I love going to sleep

         Laying in bed right now doing some reading and throughly enjoying myself. I've not been sleeping well for the past couple of weeks for some odd reason! I go to bed and then wake up for no reason after 5 or 6 hours and can't fall back asleep. It's really annoying and it's beginning to wear me out. I feel tired every day and it's at it's peak during choir, which is of course very inconvenient.

         Choir. This is kind of an upsetting topic lately. I can't seem to think of any nice things to say about it. Choir's not been going well. We're working on the Faure requiem right now (which is frankly too easy for a choir of our calibar) and it's been quite taxing to work on day in and day out. I never feel like we've accomplished anything of consequence and we don't sound very good. I just can't put myself through this next year. We have a new director this semester and she has a very slow method of learning the music which can be very irritating for me. The first time we sight read through the piece I almost got it down. THE FIRST TIME!!! That shouldn't happen in a concert choir. It's not challenging me at all.

          Other than choir I really have nothing to complain about at the moment. The play has been going well. I think I'm vibing well with the other actors on stage which is good. Someone said that I was doing a really good job with not only my lines but with unspoken context of the scene as well which is nice to hear. No tests or papers due this week. Just trying to slug through classes and get to the weekend. Going to do a google hangout with some members of the Cast off Crew this Saturday which I am so pumped about! Hope to learn some more about those lovely people.

 Knitting/Crochet:
           The 10,000 meter challenged hosted by gimmeyarn418 on youtube has offically begun as of April 1st. Our challenge is to knit/crochet 10,000 meters in 3 months. I've already submitted 1 completed project and am now working on a much larger one. I'll post some pics below. The headband will be sold at a craft fair this summer. Thinking of pricing it around $15 although I'm not sure if that's too much or too little. Hard to tell really. It is made with alpaca so that inclines me to mark it up to $20 but it is just a headband. Idk! Thoughts anyone??? I could use some advice.

 

I've also been working on a granny square blanket for my cousin's graduation from college. It's made with caron simply soft (not a huge fan of the shininess but it's washable and easily accessable so I'll just have to deal with it).

 

 

My pinky is starting to hurt from all of this crocheting though! I need to do some knitting to switch things up. I'll try to get another row sewed onto my scrapgan. That's all for tonight. Good night all!

 

Olivia <3

 

Sloppy bun kind of a day

         Today I don't want to do a damn thing. Spring break is over and I'm left wondering how it's possible that it's already over. Didn't wash or brush my hair today and it's a hot mess. But I can't bring myself to do anything about it. It's just that kind of  a day.

          A lots been going on since school's started again. I performed in my friend's directing scene on Monday. The scene was from the play Agnes of God (really really crazy screwed up play btw) and it went pretty well. I was very worried that I was going to forget my lines but I did fine. There was one part that we kind of skipped over, but we all went with it and it wasn't noticed by the audience I'm sure. Along the same lines the play I am in had rehearsal yesterday night off book and I did pretty well. I screwed up a couple of lines but it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so to get down.

          Also coming up is a theoretical google hangout with some of the other members of the cast off crew. It would be like a virtual knit night (most would be crocheting and it might not be nighttime for some participating) but I think it will be really cool! I'd love to meet these people face to face, which isn't really going to be possible but this is close enough.

          Knitting/Crochet:
          Have gotten a lot of stuff done lately, most of which is granny squares. Using awful color combinations intentionally. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Finally got my cousin the headband that she requested. She seems to really like it which makes me very happy. Her roommates apparently liked them too because I've gotten 2 orders for a head band now and 2 orders for some golf club covers so I'll have to get started on that soon. I'm going to save all the money that I make from it to have a nice date night with my bf again. Go see a movie and have a nice dinner, something along those lines. We don't get out  much as it costs so much stinking money!

Hope you're all well,

Olivia

Not bummer summer list

          Summer is quickly approaching and I couldn't be any more excited. There's a lot of things I want to do this summer so I am going to make a list and hopefully accomplish as many of them as possible before the end of summer.


