Galaxy

New Beginnings

2012-01-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent remembering and celebrating the old year. Today, I'm making plans for the new one. College starts up in a week or so and I'll have to get back on an actually-go-to-bed and then wake-up-early schedule again. That will be an adventure, all right :D

As for resolutions, I've decided to read every day, write ever day, practice music/voice/German every day, and draw everyday. I want to get in shape. I miss being strong. I could pick my mom up when I was twelve XD Also, I must finish a draft of one of my stories. ANY of them. Just get it done. To list, the more serious and likely to be completed of my literary endeavors include Imperfect, a novella about an angel who falls in a guy's back yard, Kings of Darkness, where a jock "detective" is thrown in the midst of a massive power struggle in a fantasy world, That Story with Esme and Faun (unnamed as of yet), involving a quiet, clever gypsy and his sunny reckless sister in their chase to save his soul, and Shattered, a twisty turny retelling of Snow White spanning over a decade. I've seriously slacked in my writing. It's depressing.

This is a new year. It's an invisible stake we can put in the ground. It's where we can say: "I'll be better this time around." A better person, better at whatever things you treasure, better at learning, and better at being. And BBC's Sherlock is on today! I have been waiting so long for that :B

Huzzah, you all! Happy new year. Make it something special, 'cause you deserve it :3

What is the world beyond the stars?

2011-11-24T01:05:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful phrase! Now be amazed, my friends. A seven year old wrote that. A seven year old. Just today. "What is the world beyond the stars". My baby brother. By little Brother1. He had Dear Sis write it up for him, since he still struggles with putting it down himself (he's an excellent reader, though--has abeen since he was four).

Here's the lyric. I wanna share this with you because I am so incredibly impressed.

What is the world beyond the stars?
Why are you sad?
There must be
Some way to see
Why those tears come down

I know you'll be the man
Go through the ways the darkness
Come back with not even a scar
You'll that you are the man
How can you be sad?

Oh dear how are you?
Because I don't know how are you?
Oh dear how are you?
Because I don't know how are you?

(Next Verse)

There's a way through every sadness
I have seen it true
You can see the land through the winter
The summer
Even spring

You know there's no way to be sad
Through this summer day
Everything's good
Nothing's bad
Just fight the sadness

Oh dear how are you?
Because I don't know how are you?
Oh dear how are you?
Because I don't know how are you?

What kind of seven year old writes like that? He can't carry a tune for the life of him, bless his heart. But I think my brother's a poet.

College, Cookies, and Chocolate Chips

2011-11-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

Yessir, I'm a sixteen year old in community college. It's a totally new experience since I homeschooled all my life, but I'm loving every second. I have A's in English, A's in Psychology, A's in Music, and I'm hoping an A in art. It's a blast. Of course, I'm really busy. I'm taking part in a production o'er there, too, so I've hardly had time to post or write or draw or anything.

I did a lot of work yesterday. I cleaned up my schedule then so today I did get to draw. I'm gonna write. And right now I'm posting! I'm super happy that I got this time to lay out some sketches. We don't draw people in Art class--we draw vases. It was nice to go back to my cutesy cartoons for a little while.

I started rewriting Kings of Darkness. It's coming out pretty cool.

I don't feel like taking the time to polish this post. I just want a place to shout out my delight. Also, I'm making cookies. Cookies. How cool is that?

LIFE IS GOOD

2011-07-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

_{BEWARE! Random italicized German words will follow in this post.}So, I was takin' college testing, and I was panicking because I somehow forgot how to divide.

WAM! Mom appears in the doorframe. She holds up a slip of paper:

DON'T PANIC, the paper says, in large friendly letters. Just like the Hitchhiker's Guide. It continues as she unfolds the parchment: It's all good. I love and adore you.

And suddenly this warm glow overcame me and I finished with college level reading and writing, followed by high school level math. Viola! Not that that has anything to do with what's going on right now, but I just wanted to proclaim how wunderbar my world really is.

Don't panic, world! It's all good! People love and adore me. I am so happy.

Now, I'm sick to my stomach thanks to too much of Momma's homemade pie, and I just saw videos of dear Mutter pre-meeting-Vater, and I just danced to some of my favorite songs (BREAKING BENJAMIN :D), and I just hung out with my dear Aunt Mars and Grandma and her BF, and I just partied like it was 2011 BABY, so I just wanted to say just how cool and sweaty and happy I am. No alcohol involved, I swear. (Dear Sis and I have a pact. But that's another post).

So. Life's cool. Life's great.

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY. I LOVE AND ADORE YOU.
You rock :3

Pleasures vs. Habits

2011-06-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

"First you form habits, then habits form you."

That's something pretty much everyone's heard around here, right? What I'm quickly starting to realize as I grow through life is just how sad these habits can be. Things I used to love doing -- things I would do every single day just because they were so darn awesome -- become habits. Something that is forever a part of my day, whether I like it or not.

Y'know, I used to enjoy making up a smoothie. Now it's something I expect, and even when I have it, the drink doesn't hit the spot like it used to. No tantalizing titillation of fireworks twisting over my taste buds to be found. What's worse is that when it doesn't happen, I just feel sad.

I've taken part in lots of online forums. Some were wonderful. Some were lacking. Some I still adore. And some I am attached to, in a way I'd rather not be. I keep up with these in an almost obsessive manner that blocks out the sunshine from my days and keeps me glued to the computer. I feel awful if I don't check them and unsatisfied even when I do.

While I'm on the topic of satisfaction, I'm quickly realizing how lacking that is in my life as of now. EVERYTHING is disappointing me. My favorite songs don't send my heart thumping anymore. I can't pay attention to books. Food I used to love is lacking. Everywhere I go, just about anything I do, leaves me feeling vacant. Like there's something missing from what I've just done. Like I hadn't really done it at all.

Don't think for a moment I'm unhappy. This post is certainly coming across far gloomier than I intended it to be. I guess I'm just growing up and losing my childish joy. It's weird; I always thought I'd be one of those people to play shamelessly like a kid when I was thirty-something.

I'm starting college this fall and very excited for that. I'm going to take a class in drawing that I'm really looking forwards too. There's also a musical I intend to audition for this winter. Family's over this July, and my dear mama's birthday is only a few days away. Overall, I'm looking forwards to the future (here's where I start singing Thanks for the Memoriesby Fall out Boy. Heheh XD), and I'm enjoying my now.

I do, however, think I need to eat more fruit. It's such a shame the watermelon's so bad this year. *pouts*

Snow Patrol

2011-04-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

I love this band beyond words. It inspires me. His voice is so soft and beautiful. The lulling beats are hypnotic (they make me think of The Phantom of the Opera, almost). The music just draws you in.

And then there's the lyrics. I look for song meanings despite the fact that I already feel what they are about; I just have a hard time putting it to words. Yet most everyone seems to think these are break up songs. I don't buy it. The ones that ARE about romance don't feel like an 'end' to me. More like a road bump. Like a row in the middle of a loving couple. That's what I love about this band-- how their lyrics portray the rough side of a relationship with someone you care about without being rid of the good side.

"It's beginning to get to me
That I know more of the stars and sea
Than I do of what's in your head
Barely touching in our cold bed

Are you beginning to get my point?
How all this fighting with aching joints
Is doing nothing but tire us out
No one knows what this fight's about

It's so thrilling but oh so wrong
Don't have to prove that you are so strong
'Cause I can carry you on my back
After our enemies attack

I tried to tell you before I left
But I was screaming under my breath
You are the only thing that makes sense
Just ignore all this present tense"

I mean, how beautiful is that? Don't get me started on 'Eyes Open', 'Run', or 'Chasing Cars'. Those songs make me cry. Then there's 'Shut Your Eyes', just about the COOLEST song EVER, and the bouncy 'Hands Open'. Anyhow, check Snow Patrol out. Seriously. The two albums I've heard of theirs rock.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

Er.

Hi.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Okay, so I'm belated, but here mid-February I'll gladly grin and wish you the best this 2011. So far, my year's especially grand because this one, for the first time since 2008, I'm starting it without rheumatoid arthritis. I'M CURED! HURRAY! Yay for low-dose naltroxone even if it gives me insomnia! I CAN MOVE AGAIN!!

Which brings me to my first resolution. I want to get in shape! Sitting on the couch writing stories/watching tv/writing fanfiction/other non-physical activities (bad girl!) lost me the gorgeous physique I had when I was twelve. My muscles faded, a stomach appeared, AND I gained quite a bit of facial fat. Which is just laaaaaaame, 'cause I'm now a walking weakling as well as totally inflexible. I really want to be strong and lean again. Sooooo... #1! Get fit.

(There was a day I thought I'd never, ever, ever, ever have to wish that, and I allowed myself a bit of smugness over all the poor people who did. I feel utterly evil for that now.)

MOVING ON. I want to finish That Story with Esme and Faun! I still owe you a post describing those two darling gypsies, don't I, since you already Met Cass (see my previous post ;) ). I was writing a thousand words every single day in that novel for a few in a row, but I'm very quickly going nowhere. Writer's block be-darned. I guess I just have to sit down and do it. Now we've got #2! Finish That Story.

I'd also like to learn German, but it's going to be hard to find a way to do that. In the meanwhile, I already know a few words! Like danke and guten abend and gut Gott.

So, there you go. Get fit! Finish a story (I've got tons of ideas! I'll tell you all about them later, I promise. There's so much I want to share)! Learn German!

I guess now I'm off to start the new year and continue my old life, which I adore quite grandly. Much love, and keep checking over here at my galaxy, 'kay? I'll never abandon this dear blog for good ;)

Meet Cass

2010-12-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

(Just so you know, this is an old picture)

Ladies and gents, meet Cass. He's a Kaleedish snype (aka Egyptian Knight; Kaleed is roughly a mix between Egypt and the romanticized medieval era with a bit of my own flare ;D), and the first in a series of posts on my newest literary endeavor, a story that has yet to be named. Heheh. He is the third main character, and shows up about a third of the way through the book.

Actually, Cass isn't really a snype just yet. He finished all his training a year early because he's so darn dedicated (you would be tried to find a more patriotic Kaleedish subject, that's for sure). That would be a good thing, if it didn't mean he had nothing to do anymore besides hang around the pharaoh's palace. He can't even graduate until he slays and flays a great beast, and since he is still technically a squire, he can't leave his post as a castle guard.

Cass makes the most of it all, of course. Being a squire puts him in a relatively high social status, a fact that he take to its fullest potential. When he isn't practicing with his khopesh (check it out! The black and gold one looks most like how I imagine his: just here ), showing off to his friends, practicing his duties or sneaking a peak at the shows folks put on for the pharaoh (he likes fake magicians best, with mirrors and all kinds of tricks), he's taking care of his appearance, because Cass is girly like that. He keeps his would-be blonde hair cropped to a buzz - since hardly a soul grows out their hair in Kaleed - and wears a long hat like shone above to block out the hot desert sun. He finds duste leftover from magic wielders and brushes his teeth with it, so when he smiles, they sparkle. He's extremely pleased with that effect and likens it to the fake magic shows he adores, even though it's real magic.

Not only Cass is extremely skilled when it comes to fighting, but he truly takes the code of chivalry to heart and follows its rules to the letter, carrying them around in a little papyrus book. Despite his morality, our squire is an inherently power-hungry person. Cass's greed and Cass's wish to be a true hero often play mental battle in the poor guy's head, which can make him freeze on the outside. He isn't the cleverest fellow out there, and his Sordian complexion belies his ties to Kaleed. He's cocky, conceited, overconfident, vain, greedy, and skinny despite his musculature. But beyond it all, Cass truly means the best, he's mean with the sword, the bravest man you'll ever meet (sometimes even to a foolish degree), and a real sweetie, too. Love him, hate him, or something in between - he'll just be glad for the attention ;D

(On a side note, if he were a character from King Arthur, Cass would totally be Kaye)

A Final Follow-up So I Can Shut Up About the PJ Series

2010-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

(You might want to read this post before reading this one:

http://somewhereinthisgalaxy.blogspot.com/2010/12/because-true-love-isnt-shaky-or.html
)

BEWARE, Percy Jackson and the Olympians SPOILERS LIE AHEAD!

I really really really really really really enjoyed that series. I hated the love triangle (bah. If you could call it that. Rachel Elizabeth Dare never had a chance), but the action was nonstop and the whole thing was really funny. Most the characters didn't seem to have distinct voices in the dialogue, though Mr. Riordan was magically able to give them well defined personalities anyhow. I really really really did like that book, and here are some things that made it rock all the harder:

Relatable villains! Extra brownie points for the bad guys beyond Kronos you could actually get. (Luke, I'm looking at you. Ethan too. Can't forget Prometheus!)

Nonstop action! Things just kept going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny.

Hades! How could people hate such a grouchily lovable god? Poor guy really got the short end of the stick, and I couldn't help but love him. I just wish Mr. Riordan had taken note that out of all the other Greek gods, in mythology he and Persephone are the only ones who don't cheat on each other. I don't think he should have changed that for this story, but I still really enjoyed it. And you gotta love little Nico :D

Tyson! Because he is just the cutest cyclops ever.

Prometheus! Because he is just the awesomest titan ever, and I really do think he was good intentioned at heart.

Percy! Seriously, that kid really impressed me. He focused on the battle at hand and not some silly one-sided love mess. He gave up a chance at immortality to bring some recognition to demigods. He was very much in love with Annabeth throughout. He was brave and bold and wicked clever. He was forgiving and tolerant but drew the line. I think Mr. Riordan did a great job with our lead.

Some things I was disappointed in:

Hera. She isn't so lenient. This is the woman who made a man kill his own family (two little boys. Two children. His wife, too) for daring to be the son of a woman she hated and Hera's husband. She wouldn't let some puny demigod speak up to her like Annabeth did and only leave a few cow messes as punishment.

Hermes. So he was avoiding Luke because of the prophecy? Well, Greek Mythology has proved that you can do whatever the heck you want - but you won't change fate. Why couldn't he be with his son UNTIL all that happened? It would end the same way, that's how it always works in myth.

The spy. Silena? Hmm, I don't know - I was suspicious of Michael Yew. Because he was peeving the Ares cabin, I thought it might have been to keep them out of war. I thought he lied when he said he had given Clarisse the chariot, and that Silena would discover so when she went back to camp. Our daughter of Aphrodite returning with the Ares cabin to fight the draken really rocked, though, so that made up for it :nod: And I guess she made sense, and she surprised me, which was nice, but I'd hoped for a twistier more interesting conclusion to that mess.

And you know how I feel about Annabeth. Seriously, she spent the whole first two books mooning after Luke, but when Percy makes friends with a spunky clever redhead she gets all funny. Which I guess is just silly like all humanity (the race she so vehemently demeaned. Grr), but it still peeved me. I was really happy for her when she got to redesign Olympus, though. That has to be a dream come true for the girl, I know she'll do a great job.

I saw a picture for one the craziest ideas I've ever heard up on dA. Luke/Rachel? REALLY? I can't shake the feeling that it just might work. Especially since EVERYONE loves Luke. Thalia. Annabeth. Now Silena Beauregard. Rachel was only a matter of time ;-)

Check out the picture yourself: http://ribkadory.deviantart.com/art/Luke-n-Rachel-188240963

Because True Love Isn't Shaky or Uncertain, and action packed books rock

2010-12-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

(If you want to understand this post better, try reading this one: http://somewhereinthisgalaxy.blogspot.com/2010/12/because-i-have-really-soft-spots.html )

I don’t want to strangle Annabeth. I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized the idea makes me sicker than her comment on mortals did in the first place. I wouldn’t be capable.

What I do want is for that Anna girl to quit calling Percy a coward, to listen to him, to stop picking on Rachel, to worry about other things besides a silly love triangle and work with the guy she cares about to SAVE THE WORLD before it bloody ends.

And I want Percy to stop leading on a girl he doesn’t really care for and get together with the one he does already. I respect Percy, sure, because he is focusing on his mission to save the world and Olympus and all that instead of Rachel vs. Annabeth (which I think is the main reason he’s letting R.E.D. get cozy with him in the first place). But still, he should be clearer. It’s just not fair on either end.

And Rachel! I wish Rachel would tell the guy about her silly visions. Sure, they might just be dreams. But they might not. Better safe than sorry. Or, at least, I’m assuming she’s having visions. It’s hard to tell in stories like this when you’ve just gotten into it.

I’m really loving this book to pieces. Hestia rocks to high heaven. I still wish there wasn’t a silly love triangle, but the humor’s great and the pace fantastic. It’s nice having a story where things just keep on happening.

Because I'm silly and passionate

2010-12-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

Gosh darnnit, I’m fed up.

Okay, so there’s this really awesome series. It’s by a guy named Rick Riordan, it’s called Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and you’ve probably heard of it. It’s got modernized Greek Mythology, adventure, humor, excitement, and I love it to pieces. It’s been forever since I’ve touched anything from that series, but, jumping in on that final book, Mr. Riordan does an unbelievable job of catching me up. I could probably just read that one novel without any of the others and still get what’s going on. And it doesn’t feel repetitious even if you do remember what happened, because it’s like fond memories, calling back something you enjoyed a long time ago with a funny, dry twist to it in the narrative.

Anyhow, it’s a great book, it’s a great story, it’s great fun.

WHICH IS WHY THIS WHOLE THING IRKS ME SO MUCH.

There’s this character, who’s been there forever, who’s the romantic interest, who’s totally ending up with Percy no matter how any of us feel (though I’m getting the picture that people like her. I think I liked her too, ages ago. Before THE INCIDENT). Now I feel really weird about this, because I’ve adored the villains of a couple stories. I’ve relished in the messed up antiheroes. I’ve loved flaws that make a person cracked, but still leave them pure and lovely. But I hate Annabeth. I can’t stand her. She’s ruining the series for me, all because of one dumb thing she said when she was hurt and upset.

I wish Mr. Riordan had left romance out all together in this series (but kept the girls, ‘cause girls rock. Isn’t it weird how in general they only include girls in action series for the purpose of romance?). If he had, I wouldn’t be dealing with this trauma. Every second of the story that pretty grey eyed blonde takes up is a second I spend seething in animosity. And it’s not that I like the other girl better, though I guess I do (she introduces herself by her full name! Who does that? Who in the world introduces herself by her full name? Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The only person I know weird enough to do that is ME, which I guess makes me biased. But I want to make it VERY CLEAR that the reason I despise Annabeth has nothing to do with R.E.D.). It’s that Athena’s daughter hit my worst pet-peeve ever in literature, similar to the reason I resent Arya from Inheritance and elves in general in most stories (note I said most).

