here's to the nights we felt alive, here's to the tears you knew you'd cry

song+ Here's to the Night -Eve 6 -Horrorscope
book+ nothing presently
quest+ getting the middle bedroom ready for Rory
upper+ (slow) progress being made
downer+ my bad ankle
attire+ pajamas
drink+ water

this week was, overall, less productive than i'd hoped for. whatever i did to my ankle last weekend, the pain persisted all this week too. i definitely had to take more rest breaks than i usually do. it's painful to stand or walk for more than about ten minutes, so i've been sitting. a lot.

i'm hoping to still be able to finish out the floor in Rory's room before he and mom get home, but there's stuff that still needs to be shuffled out of the corner (boxes stacked near to the ceiling) so i can remove the last of the carpet. since i'm not working today, i'll have to get all the carpet and padding up and out by tomorrow night. i'll still have time to work on the floor for a few days after that, but the garbage-pickup deadline has me feeling a little rushed on the carpet removal, especially since it hurts to stand, so i know the hauling of stuff to the curb will be moderately painful, no matter how careful i am.

my right knee is also flaring up off and on, but it's overall less painful and annoying than the ankle thing. it does suck that they're both on the same leg, but i'll get by. really, more annoying is my insomnia flaring up and skewing my sleeping hours bizarrely. i've been falling asleep at ridiculous AM, and waking in the 11-to-1 range. i can't find myself too upset though, i'm not really know for morning productivity anyhow, ya know?

take me down into your paradise

song+ Cool for the Summer -Demi Lovato
book+ nothing presently
quest+ getting the middle bedroom ready for Rory
upper+ progress being made
downer+ my bad ankle
attire+ pajamas
drink+ water

mom's picked up Rory by now and they're on the much less direct part of the road trip. i haven't been here a week yet, but i've gotten a respectable amount done. less than i'd hoped, but in my grand planning i forgot that i needed breaks so my body doesn't give out on me. i actually pushed a little too hard yesterday and while i made some visible progress, mostly what i have to show for it is a nasty boob-bruise and a swollen ankle. fortunately, today being Sunday i'd already planned it as an off day, so rest and elevating it should help me be ready to go again tomorrow.

the front third of the room is re-floored, there's still some carpet that needs to go out, but that can happen tomorrow. the thing that's taking the most time is shuffling the food storage so i can work around it. i got some shelving assembled and SEVERAL boxes unpacked and sorted onto it, but there's still tons to get through and i'm pretty much out of shelf space. the boob-bruise came about when i was assembling said shelving. they were clearly designed to be team-built. while i did manage in the end, i caught myself in the plastic anchor pieces trying to wrestle a shelf into place. it's less swollen today, but still a vivid reddish purple patch about the size of a thumb print. the ankle pain came about going up and down the stepladder for hours as i sorted boxes and got cans on shelves. not an injury, just over use.

what's the difference if i say i'll go away, when i know i'll come back on my knees someday

song+ My Man -Funny Girl
book+ nothing presently
quest+ multiple stages of custom dolls
upper+ creative drive
downer+ insomnia
attire+ pajamas
drink+ water

yesterday mom and i managed a fair bit of progress on the house, even if that middle bedroom still hasn't been cleared out yet. it's getting closer. we were up later than usual yesterday, working later than we usually take me home and running errands on the way. i got home a little before 11, and mom hit traffic leaving town again, so i can only imagine when she finally managed to sleep.

today i'm juggling personal projects, and trying to start preparing what i'll need when i'm at mom's for two weeks. it's not like i'll be able to text kyu "hey, i forgot Thing X, can you bring it by?" so preparation is key. at some point this afternoon i'll likely head up to the comic shop to say hey before i'm gone for two weeks, but i definitely don't have time to play anything today.

