Inside Kimmy's Mind

I missed yesterday’s prompt, I was just too tired and ran out of time, but I’m ready for today’s topic.  Today’s Topic is….What are you passionate about?

Where to begin? I have no idea how to answer this question,  so let’s just dive in.

• School/Career-I’m extremely passionate about succeeding in school, I may not be a straight A student, but I still put everything I am into it. I do my best, and if that’s not good enough then I try again. I am almost done and can see the light, I just can’t skip any steps but I know I will make it.  And I may not know what my career will be after I finally make it through school, but I’m not just gonna twiddle my thumbs, I won’t stop until I find it. And again….I will find it.
• Hobbies- My hobbies are extremely important to me. They represent a huge part of me and I just love that I was able to discover them in this lifetime. I never thought knitting would be something that I focused on, but it is and I’m so glad it became so much more than just something I once did/attempted. I didn’t stop when it got hard, I just kept trying and I hope to keep that attitude in other things I may tackle.

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I am completely in love with the fall, Texas fall isn’t a great representation of what a fall should be though. But, there are days when the weather is absolutely perfect and that’s how my ideal day begins.

Now I have two versions of this day. The first one involves me never leaving the house. I get up early, open the windows and let in a cool breeze. It’s light sweater weather, so the breeze is just right. And the way the light streams in is just comfortable. As if to say, “Relax, you can do whatever you want.”

No tests, no homework due or work to get up for. No worries.

I’d do some stretches, I haven’t gone to hot yoga since my 30 days ended, but I still like to do some stretching when I have the time. After stretching, I’d do some knitting. I’ve just started double knitting and I’m hoping to finish my Star Wars scarf before it’s summer again. After knitting, I’d do some blogging. I try to condition myself into working at my desk, and for the most part I do. But every once in awhile I wonder over to the couch and make myself comfortable for blogging. I’d then probably do some more crafting, because I just can’t get enough of the stuff.  I’d make something to eat, or there would magically be something yummy to eat already. My sister would make a blueberry cobbler or some type of dessert. She’s becoming a master pastry chef. 🙂 But that’s the gist of version 1.

The second version involves me actually leaving the house. I’d want the boyfriend to join me on this outing, again the weather is just lovely, perfect for a day at the park or the zoo. We’d have a picnic, enjoy the breeze from a blanket while I knitted or read a book with him keeping me company. This day sounds pretty cliche, but I’ve actually had days like this before with him. But it has been awhile since we’ve gone to the park. Too hot or the rain ruins those type of plans. After lounging in the park, we’d go to a used bookstore. Those are the best, I love how long he takes. He can browse the architecture section  for hours before making a selection. Too cute. We’d go for lunch and then share some cake.

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I’ve decided to take part in the Brave Love Blog’s September blog challenge. BLOG-TEMBER! I’m excited because I’ve always started blog challenges before, but have fallen short on them in the past. I’m hoping this teaches me to plan ahead,  I’m gonna try to write more than one post ahead of time and schedule them. I’ve only ever schedule posts once in awhile, so that’s also a challenge I hope to beat.

Here we go…

September 1st: Introduction

Hello, welcome to my blog. I’m Kimmy and I’m excited to get a glimpse into your lives and let you see a bit into mine, so pull up a chair and get comfortable. I sometimes drone on a bit too much, but that’s just part of who I am. In 11 days I will be 26, and yes that day represents a number of different things but for me, it was the day of my existence…well, as a fully formed person and not as a sea monkey. Odd thing to say….more awkward moments to ahead. Here are a few things about me…..

 -I love crafting:  That includes a bunch of things, knitting/crochet, scrap-booking, sewing, card making (ect)

-I’m the middle child, I have two sisters. My older sis is a Graphic Designer and the younger one, who is also my roommate, is a Pastry Chef. We collaborate over here and we just launched our Etsy account. We sell handmade things so feel free to stop by our store and blog. 🙂

– I’m hoping to graduate in the Spring.

-I love visiting bookstores and miss the fact that I haven’t been reading as much as I used to. Please leave some book suggestions. I want to update my To read list and hopefully tackle it.

-I really want to adopt a kitty, but my apartment makes it impossible with the amount of fees that goes into owning a pet at my complex. Thankfully Instagram exists and I can live vicariously through other cat owners.

To summarize, I’m a cat loving, sister having, school going, and all around crafter. Pleased to meet you all. I want this challenge to highlight a positive outlook and  I know I’ll gain inspiration from my fellow bloggers,  I hope I can offer you the same. Have you completed blog challenges before? I’d like to know.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Since having my galaxy tab 4, I’ve been getting a little app crazed and I’m totally fine with that. Here’s a list of the recent apps I’ve downloaded.