There’s this point, when Rachel and Percy and Annabeth are traveling together. Percy and Annabeth are demigods, meaning one of their parents was human, and one of them was a Greek God. Rachel’s a human, a mortal, and she likes Percy. Anna knows she likes Percy, and apparently Anna likes Percy too, even though she makes a point to insult and berate him all the time (I guess she’s nice enough otherwise, and the hate/love relationships can be cute when done properly, but really, I’m kind of getting bored when it comes to that). And there’s this point, where Annabeth says – ‘She’s just a mortal’ in this horrible tone, and I quote, “She said ‘mortal’ like it was some kind of disease”.

Excuse me. But last time I checked, I’m mortal, and I’m the one reading this bleeding story. Last time I checked, mortals built the Great Wall of China, and invented airplanes, and rollercoasters, and wrote brilliant stories – oh, wait, were all those folks who did great things demigods too? Because apparently George Washington was, in this series. Sooooo… if you want to be a respectable, responsible, powerful and/or brilliant person you’ve got to have a parent who’s a god? And if that person doesn’t happen to have a parent who’s a god, what does that make this ‘mere mortal’? A pawn, on some great big chess board? A fleeting speck of dust to be flicked away on the wind? An incompetent, uncreative, stagnant, helpless nothing?

Right. They’re just a mortal.

So I’m overreacting. I’m way overreacting. But the thought, that someone’s parentage can make someone ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than someone else makes me feel sick. Whenever I read about Annabeth, whenever she shows up, I get this sour, bitter taste in my mouth and feel sick in my stomach. It’s ruining this brilliant story for me and honestly, honestly infuriating me.

I used to get confused when people went off on moral characters so passionately and vehemently, while sticking up for the rotten ones. Now I think I understand. I guess that moral character just hit that person’s ‘spot’ like Annabeth hit mine. She’s a cool enough character; tough, clever, not at all helpless. A little arrogant, I guess, because all heroes have to have a ‘fatal flaw’ (so hubris is hers), but a cool enough character. I think I remember liking her. It’s such a shame, really. Because I so love this series, but now, reading it, I feel like throwing up.

I want to wrap my fingers around her neck, squeeze, and ask her what she thinks of mortals now. And I don’t even feel guilty about it, which makes me a little worried.

Holidays, Family, and MY AWESOME LIFE

2010-12-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

My life rocks, I'm the luckiest girl the world, I could hardly be happier, I love my family so much, blah blah blah, you've heard it a thousand times but I can't stop thinking it, and I won't stop saying it. If I'm going to be a broken record, best to be stuck on these good points, right? (totally leeched that off my father, by the way. I like steeling quotes from my genius family :D)

So today we all went off together on a little walk through of cute itty bitty set ups of fairy tales with Christmas themes, and teddy bears, and pretty lights, and a place to donate cans for people who need food, and Santa Claus at the end. Tons of fun, really. The boys, my dearest little brothers, were absolute DOLLS (which was a pleasant surprise, since they’ve been rather tantrum-prone of late). I remember at the very end, Mrs. Claus came up to Brother2 (who had latched on to Daddy and was hiding in his shoulder, not daring to look up).

"I've got a Candy cane!" she said.

Brother2 snatched that candy in a blur, but he didn’t look up. He must have a sixth candy sense ;-)

Brother1 actually sat on Santa's lap, which surprised us all. He's not really that social when it comes to people he doesn't know very well.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Olde Saint Nick sayeth.

"I already got stuff," Brother1 replied cheerfully.

About then my heart melted. He's so happy, so complete - he doesn't have a single wish for Christmas. How wonderful is that? To know that your little brother is that happy. It just made my day.

I love the holiday spirit, I love the crisp winter air, I love caroling like there's no tomorrow with Dear Sister. I love dressing in thick cozy shirts and soft fluffy sweats. More than anything I love the people I'm with - how I scored such a fantastic family, I'll never know. Sheer dumb luck. And awesome genes, too, I guess. My parents picked well!

It's just amazing, because I admire each and every one of them. They're beautiful, in every way possible, and brilliant. They make my life so very wonderful and I'm so, so, so happy to be blessed with them.

I feel the need to express that in writing every so often. I'm not sure why, but... well, it's important to me. I want them to know how much they've shaped me. How much I love them. I want the world to know how happy I am, how blessed. I am so grateful, to everything there is to be grateful to.

I wish you all the best this holiday season, I'll send some love and some happy thoughts, too *blows a kiss* Expect to hear more from me! I've got a new story idea and will be ranting on it shortly, so be excited or run away screaming. You're pick.

Much love, Merry Christmas!

Do you know what rocks?

2010-12-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

I’ll tell you what rocks! Polar bears. I mean, they’re HUGE. They’re like real, live magical monsters. I mean seriously, there should be more books with polar bears in them (besides the Golden Compass; that didn’t really interest me). A werebear would be a heck of a lot cooler than a werewolf, if you asked me.

My case: They’re ten feet tall, they’ve got big claws, they eat a fridge full of seal for just one meal, they have really sharp teeth, they live in a remote area, and they roar. MONSTERS. But they’re furry and cuddly warm creatures too, which means in a story it would be relatively easy to write in a soft side to whatever part they played. They’re perfect writing material if you ask me, and my fingers are just ITCHING to do something with them.

The only problem being: What?

So far, all I could think up was a fellow named Faun, with a personality I’m still building up, but I think it’d be a similar to Theodore Rosefelt’s (another of my characters – you might remember me ranting on him. Yes, he was named in fond remembrance of the United States’ former president of a similar name). He sold his soul (or maybe just half of it; I’m still working on that) to have the ability to shift forms into that of a bear whenever he chooses. I’m still figuring him out, though, and I’ve no clue what story he’s going to take part in. *shrugs helplessly*

Anyhow, I just felt like unloading my fascination and excitement about a beast nearly twice my height. I’d love to hear what you think and know about polar bears – especially in regards to literature – , as nowadays, all you hear about them is how they’re going extinct due to melting ice (which is really a very very sad thing).

More of my drawings because I like to share them so HA

2010-11-26T11:42:00.001-08:00

Only one of the characters shown here is actually mine, being the gal. Not the guy that looks like a gal, the actual gal being slung over his shoulder. It's Phoenix Shifter, if you remember her from before. The rest belong to some good friends of mine, so I want to make that very clear.

But I drew these! Yaaay! I'm so proud. And wings are fuuuuuuuun. I love sketching wings.

These are my sad attempt at bat wings. Geier doesn't normally have them; he's just showing off.
These are his babies, his wicked cool swords. Luft (air), Erde (earth), Wasser (water), and Feuer (fire) - one for each element. Later he'll get spirit, but five swords are harder to fit in nicely than four.
This guy's uncle made him wings to prove he could to some other disbelievers. They actually work, but all Lewis wants is to get rid of them.

I'm a Kitten Killer

2010-11-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

So, the night before last night, I read about that poor eyeless kitten in Georgia (http://goosestep-lion.livejournal.com/134965.html?view=924981#t924981 - thanks for passing on the word, Sylph). Anyhow, I went to bed, and then I dreamed that Mom and Dad bought me three cute little fuzzy kittens (keep in mind, I would never get a pet in real life, since Dad's allergic to cats and Mommy's got problms with dogs :XD: - so I should have known I was dreaming, but for some silly reason I didn't yet). They were ADORABLE.

Anyhow I was really tired, but one of the kittens needed a bath, so I took the cute little fuzz ball into the bathroom and filled the tub with a few inches of nice warm water. The kitten starts splashing around, having a ball, when I fall asleep because I'm so exhausted. Next thing I know I'm jerking up and there's this tiny black kitten skeleton soaking in the water. A SKELETON.

Now I'm perfectly traumatized and come running out into the living room screaming "I killed it! I killed it!" and yelling that we had to return the other two before I killed them too. I was crying and panicked and confused. And then my parents got divorced (another thing that's never happening; they PROMISED. Even if they hadn't - Mom and Dad love each other SO MUCH. I see that every day, even more every year. They take such good care of one another and they're a team in everything they decide) and I was really irked at them for doing that. And then I went through this weird trial, and there was this drunk guy going through it too (he was a REAL bum and a lowlife and a jerk, too) and then mom and dad were getting remarried, and then it had all been some illusion (except the kitten), but they were having a ceremony anyway, and then the end of time came, and there was cake…

It was a weird dream.

But I don't think I'm ever getting over that poor little kitten. :cry:

To Be or Not to Be

2010-11-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

To Be or Not to Be

It’s such a darn famous quote. I can’t count all the times I’ve heard it or a reference to it. Trouble is I don’t even really know what it means. See, it’s not like we have a choice. You’re pretty much stuck ‘being’, as Miss Dorothy Parker pointed out:

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

But back on topic. You’re stuck being. The question isn’t whether or not to continue existing in my opinion, because no matter how horrible the world gets you always have a chance if you are only alive. I’ve nothing against Shakespeare; in fact I rather respect him. He was a great comedian and a good writer in his time. But when it comes to me, the question is not ‘yes or no’, but what. What should you be, that is the question!

Every day, every minute of our lives is a choice. Who am I going to be? What am I going to be? What we are is the choices we make, nothing more, nothing less. I choose to snap at my family, I choose to explain myself and apologize later. I choose to write, to create and to practice my art, because an artist is something I want to become. I choose to try when it comes to my sister, to fight for her, because our relationship means the world to me. I choose to be there for my brothers, even after they throw fits and scream, because they’re gosh darn cute and so very, very sweet. I choose to be who I am, because whatever someone thinks or what they say or how they feel, it’s their actions that define them in the light of history. It’s what they do with themselves that should make you decide whether or not to bother.

Everyone has excuses, and near everyone deserves pity and love for one reason or another. That doesn’t make what they choose to do any better; only more understandable. I’ve had the luck to grow up in a world that loves me, with people who have chosen to devote their lives to myself and my siblings with the best out of their circumstances. I won’t lie and say that hasn’t shaped me in who I am, and I would be a very different person having lived a different life. But even then, there is always a choice. I could choose 'to be' whatever the heck I want, any day, right now. It wouldn’t be easy, and it isn’t, but the more we chose the more those choices shape us, the easier they are to make. That choice is one we all decide every day, every second: Who am I going to be?

My Halloween Costume '10

2010-11-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

I was attempting to get all decked up for Halloween as a demon/psycho-ologist/sinister psychologist/Lyla Alden with the devil horns she should have been born with, and I think I came pretty darn close. This costume was a BLAST.

Here's what I was going for:

...And here's what my costume ended up looking like.

I'm rather proud!

Red Lips

2010-11-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

I use burny lipstick yesterday, the kind that stings and stains your lips, because it looked just perfect for the character I was playing that Halloween. But it WON'T COME OFF. It's really weird, heheh, because I hardly ever wear makeup at all, and now I'm walking around with these bright red lips and no mascara or anything XD

I promise, pics are coming - pics of Dear Sister, myself, and Brothers 1&2. Before the end of the year at the latest.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T12:04:00.000-07:00

EDIT: GAH! Due to blogger craziness, the pictures and the text are totally out of sink. Each bit of text has a description, however, so you should be fine if you read and look carefully. Read on!
----

Yippy! It’s the Day of the Dead, All Hallow’s Eve, that special day where people buy candy just to give it away. It’s like Christmas, only sweets instead of presents, and people give to strangers rather than those they know just to let kids have a good time. I think it’s a touching holiday, and a real fun one too, with all those fabulous costumes. I love picking them out and putting them together; it’s such a blast.

Since this year I won't be doing much for this special day, I thought I should post some dress-up memorabilia. I plan to be a Psycho-Ologist - or a Sinister Psychologist, or Lyla Alden, if you remember me ranting on her - this year, but you probably won't see pics until tomorrow. To tie you over, and for my own nostalgia's sake, here's every other year I ever dressed up:

Halloween, 1999, Dear Sister and I. I think we're supposed to be Barney and a Bumble bee, but who knows? The masks kind of throw me off.

Halloween 2003, Dear Sister as Alice in Wonderland and myself Super Man! Yippy!

A vampress and a mummy. Dear Sister's costume rocked this year, being 2004.

I went as a vampire for the second and last time, Dear Sister as a ghost. Isn't the blood a brilliant touch? And while I love sissy's hood, it's her killer expression that makes me want to drop dead. This is 2005.

Brother1's first time dressing up! At a year old, I believe, this is him as Super Baby. Dear Sister and I had AWESOME costumes this time around (we scared poor little kids on accident, they were so cool); me as a Ghost Bride, and she as a vampire in 2006. We switched our costumes from the last year, if you note.

Though I looked great as Medusa, the monster from Greek Mythology, getting the snakes out of my hair was a brutal, brutal memory I won't ever forget. But isn't Dear Sister just the cutest li'l witch you ever did see? She comes with a bumble bee, too!

You long-time readers should remember this one! My first Halloween on blogger, 2008, when I went as a Harpy (not a blackbird), again from Greek Mythology. Everyone else had chicken pox at the time (though I was soon to follow), so I was the only one who dressed up this time around.

This year ROCKED. Brother1 as Indiana Jones, myself as Anna Bolena, or Anne Boleyn, or Nan Bullen, Queen of England and my personal hero, Daddy as a Man in Black, Mommy as Donna Noble from Doctor Who, and Dear Sister as a Genie. Awesome, eh?

Myself, as Cinderella, last Halloween at 2009. This costume came out beautifully, I think, and that dress is one of my favorites.

That's it, I guess. Thanks for stopping by and reading - happy, happy, Halloween!

More On Drawing

2010-10-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

I really don't like sketching glasses on people when I draw. It's not that I don't like glasses - I wear glasses, for those of you who don't know - , but when you add the frames to the face, it blocks out most of the hard work I put into the eyes, and no matter how hard I work to go around my details it always ruins them. You can see my dilemma. *sniffs*

The trouble is there are some characters that just aren't who they are without glasses - Lyla Alden, for instance. She is wearing the same flashy red frames she picked out when she was somewhere between six and eleven years old; they were waaaaaaaay too big but she bought 'em anyway and had the lenses replaced every few years. Lyla without her glasses isn't exactly Lyla, which is something even she would agree to (of course, if you saw Lyla without her makeup, stiletto heels, fake eyelashes, fake nails, glasses, and with her hair down she'd most likely kill you).

Anyhow that's my drawing ramble for today. I'm getting better, I'm having fun, and now I'm coloring some of my sketches on the computer! Check out these quick colored doodles of Phoenix Shifter, the spunky sweet farmgirl, with shorter hair:

Yesterday

2010-10-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Late Night rocks. I mean really rocks. It'd be nice if all the 'bars' were open longer, but hey. It still totally rocks. If I were to sum up yesterday in a couple words, I guess I'd have to say "I played Late Night". That's just about it, heheh - I usually obsess over sims after getting a new EP, at least for a while. But let me think; I know I did a bit more than that.

I did try a magic trick with Brother1. Brother2 wandered around in a Darth Vader costume, and chased after the bigger boy with a pillow. Dear sister and I baked muffins. I practiced piano. We all watched that really cute TV show Raising Hope (which is just adorable, I'll have to post about it sometime). I wanted to get some typing and/or drawing done yesterday, be eh. It didn't happen. I role-played for a wee bit at the end of the day; that was fantastically fun, and I got some practice writing while I was at it. Beyond that I guess I just played with my newest Sims 3 expansion pack, random bits of chatter, observation, and food preparation not included.

It's Magic!

2010-10-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Recently li'l Brother1 has been showing a great interest in the big bin of magic tricks that has been hiding under my bed for the past... three years? Well, something like that. See, eons ago I was part of the 'Magician's Ring!' and performed magic on a regular basis. I practice like mad and knew all the tricks in the books (no, really, I read every single one that I had - in a certain book).

Now, a while later, I still have the mindset to figure those things out nowadays. I love going to a magic show and looked closely, trying to figure out how to do the trick. I'm none to bad at that nowadays.

Anyhow Brother1 stumbled upon my sockpile of quite a few tricks. Maybe I should start relearning them, so I could share with the guy. He's such a sweetheart, and her really does try, but he ends up giving the trick away every single time XD

Gosh, I love that boy.

The Sims 3: Late Night

2010-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

It’s out! Sims 3 Late Night is out! Yaaaaay! Yaaaaay! Yaaaaay!

I’m really really really really really really really excited about this. I’ve been waiting so long. And for once, I’m going to buy it, which Brother1 is really excited about since that means he can use it more quickly and easily. See, Dear Sister keeps her Sims expansion packs under her loft bed, which is a no-go zone for anyone, and she gets upset if you do trespass on her territory. Which I understand, I guess; it’s her space. But I sure hate it when the only way we can get at sims is if she goes and brings it out for us on her own time.

I’m honestly jittery about this. More body sliders! More traits! Night clubs! More cars! More clothing!

Yippy!

I’ll come back and post a more coherent, more intelligent, more proper post tomorrow. XD

On my stories

2010-10-25T09:06:00.001-07:00

I've started writing Kings of Darkness, yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Yip, you heard right. Yesternight I poured out over 3000 words, which was wonderful. For probably the first time in my life I knew exactly what I was doing and where I was going to go. I am so, so happy for that, and I've gone pretty far too. I decided to try using Phoenix Shifter as the main character; I might change my mind later, but why not give it a go? She'll be Emily in this one (partly from the advice of Dear Sister), though, because it makes her a little more ordinary and I want her to be someone you can really connect with - someone whose eyes you can clearly see the land of Glorsifil through.

The trouble is that K.o.D. is only one of many stories I'm in the middle of writing. To put matters in perspective, here are just a few of the others:

An as of yet unnamed story about a man gone mad, his freaky psychologist, and his desperate attempts to go home and be with his family. The story follows Theodore and the other wards and workers in a mental hospital, exploring the idea of insanity and unraveling the mystery behind his mental illness and his new companions.

Dreams of Eden, a story about six miserable children who start dreaming of one another in a special, perfect place. Soon they learn that there is more to these dreams than meets the eye and set off on a long journey to find one other in their hidden paradise.