don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter

song+ Don't Rain on My Parade -Funny Girl
book+ nothing presently
quest+ multiple stages of custom dolls
upper+ creative drive
downer+ it's hot and SO HUMID
attire+ shorts and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ water

today was a little different than Sunday usually goes for me. insomnia and exhaustion battled last night and i was definitely the loser. the result was sleeping late after (finally) falling asleep at ridiculous in the morning. i did go up briefly to the comic shop, but not to play anything. i had to return the skirt i borrowed for Scarbie pt2, since someone else needs it this weekend, and i caught up on the last week of things that have happened to my friends there. mostly though, i've been home today working on various projects. this post is coming super late today since Kyu was already up and on his computer when i got up, so it waited until he was ready for a break.

i'd been lamenting that i have no money for fun things and it's approaching a time of year that lots of things i consider fun are gonna be releasing, and those things will (sadly) not be free. kyu mentioned that he really thinks i could support some of my hobbies if i actually finished and listed the custom MH dolls i've been designing for sale. i figure he's probably right, so today i got out all my spare bodies and hair options and i'm working on some of them. i need to take good photos of the ones i've already done too, that will help show what i'm capable of once i start a thread on the MH forum i'm a member of. i can link my etsy from there and tumblr once i have product to list. finishing some product is the next important step, i guess.

my heart arranges these magic ghanges

song+ These Magic Changes -Grease
book+ nothing presently
quest+ painting EAH pieces
upper+ no sunburn!
downer+ allergies
attire+ jeans and a Tinkerbell tee
drink+ water

my second Scarbie trip of this season was yesterday, and i wore the finished pieces of my pirate princess costume. it was really cute, and super comfy, so i'll definitely keep going and finish it out. probably use it for my Halloween costume this year too.

the hood was the one piece i'd actually constructed myself from scratch, and i got a lot of compliments on it! a few people asked where i bought it, and one girl thought i was an employee in a shop while i was helping Wes buy his costume. i was flattered, that's a pretty solid compliment on my getup, really.

today i plan to take it easy(ish) and head up a little late with the plastic bits from the dolls i bought a few weeks ago. there's not much left to do on them, i just need to do it.

lay it all down, throw your doubt away

song+ Light Up the World -Glee
book+ nothing presently
quest+ breathing
upper+ eh?
downer+ allergies and exhaustion
attire+ summer pajamas
drink+ ginger ale

yesterday was Ashley's grad party, and even though i woke up exhausted and miserable and just feeling awful (but not really sick) i still went since i knew i'd regret skipping it. mom and i did a few errands after that were also worth getting out of bed for, but today when i woke up still feeling off and icky i decided to skip my routine, so i went back to bed.

i'm obviously up now since i'm blogging, but no game day today. i had a late lunch and i'm doing stress-free things at home, and i may take a nap later. we'll see. not much else to say, just hoping this feeling goes away soon.

all my life, one page at a time

song+ True Colors -Kesha and Zedd
book+ nothing presently
quest+ breathing
upper+ FCBD was profitable
downer+ allergies are trying to murder me
attire+ jeans and a striped rugby tee
drink+ Arizona strawberry kiwi juice

yesterday was Free Comic Book Day, and i spent it at Wild West doing sketches for tips. i was there from 9am to 10pm, and while i didn't match last year's profits, i did respectably well. today was a slow start because my allergies made me sleep poorly, but i'll be headed up again in a bit to work on the Pokedex Challenge again. it got put aside for a while, as i cycled through other things, but it's time for it again.

other than that i don't think there's much going on with me? i'm doing okay.

i'm a young one (stuck in the thoughts of an old one's head)

song+ w.a.m.s -Fall Out Boy -Folie a Deux
book+ nothing presently
quest+ breathing
upper+ sunburn is healed
downer+ allergies are trying to murder me
attire+ jeans and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ Sun Drop

so yesterday was the musical performance for Bonnie's ward we prepped for, and it went well (especially for only like 3 practices) so yay us! there wasn't really anything else noteworthy that happened this week. i puttered on my personal projects, but nothing is really finished.

i'm ramping up in preparation for Free Comic Book Day, since i'll be drawing for tips again this year. the weekend after that should be my second Scarbie trip of the season, which i'm looking forward to, and trying to see if i can pull together a second costume in time for. i have the idea mostly ironed out, i just need to see if i can tweak the pattern pieces and sew it from things i already have on-hand by then. i'm hoping so. i don't mind borrowing some parts for the maiden voyage, but overall i'd like it to be easily repeatable, and that means owning it myself.

