I'm back!

Yes. After practically a year of not posting, I'm back! (most of you probably forgot you even followed me in the first place but oh well such is life)

I don't really have any excuses as to why I didn't post other than I didn't want to, so let's just put it at that.

Also, since it's been practically a year since I last visited blogger with the intention of posting, I decided to tell you what I've been up to! :DDD But instead of just typing what I did like I usually do, I took some pictures, since pretty much all of my time over the past year has been focused around these things.

To sum up mostly everything that happened, here's this. (I also got a laptop back in November, but I didn't feel like placing it in the picture... .-.)

OKAY. I assume mostly everyone here likes American Girl, so you all likely noticed the three AG dolls. Well, from left to right, their names are: Eril, Nora, and *unnamed*. I actually bought Eril last July, but I don't believe I have ever put up a picture of her on my blog. D: Nora I bought with my own money, and I wrapped up her box in wrapping paper to give to myself as a Christmas gift on the winter solstice. (don't judge me) And finally, the unnamed doll I received from one of my closest friends before she moved away. *sheds tear*

Next off, I've been knitting up a storm. I've been able to knit since fourth grade, but I couldn't knit more than 26 stitches a day without clawing my eyes out in boredom, so I kinda stopped. But THEN, five years passed, and I was suddenly able to sit for hours and hours and knit! YAY AGING! I usually make fingerless gloves, but that got really monotonous so I made some armwarmers for myself (they're the striped things on the right), and right now I'm knitting a lap blanket for when I play video games. (long story)

NEXTLY. A few months ago, (April, I think), I got my very first flute! X333 It's the Gemeinhardt 50th Anniversary Special Edition flute (or something to that effect), and it's like my child. (Except I treat it better than I treat children. Not that I treat kids badly.)

It has a 14k gold lip plate and a 12k rose gold riser (I think it's 12k), a gold crown, and an all silver headjoint. And the lip plate is engraved and OH MY GLOB JUST LOOK AT IT ASDFGHJKL; IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL I CAN'T EVEN-

 Oh right, and the body and keys are all silver as well, and the springs are 9k white gold. Ahh, the keys... X3

...then there's this one. :I I seriously have no clue why this key's all messed up. It's all tarnished and there's a bit of rust (but silver doesn't rust so wut) and I just... What.

Ah right, back to the first picture. About a month ago I bought a 3DS, mostly because I needed to be able to play Animal Crossing: New Leaf since I have all the games except for the Japanese exclusive games for the N64 and the Japanese Gamecube games. .-.

See? Oh, and I have another Wild World because I lost my first one... eheheh... yOU SAW NOTHING.

Oh right, and I've been playing Harvest Moon a LOT lately. I'm not nearly as big of a HM fan as I am an AC fan (lol puns), but I do love the series enough to have four games.

I've been playing Animal Parade a LOT over the summer, and it's by far my favourite Harvest Moon game from the ones I have. (I also have Friends of Mineral Town, but I never got into it and then I lost it...) I only like AP because of the hot guys and I love you Chase. *coughs* I haven't played A New Beginning much yet, mostly because the beginning is really slow and I'm just waiting for all the attractive eligible bachelors to show up but they aren't yet but at least Neil is here but he's a jerk I just have been doing other things.

I got Yumie and Arashi new wigs! (Actually, Yumie's hairstyle right now is based off of one of my favourite Harvest Moon characters.) :DDD

You see the thing behind the two game boxes in the picture? An iced tea bottle. I have been drinking more tea than water, I'll-have-you-know. (I made a few posts about tea last year, I think, so this shouldn't surprise you if you have read my blog before). Speaking of tea, we went to D.C. just last week and there was an awesome tea store there called Capital Teas and I bought some very nice Cream Earl Grey tea there (Definitely the best Earl Grey tea I have ever had in my entire life. *~*) and something else.

It was loose leaf tea, so... <.< (I love this little guy so much.)

Oh, and the puffin between Nora and Eril is there because I finally cosplayed Iceland like I wanted to and I went to a convention during Spring Break and it was aMAZING. Therefore, Mr. Puffin.