Twisted, a retelling of Snow White. Beatrice von Iden is a princess in her own right, and as her beloved step-mother taught her she has both a right and duty to all the privileges and obligations therein. When one day in the Queen's childhood castle, Beatrice - or Snow White, as she is fondly nicknamed - stumbles across the mystic Mirrors from her step mother's Fairies' Tales, her perfect world is slowly ripped apart as the years continue, driving her and the Queen further and further apart and throwing her into the hands of her worst nightmare and ancient enemies, the dwarves.

And those are just the most prominent at the moment. I'm still planning on writing a lot more stories in the world of Arrivia (the setting where my self-published sci-fi Project 6-1-2 takes place), for one thing, or a mystery about this guy and this girl trying to unravel their pasts, or another post-apocalyptic story. As you can see, I'm kind of overloaded. But that's okay, I guess, because yesterday I realized something I'd forgotten for a long, long while: I really, really do love to write. I hope one of these days I can make a career out of it, but I know now that I’ll be typing for the rest of my life.

Sad Endings and Mush

2010-10-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Now, I understand that everyone has different tastes, and that's just fine. It's a good thing, I guess. I mean if everyone in the world wanted to be a journalist and nothing else we'd have some serious problems, wouldn't we? ;-) But I - well, I just really really don't like sad endings.

First off, the whole point of reading or watching anything is to feel good, isn't it? And a sad ending really doesn't leave me feeling good. Besides, if the whole time the movie has been building and building up to 'How are these characters possibly going to get out of this?' Then BAM, they just don't, I feel rather cheated.

I guess a lot of times people are just going for an 'impact' when they kill off your favorite character or make all hope lost. And I suppose that in some cases that makes sense; Romeo and Juliet probably wouldn't be near as famous if they'd both survived, eh? But if the impact is a sad one that leaves you feeling miserable - I just don't see the point. Ugh, and I hate those endings that leave you crying and crying when really nothing could ever have been done differently by most the characters, like in The Phantom of the Opera. *sigh*

ANYHOW I couldn't think of anything else to post about, and since I'm suffering from the dreaded Writer's Block, my fall back ended up book related today. What’s really on my mind is whether or not I should completely switch out May Petersen from Kings of Darkness since she doesn't really have much of a personality, but then someone pointed how it's nice in that kind of an adventure for a character to lack much distinction, just so you could imagine that you were the one going through all this wonder whilst she does. My brain feels like mush and I ended up deciding I'll try switching out main characters and write for a while. I might scrap it later and start from scratch once more, but I might love it, too. We’ll see. Wish me luck, please!

My Favorite Original Characters

2010-10-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe how many original characters I have floating around, and once I discovered role playing – well, let’s just say that doubled. I love them all with a tender passion like I'd love my own children – even my villains – , but I'm a horrible parent and apparently have favorites:

Lyla Alden, previously known as the Sinister Psychologist. An ex rich girl, she had virtually no social interaction as a little girl– her parents being fairly neglectful since they were really too busy for a child in the first place. She grew up around a few expensive tutors learning French, Math, History, and Science. Lyla passed the time watching people; watching her parents' parties, watching the household servants interact, watching how people gossiped, praised, manipulated, loved, fought, and cried. Unfortunately, as she hadn't actually done any of these things herself, when she finally made what Lyla refers to as her 'debutante appearance' (a twelve year old decked up in mother's makeup waltzing in stiletto heels on her parents' party uninvited) she came out stilted and awkward, and to this day hasn't been able to fix that. Sure, she practiced in front of the mirror for hours saying please and thank you, and if you ever meet a person that can smile wider than Lyla I'll give you a million dollars*, but she gives the impression of a moving Barbie doll dripping with sadism. She's so completely over-the-top polite and statically happy that she achieves exactly the opposite affect for which she was hoping. (As I once wrote in reference to Miss Alden: Her voice was cream floating in coffee, crystals of sugar dancing to the bottom. Her voice slid into your ears and gripped at your mind, twisting you from the inside out.) The affect she does achieve, however, is probably much more suiting. Lyla isn't a 'nice girl'. The human mind fascinates her; she loves the way it works and - even more - loves watching it crumble. But if you need a counselor and don't mind mental trauma along the way to sanity, she's your best bet. Sinister she may be, but she's also one of the best psychologists out there.

Theodore Rosefelt (yes, he was named in mock reference and honest tribute to a famous former president), or Farmer Ted, or the guy rolling his eyes in the corner before getting the job done and acerbically working out whatever argument he was rolling his eyes at. Teddy is a born and bred farmer (an acrobat, too!) and proud of this, but he doesn't act like stereotype would suggest. He isn't jolly or simple or even friendly. In fact he's sardonic, crabby, and a real pain in the neck. He's one of the snappiest average Joe's out there, and frankly kind of scary when you irk him. Despite all this, Theodore is loyal, loving, awfully clever, HORRIBLY witty, and a good person if you cut his chest open and take a good look at the very center of his heart. He had a tendency to feel fatherly towards people and then beat himself up about it, and is a 'family man' despite himself. This really surprised him since it seemed so inconsistent with what he knew about himself so before. But that's Teddy in a word: inconsistent. He's crabby and sardonic, but clipped and polite. He's quiet and observant, but rash and wild. He can lash out madly like a whip and later just sit quietly making a comment or two when he thinks it’s really necessary. Ted is very clever and pretty subtle in his emotions, but when he does feel he becomes completely caught up in the anger or joy and becomes absolutely, positively irrational. He's somewhat bipolar, terrified of death (though he hardly ever brings it up; it's kind of a quiet fear), and a little bit crazy. Theodore would let the world go to flames to keep himself and those he loves safe, but he loves more strongly and completely than could ever be put to words.

Emily Ana “Phoenix” Shifter, the spunky sweet firegirl. Named for her mother, Emily prefers to go by the stage name she uses when she performs with fire. It's one of her favorite things to do – grab a few sticks, rub 'em together with a match or two and dance around flaring with them. She does so for tips and performs at birthdays and parties when she can as she has absolutely no idea what she wants to do with her life – beyond opening a bakery, but the idea of settling down in one place like that rather frightens her, no matter how perfect her Shifterian Chocolate Chip Cookies may be. Phoenix is sharp as a tack, perky, bouncy, witty, open and buoyant. She is everything light and happy, completely optimistic in nature and a great sufferer of wanderlust with a longing for adventure. She's a terribly oblivious romantic at heart, and has a tendency to see the best in everything – sometimes over idealizing what something is to the point of heart break when she learns what is wasn't. Despite that setback, she sees the good in everyone and plays at it, drawing it out and brightening the world (both metaphorically and literally) wherever she goes. Phoenix has a temper she works really hard to keep a handle on, but if someone really pushes her buttons she'll go kind of crazy (word of advice: don't call her cute, don't call her 'Fifi', and don't you dare hurt someone she cares about). She's good at martial arts, knows how to hold a sword and can use it adequately (her father makes replicas of old-time weaponry and she couldn't resist goofing around with them a little. She can actually make sloppy swords if she words hard at it – all the heat and fire appeals to her – and is real good at making simple repairs), plays the flute, and is a bit of an acrobat. On the other side of things, she is one of the worst singings to ever curse the poor helpless Earth, thick crowds make her panic (especially indoors) and she hates being wet or cold. Overall Phoenix is just a kind hearted girl who wants to have a good time and really needs to find herself fast before she grows up and is still stuck performing on the streets. She's actually Theodore's granddaughter in my head - and she has a tendency to act snarky like him when annoyed – , but I doubt it'll ever come up in whatever story she features.

Fredric, or Freddy, or Fred, or the cheerful bloke Dear Sister gets a kick out of. The son of a sailor who is often off on his trips, he cherishes every moment he has with his family together. A bit of a sailor himself on occasion, Fredric loves nothing like the sea - endless and wild and lovely. He's jovial and light, always with a joke (though not always a particularly good one, he certainly seems to find them funny) and a bright smile on hand. Fred locks grief - when he ever feels it, which is rare - underneath his cheer, preferring to pretend everything is exactly the same as it was before and act accordingly. He's loyal and determined, though so easy going it's easy to sway him in his opinions - unless, of course, you're talking about someone he cares for, in which case Fredric is stuck as a boot in mud and no amount of pulling will make him budge. Near impossible to irritate but rather childish when he is such. Fred can get quite cold on occasion, particularly if he feels like someone is prodding underneath the happy-go-lucky exterior which is honestly his heart ninety percent of the time. Not particularly clever or particularly slow – he honestly doesn’t think about thinking most of the time –, he’s an excellent horseback rider and just a pleasant person to be around.

Phew! That took forever, heheh. But hey, I had fun writing it. Anyhow, these are some all-time favorites out of my characters. I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoy writing about them.

Kings of Darkness Update

2010-10-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

I worked on that book for almost three years, if you include the hours I poured into editing. The trouble was I honestly didn't know where I was going when I started – well, I knew how it was supposed to end and basic plot of the series, but what was the first book supposed to accomplish? What kind of missions would a band of Rebels go off on? I don't know.

What ended up happening were some cheesy, pointless, non-plot furthering scenes (including nympths, a 'Sword of Teer' that I made up COMPLETELY out of the blue, and time travel. No, I'm serious), pointless expeditions, and way too many characters (including a bratty sorceress, NYMPHS, and magical creatures). And then, a long, long while later I started rereading my story. Let's just say I was under impressed. My writing has, apparently, grown immensely since then and I have no intentions of associating my name with a sub-quality book - or rather, a book with which I know beyond doubt that I could do much, much better.

Then we have May Petersen, the main character. If you asked me about her, I would say: "She's an average multitalented girl average at everything she does besides solving mysteries (which she excels at) who gets sucked up into this magical land and has to help save the kingdom of Glorsifil from a tyrant King Ronan who doesn't seem quite - "

"No, no, Galaxy, I want to hear about what kind of person this 'May' is. What's she like?"

"Oh, oh! Well, she's got shoulder length auburn hair, emerald eyes, a square chin - " (I wrote this book before I cut my hair, I swear. Besides, my hair's too dusty to be auburn and my eyes to gray to be emerald. And my chin isn't square)

"No, Galaxy, you're doing it again. Tell me about her personality. Her traits."

Then there would be silence. I'd probably blink a couple times. If you asked me about any of my other original characters I could talk for hours about their personality alone.

"Um, well, she's resilient... nice... quick on her feet... and petrified of horses for the first five chapters while remaining jittery around them throughout the entire thing?"

As you can see, I have quite a few problems. The only thing I could think to do would be to totally rehaul everything - yes, everything - and write Kings of Darkness from scratch. Originally it was going to be four books all together: The Reining Night, A Glimmer of Light, Eclipse, and Dusk or Dawn, but now I'm noticing how I was trying to stretch out the first one in my mad attempts, and maybe if I just collapsed them all together it would make for a better, more action filled, less fluffy story.

I'm still figuring out how I'm going to execute all this, how I'm going to work it out, but I have to try. Because Fredric is in that book (and he's one of my favorites out of all the characters I've ever written), because I poured far too much of my heart and soul into that story to give up now, and because Mommy said abandoning K.o.D. was a "horrible, evil" thing, though she did express how much she doesn't like the fantasy genre.

And I guess that's all there is to it, but I promised an explanation, so there you have one. To do list: Manufacture a new main character, plot out what must be accomplished, feel out how many books it'll take (I'm hoping for only one, maybe two), and start once more. Mwahahahaahahaha.

In the meanwhile, I've got a newly published, very interesting, exciting sci-fi book called Project 6-1-2 with lots of awesome characters that you're absolutely welcome to read, buy, and review at this link here:

http://www.amazon.com/Project-6-1-2-Zoe-M-Alley/dp/1453617884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287770164&sr=8-1

It's ANOTHER Drawing!

2010-10-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm just so proud of how her clothes came out that I absolutely had to share it. This is Lyla Alden, the scariest psychologist to ever walk the Earth when she was a little older than I am. I'm coloring this on Photoshop now, but I'm not sure if I'm doing so well at it XD

Lemons

2010-10-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was just remembering way back when every now and then when someone gave us a glass of water with a lemon in it Daddy would feed it to Wee Baby Brother1. I remember how his face just CRINKLED up and went all silly. It was so sweet. And then he'd ask for more. No, I'm not kidding - more.

Babies are brilliant. And then they grow up. And they get even more so! I love my boys, and I love my sis. I'm sure grateful to have'em, and all the beautiful (or just plan silly XD) memories the four of us share.

The Scariest Weapons Ever

2010-10-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here’s a list of some of the scariest things EVER:

A bastard blob - the melted remains of a bastard sword. Old D&D pals for the game with Miranda, Levindar, Annabelle, and Metro will understand.

Dear Sister's glare - anyone who's felt it will understand.

A cumin spiced stake - those things can do DAMAGE when flying through the air. Just ask Zombie Julian from the Orderly Chaos role play game.

SPOONS - no, I'm not kidding.

Phoenix's Fire - especially after you've dared to TOUCH HER HAIR.

Teeth - I haven't dealt with vampires much. But from what I HAVE, my advice to you is to avoid the teeth. At all costs.

Mechanical pencils - bloody brutal to stab yourself with, if you ask me.

Geier's babies - you don't want to deal with that psycho vamp's swords. ESPECIALLY when he's wielding them. ESPECIALLY when he's irked. Geier belongs to Candyexorcist, by the way.

MP3 players with the sound on high - need more be said? Beyond 'MY EARS! MY EARS! I'M DEAF! GOD HELP ME! OOOOWW! OOOOOOOOW!', of course.

Millions and millions of questions asked one after another without time between to give an answer when you are expected to reply to all of them - kids, anyone? The worst part is it's just wrong to yell at them for this, because they're really actually curious, they don't mean any harm, and they're often really cute when doing so. BUT YOU DARN WELL WANT TO.

Mary's bag that is way too big to ever be called a purse - Dear Sister's fictitious character could deal real hit points with THAT monster.

Writers block - I swear, someone must have DIED from that biological (or would it be psychological?) weapon.

Cass's chemicals - that vampire alchemist sure has a bang. And half the time it involves half the city going up in smoke. Cassandra Larimar belongs to Octironstar.

Lyla's psychological manipulation - this psychologist likes to tear whatever is left of her vic-, er, clients' mental stability apart and then build it back up piece by painful piece. It works. But it hurts. No pain, no gain!

Drawing a comic but being too impatient to finish it when you really want to do so - I feel like screaming when this happens. Sometimes I do.
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Okay, so maybe all these things aren't exactly weapons. And maybe half of them have to do with some of my RPGs. But they're ALL TRUE, and they’re ALL SCARY.

Old Posts

2010-10-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

GAH I was just reading some of my older posts and I cringed. I wish I could go back and rewrite half of them. I feel like my writing has grown immensely since then and I am so glad I decided to start posting on here once more (mostly thanks to Mommy, who suggested I only check the forums I'm addicted to after I post. Hey! I should post about those sometime!), if only so I don't leave my Galaxy with only that to show.

Funny thing is that way back when I thought I was a great writer, so it's a little silly for me to feel so apprehensive about what I wrote now. I used WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too many ellipses so I'm trying to make a point not to use any nowadays if I can help it. Now, however, I'm using a ton of commas and - these really cool dash things - to add emphasis. And lots of italics, heheh.

So, as for new posts, I plan to talk about my latest obsession Orderly Chaos, why I decided to totally rewrite Kings of Darkness, swoon about my new favorite food ever, and moan about how I don't know what I'm going to be for Halloween. Stay tuned!

Monsters vs Aliens

2010-10-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

I just watched a really, really cute movie for the second time. It's called Monsters vs Aliens and it was adorable. Eighty percent of the jokes made me grin widely if not laugh out loud and the characters were so endearing. I loved Link, even though he seemed a little useless in the beginning. But NO, he pulled more than his weight at the end, and he was gosh darn fun the whole time, too. I just loved his voice. And the DOC! He was brilliant – literally, too; he made a super computer out of two spray cans, a toaster, and a paper clip. And he laughs evilly. He does the mad scientist laugh. And he’s a good guy. What’s not to love? His voice was perfect for the part, too. Then there was B.O.B. the Blob – what a sweet, confused, brainless pile of gelatiness goop! Again perfect casting. And how could I forget dear Susan? Or, should I say, Ginormica. A sweet hearted, strong spirited, happily mindsetted heroine who I really adored. Must I mention they picked a wonderful voice to play the part once more?

Anyhow, PERFECT CASTING near all around, I think. A fun movie with a fun story and a fun cast of characters leading up to a fun ending. One of my favorite animated films, definitely – up there with WALL-E and How to Train Your Dragon. But I can’t compare it to The Iron Giant. Not yet. I’m not ready for that. (sniffs, tears up, starts getting shaky) I loved The Iron Giant.

I am an ARTIST

2010-10-16T09:29:00.001-07:00

See, I would NEVER have dreamed to use the word 'artist' and the word 'me', 'I', or 'Galaxy' in the same sentence without being preceded by a negative. I was horrible. Utterly, completely, horrible.

And theeeeeeeeeeeeen Mr. Teatime, a childish sociopath from the discworld book and movie Hogfather, invaded my mind. Suddenly my brain was singing Draw him! Draw him! Draw him!

And, well, I tried to draw him. I started with anime since that's a pretty simple drawing technique I thought I could understand and catch on to with relative ease. I was never really happy with any of them and I think Brother1 and 2 destroyed all my sad attempts eventually, since I didn't put them anywhere safe (idiotic of me, I know). But I didn't really care.

And then, world be praised, I found devaintART. All these beautiful drawings I could use for reference! A bazillion pictures to search through and adore! A community of artists to share with and get tips from! *sighs* That was the coming of the beginning of the twist*.

Then I just sketched off someone else's Teatime drawing. And then I tried drawing an original character that had been running around in my head singing 'draw me' as well in a similar style. After that I was hooked - Daddy said I was drawing 24/7. And I almost was. If we were watching a movie, I was drawing. If I was lying in bed trying to sleep, I was drawing. If I was sitting in the living room thinking, I was drawing. If I was browsing the internet - I was drawing. You get my drift, I think.

