tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81060806767440369762024-03-18T19:56:00.184-07:00Definitions Unknown--------------------------------- Where Anything Goes ---------------------------------Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-48970061182463868522014-04-20T02:58:00.000-07:002014-04-20T18:06:23.318-07:00Are You Kidding Me?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR3BuDJJO_dy0AOSmCGt8uv9EwxDu0_C9wKJpKPoLixtxY50-xZOJj611CDH6YgdqsaRD75XShyQNppLfBM_gaGoPeK6Qy7jH_rIgXIZWnndglcVf2p2tCuN1UJXicGt4YIZ5cX5VbsP2/s1600/Satire.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR3BuDJJO_dy0AOSmCGt8uv9EwxDu0_C9wKJpKPoLixtxY50-xZOJj611CDH6YgdqsaRD75XShyQNppLfBM_gaGoPeK6Qy7jH_rIgXIZWnndglcVf2p2tCuN1UJXicGt4YIZ5cX5VbsP2/s1600/Satire.png" height="400" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I know this is a fictitious work. I <i>made</i> it. -___-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Does the above argument sound ridiculous to you? It does to me. Yet someone was trying to make this kind of argument earlier. No, not about Skittles. About pants. That's right, pants.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There's a new type of jeans out there that show rainbow threads when they start to wear down. They've been labeled as "gay jeans", and so folks are kicking up a fuss. Saying that the brand shouldn't sell to such a small market as they won't keep in business. As if that wasn't bad enough, then people started going on about what a rainbow means in the bible and that it is something sacred, and that it needs to be "taken back".</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This isn't okay people. They're <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">jeans</u>. It's <u><i><b>rainbow</b></i></u>. You are not the only people who need to wear clothes. Nor are you the only people who have the right to appreciate colorful things. There is no "taking back" of anything in this. People are allowed to like rainbows. They're allowed to incorporate them into their everyday life. Regardless of whether or not their straight, gay, bi, trans, pan, not interested, or somewhere in between. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You aren't being harmed by this. You won't go to hell because of a pair of pants (though you should be careful if they're a mixed blend of materials). Just because a group associates with rainbow colors doesn't mean you cannot enjoy said colors. You have the right to enjoy them. BUT SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm tired of the hatred. It's getting downright dumb. It's <i>been</i> dumb for quite some time. So the next time you see something that's aimed towards some other group other than straight people (which doesn't actually <i style="font-weight: bold;">exclude</i> you, it just means you weren't the main objective) try and look at it objectively. Is it <i>really</i> something you should get offended by? Truly? Or are they just Skittles?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Think about it.</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-32324249502010769522014-04-14T23:41:00.000-07:002014-04-14T23:43:45.129-07:00Hogwarts House Pride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUxeutOhUxmKVV-Ot7siRfUClnn33KNyANTXuXGzqGcGV54n_8NaFz2q9DDBtcpL_tVum0AUTHxQARiqLJVPB5fALvtplEgNhwLF0RDi9LRkT2sf9nsjXv1KejQYvidKUpchnneRwqw4t/s1600/Ravenclaw+banner.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUxeutOhUxmKVV-Ot7siRfUClnn33KNyANTXuXGzqGcGV54n_8NaFz2q9DDBtcpL_tVum0AUTHxQARiqLJVPB5fALvtplEgNhwLF0RDi9LRkT2sf9nsjXv1KejQYvidKUpchnneRwqw4t/s1600/Ravenclaw+banner.png" height="161" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So my sister over at <a href="http://tealeavesandtinyhats.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tea Leaves and Tiny Hats</a> made a blog post on house pride, and suggested I do the same. Well... not one to turn down such an interesting topic I decided to oblige. Thus this post. *cough*</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ahem, so without any further ado... let's get on with it!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I became aware of Harry Potter a little later than my sister did. It wasn't until the second movie came out that I really started paying attention to it. You see, I wasn't much of a reader as a child. However, after enough nagging from my sister to read them I finally relented, and quite frankly am glad I did. I would have missed out on <i>so much</i>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've taken plenty of tests on the house subject, most being obvious as to what house you'd get, and so for a while I kept getting Gryffindor. I mean who wouldn't want to be a Gryffindor? It seemed that all the really relevant, <i>good</i> characters came from that house. It was only later, when I took a "which house hybrid are you" that I actually began to see the appeal of other houses. In case you're wondering I got "Gryffinclaw", a hybrid of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
See, I thought Ravenclaw was only for those who were really smart. That's not necessarily true though. It's actually just that those in Ravenclaw <i>value</i> intelligence. They also care for creativity and wit, thus drawing a lot of quirky characters. When I thought about it that way, Ravenclaw really was a good fit for me. So when I took the official Pottermore test I was pleased to find out that's where I was sorted.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm the only Ravenclaw in my family. My mother is Hufflepuff (though interestingly enough has several Slytherin tendencies as she almost was sorted there). My older sister and her husband are Slytherins, and my younger sister (the one I mentioned before) is a Gryffindor.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Anyway, part of the whole "show your house pride" thing is to design an outfit that would display said pride. Now I could have cheated, and just used a pre-made outfit already designed for this, but I wanted to be true to the spirit of the challenge. Besides, a lot of the outfits, while nice, didn't have my kind of flair. The thing is, I'm a bit more like Luna Lovegood when it comes to style. I like things quirky. So here's my go at a Ravenclaw outfit.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvaAyyhVLuGNBy6Ujq3Z2oz9C6wBsH7_xEvberSPHIbVyN1404DqWQ558Og4h9ABM0Kx9j7ztzAqjP8tHm_x3ik50gwLRV7elhbgjQdmaHM20OXTnkR3knEd9SoNXKevFIjQhGRTIfeGJ/s1600/bronze+armor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvaAyyhVLuGNBy6Ujq3Z2oz9C6wBsH7_xEvberSPHIbVyN1404DqWQ558Og4h9ABM0Kx9j7ztzAqjP8tHm_x3ik50gwLRV7elhbgjQdmaHM20OXTnkR3knEd9SoNXKevFIjQhGRTIfeGJ/s1600/bronze+armor.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I feel pretty! Oh so pretty!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Just kidding! While bronze armor would be bad ass, it really isn't practical outside of a battlefield. Thing is it was rather difficult for me to find anything bronze as far as clothing was concerned. At least anything that wasn't leather, pleather, or covered in sequence *shudders*. I wasn't about to cop-out and just have bronze accessories. So I spent a while searching, and eventually came up with something that I would <i>totally wear</i> if I had the items.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFaK0y3G-1d4HSevLjZsxn4ZwyaN6XbSROsF2oUR3XxCVrexQdAU300Dybk5HIq9KEoeJhvyFUmCr4-VxrduriIXwHajpXsl-kIQyeTpjRjeL-11LSJoBLs54SS9rV84ZExAAcI2zFv8z/s1600/Ravenclaw+Pride.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFaK0y3G-1d4HSevLjZsxn4ZwyaN6XbSROsF2oUR3XxCVrexQdAU300Dybk5HIq9KEoeJhvyFUmCr4-VxrduriIXwHajpXsl-kIQyeTpjRjeL-11LSJoBLs54SS9rV84ZExAAcI2zFv8z/s1600/Ravenclaw+Pride.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Yes, I know I didn't use the one special site that usually makes these types of things. They didn't have a lot of bronze things so shut up.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Isn't it lovely!? I think so. It's obviously a fancier option, featuring the bronze dress of <i>fabulousness</i>, the blue cloak of warmth, the bronze hat of epic win, and the lace embellished long glovey-thingamabobs. For makeup I decided to go with bronze eye shadow (for that slightly mysterious look), and blue lipstick (because I can). Jewelry is a simple eagle necklace, and for footwear I decided to give myself two blue options depending on whether I wanted a long boot or a short boot.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
All in all I think this is a great representation of Ravenclaw, and my style. I would proudly wear this outfit at a House Pride day. Now if only I could talk someone into buying me all of the items...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-20546935538555838732014-04-08T15:44:00.000-07:002014-04-08T15:44:09.000-07:00Adventuring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mBikUtUF7JBCScogZqGk08MwAVPz6426YyWZS1Zqphm2sfSyAa8eO865KSDyc4sqpyf8kOrNYSV-aqdVd774usrciPtV1fg7LQiorVC9KdU-FmFf-ozcpCGGS-0NYuLhOBzyaVsZOBCl/s1600/adventure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mBikUtUF7JBCScogZqGk08MwAVPz6426YyWZS1Zqphm2sfSyAa8eO865KSDyc4sqpyf8kOrNYSV-aqdVd774usrciPtV1fg7LQiorVC9KdU-FmFf-ozcpCGGS-0NYuLhOBzyaVsZOBCl/s1600/adventure.png" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Today my mother, younger sister, and I made plans to go to a store called Earth Lore. It's a really neat shop that has metaphysical stuff along with a lot of other nifty stuff. There is a cat there that roams the shop. Usually he's a tad antisocial, but today he came right up to me and demanded pets! It was adorable.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
While there I picked up some herbs (some powdered, which make for excellent paint pigments), and had my eye on a set of wind chimes for our new place. Sadly the chimes there were a tad outside my price range. However, while in the store I came across something unexpected. It was a basket full of hand woven brightly colored bracelets! After staring at the wonderful array of prettiness I had a sudden vision of myself having several of them. Not as bracelets though, but as hair accessories. I asked my sister what she thought of the idea, and she liked it- even got one for herself to use. I, myself, ended up getting nine of them.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After there we went to eat. We got subs, and then after that went into two nearby candy stores, and a tea shop. The first candy store had a fifty-four inch gummy worm (they called it a boa instead though because of how large it was)! We did not purchase said gummy boa, but instead got giant pixie stix, and a few other items.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The tea shop was a lot more fun. They had all kinds of tea, and tea related items. One thing in particular that I found neat was they had princess teas. There was one for Sleeping Beauty, one for Snow White, and one for Cinderella. You could smell them and oddly enough the scents reminded me of said movies. It was really interesting. In the end I bought a gift for someone there.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
