Happy birthday!

Today was Nate's birthday. It was a lovely day spent watching the Doctor Who Christmas episode, playing Majora's Mask, eating dinner with his family, and playing Apples to Apples with people who actually have a sense of humor similar to mine.  My family tends to be more realistic. He absolutely loves his gift, a Legend of Zelda scarf from this website. I found it on Ravelry in English. Go check it out!

Speaking of Ravelry, I've added four new projects to work on. They're all blankets because I am in a blanket making mood. Two of them are Portal blankets, one for me, one for Nate. The inspiration is this:

He gets the orange one and I get the blue one. It works out just fine. We both get the colors we want! 

The next blanket is for my mother on her birthday. She loves Donald Duck, so for her, I'm creating the Donald Duck blanket. I figured the catchphrase "oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" worked much better with this image of Donald than "What's the big idea?" or the angry noises that my mom and I think look something like this: "#!?" And he looks happy! I'm sure she'll love this blanket.

The fourth blanket is for my dad. He loves his Florida Gators. He graduated from the University of Florida, so I figured why not make him a Gators blanket? I used a pixel logo I found on deviantart and made some serious changes to it to make the gator look more realistic. I grew up a Gators fan. That logo looking accurate is insanely important to me partially because of that reason.

Finally home!

I came home to Vegas on the 15th. I had a friend from college stay at my house for the first five days of winter break, and she wanted to go see the Bellagio fountain. So we went to eat at Mon Ami Gabi across the street and got to see the Bellagio fountain that way. Three times. It was pretty cool! But I'd honestly forgotten how bright Vegas is.

My friend left on the 19th. I've really been enjoying my vacation so far. Up until two days ago, it's been a mad rush to finish presents. I finished my aunt's hat and found out she wants a scarf to go with it! I chose Smariek's Triumph Cable Scarf to go with the hat. It works perfectly with the hat, and my aunt will really enjoy it, I think. Then, two days ago, I finished Nate's scarf. He gets it on his birthday in approximately four days. He'll love it. It's six and a half feet long (easily), and he loves long scarves. I think of the three scarves I've made him so far, two of them have been double knit. This is (probably) the best one so far, because I'm combining his love for scarves and his love for Legend of Zelda. I'm rather fond of the pattern, to tell you the truth. It's pretty!

My aunt's hat!

No picture for the scarf yet because Nate does read this and I'm not spoiling it. 

Now I'm finishing a friend's commission. She wanted a shark and gave me the pattern for it. That pattern challenged me by using all sorts of techniques I never thought of using. It looks fine, though! I'm also working on a blanket with the Portal guy on it. I'm only working on the orange portal because I only have one hook of the size I need. It'll be cool when it's finished!

A completed present!

I finished my dad's blanket on Sunday afternoon. Greatest accomplishment of the weekend. It is ultimately sized at 4'3" x approx. 7'. It's approximately 7 feet because I got just under seven feet, seven feet exactly, and just above seven feet the three times I measured it. I'm just going to average it and go with it's 7 feet. It's really warm and quite comfortable. It was such a blast to make. 

In order to get the whole blanket, I had to put this on the living room floor and run up to the second floor. I couldn't take a picture from the top of my bed to my bedroom floor. Nope. Second floor down to the living room floor. 

The top and bottom edging of the blanket. It's a reverse single crochet and chain 1, skipping every other dc. It has a nice, sophisticated look to it.

Edging on the left and right sides of the blanket. Done while crocheting, so there was no extra effort! It's great. I love the little loops.

I sat next to the TV to take this picture. It looks huge, doesn't it? I'm really proud of it. I think my dad will like it. 

Tuna Rolls

My mom made tuna rolls for me and my brothers when she doesn't feel like cooking a full-on meal or can't go out and get something. I love tuna rolls. They're the only rolls I do eat at home. At restaurants, I eat most rolls. But that's beside the point! I recently asked my mom how to make these, and I've made them twice so far. Delicious! Plus, I have plenty of leftovers for when I want a snack.

Tuna Rolls

Makes 10 rolls

Ingredients

• 3 cups rice
• 5 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• A little bit of salt and pepper
• Few spoonfuls of mayonnaise
• 1 large can of tuna
• 1 packet of seaweed

Directions

1. Wash and cook 3 cups of rice. The method doesn't matter. I prefer using a rice cooker because I have one.

2. Mix the vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl, then add the rice. Mix well. Attempt to coat all the rice with this mixture.