Throughout all this mad artistry, I’ve been slowly developing my own style. And really, I still am. But now my art is rather different from most others. One day I want to draw realistically, in body shots and face works, but that’s going to take me a while – so I’m starting here, with a more cartoony approach. Recently I've been trying a more realistic style with only faces, and that's manifested in the few pictures just below these huge blocks of text. People say that approach suits me, so I'll probably be drawing a lot more of it. It’s also really really fun XD

And NOW. NOW at long last I can call myself an artist. I've worked hard for that. I'm just amazed at how I went from a horrible wannabe who HATED to draw, to an okay beginner who loves it with a passion in only a few months. And, unlike most my other obsessions, this has yet to fade away. I'm glad for that.

And that's my attempt at posting something interesting. I hope it was ;-)

*Sorry. Song line. Had to use it. SUCH A COOL SONG.

Phoenix Shifter, the farmgirl firegirl. I think I posted this pic already.

My attempt at drawing Dear Sister. Her jaw is way too far forwards and she looks much older than she actually does, but I can see the Her in this.

Cassandra Larimar, belonging to one Octironstar. Cass is a discworld original character, vampress, alchemist, and bipolar loony with good intentions and a caring heart.

Another one of those loonies. Lucia von Heidegger, belonging to me and Candyexorcist. She was a queen who went mad with the death of her husband and resorted to abdicating her throne and locking herself in a tower to perform sorcery far away. She is bold, brave, wise, snappy, tempermental, and very regal. Her curls drove me mad.

Does anyone read my blog anymore?

2010-10-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Not that there's anything wrong with NOT reading my blog. I have been on an unannounced hiatus for what feels like forever. But now I'm curious as to whether or not anyone's stopped by and read up on my posts. Please comment and say 'hi' if you have!

On another note, I'm still practicing piano. I really love doing it now. I've even written a couple songs! One is music Dear Sister can sing to (she has a lovely voice) and the other is slowly coming along. I'm not sure what to do after the first few bars. Anyhow, we're working on our band together, and maybe one of these days we'll actually have an album. Yaaaaaaaaaay!

A wish, sleep, and overall NOTHING really interesting

2010-10-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

I wish, wish, wish-wish-wish that I could just start waking up at a reasonable hour. That's all I want. To wake up before ten. If I could wake up before ten, I'd be happy. Of course, I'd love to start getting up at 5AM, but that's rather unreasonable to go for when I can't seem to get up before 10AM. It's really really driving me nuts, and upsetting me horribly. I know there are lots of people who'd give anything to be able to sleep in to whenever they want, but I just want more daytime, especially since the sky is slowly darkening. I guess I'll have to work on it, especially since alarms do virtually no good for me (I sleep right through them or hit snooze or turn them off). Ugh.

Family Matters

2010-10-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

These are some characters I invented and know very, very well – Phoenix Shifter, the spunky sweet country girl who can spout fire at will, and Theodore Rosefelt, her grandfather the snarky farmer. He's also a vampire (Ted was converted after Phoenix was born, so she isn’t ‘part vampire’ or anything like that) who seems only 25 in appearance, so that leads to confusion. He's also rather childish in a bratty sort of way and half mad due to traumatic events. But oh well. I love them both to death and this is a quick glimpse into their family life before Phoenix grew up (which is when I normally write her). I probably won't ever make a real book about either character, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun, does it now? ;-)

---

It is a well known fact that animosity can kindle amongst even the happiest families – especially family by marriage (exempli gratia, the Red Headed Stepchild, the Wicked Stepmother, THE INLAWS(1)). However, when disaster strikes, even those who are less than cordially inclined with one another must band together – because, when it comes right down to it, they are family, and that’s all that really matters. Even when disaster is a lovesick firegirl who doesn’t know better.

“Theodore, I…” Emily curled her lips around her teeth, twisting her tongue and attempting to continue. The elder raised a brow at his daughter-in-law, sitting up on the counter of her(2) tiny kitchenette curiously. The family chef, mentally sighing in relief at the familiar ground and excuse to snap, fumed(3). “Get off the counters – what are you, six? Molly hasn’t been up there for years.”

Teddy – resisting temptation and avoiding conflict (only so he could get her to continue, of course) – slipped off the shelf. “Yes m’am. It’s sixty, actually. You were saying?” he answered flatly.

Sighing again – this time in anxiety – Emily continued. “I need your advice.”

The words hung in the air for a while.

“I’ll be glad to answer any questions of a parental nature,” Theo prodded. “I’ve dealt with three of the monstrous things, after all. Worse than vampires.”

“You’re telling me? Your children moved out years ago and made ones of their own. I’m the one dealing with the things. And by complaining about vampires you are complaining about yourself, aren’t you?”

“I can complain about myself if I want, can’t I? You wouldn’t believe how hard it is living with me.” Emily started to concede adamantly, but Ted interrupted. “You’re stalling.”

Another sigh. “Phoenix is…” she trailed off again, tugging angrily at her black locks in annoyance. “She’s…”

“Forgetting her chores?”

“Yes. But that’s not the causal issue. There’s more to it.”

“Do continue.”

“She’s also… singing, though that’s not the fact of the matter either.”

Teddy paled – as much as a vampire can pale, anyhow. He managed a purplish hue to his grayish skin. “Not singing. Not her.”

Right on cue, a loud, out of tune, more shout-like than musical chant reminiscent of a cat in a blender or nails on a chalk board echoed through the windows as fifteen year old Phoenix Shifter began skipping towards home from her father’s forge. Mother and grandfather flinched in the horrible racket.

“Go on,” he hissed through a scrunched face.

“It gets worse,” Emily assured. “She keeps Molly up all night talking.”

“That can’t really be avoided, can it?” Theodore put in. “They get on, they share a bed, Phoenix is a gabby young lady – of course they’ll talk. That’s not even close to as bad as her attempting to sing.”

“But she talks all night long. And that’s not the bad part – there’s a reason behind all of this. She only talks about – ”

“Carl!” Phoenix chimed, crashing through the front door with her arms spread wide and a foolish, loony grin plastered over her childish face. Being a teenager, having rounded features and small eyes didn’t really give the desired sense of maturity. The poor girl actually looked cute – a fact of which she was horribly aware. At least she had her fire. She would die if it weren’t for the dear flames Phoenix could somehow conjure at will – of that much she was certain.

“What now, girl?” Emily groaned.

“He smiled at me yesterday, Mommy! He smiled!” the young girl’s arms swept across her heart as she goggled at the thatched roof none too far above her grandfather’s head. Then she noticed her grandfather’s head. “Hi there, Gramps!”

Theodore, having the self restraint to keep his jaw up, gaped with the sheer incredulousness of his eyes alone. They flicked to Emily, who cocked her head in affirmation. Even if that weren’t so, Phoenix’s emotions sprang out in an obnoxiously clear fashion loud enough for the vampires in the next kingdom to hear –let alone the grandfather who had been there her entire life.

His granddaughter was in love. His Emily Ana “Phoenix” Shifter (should be Rosefelt, the damn stubborn mother’s-last-name-taking child) was attracted to and dreamy over some boy who made her feel fluttery enough to sing. Being overprotective even of his son, the idea of his granddaughter – who seemed just yesterday to have been a little babe cooing at flickering fire – romantically attached to someone was sickening.

So you want her to stop spending time with this Carl boy? he asked his daughter-in-law with a quick tilt of the head (tolerating one another for years had its benefits).

Of course. But I’d prefer it if the girl would only get back on top of her chores; Molly and I can’t take care of everything ourselves(4), Emily conveyed crabbily, folding her arms and sticking out a hip as she glared at her daughter.

Phoenix dimmed in confusion, wondering why everyone wasn’t as happy as she was.

Teddy barely kept form rolling his eyes at his daughter-in-law’s narrow-mindedness, but he had more important things to think about. Like his granddaughter being in love. I’ve got it covered, then.

I just want advice. I can take care of this myself, Emily sniffed.

I’ve got it covered, he repeated with a quick nod.

In a flash he snapped up his Phoenix’s long red braid and pulled hard. His granddaughter called out angrily as he started dragging her across what passed for a room (it was far too tiny to be a living room or a kitchen OR a dining room, but the Shifter-Rosefelts used it for all three) towards the rickety door.

Emily’s eyes widened. “Release my daughter this instant, Theodore! I will not stand for horseplay in my house!”

“Fine them, Emily.” He slipped out the front entry – a shrieking, irate, fiery Phoenix in tow.

“You bloody monster- let me go- what are you doing?!- LET GO OF MY HAIR!” she screeched.

Theodore was about to roll his eyes when she flamed up, making him leap back. “Emily!” he called out, glaring at the blisters forming where her fire had licked his skin.

“UUUGH!!” Phoenix stomped, fists clenched. “Don’t you ever, ever, ever touch my hair again!”

Theodore, shaking off how unsettled the fire made him feel, managed a shrug. “I just wanted to tell you that I completely support your possible relationship with this Edward and you are very welcome, in my opinion, to spend time with him whenever. Oh, and your mother’s bugging me. Please skip your chores to annoy her,” he added.

“UUUGH!” Phoenix repeated, before stalking off angrily to weed her mother’s herbal garden. Before she made it, she whirled around: “And it’s Carl! The only Edward I know is stuck up and rude.” Reminds me of someone, she thought haughtily.

Teddy wiped off his hands in nervous satisfaction as she steamed away, wondering how many more times that trick would work before she (a) caught on or (b) burned him to a pile of ash. Because of this pondering, he missed the looming cloud of Emily until the hard slap hit his face, bringing him back to reality.

“I don’t know how you ran things in your family, but this is mine, Rosefelt, and I don’t care if you’re nineteen or a 102 - you will do as I say under my roof or with my children,” she snarled vehemently, glaring something terrible.

Theodore, one hand to his stinging cheek, wisely refrained from mentioning the two or three snide remarks bouncing around his head. Instead, he only pointed delicately to the literally fuming Phoenix doing her chores in the garden. Emily, not having the restraint of her father-in-law, dropped her jaw. She slapped him again before marching inside and slamming the door.

Ted found himself questioning his family’s taste in romantic partners, which eventually started him pondering whether or not Phoenix would ever forgive him if he scared this Carl out of town. Should be easy enough, with the teeth and all. That’s when, under the glint of lovely moonlight, quiet Christopher came out of his forge and started towards the garden.

“Hi, Dad,” he greeted softly.

“Our(5) Emily is in love.”

“I know. She was singing in the forge,” Christopher smiled. “You should listen to her talk about him. It sounds straight out of one of those romance novels my Emily always tells me about.”

“You’re all right with this atrocity?” Theodore blinked.

“Hell no. But it’s just a crush; it’ll pass.”

Teddy ran a hand through his scraggly red hair in annoyance. “Damn waiting. I hate waiting. They say you’re supposed to get patient with age. I just get this rushing feeling. Like I need to keep fighting because every second I have is something stolen, something I shouldn’t. Like I’m supposed to be dead and gone by now.”

“Lots of people live passed your age – immortal or not,” Chris assured gently, tinges of worry crossing his bearded face.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t plan on dying. Not ever, not if I can help it. Death is what I’m afraid of.”

“Daaaaaaaaa-dddddddddddddy!” wailed a voice from a nearby tiny window in Christopher’s tiny, tiny cottage. A pretty face framed with short black hair and bangs peered through the shutters, slightly panicked. “Daddy there’s a spider! And a cobweb!”

Christopher shrugged at his father, who managed a weak smile, before jogging off to the window to rescue his little Molly. Ted, taking a deep breath, trudged over to Phoenix with his hands in his pockets, mindful of Emily’s herbs (if only to keep from being slapped again).

“Hi, Phoenix,” he said, calling her by her preferred name to get on her good side. She shot him a nasty look and stuck out her tongue before continuing her work. He rolled his eyes before remembering what he came here for and sitting down beside her. “I’m a might mad. Not mad mad. Crazy mad. Due to that, I act a little oddly.”

“I know,” Phoenix grumbled.

He coughed awkwardly before shoving out the words as fast as possible. They mixed up and tumbled incomprehensibly, but it was supposed to be along the lines of: “I’m sorry for pulling your hair.”

She ignored him, flicking her red, orange, and golden hair (tied up in a loose braid) over her shoulder crabbily. He ruffled haughtily before continuing.

“But you did get it from me, didn’t you? So technically it’s mine,” Theo added flatly.

Phoenix shot upright from her weeding, scandalized. “I inherited my hair from my father, Grandpa! Not you.”

Teddy shrugged. “And he got it from me before that.”

“But it’s on my head!”

“Which you also got from me, judging by how stubborn you are.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes.

“And that, too,” Ted pointed out triumphantly. “I do that all the time.”

“I don’t go around pulling people’s hair.”

“You don’t, eh? I said I was sorry.”

She huffed. “I wouldn’t ever forgive you if your anniversary(6) wasn’t coming up. You get horrible then.” Ted shut up, folding his long fingers together as his eyes shot down. Phoenix sighed. “I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again.”

“Rosefelt! Phoenix!” Emily’s loud voice called. “The tarts are ready!”

Heads flipping to one another with excited grins, grandfather and granddaughter raced into the house and nearly knocked over the rickety nightstand that passed as a table in their hurry to sit. Emily sighed and served up the family – including Theodore, Phoenix, Molly, Christopher, and herself. Mouths watered until the woman of the house sat and took her first bite, allowing everyone else to dig into the pure delicacies.

“I simply love it, Mommy,” Molly cooed. Emily gave her daughter a quick smile.

“I think it’d be a bit better with a tad less sugar; it’s not quite tart enough for a tart,” Phoenix put in. “But it’s definitely divine.”

Emily glared at her eldest, Teddy and Christopher being too busy eating to talk.

Of course, looking back on the opening paragraph, sometimes families just go to hell no matter what you do. But they manage. Because in the end they’re family, and they’re stuck loving one another

----

(1)No more need be said.

(2)Despite being built by Christopher’s own hands, there was absolutely zero doubt as to whether or not his wife was the soul wielder of anything with culinary uses – no matter how good Phoenix was getting.

(3)Not nearly so literally as her daughter could, however.

(4)Emily had an odd complex where she felt anything she didn’t see someone do was something they didn’t actually do (at least according to her subconscious). Christopher did all his work in the forge, Theodore did all his work in his fields, and Phoenix usually liked to help out the men of the household, while Molly did everything with her mother. Because of this, Emily came out thinking everyone besides herself and her youngest daughter were lazy do-nothings. This led to complications.

(5)Theodore had troubles with Phoenix’s nickname. Her name was Emily, even be it her mother’s as well. She should be called by it, gosh darnnit. So when he spoke possessively of an Emily, it was always his granddaughter, and whenever he spoke of the original Shifter – the one who had convinced his Emily to take on a foreign family name – it was 'your'.

(6)This would be another anniversary as a widower for Theodore. He was immortal, yes, but the one woman he ever loved hadn’t been.

Ten Minutes

2010-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

No, seriously. Ten minutes.

I wanted to slash that train with a hatchet. A hatchet, I tell you!!

See, my family and I were driving away to have some fun downtown when THE TRAIN came. After a while of sitting around as it slowly passed by, Mom glanced at the time. TWELVE MINUTES later it was still chugging along. Mommy actually got out of the car to look and see if the end was in sight. By then it was, thank goodness. Still. Ten minutes?

Music

2010-10-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Being a crazy, crazy teen, I've been VERY into music of late. Some of my favorite bands are Shinedown, Evanescence, Solas, Snow Patrol, Three Doors Down, Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin... wonderful groups like that. I love music with heavy beats and a catchy melody, or pretty voices mixed with hard guitars and drums (Evanescence all the way), and Celtic I near always find lovely. I'm not a Lady Gaga fan, nor so much into hip-hop, rap, or country. But there are always a few good songs in every genre, at some point at least. Speaking of which, I have far too many favorite songs to list, but Rooftops is truly glorious, and you should blast that right now yourself. "... All the love, I've met - I have no, regrets. If it all, ends now, I'm set. Will we make our mark, this time? Will we always say, we tried? Standing on the rooftops, everybody scream your heeeeeeeeeart oooooooout..."

Did I mention I was a published author yet? Oh, wait, I have. *sniffs* There's a link on my sidebar if you want to check out my book ;-)

I can draw now!

2010-10-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

...In that my drawings aren't horrible failures anymore. I'm actually okay, I think. Do you know what it took? (you'll hate me:) PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. And more practicing like crazy. Daddy said I was drawing 24/7 at one point.

Here are a couple sketches (some old, some new) that I'm rather happy with:

This is Phoenix Shifter. She's a spunky sweet countrygirl that can spout fire at will.

That's Chibi Dear Sister and me. Chibi is a cutesy style I use when I'm lazy.

This is Phoenix again. I kind of gave up when I got to the collarbone.

This one is a bit awkward, but I like it nevertheless. She's Aletheia Pierce, a gypsy daughter of Hermes (Ancient Greek God of anything that travels the road - diplomats, thieves, tricksters, thieves, merchants, THIEVES... et cetera.).

Again, Aletheia. Only now she's with her father.

---

So I've got tons more where that came from. But these are just a few of the ones that I can look at without screaming in horror. Thanks for checking 'em out, and do comment!

A Series of Tiny Updates

2010-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

First in my long list of things I just need to update you all about is that I’ve cut my hair. Only this time I didn’t cheat and cut it from uber long to normal; see, now it’s above my shoulders. It’s only ever been this short when I was a little girl, as I spent the first ten years of my life growing it out. Or something like that.

So… I’ve cut my hair. I’ve still got two brothers, not three or another l’il sis, but those two are some of the handsomest, sweetest, cutest things to grace this Earth and I am so glad to have them. Dear Sister is still my very best friend, and she’s been keeping me up half the night gabbing. Once, she threw balled up tissues at me from her loft bed when I refused to talk and tried to get some sleep. Gee. Unfortunately, I’m not much better when it comes to chit-chit-chatting all night, so I can’t lop all the blame on to her. I can, however, with all the maturity I can muster, logically point out, she started it.

I am now a crazy crazy teen. Yip, I really really am, being a good fifteen years old. I want to get a job in a coffee shop of some kind, because despite the fact that I don’t actually drink the stuff, I sure love how it smells (particularly in the morning). I also want to get a driver’s permit, which I’m actually old enough to do. FIRST I’ve got to get around to reading that driver’s manual, which is… taking a while. But I’ll do it eventually.

I guess that’s all I’ve got to spew out for NOW; I’ll be saving the rest for later. Don’t forget, though – I’m now a published author and if you checked out my book I’d squeal with glee! There’s a link on the sidebar, or right here, too: http://www.amazon.com/Project-6-1-2-Zoe-M-Alley/dp/1453617884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286659923&sr=8-1

Iiiiiiiiiiiiii'm Baaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaack!