After we left that area we ended up going to Lowes to look at riding lawn mowers. We didn't get one, but got a guide so we can do more research. We also got some plants: one for my room, one for my sisters room, and one that was on sale that my mom wants to rehabilitate. We also found a wind chime that is lovely and was the right price.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We'd only planned on going to one store today, but I'm glad we decided to go adventuring a little bit. We spent most of the day out, and it was a lot of fun. I hope we can go on more adventures in the near future.</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-36206566168053927762014-04-01T20:53:00.000-07:002014-04-01T21:03:06.181-07:00The Many Sins of Fanfiction: Part 1<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-LHbNaUyt21ym2YGTZ9SzX_XOqpEtr6JPswqeuo6dmEI1rcflXQ96d41j1eUiYrtIEpycNCy1JbY4oH5yEv0Fb1hBZ0qr6A6yM1TNxzsZhcpjl1658F3n9LkZMOhECUhus7YyvlY5n1r/s1600/fanfiction.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-LHbNaUyt21ym2YGTZ9SzX_XOqpEtr6JPswqeuo6dmEI1rcflXQ96d41j1eUiYrtIEpycNCy1JbY4oH5yEv0Fb1hBZ0qr6A6yM1TNxzsZhcpjl1658F3n9LkZMOhECUhus7YyvlY5n1r/s1600/fanfiction.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Have you ever liked a book, movie, or show so much that you were sad to see it end? Have you ever wanted to see more of those characters, perhaps in new and exciting situations? If so then fanfiction might be a good outlet for you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fanfiction is fiction written by fans of a movie, show, or book using existing characters and/or situations to develop new plot. These works can range from the mundane to the extraordinary, and anyone at any writing level can create them. Unfortunately, that means there comes a point where you will encounter <i>bad</i> fanfiction. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I myself have had run-ins with it on many different occasions. So I decided it would be fun to make a "Many Sins" post about it. I labeled it as just the first part as I'm sure I will come back to this subject again in the future. And so, without further ado, here is the first batch...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sin Numero Uno: Bad Writing</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I personally feel you should have a basic grasp of whatever language you are writing in before you actually attempt to write. It is <i>extremely irritating</i> to click on something that has a decent premise only to find the story to be littered with errors. I'm not talking using the wrong tense occasionally, or the wrong two (to? too?). I meen righting lyke this, ohkay? It isn't hard to click the little spell check button. So PLEASE USE IT! Otherwise I'll get twitchy, and immediately stop reading.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sin Number Two: Bad Dialogue</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Similar to the first, but not the same. This one is easy enough to avoid. Just read your dialogue out loud. If it doesn't sound like someone would actually <i>talk</i> that way in real life then chances are you need to reword some things. Also use moderation. There's nothing worse than like hearing someone like speak like this like they're a freaking like ditsy like person! Like. *shudders*</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sin Number Three: Bad Plotting</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So you've killed a character off. Good for you! That jerk deserved to die! But... you really liked writing his character. You <i>miss</i> being able to put him into situations where he gets to sass at everyone in a thirty mile radius. He was fun. So you decide to bring him back. Yay! Except bringing him back doesn't make sense in the story. But, like I said, you <i>miss</i> him. So you do it anyway. Sure you have to make up a convoluted reason as to why he was able to come back from the dead, but your fans won't mind. He's a fabulous character! Who cares if it seems forced! To hell with sense! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Except... it <i>does</i> matter and people <i>do</i> care. It doesn't matter how awesome a character is, or how awesome a story is. If things start to teeter on the edge of what the frickity frack was <i>that </i>ridiculousness then you are in serious danger of losing your followers. The thing with any plot idea is that there has to be at least some semblance of believe-ability. Otherwise there is a disconnect, and the last thing you want is your followers to disconnect from you and your work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Those first three deal with bigger structural issues of fanfiction. These next ones however are sins that I consider to happen out of pure laziness.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Sin That Comes After Number Three, Also Known As Number Four: Extreme OOCness</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
OOC means out of character. The reason why I say extreme OOCness instead of just plain OOCness is because as a fan writer you will always, ALWAYS make the characters from your fandom a little out of character. After all you were not the one to originally create said characters so it's not something you can help. The characters are also going into situations that you can only guess as to how they might react.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The key here is that you have to try. Mind you the rules are a bit more bendy in an AU (alternate universe), but you have to at least get a basic grasp of what the character is like, and then try to figure out how that character would react in certain situations. If you are making a fanfiction where the main guy character is the strong and silent type then it is not okay for you to suddenly break character for him and make him into a gigantic crybaby just because he stubbed his toe. Just like with bad plotting, if your rendition of a character is not in some way believe-able then your followers won't buy it, and they certainly won't continue on with your story.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Fifth Sin: Gender-swapping</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There is a right, and a wrong way to gender-swap. It all depends on your reasons for doing the swap in the first place. Unfortunately the main reason people use this idea is because they are uncomfortable writing the character(s) with their normal gender identities. You usually see this with people who want to write romance between two characters who are of the same gender normally, but are uncomfortable with the idea of writing two guys or gals getting together. So they switch one so that there is only one guy and one girl.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I could rant for a long time about why this one bothers me, but I'll spare you the dramatics. Hopefully it's obvious why this one gets people into loads of trouble, and if not... well whatever. On to the next one.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sin Number Six (The Last Sin... For Now): Nicknames</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I can't <i>stand</i> this one. It just. Uhg! So annoying. Now I'm not talking about using nicknames that sound good and would make sense for a character, nor am I talking about using a nickname as a tool to be irritating to said character. I'm talking about a continual use of a nickname instead of a character's given name that makes very little if no sense what so ever. Want some examples? Well let's see... in the Avenger's fandom I have personally seen Tone for Tony Stark, and Lokes for Loki. As you can see both character have four letter names so what is even the point of nicknaming them? I've also seen in the Merlin fandom, people using Arty for Arthur, which <i>no</i>. And the worst I've seen so far (again from the Merlin fandom) is Merls for Merlin.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Again, it's obvious as to why this one is a sin, and if you don't see as to why it is then I'm afraid there is no hope for you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And so ends The Many Sins of Fanfiction: Part 1</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Be on the lookout for another part in the future.</div>
</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-12315706542323009812014-03-25T15:37:00.000-07:002014-03-25T15:37:08.649-07:00Oversights Lead to Ouch! That Hurts!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xMDI0tGC50CEWVekz4xxkBrywSLeDD1a5786Vvb9KLbcoHifwkiAaofniPSAUZJHVB_oE0dNrGQfJLfSgvGZFEIdvbJtB4hEhA3gaKo-BCNWNbRwHchDxwMVW-bWf-swtd_Wa_lzylvt/s1600/October+on+boxes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xMDI0tGC50CEWVekz4xxkBrywSLeDD1a5786Vvb9KLbcoHifwkiAaofniPSAUZJHVB_oE0dNrGQfJLfSgvGZFEIdvbJtB4hEhA3gaKo-BCNWNbRwHchDxwMVW-bWf-swtd_Wa_lzylvt/s1600/October+on+boxes.png" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today I relearned a lesson I should have already known in full. It is a lesson that involves cats, though this time it was the cat above specifically. The lesson? Don't give a cat the opportunity to use your neck as a spring board.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I learned this when I was younger. One of our cats had wanted out of my arms and up onto something, and as a result I got my neck gouged pretty good. I still have a scar from it. Well today the same thing happened. I was holding October with the intent of putting him on a bookshelf. However, I forgot that the plant on said bookshelf was cat grass, and in his rush to get at it I was used as a spring board. It would have been fine if it'd been my chest; I was wearing a robe. Unfortunately though his back legs landed on my throat, and double unfortunately we haven't clipped his back claws recently.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
He got me in a few places on my neck, and at first it didn't look bad at all. But then a minute went by and the suckers started bleeding, quite a lot actually. I knew it wasn't anything too bad though, it just <i>looked</i> bad. I bleed rather easily you see. So I cleaned it up, got a gauze pad, taped that on, and then to keep pressure on it wrapped a scarf around the area. Then I went right back to organizing the books (which was what I'd been doing previously to this incident).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's a pain in the butt, and I have to be careful with it otherwise the tape will come off. It also aches somewhat. Hopefully it'll heal quickly, though I am curious as to whether or not it'll scar. That might look cool. Anyway, to those of you who own pets, BEWARE! DON'T DO WHAT I DID! PROTECT YOUR NECK!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You have been warned.</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-41839518202453250672014-03-20T09:33:00.000-07:002014-03-20T09:33:49.680-07:00Analyse This: New Bed<div style="text-align: center;">
Wow. Okay. Did you know that analyse can also be spelled analyze? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I look at both and they both seem wrong! Gah! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anyway, onto the subject of this post: I am getting a new bed.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I bet you're wondering what the big deal is. I mean it's just a bed, right?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><u>WRONG!</u></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You silly sausages, do you honestly think if it was that simple I'd be talking about it?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Well... maybe I would. But that's not the point! Perhaps I should get to the point you say?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Great idea!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is no ordinary bed. It's not simply a mattress replacement deal here. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am getting a brand new bed. A <i>bigger</i> bed. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm talking with a head board and foot board here!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*flails around like a crazy person*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Still confused? Wondering why I'm nervous about it... </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe even freaking out a little, tiny bit?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Truth is... I don't really know. I mean I am excited for it. I <i>am</i>. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I get bouts of giddiness. But then I hesitate. I feel... apprehensive. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The question is why though? Why does something as</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
