The Edge

The start of a few photo posts. This one of Christmas stuff, like the dogs opening their gifts and a few scenes from my home.

( Read more... )

The tree is decorated and all lit up. Cupcakes are baked. Presents are wrapped and under the tree. Kiddo is tucked safely away in her bed, dreaming Christmas-time dreams. Dog, cat, and hamster are all fed and happy. Santa's snack is on the table.

And so, I am done for the day. Time to enjoy the peace and quiet of my house ... and to play some ANGRY BIRDS!!!

(omg ... this game has eaten my brain! >.O)

To everyone on the F-list:

My best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. A joy-filled holiday season. And peace and happiness in the coming year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

I added several "manga-style" fancels today.

Kenshin
Kenshin & Sanosuke
Zero & Yuki
Kaname, Zero, Yuki
Sanzo
Sanzo & Kamisama
Hakkai
Gojyo
Hakkai, Goku, Hazel, & Gato

And ... there were two others that I forgot to scan in before mailing them off to their new owner. *stoopid vibez* >.O

Kiddo has been home all day today. She was up all night coughing -- and I was up most of the night with her -- so I kept her at home. It's her short day at school, so the day was pretty much over by the time she was able to get up and get ready to go. I figured she could use an extra bit of rest.

Put up the Christmas tree last night. Took forever to fluff that sucker out, but it looks pretty nice now that it's all decorated. It's a pre-lit tree (artificial), and a couple of strings of lights were out for some odd reason. We supplemented them with new lights. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a pre-lit tree, but oh well ...

It is cold. I'm thinking about having some hot chocolate.

I feel like I could use a rest, too. I'm tired, I have a headache, and my thoughts, as usual, are scattered. I hate that. I think I might watch Trinity Blood on the iPad tonight.

Yeah, I know. It's only October. But I realized I had better start thinking about what I wanted to do for my Christmas cards if I wanted to make them again this year. Last year, I did a very simple card -- lots of hand coloring but, overall, very simple concept. And I was still pushing right up to the wire in trying to get them into the mail in time. Every year I say I will start earlier, and I pretty much never do. But ... this year will be different!

*raises fist to heaven in a vow*

So, I picked up one of those stamping / card-making magazines the other day. I love those. I'm not a huge fan of stamping, in general, but I love the idea of using it as a small part of a bigger whole. I like how it can coordinate with and enhance different ideas. And, of course, I love paper. Love, love, love, love paper. I have no idea why. I know it's weird ... but I always have. I'm one of those people who has scads of scrap paper sitting around, or who is lured in by the "ooh! pretty!" factor at the craft store.

Anyhow, the magazine was a good tool for getting my inspirational juices flowing a bit. Just seeing all those different ideas in one place is inspiring to me. Today, I took the time to have a leisurely visit to my local Michael's so that I could browse the paper, stamping, and beading aisles to see what might strike my fancy. I came away rather inspired, with the inkling of an idea taking root in the far reaches of my brain. I knew I wanted to do something with one of my photographs, and I took home several different papers, as I wasn't sure what colors I might want to use this year. I am not a huge fan of the "traditional" red/green Christmas color combination. I tend to go toward blues a lot; well, I like blue ... so I guess that's no big surprise. This year, I kind of wanted to do either a pink or a sort of cranberry hue, but the papers I found (that I liked) in those colors were too busy for what I wanted. So I ended up doing blue tones. I know ... very boring. I found a photo I liked, played around with it a little in Photoshop, and managed to put a prototype card together. It needs some tweaking; I initially wanted to go with a sort of muted, tonal kind of look, but I found that a little too boring when it was all put together. For the finished product, I am envisioning some combination of blue, brown/sepia, and a light green color -- with a little bead/charm, of course. I'm actually pretty excited about it, although I know it's going to take me until at least the end of November to get them all put together. Here's hoping I still like the prototype in the morning. I always have to let things sit for a while before I decide for sure if it's a keeper or not.

In other news, I feel like crap. The one bright spot is that my ongoing "issue" seems to be showing some improvement. This is a good thing, because the meds are not fun. They make me tired, a bit shaky, sometimes sick to my stomach, sometimes headachy, and sometimes dizzy. Tonight, I am extremely dizzy -- and probably should not be trying to type an LJ entry, considering I keep making weird typos. Argh. Delete is my friend. I never know exactly what I'm going to get when I take a dose. My hope is that, as my body gets more accustomed to it, they won't bother me as much. Failing that, I am going to focus on the positive of feeling there is some improvement with my other issues. Otherwise, it's going to be a very LONG 3-6 months. >.O

Had to get up at 0:dark-thirty this morning, but we made it to the airport. The line to check luggage was HUGE, but security went quickly once the luggage was all checked in. Sitting at the gate now, surfing some free wireless internet and waiting for the flight to board.

I'm halfway there. One step closer to our destination and one tiny step closer to being officially "done" with the holiday. Ho, ho, ho.

To everyone on the F-list: I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, however you choose to celebrate. I wish for you to have peace, rest, and relaxation. And I'll probably catch you guys on the flip side of 2009.

Since my first Christmas card entry kind of got lost amid the flurry of NaNo posts at the beginning of November, I thought I would post again.

So ... same thing as before: if you would like a Christmas card from me, give me a shout-out in the comments to this entry. I'll leave things screened, so you can post an address, if you want or need to. Or, you can PM or email me with your address, if I don't already have it.