Games

• Monument Valley– I’ve mentioned this one before, but they’ve brought out new levels since then. This game remains gorgeous no matter how many times I play it. I adore it.
• Plants vs Zombies– This game is great, when it was originally released I couldn’t download it so I played it on my DS. Even now, it’s still a favorite. I haven’t played the new one yet, but only because the original is just too great.
• Alphabear– This is such a cute game, even though it makes me feel as though my vocabulary is limited to smaller words. It sort of reminded me of Words with Friends, only more adorable. The bears grow as you gain more points, and you get different bears with different abilities. Really cute.
• El– Now this game is really beautiful, and because of that I’m putting it on this list. However, I recommend you stop playing before the last level. I wasn’t happy with how it ended, but it doesn’t change the fact that the game is beautiful. Reminded me of this indie game called Night Sky, I love the shadow design.

Reading

• Webtoon– I discovered this app due to Frannerd, I love her illustrations and was excited to see her work in comic form. She and her husband have entered the comic challenge on Webtoon and it’s how I discovered the app. I’ve also found other illustrator’s that do great work.
• Marvel Comics- I bought the Princess Leia Star Wars comics and with the hardcopies came free digital copies which had me download the Marvel Comic app. This one has only come in handy for Leia issues, which was too short-only five issues, and I haven’t used it for anything else…yet. But still, I’m glad I have it for when I need it, and I just wanted to put it on my list.

Here are the apps I’ve been obsessing over lately, just wanted to share them and I’m curious to know what apps are on your list currently? That’s all for now….until next time. :3

Thanks for reading and commenting

I started going to hot yoga with my sister Kat at YogaOne Studios. It’s intense but oddly satisfying, during my first session I kept thinking I wouldn’t make it. Yet here I am on day 3. I feel horrible for missing the majority of this week though. I paid for the 30 day, and technically I’m on day 6, I’m hoping to go every other day, but the key is to have fun. After my 30 days, I don’t think I’ll do the monthly membership but every once in a while I might just pay for the day.

Here are the things needed for hot yoga….

• Yoga mat- the studio lets you use one, but I figured I would buy myself one if I enjoyed attending the sessions. I found one at Ross for $8. It has purple, grey, white, teal, and black stripes on the front and just solid grey on the back. 🙂 Thank you Ross.
• Water bottle- (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) you must have water with you when doing hot yoga, I bought this water bottle from Target for $10. I even use it at work, Kat and I just got a water filter so we can start filling our refillable bottles vs using just regular plastic bottles.
• Hand towel- I’d recommend a small towel so you can wipe down your face when you sweat. It’s hot yoga, so you’ll be doing this a lot and sometimes it’s distracting.
• Long Towel- it’s also nice to bring a bigger towel to lay over your mat, drops of sweat may cause you to slip. Having the longer towel is helpful, and can add extra padding when doing certain stretches. There are yoga towels, but I just use a beach towel. They are longer than regular towels and don’t cost as much as a yoga one.
• Duffel bag- bags are just great in general but I love using this polka dot duffel bag, it holds everything I need.

I’m really enjoying my hot yoga sessions, a great way to detox and just let all of your stress go. I have my sister to thank for introducing me to yoga. Next yoga post will be about yoga clothes and the studio itself….until then. 🙂

Thanks for reading and commenting

I’ve been stuck in front of my computer finishing up a presentation for class. Due to all the work I needed to get done,  I didn’t get to spend the weekend with the Boyfriend. But I did last and the weekend beforehand. He was supposed to meet my parents then, but the weather prevented it from happening. This was the second attempt and I’m not sure when we will  be able to reschedule. But since we didn’t go to my parent’s house, we decided to go out to lunch, made a trip to Half Price, and then grabbed some ice cream for dessert. :9

We went to a different Half Price thinking they’d have more of a selection. They did!!! I’m super excited about my discoveries, plus I’m excited to share them on the blog.

• Slog’s Dad by David Almond- The reason I purchased this one, it’s illustrated by Dave McKean!!! I love his art style, he’s magic personified. The story itself is magical yet dark and uplifting, the story and artwork just mesh so well together that I just absolutely love it. I always thought that Gaiman would be the only person I wanted paired with McKean’s art.  But boy was I wrong, McKean makes any story come to life, Almond has another book with McKean’s illustrations so I’ll be on the look out for that too. Along with McKean’s art books.