small as a bed freak me out, even just a little?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I have a couple of possibilities for you.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1. It's, le gasp! <i>Change.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2. I don't get to have nice things.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now I think my problem is a combination of both of these things. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There might be more to it, I'm not sure but let's just roll with these at the moment. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We shall start with the first one. The dreaded <i>change</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of change in my life and consider myself decent at</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
rolling with the punches. However, I think it's precisely because I've had a crap ton</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of change in my life that the small changes are what trip me up.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Also, if I think about it, the size of my bed has been a constant in my life. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I've always, <i>always </i>had a twin bed, and I'm getting into the thick of my twenties. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
That's a long time to have a certain type of bed. Also I've only really had two frames in my life. The first I had for <i>forever</i>; it was the top bunk of a set of bunk beds. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The only reason we got rid of it was because it died and could no longer be put back together. The second is currently sitting in our garage, still wrapped up in plastic from the move. It wouldn't fit up the stairs, and if we were to take it apart it wouldn't be able to be put back together. Thus, the need for a new bed.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But it bothers me that I can't use my still perfectly good bed. It's not dead yet, so why should I get a new one? This brings me to the second issue.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't get to have nice things. This could also be interpreted as new things. I get stuck in this way of thinking that if something works then I should keep it. I shouldn't trade up for something better, I should just wait until it falls apart. This applies to big things and small alike.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I think it's a self-esteem thing? Maybe? Or maybe it could be the fact that these things,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
though not as good as they once were, are <i>mine</i> and so I don't want to give them up? Oh!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I think that one is true. Let's add it to the list.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3. I'm somewhat possessive of objects already established as mine.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I think I feel sorry for the objects I'm letting go. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Like I'm saying they're no longer good enough or something, and so I feel bad. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wow. Giving yourself a guilt trip over an object. *shakes head*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anyway, back to number two. No, not <i>that</i> number two. Anyway (again), I don't</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
get this way when other people need things. Only when I do, which further suggests</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the self-esteem thing. I worry that if I get something new/better, that that means someone</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>else</i> won't be able to get something when <i>they</i> need it. So then I feel bad.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Yay guilt trips! *rolls eyes*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The good news? I know that my feelings are a tad irrational. I can reason out</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
why certain things are necessary, and that me having things is, in fact, a <i>good thing.</i> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm a lot better at this then I once was. The other two numbers are something that</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I can handle with perhaps a bit of a pep talk, and if that doesn't work then a swift</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
kick in the rear should do the trick.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Because in the end this is just a bed. I will probably have many other beds in the</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
future. And that's okay. It's no big deal. It's <i>normal</i>. It's so normal it's mundane and boring. Therefore there's no need to get stressed out over little rediculousnesses (totally not a word) that won't matter in the long run anyway.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And with that said, I need to go organize the library.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Does anyone have any other theories about this subject? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Comments? Rude gestures? Sparkly pinatas?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Let me know in a response.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-25583858791829879962014-03-11T04:55:00.000-07:002014-03-11T04:56:19.483-07:00It's Okay... Just Be Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcthyFiZ8G7hSzWkuuDU0T4Ku7RPLAMGuGaeo1fJEtEHmKoL70dl5ZBvbysE3V_w1gsQW0yjyZoL0-Q8SUvDq6eSBVNM4uZfNqAQUsRlovLblpc7E8YtRPw_wPHKBDa17Y-trADpfxjkC/s1600/Beautiful+Sheep.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcthyFiZ8G7hSzWkuuDU0T4Ku7RPLAMGuGaeo1fJEtEHmKoL70dl5ZBvbysE3V_w1gsQW0yjyZoL0-Q8SUvDq6eSBVNM4uZfNqAQUsRlovLblpc7E8YtRPw_wPHKBDa17Y-trADpfxjkC/s1600/Beautiful+Sheep.PNG" height="297" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Picture this: Your doing something. This thing is something you enjoy. However, every now and again you pause. You get self conscious. You get embarrassed. You feel the need to justify liking whatever it is. Not anyone else, but to your<i>self</i>. You remind yourself that it's okay to like things. That because you like them you aren't somehow some strange, abnormal thing that should be shunned away. It's fine. You're fine.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Maybe you haven't experienced this. Maybe you have. All I know is that this is something that I deal with a fair amount. Not <i>all</i> the time, but enough to be annoying. Enough to keep me on edge. I don't like those moments. I don't like checking myself, doubting myself like that. I know in part where it comes from.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My past, for one thing. As a child I felt that there were expectations I had to meet, and that no matter what I did I could never meet said expectations. Some of them were from my family (a few real, but most imagined) while others came from peers, teachers, or religious folks. It was really rough for me, and took me a long time to realize that what some people said didn't matter in the long run. It took me even longer to realize that in some instances I'd been brainwashed, or indoctrinated if you prefer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm still a work in progress. I know more pauses will come in the future, and that sometimes I'll have setbacks. Sometimes I'll breakdown and freak out, wonder what the hell is wrong with me. But I also know that those times won't be the majority, and that when they happen they won't last. I won't be beaten by fear, by doubt. I <i>will</i> be myself. With all my wonders. With all my flaws. Everything.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I encourage you all to do the same. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
May your own journeys be filled with more ups than downs, </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
more joy than sorrow, more tenderness than pain, and plenty</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
of whatever it is that makes life worth living for you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-39362400095394227702014-03-06T00:31:00.000-08:002014-03-06T00:31:54.998-08:00Le Sigh...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://galvinaven.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/no-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://galvinaven.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/no-water.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So we've moved into our new house and everything is going great!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Except...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
we're sick.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
there's no running water.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sooo... addressing the first thing. I believe I started this whole thing off. I got sick, went to see the doctor, he gave me penicillin and sent me on my way. I started to get better, took the whole week's worth, and while I was doing that my sister got sick. Now my mom is sick, and I am too... <i>again.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Went back to the doctor. Guess what he did. Any ideas? Whelp, he gave my sister a different kind of antibiotic than he gave me. For me? He checked my ears, took some blood to test for allergies, and sent me on my way. So apparently he thinks my issue is allergies... oh and salivary stones. Coughed one of those babies out right in front of him. But it's "nothing to be concerned about". Uh huh. Suuuure doc. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The water thing is a bit of a pickle. We had some for about half a day. Then the thing crapped out on us. We've had a guy come out, and he's still not 100% sure what the issue is. Thankfully my family has had to endure worse conditions than this before so we know how to rough it for a bit. It's just... uncomfortable. Our landlord is doing everything in his power to get things worked out, which is nice. Most landlords we've had aren't so good at their job. It's awesome to have one now that cares.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
All in all I'm just a little bit miserable right now, but doing my best to cope. Hopefully things look up soon. That's all for now. This is Kimi, signing out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Peace!</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-18309162066601132282014-02-25T17:14:00.002-08:002014-02-25T17:14:33.764-08:00Moving On...<div style="text-align: center;">
So, in a few days I'll be moving. I've moved several times in my life so I know how it goes. You pack everything up, sifting through it as you go, and whatever you have that no longer works for you you then give away, or get rid of in some way. Usually this process hasn't been too hard for me, but this time around was trickier than the others.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You see, when it comes to holding onto stuff from childhood I'm the one who has kept the most stuff. I have pieces ranging from about five years old and up. Both of my sisters have one, maybe two items from that time (not including things like pictures, school awards, and whatnot). I had somewhere in between seven and twelve.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don't get me wrong, I've downsized my collection of things before, however it was usually by one or two things. This time around I got rid of several. Some were easy; they were items I received later on in childhood, and while I had fond memories of them I wasn't as attached.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There were, however, two in particular that I did have a special bond with, that I had a hard time letting go of. So I decided to compromise with myself and take pictures of them with the intent of posting about each one here. All right, here goes!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghn5mbW1LeNLcoqzUU6vPFBBqeaw0X9CXHGnt4dcZOIlJLiX_gpgQ3LBQINUeqyDKIu7dtR4oNwxaJUvXPhBouFew0SV59PRYLyYFyxIFh8wnSBJmE5-EGJzwaOcdVAX6EaqWwInuB15Jy/s1600/Furby.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghn5mbW1LeNLcoqzUU6vPFBBqeaw0X9CXHGnt4dcZOIlJLiX_gpgQ3LBQINUeqyDKIu7dtR4oNwxaJUvXPhBouFew0SV59PRYLyYFyxIFh8wnSBJmE5-EGJzwaOcdVAX6EaqWwInuB15Jy/s1600/Furby.png" height="247" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
