleanor Rigby -The Beatles (Don't want to be her.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Girl From Ipanema (Erm... not so much.)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Here Comes the Sun -The Beatles (But... I'm the daughter, not the son....)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
My Generation -The Who

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables -Les Mis (Good one, actually. I think it's on my mom's funeral playlist.)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Confrontation -Les Mis (NO.)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Holy Ground -The Clancy Brothers

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS
Next 100 Years -Bon Jovi (True friends will last a lifetime.)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Just One of Those Things -Frank Sinatra

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
A Million Ways -OK Go (Eep.)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Choices -Shlock Rock (Makes sense.)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Confession -Weird Al Yankovic

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Band on the Run -Wings

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Here Today -The Beach Boys (Not today, will be a couple more years.)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Car Alarm -Dane Cook (Well, I guess car alarms are kinda startling....)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Baby You're a Rich Man -The Beatles (I knew Elijah only likes me for my money! :P )

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again -Phantom of the Opera

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Aren't You Glad -The Beach Boys

Today's happy- Day #2

2008-12-10T00:47:21Z

It was a beautiful evening as it was getting dark (around 4:00), not too cold, the sky a lovely color in the gloaming, the lamps not yet turned on....

Probably won't keep up with this

2008-12-08T16:36:41Z

Tagged by fighting_dreamr

1. Post about something that made you happy today even if it's just a small thing.
2. Do this everyday for a week without fail.
3. Tag 8 of your friends to do the same.

Today's happy- I learned to crochet yesterday, and made a hat for Lucien (my doll).

Tagging: akkara, bookwyrm86, cordilleran2, kilo_foxtrot, poor_nizzie, taomagicdragon, tegurunrampant, thrives

Classes

2008-11-05T02:54:34Z

Looking at classes for next semester:

Latin 324, Didactic Poetry, MWF 11:30-12:20
French 302, Renaissance Lit & Society, MW 12:30-1:50
Latin Independent Study

and either
Religion 342, Liberation Theology, W 2:00-4:50 (Val, are you planning on taking this?)
or
Comp Sci 116, Data Structures, MWF 10:30-11:20, lab T 3:30-5:20
or both

Am I setting myself up for another too-stressful semester if I take five classes again? The first three classes, I have to take, for my major and minor. I need to take at least four classes in order to have enough credits to graduate.

The Religion one is just because I want to and I've been wanting to take a class with this prof forever and haven't gotten the chance to until now, and I'll either take it pass-fail or maybe audit (if I'm taking five classes), and I really do enjoy computer programming, so that class is really just for fun.

No matter what I do, my Wednesdays are going to be insanely long, and without a break.

Advice?

Double tag!

2008-10-31T18:02:48Z

Well, I got tagged twice for this, for I guess I'd better do it! ^^

11 RANDOM facts you may or may not know about me meme
Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 11 random facts or habits about yourself. At the end, choose 11 people to be tagged.

1. I've been thinking about quitting fencing (cause of various reasons) but for some reason I keep going and liking it.

2. I hate driving, unless I'm driving my car, in which case I love it.

3. I watch Star Wars and Star Trek surprisingly little, for how much I like them.

4. I'm completely addicted to and obsessed with knitting, and want to start selling some of the stuff I knit.

5. I really like having my space organized, but I get lazy, so I usually have some messes around.

6. Elijah and I discuss eloping instead of waiting... semi-seriously.

7. I love pie, but not crust, so I always have some crust left over when I'm done.

8. I don't know if I actually do want to be a teacher, after all.

9. I'm learning to play guitar but I don't practice as much as I want to. Because of work, because of not thinking of it until late at night, whatever.

10. I've donated to Heifer International more than once (and you should too!).

11. I like to buck expectations about tagging people. :P

I don't want to go back to school

2008-10-26T07:38:14Z

Out of the five classes I'm taking this semester, I really enjoy only one of them. And while I enjoy it, it's not something I want to go to grad school for or have a career in.

I have a 5-6 page paper due on Monday that I haven't started yet. Not that I haven't had time yesterday and today, I just really haven't wanted to work on it.

And it's 3:30 am now and I'm not really tired but the longer I stay up, the longer I can pretend it's still Saturday, cause I'll freak out on Sunday cause I have a paper due Monday that I haven't even done any research for, never mind started writing.

I skipped Latin on Friday because I wasn't at all prepared and I know that the prof was going to call on me to translate, because I didn't translate at all on Wednesday cause I wasn't prepared enough. So now I have to catch up what I missed by not doing the work for Friday, and then do the work for Monday. Which I won't have time for if I write the paper.

I don't really enjoy Latin anymore. I don't know if it's just because there's enough grammar that I don't really know so it's hard for me to translate, or that I have the other prof in the department, or if it just goes back to the thing where I like languages but not literature (and unless you get into linguistics, which isn't offered at Wheaton, you really can't study language above a certain level without it being literature).

I don't see the point to my French class. I keep wondering what, exactly, we're supposed to be learning. I usually don't do the readings. It never seems to matter. So not really enjoying French anymore either.

I keep wondering why I'm doing what I'm doing.