     1. Go camping at least once (backyard doesn't count)
     2. Reread the Harry Potter series
     3. Go on a lot of bike rides
     4. Make some $$
     5. Go on a weekend trip with the bf
     6. Spend at least 5 days at the lake
     7. Knit and crochet a bunch!
     8. Have at least 1 picnic
     9. Join a golf league
    10. Go to the bar with friends
    11. Make a pineapple upside down cake
    12. Swim across the lake and back
    13. Have a garden
   

To be continued when I can think of more fun things

Knitting/Crochet:

Have finished a lot since the last update. Got another row on the blanket, knit another baby hat, made a headband for my cousin's roomie, crocheted some 8" granny squares for charity and have almost knit enough squares for another row on the Ron Weasley blanket

 

 

Spring BREAK IS HEREEEEEE

          Spring Break has arrived and I am ecstatic! Granted I have to do a ton of stuff over break (like write a 7 page paper about the ethics of abortion and memorize lines for two plays)  but I get to do a lot of really fun stuff as well.

          Made the 3 hour and 20 minute drive to Ian's folks house today. The roads were supposed to be pretty bad, but luckily they were really clear for us the whole way. Upon arrival we stuffed our faces with delicious Vietnamese food (and by we I really mean me of course). Spent the day visiting and hanging out. Tomorrow Liesl's coming over to Ian's house and we're going to go thrifting. Should be really great to see her. We're also going to film a best friend quiz challenge thing where we test each others knowledge of one another. I hope it turns out well haha, could see it going badly.

          Nothing else of consequence really. Wrote a paper this morning for class for my history class that I think will get a pretty good grade. It was a source review of this book that we were supposed to read for class about the murder of Helen Jewett which happened 1836. She was a prostitute in New York City and was brutally murdered by one of her customers.

         

           Knitting/Crochet:
          Got some basic knitting done, more squares for my blanket! It's really coming along. I've gotten 4 rows pieced together now. I'm in love with it. So cute. Also working on a baby hat with cables. I shall post a picture of that when it's finished. Cheers,

Olivia

Should be studying

          Should be studying...that's kind of the story of my life at college! I have a test in less than an hour and I should be studying (and I kind of am) but I'm not working as hard as I probably should be. I just don't usually have to study very hard for history exams *knock on wood*. Not to mention I got a 94% on the last paper I wrote for this class and I wrote it literally right before class. I'm such a bad student!!!!! But unfortunately usually it pays off so I'm not learning any good study habits.

          So not a lot new going on. We started filming for my friends movie "Speaker" this last weekend. On Saturday we filmed for a whopping 6 hours! That's not even that long compared to how long some of our shoots have gone. They can really turn into long days! The movies kind of Sci-Fi and is only going to be about 10 minutes or so I'd guess. I don't really have to do much for it. Just get everyone fed with the budget given to me and sometimes carry stuff or hold lights exc. Nothing too demanding. My friend Deon was also cast as the main actress so I get to hang out with her while we're waiting for them to get everything set up for the shot. We got to knit some on set which was fun.

          New youtube video came out last week : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIiQSgJdnFU

           I've been doing a lot of play practice lately. I'm not only in my friend's play now but I'm also in her directed scene which has meant a lot of work for me. I've got to memorize some lines by the end of spring break so that I've got it down pat for her class. I've also got to start working on the visiter's script too. Lots of memorization in my future.

          Knitting/Crochet:
Well I've gotten a fair amount done since last time! I crocheted 3 baby hats and knit 2 more. I also sewed together 3 rows of my Ron Weasley blanket. Really pleased with how that's turning out. I am out of squares for it though so I've started knitting a few more. I already finished 2 and I'm working on a 3rd right now. Also pattern testing a hat for someone in the cast off crew although I'm worried I'm going to run out of yarn which means I'll have to use something else which I'm not thrilled about. That's about it really. Hope you're all doing well! Happy Knitting/Crocheting

Bright Morning Star

         Hello all! I'm done with my classes for the day, I just have choir at 5 to get through and then I'm free for the night! Wooo! I'm going over to my friends house tonight to hang out for a while. We are going to work on planning our St. Patrick's Day dinner party! I'm pretty excited about it. Should be very fun! I think we're also going to watch a short documentary about wild chickens on the prarie. I know, we're probably the coolest college kids you've ever heard of.