i'm the light blinking at the end of the road (blink back to let me know)

song+ Always -Panic! At the Disco -Vices and Virtues
book+ nothing presently
quest+ breathing
upper+ Scarbie yesterday
downer+ allergies are trying to murder me
attire+ denim skirt and a black empire waist tee
drink+ Sun Drop

this week has been a great one. last Sunday we had mom's birthday dinner, which was great, and started practicing for the song we're singing this Saturday for Bonnie's ward's RS Super Saturday (i think). Tuesday there was no knit night, but i worked on my own projects happily. Friday Jenni picked me up and we had snow cones and danced to fun stuff via Dance Central before heading to Bonnie's ward's camp fundraiser, a spaghetti dinner and dessert auction, where we had our first practice with our actual accompanist, which went well. yesterday i had a phenomenally amazing time at Scarborough Faire with my friend Didle, and only got a teeny bit sun burnt. so little it should definitely fade by this Saturday.

today i woke up before my alarm (a combination of allergies and sun burn) so i had time to relax and do my morning things at a comfy pace before i head up to Wild West for art things and a Dice Masters tournament this afternoon. it's entirely likely i'll come in just as dead last as the last tourney, but fun is fun, and the social aspect is a kind of therapy for me. really all i'm likely to do today is play a few games and make plans for the other Scarbie trip i have a ticket for this season. i'm also thinking about alternate costumes since wearing the same thing gets boring, and the (at this point still VERY theoretical) possibility of auditioning for SAPA next year. auditions aren't until January, so there's plenty of time to think about it still.

scream and shout (let it all out)

song+ Scream and Shout -Britney Spears (ft Will.I.Am)
book+ nothing presently
quest+ multiple custom dolls
upper+ progress on multiple projects
downer+ allergies
attire+ leggings, a denim skirt and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ milk

Happy Mom's Birthday! i'm about to head up to Wild West for socialization and (hopefully) a modicum of productivity. this afternoon mom will pick me up from there and we'll head to Jenni's for mom's birthday dinner.

this week's been a good one. i've made progress on various stages of multiple customs i'm working on. Thursday i finally got to play Dice Masters against Wes, we'd been trying for a month but things kept getting in the way. i got this year's free tickets for Scarborough from Muffin and plans are being made to use them. next Saturday i'm going for sure, then there should be another day too, with a different group later on.

all i know is today feels like a good day. i woke up minutes before my alarm to the sound of rain, the back pain i'd been carrying for a week has dissipated, and i've got a few hours to spend art-ing in the company of friends before i spend the evening in the company of family. it's definitely a layout for a good day.

love is a ghost you can't control

song+ the Words -Christina Perri -Head or Heart
book+ nothing presently
quest+ multiple custom dolls
upper+ got to play Dice Masters for the first time in a month
downer+ lost the tournament
attire+ denim skirt and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ cream soda

posting several hours late today, because i slept in this morning and had to rush to make it up for today's DM tournament. then i came home at the same time as Kyu and he wanted his desk for painting. since it's his desk and his computer that seemed plenty fair, i occupied myself otherwise.

the tournament was fun, only five of us entered, and the theme was Lady's Night. as in only female characters in any decks. it was funny to watch everyone try to find workable builds with it, and even coming in dead last, i had a good time. i also have plans to head up Tuesday and play Wes after his shift ends, but before mom picks me up for knit night. we've never managed to play each other, something always comes up.

i had a productive weekend at mom's, then i went on a baking binge after getting home (the reason for my sleeping in). we've got plans for more productivity next weekend too. at this point progress is mostly limited by how much space we have to throw things away. a trash can always has a maximum volume and we've found it more than once in our endeavors.

