Quick Book Review

All right, lately I haven't had a lot of time for reading. Turns out, two jobs and full time grad school takes up most of my schedule. Who knew, right?

Anyway, I have been able to read one book: Triggered by Fletcher Wortmann. It's a memoir about the challenges of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and his own struggles with the disease. I found it a fun and enlightening read because I myself occasionally have anxiety attacks and have been considered OCD in the past. My decision to read it stemmed from the desire to understand the disorder better and to see it through the eyes of someone else.

Wortmann has a very clear voice when he writes, and I also found it easy to relate to him (aside from his love of dinosaurs. There's definitely something about boys and dinosaurs I don't think I will ever fully understand, but will happily support). There were moments when he wrote passages that immediately reminded me of myself, such as when talking about his shy nature he mentions that if he didn't have something profound to say, he would say nothing at all and would end up being ignored. Something I have also experienced many times.

The writing is light and humorous most of the time, but Wortmann then quickly shifts into a darker, harsher tone to illustrate his struggles. He also successfully keeps the story mainly on himself and allows the other people in his life to be mentioned, but never tainted with bitterness or dislike. Even when talking about "The Girl," the first girl he ever loved, she becomes a mix of problems, but also hints at what made her such an intriguing person.

Some of the writing becomes awkward, but the book is hard to put down. It moves quickly through his childhood and college years (since Wortmann is still in his twenties, there's not much more) and gives just the right amount of his everyday life and his struggles with the disorder, allowing a thorough and indulging narrative into his life and mind.

Although I don't feel like I now fully understand OCD after reading Triggered, I do feel like I have more respect for those suffering from mental illnesses and can now also see more of a spectrum of disorders rather than a black and white version of either you have a mental illness or you don't.

Procrastination...

Now, I don't know how many people out there are fans of the video game, Sly Cooper, but I certainly am. I pretty much got a Playstation 2 of my own just so I could get my hands on Sly Cooper: Theivius Racoonus, not to mention Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. My brother and I now wait impatiently for the fourth game, that likes to push back its release date. I thought I would have it last fall, but now anxiously hope to play it this summer!

Sly Cooper. Cute little racoon, isn't he?

Granted, I don't have a PS3, but my wonderful brother does. It will be his game and I offered to help buy it as part of his birthday present (since games are expensive and we're both suffering from college-syndrome). He assures me he'll let me play the game in the summer after he's beaten it, and I know he'll be true to his word. He's a good guy, my brother.

Anyhoo, I recently found a link on reddit , where a girl made these adorable and a half headbands based off of her favorite things. The full thread can be followed here. I was immediately inspired and wanted to make my own. I liked how thin she made them as well as how unique they were.

marmosetohmarmoset is awesome.

I had always wanted something that could illustrate my love for Sly Cooper and the gang and ended up with a pretty simply design. Sly has a logo he likes to place on the crime scene just to mess with Inspector Carmelita, and it's quite snazzy, if I may say.

Sly leaving his calling card.

So naturally, I made it into a headband.

Sly Cooper Headband

I put a button at the end so that I could make it tighter if I wanted to. I've already gotten some compliments for it because I've worn it to work. It's a nice little accessory and takes barely any time to make at all!

So, a long post for something small, but what's life without the story?

Christmas Crafts Part Two

All right, so this post will focus on the odds and ends I made for my family. Most were inspired by the people who ended up getting the gifts, and no two are the same. Here we go again:

The only scarf I have ever knitted. A fun experience, but I'll stick with crochet, thanks.

A Pokeball for my dearest and favorite brother (fortunately, I only have one).

A necklace for my sister.

Matching earrings also for my sister.

I just realized I did not take pictures of the other necklace I made, but that's fine. My last project for the season involved painting tins for other people. I ended up painting five with acrylic paint.

These are the lids before I painted, but after I put gesso on them.

I first put gesso on the tins as shown above. For those non-artsy folk, gesso is an acrylic base that helps the paint perform better on the material. Usually, it's used on  canvas so that the paint doesn't just soak into the canvas and makes it easier for the artist. In this  case, it made it a lot easier to paint on the metal tins.

Sailing on Lake Erie

A sled in the snow

Tragoss, Austria

Skating on the Green Lake

Puppies in the snow

The ones with the mountains are from pictures I took while traveling in Switzerland and Austria. I did add the snow because when I was there, it was May, but that's a technicality. Each tin took about forty minutes or so to paint. I altered the images to also include a little character for the people who would eventually own them, such as the dogs in the last image.

I filled them with homemade Turkish Delight, but I'll probably not be making candy again anytime soon. Let's just say it was an educational experience and leave it at that. It's my favorite candy ever since living in London for a semester (see my blog, Mind the American for more on that) and I wanted to share it with others. The tins were the real present though, and I'm happy with how they turned out.

Stay tuned for more creativity and nonsense!

Christmas Crafts Part One

Well, it's been awhile, but here we go again. Since the  end of my first semester of grad school, I immediately descended into crafty mode for the wonderful Christmas holiday. I was so busy, I will need multiple posts (probably three) to show off everything I made. Today, I will focus only on the many many many-- and by that I mean seventeen-- Christmas cards I made for my fantastic group of family and friends here they are:

These are mainly the ones that liked loading. I made them from recycled wrapping paper we use at one of my jobs. This might become a tradition of mine, and it only took a Sunday to make them all. The best part was making each card unique for someone special to me.

Tune in next time for the rest of my nifty creations!