Back in the Saddle ... again.

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 So I'm attempting to start 2022 on a positive note and get back in touch with my creative side.  I've spent far too long telling myself that I'm 'too busy' or just flat-out being lazy and not wanting to deal with my lack of inspiration or motivation... and I just need to stop.  Stop making excuses.  Stop lying to myself.  Stop allowing the laziness and actually embrace my talents.  Just STOP!

And I know most of it is just me being caught up in gaming, not because I have an addiction or anything but I think it's more of the fact that I set too many goals for what I want to do with my characters and then let myself get in too deep.  I have this bad habit of creating entirely too many characters, because I'll see or think of a name that I really like... and I'll have a different purpose for each of them... (I'm such a dork and actually have Excel spreadsheets to document this kind of stuff)

Anyway... but yes, enough is enough.  I wanna create again.  I want to feel that sense of pride and accomplishment in looking at what I just made and really enjoying the process.  I usually don't make resolutions at the new year, because I don't want to disappoint myself, which let's face it, is inevitable.  But I kind of did make those 'resolutions' this year.  I'm committed to actually using the writing prompts that I've been saving up for years (with a little support).  Maybe even write more here as well.  I'm going to open Photoshop more often.  I'm going to make time to exercise and get my heart rate up at least for 30 minutes of my day.  But I'm not going to think of these as resolutions.  They are just things that I'm going to do. 😊

Begin Again

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So I'm just going to write May off as a failure, at this point.  Haha.  It was way too busy with my mom here for the main majority of the month, so we're just not going to speak of it, and start fresh for June. 😉

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So I finally opened up Photoshop and made a brand new banner last week ⇒

It's slightly out of my usual style, but I think I like it.  I wanted a version of this banner featuring Jessica Jones, that looks better on lighter backgrounds, instead of the one I made originally, which really only looks good on dark backgrounds.  I had another idea in mind for this, but I like how it turned out... I think.  Haha.  This one is also based on the second season of Jessica Jones, in regards to the image and the sub-text I used.

In other news, sorry for the severe lack of posting.  I have been really busy with work and gaming lately, as I decided to jump back into Nexus, and get my oldest character to the next tier of leveling.  It's difficult because I have to have a certain amount of wins from events within the game (referred to as the "Skill trial") and the timing of said events isn't always on my side.  But I'm attempting to catch every single one that I can.

We've been having some issues with our home security system acting up over the past month, and after several phone calls into customer service, as well as three technician visits, I think it is finally working again.  We'll see though.  Time will tell if the sensors keep working as they should, or if they start being screwy again.  The whole thing has been annoying, to say the least.  But if the problem isn't fixed this time, we're going to be getting a new system, and demanding that our cable company let us out of the contract for using their system, without consequences.

Crack Your Nuts ♥ 14th Anniversary

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CYN (my forum) is officially FOURTEEN YEARS OLD today!  We are now a curious, self-conscious, hormonal teenager. 😜 How crazy is that?!

If you are reading this, please feel free to head over there and congratulate us for staying in existence for so long!  (Or just leave it in the comments here)  There were times when it was iffy, but I've managed to overcome those moments and keep it going, if only for sentimental reasons.  I'm so grateful for the friends that I've met through Proboards (and other foruming software) and have had the pleasure of knowing throughout the years! 💜 

One of my first moderators was only 13 years old (mind you, a VERY mature kid for his age!) when the forum started, and he's now in his late-20s!  That's just crazy.  Of course, I myself was in my early-20s when I created it, and now I'm in my mid-30s... it's just astounding how quickly time flies.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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So first off, I'm not a huge fan of V-day, and we never make a big deal out of it.  I don't ask for flowers or chocolate or for any other "present."  The 'holiday' is just too commercialized and I'd rather save our money.  Although that doesn't stop me from wishing everyone else a Happy Valentine's Day. 😊  This year I was also inspired to create another "poster" dedicated to my now-hubby, which I will include here:

{ Full-view: HERE, if you're on a smaller screen. }

I haven't made one of these since way back in 2012, which explains the "v2" text. (View the first version: HERE)  But I figured we've made lots more memories in the past 6 years, so I should make another one.  I spent last night before bed just looking up my favorite quotes to use and I loved these.  There were others that I wasn't able to use but I'm sure I'll find a use for those as well, in the future.

