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.

Blizzcon 2016

Blizzcon is over! I spent two glorious days planted on my couch while watching things on some of my favorite games. You know what, being a couch potato is a lot more difficult than you would think; I'm so achy! Anyway, the only thing I have left to watch is the final Heroes of the Storm match. Then I am completely done. As always, I was surprised and excited over some of the announcements while others left me wanting just a little more. Here I will touch on what I'm excited for in some of my favorite Blizzard games. This is the only time of the year that I really discuss anything other than Warcraft here, so it's always a treat. This is kind of a long one, so I put it under a cut so it won't clutter up my front page.

Holiday Spirit

This is going to be my last blog post for this year! I cannot believe it, but we've all made it through yet another year. This year I took the steps throwing my blog out there and gaining more readers. Through the use of Twitter and sites like Blog Azeroth, Twisting Nether Wiki, and WarcraftPets, not only has my blog flourished, but I also made new friends!

In the midsts of all the chaos going on this week (my boyfriend's graduation and moving), I got a FB message from a WoW friend asking for some information, but I wasn't allowed to ask any questions as to why she needed it. I obliged, and went on my merry way of getting some housework done. When I logged on to Vel later that day, I was stunned and speechless. She gifted me two of the mini pets that I had been missing from my collection (Cinder Kitten and Blossoming Ancient)! Seriously, when I say it, I mean it... I have the BEST friends in WoW!

named Rain and Dark after my friends! 

That being said, I'm extremely excited for Winter Veil to start next week. While I don't think internet at our new place will be set up right away, I will still try to log on everyday to at least get a few things done. I figured it would just be easier to give myself and Velgana a break so we can both settle in and enjoy the holidays. I'll be planning out new content, and you can still catch me on Twitter and around Azeroth, but this blog is going /AFK until next year!

Thank you to all my readers and friends... Have a Happy Holidays! See you in 2014!

Blog Azeroth: Winter Solstice

Here is a new Blog Azeroth topic, and a really good one that can help me get some in game and real life emotions out.

"Instead of cursing the darkness, how do you light a candle in Azeroth and chase the occasional (winter) blues away?"

The holidays are always an exciting time for Velgana. WoW's 9th Anniversary mixed with Pilgrim's Bounty was great because I was able to get quite a few levels on some neglected alts. Winter Veil will be coming soon, and I love that holiday just as much as Hallow's End! One of my favorite things to do is log into WoW on Christmas morning and open Vel's presents in Orgrimmar. I love the feel of everyone opening gifts and laughing around me. It's just a nice feeling.

Checking my Winter Weil shopping list!

However, it's also the time of year that I seem to get discouraged from playing WoW. I guess it's the fact that my family has so many things going on around this time - shopping trips, dinners, general get togethers. I am always about spending time with my family than sitting down and playing any game. In fact, I'm quite unmotivated with the game right now. Not to mention, me and my boyfriend will be moving back closer to our hometown in a few weeks. He will be graduating on the 14th and has a job lined up after that. All of these things are a stressful thing for me!

I also have been feeling the "expansion blues" lately. My Timeless gear is pretty much all upgraded, and I haven't really had the motivation to even run LFR for my sword from General Nazgrim. You know what? I couldn't care less either. Instead, I've been going around and doing achievements I missed so I won't have to worry about them when WoD comes out. I've also been collecting mounts, transmog items, and leveling up all my mini pets to level 10. I still have archaeology to work on too for The Seat of Knowledge, but that will take me a good while.

5 pristine artifacts away... ugh, give me a break Blizz!

I started leveling up my mage on Madoran for the WarcraftPets guild. I've also gotten my Skywall death knight to level 85 and my warlock is making progress through Outlands. I've started Pandaria with my warrior, but I'm leveling her up with my boyfriend's mage. He's been really busy with his last college semester, so I haven't been bothering him to level.

So while I've been taking things pretty slow and casual in WoW and blogging, I know I will be back in full force next year and closer to the WoD release. In fact, I'm so excited about it, I wish I could hibernate through the rest of winter!

Bonus screenshot: Happy early Winter Veil to me! Glad I didn't get coal!