It's The Big Day....

Check your email!


*Nervous*

Haiku Chase 2!!!!!! R done

5
7
5

J

A crowded coffin

and an empty soul

for holding grudges

R

For holding grudges,

harden your empty soul.

No room for love now.

J
No room for love now.
Heart crowded with suspicion
Can't love or be loved.

R
Can't love or be loved,
Except as your love yourself.
She is your best friend.

News and pics and stuff

A pretty storm pic

Steve visited me at work and bought me lunch!! <3 <3

Will got me a card and it's so damn pretty!

I was obsessed with suduko then I got this time score. I'm convinced anyone faster just writes down the numbers and replays it. Now I play starlink. I just beat a map with 3 enemies on it with everyone having 2 homeworlds on the hardest difficulty. Im baller!!

Will in the hospital. Just had other knee replacement done.

Nice selfie. In the shade you can see color change of glasses starting. If it's bright enough they go black!

Simple necklace I made because I LOVE the dragon fly lol

Work setup

Old fashioned

Peanut crusted chicken, saffron rice and Indian beans

Consolation Prize

For telling you I was ready for you to read the book, and then actually being in the middle of re-writes instead. :p I know you're probably a little bored/stir-crazy taking care of Will.

Covers I've made for sale:

Covers I've made by request:

And a whole bunch of love for you!!

Big news!

*drum roll*

*more drumming*

*working up the nerve to even more drumming*

I'm...

...ready to send you my first book to beta read. :p

I know, I know, wasn't worth the build-up, but this is a big deal to me! And I will have questions afterward, and I want to hear your impressions/likes/dislikes about it.

I need to start really editing so that this book can be done-done, as in ready for formatting and publishing. *Gulp* But I can't do that until I have that final pass of last minute issues and changes. So let me know when you're ready for it and I will send it your way, and then hopefully also plan a day to talk about it.

You don't have to go over every single line with critique (I mean, unless you want), just big stuff, so it shouldn't be too much of a time sink. I hope? And if it is, hopefully it will be an enjoyable one!

But listen. I love you to death and I know you love me and of COURSE I want compliments, but I want honesty more. Our relationship will survive your honesty, but the rest of my life may depend on how this book is received by readers. At this point if major revisions are needed, I may take up drinking, but I still want it to be good. Good, and done.

So let me know when to send it (and in what format? Word, or for kindle?)! Thank you and I love you and thank you.

Pic post! *Huggles*

Some selfies I like too! I send them to my husband at work during the day because he likes it for some reason. I only send the good ones of course though. These are me at a 10 lol, as good as it gets, and normally I'm about a 4. :p But of course I dont want anyone to see me like that!

Picture Maggie took of me. This is more what I really look like; chubby arms, big nose, big teeth. :p

Canoeing pictures!

 My handsome dude!

All of the following scenery pics have something surprising about them, which I will tell you at the end!

These were all taken by WILLOW! There were several not so good ones, but I was seriously impressed for a 9 yr old!! They were also all taken from the water, in our canoe. :)

This is a waterlily I snatched on our last canoe trip. I have never before seen/held/smelled a waterlily in real life. Have you?? It did not smell anything like I thought it would, nothing like the fragrances named after it, but it did smell pretty amazing. Like lemon meringue pie!

I love you sis, I hope you enjoy these pics! More news coming in a few days. Hugs & kisses galore.

New glasses and stuff

Yay pictures news! Mostly some selfies I like lol

 Steve started a role play game and need a character so I made him one with Eve and photoshop. He really likes it!!

New game I'm playing called Starlink. I did online PVP game and in less than 5 minutes killed 5 people!!

 There was a storm and it was clearing up and I took this pic and also made a blow up.

                                                     

I am getting new glasses and so 265$ later... And holy glasses cost 1050 without insurance? WTF!!

Steve is very sweet!

Sisters Haiku chase! J done!

I'll start off!

5
7
5


R
With moonlight vision
The heavy day fades away
My dreams realized.

J
My dreams realized
because I changed my mind to
Make my dreams match life.

R
Make my dreams match life
Arriving with the new dawn
Hope fly's high and wide

J
Hope flys high and wide
to soar through heavenly skies
Grounded nevermore

R
Grounded nevermore
Quoth the raven nevermore
Now it dies, joy lives

J
Now it dies, joy lives
the shadow that covered me;
now weightless, now light.