all i know is you said hello (your eyes looked like coming home)

song+ Everything Has Changed -Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
book+ nothing presently
quest+ multiple custom dolls
upper+ my time is my own again
downer+ still sore from last weekend
attire+ pajamas (for now)
drink+ milk

so day two of moving didn't go much better than day one. we weren't called over until 2 in the afternoon, and there was still a full day of work to do. my allergies were so bad it looked like i was coming down with pinkeye. i described progress to Rory as it looking like Ninja Warrior had tried to build a course out of the contents of a Hoarders episode. i had a brief blackout around three, followed by my knee dislocating while i was carrying boxes down the stairs. it stayed out of socket for about four hours, at its worst swelling to the size of a cantaloupe. all in all not a good day.

the rest of the week was basically spent recovering. today i get to go to game day again after some time off the last few weeks. i need to hurry and figure out which arty project i'll be taking up to work on until others show up to play. or to keep working on if i just don't want to play anything, as is sometimes the case. some days i just want to watch other people play and not try to think logically. when i'm manic it can be really hard to think in a way that works for strategy games, so it's easier to observe and art those times. i've been manic for quite a while now, closing in on something like two months now i think? it makes everything trickier and i'm ready to think in a straight line again, but honestly mania is still a better state than crushing depression. they both suck, but while i have troubles with mania, i can still DO things a bit easier than when everything is terrible and i just want to sleep for eternity. my insomnia is generally more intense when i'm depressed. like it's not a guarantee, mania keeps me from sleeping too, but it's more likely when i'm down.

it's too late to apologize

song+ Apologize -One Republic -Dreaming Out Loud
book+ nothing presently
quest+ finishing Suzy and Wolfie's move
upper+ stuff? probably?
downer+ yesterday made me WISH i could get blackout drunk
attire+ pajamas (for now)
drink+ water

ugh. yesterday was awful. my help has been offered for the last TWO WEEKS to prep for this move, so naturally it was accepted for a few hours Wednesday morning, then again Friday night (when the packing finally started) and all day yesterday. i had to convince them to start in the morning yesterday too. in a day and i half i solo-packed-and-cleaned a hoarder's kitchen. the only help i got was when Jeremy took the last two multi-bag loads of trash to the dumpster. that's the last two loads of SEVEN. Kyu was busy trying to get the new place fit for human residence as the prior tenant said "it's a little messy" and meant something closer to "i lost an apocalyptic war with roaches, good luck". my everything hurts, my knees and feet are still swollen today and my allergies are going NUTS from all the dog hair and pee that got kicked into the air. i wish we were done, but the kitchen, Jeremy's room, and one closet of Suzy's are all that actually got packed. additional "help" showed up around 5: two couples and their 4 kids, who brought a trailer and did little else. a neighbor with a truck was similarly helpful, and a lot less offensively racist. i made it home around 11 last night and was so tired i had trouble sleeping. we pick back up today, but i don't know when.

i know odds are basically nil i'll get to head up and play anything today, because Kyu and i did 85% of this move easy, and it still needs doing. we're both feeling pretty solidly at this point though that we'll never help them move again. in the last 15 years i've helped with multiple moves for them. they're ALWAYS under-prepared with last minute scrambling, hand-wringing, and "oh i just don't know how this happened, where did the time go?" excuses. this one was easily the worst. Kyu and i signed on for another year here in this apartment, but if we hadn't, we could be ready to move in a month. it'd be about a week of packing and a few days of cleaning and we'd be fine. this disaster with his parents is making both of us consider again what we'd be fine getting rid of, making our move even easier when it happens next year.

because i know they're both terrible at mornings, realistically i have two hours to put my feet up and do something mindless. i'm absolutely gonna do that, so i don't stab someone later.

there's levels to your love, and i keep on climbing up

song+ Levels -Nick Jonas -Nick Jonas
book+ nothing presently
quest+ prepping Suzy and Wolfie to move
upper+ lots accomplished this weekend
downer+ sore and tired
attire+ leggings, denim skirt, and my blue lantern flash hoodie
drink+ milk

so last week's DM tourney got canceled due to poor turnout. only one player besides myself showed and we would have needed at least four to do anything. it'll get rescheduled for sometime soon, but i don't know when exactly. it was okay though, myself and the one other that showed walked some guys who were just thinking about getting in through their first games, so time was at least spent productively.

