Story Development and Weaponised Saliva



It's been a big, bad week on the depression-scale( I'd give it an 8), these weeks happen, they're a pain but it's a fact of life - for me anyway.

Sunday

Total YouTube-Day! I couldn't even guess how many DIY videos I watched for homemade cosmetics, skincare and tips/tricks for natural ways to deal with my infuriating face. I hate my skin *sad face* - it just gets worse as I get older. I developed acne when I was 24, same age I started going grey, then I started to notice dry patches of skin on my usually oily face; my skin literally drinks make-up, which is why I don't tend to wear a lot of it. The most interesting tip I learnt was using Calamine Lotion to treat acne, I use it in place of toner because toner burns! No idea if it works yet but we'll see.

I love a good, lazy Sunday, just relaxing, pampering and mentally preparing for the week ahead. Unfortunately my relaxing day was followed by a night of terrifying dreams where I was forced to watch people being eaten and then I was murdered - What!? (I don't like my brain sometimes.)

 

Monday

Such an irritating day - I must have received at least 6 text messages/phone calls from people asking me about my 'recent car accident'! I don't even drive and I think I would remember being in an accident; where do these people get my phone number? And why do they always sound pissed off when I tell them I have no idea what they're talking about? I never asked them to phone me! I was already tired and grumpy - all those calls did was exacerbate my bad mood.

 

Tuesday

I still hadn't caught up on my sleep and was pretty shattered, cue massive migraine, however, I got a lot of research done in regards to story/character development thanks to www.tvtrope.org who even had anime examples in their descriptions! It really helped me develop a clearer outline as well as spur my imagination to create better back-stories for my characters. I had some visitors (which never happens); my sister and nephew stopped by for a while and we ended up blowing up balloons and letting them go so they flew around the room. Sounds really stupid I know but Jesse thought it was hilarious and kept bringing the balloons back to be re-inflated, then they got all gross and 'spitty' and I had to shield myself while I got pelted with them! Thanks Lois.

 

Wednesday

Food-Day! I'm ridiculously frugal when it comes to buying food and I make sure that what I buy will last until I go shopping again, which means I get super excited for going food shopping because I have nothing to eat by then. When I got home I stuffed my face with homemade pizza, spaghetti and bananas with chocolate peanut butter - never had it before and oh my! I've just been eating it straight from the jar it's that good, plus it's certified vegan. As for 'work', I completed a full plan for the first issue of my comic/novel (not sure what to call it) which, after talking about it for so long, I am hoping to have posted the beginning of May; fingers-crossed. I can confirm that it will be called Folk-Lore, the first arc will be titles The Two World's Arc and the first issue is (probably) going to be 'Hello Uncle'.



Thursday

I got a £200 gas bill - what? Clearly someone has cocked that one up - I never have my heating on, I sit wrapped up in a duvet like an old lady so I'm never cold enough, or I'm already warm enough (does that make sense?). So I'm waiting for an explanation from British Gas about that, and an apology for the mild stroke they gave me.

 

Friday

Another job interview: I did not want to go to this! I was feeling pretty bad, still exhausted, completely unable to concentrate on anything or engage my brain in any way and I had to try and impress a panel of interviewers before taking a skills test *cries like Snoopy*. I don't think it went well but thankfully, and to my great relief, I got a call about last week's interview and have been asked to work a trial-day for a Property Administrator Apprenticeship. I know writer, illustrator and administration isn't a common mix of interests but my interests are 'creatively exhausting' and I find that organising information relaxes my mind. Not that writing/drawing stresses me in the normal sense; if any of you have experience with anxiety you'll know that often, when you get really into something and get really enthusiastic/excited about it, you can find it too stimulating. Personally, I find that if I get to that point and keep pushing past it, my hands and arms will start to tense and my brain will kind of buzz, which is usually a sign that it is way past midnight and I should go to bed. I need structure to stay sane I suppose. Coincidentally, Friday night was one of these times as I stayed up to work more on that thing that haunts my waking moments a.k.a. the giant egg. I must say I'm quite amazed at how it's progressing - it actually looks egg-shaped! I have 11 days to finish it - gulp. I'll post a picture once it's finished and possibly a video of my nephew smashing it open (while I cry).

