Books 8 and 9 of 52

I know I am still behind but life finally caught up with me and now I am just trying to get back on track. I recently finished reading two books: Through the Looking Glass (another re-read) and The Twilight Graphic Novel. Even though I am behind... I'm still not worried. I go through bouts with my reading... I will read 5 books a week for a month and then nothing for a month. Its just how I am.
 I did however finish two of my larger crochet projects. A baby blanket and mary jane booties for my sister-in-law, who is due any day now and the Stewie Griffin doll for my husband.

Book 7 of 52

I am still quite behind with my reading but I am catching up and currently am in the middle of reading 3 books.
I did just finish a book... now I know I said I wouldn't re-read at all throughout this challenge but, Alice in Wonderland is an old time favorite of mine that I haven't read in ages, plus I wanted to have it all fresh in my head before I go to see the movie on Friday. There isn't much to say about Alice... I love this book, love the Disney movie, love the many other TV specials and movies made.
For my next big crochet project, I am going to design Alice in Wonderland inspired Ami's. But that will have to wait a little bit as I am currently working on 3 other projects and have 2 more to complete after that also.  This past week, I needed a break from my large projects. I stopped them for a couple of days so I could make my mom a new scarf, that she requested, as well as some mouse catnip kitty toys for Peanut, Raven and Bud.

Book 6 of 52

I have officially fallen behind in my reading challenge. I just finished book six and I should be starting book eight at this point. Oops. I'm not worried though. I know I can catch up easily. Life has been pretty demanding lately. Lots of crochet projects in the works, my new school books are in and I need to keep on top of that, plus I have been trying to keep Michael and I from eating too much junk food so I have been cooking every night after I get out of work. Not to mention the fact that I recently became obsessed with the tv show Dark Angel. I downloaded all the episodes and for a week I watched nothing but Dark Angel.

Lately I feel as though books are not as satisfying to me as they once were. I love falling into different worlds and ignoring the one around me for a while but I have been having trouble finding books that really intrigue me. Have I become so cynical in life that it has started to affect my imaginary worlds as well? I hope not! Reading is my escape.
The book I just read is The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike. To me it felt like the author was trying to create something similar to Interview With a Vampire, but for young adults. I didn't really get into the story until the end. Then the main character thought up this crazy, far-fetched plan and once again, I lost interest. I really hope that the problem is sub par writing and not that I am losing my ability to enjoy fiction.
The photo shown if of the Omnibus for the series. It holds the first three books in the series. I will most likely continue with the series now, mainly because the books are short and i can easily catch up with them.
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I can finally post the pictures of the birthday gift I made for my Uncle Roy. 

The sporran is an original pattern by me. I had planned on buying a sporran chain to attach to it but ran out of time and decided to add the belt loops which I feel really pulled the whole thing together nicely. The celtic knot was not easy to create but it was kind of fun. The scottish Tam was a pattern I found online. Martha Tam

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Season 2 of Dark Angel inspired this poem.


I returned from my personal hell
back to my safest haven
only to find that the devil
is now coursing through my veins

When once I was the air you breathed
the one thing to help you strive
Now Loving me means you need extreme protection
You must treat me as the enemy just to stay alive

I hold my breath so as not to harm you
I take precautions that break my heart
My whole world is held behind your lips
yet one embrace with me would end your life

We Keep grasping at a hope
that seems non existant
Holding onto something
that we can't even touch.

(I'm still tweaking it. Not sure I am thrilled with it yet.)

 This next poem I wrote back in 2004

Disenchanted

Topless again
shameful again
disenchanted always
over... it's over
can never be used
to describe this
it never really began
Lay lifeless
Ignore it... him
pretend it isn't working
I'm not turned on
Sad again
broken again
disenchanted forever
fake, fake and plastic
can describe this
fake plastic feelings (like a song)
I'm wrong
this... is not fake
never was
Turned on again
disappointed again
disenchanted
always and forever
always and forever

Book 5 of 52

I had been a head of the game with my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. I was a book ahead of where I should be and it was nice knowing I didn't have to rush at all. Well, this past week I lost my lead. I am  now on track. I just finished the 5th book. Once Michael and I decided to get married on our anniversary... it threw everything else off. But its not a large price to pay for having the small wedding we wanted and being as happy as we are.

The book I just read was Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead. I have already read her Vampire Academy series (and am impatiently awaiting the next book due out in May). Since my mind was in so many other places the last two weeks, it was a bit difficult getting into the book. Which I assure you was purely my issue and not at all due to anything lacking in the book. The plot was a bit slower than her other novels but was every bit as interesting. The characters, even though most are considered to be evil beings, were easy to love and respect. Richelle is very good at creating new and exciting worlds and I'm not going to lie... she sure can write a good "love" scene. I was intrigued with the way she incorporated the author character, Seth, into the book. It made me wonder if he had been based off of herself. He was just as sweet and down-to-earth as she seems to be. I cannot wait to hear more about him in the next book. As for now, I have not yet decided what to read next... whether I will continue directly with her series or wait a bit so that it will last longer.