First is the Furby! This is not your newer version, but one of the old ones. She's just a little bit creepy isn't she? As she is a Statue of Liberty version she was dubbed "The Statue of Furby". Yes, creative I know. I got her at my sisters' birthday party. This was one of the years my parents decided to not only have their birthdays together, but they also decided to invite a ton of people.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I admit, whenever they had birthdays together I would get jealous. It always seemed so much more spectacular than any of my birthdays. However, I tried to take it like a champ and not get too melancholy. So it came as a huge surprise to me when the last gifts also had one for me! I was super excited. It made me feel included, which was really all I ever wanted. So we all opened them up at the same time and found we had Furbies. My older sister got a graduation one, my younger sister got a sort of speckled one, and I got the one above.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We got right to annoyed our parents with them. It was a lot of fun. Of course after the novelty wore off, my older sister got tired of hers. So then my younger sis and I annoyed her as well. We'd feed them (not real food, obviously), get them to say things, and swing them around really fast. All in all it was great fun. However, then their batteries started to die, and well... that's when they started to seem a little creepy. At least to me anyway. We realized that sometimes they wouldn't go to sleep, that their eyes would just stay open... staring at us.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So like I said, great times! We never really put batteries in them again. I did once, but then my Furby needed to be washed (which I took the batteries out for). She never worked after that. You'll notice she's missing her eyelashes. That's due to them falling out. But then she is over ten years old.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWCe28hnG4QnyKrV50JZYia-42azYpl_ZfXv4MILuquBiXYc4B3C3JLfHmYszFx0GEhI1QsoCtJQj4Ml5qKKPFI1orQdolDN9VBYJE6GXCs2_KOqyMV3DDLhLSFmo1OqfTZ7HzPha-w9y/s1600/Bear.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWCe28hnG4QnyKrV50JZYia-42azYpl_ZfXv4MILuquBiXYc4B3C3JLfHmYszFx0GEhI1QsoCtJQj4Ml5qKKPFI1orQdolDN9VBYJE6GXCs2_KOqyMV3DDLhLSFmo1OqfTZ7HzPha-w9y/s1600/Bear.png" height="320" width="237" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This next one is a little more complicated for me. He is much newer than my Furby was, but he <i>represents</i> a stuffed animal far older. This is the story:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When I was young I had a bear. I took him with me on many of my grand adventures, getting him muddy, wet, you know the drill. I even took him to a hospital event where he got a cast. His name was Teddy. Now there is a great mystery surrounding that bear. For one evening I had set him down on my bed and went to dinner. However, when I came back afterwards he was gone. I looked for him everywhere. So did my mom, but there was no sign of him. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and eventually I knew that wherever he was he was not coming back.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It broke my heart. He was my bestest most favorite of bears. To this day I still don't know what happened to him. This brings me to the bear above. His name is Teddy the Second. We found him one day while shopping. It was amazing. There he was, just as we were passing by. I stopped, stared, then showed him to my mom. Sure, he had clothes on, but I knew... this bear was an <i>exact duplicate</i> of my bear. So she got him for me, and I started a friendship with him.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
He and I haven't had as many adventures, but I did perform surgery on him. He was very brave to let me do that. However, I realized that I wasn't doing him any justice by holding onto him. I knew some other child would play with him, have adventures, and love him dearly, and all without having thoughts of another bear at the same time.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Intense feelings for a stuffed animal, I know, but when you really get down to it there are lots of people who develop real attachments to their things, especially those from childhood. People also have a range for when they can let go of said things. I'm just one of those people who has taken a bit longer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You should have seen my room when I first became an adult. I still had most of my stuffed animals throughout the years. Now I have only a few, small ones with which I have great sentimental attachment to. (I also have some anime plushies, but they're a tad different in my opinion.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
But yeah... moving on is hard. It feels like you're leaving everything you've ever known or loved behind. It doesn't <i>have</i> to be that way though. You don't need to keep the items to keep the memories. And you can always take a picture like I have. Speaking of pictures, I need to find that one of Tigger Tiger (he was a very special beanie animal that was much bigger than me for a good long time). I'll have to show him to you all another day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ta!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-59415011372057822452014-02-18T11:31:00.000-08:002014-02-18T11:31:22.175-08:00The Wonderful World of Cat Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You haven't really been officiated into the cybernetic world of the interwebs until you've seen a cat video. It's hard to get anywhere in this cyberspace without somehow tripping over a video of a kitten whining for food, a grumpy-looking cat seemingly judging you, or any other variety you can think of. Cats are as diverse as humans, and we all love us a good cat vid (unless you don't like cats, which in that case I say to you GET OUT).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Anyway, today I finally broke into the world of cat videos for the first time. No, not as a viewer, but as a creator. It was a simple video, only a little less than forty seconds long, but it was still an adorable little introduction to one of our furbabies. His name is October.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpRJCfGV_UrawRcSxCNm6eKuHYRwVbpd6UlYNCddWhbMyokIWrs9TylQYgWoucsu2jDUbm9DdkwKot7ZvmdJCf7A_IQ4g69jWHVBp-dOM-2EBtE1r4bUs3UQ25M_msE0YUWasB-0ofEOi/s1600/October.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpRJCfGV_UrawRcSxCNm6eKuHYRwVbpd6UlYNCddWhbMyokIWrs9TylQYgWoucsu2jDUbm9DdkwKot7ZvmdJCf7A_IQ4g69jWHVBp-dOM-2EBtE1r4bUs3UQ25M_msE0YUWasB-0ofEOi/s1600/October.png" height="189" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is a recent photo of said furbaby.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
October is our oldest, and crankiest of furbabies. As you can see he is a lovely, little, black kitty with pretty yellow eyes. I am his favorite (much to his owner's annoyance), and he spends most of his time hanging out in my room.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So, back to the video. I decided to test the waters by taping him with my new camera I got for Christmas. I'd taken a few with him deeply entrenched in my blankets, but finally on the third try he emerged just enough so I could get more than just his eyeing me or biting my fingers (which is his way of saying "Back off! This is <i>my</i> cave!). It took me all of a half hour to complete, and that's with dinking around. So if any of you would like to take a look then here's the link:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li_p51CTYKg" target="_blank">A Kitty Short</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I hope you enjoy it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-3932605597474332532014-02-10T21:52:00.000-08:002014-02-10T21:52:30.335-08:00Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Okay, so today I'm going today I'm going to talk about some projects I am working on. A little back story is first needed. So...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have 13 different projects listed that I need to get done. Some are small and can be finished in one sitting while others are much larger and will take months, or even years to finish. Of these 13 projects I have 7 of them already in some stage of work. There's a lot to be done, and relocating (a 14th project coming up) doesn't make it any easier.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
However, some of my projects can be streamlined a little so that I can continue working on them, and working on said projects will actually help with the moving process. The first of the projects is consolidating writing articles from a rather large stack of magazines into a writing binder. I've already gotten through a few of them, and once I finish this I will no longer have a tower of paper threatening to topple over every time I move my feet wrong.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The second project is one I've been working on for years. I say years because I've been saving up old/holey pieces of clothing that I liked and am making them all into patches for a quilt. I have wanted to make a quilt out of my (and some of my sister's) things since I was a child. We're talking 7 years old. However, when I was young my mom accidentally gave my bag of old clothes away. I was... rather distraught about that, and for a long time didn't try collecting any more for fear of the same thing happening. Around the time I was 18 or so I decided to start anew. Since that time I have amassed a fair amount of clothing which has periodically been made into patches. I'm hoping that soon enough I will have enough to make my quilt.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The patches won't all be similar. They are various colors, cloth type, and whatnot. They are all, however, roughly the same size (7 1/2" x 7 1/2"). Once I have enough I'll sew them all together, after learning how to use a sewing machine mind you, and then I'll have a nice quilt! It will look kind of like the below only <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">waaaaay</u> cooler.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyKAP7ERpCxjnPLV_DnDXT0uocm7X7JRNZl09_W4EWz8i5h7YMIRrDp_U7IksxN8OprV2OFO7gIEPf3Oz14gQFnvLXFJbZbnUsDWsdPpaw-AvtZYfotbktad05ngUlt9B_guBMGagBX_m/s1600/quilt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyKAP7ERpCxjnPLV_DnDXT0uocm7X7JRNZl09_W4EWz8i5h7YMIRrDp_U7IksxN8OprV2OFO7gIEPf3Oz14gQFnvLXFJbZbnUsDWsdPpaw-AvtZYfotbktad05ngUlt9B_guBMGagBX_m/s1600/quilt.png" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The third project I've only started recently. It is similar to my quilt idea only it won't take as long. I have plans to also make a patchwork scarf. Those squares are 3 x 3 and unlike the quilt will have some repeating square types. I imagine it will look something like this:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIlfaGf2D3c_1XKZSpo-SvbjMgV4cyPStf-fPBZIqy0InOxfK-ywqQeMQKVR8pVI9RDr5p1XnBZJlFDgFQOgjHB5D0OJO5Jv8635BOmy4x7BFGFGSTt6gEehnqLu1AZaHTuB_eODqeih5/s1600/scarf.