3. Drain the tuna and place in a bowl. Add mayonnaise and a little bit of salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Use a roller with a paper towel underneath or a piece of plastic wrap. I cannot guarantee the plastic wrap will work because I've never used it. Place a piece of seaweed on top of the roller/plastic wrap, then cover the 3/4ths of the seaweed with rice. you shouldn't have to use more than a scoop of rice because it needs to be spread thin.

This is what the roller I use looks like.

5. Put tuna in the first fourth of the rice. Then, roll up the roll. This is kind of tricky to do initially. Roll up a little bit of the roll and press. Then, take the bit you just rolled up, then roll it so it's larger. (I may have to do a tutorial for this if it's really confusing...)

6. Repeat until the ingredients run out. I wrap my tuna rolls up in plastic wrap if I'm not going to eat them immediately. They'll keep for a few days in the refrigerator.

And there you have it! Tuna rolls! 

Progress on Christmas Presents

I measured my dad's blanket yesterday and found out I have 16.5 inches left of the blanket. When I found out, I thought, "HALLELUJAH." I'm almost done with the fourth pattern repeat of Nate's scarf.

I'm starting to feel the crunch for making presents. I'm going to be working on it almost nonstop for the next week or so because I have no finals. I anticipate a few trips to the library to work on the scarf with a peaceful mind and plenty of episodes of Cake Boss to finish the blanket. I WILL get these presents done.

Then I get to start on a hat for my aunt. She was supposed to go through radiation treatment, but the hospital or something called and said she couldn't do it because of her oxygen levels or something. I'm still making her that hat. I want to cheer up my aunt. She's going through a hard time with her sickness and she's my favorite aunt (I feel like I'm not supposed to pick favorites among family, but she's the best). I'll be making her this hat in Caron's Simply Soft "Forest" colorway. I think I'll make a medium hat for a safe bet. She wanted to stand out in a crowd, but not too much. This hat will accomplish it for her. I showed my dad several patterns and colors (she's his sister, after all), and he went right for that hat in the forest color. I can't wait to start on it.

Christmas Party!

My RA decided to throw a holiday party today. It starts in about an hour, and I'm waiting for the friend I invited to get here. She texted me that she'd be here at 6. I've got to text her after this post. 

For the holiday party, there's going to be a white elephant game being played. It had to be between $5-$10. I'm anticipating getting a gag gift... My hopes aren't too high for a roomful of college students. I, however, can give handmade gifts, and a handmade gift it is!

I made the Brain Waves Beanie from Liz McQueen. It was quick and only took a day of doing absolutely nothing and watching Cake Boss to make this guy. I elongated the pattern because I like a little slouch. It's red, white, and black, the colors of my university. I wasn't thinking, "Hey, these colors are the university's colors!" At all. Seriously. But it worked out perfectly! 

I've got a little turret from the Portal series (anyone play that?) modelling my hat. His name is Mrs. Nesbitt, and he had a change of heart. No longer will he shoot whenever something moves. Mrs. Nesbitt models hats now! It's fashionable, didn't you know?

I don't hate you...

I ended up wrapping the hat in newspaper. I get free newspapers in the dorms, so I'm dubbing newspapers "college kid wrapping paper" because it's so inexpensive! 

Go make this beanie! It'll look super nice.

Best Banana Bread

I am a huge fan of banana bread. My mom always made the best, and when I went off to college, she sent me the recipe so I could make it. Whenever I buy bananas, I purposely let three ripen so I can use it in the bread. It's my favorite breakfast food.

Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3-4 medium bananas, very ripe and peeled
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Butter (a little)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the 8-1/2" x 4-1/2" loaf pan with butter.

2. In a medium bowl, using the wooden spoon, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

3. In a large bowl, smash the bananas with the fork. Add the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended.

4. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture. Stir until just blended. 

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with a wooden spoon. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a rack to cool for 20 minutes.

6. Gently run a table knife along the inside edge of the pan to loosen the bread from the sides. Using oven mitts, turn the pan on its side and slip the loaf out onto the cooling rack. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes before serving.

And there you have it! The best banana bread I've ever had! It really is delicious. So soft and light. Drink it with a little milk and it makes the perfect breakfast.