2010-10-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

She’s back from the dead, and now a published author!

Yip, y’all heard me right. I’ll be posting on a regular basis once more, and I’ve finally got a book available to buy on amazon.com. But it’s not Kings of Darkness.

Remember that script I wrote that I was using to make a movie with some friends? Well, that fell apart, so I wrote it into a book and self published it. It’s called Project 6-1-2 and you can check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Project-6-1-2-Zoe-M-Alley/dp/1453617884/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286659923&sr=8-1

Beyond that, my arthritis is all but gone, thanks to extreme weird eating and low-dose naltroxone taken long term. Hallelujah! I’m much out of shape due to lots of sitting around (I went from 95lbs to 137lb without growing an eighth of an inch), but hey, I can move now, so hopefully I’ll be fit again soon.

So now you’ve got one happy Galaxy glad to write and signing off with much love. Expect to hear a heck of a lot more about her shortly!

Unschooling

2010-03-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been a regular reader of my blog for a long time, then you already know that I am a homeschooler/unschooler. By that I mean that I’ve never gone to a public school in my life, and that my teachers are my parents, the world, and everyone I meet. For example, my parents didn’t teach me to read, but they read to me constantly. Now I am fervent, speedy, and fluent in both writing and reading. I learn from experience and living, from reading and exploring, and from watching others. If a particular subject interests me (e.g. psychology or ballet) my family and I find a way for me to learn some more about it. I’ve loved this, because I can spend my days with my parents, and with my brothers and sister who are my classmates in the school of life and very best friends as well. I’ve loved this because I learn what I want, when I want it, and because rather than being told things, (for the most part) I see them for myself.

Now that you have a background of what I deem unschooling, or at least how I lived the early days of my life, I’ll take a step further. I have decided that though I wish to write my many stories and have them published, they won’t be able to support me, and because I love learning about human nature, I want to become a psychologist/counselor and write on the side. In order to reach that goal, it can take as many as nine years of college education. I’ve never been in a ‘school environment’, so we found an online high school to give me a feel of how that sort of thing works and that would pay for the first two years of community college if one wished. Mom and Dad made it very clear that they didn’t care in the slightest what grades I got so long as I was happy, and I was unafraid and excited. Looking back maybe I should have been a little apprehensive. I’ve never learned any of the things they’d offered before in a school environment (though Daddy has shown me some algebra and other nuances pertaining to math). Who knew how I’d handle it?

I was very curious as to how it’d turn out. Sometimes it was fun, and sometimes it was really annoying. Throughout it all, however, I do feel I came out with more knowledge. Mommy and Daddy have never put me in a ‘formal learning environment’ (excluding recreational activities such as acrobatics, ballet, art… etc.), so the only things I knew about the subjects were the things they’ve shown me, or the things the world has taught me—yet I’m a straight-A student. I didn’t even have to ‘catch up’ with anything, I just jumped right in and moved along. I’m not saying I didn’t work hard or that the work was easy, but moving from nothing to an online high school was surprisingly simple. I grasped all the subjects, and I was able to learn and grow easily. The one thing I did have trouble with was multiplying negative numbers by negative numbers; it was so hard for me to comprehend how less-than-nothing times less-than-nothing became something. However, I think I understand it now, even if I can’t quite put it to words. That was probably the hardest thing for me, but history, earth science, psychology, and English I was able to tackle relatively easily and quickly.

That started to make me wonder—if that’s exactly where people my age should be, and I’ve had no such schooling my entire life, how comes I was able to do it, and get straight A’s? What about all those years students spend in school beforehand to prepare themselves for ninth grade? What use is it if someone who’s never done any of that can go through it without too much headache? We’re talking hours and hours of children’s lives, spent away from their parents and away from their siblings. Even when they get home they still have homework to take care of. It’s always fascinated me that school-kids can do school, do homework, do extracurricular activities, hang out with friends and still have time for family. I do almost nothing and I’m always swamped. But I’m getting off track here with this whole paragraph; I suppose I’d better get back on it.

All in all, I enjoyed this. It was an interesting experience and I’m going to try to start college this fall to work towards my goal of becoming some sort of counselor and freelance writer. But I don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything during those years of my life that I was unschooled. Quite to the contrary, I feel I’ve had an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I got to grow up under my parent’s guidance rather than several teachers, alongside my Dear Sister and later my Sweet Brothers rather than classmates, and I have had so many friends all different ages rather than being limited to those who are my own. I’ve let the Earth and Life teach me, I’ve written and loved and learned and grown, and I have no regrets.

Galaxy

A Poem Without a Name

2010-01-27T22:47:00.001-08:00

Well, I just felt like sharing this poem I wrote up recently. Do tell me what you think.

Capture me,
Torture me,
Break me and bend,

Haunt me,
Taunt me,
Tear me and then,

Darkly stultify,
My worth in the world,
But hard as you’ll try,
Whatever you’ve heard,

Forever and always,
Unlike muscle and bone,
That can be robbed,
My soul is my own,

Endanger me,
Anger me,
Hurt and make grief,

Deal with me,
Steal from me,
Call me the thief,

Try as you might,
Do what you will,
In day or night,
Constant and still,

You can end my existence,
Take my control,
But one thing I won’t give—
You can’t steal my soul

Try me,
Lie to me,
Take all my loves,

Fight me,
Slight me,
Lock what I’ve dreamed of,

But whatever you say,
Whatever you do,
Now and all days,
This will be true:

You can break my body,
With a lucky roll,
But never, ever,
Will you have my soul

Thanks for reading!

Galaxy

My Boys Are So Cute

2010-01-15T16:14:00.001-08:00

I was playing with Brother1&2 earlier today, and eventually I was done playing. Brother1 was upset, so I gave him a hug. Brother2 got jealous, and wanted me to hold him. Anyhow, they both started fighting over me, brutally. It was so sweet (in a twisted kind of way)!

Later, Brother1 was sitting on my lap and said,

"What's that day called?"
"What day?" I asked.
"The day where you give."
"Huh?"
"The day where you give thanks."
"It's called thanksgiving, sweetheart!"

Oh, my--I love my boys!

Galaxy

The Three Scariest People In the World

2010-01-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone!

Today I am posting about the three scariest people in the world—or at least the three scariest people in the world to me. Here they are, in order of most frightening (the scariest first, least scary last):

Jonathon Teatime
(pronounced teh-ah-tim-eh)

A fictional assassin from a book by Terry Pratchett called Hogfather and a movie by the same name. He is a villain that is... so creepy. He makes chills run down my spine, and when I walk down the halls at night I always check for him and that devil-quick knife of his. He's cheerful, and has this way of moving faster than the eye. First he's behind you, then in front of you, then... anywhere. No words can really describe how terrifying I find him. I’ve had nightmares of him. Literally!

Yet at the same time, he is hysterical in both book and movie (while being more frightening than anything... odd combo, eh?) and makes some of the funniest comments throughout (though a few Death—not the state of being, the anthropomorphic personification—makes definitely beat him). I'm glad I've seen/read the story/movie, in fact they’re some of my favorites, but... he’s so terrifying!!!

Sylar

(or Gabriel Gray)

This fear is from the television show Heroes. You might know the actor as Spock from Star Trek, but before that he was Sylar, a psychokiller with super-powers who goes around killing other people with super powers in the most brutal ways and stealing their powers. His natural power is to see when things are broken, see how to fix them, and have the need to know. He was a watch maker/fixer before he… started killing people.

I'm more afraid of Teatime, but I'd much rather be killed by him than Sylar. With Teatime you see him, then in a flash you’re dead. Or you don't even see him. Or you drive him in a coach to the Tooth Fairy's castle and then he kills you. Either way, it's (usually—or rather, if you aren’t a dog or a maid or a butler before his superior told him his way of working ‘lacked elegance’) quick and clean. Not so with Sylar—he's brutal.

Dear Sister After You’ve Messed With (sometimes including looking at) Her Stuff

(she wouldn’t let me take a picture of her. Just imagine a beautiful, pale-faced girl with huge brown eyes open really, really wide and her lips pursed and her face glaring at you with a fire you’d only imagine in the depths of the most fiery pits of eternal damnation, yet still with the coldness of the darkest, snowiest winter, wrapping your soul and very being with ice)

Yep, my best friend, my dear love, my baby sister is one of my greatest fears. It's not the glare that's scary—it’s what comes after it!

Well, there you go; my three greatest fears in life (in the form of people, at least). Who are yours?

Galaxy

Project 6-1-2 (and a happy new year while I'm at it)

2010-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your 2009 was filled with moments of joy and love. I know mine was (though I still wish this awful arthritis would quit picking on me ;-D). My resolution for this year is to publish A book. ANY of my books, and not necessarily King of Darkness, as it looks like I'm going to do some major changes on how I'm going to go about writing it, and it won't be done for a long time. There are some shorter stories (that aren't series!) I'm working on, though, so I plan to publish one of them before I turn fifteen.

Okay, now that that's over with, I can move on to what I really want to post about: PROJECT 6-1-2!!!

If you know me well, you know I love to write (as much as I hate it. But that's the way writing goes--it's a love/hate relationship) with a passion that runs down deep into my soul and heart. I love creating new worlds, I love meeting and shaping and growing characters and I love each and every one of them--even, in a way, the villains. You can't understand how much joy it brings me to know all the worlds and people I've created.
Anyhow, I have lots of really cool premises and starts, but I have troubles pulling them through. I was complaining to Mom about this one day when I came up with a particularly cool premise, and she told me just to write it. I told her I really had no idea where to start and had nothing to write. She told me:
"Then write the nothing--but if all you do is sit and think about how you never finish anything you never will. Just write it." (there was more to it, but it was over a week ago so I'm having troubles remembering it)
Yep, I've got a really awesome and inspirational mother, and I am so grateful to her, because if she hadn't told me those words I wouldn't have the 'nothing' I've been working on for the past week or so: Project 6-1-2.

I normally write fantasy, but this particular story is a sci-fi. Here's a back-of-the-case description:

In the year 2030, when near 18-year-old Emma Corte begins to have terrible nightmares of murder, mayhem, and a mysterious assassin, she also begins to notice differences in her abilities--since when could she defeat five trained men with her bare hands?
Meanwhile, in another world, Destin, the chief of security of a mysterious land called 'Arrivia', and his assistant, Argon, attempt to unravel the mystery of a string of murders, which is mysteriously linked to Emma Corte and the long abandoned, terrible accident of Project 6-1-2.

It's got plot twists, and mysteries, and villains, and though it's mostly black and white, there is a little bit of gray. It'd be soooooo cool if I could ever get this made into any kind of movie--I really think it'd make at least a somewhat enjoyable watch if it was done right.
The really amazing thing about this script is that it only took me seven days to write it--SEVEN DAYS! I am so, so proud of it, and I love all of my characters so much. Here are the main four it revolves around:

Destin: The calm, cool and calculating Constable of Arrivia, Destin is brilliant, even by Arrivial standards. He has worked hard and long to reach his position and is proud of his achievements, even if he doesn't show it. Good at putting his emotions out of the equation, he rules with head--sometimes drowning out his heart.
Argon: Argon is the assistant of Destin and is much more aggressive than his cool counterpart. Strong, gruff and sarcastic, he has acute instincts and prefers to leap before he looks--when Destin isn't policing him. Despite their many differences and verbal clashes, Argon looks up to his superior and holds great respect for him.
Emma: Though Emma spends most of the movie confused and frantic, she is more naturally calm and soft-spoken when the world isn't falling apart around her. Strong and kind, Emma trusts her instincts and heart to guide her way.
Enden: Enden is an assassin, and has no one in the world save himself. For someone capable of such dark acts, one would be surprised to learn that he is pleasant company, naturally friendly and easily brought to laughter when around--even if sometimes this nature can be terribly unnerving. An expert in martial arts and knife throwing, he is far more cunning than one might first guess from his light demeanor.

Of course there are a few side characters, but this is the main quartet who dominate the screen in my script. I love them all and had so much fun writing them that I had to share this with you, so I hope it didn't bore you to tears.

Thank you for reading!
(oh, and happy new year again!)

Galaxy

A Poem I Have Not Yet Named

2009-12-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

I want to understand you,

I’d never surrender you,

I want to be with you,

I want the myth of you,

I want you there,

You, who are nowhere,

I want to find you,

I want to love you,

I dream about you,

I want to hold you,

I want you here,

Just be near,

Have I yet seen you?

Do I only dream you?

Will you ever appear?

Will you never be here?

Quench my thirst,

My longing burst,

The loneliness I feel,

Are you even real?

Come and join me,

Do you only toy with me?

Are you outside my mind?

Should I leave you behind?

I can’t help but hope,

But how can I cope?

Won’t you come to me?

Must I wait eternally?

Galaxy

A True Story

2009-12-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

We wanted to leave at two,
But it was already one--who knew?
We wanted to leave at three,
So tried very hard did we,
But by the time we got out the door,
It was nearly four!

Galaxy ;-)

Friday Fillins #50

2009-11-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

It's time for Friday Fillins! To do your own, find the link on my sidebar (or use this one), go to the post, copy and paste and fill in the blanks however you wish.

1. We need to worry less about problems and worry more about fixing them.
2. I saw a sunflower, and it made me smile.
3. If you want to be happy, make the journey the joy, because there will always be a new destination, and you will never stop travelling until the day you die.
4. Never give up; fight, do, BELIEVE... because if we don't, what chance do we have?
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think spending thousand of dollars and risking your life to have people chop up your body is a little weird, but whatever makes you happy.
6. Love and those you care for most makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading the last in The Companions Quartet(!!!!), tomorrow my plans include playing in our new grass and maybe a bit of The Sims 3, and Sunday, I want to carpe diem ("seize/pluck the day" in Latin... which, by and by, is a language that a lot of really, really, and I mean, REALLY cynical people spoke. I've been reading these quips by some of them, and though a few are kind of cool, a lot of them just crack me up--I mean: "Everyone lives. Not everyone deserves to." "It's better to profit form a horrible example than to be one." "Life is short, but troubles make it longer." "When you have just climbed out of a deep well and are perched on top, you are in the greatest danger of falling in again." "It's stupid to complain about misfortune that is your own fault.".... etc. (which is actually a Latin expression--Et, Cetera, meaning 'And (et) the rest (cetera)')!

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

I'M normal

2009-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

It's everyone else that's weird.

Galaxy ;-)

Curly! and Cut!

2009-11-14T12:17:00.001-08:00

First, this post is a (alert! Alert!) !girly post! so, all you boys who read my blog BEWARE! Also, this post will be in deep contrast to my last one because today I'm chipper and high.

I have always been very, very proud of my near three-foot long hair; I say it's auburn, but it really doesn't have much red in it, so I suppose I am a brunette. Anyhow, my pride for my super-long hair probably comes from when I was a little girl, and I desperately wanted curly, long, blond hair, just like those fairy princesses. It made me so sad to see my straight, dull, short hair every time I looked in the mirror. One day, though, someone said (after I told her about how much I wanted something else) that she thought my hair was pretty. That set me thinking: this is my hair, it's part of who I am, it's how I started. So I can either hate it, or love it. I decided to love it, and take pride in it.

Of course, I never lost all of my fairy princess longings, which is why I grew my hair extra, extra long. It made me different from everyone else (not that homeschooling and being vegan doesn't, but most the people I hang out with are homeschoolers, and what you eat doesn't signify who you are quite like the way you choose to style your hair) and that made me happy. So, as I said in the second paragraph, I am very, very proud of my very long hair.

Why on Earth I decided to cut it, I'll never know... but I'm happy I did.

My hair is a 'normal' length now, and I suppose I don't like that about it, but it's cute, easier to manage and brush, and mom thinks it looks nicer... and I guess I sort of do too. I'll never dye my hair, or at least that's what I say now, but it is fun to curl it now and then, so, today and yesterday, because my hair isn't three feel long anymore, I was able to curl it, and both Mommy and Dad said it was cute! I mean, Mom saying that is awesome, but Dad... it's not like he never compliments me, but when it comes to 'girl stuff' (like hair, clothes, make-up--WHICH I DO NOT WEAR!!!) he's useless. It takes fifteen to twenty minutes for the results I like, but it's not so hard and I kind of like it. Sure, I'll wear it straight most of the time, but while I want to, I think I'll have it curly ;-)

Now for the part you've all been waiting for: The BOY RANT!

How is it I can cut near a foot off my hair, from lower than my waist to just at my chest level and they can't notice? These guys have seen me every week for years to film, play D&D and all sorts of things, yet they can't notice such a drastic change? Mom says she's died her hair from blond to red to bleach white and the guys she's known haven't noticed, and, I think I can see that happening. What is so different about their minds?

Then, I suppose I can't complain, because Daddy's cords and cables will always be a mystery to me. Aw well, I guess boys and girls are just different. And that, if you ask me, is a good thing.

The scary thing was when Brother1 came out of his room after getting dressed saying 'Does this shirt go with these pants?'; it did. And then there was that time he said black 'went with' some other color (can't remember which, sorry, but it did). I guess boys turn out a little... different with two older sisters.

Oh, and on the note of guys and girls: guys can read smaller print, but girls can hear better.

So, there you go! A post about hair, fairy princesses, accepting one's self and the battle of the sexes all in one. Just goes to show you how far my mind can wander.

Galaxy ;-)

Death

2009-11-13T22:39:00.001-08:00

When someone you love dies, you'll never get over it. I don't understand all those movies and books about 'moving passed' death... you can accept it, understand it as a fact and irreversible, even live your life, but you'll always have that emptiness, always have that grief.

Some days it's worse than others... some days you'll feel like you are going to be swallowed by a pit of despair and loneliness without the person you've lost. Some days you can almost pretend it never happened; you can almost forget... but it's still there, somewhere inside you.

It's something like if every night you hear the ticking of a clock; at first it's loud and clear, but after days upon days you can tune it out; it's still there though, and you can still hear it.

So you can ignore death, you can live your life and be happy, but you can never 'move passed' the loss of someone you love. They will always be part of you, and you will never forget.

Galaxy

BOOM!--a Dream Post

2009-11-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

I was in our back yard, then this silver, round-edged box fell from the sky. It was very large, around four times the size of a smallish TV. There was a screen on one edge with numbers counting down, but I wasn't fully aware of them. The beeping, however was very prominent.

