twitch cross stitch

so in the last couple of months i have discovered twitch and all it's amazingness. twitch is a big community from all over the world where people video themselves live doing things. playing video games, cooking, drawing, cross stitching and so much more. there are big name people on there like Felicia Day but then there are every day people like me and you on there also.

the amazing thing is that i have found a cross stitching community on there. and i love it. from watching other people cross stitch on twitch i have learned so much more about cross stitching that i probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.

from watching a streamer by the name of Sirithre i have learned how to make cross stitch key chains and so much more! Sirithre was the first person i followed on twitch that was a cross stitcher. she's great to watch and she makes some really cool stuff. (for the record, she does stream other stuff like playing video games).

there are a ton of people who are on twitch that cross stitch. from watching their streams and chatting with the community, i have learned where to get supplies, how to do certain things and about local cross stitching/twitch communities.

overall i've found a community of cross stitchers that i didn't have before. cross stitching isn't as big as crochet or knitting. and so finding this community has really helped me. it's nice to know that there are other people out there who love cross stitching as much as i do. so check twitch out. go to twitch and then find the creative board and you will find cross stitchers in there. you will find other people who are doing other amazing things, don't get me wrong. but you will find cross stitchers too. and hey maybe you'll see me in group chat. my twitch handle is plantlamp. so if you see that name, make sure you say hi!

why hockey is so great

now i know this doesn't only happen in hockey, all sports have great moments like this. but i'm a huge hockey fan. so this is just one reason why i think hockey is so great and especially my beloved blackhawks. :) i just love this story and have to share with everyone!

the chicago blackhawks have a thing called #whatsyourgoal campaign. a 16 year old girl - christina - who was born with many challenges, one including being blind, said that her goal was to go to a chicago blackhawks hockey game. well her family set up a fundraising campaign to get money to buy tickets to a hawks game and this caught the attention of the chicago blackhawks #whatsyourgoal campaign. so the hawks granted christina's wish. and made her day. :) in her own words "I can't believe this is happening. It's the best moment of my life."

not only did christina get to go to a hawks game, she got to meet chicago blackhawks player patrick sharp, HOF'er denis savard, got to sit in the booth with the hawks radio guys and even got to put on a headset and tell everyone how she was doing [i was listening to that game on the radio and totally remember hearing her excitement. this girl was totally stoked for being at the game! it was great to hear].

here's a link to the video the hawks made about her day.

here's a picture of christina with patrick sharp. i'm so jealous!

here's a picture of her with denis savard. again so jealous!

cos-play photo database

so as you know i went to c2e2 a couple of weeks ago. and as you know i put pictures of my adventures at the con on my flickr page. well i was contacted by a person who has a website that links bunches of different peoples pictures of cos-playing. and this person wanted to add my pictures from c2e2. i was delighted and agreed. so you now can find my pictures along side other peoples pictures from c2e2. here's the link to the website. your going to have to scroll down to chicago comic entertainment expo (c2e2) it is alphabetical. my pictures are under the name little_egan. but please check out all the other photos that are listed from that weekend. there are some great ones. some very professional photos too. i love seeing all the cos-playing that people do. hope you enjoy the database.

the good hearted people of the world

with the bombing at the boston marathon this week, there has been an out pouring of good heartedness all over america (and really there is this good heartedness all over the world). any time there is a tragedy, together we as a people stand up and say no. that we are one and we will get through all of this. oklahoma city bombing, columbine hs shooting, 9/11, boston marathon bombing to name a few. after all of these tragedies we have come together as a country and said we love each other and we will stand by each other.

with this in mind i thought i would share the different website/groups that are of this same mind. all of these groups share that same warm fuzzy feeling of people standing together and saying we are one. we love each other. you are not alone.

-RAINN - (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.
-project unbreakable - The mission of Project Unbreakable is to increase awareness of the issues surrounding sexual assault and encourage the act of healing through art.
-more love letters - We’re going to tell you that we write and mail love letters, handwritten love letters, to strangers in need all over the world.
-post secret - PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
-soldiers' angels - soldier's angels works around the world to address military-related needs ranging from deployed support, to wounded care, to remembrance of the fallen and a wide variety assistance to military families.
-live through this - Live Through This is a collection of portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors, as told by those survivors. It strips the issue of anonymity and encourages survivors to own their experiences publicly and proudly.
(i'm sure there are many more sites out there that i haven't mentioned. these are just a few that i know of.)

and as a last thought, i thought i would share the national anthem that was song at the first boston bruins (the nhl team in boston) game after the boston marathon bombing. it just sends chills down your back when you see/hear this! again just another reason i am proud to be an NHL fan. :)

health insurance

so i work in the medical field and part of my job is to confirm people's health insurance. i'm continously surprised how many people don't know what their insurance is. to me that seems like something you should know. but maybe i'm just too demanding of people.