Anyway... yeah so that was my morning.  We don't have any big plans tonight, though we may have to go out to eat because I just realized that I thought the recipe we were using for tonight's pork roast was an Instant Pot one, but it's an actual slow cooker that you have to cook for hours and the problem is that the roast is not yet defrosted... sooo I will be preparing the marinade once it is finally defrosted, so that we can cook it tomorrow night instead.  Oh well, at least I realized this hours ahead of time, instead of having another spontaneous dinner dilemma... although it kind of still is, because we will most likely have to resort to a quick take-out tonight (not fast-food though). -facepalm-

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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Ugh.  I knew today was going to be bad, from the moment I woke up.  Seriously, the meds I've taken haven't worked AT ALL today.  If I didn't feel like I'd be wasting my whole day, I would have just stayed in bed. 😶

In an attempt to ignore the constant pain I'm in, my day so far has been focused on reading.  I did end up finishing my book this morning, as predicted last night, (the review is already up on my "reading challenge" tab up there!) and I've read the first page or two of the last Odd Thomas novel.  He finally goes back home in this one, after his journey led him all around southern California for a few months, and I'm happy to know that his old friends are (hopefully) coming back into the story.  I've missed them.  Funny how you get so attached to these fictional characters in a book and they really start to feel like close friends whom you've known all your life.

Anyway, I've also spent some of my day scouring the internet for some reading prompts, because sometimes after I finish a book, I have a difficult time choosing what to read next.  And this general "outline" of what to read will help me in making a decision.  So I've compiled a list of my favorite prompts, in the following graphic:

If you're participating in a reading challenge this year, feel free to grab some of these prompts if you're stuck on what to read!  It really helps for that.  Plus, I like these because all of them can be used for multiple books, not just one and then you're done with the prompt.  I've got a PSD version that I'm going to be adding check marks to the boxes whenever I finish a specific prompt.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a dork. 😜

The Potential of You and Me

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Sooo, I couldn't help notice that this one song has been popping up almost everywhere I go lately.  On the radio, in restaurants, in stores, etc... and it's ironic, because it's a song that has an intense sentimental meaning behind it, for me and my relationship.  First off, the song is "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie.  And I know, I know, some will say it's simply a stalker song.  But I don't see it that way.  To me, it's a song about someone who refuses to give up on a person that they love, yet the relationship hasn't been able to move past that level of friendship, for whatever reason.  In my case, it was my tendency to be guarded and close people off from getting too close, in an attempt to avoid being hurt.  Back when the hubby and I first started talking about moving to the next level into an actual relationship, this was the song that reminded him of me.  And he was the one who was so adamant and determined that it could work for us, while I was the one hesitant to move forward.  But he eventually broke through the wall I had up, and possessed my heart as the song says.  And look where we are, almost 9 years later. 😍

Happiness Delivered!

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My package from Amazon finally arrived!

The license plate frame, not the car. 😋  I bought the car around two weeks ago and I hate those gimmicky car dealership frames that it comes with; and I wanted one that wasn't like the generic frame, one that had a bit of uniqueness to it.  So after searching on Amazon, I found this tribal fire design that looked really neat.

Closer view!

I've been waiting all day for this, seeing that it was sitting at the local USPS building since around 2:00am, finally out for delivery at around 9:30am, then receiving it at around 3:15pm.  Every slight sound outside made me jump up and check the porch to see if it had arrived, not to mention the dogs' barking.  Worth the wait though, I'm happy with how it looks on my car. 😁

A Rough Start, Favicon, Lottery & Impatience

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Relationships are hard.  I know that.  I've always known that.  Knowing that does not make it any easier though.  I wish it was all sunshine and happiness all the time, but alas, I suppose you cannot have the good without the bad, right?  I just hate being angry, because it's not in my nature and it ruins my day.  Today started out horrible.  It doesn't matter now about the why, just that it got sorted out pretty quickly, but the memory still lingers and is now making the rest of my day feel tainted in a way.  I don't think I deal with this emotion very well, so I'm just going to stop thinking about it.