R
Now weightless, now light.
Stretch to a new horizon.
Fast as speed of light.

J
Fast as speed of light
certain as the sun rises
everything has changed

R
Everything has changed
Everything has stayed the same
The world keeps spinning

J
The world keeps spinning
clueless of the trial of life
conscious creatures face

R
Conscious creatures face
Made in the image of god
Sanctity and grace

J
Sanctity and grace
a good life and happy place
harder than it seems

R
Harder than it seems
the road ahead to travel
thorns and obstacles

J
Thorns and obstacles;
Crawling through hell is the price
to fly in heaven.

R
To fly in heaven,
would pale in comparison
to my dreams of you!

J
to my dreams of you;
the reality of you
satisfies plenty.

R
Satisfies plenty.
This delectable delight.
Come, come let me bite.

J

Come, come let me bite

not to hurt and not to spite

but to play like beasts

R

But to play like beasts

in heat of day, loving like

beasts in the cool night

J
Beasts in the cool night
stalking, prowling, howling on
leave with morning light.

R
Leave with morning light.
I will dream of you all day.
You're always in sight.

J
You're always in sight
as my journey and my goal
because you're my heart.

R
Because you're my heart
you're the center of me, come
let's bask in union

R
Let's bask in union
of our two souls and two hearts
Forever entwined

J
Forever entwined
two motes of light shining bright
as lovers on earth

R
As lovers on earth
We are lovers in heaven
Death will not part us

J
Death will not part us
Love remains after we pass
as real as always

R
As real as always
Figments of my mind
Preying on my soul

J
Preying on my soul
the worries of tomorrow
change nothing today.

R
Preying on my soul
Grey ghosts tatter my story
Let the pages turn

J
Let the pages turn
on the story of my life
written in my heart

R
Written in my heart
The truth I can't see
Only the future can know

J
Only the future can know
The paths the past will lead to.
The present is blind.

R
The present is blind.
I will not slave to the past.
Only look forward.

J
Only look forward.
filaments of the future
spread out like branches.

R
Spread out like branches;
the choices we make;
a ripple in the future.

J
A ripple in the future
can change pain into
a happy ever after

R
A happy ever after,
I know I'll find it somewhere!
That's what I'm after!

J
That's what I'm after;
breathless highs that balance lows
to make life worth it.

R
To make life worth it,
Happiness there to hold close.
Cherish great moments

J
Cherish great moments
Let the others fade away
To live the best life.

R
To live the best life.
Enjoy what's around you now,
Squeeze your loved ones tight

J
Squeeze your loved ones tight
A full heart is the secret
To a happy life.

R
To a happy life.
Raise your glass may you be missed.
A life long lived well.

J
A long life lived well
is the only thing you take
with you to the grave.

R
With you to the grave
Also take all your regrets
A crowded coffin.

J
A crowded coffin
and an empty soul
for holding grudges

Hi Sis!

Really no news here, I don't think, and I can't post pics right now because Maggie fell asleep on me and I'm typing one handed. But I did want to make some kind of post so I guess I'll just ramble!

Book 1 revisions *should* be done but they're not because I keep fixing/rewriting/adding stuff. I've added 10k more words during my mentor program, which just ended. But I made a deal with my mentor to get more help with book 1 AND book 2! I'm going to make her 3 covers for her series in exchange. I'll show you when I get them done. I'm also trying to make some money on the side making pre-made covers and teaser graphics. I've only had 1 customer, but she was happy. :p I'll show you my pre-mades when I next get on the comp they are saved on, but I have the teasers here.

Again, not going well, but I hope it does at some point, at least to allow me an extra $20-$40/week until Sept. In Sept., Maggie starts pre-school! 0.0 Which means I start working too. Yay/boo. I'll be glad to have money, I just hate working out of the house. :p And I worry how it will affect my writing. I don't want to give up. Like, today I feel like I have a chance to make this writing thing work out. But I almost gave up yesterday, so it's a one day at a time thing. :p And I'm worried working will make giving up more likely! Lol. So I'm more resistant than willing.

How's your work going? Still good I hope.

