Quick! Quick! Did you see that? Was that a month zooming by?

Good grief, where did the time go! I have had such a busy month! And barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. We went through a reorganisation at work, in which my position was reworked to now also include translation and copywriting work, and Tim was made manager. In our free time we have been trying to get the house up to scratch by doing some DIY. Nothing much to show for it though, as we have mainly fixed small problems and retouched some paint work. All that's left, now that the small problem in the form of our leaky kitchen radiator has been fixed, is painting all the radiators a nice clean white instead of the mouldy vomit-green and awful off-white they are now.

On a personal level, I celebrated my 1-year weightlossiversary last week. I fully intended to write a big blog post about it but I simply had no time! I have about half of it written, though. I'll see what I can do.

I have also been lifting weights, and am now up to a 52.5kg deadlift, a 47.5kg bench press, a 42.5kg barbell squat, a 47.5kg barbell row, and a 22.5kg clean and press! I love it. Even though I wrecked my back last week during my last set of clean and presses... Lesson learned, even though it can get in the way, WEAR THE LIFTING BELT. Ow. So I have to take a break now. Let's hope I'm up and running again soon, I actually am bummed out that I can't go to the gym today to lift!

And on a crafty note, I even have been doing a bit of knitting! I started a very basic triangular shawl in a purple sock yarn. I like it, though, simple as it may be, because it's a great practice piece for basic techniques like yarn-over increases and purl rows. I'm carefully plodding away on it, because it might end up being a gift for a friend. I'll let that depend on how it turns out! It is suuuupersoft, and I'm sure that whoever will end up wearing it, will love it!

5 random things

I got tagged by the lovely Ness of Bunnies and Bettas to tell you 5 random things about myself, and I love random things so this is right up my alley! (Does that count as 1? No? Booh!)

1) My name isn't actually Tecrin. I realised a while ago that people may think my name is Tecrin because of the blogname and because I sign most of my online stuff with that name, (trust me, I would love it to actually be Tecrin because I still lurve that name) but it's not! My real name is Stefanie. Boring, huh?
I think it's quite original, still. I haven't encountered that many other Tecrins on the internet that were not me. So if you come across a Tecrin anywhere, say hi! Good chance that it really is me!
The name Tecrin itself was something I came up with back in the day when I was still more into writing fantasy fiction. I used it for my main in World of Warcraft, Tecrin the Blood Elf Rogue, and it kind of stuck with me all these years! I don't think it actually means anything, but if it does, and you know, let me know!

2) Even though I can't stand clutter and get agitated when I'm in an obviously dusty and messy place, I am the world's messiest person. There's always piles of paperwork or books on my desk, or random stuff that really shouldn't be anywhere near my desk. And don't even get me started on the amount of crochet and knitting paraphernalia that are strewn across its surface. I want to clean the whole mess up all the time, but then never get around to actually do it. Don't get me wrong, it's not dirty, there's no empty bowls of food or leftovers or nastiness on my desk, barring the occasional empty coffee cup, and it may be slightly dusty but that's mostly because I can't reach the dust without dismantling the entire set-up. I'm just a clutter-bug.

3) My morning coffee? A white coffee, otherwise known as a normally brewed coffee with a healthy dose of 2% milk. I'd prefer a latte, but I don't have a milk steamer. I do have an electric whisk that's designed to make milk foam (you heat up milk, stick that thing in, whirr it around and voilá: milk foam! And if you're anything like me, you'll also have a kitchen covered in warm milk.). During my last two months at the bookshop, we had moved to a new place with an in-house coffee corner and my boss made a deal with the proprietors about the rent that included free coffees for the employees on the clock. My work days were often spent daydreaming about their silky-smooth, creamy lattes with the fresh-baked cinnamon biscuits, and since they were free, we often got two coffees when we were having a slow day. When I left, I got the whisk as a gift from my co-workers because now I had to make my own fancy coffee. I think I've used it twice, so far.

4) I love polka-dots. You wouldn't be able to tell now, because my wardrobe has toned down, but I have had years in my life where I would wear polka-dotted EVERYTHING. From shoes and socks to trousers and tops, to the barrettes in my hair. It turned to stripes later, and the polkadots sort of dwindled away from my day-to-day wear, but I still have several spotted items in my wardrobe that get a regular outing. In fact, I just bought a fabulous black and white spotted bra the other day, and I was looking into a tutorial earlier on how to turn normal jeans into polka-dotted jeans with fabric paint. It may be on its return... DundunDUUUUN!

5) I speak 2 languages fluently (Dutch and English), have been taught 2 more in secondary school but my knowledge of them dwindled because I went to Uni to study English, (German and French), have studied 1 more for about 10 weeks, then our study group fell apart because our teacher suddenly stopped showing up (Spanish), once thought I could really do with learning a horrendously difficult language but never actually started (Japanese), and halfway through my Master's I decided that I should invest in learning a this language to give me a better job perspective but I never got round to it (Swedish). If I were ever to make a bucket list, learning these languages to a certain level of proficiency would definitely be on it. I grew up knowing I had a knack for languages and I can intuitively get most of the grammar right, but don't ask me about the differences between all the grammatical cases in German, or to cite all parses of a verb in French, because I wouldn't know what to tell you. I have on many occasions left teachers baffled by getting perfect scores on a written exam but as soon as they tested my theoretical, grammatical knowledge of the language, I'd score the lowest of my entire class. One of the many reasons that I could never be a teacher!

