Costumes, CONs and everything else

So Jason and I are turning 30 this year and were going to have a Halloween themed costume party to celebrate. Haven't quite figured out the details of the party yet but have a good starting off point. We're going to dress up as Link and Tetra from the Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker (or Phantom Hourglass ...whatevs) =P



I'm hoping that they'll be fairly simple costumes to make, they don't look to terribly in depth *fingers crossed*. I do however need to get cracking on finding wigs for us. I refuse to buy the cheap-o ones you can get at the Halloween store they never look right. I think I've figured out a way to do Tetra's updo with help from Kell Kelldar, so now it's just a matter of finding the right shade and splurging the money on it.

Jason and I have also decided that we want to do a big fancy costume for CONvergence next year, specifically Mal and Kaylee's outfits from the Firefly episode Shindig.

I'm honestly more excited for those costumes than the ones I have to make for our party next month *doh!*. I've been researching how other people have made the dress and it honestly seems pretty straight forward (although I've never taken on a project of this size). I'll have to invest in a dress form, I'm hoping I can snag one on the cheap at day after thanksgiving sale.

I'm super excited for CON next year. It was so much fun, can't wait to start making new costumes for it. At this point in time I'm thinking: Poison Ivy (the Bruce Timm version) & Hammer Groupie (to match Jason's Dr. Horrible). I have to make some updates to Dark Phoenix before I wear it again. I copped out and just dyed white gloves I had and tried to match them the best I could and looking back at pictures I really wish I would have taken the extra time to make the gloves out of the matching fabric. I also need to make better boot covers. I again tried to cut corners by just buying some yellow heels that were close enough in color and just wearing them on the outside of the "boot" but it's really noticeable in photos. I hope to buy a wig for my Luna Lovegood costume before i wear it again ...it's fine without it ...but I think it' would really finish it off nicely (not quite sure people know who I am without the long crazy blonde hair).

Not much else going on right now, Jason and i are still on opposite schedules. With him working overnights at target and me working the 3-11 shift at the hotel we pretty much never get to see each other (even though we live together) =P

Went to Ren Fest last weekend and had tons of fun. We were there from 9am to 7pm. I bought a leather pouch for my Tetra costume to serve as her wallet (I'm going to go to Micheal's and buy some plastic gems to be her rupees). Also bought a zelda ocarina, it's really cool! It came with sheet music for most of the zelda songs. I've been able to get pretty good at Epona's song and Zelda's Lullaby.

I'm hoping to stat up my yoga DVD again ...I'm so good for a couple of days then I just lose interest. Now that it's cooling off I'm also hoping I'll get more bike rides in ...it's just been waaaaay to hot to ride the bike lately.

Yayz!!

Looong time no post ...

First weekend in July was CONvergence, which was tons of fun!! can't wait for next year, already planning costumes. Thursday night was day 1 and I went dressed up as Dark Phoenix, Jason and Natasha just went in street clothes. Friday I dressed up in my Luna Lovegood costume and Jason went as Dr. Horrible (red version). Saturday I dressed up as Dr. Horrible and Jason went as Penny ...after a couple of hours I switched back to Dark Phoenix and Jason back to Dr. Horrible. The con itself was really neat ...didn't get to see to many of the panels cause i was working when those were going on, but the party rooms that open up at night time we're really fun. Next year we're going to ask off from work and stay at the hotel instead of driving back home each night =P
...once i figure out how to get the pictures off my phone i'll upload a few of them.


So Jason moved in on Saturday and from what I heard it went well (I had to work) =(

We haven't been able to do much since then though ...there are boxes everywhere in the living room/kitchen. We've been able to get the bedroom mostly sorted out, moved the dresser into the closet and even made room for his big desk. Not quite sure where we're going to put the bikes though =P
When I have a couple days off in a row again I think I'm going to try to tackle the storage closet.

Some of the gang participated in something called the Warrior Dash last sunday, it was this crazy 5k that took place down at afton alps. You had to run up and down the ski slopes and over "obstacles" ...and the last two obstacles were a fire pit that you had to jump over and a mud pit you had to jump into and army crawl through. It was soooo much fun,

This morning when Jason came home from work he said that he had a surprise with him ...turns out his surprise was the giant Darth Vader Lego display that they were getting rid of. It's awesome!!


Lastly I've decided to open up an Etsy shop and sell some Harry Potter cloaks, so if you know anyone who would be interested you can direct them to GeekLove81. I'll be selling other things as well ...all nerd related so stay tuned!

The Yoga Experiment cont...

So today marks day 3 of the yoga dvd workout ..its geting easier each time so I think its just a matter of getting into the habit of doing it everyday ...or at least everyother day =P

Going out with my friend katie tonight for drinks ...I've had this groupon for $40 worth of food and drinks for like 5 months and were finally using it.

The Yoga Experiment

So I bought the biggest loser yoga dvd in hopes of getting into some better shape. Today was day one and I like that its not terribly long. Not counting the warm up and cool down its only 20 mins long.