And finally, I have decided my future. I plan to become a paleontologist. I've said a lot of things before, but this is the only thing I've wanted to be my entire life that has always been something I couldn't imagine not doing at some point. Ever since I was four years old I've wanted to do this. Right, and for those of you who don't know, a paleontologist is a geologist who specializes in uncovering fossils of ancient life. I've always wanted to be a vertebrate paleontologist, which means I'd specialize in fossils of animals that have backbones; i.e. Dinosaurs, bony fish, mammals, etc. I can't exactly put a scientific field of study in a picture, so I put a Jurassic Park book in there instead. Close enough. (I'm actually a huge Jurassic Park fan, and I highly recommend both the books and the first movie. The other movies... they're, well... um... yeah. Not good.) But I digress... Just dinosaurs, man. I mean, I love dinosaurs. So. Very. Much. Just look at my checked out library books!

If that doesn't say, "Hello, I am a major geek and I absolutely love dinosaurs and I don't care who sees me with these books", I dunno what does.

Well, there you have it. My year summed up as best as I can in one photo, with others being all descriptive. But the first one is the summing up one. ;3 

Also, I'm very sorry for leaving you guys for practically a whole year. That was just... whoa. I should've at least stopped to let you all know I wasn't dead or that I didn't go off the grid or something. Usually I would make some kinda promise saying I won't leave like that without warning ever ever again or something, but I'm in High School and school is absolutely my top priority now (as it sorta was last year) so I can't promise regular posts. I'll try my best to at the very least keep you updated once a month, though! That's my promise. Once a month. Sorta. Yeah...

~Miranda~

P.S. Sorry I missed my three year blogoversary back in July. Whoops.

I want your opinion! :3

So, I don't generally ask you guys about your opinions on my dolls and stuff, but this time I have some important stuff! (AND PICTURES!!! >:3 Me gusta)

The subject matter of today is Arashi; my Taeyang. I've REALLY neglected taking photos of him. (I think I only have like, six...? And I've had him for 9 months. ._____.) But ya see, I kinda brushed his wig and never replaced it, and I wanted to touch-up his face-up (basically, if you don't customize dolls, re-do his face makeup.) because I don't really like it that much... (._. )

SO. What does this all mean? Well, I found a wig that I wanted to buy for him, but it's $27 (not including the like, $20 shipping. =_______=) Anyways, it's a lot. I'd be almost broke if I bought that now. Which I'll probably do anyways... |3 And I realized his eyechips(basically, his eyes) were kind of dark, so I wanted to replace those, too. I've had an idea of making him look more like a ninja in my opinion for a while now, but I wanted him to have silver hair and pale eyes. :3

ONTO ZE SAMPLES!!!

I like these eyechips, but I think they're a tad too dark... I wanted him to have pale eyes, and these are too much like his old ones for me. :\

These ones I LOVE!!! They're a pale grey, so that'd look AWESOME, but I'm worried that they would clash with his wig colour... Too similar. I could get him a black wig instead, but IDK.

I think I'm currently leaning towards these ones. They're a super pale blue, and it's a "likeable" colour. I have a thing for blue eyes, anyways... ;D

I also like these (well der, I put them here as options. -_- *slaps self for being derpy*) but I think they might be kind of tropical for what I'm going for... Not quite sure.

Now this is a BJD wig, but I really like it! It's the right size (Trust me, I would know. I've been looking into this topic for eight months now.) and the right colour (even though I could change the colour... XP) And it looks like his old hair style! But it's sold out in the colour I like, so I can't buy it... ;___; Just thought I'd show you anyways. :)

This one I also like, and while I would've probably chosen to buy it in black, it's sold out in black, but I think I like it better in brown, anyways... :3 It's really awesome, though! It's really close to the style I had in mind, and It'd make him look AWESOME! >:D

OKAY. So, what do you think? I may/may not buy something before anyone comments, because I have little self control (Actually, saying I have even a LITTLE is a stretch...) and Arashi just really... ^^;" YEAH. I kind of got him all prepared to be customized because I think I'll work on his new face-up tonight. I have chalk pastels and coloured pencils, and we have sandpaper, so I'm really ready to go! I just need to have a set-in-stone plan. :\ OH RIGHT and my brother builds model Gundams, so I can ask to use his Gundam marker to do eye liner and stuff~ ;D

Well, I hope you enjoyed me actually posting pictures and stuff...? Better than my usual boring rants, yes? :)