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIlfaGf2D3c_1XKZSpo-SvbjMgV4cyPStf-fPBZIqy0InOxfK-ywqQeMQKVR8pVI9RDr5p1XnBZJlFDgFQOgjHB5D0OJO5Jv8635BOmy4x7BFGFGSTt6gEehnqLu1AZaHTuB_eODqeih5/s1600/scarf.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Again, only way cooler. Not sure if I'll have fringe on the ends or not, but we'll see. I'm almost done with the bag of old clothes/stuff I have. I only have 5 or 6 more pieces to go through. So in 2 days I should no longer have a big, bulky bag and instead have a neat, little box ready to move to the next place.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I won't worry about sewing until after the move. I probably will need some more pieces of fabric anyway. On that note I need to remember to take another look at my sister's fabric stash. She might have something I'd like to use. Hmm...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well until next time!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-30722970613067395532014-02-04T22:08:00.002-08:002014-02-04T22:08:42.396-08:00It Isn't Nice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCo4Nv7ngbxtTb5fPv3yIIjX7jmIPkZWw9bcWTDJkw7Esx3-mqQ9qaDUDvfBsVEK2gEGYW_5TgZe26ctfBEGXyhd97LCN_4su-vNBXs6q_3QyyDSnmlIMZBFj23w_LNTa3SXxWxt75gKa/s1600/pain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCo4Nv7ngbxtTb5fPv3yIIjX7jmIPkZWw9bcWTDJkw7Esx3-mqQ9qaDUDvfBsVEK2gEGYW_5TgZe26ctfBEGXyhd97LCN_4su-vNBXs6q_3QyyDSnmlIMZBFj23w_LNTa3SXxWxt75gKa/s1600/pain.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice to belittle people.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice to make someone feel like crap.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice to dismiss someone.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice to make people feel stupid.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice to say "come to me with things" </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
only to later on turn away and scoff.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It isn't nice; not at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's things like this that make people averse to telling you things.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's things like this that make people think you care only about your own stuff.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's things like this that separate you, and close you off from others.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then you wonder why nobody lets you in.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You hurt people.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You say your sorry (sometimes), </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but then you go back and do it again.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And again.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And again.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You want people to like you?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You want people to care?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The first step to getting those things</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
is to first be willing to change.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Then you must actively try to change,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to seek out ways to be good to others.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Because if you keep up this behavior</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
you'll wind up very lonesome,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and have no one else to blame</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but yourself.</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-77939600065337952472014-02-04T04:18:00.000-08:002014-02-04T04:18:10.570-08:00Residence Relocation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've got big news from<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> L</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">ondon! </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Big news!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, not really from London, but I do have news. Can anyone name that quote by the way? *cough* <i>Anyway,</i> we had an interview the other day about a house.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XS4vo5FFERw2WZMJkhSvyLsBibffBW4CJEix2vhm95yKr6CYqhNEoIDiLVlYJJsBG_SNrbqAMBc0OGCMAQVPN4_SyG_W-cjyTj6SffEbFeVFH9hYaOKaL0gO6hhXPIn45QU00uAjUgmU/s1600/house.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-XS4vo5FFERw2WZMJkhSvyLsBibffBW4CJEix2vhm95yKr6CYqhNEoIDiLVlYJJsBG_SNrbqAMBc0OGCMAQVPN4_SyG_W-cjyTj6SffEbFeVFH9hYaOKaL0gO6hhXPIn45QU00uAjUgmU/s1600/house.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">not an accurate picture</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's a very nice house, with a lot more room than our current one. It has a ginormous backyard, around 4 1/2 acres, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and f course the other standard rooms you usually get plus 2 more. It's really nice and so we decided to try our luck at being the next tenants. It took a lot of time, and paperwork, but we secured an interview with the landlord. It went really well, and it looks like we've got ourselves a new house! Hurry! Doot do do dooo! That's a triumph noise for those of you who don't know.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So yeah, we'll be moving. It'll be interesting as the house is in an area we've never lived in before. We'll (my sister and I) be in upstairs rooms again, though they're a tad different as this time our walls are slanted. Hopefully that won't hinder us too much, though I know it means I won't be able to hang up my artwork anymore. Hopefully I'll be allowed to display it in other areas of the house.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So yeah, some lifestyle changes will have to happen, but I believe it'll be for the best in the long run. We're hoping to make the switch from old house to new come March 1st, but we'll have to see whether or not that's feasible. In any case I need to start taking a look at the things I have and getting rid of any of it that I don't want to haul to the next place. Eh... I'll do that later.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well that's all for now. Wish me luck!</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-91561706945340622192014-01-31T18:31:00.000-08:002014-01-31T18:31:08.905-08:00Common Mistakes with Painting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkplwvN8W4oWzYEue3uwkBYziWHT23XGfTHQcj5pSm0h8w_OT_YEuoHE_3AbYFHHlr6UH648-HIWMQ7rov-TIja7lHW0mdytXnvL5eHVqSvYold4KznRzb5z1hPN44qrQMU9czY6mkPo-/s1600/oops.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkplwvN8W4oWzYEue3uwkBYziWHT23XGfTHQcj5pSm0h8w_OT_YEuoHE_3AbYFHHlr6UH648-HIWMQ7rov-TIja7lHW0mdytXnvL5eHVqSvYold4KznRzb5z1hPN44qrQMU9czY6mkPo-/s1600/oops.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today I'm going to talk a little about common mistakes while painting. These aren't some top five I found in some article or anything, but are ones that I find myself on the wrong end of. Maybe you do some of these too. Who knows? Let's find out together shall we?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Impatience</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This one is pretty obvious. When you get impatient about wanting something to be finished then you don't produce your best work. You end up pushing the paint around instead of actually finishing, and <i>that </i>my friend leads to mistakes.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">2. No Clear Vision</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Now this one isn't always a bad thing. Some of my neatest paintings have come from just rolling up my sleeves and diving in without any idea of what I want. However this way of working can easily backfire, and you end up with more of a mess than anything else. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's especially dangerous if you have an idea of what you want to do, but no idea how you want to go about doing it. I had this problem recently. I wanted to do one particular type of landscape, but dove in first without an idea of how to proceed. It was only after I'd started that I looked at reference pictures and as a result had to redo some of my work. It was a downward spiral from there, and I ended up scraping the project instead of wasting more paint on something I couldn't save.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Over Correcting</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This one I know is common among most artists. It's when you see something you don't like, and so you correct it. Only then you see another thing. And another. And another. Soon your painting has changed so much you no longer like it. You can also correct so much that in your correcting you make a blunder.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I did the latter of the scenarios once while doing an intuitive painting. It was really gorgeous, but had a couple of white spots. In trying to correct the white spots I completely messed up the flow of the painting to the point where it couldn't be salvaged.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Not Letting Things Be</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There comes a point in painting where you need to walk away. It could be you've spent too much time looking at the darn thing and you're starting to go cross-eyed, it could be you don't know where to go from where you are and are feeling hopeless, or perhaps it feels like it might be finished, but you aren't sure.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When you become unsure it's best to take a breather and walk away. Sometimes that's all you need. Sometimes you need more time. What you're hoping to achieve is a different state of mind. A fresh outlook. If you don't do this and just stare at the canvas you won't get anything done, or worse you make a mistake that messes it up. The same thing is the case for something that's finished, but you're unsure about it. If you don't sit on it you can end up having to redo the whole thing.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">5. Not Trusting Yourself</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is a big one. Ultimately, with anything in life, you must trust yourself. If you aren't able to listen to that part of you that tells you it's enough, to do something this way instead of another, or to <b>not put the paintbrush in your mouth </b>then you end up with a lot of problems. You must have confidence, at least a little, or you'll never get anything done. What's more, when you have finished you'll be easily swayed by the comments and criticisms of others.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So these are my top five issues I have while painting. They don't always come out, but when they do it's <i style="font-weight: bold;">super annoying!</i> However, if I just chill a bit, relax, breathe, and then re-access the situation usually I can get through whatever the problem is. So if any of you suffer from these issues make sure you try to do the same.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I wish you luck in all of your creative endeavors.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-90947337952672839382014-01-20T22:57:00.002-08:002014-01-20T22:57:56.440-08:00Why With The Annoying Things!?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZbO1UGNNOz9LTuJ8NUKGrH9S9nHKroVLX34YwWUK782jWJC_fIDInlM9TcT9ADwm-M6USsRmVmgPJS8lgMJ0p9A5xIi-6l0nf1XgEQ87KoSrdO4a7zOKsZU62Wk5GYIl4ZmD3zRDzvqD/s1600/Why.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZbO1UGNNOz9LTuJ8NUKGrH9S9nHKroVLX34YwWUK782jWJC_fIDInlM9TcT9ADwm-M6USsRmVmgPJS8lgMJ0p9A5xIi-6l0nf1XgEQ87KoSrdO4a7zOKsZU62Wk5GYIl4ZmD3zRDzvqD/s1600/Why.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Arrrrrrggghh!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