          This weekends going to be pretty relaxed for me. Sunday I've got a choir concert that I am looking forward to! It's our first concert with our new director and it should go pretty well I suppose. Here's a little taste of the music we'll be singing. (Not our choir singing it, but we are performing this piece)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loAK1vTnmjs&list=PLilFzxsnbjU_Gc6BvOz29B6oaVVZjraUP
      
         Knitting and crochet: I will be working on pattern testing a hat for a friend from Cast off Crew. I was struggling with it the first couple of times but I think I've got it now! Fingers crossed I get that to work out nicely. Other than that, nothing much going on today. We're also singing this song for the concert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya45ptebsh8&list=PLilFzxsnbjU_Gc6BvOz29B6oaVVZjraUP&index=2

Very pretty! It's been stuck in my head all day long! Cheers,

Olivia

Sorry it's been a bit

          Sorry it's been so long! I kept getting distracted by other things (most of them were unimportant unfortunately). So what's been going on in no paticular order:

          Had my 2nd play rehersal and it was very fun! We played some improv games and they were super funny to watch and be a part of. I don't have any more rehersals this week.

          I have been rehersing a ton for our impending choir concert. We have a new director this semester and it's been a little rough going. Things just aren't the same, which I knew would happen, but I feel like we aren't where we should be right now with a concert 4 days away!!! It's on Sunday but I'm not sure when exactly haha. I should probably look into that.

          I had a really great day last Sat. with some friends. Me and 2 other girls got together and had a lovely day of cooking and crafting. It was very nice to have some lady time. We made sweet and savory french toast for breakfast of our own creation. It was very experimental but ended up tasting great! The savory french toast was prepared with eggs and milk and then cooked normally and in a seperate pan we cooked up some butter, garlic, kale, and brocolli to put on top. Then we garnished it with cheese. This was really deliciuos, very pleased with how it turned out. For the sweet one we really went out on a limb. We added chopped apple, banana, cinnamon, cloves, peanut butter and some blueberries to a blender and mixed it throughly until it was the consistency of a thin smoothie. We cooked the french toast normally, then spread nutella over it and added chopped strawberries. Then we drizzled our concoction over it and garnished with fresh blueberries. It was very very tasty. Then we did a little crafting :) It was a much needed ladies day

          Yesterday I finished knitting this hat that has been the bane of my existance. It was an absolute PAIN to knit! It was knit on US size 4's which was half of the problem. The other difficulty was all of the cabling. It looks so fabulous but it was such a time consuming hat. Oh well, giving it to my friend and she's going to appreciate it like it deserves to be <3 Here's a pic for you all. I'm going to get a picture of the lovely lady modeling it for me to show off (after I make my cast-off crew video of course).

          Other than those things nothing much has been going on except for school which is boring so I won't mention it! Hope you're well,

Olivia

Lovely weekend

     I had a really lovely weekend at home with my parents. On friday night I got home around 8 and spent most of the night home with my brother just hanging out. We did make a run to the grocery store for ingredients for the meal I made on Sat.

     Sat. I went shopping a bit with mom. I got a new pair of winter boots. My old pair were really falling apart so I needed some new ones. The new ones were on sale for $20 which is pretty great for a pair of boots! They're tall, almost up to my knees, and are pretty plain (which I like). I probably should have bought 2 pair of boots at that price, but I got a sweatshirt instead that is lined with thermal material. It's deliciously warm :) Great for winter. I also cooked a really good meal on Saturday for the family. Beef stew with herb dumblings. I've never made stew or dumplings but they both turned out really great! I will definitely be making that again. I think Ian would really like it. Dad and I went to the casino later. Didn't go so well, but it was fun to spend some time with him alone. Just like it was nice to have some time alone with mom while boot shopping and time with Matt Friday night

     Overall I'm really happy I went home. I'll be going home again in 2 weeks for Matt's confirmation and hopefully this time Ian can come. I know it kind of bothers mom that Ian doesn't come over much so maybe this time it'll work out.

     I'll end this post with a pic of the tree I mentioned in previous posts. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's so cute :) <3

Got it

     I got the part :)))) So relieved. I just didn't know if I would get it or not, but I did. Turns out my characters only in like 2 scenes, but whatever. I GOT THE PART. That's what matters people!

     Weather permitting I'll be going home tonight to see my family. I am really excited! I haven't seen them since school started again so it'll be nice to kick it at home for a bit. I miss my dog too, even if he is a little turd most of the time. Apparently my brother went on a "friend" date last night so I'll have to grill him about that.

     I also had a test today in Geology. I hope I did ok. Not really sure how it went. I thought maybe it went ok, but then Ian (Who also took the test) thought he did bad and he knew more than I did when we were reviewing, so who really knows. It always feels like I do better on tests when I thought I did horribly, so maybe I need to tell myself that I did horrible? It's our first test in this class so I'm hoping that he curves it. Most science/math profs here curve tests, but that doesn't mean he will so I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait until I get it back.