• The Unruly Alphabet by Aaron McKinney – I saw this book first, and I thought it had a McKean-esque feel to it. It’s has that grittiness to it and can be slightly disturbing in the best way possible. I know, I’m weird. But the cover immediately made me pick it up and read it and even after reading it I just had to buy it. It’s images are of the alphabet with weird personalities and alliteration. I’m fascinated by it and by McKinney, it must be  McK thing. XD

• Alien Isolation: Nostromo  Edition- I didn’t get this third item at Half Price, but I wanted to just add it in this entry. The last time  Kat and I did go home, was during Easter weekend and we found this at Hastings and couldn’t resist. I’ve been wanting to play this game since I saw the trailer. When Colonial Marines fell flat, even though I really enjoyed shooting Aliens, I was was really excited to see that there would be a new game. It’s definitely intense. Plus, I like the idea that Ripley’s daughter also faces a Xenomorph. Because of school, I haven’t been able to indulge in gaming. But I will soon once the semester is  over, what I have been able to play of the game has been difficult. I’ve screamed several times. That tense feeling you get when you’re excited and scared at the same time, it’s great.

I came home today after work to find someone parked in my spot. -.- I’m tired of this happening, I pay an extra 15 bucks a month to have a reserved parking spot in my complex. I’m not paying for someone else to park in my spot! I told myself that the next time someone parked in it, I would have them towed. With that being said, I called to have them towed. Kat and I went out to get something to eat and they said they would call but they never called me. Once we got home, the truck was gone but I have no way of knowing if it was towed or if they just left. Now I just keep looking over my shoulder, I just don’t want the punk to do do anything to my car. -.- For once I would just like to be a badass and not worry about what may happen, just be confident in my decision.

 That’s all for now….thanks for reading and commenting.

I haven’t updated in awhile and  it’s been driving me crazy.  But I’m changing that now, here I am attempting to update a short post. I have so many things that have happened in the past month and I still haven’t had a chance to update about any of it. But for now, I’m just going to post a little update and some random thoughts I’ve been having. Such as knitting! I created my own jellyfish pattern, I updated about it awhile back and I’ve been improving it. I even gave one to a new friend that I met on campus. I’m thinking of selling them on Etsy. But I’m a bit scared about this whole selling items I create. But I’ll just keep practicing and improving.

Another thing I’m excited about is forming the knitting loop on campus! It might take awhile for it to develop into what I hope it turns out to be, but I know it’s heading in the right direction. I’m alsoexcited to meet new people. I’ve made several new friends already this semester and it’s a wonderful feeling. Especially since it hasn’t always been very easy for me.  But I actually have friends that I can meet up with on campus, do you know how much I wished for that when I first started UH. It’s wonderful to have it now, so in that since I’m glad I’m still in school, even though I met two of my new friends outside of school. We just happened to attend the same college.

I said I would do my best to make this a short update, I need to make time for my blog. I’ve missed it, and I still have tons of drafts that are waiting to be finished and posted. Ok, it’s late, until next time….

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I’ve been wanting a lot of things recently. And most of these things are related to crafting in some way, especially since I now work in a craft store. My inspiration meter has been going off the charts. I just want to create all the time, sadly I’m not left with the energy to do so on some days.

After work, I try to head on over to my desk to doodle or knit something, ANYTHING really. And it’s weird, because there are times where I want to create and have the time but I’m not feeling motivated to do so. Now I have the motivation and the inspiration and I just don’t have the energy. My eyes are heavy as I type this entry out. Blogging is another way I can feel creative, because I’m sharing something with others. And recently I’ve been adding doodles to entries so it makes me feel happy when I can post my progress on the whole doodle front. And when you see progress that always makes you work harder, even if it’s small improvements. Like this knitted jellyfish I made. I bought a crochet version that I mentioned here awhile back and I’ve been wanting to recreate it in a knit version. I’ve finally gotten around to doing so and here is the first prototype. It’s pretty raw, but I am proud with how it came out. Need to work on fixing the stitches on the i cord tentacles, and then need to stuff it with a more sturdy stuffing, I didn’t have anything aside from yarn, so that’s what I used. Still pretty good with no pattern. I a basically created my own pattern for it, based on techniques I have learned in the past. Go me!!! I’m really excited about this. Because usually crochet is the skill you need in order to create cute little plushies. I mean, not always…I’ve seen some talented knitters created plushies by changing a pattern into a knitted version. I’ve still got long ways to go, but this project has made me feel really good about my knitting skills, even with all of it’s flaws. It’s nice to pinpoint the areas I need to focus on the next time I knit one. Hopefully, that one will be an improvement.

 Real quic, so NBC has this new show, it’s called A to Z, which doesn’t premiere until October but Hulu has the first episode on it. Watched it right after Sailor Moon, and it’s a bit cheesy, but I love Cristin Milioti. She was the perfect mother in HIMYM and I’m glad to see her in another show. I just hope America can embrace the cheese and give it a chance, because what’s wrong with sappy rom com tv shows? I know they sometimes create unrealistic expectations, but that’s why you escape to fiction in the first place. For something that doesn’t always happen in reality.