Then Daddy was next to me, and he said the Chinese had dropped a bomb--the silver box. We just had the bad luck of having the backyard it landed in. Not that that makes a difference.

All the sudden Dad was gone, and it was like he had never been there. I started freaking out... I really didn't want to die; which was kind of surprising, since normally I don't fear death. I guess when you're facing it it's a little different.

So I ran; there's a door in my fence and that's the way I went. I hadn't gone two feet outside it when I remember that Dear Sister was still inside, and how could I possibly leave without her? I turned back, feeling terribly guilty and frightened. And then it was like she had never been there.

I really didn't know what to do... finally, I just curled up in a ball, my face in our grass. So I closed my eyes, my face in soft, green grass and prepared to die. I really thought it was real. It just felt so real. And then...

It stopped ticking.

I would love to end my post like that; it sounds so dramatic and cool. I'd love to tell you how I felt dieing, but I can't--because that's all that happened. It stopped ticking--and nothing happened!

Then I woke up.

I just had to post this because it was so... real. I really thought I was going to die. I was hoping that maybe someone would know what it means. The only thing I can think of is that I'm freaking out about something that is no big deal; making a mountain out of a mole hill... that sort of thing.

It's good to be alive!

Galaxy

My First Dance

2009-10-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night just me and I went to a homeschool costume dance together (to clear up any false assumptions, I'll tell you now that we're JUST FRIENDS); Dear Sister would have come with us, but she isn't quite old enough yet.

Eventually we had fun... but at first I really didn't know what to do, the music was deafening, I kept tripping on my skirt, we didn't like any of the songs, we weren't allowed to go outside (to ESCAPE the noise and commotion!!!) if we wanted to come back in, and my hair fell out the moment a good song started to play(of course it was BEFORE we remember to get our pictures taken).

So my hair is a bird's nest, I'm feeling nausious from the "dancing" and we're both bored and a little lonely. We decided to get our pictures taken (for five dollars) before my costume got any messier, and we did--the lady was very nice and she said my smile was pretty, which made me feel good, though even now I'm sad about my hair. We still didn't want to go back up (anything to keep away from that noise), and we THEN found the room...

It was light peach and pink, with two cozy chairs and a vanity with a cushioned pink bench. There the music wasn't quite so loud, and even though we weren't allowed to keep the door closed (why, I have no clue), it was still a wonderful escape away from the ruccus.

Anyhow, I got the pins out of my hair, we chatted for a bit, then he went up when he heard a song he liked, while I braided my hair (without a hair-dooly-bopper) and pinned it (with the pins from my old hair-do) to the nape of my neck. It actually looked kind of pretty. I then followed him upstairs, and we had quite a bit more fun after that, going back and forth from dancing and eating grapes (me), oreos and punch (just me).

On our way upstairs we ran into someone who's makeup was done wonderfully to look like a skull. It was terribly frightening. Anyhow, he stopped just me and asked if they knew each other. Just me said...

"Well, I can't really tell..." then gestured to his makeup. I could empathise.

"Oh... yeah..."

Their discussion afterwards was really very, very humorous and I couldn't help but laugh as they speculated as to how they could possibly know one another. Eventually just me acknowledged that they must have seen each other at some point. It ended like this:

"Well, we know each other..."

"We don't know from where..." (just me)

"But we know each other! It was good to see you again!"

"You too!"

Later just me and I discussed who to vote for in the competitions (scariest, best make-up, craziest, prettiest,... and I think the last one was 'most creative'). I didn't vote, but gave advice to him on his choices(later two of the people we voted for actually won! It was pretty cool). I then looked behind me and saw a girl with a cute, short haircut, and I wasn't quite sure what she was dressed up as. I got closer to her, and then I noticed the 'blood' all over her and the bloody gash on her neck.

I talked to her for a little bit, and it turns out we both have the same name! I introduced her to just me and she introduced us to her friends and it got a lot more fun after that, because dances are just more fun with more people.

I entered a dance contest (just by dancing in the circle of people) for 'most original dance move' and did a few double pirouettes and developes because my arthritis was really good that day (of course, after I did that I could hardly move... so maybe it wasn't so good after all. And even that day I couldn't jump... it's been a while since I could jump). I didn't win, but it was fun, and just me and I decided we'd have to choreograph something with a bunch more people for next time.

We went to the room (which I mentally called 'The Escape Room') a couple times, running into the girl who shares my name and her friend and hanging out with them for the rest of the time.

We did the macarana, danced some more, they played Chasing Cars (one of my all time favorite songs!!!) and the Beetles (which just me apparently loves) and had a DJ contest. I requested Because the Night (another of my all time favorite songs), though they didn't have it by the right artist.

I warn you, I probably got the order of many of these events off because that night, when I look back on it, really is quite a blur. During the last 20 minutes of the drive home just me and I wrote the following poem:

The night was dark,

With ne'er a spark,

The wind it tossed and howled,

The birds came down,

Without word,

And the world was silent,

Then came the knight,

Of the white light,

Who called forth the sun,

The sun then said,

Gold and Red,

"At last the world is lightened."

When I got home it turns out my sibling had missed me so much (and had been so bored) that they made me a card! It was lovely, and they even cut out a sunflower and stuck it on the inside! Both Brother1&2 "drew" inside it, and I absolutely loved it! Anyhow, I said goodbye to just me and his mother, went to bed and promptly slept in to an hour I am, quite frankly, too embarrassed to mention.

Go to the top to see some pictures of me before I left (with my hair done-up). I was Cinderella, and just me was a Gambler/High Roller. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him dressed up, or of the girl who shares my name and her friend.

So, boring at first, but later lodes of fun!

Happy Halloween!

Galaxy

P.S. This is a nice follow-up to my pathetically short posts, eh?

Be It

2009-10-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

Close your eyes,

Now you see it;

Find it,

Love it,

Be it.

So find your dream, and make it happen.

Galaxy

Capturing Santa--BETTER QUALITY!

2009-10-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just what everyone has been waiting for--Capturing Santa in better quality!!! (see this post)

I now have a youtube account (after quite a while of considering it) and I was able to post this there. I'll be known as 'SheWhoShines' there since someone else stole 'Galaxy'. I know, it's not fair(here's where I pout).

Anyhow, here's the link to my under-construction-account... I'm still trying to figure youtube out, so it won't be very good until later, if even then. I'm not sure if I should call my 'channel' "Where Light Falls" or "Happy Thoughts"... you know what, I'll make a poll! If you have any better ideas please comment on this post!

http://www.youtube.com/SheWhoShines#p/a

Galaxy

One Week

2009-10-27T18:09:00.001-07:00

I simply adore this song! It's sooooooo cute! Anyhow, I randomly decided to make a music video for it using the Sims 2, and here is the product of my labor! I've made (and posted) two other Sims music videos, and here are the links to them. Tell me which of the three you like best!

Hey Baby
Do You Sleep?

Galaxy ;-)

A Short Burst of Glory

2009-10-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

I won't say it again, because I'm sure I must have mentioned that I love a good rain storm somewhereinthisblog(.blogspot.com, hehe). So, you can only imagine my glee when I was sitting on my favorite reading chair earlier today and heard the wondrous sound of pounding drops. It was really nice just sitting there and listening... it could only have been better if I was sitting on a padded bay window and it was nighttime--with lots of wind! Unfortunately, the rain passed fairly quickly... I was terribly disappointed.

Wow. This would be a pathetically short post if I ended it here, wouldn't it? Er... let me think of more nonsense to randomly jabber...

I guess I'll settle for a 'Coming Soon!' rant: I have to write a post on a dance I went to, I'm going to add another "Everyone Loves ____!" post after I get a few more posts up, and I may or may not post another sims music video.

Here's are some links to two others I made that are kind of cool:

Hey Baby
Do You Sleep?

Anyhow, I guess that's it. Wow. This did turn out to be a pathetically short post after all.

Oh well!

Galaxy ;-)

Capturing Santa

2009-10-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

This is a movie I made with Dear Sister and a friend of ours (just me) almost a year ago. We were just fooling around, but with a lot of editing (and I mean a lot) it's actually kind of cute. Tell me what you think!

I'm sorry about the terrible quality, but it was too big to post otherwise. The writing says:

In Collaboration with Paradox Productionz...

Fantastic Films Not-Quite-So-Proudly Presents...

Capturing Santa

In the part where it goes black, you see me reading a book and then Dear Sister's head popping up behind me. It's easier to see in better quality, but still dark.

Hope you like it, never-the-less!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #49

2009-10-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It's time for Friday Fillins! If you'd like to do your own, use this link, or find the one on my sidebar. Copy and past the latest post, and fill in the blanks!

1. The crickets sing, but the frogs sound exactly the same. Only LOUDER.
2. Smile randomly, wherever you are.
3. I want to get far away from the the chaos of the world now and then... somehow, still, it's worth it to stick around.
4. A country where a 14-year-old girl can become an author, dance ballet, act in a play and get started in exactly the career and the life that she wants to live... this was a dream. What dreams do we have now? You can make them come true.
5. But as for me, I am truly blessed.
6. My home of 11 years is where I come from, and I'm glad to call it my own.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making sweetpotato pudding (once the sweetpotatoes are done), tomorrow my plans include helping with the boys while Mommy and Daddy lay some sod, and Sunday, I want to go to a dance! I'm so excited!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Galaxy

Everyone Loves Icecream

2009-10-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

See: Pizza, Smoothies

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #48

2009-10-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone--it's time for Friday Fillins! If you'd like to do your own, go to this link (or use the one on my side-bar), copy the latest post and fill in the blanks.

1. So are we going to try?
2. A good dream is what I see now, a true and great reality is what's up ahead--what I may create.
3. I love to make people smile... sometimes it's as simple as smiling myself.
4. I am a optimist, of some sort.
5. I walk a long, lovely path that I wouldn't trade for any other.
6. Happiness is the true elixir of life--no matter how long you may live, life isn't worth living without it!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to SLEEPING--I am super tired, tomorrow my plans include perhaps finishing building an awning outside (or at least watching Brother1&2 while my parents do so), and Sunday, I want to do something fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Galaxy

Harps

2009-10-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

I started writing another book that had to do with a harp, so I looked up 'harp' on youtube to see how it sounded. Now I'm obsessed with them. They're just so... so pure, clear, lovely... it sounds like so many instruments, so whole... Here are some of my favorite youtube videos I've found having to do with harps:

I just love how the harpists' fingers look like they're dancing... I love how their hands move like a ballerina's. I love how each string echoes eerily, lovely, magically... This is the first instrument I have heard to rival the violin--to me, at least. I love it.

Unfortunately, harps are really expensive, and where are you supposed to find someone to teach you? I probably wouldn't stick with it anyways. Look what happened with piano (of course, my instructor did die, so I suppose it wasn't entirely my fault).

Galaxy

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

2009-10-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gents, I've now been officially blogging for two years! That's something, isn't it?

Galaxy

What D&D Character am I?

2009-10-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

I Am A: Lawful Good Human Ranger (1st Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-15 (+2)

Dexterity-14 (+2)

Constitution-12 (+1)

Intelligence-15 (+2)

Wisdom-12 (+1)

Charisma-18 (+4)

Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Not so bad, eh?

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #47

2009-10-09T15:47:00.001-07:00

If you want to do your own Friday Fillins, use this link or the one on my side-bar, then copy and paste the latest post and fill in the blanks!

1. Sweet dreams, little ones.
2. Life is wonderful; especially for me.
3. Silliness is an essential part of life.
4. Fun, dress up, family... this Halloween.
5. Outstanding or not, you should try your best.
6. More sweetpotato pudding (or watermelon) is what I want right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Daddy, tomorrow my plans include nothing in particular and Sunday, I want to hang out with my visiting family!

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

Sweet Potato Pudding

2009-10-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Everyone in my family loves sweetpotatoes (id est, Dear Sister, Brother1 and Mommy), or is at least indifferent to them (id est, Daddy and Brother2)... except me. I gag on sweetpotatoes and I can't--literally, for some strange reason I can't--choke down more than a few bites. Don't ask me why; I don't get it myself...

...and that's why it's so ironic that out of this whole family of sweetpotato lovers no one loves sweetpotato pudding half as much as I do. So that's why you must try it (just to warn you, if you eat a lot of sugar on a regular basis than this will not be as good to you as it is to me, but if you haven't had something too sweet in a while you will love this). The best part is that this is good for you, as sweetpotatoes are actually some of the best possible things that you could eat, so you can have it as much and as often as you like!

I've written how we make it here:

INGREDIENTS:

1 large or two small-ish sweetpotatoes (I cannot stress enough how imperative it is to have SWEETPOTATOES and NOT yams. Yams are orange on the inside, sweetpotatoes are more off-white; trust me, this will NOT turn out good if you use yams).
6-8 pieces of pineapple; more or less to taste
1/4 cup orange juice (I'd start with a little less and add more or less to taste)
2 handfuls of walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook the sweetpotatoes by placing them in an oven at 350 degrees for one hour. Check on them then by poking them with a fork; if they aren't a near pudding-like texture leave them in longer. Sometimes they can take two or more hours to finish. Once you've cooked them just peel off the skin; it should be easy if you've baked them long enough.
Place the sweetpotato, pineapple, orange juice and walnuts in a blender. Blend it all together for 30-ish seconds, stop, and then stir. Repeat this until the pudding looks white-ish and is creamy.
Taste and add more of anything you think it needs more of; it's near impossible to get it just right.
Bon appetite!

Warning: DO NOT USE YAMS--USE SWEETPOTATOES!!!

Honestly, this stuff is divine!--and this is from someone who hates sweetpotatoes!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #46

2009-10-02T12:40:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a while, but I feel like doing them again. To do your own Friday Fillins, go to this sight on Friday, copy and paste the last post and fill in the blanks. There's also a link on my sidebar (the blue bar on the side of my blog...?) if for some reason you want to use it.

1. I have a history of talking. And talking. And talking.
2. More about prehistory is something I wish I knew.
3. I'm eating (or recently ate) what is probably going to be my last watermelon for the year. It's tragic.
4. I like to read, listen to music, and think on the road.
5. "So that's it, that's how this bit of math works!" I've been thinking that a lot recently.
6. Being extremely sad and then being extremely happy is better than feeling nothing!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having the house clean(note that the 'cleaning the house' part of that wasn't mentioned), tomorrow my plans include hanging out with Daddy, and Sunday, I want to see Grandma Janie and Grandpa Ken!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Galaxy

My Birthday, 09

2009-09-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post this in September, but now I'm realizing that I'm running out of time, so here's the gist of it RIGHT NOW:

Over View: This year I decided not to have a party or anything; just hang out with my family and the like. We tidied up the house a bit the day before, and Nana came over for a while to visit. It was fun.
Cake: For cake I had sweetpotato pudding (made with sweetpotatoes, pineapple, orange juice and walnuts blended together) on a yummy nut crust (more of a 'pie', I suppose) with candles that spelled 'Happy Birthday!' and one musical one that played the tune. It was wonderful! For other yummy things I also had my heart's content of watermelon, along with a chocolate (or was it carob...?) pudding that was more than divine. All in all, the food was wonderful.
Movies: I spent quite a bit of time trying to pick out the movies I wanted to watch, but eventually I chose A Knight's Tale. Mom and Dad had previously watched it, and I enjoyed it very much. It was really, really sweet at this one point... but he so should have ended up with the blacksmith! That other girl was LAME!
Board Game: Nana took the boys outside and the rest of the fam and I played a Sherlock Holmes board game. It was loads of fun, and, for once, Mommy didn't win (she always gets those games of deduction); Daddy did. I'm pretty sure she had the answer; he just beat her back to the 'start' space.
Presents: Originally I wasn't going to have presents this year, but it ended up a little differently. A couple days before my birthday my parents gave me an old computer they had put together themselves a long time ago, the day directly before they gave me the AWESOMEST keyboard ever as well as a nice mouse, and ON my birthday I got a notebook, a USB port, special headphones for my MP3 player, and Dear Sister gave me a bookmark that she had made herself--a pretty blue gem on a blue string with nice beads.
SUNFLOWERS: As I may or may not have mentioned, Sunflowers are my favorite flowers ever. It's nearly impossible to be upset when Sunflowers are in the room, and they make me so, so happy! I'll post more about them later, but you get the gist. Anyhow, when I was at Costco I saw this great big beautiful bouquet, and Dear Sister bought it for me on the spot so I could have it for my day! It made me so happy, but they died a little more quickly than I would have hoped... oh well, they were more than wonderful while they lasted.

All in all I had an absolutely wonderful birthday, hanging out with family and watching TV and just plain goofing around. This all took place September 7th, 2009, when I turned exactly 14 years old.

Happy birthday, Galaxy!

K.o.D.: tRN

2009-09-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

K.o.D.: t.R.N.

Can anyone guess what this stands for...? Anyone...?

You guessed it! Kings of Darkness: The Reining Night; a book I' writing about a girl named May Petersen who appears in the magical land of Glorsifil. I've said so many times that 'it's almost done', or that 'it WILL be finished this month', or 'it WILL be finished this year' or SOMETHING along those lines, but now at last I'm going to tell the truth:

It will be finished before Christmas for sure, and if we're lucky sometime in October! I'm just waiting for a friend of mine--one of the people I play D&D with--to finish going over it (so if you're reading this, just me, PLEASE HURRY!) and draw a map of Glorsifil (the mythical country I made up for my book to take place in). Then all I have to do is listen to his constructive criticism and fix what I feel like, then read it with my parents, and finally GET IT PUBLISHED! HOORAY!

There's this site called CreateSpace that will allow me to self-publish it for very little money, and I've been researching it for a long time and it seems awesome. I'm really, really excited about getting my book 'out there', and if you care an inkling for the poor girl who has RA known as Galaxy you'll buy a copy! (Please...?)

Time to get started on K.o.D.: a.G.o.L.*!

Galaxy ;-)

*Kings of Darkness: A Glimmer of Light, the second book in my Kings of Darkness cycle.

Good thing you didn't get your hopes up

2009-09-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

I've waited a while to post it, but sadly, I'm not better. It hurts worse sometimes, better others, but right now I'm not doing so good, and I know that until we try something else I'm going to stay this way. I wish I could bring good news, but it seems like I can't. I still refuse to write it out, so I'm just going to say...