I was called back!!!

         Auditions went a lot later last night than I had anticipated. We were there form 6: 30 to about 8:45. That's a pretty long audition for 6 people if you ask me!

          I decided that I wanted to go to my ethics class early today, and on the way swing by the HFA to check the call backs list. I made it!! I am going to the second and final audition tonight. There were 4 ladies called back and there are only 3 female roles so I really really hope I get a part. I would be kind of bummed if I didn't get anything :/ It's the first play I've gotten the courage up to try out for since I've started college here (2 1/2 years ago) so I'd feel really discouraged if I didn't get it. I'll just have to suck it up I suppose!

          It's snowing again. Can you believe that??? Honestly we had a foot of snow over the weekend and we're already getting mooooooooore snow. How does this happen? Who ordered more snow? We don't need it. It is pretty, I'll give it that.

Knitting/Crochet/Crafting:
          No progress really. Guerrilla hearting tonight. Going to get Craft Club together at 10 to put our hearts up around campus. I hope I can film the tree tomorrow to add as a little segment at the end of my YouTube video. I'll try to take a pic or two to add on the blog as well.

Bye for now,

Olivia

Auditions and lovely weather

          Today is kind of a big day for me. My friend is directing a 1 act play and has asked me to audition for it tonight. I'm kind of nervous. I haven't done any acting since High School so it's been a while. I did speech and theatre in HS, but neither in college. 1. because Morris doesn't have a speech team and 2. because I didn't think I'd be good enough to audition for any plays here. But she asked me to audition and so I will. No guarntees. There's only 1 female role so if I don't get that one I don't get a part. Oh well, if I don't get it what is it going to hurt? It's not a huge deal. It would just be kind of fun to do a show again, maybe meet some new people. My biggest fear honestly is that I'll get really nervous at the auditions and start shaking when doing something and that would be embarassing. I'll just try to tell myself that it's not a huge deal if I don't get the role. Some of the people auditioning are theatre majors so it's not like I'm a huge failure if I lose the role to one of them.

         Nothing else special is going on today. I've just got my Immigration in US History class and then choir at 5. But the weather outside is absolutely gorgeous. It's 28 degress outside and sunny so it feels pretty good. I honestly feel like I could walk to class without my coat. It's been cold the past couple of weeks so 28 feels like 58. The sun is melting some of that snow we got too so it's nice to see some of it go.

Knitting/Crochet/Crafting:
I cast on a baby's hat last night for charity. Hope to get it finished by tonight for one of my Harry Potter knitting club assignments. I'm in this group on Ravlery that is Harry Potter themed. You get sorted into a house and then you have "classes" every month and you have to turn in assignments for them. For each class you get a prompt for your assignment and you have to knit or crochet something that fits within those prompts. The baby hat is for quidditch challenge 2 where you have to craft something that can provide sun protection - thus the hat.

Thats all for now,

Olivia

         

* Snow * Snow *Snow *

          I am just going to post a little blurb quick before class. It snowed a TON over the weekend and everything's gotten a little messed up because there's so much damn snow everywhere. I had to dig my car out 3 times in my parking lot, shovel the lot, and clean out the entrance to our lot twice. UGHGHGHGHGH I like snow but not this much. It is super irritating when there's so much of it. Plus, they didn't cancel classes today so I have to haul ass around campus trying to get through all of the crap and it's so irritating. If you're not going to cancel class the least you could do is cleaning the sidewalks around campus. Sorry, I'm crabby today. Can you tell haha??

Knitting/Crochet
          As far as knitting and crocheting is concerned I've been fairly busy. I finished knitting my mittens and now I've just got to felt them and they'll be ready to wear! I'm very pleased with how they've turned out so far. Hopefully they'll fit nicely after they're felted. If not I'll be a bit peeved, but will just have to find someone that they do fit.

          Valentine's Day is only a fewdays away so I'm going to try and knit a few more hearts for our Craft club project. The CC will be decorating a couple of trees on campus with the hearts we've knit/crocheted/crafted the night before Vday. I hope the other students like it. It's kind of meant to be a little treat for them. We'll see I suppose. I have aprox. 2 and 1/2 days left to get some hearts whipped up so we'll see what I can do. Here's just a sampling of the hearts we've made so far:

I've got to run. I've got class in 10. I'll hopefully start posting fairly regularly.

Olivia