Thursday i went up and Wes and i bought our new World's Finest releases (starter pack and collector box both) together, plus about 120 WF boosters between us (though the split was something closer to 110/10 because i'm broke). consequently we both have nearly-complete common and uncommon card runs and a respectable number of the rare cards too, and he even got some super-rare (i definitely didn't). we also managed a pretty good spread of dice, he has full playable sets (that's four dice) for all characters, and the only character i don't have represented with even one die is Harley Quinn, so i did pretty well too. because we both pre-ordered and picked it up early, we each got the promo Bat-Mite card and die too, so that's awesome.

today should be a casual art day, with possibility of play this afternoon. spring break kept most people away last weekend, so i don't know that today will work out any better, but i'll be ready with my stuff in any case.

it was you and me just singing

song+ Midnight Memories -One Direction -Midnight Memories
book+ nothing presently
quest+ cleaning the apartment
upper+ another DM tournament today
downer+ my backup computer died too
attire+ black pants and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ water

since the laptop i was using as a backup computer died Thursday, my internet access has been spotty. i still have my phone, but it's not the best at actually running apps, so communication has been limited to texting, basically. right now i'm using Kyu's computer to post, but it's not a long-term solution by any means.

shortly i'll be heading up to Wild West. today is another Dice Masters tournament, not Rainbow Draft this time, but constructed. i don't expect to do very well, but i didn't last time either and i ended up winning. in a draft so much is up to chance though, here in constructed where it's my collection vs everyone else's the fact that i have gaps and lack the expensive REALLY GOOD cards may count against me. i'll have to see.

all my life you stood by me

song+ Drag Me Down -One Direction -Made In the AM
book+ nothing presently
quest+ cleaning the apartment
upper+ made respectable tips yesterday
downer+ super tired today
attire+ black pants and my Tardis tee
drink+ Dr Pepper

so yesterday after quilt club i was up at Wild West to draw for the In-Store Convention. the turnout was less than amazing, leading me to think it was poorly promoted, but even so, i made about 30 bucks in tips. i'll definitely be there for FCBD, which is in another two months. i know from prior experience FCBD has more foot traffic and a high demand for art. last year i was still doing marker sketches and i made about a hundred dollars in tips, so i'm interested in seeing how watercolor sketches compare.

Kyu and i both figure money i make on these store sketch days can go toward buying doll hair for the MH/EAH customs and reroots i want to do for fun and profit. at this point i have several dolls and the materials (clear acetone for wipes, paint and brushes to redo) to do new faceups. i lack a sealant that's good on both vinyl and plastic, and hair that's not acrylic yarn. really though, once i have a few that sell, they'll fund buying more dolls and continued supplies and it'll be a self-sustaining hobby with a small profit margin.

today though is game day. since i know that the store is actually running a big tournament for another game (X-Wing) i'm not taking my DM stuff, just my Pokedex Challenge to get more done with it. last time i worked on it (two weeks ago?) i got 27 done, so i'm still making my way through it at a respectable pace, but the announcement of Gen 7 this winter with Sun and Moon means there'll be more to do soon, and i wonder when i'll actually manage to finish. someday, i say and sigh wistfully.

no regrets, just love

song+ Teenage Dream -Kary Perry -Teenage Dream
book+ ugh
quest+ job hunting and moving prep
upper+ I WON MY FIRST DM TOURNAMENT!
downer+ apartment drama
attire+ sneakers, leggings, denim mini, Schrodinger's Cat tee
drink+ root beer

this week has been amazing highs and miserable lows and absolutely no middle ground at all.