So far, I've gotten replies from the following: *GLOMS you guys!* =D

katanas_edge
deathcomes4u
summer_queen
skyrat13
genuinelie
kayion
ravenmichiru
ladybuggington
angelicajones_a

I decided to have a little Christmas fun with the Weiss boys. I hope this isn't too ridiculous or stupid. Also, I don't know if Christmas tree shopping in Japan is similar to what we do here in the US. But, since it worked for my story, I decided to go with what I know. I hope you guys can forgive me, if I got it totally wrong.

Jingle Bells
(a WK Christmas fic by Tex-chan)

Legal Stuff: As always, this story is intended to express one fan’s genuine appreciation of Weiss Kreuz and its characters. It is just for fun and not for profit. If you have any rights in the anime described here and find the posting of this fanfiction offensive or harmful, please contact me, and I will be happy to remove it.

Warnings: Bad language.



Aya crouched behind the sofa, his back to its bulky arm. He struggled to bring his breathing under control and to silence the pounding of the blood in his ears. He listened to the room around him, gaining a mental picture of the space from the small sounds that traveled across the darkness. He heard the slight buzz of the clock over the stove in the kitchen and the steady drip of the leaky faucet that none of them could fix, no matter how many times they changed the washer. He heard the swish of the dishwasher, clearing up the last remnants of their evening meal, and the hum of the refrigerator. Closer in, he heard the electronic crackle of the television, indicating it hadn’t been off for very long -- probably no more than ten or fifteen minutes -- and Aya couldn’t help but reflect on how quickly everything in his life could go from perfectly normal to complete shit. But he reined those thoughts in; now wasn’t the time to ponder over things like this. Now was the time to listen and move carefully, with all the considerable skill he had acquired during his time as an assassin.( Read more... )

So, those of you on my friends list know things have not been very happy-cheerful for me lately. Well, at least, if you've read my last couple of posts, you know. But, tonight, I baked some sprinkle-endowed sugar cookies with my daughter. She is three, and this is the first year since her birth that we have chosen to stay at home for Christmas. Last year, we were stuck here because of the weather, but we hadn't planned it ... so we didn't have any of the fun Christmas activities ready to go. Anyhow, this year, since we decided, ahead of time, to stay home, I was able to arrange for some Christmas fun for her. We put up our tree a few weeks ago, which she had a blast helping to decorate that. She has helped me wrap presents. Tonight, we baked the cookies, and she got to put on the sprinkles, and she is already looking forward to writing her note to Santa tomorrow night.

Anyhoo, the holiday-type activity got me into a marginally better, more cheerful mood. I guess it helped me to remember it's still the holidays, even if things in other aspects of my life don't look so grand at the moment. And, I want to make this a happy time -- not just for my daughter, but for myself, too. Doesn't mean I'm not still sad about the other things I've talked about in those "friends" posts ... just means I'm going to try and struggle through it to make some nice memories for my kiddo.

And, in that spirit, I wanted to send a shout-out to anyone who might stumble across this LJ, either intentionally or on purpose ... so I created my own "Christmas Greeting" (of sorts). =P



Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you are surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones, and that this holiday is a very special one for all of you. *hugs*

(I apologize for the size of the image ... but I wanted you guys to be able to read the text. =P)

So, I'm running behind on my Christmas shopping. Like, way, way behind, considering I have to mail pretty much all of my gifts. We decided to stay in Virginia this year, instead of trekking down to Texas. It's cheaper, since we don't have to pay for the pet sitter ... plus, considering how demanding our two extended families can be, I think it'll end up being a more restful, peaceful, and enjoyable holiday for us, too. But, the down side is that we have to mail all the gifts down there. And, I have had pretty much NO desire to do any sort of Christmas shopping. I swear, I get worse about this stuff every year. I don't know what's wrong with me - if I'm just getting more and more jaded as I get older, or if I really and truly did get sick of spending the time and effort to find that "perfect" thing that will put a smile on a loved one's face ... and getting, like, socks and underwear in return. OK ... not as bad as socks and underwear, but close. Even so, I tell myself it's supposed to be the thought that counts ... and that this season is supposed to be about giving. And, it is. I mean, I don't care about what I receive as a gift ... or if I even receive anything. What hurts is feeling like I put forth a lot of thought and effort, when others can't be bothered to think of me at all. I'm not sure if this makes any sense, and I'm almost positive I sound entirely too emo-whiny here. *shameful slink*

Anyhow, the stress of knowing I can't possibly get all this shopping done on time, plus the in-general state of holiday "blah" that seems to be plaguing me over the past couple of years, has combined to make me giddy and a bit ... ebil. I'm having the almost uncontrollable desire to purchase the absolute, most inappropriate gifts I can find for people. Like, a pentagram necklace for my very religious mom, who thinks anime is satanic. Or, a Pink Floyd CD for my too-strict aunt, who I love, but who really needs to lighten the heck up already.

Plus, I keep visiting the journal entry I made right before this one -- just so I can imagine myself licking that Sanzo fancel. *tries to look innocent ... fails in a big way*

Argh! Yes ... I am going to hell. I truly, truly am. I can hear the handbasket coming for me, even over the sounds of my fingers clicking across the keyboard as I type. O.O