~Miranda

250th!!! :D

(Yeah, 250... Whoa. .____. )

To be honest, I kinda forgot about posting for a little while there... I think this is the first time I haven't posted in one month...? :\ Well, I'm a little bit ashamed of myself, THAT'S for sure! XD

BUT, I'll do a small re-cap of the last month, if you would like! *this is not optional. I AM doing a recap :P*

During the first week of August, I went to Florida. I did not get tan- I still glow and sparkle in the sunlight. (yeah, I'm not even kidding. I'm so pale, I SPARKLE when I go outside! XD) Immediately after we got back, we went to Canada for a few days for a funeral... U_U But, I had fun nonetheless, and my family (including my relatives) were considering letting me fly out to Canada on my own for my birthday next year to visit the capital of New Iceland*!!! X3 So ja, I'm really excited for next June, now, even though it's all hypothetical, and I don't really want to travel alone. ;3

After that, I literally had one night and three full days before school started, so the only cool thing that happened was Phoebe came over to my house again~! ("legally obtained" cash. ;D)

Well, as far as "physical things" go, ya, that's what happened. .___. BUT! I did some baking in the past few weeks and I would love to show pictures! *which I did take, btw*

So, the first thing I made was Kladdkaka. It's Swedish for "gooey(or sticky) cake", and it's basically like eating brownie batter... *~* But it's cooked, so it's okay to eat. The center TOTALLY sinks down, so it doesn't look the way it does in my pictures; which were taken before I let it sit for an hour. C:

Anyways, this is really good, and I recommend making it at some point! :D

Nom nom nom...

NEXT!!! Today, I baked some bread for the very first time! *O* OMGKASDKLSAJKDYASHDKLFNJDSFH YAY!

IT. WAS. DELICIOUS.

Uhh, let's see... Well, over the course of the entire summer and a couple months before that, I have become totally obsessed with Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland; basically, the Nordic Region. ;) (my reason: HEATLIA~!!!! *regains composure* and they are really awesome places in general... (Ja, THAT'S why... XP)) So, I've been like, ACTUALLY trying to learn Icelandic (and Norwegian, btw), and I have been doing some actual research on the ACTUAL country! (not just the character, but I'm not denying the fact that I researched him, too... <3 been="been" doing="doing" have="have" i="i" why="why">actual
things? Well, in my research, I have found that it really sounds like a gorgeous country, and for me, the perfect place to live. <3 all="all" at="at" called="called" der="der" has="has" hot="hot" i="i" is="is" it="it" mean="mean" not="not" s="s" snow="snow" summer="summer" the="the" uh="uh" winter="winter" yeah="yeah">Iceland for a reason, Miranda. XD) and it's one of the least densely populated countries in the world; not to mention I love the history and the language. X3 (There's also the depressing reasons of mine, so I guess I'll just put those as a footnote at the bottom of the page... it doesn't really matter if you read them. **) (Since I love planning years ahead, I even looked in to how to become a citizen there! Ja, I know, call me crazy, but I'm seriously looking forward to that, now.)
I STILL haven't posted ANY pictures of Eril yet, but mostly because I haven't taken any of her yet... And, I was going to do a "welcome" post for her, but eh... *lazy*

The last thing I did was draw some more, and watch anime... ^^;" I bought the fourth season of Hetalia back in early July, so I was all happy-fangirling and stuff; and still am! X3 (mostly because there was an extra episode with the Nordic five, and it was really funny, and I love Norway's voice... <3 also="also" i="i" nbsp="nbsp" span="span" started="started" tsubasa:="tsubasa:" uh="uh" watching="watching">RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, and I love it! I'm also reading the manga, and it's totally awesome. I recommend it. FO' REALZ, YO. :) Oh yeah, and I started to re-watch One Piece, because the last time I saw it, I was like... seven. XD

Anyways, that's what I've been up to! Anything you want me to go a bit more in-depth on? ^_^

~Miranda

*New Iceland: It's a small-ish area in Manitoba, Canada, and the capitol- where I want to visit next year- is called Gimli, and it's a few hours drive away from Winnipeg, the capitol of Manitoba. C:

**My depressing reasons for wanting to move to Iceland: I really hate it where I currently am... I honestly do. There's hardly ANY snow, and it's way too damn hot in the summer. (yeah, I just used a bad word. Trust me; I say much worse things daily, and I apologize if this offends you.) Everyone I know (and don't know) seem to hate me because I'm an odd person. Also, my family doesn't understand ANYTHING about me, and I'm constantly mocked by others for my dreams and interests... U_U, 

Sad news...