Oooh, now to pass on the torch! Let's see... Which bloggers do I wish to know more about?

1) Tanya from Tanya Today!
2) Nikki from Theonlynikki, because she loves lists!
3) Leah from Good Enough!
4) Nicole from Nicole and the Bee!
5) Chrissie from Stitched Together!

(Please remember, if you are in my list but don't like lists, don't feel pressured to post, and if you aren't in my little list but do feel like you could do with some randomness, post away! Then tell me about it. I love randomness!)

This & That: Why I won't be online this week

This edition of This & That is all about new hobbies!

On the one hand, I picked up a new physical hobby: running! Yep. After loooong deliberation, and more procrastination because I didn't have the money for my shoes, I bought a proper pair of running shoes last week and have started running. I am so out of shape, it would be hilarious if it weren't so painful (I am so sore. I mean it. I am hurting in places I was not expecting to be hurting in. My feet, oddly enough, are fine though. Must be the awesome running shoes.). I found the Couch to 5k-training programme last year and have been interested in trying this because I thought it would be doable. Let me be honest with you: it wasn't. The first step, alternate running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds, for a total of 20 minutes, was already too much for my bad shape! I know, it's pathetic! So I'm taking it slow, and am slowly, slowly, slowly training to become better. Maybe next year, I will be running that 5k with ease.(I'm not getting my hopes up, though.)
 
On the other, a less physical hobby, and the real reason why I won't be online too much this week... Diablo 3 is coming out this evening at midnight! I AM SO EXCITED YOU GUYS. Diablo 2 was the first game the boyfriend and I played together, and played for hours and hours on end. We only stopped playing Diablo 2 because they announced Diablo 3 more than 4 years ago, and switched to World of Warcraft as an in-between game for a year or so. It turned out to be slightly longer than that. I have played the Beta, and we've tested all classes, so I can say with fair certainty that I am going to be playing a female Monk first. The storyline was always the main reason I played Diablo 2, and what I've seen and heard so far is looking very promising indeed. So this week, I'll be immersed in Sanctuary, saving the world from Prime Evils. And maybe angels. I don't know yet. That's why I'm excited!

This & That: the 'what the hell...?' edition

What the hell is this?! Well, I've been on a water kick lately, but the taste of water (especially the tap water where I live) is kind of... meh. And yes, that is the most accurate description I could think of. The odd contraption in the picture? An empty juice bottle, one lemon cut up in bits, and 1 liter of water. I go through 2 of these a day, easily! Yay for healthy habits!

And what the hell is that?! Well, I've also been on a crochet kick! I'm working on a Secret Project for someone that I'm pretty sure doesn't read this anyway, but to err on the side of caution, I'll just call it the Secret Project. It's worked up in Shachenmeyer Nomotta Bravo, a wonderful acrylic yarn that I used to make the Great A'Tuin back in 2010. I had a whole ball left because apparently, I suck at calculating the amount needed to crochet 1 turtle. However, I might need to go out and get more! I'm running out and I still need to crochet 2 legs, a nose, a tail and some horns! (that's all the hints you're getting from me, by the way.) After that, it needs dressing up, which I've decided to do in felt.
Which brings me to the next dilemma. Details on felt: paint on, or embroider? Would paint hold well enough? Embroidering all the details on would take forever (trust me, there's a lot of details), but the result would be more sturdy. It's an issue I haven't decided on yet.

And as a bonus, here's why trying to set up a photo booth on the dining table next to the bird cage for a bit of close-up photography proves to be impossible in my house these days.

That's an empty roll of paper towels. And one unbelievably active bird trying to rip the whole thing to shreds while screaming with its mouth full of paper. It's unbelievably hilarious and distracting at the same time.

This & That: creative ways

This week, I've found myself longing for my hobbies. To take my mind of things. I usually cope with stressful situations in creative ways: I bake, or crawl away in the corner of our couch and crochet. Starting a business on your own when you've only ever worked, let's face it, low-level jobs, is quite scary sometimes. I've found myself in the baking aisle more often while doing groceries. So today I caved and baked cookies during my lunch break. By hand. There's something quite therapeutic about furiously pounding butter and sugar into one glossy, glorious mess with a big wooden spoon.

But apart from that, I've also decided to start working on something quite special for a friend. Can't say much, all I can say is 'yes, that is WoW-related', and 'yes, that does indeed look a lot like a cow'. It's a new project, though, and it's quite special, and I'm quite thrilled to have something like this to go to and relax with when I'm done working. And it gave me a reason to go yarn-shopping soon, yay!

This & That: A new year's resolution

I'm starting a new tradition on this blog, following the example of a blog which I very much enjoy reading: One Sheepish Girl. Her This & That posts are perfect for when you want to post something on your blog, but don't know how to work it into an entire blogpost!

This: This week I shall mainly be wrestling with being a fulltime freelancer, tackling issues such as 'how will I plan my time?' and 'can I spend money on stuff for my own company already?'.

That: I think, or rather, I like to believe, that it is slowly cooling down a bit to a temperature that's more common for January, and therefore I shall be enjoying the snuggly warmth of the shawlette, which is slowly stretching out a bit (mainly thanks to me tugging at the ends a lot) and now remains safely inside my coat instead of crawling out when I'm not looking.