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I am currently working a few crochet projects and plan to have pictures available soon. I did, however, crochet a cute little drawstring pouch that I carried on my wedding day... so I will post pics of that. I just improvised this pattern so if anyone needs help just message me and I can tell you how I did it.

Book 4 of 52:

I love to read... obviously or I wouldn't be challenging myself to read 52 books  in 52 weeks. When I first start a book I can tell pretty instantly whether or not I will make it through the whole thing. Its rare for me not to finish a book but every so often one will come a long that I just cannot get into. Then there are the books that, although they are not life altering, I am able to read them all the way through even though I find myself to be a bit bored or just not completely invested. Tithe by Holly Black was one of the latter. I was able to read the entire book but I found it all to easy to put down and often noticed that I had become wholly distracted... and not only by things around me but also by my own thoughts. I kept drifting off into different worlds and would come back each time to find that I had read an entire page and had no clue what it said. I did quite a bit of re-reading. I felt the author had many good plot ideas but that they could have been executed better. I was engaged more by the bits and pieces dedicated to the lead characters' relationship than by the fantasy of the book. Normally, the fantasy makes the relationship more intriguing for me. I will read the rest of the trilogy but not just yet.
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I have never seen
such an exquisite painting
on four legs
Intricate colors blend
together forming wild patterns
As if she were a mistake
A slip of the hand
forcing the brush
to dance recklessly
across the canvas

Only nature could
accomplish such a mistake.
No other artist
could fabricate a
stunning masterpiece
like her
So much beauty
on such a small being.

(a house I use to pet sit at had a gorgeous stray cat that lived right in the neighbor hood. she was quite young, had been spayed, vaccinated etc by a neighbor. I would spend more time outside with her than inside with the others because I fell completely in love with her. she inspired this poem. photos below are of her) When she would hear me pull up she would come around to my car and peek under my door when I opened it.

Book 3 of 52

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins starts off a bit slower paced than the prequel The Hunger Games. At first I felt as though it was just written to follow up on the characters and if I had been looking only for more action I should just stop reading. Then about half way in it becomes quite clear that you will be in for another fantastical, gripping ride. Suzanne Collins is one of the best authors I have encountered in a long time. The imagination on this woman is limitless and unparalelled. I hope the third book in this trilogy comes out soon because i am unsure of how long I will be able to wait.
And I just found out that the third book will be out in August. Oy that seems like a long wait


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There are only a few crochet projects that i have not yet posted on here so I figure I will finish them off today so I can continue on blogging each time I create something new.

I made this baby blanket, hat and booties for my brother's best friend and his wife. They just welcomed a new member of the family last month, a sweet baby boy named Ethan. I got the patterns out of a book from Michael's.

I wanted to make a special stocking for my cat Peanut Butter. She has been with me the longest and is my baby girl. This started out as a pattern for a slipper that looked like an elf shoe. I tweeked it a lot and this was the result.  Here is the link for the slippers.

And this is the stocking I made for our rabbit, Gadget. I also got this pattern from a crochet book.

Book 2 of 52

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a book that deserves all the words in the world but leaves you completely speechless and unable to gather any kind of cohesive thought. The Hunger Games has the ability to bring you to tears but you are so shocked at times that the tears never come. Right away I was able to describe this book as both completely intriguing and utterly devastating. You end up loving both Katniss and Peeta, even when they do the unspeakable. They do the things they do out of the fear of losing everything and that... makes them real. They hurt each other, they hurt those around them, they even hurt themselves and in a setting that one could never imagine to be real. But the pain they feel and the pain they cause, the confusion and love that consumes them... all these things make them more relatable than any other fictional characters. I don't find books like this often enough but when I do it's effects can last a lifetime.


Often I felt reminders of other things i have read and watched but all in all this book is one of a kind. I can't imagine that the second book can live up to this one (I have already started it and it is good so far). (Things the Hunger Games reminded me of: The Uglies series, The Giver, The Village, Hatchet)
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My latest crochet project was a gift for Mike's brother in law.

Bat-Logo Chart was by Merissa Raymond Hat pattern I used was by April Draven




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Forever Moth

I stretch out
after emerging from
the cocoon of my old self
A new creature
A new person
A new mind
I desire to be the painted butterfly
But my reflection
in the clear water
shows a moth
of white
I hope that this is not me
but the water
The water is plain
and reflects the only thing
it has ever known
I know that I am wrong
I wish for what I cannot have
I wish to be what I am not
Better than before
Yet best all the same.