...I still have RA.

Galaxy

Fall!

2009-09-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm a day or so late, but oh well!

I love fall! All the pretty leaves and those wonderful apples (the leaves especially)... I love the cool crisp air, I love the icy nights and I love Halloween and Thanksgiving! I don't look forwards to the season, but when it's here I can't help but smile. Summer has been, and I'm pretty sure always will be, my favorite season since you can swim but I love each and everyone.

So yay for fall!

Another happy thing is that my grandparents (father's side) are visiting soon, so I'm very, very excited! I'm flooded with all this online schoolwork, and I want to get the bulk of it done before they come, so cross your fingers for me!

Anyhow, here's my post for the next while. I'll try to write soon!

Sick and Tired

2009-09-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting over my cold, but it's left me very, very weak and tired. It's funny, isn't it, how often people say 'I'm sick and tired'? Well, now I can say it quite literally.

Anyhow, I started an online school and it's actually kind of fun. I have fun writing the essays and reports, but there sure are a lot of them. The cool thing about this program is that after a year of doing it I can go to college for two years FREE (books included!). That really excites me, as I'd like to get the whole business over and done with ASAP. It's also nice because I can stay home and spend time with my family, if I have questions I can get them answered, and it's more of a one-on-one thing than school is, so I can get more out of it. I've never been to school, and I never want to, but this is kind of fun...I just have to finish this unit for all my courses (psychology, English 1, Algebra 1--my favorite!--, world history, and Latin--which I haven't gotten yet) by the end of September. I'm hoping I can do it!

I guess that's the scoop for now... I'm trying to post more often for unknown reasons, so all those people who enjoy reading my blog (being who...?) MAY be getting a treat.

Thanks for reading!

Galaxy

Don't get your hopes up

2009-09-18T14:01:00.001-07:00

Dear Reader,

If you read my blog regularly then you will know I have RA (look on the sidebar for the full name. I don't feel like spelling it; I never want to read or write those words again), a disease that makes my joints swell and has taken away almost everything I love (e.g. ballet and acting).

I've had this for over a year now (happy anniversary, eh?) and... well, I've forgotten what it feels like to feel no pain.

It feels great.

My knees! They aren't swollen underneath the kneecaps anymore! They aren't! My thumb joint is smaller than my father's, smaller even than my mother's! And the 'balls' of my hands, right by the pointer finger, are almost normal!

My ankles still hurt... I suppose I currently have an 'Achille's Heel'... but the main point is: I think I'm getting better... I hope, I pray, I beg and plead that I am becoming well.

What is making me feel better? Well, I haven't had any type of fruit for a week and a half and I haven't had sugar in much, much longer. I've been trying to eat as healthy as possible so I can get well and I think.... I hope it's making me better.

Right now, just so you all know, I have the beginnings of a cold. My brothers, Mother, and Sister have had/are having it, so I should have known it was only a matter of time, but I was really hoping I wouldn't get it. Aw well. Anyhow, I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

But back to the subject at hand... I feel better. My knees feel better. Maybe... just maybe my life will be back to normal in the summer, and this is a tale I can tell my grandchildren.

But right now, everyone reading this, please wish me well, and hope with me.

Galaxy

Happy Birthday, Brother 1!

2009-09-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday dear Brother1...

Happy birthday...

To you!

It's Brother1's birthday! He's so happy! I wrote a book called Tish the Fish Who Wanted a Wish and Dear Sister illustrated it, and we're both giving it to him today. I can't wait to see if he likes it!

Maybe I'll post more later, but now I have to get back to my brother.

Galaxy

I'm OLD!--a Birthday Post

2009-09-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

On September 7th, 2009 I am turning 14 years old. Including today, that's four days from now. Four Days.

Honestly, I can't believe it! I'd always thought 14 was so old... But now... I'm 14 (almost). It's odd; things seem so old until you turn them. Until you're actually getting old, of course. It's kind of silly, really.

There was this one thing I read somewhere, I'm not exactly sure where, but it was a definition of make-up, which I don't wear, but I thought it was silly:

Make-up:
Something worn by young girls to look older and by old girls to look younger.

This is the sort of thing my mind does. Wander. I make all these connections. Like I just went from my birthday to make-up in the same post... how did that happen? Normally I go farther.

What am I doing that special day? Well, I guess I'm not really doing anything besides whatever I want. I'm going to hang out, watch movies (I'm going to need to pick some out soon, now that I think about it...), go somewhere if I feel like it, play board games (if the boys--2 and 5--will allow), play sims, type stories... that sort of thing. I don't think I'm going to throw a party this time; maybe next.

Oh my! Next year I'm going to be 15!!!!!!!

Galaxy ;-)

Raise the Veil

2009-08-08T16:01:00.001-07:00

Well, I seem to be writing a lot of poetry of late. Here's another I wrote entitled Raise the Veil. I hope you like it!

Raise the Veil

Throbbing pain,
Is like a veil,
Slowly it will ruin me,
I must let the pain prevail,

Burning pain,
Filling my soul,
So much pain
I lose control

Forever pain,
Is taking me,
Closing my eyes—
It won’t let me see

Angry pain,
Won’t let me go,
So much pain,
You’ll never know,

Aching pain,
That holds me tight,
Throbbing my hands,
And blurring sight,

Endless pain,
Hot and cruel,
My enslaver,
That fiery fuel,

Pain with movement,
Locks my dreams,
Keeps them away,
By darker means,

Monstrous pain,
Eating at me,
Holding me captive,
It won’t set me free

All my pain
Is like a veil
I shall not let,
The pain prevail,
I will not let it,
Take my dreams
I will stop it,
By whatever means

And it will be there,
Hot and cruel,
But I will gain,
My own control,

I will not let it,
Ruin me,

Now raise the veil—
And let me see!

Thanks for reading! Please, please, please, please, please comment!

Galaxy

Bless This Final Day--a Tribute to Anne Boleyn

2009-08-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's Galaxy again after an age-long posting break... I'm just not as into blogging as I used to be. Anyways, the reason I'm posting is because I'm obsessed with a certain woman from history called Anne Boleyn.
I'm facinated with her, and I think she was a good person who led a very tragic life from the information I have. I've been searching for a book about her, recently found one (The Lady in the Tower) and decided to write a poem about her sad tale. It's nothing epic, but here, read it and see what you think. Please, please, please comment your opinion!

Bless This Final Day
A Tribute to Anne Boleyn

There was a day,
I loved a man,
Gentle and Kind,
There was a day,
The man loved me,
And swore to be mine,

There was a day,
When Jealous Man,
Took mine away,
There was a day,
When Jealous Man,
Dearest love did He say,

There was a day,
When I was strong,
Before He led me astray,
There was a day,
Before hope was gone,
That I turned Him away,

“Pray find another, if you can,
Leave alone now loveless Anne.”

Accurse that blasted day.

There was a day,
Where I did run,
Away from Court and King,
To country home,
To be alone,
From the Man who so hunts me,

There was a day,
That He held fast,
I was now a newfound task,
And as hard as I would try and plea,
He would not turn from me,

There was a day,
When I gave way,
As He led me astray,
There was a day,
Before hope was gone,
That I accepted His love-say

“Pray, stay, if you can,
Stay with e’er faithful Anne…”

Accurse that blasted day.

There was a day,
When I was His,
But my own love,
I could not give,
There was a day,
I was with He,
For the love He promised me,

There was a day,
When He grew bored,
With the maid I was,
There was a day,
He turned away,
From the one He once dreamed of,

There was a day,
When I was wise,
After He led me astray,
My mind could not wrap around,
That the reason He once could love me,
Then not, could not be found,

“Pray explain, if you can,
Why betray your faithful Anne?”

Accurse that blasted day.

There was a day in my great fury,
I screamed atop my lungs,
There was a day,
When Faithless Man,
Knew he was done,

There was a day,
When Faithless Man,
Found another bride,
There was a day,
When his adultery,
He did no longer hide,

There was a day,
When I could fight,
I tried to win Him out,
There was a day,
He locked me away,
And I could do ought but shout,

“Pray, tell me, if you can,
Why leave your faithful Anne?”

Accurse that blasted day.

There was a day,
That Faithless Man,
Locked me in the Dark,
There was a day,
When I would think,
Of the man who first took my heart…

“Pray, forgive me, if you can,
You still have love from stolen Anne.”

Now is the day,
At last, today,
Of my own last breath,
All I ask is to remember my life,
And pray for my swift death.

Pray for me, if you can,
Pray for your doomed Anne…

Bless this, my final day.

Thanks for reading!

Galaxy

A very sad story

2009-06-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Mommy took me to a resale store recently to see if they'd take any of our toys/clothes. We also looked around a bit.
It took me about thirty seconds to find this beautiful pink dress. It looked like something someone would wear in the 'Vanessa in the Garden' age (for those of you who watched Amazing Stories. If you didn't, the time was about 1800's). It was light pink and lacy, and it seemed like a fairy princess' gown.

Of course I tried it on.

It was so, so, so lovely... but the zipper, that darn zipper, just wouldn't zip! I've never considered myself skinny (Rosi is the tiny one in my family), but I've always been slim and it was rather surprising when I couldn't get that stupid zipper up my ribs! I still looked at myself in the mirror, though, and then I realized it was even more beautiful than I thought... the sleeves, instead of staying on my shoulders, draped down to my elbows... I looked so beautiful! I sucked, I pulled, I held my breath, I called Mommy in to pull at it... but it just wouldn't fit.

I almost cried!

Galaxy ;-)

It's been a while, hasn't it?

2009-05-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

Now I'm finally posting after and eon-long brake... really, I don't know why I haven't been... mainly, I suppose, because the 'magic' from blogging has disappeared, and this has almost become a chore.

And I'm awfully lazy.

Even more so with this terrible arthritis problem (and I haven't gotten better yet... ay-ay-ay, it's almost been a year now!).

But the other thing is that I'm terribly tidy. If a drawer isn't closed all the way, it drives me crazy. If the fringes on the carpet aren't smoothly facing one direction, I have to fix it, otherwise I sit (twitching) as I go absolutely mad. But I'm too lazy to get up for the most part, unless I happen to notice it when I'm already up.

That's another thing about me. I hate getting up, but when I already am standing I don't mind going somewhere or doing something as much, if at all. And I hate getting things set up. Like if all the sudden I appeared in front of the computer ready to type a post with my hands on the keyboard, I'd have hundreds (depending, of course, on how often this odd apparition occurred). If I appeared sitting in front of the piano, I'd practice. If I appeared with the Latin book by me and Dear Sister actually ready to practice (like that's ever gonna happen) I'd do it...
It's the getting up and going to the computer, the walking all the way to the piano, finding the Latin book and getting Rose to co-operate that I find hard. I guess that's why I never really succeeded when I tried Violin... I love the sound of it, and I think it's beautiful, and besides of the discomfort, I enjoy playing it... but tightening the horse hair and rosining the bow, tuning the strings and attaching the shoulder rest was just too much. I'm odd that way.

On a different topic, I really miss performing. I want to dance for people. I want to hear people applaud, and I want to make them laugh and cry. I want to become another person again... someone different, and I want to make people believe it. But I can't, because I can barely move throughout the day. I need to remember to take my Naproxum(sp?) Sodium (the medication that lessons the pain--it doesn't make it disappear).
It may seem odd that someone so lazy as I could want to dance and sing and perform, but that's different. Loosing myself in, moving to and singing with music (especially in front of others) has always been a part of me, and I miss that. I miss standing on my toes. And I miss plays. I miss being able to stand up in front of hundreds of people in the Youth Plays and making them think I'm someone else.

But I shouldn't dwell on the past, those are things I can't have now, and can't do any longer. Maybe, maybe some day I can perform for a crowd, or dance for the world again, but now I can't, and what really matters is that I did once. I lived my dream, if only so long ago. I had it, so I should merely be happy for that and not long for it. How many people get to live their dream at all, let alone before they're even a teenager?

I should think about Kings of Darkness: the Reining Night. Which will be done in June. WILL (I hope):

I've been editing it for a while now and have almost finished my first go-over. Dear Sister is reading it so I can get her opinion, and I plan to show it to a friend of mine who is drawing the map for me as soon as it's done.

Mainly, I can't wait to show my parents.

Who don't even like that genre.

But they'll read it anyway.

So, I guess that's all I really have to say... there were a couple other things I wanted to mention, but this post is getting way too long and I want to finish it before I go to D&D, which will be really soon.

So be expecting at least a couple more posts coming soon, and maybe I'll be posting more often now. It sure was nice to vent all this.

All my adoration to my dear readers,

Galaxy

The Bells

2009-04-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've always thought I loved poetry. I enjoy writing it, and I had a vision of it in my mind, but when I read some poems from a book called A Little Treasury of Favorite Poems I started to think that maybe I didn't... Until I came by The Bells, by Edgar A. Poe. It's not meaningful, or anything, but it's absolutely cute and rolls of the tongue and tinkles and shines and I absolutely loved it, even though it's a little silly. I thought I'd post it... oh, and if you do try to read it, read it out loud, since it's so much more enjoyable that way.

Hear the sledges with the bells,--

Silver bells--

What a world of merriment their melody foretells!

How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,

In the icy air of night!

While the stars that oversprinkle

All the heavens, seem to twinkle

With a crystalline delight;

Keeping time, time, time,

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells,

From the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells--

From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Hear the mellow wedding-bells,

Golden bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!

Through the balmy air of night

How they ring out their delight

From the molten, golden notes!

And all in tune,

What a liquid ditty floats,

To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloats,

On the moon!

Oh, from out the sounding cells,

What a gush of euphony voluminously well!

How it swells!

How it dwells

On the future! how it tells

Of the rapture that impels

To the swinging and the ringing

Of the bells, bells, bells,

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells--

To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

Hear the alarum bells--

Brazen bells!

What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells!

In the startled ear of night

How they scream out their affright!

Too much horrified to speak,

They can only shriek, shriek,

Out of tune,

In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,

In a mad expolstumlation with the deaf and frantic fire,

Leaping hire, hire, hire,

With a desperate desire,

And a resolute endeavor,

Now--now to sit or never,

By the side of the pale-faced moon,

Oh, the bells, bells, bells! What a tale of their terror tells

Of despair!

How they clang, and clash and roar

What a horror they outpour

On the bosom of the palpitating air!

Yet the ear, it fully knows,

By the twanging

And the clanging,

How the danger ebbs and flows;

Yet the ear distinctly tells,

In the jangling

And the wrangling,

How the danger sinks and swells,

By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of bells--

Of the bells-

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells--

In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

Hear the tolling of the bells--

Iron bells--

What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!

In the silence of the night

How we shiver with affright

At the melancholy menace of their their tone!

For every sound that floats

From the rust within their throats,

Is a groan:

And the people--ah, the people--

They that dwell up in the steeple,

All alone,

And who, tolling, tolling, tolling,

In that muffled monotone,

Feel a glory in so rolling

On the human heart a stone--

They neither man nor woman--

They are neither brute nor human--

They are Ghouls!

And their king it is who tolls;

And he rolls, rolls, rolls, rolls,

Rolls a paean from the bells!

And his merry bosom swells

With the paean of the bells!

And and dances and he yells;

Keeping time, time, time,

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the throbbing of the bells--

Of the bells, bells, bells,

To the sobbing of the bells;

Keeping time, time, time,

As he knells, knells, knells,

In a happy Runic rhyme,

To the rolling of the bells--

Of the bells, bells, bells, --

To the tolling of the bells,

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells, --

To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2009-04-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

I have an announcement to make...

As you know, if you are a regular reader of my blog, for over a year (maybe even two, I'm not sure) I've been working on a book called 'King of Darkness: The Reigning Night'. Well, today, April 17th, 2009, I have finished my first draft of the book.
At first I was just typing... I'd made a pact with myself that I would finish this book soon, right after I got this one adventure out of the way. But there was this sentence, this one sentence that one of my characters said that I just didn't know where to go from from there. It was so complete, I didn't know what to type next, even though I had a vague idea of what I wanted to happen. And it was then I told Mommy about it, and she asked what the sentence was (and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is (and no, it's not that great, I'm just all excited about it because the first draft is done, it really isn't that fabulous)--you'll just have to BUY THE BOOK, MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!), and she said,
"Why don't you just end it there?"
And it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I could just end it there! That one sentence, that one sentence could be the last I'll ever type in that story! I just started screaming and I tell you, if I didn't have arthritis I would have jumped and danced. Instead I just rung my hands... oh, thank you god.
Of course, it's not done done, I've just finished my first draft, and I've got a lot of editing to do. I also wanted to get a map drawn of Glorsifil (the mythical continent I made up for this all to take place in) and illustrations done, but after that... We even found a place where I can publish it all, and if everything goes well, I might actually get it done before Christmas, just like I wanted! I'm so happy!
The funny thing is, once this is all done and over with, I'm going to start working on Kings of Darkness: A Glimmer of Light (the next book in the series) immediately. And the cycle will start all over...

Anyways, I'm just so so happy I had to post!

Love,

Galaxy

P.S. I do plan to post about Easter, but I'll probably be working on K.o.D. for a while, and I'm going over to Nana's house for the weekend, so don't expect it too soon.

Some Silly Cartoons

2009-03-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Brother1 asked me to draw some cartoon-like things because we had been playing this game called 'Pajama Sam' and it had things like that, so I complied. I felt like posting the drawings--for no reason in particular--so here they are!

This is Mr. Brock Lai. He's a broccoli, for those of you who don't know.

This is Collette Ussri. She's a bunch of lettuce. This is Cookie Brigton. She's a Chocolate Chip Cookie.This is Ms. Chiquita Bana. She's a Banana.

The next bit is done sort of like a comic strip... Brother1 helped me with it, and it's sort of lame, but it was fun to do and I'd like to look back on it years in the future:

This is the un-named Pencil Wizard. If you have any suggestions (for his name), PLEASE comment them!

This is Mr. Cliff. He's a hanger (like a 'cliff hanger'...? Get it...?).

Brother1 drew this one. He's Mr. Pizza, and he's a pizza.

Well, there you go! Just some silly things Brother1 and I doodled at the beginning of spring... speaking of spring, I'm so happy that it's finally here! After Spring comes Summer! I love Summer!

Happy Spring and happy Doodling!

Galaxy

St. Patrick's Day--and I didn't even know it!

