So I realize I haven’t posted in a looong time, whoops. Been super busy with work and stuff. But I would just like to mention that I got married back in September~ yep, I’m a married woman now. Things are going well so far.

So it’s been a good while since my last post. So much has happened in the last several months…where do I start?
-I did a couple of discussions on Skype with a musician that I’ve been a fan of for years. It was fun. (one chat in June, and one chat in October)
-In mid-October, I was let go from my job. Applied for unemployment benefits, and am looking for a new job in the meantime.
-I had an ultrasound done on my thyroid back in late September, where they found some large nodules. I had a biopsy done on said nodules in early November, and was then told they were “suspicious” for ‘bad’ type of cell, and would need to have surgery.
Fast forward to present, and I’m up here in SD with my family while I wait on surgery, which will be happening on January 14th. It will be a total thyroidectomy, because we’re not sure what exactly is going on in my thyroid there. =x Hopefully this will reveal the truth.
This has definitely been a year, I tell ya.

So I realize that I still have some story ideas floating around. I even have some stories that are currently in progress, but because of work and being focused more on my art, I haven’t touched them in some time. I really need to make sure I don’t get too rusty with those. I mean, ever since I submitted that story for that contest in 3rd grade (and got disqualified because they didn’t believe I had written it cuz it was “too advanced for an eight year old”) I’ve been motivated to write more, just to prove to myself and others that I could write.
Most of my stories involved my black cat character Benjamin and his many adventures in and around the Forest Peak community. Then there’s some other characters I have that I want to write stories about, including my dragons (I’ve written a couple stories with them, and I have Catherine Goldanre’s story in progress as well).
Stories about pirates (heavily inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean films, stories about wizards and magic, and then a big adventure story to gather 10 mystical gems to defeat this evil chimera that some bad guys are threatening to release upon the world. And some other stories…so many ideas kicking around in my head. Just need to find time to sit down and write them out.

Today I celebrated my 29th birthday. Got a few gifts, including a bit of money, had lunch at Red Lobster (so full of food!), but also managed to get a small dinner and then have some cake. I’d say overall it was a good day. Now to fall asleep due to this food coma, blah!

Spring has officially begun in the Northern Hemisphere.
Things are pretty hectic though, due to the Coronavirus hitting all the states and forcing people to stay home. I don’t mind it too much, considering I’m pretty introverted and I don’t usually go out much in the first place (unless it’s for a show or something).
Also, I am appalled at how RACIST some people have been lately, due to this virus originating from China. I’m like “ya’ll should be ASHAMED of yourselves.” I just…don’t get it. Why do you gotta be like this? I’ve lost respect for some people, and it makes me just want to not be around folks much. Hopefully this thing blows over quickly… =/

Fall was upon the city of Pecan Hollow, a small city somewhere between Dallas and Houston. The temperature was the perfect degree, not too hot, but not cold either. The leaves were starting to shift into their fall colors, decorating the trees with lovely hues of red, orange, and yellow. And for one young woman, this was going to be a good day for her. That is, until her sleep was interrupted by a loud yell from downstairs.
“Fiona! Get yer butt in gear! We gotta go into town and get the fall stuff!” The woman groaned, slowly waking up. She rubbed her eyes, blinking away the sleepiness. Pushing the covers off, she slowly shuffled to the bathroom, then returning to her room to get dressed. A small chittering noise was heard, and she looked down to find her pet armadillo, Frank, sniffing at her leg, bumping his head against her.
“Heh, morning to you too, buddy.” She smiled, giving the critter a small pat on the head. The scaled animal wagged its small tail at her, before running over and going to find his bowl of food. Yes, she did have a pet armadillo. But she had taken care of him for years, and he seemed to behave and act like any other pet might. As she finished putting on her pants, she glanced at herself in the mirror, fixing her hair slightly. She grabbed her hat from the hook, and headed out and down the stairs. Her mother was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Fiona grabbed a piece of toast and began to spread some peanut butter on it.
“Morning mom.” She said, scooping some eggs onto her plate, and grabbing a couple of bacon strips too.
“Morning dear. Your father is loading up the truck for the errands. He said you offered to help out with the shopping.”
“Yeah, I know. I heard him earlier.” A low chittering sound made her jump slightly, as Frank was sitting by her chair, looking up her. “No Frank, you can’t have any. I put food in your bowl.” The armadillo seemed to grumble, but continued to look at her, expecting a treat. “You’re such a mooch. Besides, I can’t give you this stuff, it’s not meant for ‘dillos.” She tapped the critter on his nose, making him scoot away and shuffle back over to his food bowl. Fiona soon finished her breakfast, and stood up, wiping her face with the napkin.
“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Have fun. And be careful. I heard there were a couple of accidents over the last few days due to distracted drivers. And I’d rather not have come get you if you go into a ditch or something.”
“Don’t worry mom, we’ll be careful. Shouldn’t be out for too long anyway, if things go well.”