That is how I am currently feeling. Why, you ask? Why indeed! Well, there's only the little issue of one of our cats getting a little friendly with my blankets <i style="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;">again. </i>Nothing new really. Although this time it was because I left a hoodie on my blankets that I had on when visiting my sister's place. They have an unfixed cat there. So yeah... big whoopsie on my part.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Still, this isn't the first time he's done this, or even the second time. He done it four times (that I remember anyway) to my things, and at least once to his owner's. These are at random times, and are usually far apart, but the last time he did this was <i>last week</i>. Last week! Gah! And he did it around the same time too, as in right before I was going to go to bed. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After I went to put my things in the wash he started to follow me, giving me this "are you still mad at me" look. It was pathetic and clearly a ploy to get back into my good graces. It did not work. Instead I sent him to his mother's room to stay in for the time being. He was less than pleased.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So now I'm here typing this, and waiting for my linens to finishing washing. Then I'll put them in the dryer and wait some more. *SHAKES FIST*</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-35800484479973556062014-01-13T22:10:00.000-08:002014-01-13T22:10:37.317-08:00Poetry and Other Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0au4yUJK7VmNLEL5XRWD9bEy3HC4z7LTgFGUr31IX32nK-FhXKOyvlLAq-52xy0NDyeBXQFJYbsa1VcE9kHT52PTu09_Xc7OuUAuMK9H58AbkVBMOkuBNJXKY2JeQ9AvKy0A9fovzFi_/s1600/frozen+glass.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0au4yUJK7VmNLEL5XRWD9bEy3HC4z7LTgFGUr31IX32nK-FhXKOyvlLAq-52xy0NDyeBXQFJYbsa1VcE9kHT52PTu09_Xc7OuUAuMK9H58AbkVBMOkuBNJXKY2JeQ9AvKy0A9fovzFi_/s1600/frozen+glass.png" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Shards of frozen glass</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Clinging to the evergreens.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Nature’s ornaments.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This was a poem I submitted for a haiku poetry contest on a site I frequent. There were several entries with 3 categories you could enter, and each category has a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. This poem was entered under the "Winter" category, which ended up being the most entered category. I didn't have much confidence that it would win.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It did.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Not only did it win, but it won first place! I was so excited about it. Even though I didn't win anything other than fake money, it was still nice. I felt validated in some way, my talent acknowledged.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is something every artist struggles with. The wish of being seen as talented. The hard part about this issue is that you're usually the one who is your biggest critic, your biggest obstacle. I know, at least in my experience, that if I didn't get in my own way so much I could do so much more. I just need to stop tripping myself up.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I think this is true of all people, no matter what you're doing or where you come from. We all just need to give ourselves a break and see our strengths for what they are. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To learn to celebrate the wonders that can be if we just believe.</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-88154744923548207882014-01-01T06:58:00.001-08:002014-01-01T06:58:57.545-08:00It's a New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcthyFiZ8G7hSzWkuuDU0T4Ku7RPLAMGuGaeo1fJEtEHmKoL70dl5ZBvbysE3V_w1gsQW0yjyZoL0-Q8SUvDq6eSBVNM4uZfNqAQUsRlovLblpc7E8YtRPw_wPHKBDa17Y-trADpfxjkC/s1600/Beautiful+Sheep.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcthyFiZ8G7hSzWkuuDU0T4Ku7RPLAMGuGaeo1fJEtEHmKoL70dl5ZBvbysE3V_w1gsQW0yjyZoL0-Q8SUvDq6eSBVNM4uZfNqAQUsRlovLblpc7E8YtRPw_wPHKBDa17Y-trADpfxjkC/s320/Beautiful+Sheep.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So it's a new year. 2014. What are your plans?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
As we look into the new year one of the things my younger sister likes to do is get and read us our astrology forecast for the year (it's actually a little longer than a year, but close enough). This year is supposed to be year of growing for me. Yeah, I know that's a common theme in astrology, however it was far more prominent a theme then the normal vague things. It was a very nice sounding year, however as I'm sure all of you know change can be a little tough sometimes, especially if you have a normal disposition where you tend to neglect yourself (with it usually not being a conscious thought). So I may have a few bumps and bruises throughout this year, but it should be worth it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My mom and two sisters have slightly worse sounding forecasts. For one thing theirs had actual "Hey you should be careful around this time" parts whereas I had none. My mother's had two, one financial and one health, and my sisters (who both have the same astrology forecast) have a similar one, though theirs focuses on the health part more than the money. Good news is for all the health issues should be cleared up, and as long as they are on top of their finances they should be fine.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Astrology aside, I really hope that this year is a productive one. Not only would I like to find myself and my family moved into a better home, but I also hope that other areas of our lives stabilize a bit more as well. Both my younger sister and I want to get to a place where we actually have income coming in for ourselves. Whether this happens from being able to procure a part time job, or finally being able to start up our Etsy business, or both (preferably both)- any of those options would be awesome.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We both would also like to be more comfortable driving. I already have a license, but have a bit of a driving phobia, and my sister has yet to get enough training to go take the test. I really hope that by year's end I'll be able to drive to the store without feeling like I'm going to die or throw up.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Another thing I'd like to do is meet new people and try new things. Progressively throughout the past few years I've been slowly coming out of my shell. Being homeschooled left me with a bit of a shyness problem, and an aversion to such things, but with a bit of effort I've been able to make new friends and do some things I hadn't thought I'd get to experience for a while yet. I hope to continue this trend, and with it gain more social confidence.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'd like more confidence in general thank you very much, but I can be patient. I know that all of what I hope to accomplish takes time, but with any luck my wishes <em>will</em> come to fruition. I just need to keep trucking along, make myself lists, and goals, and keep myself on track. If I do that then I should be fine.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So what are your goals/wishes/dreams/lamas for this year? Let me know in the comments.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Happy 2014 everybody! </div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-39509518296827344842013-12-24T13:22:00.000-08:002013-12-24T13:22:26.207-08:00The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug... A Movie Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Smaug.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://www-images.theonering.org/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Smaug.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Hello once again my lovelies! Today I'm going to talk about the 2nd Hobbit movie since my mother, sister, and I just went to see it recently. So... here we go!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Overall I liked the movie. It dragged some for a while, and the amount of flitting from one scene to anther, and then back again was a tad excessive. However I must say the scenes with Smaug <em>more</em> than made up for these shortcomings. For anyone who likes dragons this is a movie you should watch, Smaug is just that awesome.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fun fact also with this scene. In order to create all the gold coins and such they ended up using all of the gold paint that was in the country at the time (I think it was New Zealand?) and had to import more in order to finish it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Anyway, let's talk about something other than Smaug the Magnificent for a moment. We shall talk about Tauriel, the she-elf portrayed in this movie. Now don't get me wrong, she's fun and spunky, but I hated what they did with her character. What did they do you ask? They put her in a love triangle between Legolas and Kili. Thing is Kili is a Dwarf, and Elves and Dwarves never really got along, and <em>especially </em>never thought of one another in a romantic light. So the love triangle didn't make sense. Not only that, it didn't actually add any substance to the plot. Thankfully it didn't take too much away either, but what's the point of putting something in a movie just so it's... there. I don't get it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One thing I did find totally wicked though was the scene where Gandalf goes to meet the Necromancer knowing full well it's a trap. The neat thing about this scene is we get to see the eye of Sauron be born, and let me tell you it is <em>so cool</em>. I loved it. This scene wasn't in the original book, but felt as if it belonged if not in that book then in that world of books surely. Only downside is Gandalf is once again a prisoner. Poor guy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
If you pay attention you'll start to see a change in both Bilbo and Thorin. These aren't necessarily all for the better either. On the plus side we see Bilbo growing more confident in his abilities. He tries to defend the others when he can, and help them out of the binds they get themselves into. However, he also starts not being as truthful as he once was, and you can see the pull of the ring grow stronger. Thorin's change isn't good at all, which should give you an idea of what's to come. He pushes forward toward his goal, almost blindly so and without regard to the others in his party. He is willing to leave them behind, and even considers sacrificing Bilbo so long as he gets the Arkenstone. Mind you he doesn't in the end, but it doesn't look good for our little King going towards the 3rd movie.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
All in all I think this movie was a good one. I personally liked the first one better, but this one did have more "wow factor". I plan on adding this one to our collection of DVDs, and would recommend it to any of you who are into fantasy or like the original Lord of the Rings movies. Be warned though, this movie is almost 3 hours long so if you aren't a person who can sit still that long then perhaps this one's not for you.</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-74798929685952557492013-12-17T17:08:00.000-08:002013-12-17T17:08:36.857-08:00Current Music Obsessions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3msizhXc-jOfGikZ4qVlr7LQlXiOnLgXL8AhvXXAKV7i2YGCkzlcIx9vCaTbFuR2_IsofDX7ycbt4w81c6sxcLHoyEoAHZTYg2xbnxeW2_UvHfOXrD0vIDov4OAkQh3yhM4MIkEpKMCIq/s1600/Music+notes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3msizhXc-jOfGikZ4qVlr7LQlXiOnLgXL8AhvXXAKV7i2YGCkzlcIx9vCaTbFuR2_IsofDX7ycbt4w81c6sxcLHoyEoAHZTYg2xbnxeW2_UvHfOXrD0vIDov4OAkQh3yhM4MIkEpKMCIq/s1600/Music+notes.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So today I've decided to let you all in on what music I've had stuck in my head lately. I'll post not only songs, but new artists/albums I've found. And here we go!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