I hope I stick with it ...I always seem to start these things and never follow through with them.

I still need to pick up a yoga mat ...doh! =P

Snow-My-God 3

...whiteout...
...someone dug a path...
...someone tried to drive through the parking lot to find a spot by the door, they had to shovel their way there...
...and they finally found a spot, it humors me that they went through all that work when there were spots on the otherside close to where they first got stuck...
...the plow finally shows up, there must be over a foot of snow out there...
...and it's still snowing over 30 hours later...

Snow Day

Snow day snow day ...oh the joys of living in Minnesota in the winter time =P

It's snowing like crazy outside today ...the weather channel is predicting upwards of 15 inches in some parts of the cities. I bought "rations" last night that should hopefuly last me through the bad weather so I don't have to go outside ..and by "rations" I mean frozen pizzas, cheetos and mt dew ...haha =P


I do have other food in the house that was just easy snacking food incase I don't feel like cooking.

I'm using the day inside to get caught up on crafty type things ...finishing off another harry potter robe today (and watching harry potter ...cause what else would you watch while your crafing harry potter robes), and then I hope to either work on my Dr Horrible blanket/rug or more star wars dolls =D

Jason got me The Legend of Zelda: Sprit Tracks for valentines day ...love it!! Of course anything Zelda is good in my books though.

I'll be going home this upcoming weekend for my brother's 18th birthday ...ahhhh! Tried asking him what he wanted ...and he was like "I guess Wii points would be cool ...ahhh Marty.

Things & Stuff

So I've been on a Harry Potter kick recently and I've been stockpiling fabrics to make some HP cloaks for friends/family. I made Shanon a Sytherin cloak today. Pic to come later, haven't taken one of it yet.

They don't take to terribly long ...I'd say from start to finish they take about maybe 4 hours. This one turned out so much better than mine, I used a way lighter fabric this time around (cause the pattern calls for almost 10 yards of fabric) and as much as I love my Ravenclaw one I think I'm going to sell it on Ebay or Etsy and make a new one cause I kid you not it prolly weights like 5 pounds. Plus the first one involved quite a bit of trial and error and I never quite liked how I had attached the hood.

This time around I figured out how to get all the seams hidden and machine stich the whole thing! Yayz!! =D *happy dance*

In other news I started up with Weight Watchers again cause I've gained 10 pounds from when I quit them almost 2 years ago ...and it really did seem to help, I lost like 20 some pounds while I was doing it. So I'm hoping that this can help me get into better shape and just be healthier in general. And it seems that they've changed how the points operate since the last time I was a memember. You get more daily points and weekly points but food items seem to carry a bigger point value this time around. So we'll see I bought a 3 month membership.

8 Bit Dr Horrible blanket is coming along, I've finally moved on to the last color of the granny squares ...only 78 more to go!! woo!

Nerdly Things

So I was intrigued by these dolls that Kell Kelldar got as a christmas present ...and thought to myself how hard could it be to make some for myself. So I researched the dolls ...apparently they're called amigurumi dolls and people have made all sorts of them (Firefly, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars ...and so on).

Well here was my first attempt at it, a Leia doll ...



I think it turned out pretty good for my first try. I hope to eventually make a whole set of them =D

Speaking of other nerdly things I was also inspired by this awesome Mario 3 rug i found while surfing the interwebs and I've decided that I'm going to make my own 8 bit Dr Horrible version *glee* =D

Christmas and Stuff

Well the holidays have come and gone just as quickly as they always do. Jason got me the Mass Effect N7 hoodie *glee*


and Season's 2 and 3 of Private Practice guess I talked about wanting them enough =P


Went home for a couple of days and Jason came with me. Had tons of fun while back home, we went skiiing (Jason's first time ...he did really good), saw True Grit ...which I must admit I liked a whole lot better than the orginal, went to Chang Garden and did the Hibachi for dinner ...it was soooo good we were all stuffed about halfway through out food. Played lots of board games (what?, trivial pursuit, rummy, farkle, bananagrams) and played lots of Wii.

I've been motivated recently to start up crocheting again. I started a huge afghan last fall (2009) and I've just recently started it up again. It's going to be way bigger than I anticipated so by the time it's done it'll be about the size of a queen sized bed ...oops! =P

I've also been intriuged by these dolls that I've seen on various crochet websites called amigurumi ...so I've been trying my luck at it. I've seen some really cool star wars ones and some really neat Firefly ones. I hope to make a couple different kinds, cause it doesn't seem to be that hard, and it's fun for passing the time.

I'm also going to look into how to make granny squares so I can make more blankets.

Not much else going on as of lately, the hotel is really slow with it being the holidays. Jason and I went and saw Black Swan the other day and it was a fantastic movie but extremely dark and intense. Total mind trip. I'd be shocked if Portman didn't win the globe she was nominated for.