I realize that I haven’t done much story writing in a while. I’ve been writing stories on and off since I was 8, and I’m not about to give that up. Can’t let the art take up all my time, after all. So expect maybe 1-2 short stories over the fall months. Still figuring out the idea, but I have a couple of thoughts so far.

So I haven’t been able to do much writing on this as I hoped. Between working up to 40 hours per work week at my job, and doing art commissions in between, I’ve been super exhausted. Not too much has really happened though. Been to a few concerts, bf finished his teaching for the spring semester, and is preparing to do a couple of summer classes. Adulting is hard, lol.
I will say though, I’m getting a little better at budgeting. Now that I have a decent income, I can put stuff away to save…or so I think. Driving 20 miles to and from work most days really uses up the gas, so I’ve had to fill up more often than I’d like.
Also, it’s been kind of a major emotional rollercoaster for me, with working so much. I’ve also found out that some people…are not as helpful as they’re supposed to be. Some people don’t have a good work ethic, and I’ve found that out the hard way. I’m doing ok at work, but I get made fun of because I ask a bunch of questions (well, I want to make sure I’m doing things correctly), and because I struggle to do certain tasks. I really hate that…I do. I think I’m experiencing some serious burnout though…I’ve found myself extremely frustrated, having lashed out at coworkers a couple of times in the past, and very tired. But I know I need to work because I need the money, and because I would just be sitting at home most of the time anyway. Hopefully things improve…I need a break. =/

So this month has certainly been interesting. I thought I would still be unemployed for another month, but fate has been kind and I managed to acquire a job about midway through the month. I’m working at the Walmart in Brenham as a Fresh Production Associate. I work about 32 hrs/week (which is 4 days), doing 8 hour shifts from 1-10 pm (with a 1 hour break for a meal, plus two 15 minute breaks!!). I got my first paycheck after doing orientation and my first day of training, and it was not too shabby (11 hours of pay). My next check is going to be pretty big, and everything after that.
At least I’m guaranteed hours at this job, unlike my previous job where my hours were cut dramatically. I mean, it was a nice job, but the low hours were hurting me…And considering I’m living in my own place now (with my boyfriend), I really need to bring in some income if I want to help with expenses.

Even though my work place is 20 miles drive from where I live, I’m not complaining. Sure my gas costs will be a bit more, but I think my income will balance that out.

Anyway, I think I’ll only be able to post once this month, so consider this my January blog post. I’ll try to post more than once in the next few months, but that depends on how busy I’ll be.

    New Year’s Eve is here. The final day of the year. The end of 2018. And what a year it’s been. There’s been good (I moved to Texas to live with my boyfriend after spending many years being in a long distance relationship), the bad (my maternal grandmother passed away at the end of August), but mostly good (I’m an aunt now because my sister had a baby in February, which I’m still trying to wrap my head around).
Personally, I’ve been dealing with some down moments in my life (financial issues, mental health issues, and just general stress daily). Being on the autism spectrum, I already have to work a bit harder to make it through the week without getting super overwhelmed by stuff. I mean, I’m better than I used to be in the past, but things like making phone calls, for example, is still difficult (I have this weird phone anxiety). I hope to improve with this in the new year and going forward.
On another note, I was pretty productive with artwork this year. I completed a total of 514 images this year. My most productive month was October, with 85 images completed, and my least productive month was August, with just 23 images completed (but I chalk that up to being busy with the move from South Dakota to Texas during that time). My goal each month is to complete at least 30 images per month, which is 1 picture a day. My record for most pictures completed in 1 month was 100 pictures done in a month (back in December a few years ago…which was insane and I don’t think I’ll do that much in a month again). I have a goal for 2019 to procrastinate less and complete the artwork in a more timely manner (usually I can finish a picture in 1-2 weeks, but sometimes it’s dragged on for a month or more, oops).
Also, a goal for 2019 is to get a job, because I’ve been out of work since August after moving, and I’ve had no luck (thus far) with finding employment here in Texas. I’ve been submitting applications left and right, but no leads yet. I thought I had one a couple months back, but I never got a call back, so that was disappointing. But I’m sure something will turn up soon (at least I hope so, otherwise I’m going to have a bit of trouble paying my bills…and I’d hate to beg for money).
Anyway, I guess to wrap this all up, I just want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. And I will try to post something to this blog at least once a month, perhaps more if I have time. 🙂