First off is the album <em>The Unforgiving </em>by Within Temptation. Now I've been a lover of Within Temptation for a while, but haven't kept up with all of the new music releases over the years. Not too long ago I stumbled across "In the Middle of the Night" off of the album and decided to take a look at the rest of the album. I found that I really liked the majority of the music on the album. My favorites are "Shot in the Dark", "Iron", and "Sinead". For those of you who don't know Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic rock/metal band. So if your interested go check them out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Next up is a band called Amaranthe. They are a fusion of power metal, pop metal, and death metal. That last one really surprised me, as I have said in the past that I didn't like death metal and probably never would, and yet I stumbled across this band and couldn't not like them. I found them while surfing the side bar on Youtube. Every now and again I'll do so after first going to a song I know and then choosing the ones in the side bar that I don't know and taking a listen. I came across their song "Hunger" and found it annoying that I couldn't get it out of my head. So I decided it would be best to look the band up and listen to their albums. I like a good portion of their first album, but I love all of the songs on their second one. My favorite songs from this band are "Leave Everything Behind", and "The Nexus".</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Next up are a few foreign songs. Now I'm not 100% on where they're from as they have characters in them that I can't place, but the names are in English so I can still tell you about them. I found these (again) in the side bar. I don't know how, but I keep coming across those little dancing videos of anime character models, and as a result several of them have gotten stuck in my head. However, they aren't dancing to the original songs, but vocoloid or synthesized versions of said songs. The songs that are currently stuck in my head are "Hybrid", "Cyber Thunder Cider", and "Under the Darkness".</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last one I'm stuck on is a Disney song. It's from <em>The</em> <em>Lion King 2</em> and is titled "We are One". This song... it keeps following me and dragging me back into its spell. I don't exactly know why. But I recently found a BBC Sherlock video containing this song, and decided that enough was enough and put it on a playlist. Now I listen to it at least 3 times a day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So that's it for my current music obsessions. Now go look these bands/albums/songs up and expand your horizons!</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-32558736127149174942013-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:002013-12-10T18:47:59.771-08:00Book List and Review of 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ed/8f/8c/ed8f8c359debfeba673a4786abc71493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ed/8f/8c/ed8f8c359debfeba673a4786abc71493.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Books!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
That's right. Today I'm going to talk about what I've read this year. Mind you this list is <strong><u>not complete</u></strong> due to the fact that I can't remember everything I've read. Next year I'll keep a proper tab. Anyway, the list (not in order):</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span lang="EN"><div style="text-align: center;">
Sunshine by Robin McKinley</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Graceling by Kristin Cashore</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fire by Kristin Cashore</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
LOTR: Twin Towers by JR Tolkien</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
LOTR: Return of the King by JR Tolkien</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Spellbound by Blake Charlton</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
also...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Somewhere in between 100-200 different manga series, meaning the actual amount of manga books is way higher and somewhere around 1000</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
at least 100 free original works/fanfiction of <em>good</em> quality.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So that's my list. The titled books are the ones we bought whereas the rest was found online. There might be another 5 books to add to the first part of my list, but since I'm not 100% on that I'll just leave them off.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So! Now that you have my list, what's next? Well I figure I can tell you what I thought of them! In order:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sunshine... I did not like this one. I got it because the premise looked interesting and it was considered by many to be the best work by Robin McKinley. I was worried as I found her way of writing to be kind of boring in the past, but I figured I'd give it a shot. It didn't go well. It was slow and dragged on for a long time, only getting anywhere in the final third of the book. Mostly it was character introspection... and whining. I will say that it's a good character analysis book, but that was the only real positive I could pull from it. The main character was wishy-washy, going from borderline disgust of another character to vulgar lust, which came on so suddenly I got whiplash. I would not recommend this book.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Graceling and Fire I will do together since I feel the same way about both of these. They're fun. The pacing is great, and there wasn't a moment when I wasn't engaged. A fun, new take on having gifts in a more medieval setting. Gracling was the lighter of the two I feel, but both are fantastic. I have another part of the series, Bitterblue, to read and am looking forward to it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
LOTR: Twin Towers and Return of the King... hmm... I liked them. I found it laggy in some parts, and there were areas of unnecessary information, but altogether a wonderful fantasy.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Stepsisters Scheme is another I liked, but it made me frustrated. The main character was one that I was constantly shouting at in my head to <em>not do that!</em> because she was too gosh darn nice. I liked the princesses saving the prince though. Role reversal has always been a fun subject for me to read. I'm currently reading the second book of this series, The Mermaid's Madness.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Beauty and the Werewolf is a part of a series where Lackey takes fairytales and spins them into something new. This book combined Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. It was a little slower than the other parts of this series, but a wonderful addition to it none the less. I recommend it and the rest of the series to anyone who enjoys fairytales and fantasy.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ah... Bronze Gods... this one was neat. It was written by a husband and wife duo, and is a mystery. It was fun to be engulfed in a world so different from what I'm used to reading in fantasy. It had fantasy elements, certainly, but it was grittier than you usually see, which I enjoyed. The way the two main characters interact was great, and it ends in a way you don't expect (you'd think since it's mystery that'd be a given, but trust me it isn't). People who read fantasy or mystery are sure to get a kick out of this one.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Spellbound by Blake Charlton is the second book in a series. I was pleasantly surprised by this one as it surpassed book 1, a feat most books in the middle of a shorter series cannot accomplish. There are two narrators, and it reads a bit like a mystery novel even though it is definitely fantasy. The use of language in it is wonderful, and I'm not just talking about the way it was written either. Many people in this world are spell castors, and the main male character is dyslexic, which is so freaking interesting you have no idea! Also... there's a dragon in it. So read it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'll tackle the last three together since they're in the same series. First off, I love this series so far. So much so that the rest of it is on my Christmas list because <u><em>I want the rest now!</em></u> Anyway, this series deals with a Miss Walker who is a mechanic/cop that has to come to terms with the fact that she's a shaman. Urban Shaman introduces us to this concept, along with having the god of the hunt trying to break free into the "real" world. Miss Walker has to try and solve murders, deal with the supernatural, her powers, her boss, and somewhere in between get some sleep. Thankfully she has a nosy taxi driver, a cross-dressing cop friend, and wise-cracking coyote spirit guide to help her. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I know it sounds a little cliché, and believe me it is at times, but it's one of those series where there's so much fun in it that you don't really mind the clichés. For one thing the police work is more like how you'd see it on TV, but if you think about it if it was like real life then you'd be reading a lot about protocol, paperwork, and whatnot, and honestly where's the fun in that? Thunderbird Falls continues on with the whole "supernatural trying to take over" thing, but this time there's witches involved. While not as exciting as the first book in the series it still does perfectly fine on its own.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The third book takes a different turn, dealing with people getting stuck in their sleep with no way out. It was an interesting change of pace, and I really enjoyed it. This book did give me lots of feels, however, and made me want to read the next one the second I was finished with it. I love this series. It's witty, sarcastic, and just oodles and oodles of fun. At least it is for me. Hopefully it would be for you too.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So that's all the reviewing for today. I'm sure I could review some of my favorite manga I've read over the past year, but another time perhaps. I'll just let you mull over this bunch first.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ta!</div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-88169337970593149992013-12-04T20:03:00.000-08:002013-12-04T20:03:31.044-08:00So It's The Holiday Season...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNp8Rtl0ofnEOn70my8785k9RKOlTvo0J-RmVUEqSIZ10b6juWnetoxsfsgbfvz457rXLbThFRzNFFe2whMn8p4_4c-9TgfqX2vDVflBtZ_xOZU96eFCbiL5NLVTTkLt3iB6JhEce_5vx/s1600/Happy+Holidays.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNp8Rtl0ofnEOn70my8785k9RKOlTvo0J-RmVUEqSIZ10b6juWnetoxsfsgbfvz457rXLbThFRzNFFe2whMn8p4_4c-9TgfqX2vDVflBtZ_xOZU96eFCbiL5NLVTTkLt3iB6JhEce_5vx/s400/Happy+Holidays.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Now's the time of year most consider the holiday season. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Yule just to name a few. I personally celebrate both Christmas and Yule. Regardless of what you celebrate, or if you celebrate at all, I hope this time of year is happy for all of you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I still have a little bit of shopping left to do, but not much. The rest of my family though, they've still got a lot more. I went a little overboard this year as I have more money this time around. I don't mind though. I like getting them things. My sister and I also plan on going to see the Hobbit part 2 in theatres, which will be <em>awesome</em>!