Go watch the episode, let me know your opinion on it, I think it could be cute and interesting. That’s all I wanted to say in this post, until next time….

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I’ve always wanted a travel size watercolor kit along with an aqua brush and ever since I saw this particular post over on Michelle’s blog, I’ve been on the hunt for supplies. This is part of her blog series that she calls Journal Diaries,  she features a guest artist and their journals in each post. Seaweedkisses has always inspired me, she’s one of my favorite bloggers. And the other day I stumbled upon the greatest little art store.

I was very bad yesterday, I spent so much money….but let’s just ignore that part and focus on the goodies. 😀

Decided to stop by this fabric store in midtown, I’ve gone in a few times but have always walked out empty handed. One reason being, I’m still a novice when it comes to sewing so I get really intimidated when I enter this store. But today I finally bought some pleather, that’s right pleather. And I haven’t tried to make anything with it…yet. But I’m already in the mood to work with real leather. Perhaps a bit too ambitious for me, but we shall see.  Anyway, so I bought a yard of that and some sturdy interfacing.

After hitting that store I made my way to the Houston Press office to pick up my first paycheck, have I mentioned how much better direct deposit is? -.- Well it is. But on my way to the office I noticed this art supply store, I’ve must have walked by this building a million times but have never really noticed what it was. To be honest, I thought it was abandoned and was excited to go and look around. Sitting on the counter was this chick, her head was shaved minus the top part that she pulled into a ponytail and it was this neon green color. She chewed on a pen when she talked to me and asked if I needed help finding anything. I was so overwhelmed with the store that the words aqua brush came out without me even realizing it. She showed me the different ones they had in stock. While I was looking over which one I wanted she asked me if I was looking for anything else, and again my voice just answered on its own. It was as if my brain were on autopilot, answering the neon girl’s questions while I examined the brushes.  She showed me the only travel watercolor kit they had and then returned to her position on the counter. After deciding which brush I wanted, there were multiple sizes and I have decided on buying more later, I looked at the watercolor kit. Luckily, she offered me a 20% student discount. Didn’t actually help too much though but I was still very grateful and I’m in love with the items I purchased. I painted a few pictures using the brush and my normal watercolors. I also have tube watercolor, I’ll pull those out when I’m home and use the pallets for when I’m out and about. Still painting my character with minty green hair, I think it’s a great color and would love to sport it myself…if only my job would let me. >.< I’m thinking of getting some extensions and just dying the ends of those and then use those as a compromise, I’ve never dyed my hair before so I don’t know how it will react to it.  Also, my drawings tend to come out with an awkward smile, almost as awkward as mine in real life. hehe

 Well, I’m off to paint some more, let me know some of the art brands you like to use. Also, if you’ve dyed before, did you notice a huge change in your hair? Until next time…

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I finally cracked and bought Animal Crossing New Leaf. After Kat bought it I totally made plans of getting it myself, it’s unbelievably adorable and I couldn’t resist.

The weirdos also have it and when I went to visit Jobro’s town I stopped by his museum and to my surprise his T-Rex matches one at work. We call him Y Rex and he’s a bobbed tail dino. I found it hilarious how they matched, also isn’t my character cute? Nina gave me the buns and minty hair color, seeing as how I can’t have it in real life I can live vicariously through game and art doodles.

This is definitely a game I’d suggest if you own a DS. It’s the kind that never ends, so you can put it down and pick it back up without worrying about starting over. Plus, customizing things is always fun, so if you’re a fan of that option then that’s another reason to get it. You should totally save up and buy yourself a DS if you don’t already own one. If you don’t consider yourself a gamer then again, this game is perfect for you and you will have tons of fun. Unless you’re the type that gets bored easily or hates games with no actual ending or point then this isn’t for you. -.- I get excited over simple things so easily, but I don’t care I find it fun. Here’s Kat’s character and mine watching tv in her house. Since I just got mine, my house is still small but reservations are in the making. The siblings and I always start off conversations with, “I got stung by bees…”Or “I missed an appointment…” So now as a rule we have to start by saying, “In Animal Crossing…” So we know we are talking game not real life. XD I’m late to the game but oh well. Ok, enough playing…off to bed I go.

Lastly, I gave my first dino tour on Saturday, and the next two dino parties I will run on my own. I will have a trainer shadow me, but I will be in charge. >.< I am so freaking nervous. My first impromptu tour was not too terrible but I did not know how to time myself and went too fast. It should be 45 mins long. :/ I think I made it to 20 but that’s because my trainer kept reminding me to slow down. I know I will just need to practice, but I wish I could already be a the point where I know what to do. Here’s to practicing and improving