For the past few days, I have had a really bad cold and have been unable to work on my doll room- making it near impossible for me to introduce my new doll with a photostory. :'( So, I apologise for the wait, but I obviously can't do much without having a clean room. DX We're also leaving for Destin, Florida sometime in the coming week, so clearly I can't do anything then. (But I'll try to have fun and take pictures! That is, if we do anything interesting... :\)


Once we come back from vacation, we'll have to make an emergency trip to Canada because well, last night my grandpa kinda died, so... (._. ) yeah... :'( Now I don't have any grandparents.


So, yeah. I basically can't do much but go on YouTube and watch Death Note, or get soup/hot chocolate and go on the computer... Which is basically describing the same thing... :P I tried reading books, but my eyes went all buggy and I ended up taking a nap instead~. xP So~~~ I'm basically not doing anything different than when I was in Missouri last week, but NOW I have an excuse to be a lazy jackwagon! :D


I have been feeling better today, so I may or may not try to be productive...


~Miranda

I'm back~!

I came back from vacation Thursday evening, and I have to say; I go on vacation quite a lot (probably two-three times per year, every year) but this time I was the happiest to be back. It just felt so nice to have my own bed again to sleep in, and be back with all my video games and dolls... XD


Speaking of dolls, I bought another doll, just like I said I would! X3 I bought a number MYAG #56, and she's so gorgeous!!! I'm going to wait to tell about her until I have pictures, which will take place in my doll area. (I'm going to do a "meet the rest of the group" thing- like what I did with Willow- soon) 


My doll "room" is still demolished; but it's getting better!  I have two rooms totally regenerated (Willow's, which wasn't bad to start with, and Kanani's), and I'm going to add a lot more rooms- one of which my new doll will share with her older sister*. But I was going to build an actual bed and make awesome sheets for it, so it'll be a while. ;3 (I was going to add a kitchen, possibly a bathroom, and give my dolls better bedrooms with more shtuff organized and all that.)


I suppose it won't really spoil too much of her character if I just tell you her name and where she's from, so why not?


(I hope I've made it obvious that I like foreign countries already, so she's going along with my "theme") Her name is Eril, and she's Icelandic. X3 I really love Iceland and the other Nordic countries**, so... ;D I'm thinking of a good patronymic***(see footnote) to give her, because in Iceland, they don't use family names like we do here. (I had thought of one, but then I did some research on the country, and it turns out I had given her a male name... >.<;") I have some time to think, because they don't even really mention their patronymic all that often in Iceland... It's kind of like... how we don't generally use our middle names. ^^;"


Alright! I apologise for not having any pictures of my vacation, but seriously the most interesting thing we did was go up in the St. Louis Gateway Arch, I forgot my camera in the car when we went there... (._. )


~Miranda


*Eril's sister: I mentioned Eril having an older sister. Well, just as an FYI, her sister's name is Nora, and she's supposed to be a MYAG #39. I'll explain why they're named that way and why they don't really look alike at all later. ;) *trolling*


**Nordic countries: you can look them up online if you're not sure, but I'll tell ya! It consists of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and their territories. ^-^ Scandinavia is just Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, in case you're wondering. (btw, I'm currently trying to learn Norwegian. And I've been actually trying- unlike when I tried to learn French about a year ago. (I wanna move to Norway or Iceland one day. Like fo' reals, yo.) ;D)


***Patronymic: If you have heard of the Viking Erik the Red, you've probably heard of his son, Leif Eriksson. (Get it?) Leif is Erik's son, so that's his last name; Eriksson. That's currently the best example of a well-known patronymic I can give right now. But, a female patronymic would have the father's first name and the suffix "dóttir". And, in case you're wondering, a matronymic is where they use the mother's first name instead of the father's in the "last name".


P.S. Lol I added lots of footnotes... I researched the second and third ones over vacation (I did my research because I was bored... and then I wrote this post.) and now I really really really want to move to Iceland or Norway- ANYWAY the footnotes were all historically accurate, so if you don't like history, too bad!! >:D