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Other than that we have one Christmas party on the books. We'll be celebrating with my brother-in-law's family. It's sure to be interesting this year as my father and his wife are coming in from New York to visit. His take on the world is a lot different than theirs so it's sure to be fun watching. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I am a little nervous though. One of the family member's has taken an interest in seeing my art. I have to take pictures of it all and show it to him. I hope he likes them. I also hope that one day I will be more confident in my own abilities as a creative type.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm hoping we get snow soon. Not the kind that lingers just a bit, and then disappears entirely, but <em>real</em> snow. The kind that sticks and lasts long into the month. I don't like balmy winters. If I wanted those I'd head south.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Anyway, that's all for now. Until next week!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-11751054003909870822013-11-26T11:48:00.001-08:002013-11-26T11:48:54.425-08:00Time for Tea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pkTkKbIdDWxiv_102LPBpowcAsVWSInw814w5Ar5pTdkTEdZErVyOggHP87OpIvxmYkidhViDkzeV1sNKmE_YIiOHLlPOKzlLmr1SQp2SftwDRo3kdgQf-ZoewMCtefLJDCVoQ5WebTf/s1600/Tea.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pkTkKbIdDWxiv_102LPBpowcAsVWSInw814w5Ar5pTdkTEdZErVyOggHP87OpIvxmYkidhViDkzeV1sNKmE_YIiOHLlPOKzlLmr1SQp2SftwDRo3kdgQf-ZoewMCtefLJDCVoQ5WebTf/s1600/Tea.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today I finished my goal of drinking tea everyday for six weeks straight so I decided to celebrate it with doing a blog post about tea. So here we go!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There are six different varieties of tea, however only four are known widespread. These four are white, green, oolong, and black. I've personally had three of these four, the exception being oolong. Of the remaining I'd say that green tea is by far my favorite followed a ways away by black, and then even farther by white.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, the first being water. You can drink it hot, cold, plain, with milk, with sugar, with honey, with lemon, and so on. How it is prepared changes depending on where you are. I personally like it hot, and without adding anything more to it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There are several ways to prepare tea, but the most common are to have the tea leaves loose, in an infuser, or (the least liked option) in a tea bag. Then you pour boiled water over the leaves and let them steep. Afterwards the tea leaves are usually removed, however this isn't always the case.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
China is the world leader of tea production with nearly one-third of tea being produced there. India comes in second with about one-fourth. These two are the only double digit producers of tea as the next biggest producer is at 9.5 percent. So chances are if you're an avid tea drinker you've had tea leaves from one or both of the big tea countries.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So that's a little information about tea. Which kind is your favorite?</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-2222456137497829592013-11-19T16:29:00.001-08:002013-11-19T16:29:39.922-08:00My Day Today<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
Well... today has been an interesting day. It started off with our cat deciding to be as loud and obnoxious as he possibly could. According to my mom he was causing mischief, which is why she kept putting him in my room. However, he didn't want to be there, and as a result <em>whined</em> like no tomorrow. The first time it happened he woke me up out of a dead sleep. The second time I was in that twilight stage. Unfortunately for me it seemed I was only going to have a few hours of sleep today so needless to say I was grumpy.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
From there I spent some time with my mom, convinced her to call my sister, and see if she still wanted to do something today. She didn't, but that didn't stop us from going and doing things. First we got food. I had a club sandwich and French fries. It was delicious.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
Next we went to the hair salon. All three of us got our hair and eyebrows done, however I had an interesting reaction I've never had before. When the woman was doing my eyebrows my adrenaline started pumping to the point that I was shaking. I had to forcibly relax myself for several minutes in order to get it to stop. Thankfully it didn't affect my haircut.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
Once we were finished (my sister donated her hair!) we then went to the antique store. This place had tons of stuff, from furniture to old tools, even an antique gas mask! There were some really interesting things there, but it got a little weird for me when I heard someone call my name. It sounded like my little sister when she was trying to be obnoxious only there was more of a hiss to it. Then a few minutes later I heard the same voice again, but this time it said Jesus almost like a swear. So... yeah... that was pretty creepy.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
I ended up buying a VHS of The Lion King since our old one mysteriously vanished. My sister bought a cast iron skillet and vintage jewelry for her to remake into new pieces. My mom bought several neat trinkets, some of which I cannot reveal as they are presents, and some lamps for our tables.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
By that time we decided it was best to go home, and a good thing too because I wasn't firing on all cylinders. More like 2 of 5. I'm still there, though it keeps trying to deplete more. So I decided to make a blog post before my battery dies out.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
So this was my day. Just figured I'd tell you. I'm going to go eat my ramen now and then go to bed.</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
Peace.</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-59766987600362278842013-11-13T00:22:00.000-08:002013-11-13T00:22:28.801-08:00Painting Trees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have just finished another painting. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGhnfuPMy3H1cDD8GhKYF1osHaBgvDM4dXf6D6XZDsqGeNwo9u4idK3YY89Lek3xyWLq7PQWBDmRS1-3kIAvgU6k0VzlHUiH-8UUudkCVx7S_ClmKlhdlU-An3Xr1xsIfOb3N9lf6lrva/s1600/Dalmation+Trees.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGhnfuPMy3H1cDD8GhKYF1osHaBgvDM4dXf6D6XZDsqGeNwo9u4idK3YY89Lek3xyWLq7PQWBDmRS1-3kIAvgU6k0VzlHUiH-8UUudkCVx7S_ClmKlhdlU-An3Xr1xsIfOb3N9lf6lrva/s1600/Dalmation+Trees.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ta da! Isn't it lovely? Sorry about the picture quality. My light is the absolute worst. It has a yellow-green hue which drastically yellows anything I take a picture of, and adds just a tint of green to make things look a little sickly. It's annoying, but I can't go in search of better light at this hour as everyone is sleeping, which I <i>should</i> be doing too, but... I'm not. I'm posting this. Because I can.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's title is Dalmatian Trees because as I worked I noticed that the trees reminded me of that dog breed. I tried seeing if other names would fit once I was done, but nothing that came to mind felt right. So... Dalmatian Trees. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I used the biggest of my home-stretched canvases, and was worried since it was a bigger canvas (14 x 20) that I would have a difficult time completing this project. Thankfully, I worried for nothing, and am happy with the way it turned out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Though hopefully someday in the future I can obtain a camera that takes better pictures. I have a very nice camera, but unfortunately its shake function is <i style="font-weight: bold;">very</i> sensitive and I don't have stable enough hands for it. I have to take several pictures if I want a semi decent one. *sigh* Anyway, now I can read some more! I wasn't allowed to finish the book I'm reading until I painted (self imposed restriction), but now I am done and I can read it! w00t! I can also eat something as I am very hungry. So I'll go do that now. t00dles!</div>
<br />Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8106080676744036976.post-59580244521818760122013-11-08T02:45:00.000-08:002013-11-08T02:45:17.658-08:00Seven Deadly Sins: SLOTH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3FKIDhKl71-lGfUdElMZKo9BGeRRgXmT0RExtO5U5exqdMhkIDRunhzOUENmc2EGGfVJIIZJWTeLmL9jOuGHnJq8ckp4RJO7OM6dmg3TDwKXIXG6eC_VLyMMqIMQsWKp97mdvcN2fcRO/s1600/Sloth.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3FKIDhKl71-lGfUdElMZKo9BGeRRgXmT0RExtO5U5exqdMhkIDRunhzOUENmc2EGGfVJIIZJWTeLmL9jOuGHnJq8ckp4RJO7OM6dmg3TDwKXIXG6eC_VLyMMqIMQsWKp97mdvcN2fcRO/s1600/Sloth.PNG" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sloth is apathy that results in neglect of the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual needs of a person. It is often thought of as laziness, as the person is in someway failing to do what they need to, but can also be thought of as dejection, or a loss of interest in life. This sin was originally two separate sins, with Acadia representing the apathetic listlessness. However, the two were joined since they shared commonalities.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I find Sloth to be a very dangerous sin. As with the other sins it too can bring someone to the point of death, however it does not operate in the same way the others do to bring about death. All of the other sins deal with action of some sort, whereas Sloth deals with inaction. That inaction is a slippery slope. It can seem comforting at first, but overtime it can become confining, and then <i>defining. </i>You get stuck in the pattern, and it is a very difficult cycle to break.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Diligence is the heavenly virtue that breaks that cycle. It is persistence, fortitude, not giving up, and holding true to your own ethics. It is putting effort into things, into life, and doing the work that is needed to be done.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is my number one sin. I have at some time or another had it in all four aspects of life mentioned above. It's been a big issue, especially since this sin plays into my personality type. I am a type nine in the Enneagram. Nines like peace and are generally laid back, but as a consequence can easily become neglectful of themselves and instead focus on everyone else. I do this... a lot. In the past my main motivation in life was doing for others. I was very apathetic towards myself, and not very interested in developing myself at all. I am doing better in this, but still fall into the pit of old habits. I hope that with time and effort I can eventually beat it. The key is to keep trying, and to never <i>ever</i> give up.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So that's it for the Seven Deadly Sins. What did you think about Sloth? Is it one of your problem sins, or are you pretty good about it? Also, as a whole what are your feelings on the sins? On the entire segment? Where does each sin rank for you? I'd like to know so please leave your thoughts in the comments.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^-^</div>
Kimberlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04103621632350360373noreply@blogger.com0