Tuesday after knit night i hit the Princess Bride quote along with mom. it was awesome and we had a great time, but it was the next day before we made it back to her place to crash. the nest day i worked on mostly painting projects (some doorknob removal) and generally got a lot done. high.

when i got home i discovered we were in the beginning stages of a truly disgusting bug problem that had wandered over from another unit. the rest of this week has been intense cleaning binges and lugging things out to the trash and terrible sleep cycles. Friday night i did laundry at mom's while kyu did it here. low.

today was the Dice Masters D&D Rainbow Draft. i'd only played a few DM games at all before, and i wanted more experience playing, but don't want to collect any non-DC dice. i was talking about that to Wes and he said that as the guy running the tourney, he was ineligible to play. he offered to pay my entry so i could practice playing, and he'd keep whatever i drafted. i managed to get three cards he was lacking in his collection, and i also WON my bracket of the tourney. there were two groups of six entrants. so two grand prize winners, two second place prizes, and four participation prizes. i now own a few promo D&D cards i'll honestly never play, but can later trade for rarer things i'm missing from my collection. plus i talked to strangers and worked on coping with my anxiety. very high.

kyu and i both consider Knit Night and DM Sundays my version of therapy. three years ago i couldn't handle leaving the apartment and talking to strangers, and now i do it on a regular basis. i've applied for jobs again now that i think i could work without walking headfirst into another breakdown. high.

so really just the one series of lows, but it's been so expansive and draining it feels like it balances all those awesome highs on its own.

we danced all night (it went something like this)

song+ Best Song Ever -One Direction -Midnight Memories
book+ not much
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ progress in multiple projects
downer+ muscle aches
attire+ pajamas
drink+ milk

i'm home from game day, though honestly there wasn't much turnout for Dice Masters. there was a flood of Pokemon card players, and i got 27 pieces done for my pokedex challenge, so it wasn't a total waste. aside from pushing through on an older project, i considered it practice for the event in two weeks, when i'll be sketching for tips again.

last Thursday was a secondary DM night anyway, it was nice because Wes brought all his spare dice and i was able to go through and collect a solid selection of Marvel character cards and dice (plus a very few D&D ones) that'll be a good start if Rory wants to play when he comes home this year. realistically i'll push him to play a few times before deciding, but if he wants to keep going, there's representation of most of the big movies from the last few years: Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy. plus supporting characters from those lines, villainous and otherwise. definitely a solid starting selection.

mummify my teenage dreams

song+ Centuries -Fall Out Boy -American Beauty American Psycho
book+ the Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus series
quest+ Persona Q perfect file
upper+ Dice Masters Sundays are getting regular
downer+ i'm only winning every third game
attire+ pajama shorts and a Thor tee
drink+ water

a later post today because i slept in and didn't have time to write before i headed up to the game store. i spent the last week working on smaller projects, then mom picked me up Friday night for more work time on Saturday.

today Wes gave me more dice from the Justice League set, enough that i was finally able to pull together a playable JL deck. so now i can play my rainbow WoL deck, or this one. i also probably have enough to build a Villain deck, but those can be trickier to get going, so i'm trying to keep it simple while i learn.

today i was told that a customer expressed interest in buying my entry from the January art contest. i texted the number, but haven't heard anything back yet. i'm hoping that the guy goes for it though, having a little money would be nice.

said i'd never miss you, but i guess you never know

song+ Fourth of July -Fall Out Boy -American Beauty American Psycho
book+ the Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus series
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ good books to read
downer+ strange, weird week
attire+ denim skirt and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ Sun Drop

this week has been a strange one. last sunday was the last day of voting in the January art contest at Wild West. monday the votes were counted up, and while i didn't win overall, i did come in second out of 14 entries, with a voting difference of only two, so i'm proud of myself. plus my prize is something i'd been wanting anyway, the War of Light play mat for Dice Masters. it's thematically appropriate for my multi-lantern deck, but mostly i picked it because the life meter at the bottom is a rainbow.

coming home again i had to deal with my computer continuing to freeze up for no discernible reason. in the brief moments it was running i was able to use my thumb drive to back up my most immediately needed files to my laptop, which has been my computer for the last week. at first Kyu thought it was just overheating, but after leaving it off for a whole day, the problem kept going. he talked to the one IT guy he trusts at work, who said it sounded like motherboard problems. since that was the problem when my last computer died a few years ago, it's frustrating. this is one Wolfie built me then, and i expected more than a year or two out of it. i'm not sure what i'll be doing to replace it yet, but since i do have this laptop that's still functional, it's not as huge a priority this time.