In two weeks will be our 5 year anniversary AND Maggie's 4th birthday! I can't hardly believe either one, honestly. Time flies whether you're having fun or not.

Umm let's see, what else. Did you get a box from mom? She really really wants to know that you received it. It was a week or so ago, so if you haven't received it, see if you can find it.

Willow got into a robotics class on Wednesdays after school. She has robot battles! but she's lost every week so far and there is only 1 left, so I don't think technology is gonna be her thing. But I still think it was a good experience for her and I was glad to get her into SOMETHING she wanted to do, because it's pretty hard to come up with the money for extra-curricular activities. :( But she got an in-school scholarship for the $70 fee so it turned out awesome. And despite all the losing, she does look forward to it. And she's the only girl, which is somehow a point of pride for both of us.

Oh, I do have some news! We got a canoe! We've been having lots of fun going on the ponds and rivers here. it is AMAZING to see all the underwater plants and fish swimming by and turtles etc. It is a bit of work, especially when it's windy, but we need the exercise. When I make my huge pics post, I'll include some from that. Unfortunately the camera doesn't capture anything *under* the water at all, but I do have some pretty scenery and cute kid shots.

My diet is so fubar right now. Haven't lost any weight since like Nov. Recently gained 3 in fact. My willpower is gone for some reason and I just dont know why. I know what I need to do, I need to eat less. But my body/brain thinks hungry = dying and so I can't bear to be hungry apparently. I know it's stupid and illogical, but can't seem to conquer it, especially not when stressed/tired/headache-y, which I almost always am. I also keep cheating on carbs (see above willpower issues) which makes me gain 7 lbs of water weight every time I do.

My migraines are coming back. :( If you remember last year, I had 3 months of almost daily, sometimes multiple headaches. So far this week, I've had 3 migraines. I'm terrified the next 3 months of my life are going to suck, and I no longer have health insurance and I can't take the rx they gave me. It puts my heart rate in the lower 40's and I cant take care of Maggie or even keep my eyes open. Pray for me, or something, that it's just the weather changes and when things stabilize, they will go away.

How's your health doing? Any better? How about Steve?

Well I guess that's just about all of my news. Which like usual, looks like a lot more than I thought. :p I'll make my pictures post later this week. Love you, hope to hear from you soon too. <3

21 Comics That Capture The Frustrations Of Depression

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/comics-that-capture-the-frustrations-of-depression?utm_term=.qxKVE0eLY#.vk7MDqE2P

History of Perfume

The Stone age is where the familiar meaning of perfume was passed down through the ages. “To pass through smoke.” Perfume was simply burning various woods and organic matter. The ash was often mixed with fats and used as medicine or in rituals. The Egyptians were the most sophisticated practitioners.

Stone of various kinds was a widely used building material. As their craftsmanship became more refined they went from using sometimes elaborately carved clay jugs for everything to stone for precious things. Beautiful examples of alabaster, calcite, lapis and other stone perfume containers still exist.

The Neolithic age saw the ending of nomadic life. Cultivation was beginning. Plants were always tied to religious beliefs and healing but now with fields of valuable plants, they could make more use of them. They started expressing oils from plants by pressing.

Perfume incense is used to scent cloth, homes, temples, and was even added to drinks to give them more flavor. Incense burners are considered some of the best examples of furniture design from this era.

The world's oldest surviving text from 2000 B.C. is a list of medicinal and perfumery prescriptions. Along with meandering descriptions of how those things fit into larger society and religious practices. They burned incense on street corners. The preferred method of extracting essences was enfleurage.

With the advent of the Bronze Age, it became common to mine, smelt, and alloy copper, tin, and bronze. Distillation begins to be investigated. Perfumes are stored in metal flasks that are at times highly decorated and even gorgeously encrusted in gems.

The Iron Age saw improvements in boating technologies. Iron, metals and raw ingredients of all kinds are shipped around the world. Distillation and tubing improve making the process practical to produce perfume oil.

Shipping reached the Arabian Peninsula. The world had wider access to woods, stems, berries, gums and resins and the techniques the Arabians developed to deal with these special substances.

The Roman Empire was a voracious consumer of scented products and their precursors. They would scent dogs, horses, soles of the feet and walls of buildings. This is partially due to the roman penchant for roads and shipping and the fact that Arab perfumeries improved the distilling process so that the world had access to new ingredients like musk, rose, and amber.