Christmas Time

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate for sure

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
When I was little the "big" present from santa just sat under the tree, the others were wrapped.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I have colored right now but I've often wished I had white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
no

5. When do you put up your decorations?
I try to do it weekend after Thanksgiving but it usually ends up being a little bit after that.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
My family does appetizers for Christmas eve dinner ...it's lovely

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
Oh gosh, I don’t know a specific one. Lots of good memories though.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I think I was like 10 or 11

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I have a pre-lighted tree and I put my nerdy hallmark ornaments up and glitter snowflake ornaments.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Well I grew up in Wisconsin and I live in Minnesota so snow kinda comes with the territory ...I like it to a certain extent so I can enjoy winter sports but when February rolls around I'm over it =P

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I don't remember if it was a birthday gift or a Christmas gift but the year I got my NES was awesome!!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Spending time with my family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Grandmas grasshopper pie ...yum!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
As of lately my family makes appetizers for Christmas eve dinner and then we go sledding, play games and watch our fave movies (Christmas or not). We've also stopped giving each other presents cause that's not what Christmas is supposed to be about.

17. What tops your tree?
Nothing.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. Not that I don't like receiving I just enjoy buying things for people and watching them open it.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Grandma got run over by a reindeer.

20. Candy Canes?
You betcha

21. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized?
Very much so. Don't get me started on the retails stores that start putting Christmas decorations out BEFORE Halloween.

22. Real tree or artificial?
We had real growing up ...but I have a fake one and I just plug in a pine scented air freshener behind it.

23. Do you put lights up on the outside of your house?
No. I live in an Apartment so that kind of makes it hard.

24. Do you do a Christmas Dinner or Supper and who cooks?
My mom makes a beef tenderloin.

25. Is your family the everyone unwraps gifts at once sort or do you do it one gift at a time as the others watch?
One at a time.

26. Do your pets share in the festivities?
That would require having pets.

Snowpocalypse

annnnnd ...it's the snowpocalypse outside =P


The snow was up to my knees in some parts ...

Tried leaving for work at around 1pm ...got stuck trying to pull out of the garage. Alaina had to come down and help dig me out.

gotta love living in minnesota ...hahah

Blog dump

Long time no post ...

The halloween costume turned out great! Ended up dying my old zelda gloves yellow instead of trying to make them and save myself the headache.


Working with spandex was certainly an adventure =P

Thanksgiving was crazy as usual ...but that's part of the fun. Mom and Aunt Diane's annual tacky Christmas gift exchange was hilarious as usual. Here's what Mom got Diane ...






Went to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 midnight show with Shanon and Cole ...I dressed up as Luna Lovegood. Hand sewed the robe myself ...and I must say it turned out quite well. Planning on making Shanon a Syltherin robe for part 2 =)


Now that school is pretty much over for the semester i hope to get some serious Fable 3 time in. Jason bought it for my birthday last month, but i haven't had anytime to play it recently =(
...The little bit I have been able to play I've enjoyed quite a bit though. They really reworked the way the game controls function ...some for the better some for the worse. I'm also pleased to see that it's acutally a different plot/story than Fable 2 was (such a disappointment).

Have a date with Jason planned for the 19th were going to go downtown to the Melting Pot for dinner and going to go ice skating at the Depot. Words don't describe how excited I am for this =D

that's all for now

Costume Update

Not much to report on the costume front ...have to make the gloves still (yuck!) and the logo, might try to work on that this week sometime. The shoes have been proving more difficult than expected and that has set me back a bit as well. nothing i can't figure out though.

In other news went to the Muse concert last night with a friend last minute and it was fantastic!! what a visual show they put on! =D

Bodysuit

The bodysuit for my costume showed up yesterday ...glee!!

Not much progress on the costume untill now, I was waiting for the suit to show up to finish up everything else. I'm going to have to rethink my boots, cause the ones i had picked out just aren't going to work. I think i've found a soulution though so not to worried about it.

Still debating about wether I want to buy white spandex and dye it gold to match the gloves I dyed. It would require spending more money that I really don't have =P

Here's my progress as of last night.

decisions decisions

well i cut out the fabric for my gloves today. but i'm still indifferent on making them, i really loved the idea of just dying the gloves yellow and avoiding the hassel of it all.

I really love the golden yellow color that the dyed gloves turned out to be. even though it means spending more money and "wasting" the fabric i already bought ...i'm really tempted to buy white spandex and dye it that golden yellow color so it would match the gloves. of couse i think of this after i spend all that money on the yellow spandex =/

Adventures in Sewing

So I've been working on my Halloween costume for a couple of days now and it's going ok I guess ...I'm working with spandex for the first time so it's been a bit of a trial by error. Oh yeah I'm going to be Dark Phoenix from X-Men =P

I had originally bought a pattern to make gloves but recently decided that it might be best to try to dye some gloves yellow instead of making them in spandex. It's not going as planned and after two attempts I think I might be admitting defeat and moving onto making them with the original fabric i bought.

Here's a couple of pics of what i've got so far: Wig, Spandex

I'm still waiting on the bodysuit to arrive ...not sure if i want to attempt the boots/covers without it. Still not sure how i want to go about making the boots anyways. I have some old boots from my haruko costume that i'll prolly use.