2009-03-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I woke up, got ready for Nana to come over, and ate Irish Style (aka steelcut oats) for breakfast, but it was only when Nana went on google and we saw the header that I realized it was St. Patrick's Day! I was wearing a green shirt and a green necklace Nana gave me, (besides I have green eyes so I'm covered always) and both Nana and Mommy were wearing green (but they have green eyes too so that doesn't really matter)... but the blue eyed blond haired cutie who is my brother was wearing nothing green!

I attacked him till he retreated to his room and changed his shirt. He came out smiling:

"You can't pinch me anymore! See, I'm wearing green!"

By the time Dear Sister got out of bed I already knew what day it was, and was able to pinch her for a few seconds. Of course she attacked me back viciously (which wasn't fair because I was wearing green and have green eyes--she has beautiful big brown eyes) and put on a clover necklace. Sometimes Dear Sister can be scary. She's very very touchy about her things. I still love her, though, and she's my very best friend in the whole world--well, as well as my brothers.

I still had the sign I'd made for Daddy's Birthday (he had to work until eight on his birthday, but when he came home we had cleaned up a little, baked him a cake--which he wasn't expecting--made a sign and sung him the birthday song. It wasn't much, but it was something, and a bit of a surprise, and I think he had fun) up,so I rearranged the letters and Nana made some new ones so it now read "Happy St. Pat's".

Daddy didn't even notice when he came home (and it was just his luck to be wearing green! He has troubles with colors, and I don't know how he lucked out when he didn't even know it was the day). I asked if his shirt constituted as green, Mommy said yes and I said 'Oh. Happy St. Patrick's Day, Daddy." Then I stared over his head at my sign until he looked up at it and started laughing.

Mommy made a green smoothie---which is one of her smoothies with spinach and other green leafy things-- for the occasion and we all watched some movies from netflix. We didn't really do much, but I had fun.

Happy Late St. Patrick's day! I hope you knew it was coming, but if you didn't, I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Good luck!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #45

2009-02-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here are my Friday Fillins! To do your own, find the link on my side-bar, or use this one.

1. Give me something good to read and I'll devour it in four days or less.
2. Whenever I see the first star at night, I always make a wish, even if I don't think it'll come true--it worked for making Brother1&2!
3. I wish I didn't have arthritis, but I'll go through it with my head held high.
4. Daddy's Birthday Cake was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious (yes, I do intend to post about his B-Day, but please don't be mad if that never happens).
5. To live in this world is a scary thing, but there are so many wonders and beauties... how could we not?
6. Other than this one, some blog I can't remember... oh, I know! Me In General (Dear Sister's Blog) is the last blog I commented on.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending the night at Nana's, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with Nana and Dear Sister and Sunday, I want to have fun with Daddy and the rest of the fam!

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

Happy Late Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

I didn't spend much time on the Internet yesterday, so this post is a little late.

Mom and Dad had their anniversary yesterday, and, as usual, they didn't do much. Nana came over for a while and we all hung out, but she couldn't stay long. Daddy went to the store with Mom and the Boys and bought some pizza (yes, still vegan--no cheese, no meat, and bunches of pineapple--for everyone except Daddy!), cookies, sparkling pomegranate cider, sparkling apple cider, smarties, chocolate, and chocolate covered almonds (because what's Valentine's Day without Chocolate?) while Dear Sister and I practiced Latin (I finally convinced her to do it with me! Yippi!) and watched a few shows.

Of course, by the end of the day we felt a little sick, but still, I had fun. We watched a new series we got from Netflix called The Triangle and it's actually pretty interesting. We're still trying to figure out what's going on.

I had a pretty good Valentine's Day, and I really hope Mommy and Daddy had a wonderful Anniversary! They really, really love each other, and almost every day I am so grateful to have parents who care about each other so very much.

My Valentine's Day was full of love... no, not romantic, though one day I hope it will... Yesterday (and always) I loved and was loved by my sister, Brother1 (who actually gave me three hugs!), Brother2 (who gave me a hug too, but mostly he was just really cute), Mommy, Daddy, and Nana.

Happy Valentines Day, anyone reading, I hope yours had much love. Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy. You make my life wonderful.

Love,

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #44

2009-02-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Here are my 'Friday Fillins'! If you'd like to do your own, find the link on my side-bar or use this one.

1. It seems like I've always had Arthritis. Sometimes I sit down and wonder how it feels to be normal.
2. Won't you turn off the light when you're done, please?
3. If I thought you hurt my baby sister, I'd give NO MERCY!
4. Happiness is what I think of most when I think of you, my love.
5. To me, Valentine's Day means Mommy and Daddy have been married for another year! It'll be their anniversary tomorrow!
6. God gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out, tomorrow my plans include celebrating Mom and Dad's anniversary and Sunday, I want to have a good time!

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

My First Speech

2009-02-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

I recently became a member of a junior toastmaster (ages 13-18)... The first meeting was the Friday before last. We mostly just talked about what we'd be doing the rest of the time.

Anyways, we were told to write up an "Icebreaker"... a speech to tell people about yourself. When I got home I wrote it in 14 minutes, then spent the rest of the week trying to memorize it. I worked really hard and performed it for my family a couple times.

Here's how it went (with a bit of editing so I could post it):

I've always thought life was wonderful. And I hated it when people didn't. I hated it when people thought life was terrible, and were sad because of it. So I tried to make them happy, I tried to make them enjoy life, and seeing these people enjoying life means that life is wonderful... In other words, I love to see people smile.

Even better is making people smile... To know that I, if even only for a shadow of a moment, made that person happy, can make me beam.

So my whole life I've tried to make people smile... First I did ballet. Who doesn't love the graceful movements of a dancer? And when I performed, I knew there were people, there in the audience, watching me, and I knew they were smiling... and I smiled my grandest just to make sure. Smiles, I've found, are contagious.

Then I turned to acting. I've always loved acting, especially in musicals, because I can dance, and sing, and act all in one, and make people laugh, cry, and most importantly, smile.

I was in a play every summer--and more--for three years. I went to ballet four days a week and ran wild with my friends, my little sister and my new little brothers. Times were good... happy, smiley--more than a little busy, but oh so happy...

Well, all good things must come to an end! And it was the one summer I chose not to do a play--so I could spend more time with family--that I caught rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis is always something I've associated with 230-year-olds (they laughed at that point), not dancing 13-year-olds... but now I have to associate it with myself.

I have a hard time moving now, and even worse I can't dance. I can't even jump, let alone stand on my toes like I used to... but I have to keep smiling. I have to keep making others smile.

I can't stress enough how much my family means to me... I don't know how I could... how I can get through this if I didn't have my mom, my dad, my sister and my little brothers... and it was these people, the people I care about most, who helped me find other ways to make people smile.

I write now. I write stories that will one day sail out into the world like little ships. The book I'm currently working on is called Kings of Darkness: The Riening Night and hopefully one day people will read it, and laugh, and cry... and smile.

I also play Piano. I've always needed music--that was one of the reasons I loved to dance... I used to be one with it, but now, I create it. I hope to be a master pianist, and make others smile that way.

Dear Sister and I also do duets together for my family... it always brings a smile to their face, and sometimes even to others too.

So through ballet to acting to writing to singing to piano, I've tried my best to make others smile, because seeing people happy can make me beam.

My name is Galaxy, and my life is strange and wonderful. I hope this speech has made you smile. Thank you.

I got a little nervous on the day I actually had to do it. I didn't think it'd be that bad, though, because I've performed in bunches of plays and loved it, so I thought this would be easy.

Wrong.

When it was finally my turn (I was last, by the way), and I got up there, I couldn't speak. I saw them all staring at me, and I didn't know what to do. The guy that held the timer nodded at me to show that he was ready, so I just smiled as big as I possibly could, and tried to make eye contact with every single person in the room to buy time. Finally, I started.
Normally, when I perform on stage, I'm a little nervous before I go on, but the moment I get on stage it all melts away. It was different with this. The more I talked, the more nervous I got. By the time I sat down in my chair (after a loud applause, thankfully) my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest and I could hardly breathe.

I've done a lot of thinking about that, and I think I've pinpointed why that was so much harder than acting for me... When I act, it's not me. It's the character saying those things. I might be nervous at first, but when I get on stage it isn't me anymore, it's my character, and she does it all, so if I mess up, no one knows, and if people judge my character harshly, it's not me they're judging.
If I'm giving a speech, it's actually me they're watching. It's me they're judging, and by the end of the speech they'll have formed an opinion of me. If I mess up, something I say might come out wrong, and how they see me might change.

I still had fun, though. Even though it was different than acting or dancing it was nice to spill out my life to people, to give them a piece of me... It was also nice to perform for someone... it's been too long.

Anyways, that was my first speech! Thank you for reading, and I hope you're smiling!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #43

2009-01-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, so here are my Fillins! If you'd like to do your own, find the link on my side-bar, or use this one... then, just fill in the blanks!

1. I'd really like to perform right now.
2. Oh, ow ow ow ow ow! Ow, ow ow OOOOW! (etc.) is the words you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.
3. A Possession is something you own.
4. I just LOVE Captain Jack Sparrow! He's so funny!
5. Marshmallows and fire go together like witches and fire--BURN THEM! (not that I believe in burning innocent girls who are supposedly 'witches'. I don't eat marshmallows--do you know they're made with bone marrow!?)
6. I could just talk on and on.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe baking something, tomorrow my plans include having Nana over and Sunday, I want to watch something, perhaps.

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

Inkheart

2009-01-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl known here as Galaxy. She was nine years old, and her tenth birthday (September 7th) was coming up--she about to become a double digit!!! At her party, she received a very special gift: a book, called Inkheart.

By now, she's read it over three time. It was wonderful. And, what excited her most of all, was the little sticker on it: Soon to be a major motion-picture!!! it said.

Well, now, over three years later, Galaxy--me, of course--finally got to see the movie in the theatres.

Was it good?

Well, there were some pros and cons... I'll do my best to make it clear:

Dustfinger: Dustfinger is my favorite character in the entire series. He is really, really cool! When he first came out in the movie, he looked just like how I had imagined him... but he sounded odd... Thankfully, the next time I saw him he was Dustfinger. He was amazing. He was Dustfinger.

Mo: Brendan Fraiser (sp?) did a great job as Mo, I think. He looks almost exactly as I had pictured him, except a little wider... not chubbier or anything, but broader.

Meggie: The girl they had playing Meggie did an adequate job. She could have been better, but I bought her. I didn't like her 'reading' voice, but besides that, she was okay.

Capricorn: No. No, no no NO!!! Capricorn isn't some sly, smiley, bald, comical-comment making villain! He's smooth, indifferent, blond, white, cold... very cold. They did a terrible job with Capricorn. Yes, he is very evil in the book, and it would be okay to tone him down, but to completely change his character! Come on!

Basta: No, no, no no no(again, hehe)! He's supposed to be scary! And a mustache? Are you kidding me? They amplified Basta's faults, (his fear of fire and his superstition) and toned down his scary parts (namely, his knife). He just wasn't the same... He's supposed to send shivers down your spine... not be like that!

All the Villains in General: Not good. They tried to make them almost inhuman... it just didn't work. A lot of Capricorn's men were supposed to be young boys... orphans, outcasts, not some weird half-wit people. They just didn't do it right.

Elinor: ...did a pretty good job. The way she talked, everything... maybe a little toned down in a few points from the actual Elinor, and she did wear different clothes than I imagined, but hey, not bad.

Farid: I thought he did a really good job as well. I imagined him with an accent, but not dropping words... still, he was almost just like how I imagined him--besides the longish hair.

The Shadow: Was AWESOME! Besides being two-times as big as I imagined him, they did a really good job with that.

In General: Capricorn's village looked like the real thing. I imagined it in a valley with cliffs surrounding it rather than being on a cliff, but one can't be too picky... the buildings, with their color and style--as well as the roads and scenery--were the same, and that's what matters. Elinor's library was too small, and the bookshelves were too... I also imagined them all one style, rather than different, and a higher ceiling that the bookshelves reached all the way up to...
They changed what happened and how the characters were introduced at the beginning, but as the movie went on it got truer to the story. At the end, they wrapped things up a bit more than they did in the book (e.g. making Dustfinger go home and Resa getting her voice back), and I suppose that makes sense--since they might not get to make a sequel--but I thought I'd mention it.

My last complaint would be about the part where Meggie reads the Shadow out. In the book she gets a paper from Fenoglio to read aloud and make the Shadow kill Capricorn so they can all be free, but just before she finishes she can't read the last few words. She just can't do it. Then Mo comes out and finishes it, and they all live happily ever after... in the movie, the Magpie (who they never established as Capricorn's mother as far as I can remember) takes the paper away from Meggie, and she has to write her own words rather than read... I suppose that was poetical and cool and all, but for some reason I really liked it the way it was in the book.

Overall, the movie was okay. It was wonderful to see the characters come to life in a movie, but they could have done better... Still, I'm glad as ever to finally see it, and I look forwards to watching it with the whole fam when it comes out on DVD!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #42

2009-01-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here are my friday fillins! If you'd like to do your own, find the link on my side-bar, or use this one.

1. Oh, I am so excited!
2. I'm usually indifferent to changes, big and little, but there were two changes I'd never, ever change. (Brother1 and Brother2's birth--I'd say Dear Sister too, but as far as I can remember she's always been there, so she really doesn't count. She wasn't really a change for me).
3. During this morning I wait in anticipation.
4. I'm finally going to see Inkheart; are you kidding me???
5. Right now I'd like to be in the theatre, watching Inkheart.
6. My MP3 is my favorite gadget--since dad stole my cellphone.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Inkheart, tomorrow my plans include having fun and Sunday, I want to write on K.o.D.!

Have a great Weekend--I know I will!

Galaxy

It's All Perspective

2009-01-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

(This post has to do with a poll I did recently: the question was "Is the Earth big, or small?" two said big, three said small)

Earth is huge. It's thousands of miles across, it's oceans are vast... But then you have to think of the sun. Compared to that, Earth doesn't seem quite so big. Now look at the galaxy (no, not me, just the galaxy in general)... the sun is a pinprick. Earth is a speck of dust. No, not even a speck of dust, Earth is a little molecule, floating around a pinprick. And now think about the Universe. Earth is no longer even a molecule. Earth is nothing.

Now think about a baseball. Compared to the universe, it's nothing. Heck, compared to the Earth (which we have already established as nothing) it's hardly anything at all. But think about bacteria. Think about how tiny they are. Think about how huge the ball must be to them. It's like a small planet of it's own to them. Now compare those to the Earth. Earth is a lot more than nothing.

And think about us. We're so small, and so big... How can that be? What is size?

Perspective.

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #41

2009-01-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

Heeeeeeeeellllllllllooo everyone! Time to fillin my Friday Fillins! If you want to do your own, find the link on my side-bar, or you could use this one.

1. Enough with the waiting (for over 3 YEARS, as a matter of fact)! I want to see Inkheart the movie!
2. Choosing one book out of many to read causes me to be conflicted.
3. I've been craving dates(no, not the romantic kind, the kind with pits--dried, and hopefully with the pits pitted to be specific).
4. Brother1 &2 make me laugh.
5. I wish I could go to see Inkheart next week--and guess what... I can!
6. Justice has been on my mind lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having Mommy read Hogfather out loud possibly, and playing Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis, tomorrow my plans include eating cold-cats (the vegan equivalent to hot-dogs), and Sunday, I want to hang out with the fam!

Have an absolutely grand weekend!!!

Me, Galaxy

BOOKS!

2009-01-14T17:34:00.001-08:00

Mommy, Dear Sister and I went to the Library (oh, how I love libraries!) recently and got about 48 books. I'm not kidding.
I'm really excited about reading them! So far I've devoured one--called Ever--, but that's just the start. I've also been reading Sherlock Holmes quite a bit recently, but I actually own that so 'Dear' Watson and that genius Sherlock will probably be out of play for a while. Maybe. Most likely. Actually... I'll just peek a bit...

Anyways, I'm so happy and uplifted about all these books that I had to post. I'll put up my reviews on A Book Worm's Journey (my book-blog) soon.

With my nose in a book,

Galaxy

A Pirate Without Treasure Is Like A Monkey Without A Spatula

2009-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

I saw this video with the rest of my fam and thought it was really silly. The "Northern Star" bit was my favorite.

Blue is the most beautiful!

Galaxy

Friday Fillins #40

2009-01-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

1. It's January; 2009 already?
2. Something fruity and sweet is what I crave most right now.
3. Cork and wine go together like screw and drill.
4. Kale is so nourishing.
5. Let us dare to be who we are, and not let anyone taint us.
6. I love my home.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating Cold Cat's (a vegan version of a hot dog) and maybe playing Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis, tomorrow my plans include something fun, hopefully and Sunday, I want to hang out!

If you'd like to do your own Friday Fillins, go the the link on my side-bar or use this one.

Have a great weekend!

Galaxy

What People Thought of '08

2009-01-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed the poll on the right about what you thought of '08. I let it sit for around a week after the new year, and here are the results:

1 person had a FABULOUS! year
0 people had a Great! year
2 people had a Good! year
0 people had a Bad. year
1 person had a Really bad. year (so sorry to whoever voted that, by the way)
and 0 people had a HORRIBLE! year

Just thought I'd post about it... It's especially fun to post on my blog now, with my new header!

Well, have a great day!

Galaxy :-)

Blog Header Experimentation

2009-01-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

So I've finally decided to add a header... I've been thinking about it for quite some time, but only just got around to doing it. Unfortunately, the image doesn't quite make it across the screen, so I'm gonna have to work on that a bit. Someday, it'll be perfect, but for now, expect many fluctuations.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know!!!

Galaxy

Friday FiIlins #39

2009-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

1. The world is wonderful.
2. Brother1, I was going to use that--! was the last thing I said.
3. I wonder if I'll play Sims at all today...
4. I'll still have my family at the end of all things.
5. There's something to be said for saying there's something to be said for something.
6. Right here, on the couch is where I want to be (though it would be really nice if I was watching "The 10th Kingdom" as well).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching "The 10th Kingdom", tomorrow my plans include having fun, and Sunday, I want to do something fabulous!

Hope you have a great weekend!!!

Galaxy

Happy new year!

2009-01-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

This is the FIRST DAY of 2009. Have a BLAST!

Happy new year!

Galaxy :-D