Peter - original NAHB

 

Saturday

It's today! I really wanted to sleep in today, I stayed up until almost 2am and yet, when I rolled over to check the time this morning it was 7.16am! Why? Just why? I couldn't believe it, I would have been less annoyed it had said 7.16pm, that's how badly I wanted to catch up on my z's.  Today has been a total anime-binge-fest; I have watched back-to-back episodes of Bleach (Season 13 in it's entirety) and discovered a new show called Maken-Ki: Battle of Venus. I'm 10 episodes into Maken-Ki and am really enjoying the story, even if it's a little pervy and someone's flashing their boobies and/or their 'panties' every 5 minutes. I'm currently listening to Kerrang! and trying to decide which design program and graphics tablet to invest in - nothing too expensive of course; I'm still poor.

 

So, it's been a busy week, I just wish I could have enjoyed it a bit more. All I can do is hope next week will be better, there's going to be a trip to the vet (for Peter), a work trial and a mad rush to finish the egg before Jesse's birthday

 

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything - Bible



What I Bought in Whitby and Reviews

Today I am going to go through everything I bought during my trip to the seaside on Wednesday and my thoughts on the products; so far there are clear winners and loser amongst my purchases.

So, the first shop I visited was Seashells and Gemstones (I think that's the name):

The crystals I chose are Amethyst and Citrine, both rough cut rather than gemstones as I already have gemstones of each. I prefer crystals in their natural form where possible, however, it is much easier to pop a gemstone into my pocket than a chunk of rough crystal, and I never leave the house without at least one. I have always used Amethyst for meditation and like to have it when I am doing a card reading, it's properties include protection and the ability to enhance psychic abilities. Citrine is a new favourite that was suggested to me by my psychic to help with concentration/focus, it is known to absorb negative energies and encourage success - it was recommended specifically to help me with my low feeling of self-worth. The tiger's eye pendant was also to encourage self-worth and to bring me courage - it was tested the very next day when I wore it to an exam; I was ill, had achieved zero sleep the night before and was in the grips of an anxiety attack that made me want to run  from the exam room only half way through the test! I stuck through it however and managed an 89% result even though I skipped several questions in order to get the hell out of there before I threw up.

My new wax melter is by far my favourite purchase from Seashells and Gemstones. It is a wax melter by Heart & Home, it was £9.99, and I love it. It's so dainty and decorative, plus I don't like air  fresheners because I am always worried about inhaling chemicals, and I prefer to burn incense normally but not any more. I actually received a Collectables wax melt gift set for Christmas that I am only now able to use and I am obsessed with them! The scents are subtle and yet they fill the whole room for hours.

When we go to Whitby, my sister has to pay a visit to Honeyz Handmade Bath Products for their handmade soaps and bath-bombs, which I tried for the first time recently.

The Jelly Baby Soap was £3 and it smells like wine gums, not jelly babies, but it's so cute and reasonably prized for the size, plus it doesn't dry out the skin like most soaps I have tried. They do have larger bath-bombs than the ones I bought, some shaped like cupcakes and various other desserts, however they were far too big for my liking and the smaller bombs were only ten for £2.25. The scents were had names like Ocean Breeze, Mango, Baby Powder etc. The mango is the only one I have tried so far but I only used one in my bath, which smelt great at first, but the scent had dissipated by the time the bath was full - so I have to remember two are needed.

Finally, my most 'important' buy of the day, and the one I was most enthusiastic about trying, was definitely the Deep Sleep Oil from Totally Natural Skincare.

After several sleepless nights I went straight to Totally Natural to look for anything to help me. I have been to this store many times before, usually for their headache roll-on remedy, and I know my brother-in-law's mother swears by their arthritis cream so I had high hopes for this oil - which was the only product in the Insomnia section. Honestly, I am not impressed yet, though I am unsure how much of it to apply; the instructions say to apply the oil to the chest and neck area before bed and it sinks in quite quickly. The scent and overall effect is quite calming, although the main scent (sweet almond oil) is powerful and not something I enjoy, however, I didn't sleep at all the first night I used it, so I don't think it should be branded as an insomnia remedy.

So, those are my top buys from Whitby and what I am thinking of them so far; some clear winners and definitely some disappointments. Regardless, it was a great day and I would rate my mood that day as: Very Happy Bunny.