all week i've been dealing with the most passive-aggressive period i can ever remember having. muscle pain (all over) a headache persisting for over a week, a mild fever ebbing and flowing, intense cravings for sugar. all among the more annoying PMS symptoms i've dealt with, but the most annoying part was the refusal to actually bleed. i've had it happen before, all the signs of a period from hell, and i just don't bleed that month at all. it's always incredibly stressful and i can't just write it off, because when i do i inevitably have delayed apocalyptic bleeding and i hate dealing with a bigger just mess because i got complacent.

thursday morning my birthday present from Kyu finally arrived. when he ordered it (through his job), i knew it wasn't due to ship until mid-December, but then it got delayed multiple times, and it didn't come in until now. it's a plush slime from Dragon Quest. he's surprisingly large, and endearingly squishy, and i adore him. he's so cute that when Kyu sent me the picture in-hand, i spazzed and sent a nonsense typo emote and didn't notice for a full minute because i was too busy flailing. after a day of deliberation and dragging everyone i encountered into squish tests, i named him Squishimus Minimus.. because he's too small to be a maximus.

friday was DWTS live with Jenni, which was awesome, and one of my Christmas gifts from Kyu. so an accidentally great week for delayed gifting; things i knew about for those holidays, but also knew i'd be waiting a bit to actually enjoy. watching DWTS with Jenni while we sew our monthly quilt blocks is something i really enjoy, we talk about technique and costuming and mostly agree on things. i've watched it with other people, and we usually end up arguing over stupid things, or rooting for different dancers, so Jenni was definitely the best choice to see the live show with. the show was fantastic, and i had a great time, though we've both gotten used to DFW where you can only smoke outside. the whole interior of the casino, breathing was like licking an ashtray.

saturday was quilt club again, which was pretty uneventful. then i spent the afternoon with Jenni, running a few errands and setting up Derek's birthday present. overall a pretty good end to a strange week. now it's game day and i'm hoping to have a decent turnout, but with the Super Bowl some people just might not show. i'll have to see, i guess.

what's wrong with being confident?

song+ Confident -Demi Lovato -Confident
book+ Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer - Rick Riordan
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ good books to read
downer+ zombie!brain from poor sleeping
attire+ leggings, jean skirt and a Supergirl tee
drink+ Dr Pepper

ugh. mornings are hard, especially after getting distracted and reading until 1am. yesterday i fought most of the day with a headache cause by light sensitivity. my (moderately successful) solution was to go upstairs and lay in bed reading in just enough indirect light to make out the words on my kindle without squinting. i was gonna reread Percy Jackson so i could move on and (finally) finish Heroes of Olympus while accurately remembering events leading to it, but i got distracted by the short stories i'd downloaded that fill in gaps. they were entertaining, then i read the start of the newest series (the Norse one) instead. one book seemed a better undertaking than ten last night. i'll probably get back to it tonight after gaming, i've enjoyed talking them over with mom as she progresses through them.

i've read PJ before, i read them as they came out, and kept up with HoO about halfway, then i realized i get less frustrated if i wait one long time and binge everything than i do waiting multiple short times. the wait for the series to finish was enough that i can't recall if i read two HoO books and a preview for the third, or if i read three, or if it was two and the internet told me spoilers from the rest. so obviously the answer is to just start over from the beginning and read it all at once.. which unfortunately takes a little longer than i was up for last night.

i don't know why, but i've been (pleasantly) surprised every time i read one of his other-pantheon books and it finds a way to tie into the PJ/HoO narrative without depending on it like a crutch. Carter Kane (from the Egyptian series; the Kane Chronicles) looks out his window at one point and thinks he's hallucinating a flying horse, which is actually Percy's battle mount from the climax of one of his books. it was so subtle i didn't even realize what i was reading at first. in Sword of Summer, it took me until a third of the way through the book to realize that the cousin Annabeth that Magnus Chase was remembering in a childhood flashback was Percy's Annabeth, Annabeth Chase. same last name and i didn't even think of it because even though it's their mortal parents that were siblings, WHY would i default to thinking Greek and Norse demigods would be related in any way?