The fall of Rome was blamed on their decadence and with the advent of Christianity; the use of incense is limited to religious rituals. Royal courts of course still had perfumers.

Distillation comes into its own. The perfume industry began production in Grasse. France gains a reputation as a cultured country.

Queen Elizabeth of Hungary is said to have recovered after smelling a fragrant remedy from a monk. “Hungary water” as it was called during the Medieval Age spread through Europe where it was lavishly produced during the Renaissance with a myriad of variation.

Queen Elizabeth of England required all public places to be scented. It was considered a woman’s domain to scent their selves. They carried a pomander, a decorated ball of cloth filled with dried flowers and spices. Perfume smoke was also used with billows to scent rooms and closets. Scent was used to mask the smell from the tanning process of leather accessories such as gloves, handbags, and jackets.

Plague doctors are notorious for their eerie leather bird-beaked masks which they stuffed with perfumed rags and dried flowers.

Perfumery becomes a bonafide worldwide commercial endeavor during the Industrial Revolution. With more production capability many people who had never been able to before enjoyed luxury goods. Not just for royals anymore!

Including perfume, perfumed paper, textiles, and the illustrious gloves. Also handkerchiefs, necklaces, makeup, garters, hair powder, bath salts, and oils. If it could be scented it was. Many women received large perfume filled decorated bottles as part of vanity sets for wedding gifts from their groom.

Most perfumes were produced in small locales. Only 2 trade names existed Coty, and Yardley; making scented waters for wealthy patrons.

Organic chemistry advanced enough to create synthetic scents. The Modern Age exploded from this point using cheaper synthetics for products allowing for a profusion of brands and corporations.

Ethanol became easier and more economic to produce. So it became the prime solvent instead of fats or oils.

Scents are mass produced to spec for every product. Including processed food, drinks, and personal care.

20th Century scientific advances in a sundry of fields lead to many innovative processes and discoveries. Leading to a blurring in the divide between synthetic and natural ingredients.

Is a chemical natural or synthetic if secondary chemicals are harvested through genetic engineering? Is it natural or synthetic if the utterly flexible terpenoids are cracked open to reveal yet more molecules? There are other processes like fermenting engineered yeast to form novel scents.

Even the old standbys of distillation and expressing are getting face-lifts. Distillation with solvents and cold. Expressing with micro-mechanical techniques and mutated hybrid citrus.

The hydrocarbon industry has contributed with unique solvents and processes used in post chemical and post waste processing.

Lest we think that Mother Nature is out of secrets; it has recently been discovered that the scorned Durian may contain as many as 3,000 new parts of scent.

No matter what the future holds Perfumery remains a creative sensory journey full history and magic.

Ok post from naebob!

I'm so sorry I haven't written yet. New job has me so stretched thin. I can't seem to get my act together to do anything but work and sleep!

I am having fun having some money come in since I buy a bottle of perfume materials every once in awhile. I am trying to make another perfume for you but we'll see  if I like anything lol.

Good news bad news is my computer mobo died but some friends gave us parts. So now I have a new to me mobo, processor, video card. Best thing is that combined with my old vid card I have a server up and running again. Maybe I'll do something cool with it or play Minecraft again soon.

I took an online perfumery course and to finish it off I wrote 5 perfume haiku's and a history of perfume from the stone ages. I will post it and I hope you will read it.

Goose sleeping in a puddle under the only shady cloud in the grocery store parking lot.

Triple barrel hot dogs. There is a hot dog in each bun!! I got soooo addicted to these. Steve made them probably 5 times in two weeks and we even made them for Mamma.

Stevie put up a new knife rack and bought a new knife for me. I am still having trouble doing anything with my right arm including wielding giant dull knives to cut up squash lol

This beauty is my precious. Monster sharp and only 5 inches long. Lovely folded steel and made for pinch grip. I'm in love with it!

Steve made the meat and I chopped sooooo many veges with knife. Then we ate them with salad and I also ate them the entire rest of the week in tuna salad for work lunches

I even chopped fruit for a crumble cobbler.

Just a nice day.

New avatar pic I made.

Steve from a baby shower.

Voila!! 3 months of news. I haven't done much lol but I totes loves you!