The "Holidaze"

I have to admit, I'm having trouble adjusting back to a somewhat normal routine. With traveling and events starting from Thanksgiving and lasting up until New Years, no wonder I can't get things together! With patch 7.1.5 on the horizon, I haven't really started anything new in Warcraft. I've been working on clearing out Vel's quest log along with other things I just never got around to finishing. Doing this has also netted me a bump in my achievement score. I am now up to 19,000 points. This was a nice little personal goal for me to achieve though I know a lot of other people have much more than that.

Winter Veil was also lovely this year. I personally think these are some of the best gifts that Blizzard has given. The disposable Winter Veil suits are awesome, and I really wish Blizzard would consider putting something like this in for the other holidays as well. It gives you a chance to dress up without having to hold onto non transmoggable event items (not like space is an issues anymore) or stressing over the fact that you can't transmog them in general! I was also lucky enough to get the Minion of Grumpus mount from a present as well. I'm glad because I was a bit upset I didn't get lucky with it last year. It's such a massive mount that I probably won't even use, but it's fun to have just in case.

So what's next? With the new year coming in really soon, I plan on continuing working on my backlog of things and updating my to-do list here as they are completed. Of course this isn't a full list of things I'm working on, but more just the collecting parts. I also want to say that the third annual Icecrown Challenge is now live! I plan on doing my run this weekend so I will be making some more noise on Twitter about it. If you want to learn more about the event, you can do so over at Ratsel's post. If you want to learn more about why I run, you can see the two previous years posts (2014 & 2015). If you just want to donate, I'll include the link to that as well - AFSP Icecrown Challenge Donation Link.

The Icecrown Challenge 2015

Last year Ratsel came up with the idea of the Icecrown Challenge. She tagged me to join in. Even though things were a bit wild with me and Pigletoos moving and still settling into our new apartment, I still participated. I was really hoping that she would put on the event again this year, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw her post!

I won't go into too much detail here since I did so in my post from last year, but this hits very close to my heart. I lost a brother to suicide, and not a day goes by that I don't think about him, especially around the holidays.

A picture of my brother sits on my desk.

To be honest, I haven't been back to ICC since Invincible's Reins dropped for me, so it was pretty fun to go back and run it without having to hold my breath for a drop. It's always good visiting Arthas around this time of year. I brought candy and hot chocolate even though I don't think he was in the mood to celebrate.

Throwing a snowball at Arthas.

Regardless if the Icecrown Challenge existed or not, I think donating is a good tradition for me to continue on each year. I'm hoping each year my budget can allow for a little more since this charity does amazing things. If you would like to participate in the Icecrown Challenge or just want to donate to the cause, please check out the links below for more information. Happy Holidays!

- The Icecrown Challenge
- The Donation Page
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

The Icecrown Challenge 2014

Last week the lovely Ratsel tagged me in a post to participate in her Icecrown Challenge. While this is a tough time of year for a lot of people, including me and Pig, I still decided to donate what I could because it's for a cause that hits close to home.

In 1998 I lost my brother Matt to suicide. This is something that still effects my family, and it's something that you never truly "get over". It always hits me really hard when I read about someone in the community (online and in real life) or a celebrity takes their own life. I immediately get transported back to the day it happened. It sucks that I had to grow up without him, and now that I'm older, we have so much in common. He loved metal music, video games, and craft beer. These are three things I absolutely adore. He was also a fantasy nerd and loved playing Dungeons and Dragons. I just know he would have loved World of Warcraft, and I just wish I would have been able to introduce him to Azeroth. As I type this with tears in my eyes, I have to remember that even though he's not here in person, he's been here in spirit and got to experience everything from afar. I can't wait for the day where I see him again, and give him a big hug. Love you my brother.

I was going to run ICC with my niece Selindri, but since she's been enjoying her holiday break, I really didn't want to bother her about it. My love Pigletoos decided he would do it with me. This is our picture after we defeated Arthas. I think we look pretty cute in our Winter Veil outfits!

I'd like to thank Ratsel for hosting this charity event for such a wonderful foundation. It not only means a lot to me, but I know it means a lot to a ton of other people out there also. I'm supposed to tag three people to do this, but I don't want to make anyone feel like they need to. So, if you're reading this and would like to participate, please do so. Even if you can't run ICC, you can still donate! Every little bit counts. To learn more, you can visit the links below.

- The Icecrown Challenge
- The Donation Page
- American Foundation for Suicide