it hurts until it stops, we will love until it's not

song+ Victorious -Panic! At the Disco -Death of a Bachelor
book+ nothing, really
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ game night tonight with Wes and Didle!
downer+ random leg pain out of nowhere
attire+ black pants and a Wonder Woman tee
drink+ Sun Drop

today being a Sunday, i headed up for game day, but came home early. i was hungry, i knew Harley needed to go out, and i'm being picked up later for game night with some of my favorite employees from the store. i got in a few hours of conversation, and some solid work on the piece i'm doing for the February art contest, and i obviously made plans for tonight, so i'm pleased overall.

in a little while i'll take Harley out again, then i'll gather my Dice Masters stuff in case anyone else wants to play tonight. i dunno what the odds are for it, but preparation never hurts.

mostly, the last week has been spent working on the Pokemon project i'm doing for Rory. i've made some pretty solid progress, though i'm still a while from being done. i'll keep chipping away at it this week, and on until it's finally done.. or as close to done as i can get it.

i don't care what you say (don't have use for your words anyway)

song+ Carry You There -Hanson -Shout It Out
book+ nothing, really
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ progress on my Rory project
downer+ i don't like being cold
attire+ tights, jean skirt, black shirt, bamboo scarf
drink+ water

there's been progress on the Pokemon project i agreed to help Rory with, and i've started on next month's entry for Wild West's art contest. today it's going up with me and i'll start coloring the pencils i got done on Tuesday. it hasn't been touched since then because my at-home time has been pretty much dedicated to this Pokemon project. i'm two badges in on Pearl, seven in on White, and haven't gotten my pokedex yet but do have my starter on SoulSilver. that only leaves regional dex completion, transfer to W/B2, then playing to completion for gifted prior starters on HG/SS two more times for gifted gen one/three starters. or multiple resets of my actual GBA carts for them, i'm not sure yet which will be less work.

it's a big project, and it'll take a while to get it done, but i enjoy Pokemon, and it gives me a set goal to work toward. having a goal (even a self-imposed silly one) is part of how i motivate myself to do pretty much anything. that and bribery, i'm completely unashamed to say i have more than once been bribed to do dishes when it's not my turn. generally the offer of a toy or something yummy is enough.

this is the start of how it all ends

song+ Yellow Flicker Beat -Lorde -Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1
book+ nothing, really
quest+ living shiny!dex with Rory
upper+ fun project in the works
downer+ it got COLD this weekend
attire+ leggings, jean skirt, Schrodinger's cat tee
drink+ root beer

thanks to the yearly shift of meeting times, mom is now at church through half of game day, so this weekend i came home Saturday night instead of midday Sunday. i'm about to head up and play things, but i have time to post first.

last week i played my first game of Dice Masters, and i won! i still don't have enough dice to form a playable deck, but another player loaned me her deck while i played her husband, and while i made some glaring mistakes (as any first-time player is likely to) i still won. i had nine health left when i knocked him out. if i'd remembered a few rules (continuous effects mostly) i probably would have won a few turns sooner, actually. live and learn though, you know?

anyway, i'm sure as i play more (and with my own things) i'll get better, because learning is part of any hobby.

isn't this exactly where you'd like me?

song+ But It's better If You Do -Panic! At the Disco -A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
book+ the Dice Masters rulebook?
quest+ maintaining creative momentum
upper+ finished another project
downer+ sleep is still hard, thanks mania
attire+ leggings, jean skirt, Thor tee
drink+ water

mostly i wanted to share two pictures. the first is the painting i did yesterday for Wild West's January art contest. the theme is Pokemon, so i did Lapras in the subterranean lake where you caught it in early games.

the second was a quick project; i gave Kyu signature cupid for Christmas, with the open offer to fix her funky box-hair. he asked if instead i'd re-root her with pink yarn leftover from the last custom, he thought she'd look great with fluffy pigtails. so i did it, and she really does.

so that's all i did since my midweek post. short and sweet for this update, i guess.