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May, 14, 2019 My Feelings about Cherish and Simon
To summarize: I really love and adore these two, both individually and together.
Cherish is admittedly one of my favorite female characters and I have a low-key/high-key crush on her. Not only is she a stunning beauty but she has a heart of gold and wants to make something more of her future than to simply stay at home or freeload off of Simon; a man who is very willing to support her. She wants to support herself and give back to the man who picked her up in her hour of need. She is considerate of others' privacy and boundaries and respects them. She's also an amazing cook (At least by Simon's standards) and although she has a lot of things going for her, she also has enough faults and negative qualities to keep her realistic and balanced as a character. She is an abuse victim and that effects much of the way she socializes with males, she also has a preconceived notion that people won't like her when they meet her, she feels inferior most of the time and won't assume she is important to someone. Her growth as a character stands out to me.
Now Simon. Overall he cracks me up and I love that he is the kind of man who I would personally have eyes on, someone who is dependable yet slightly out of reach, a professional man who can still relax and have fun sometimes, a loving father and someone very VERY tolerant and accepting. He doesn't have to try and act masculine or has anything to prove, he laid his emotions out when he was most vulnerable and I LIVE for his bond with his daughter. He thinks if he gives trust and gives someone a chance that they might make the best of it and do something positive. Unfortunately although it brought him and Cherish together, that trusting and naive point of view makes him vulnerable to too many snakes slithering in the grass.
The pair of them together make for a cute family, at times they are opposite (cheap/practical vs. fine tastes/indulgent) but most of the time they have a way of fitting together like two puzzle pieces without even trying, her personality makes up for what he lacks and vice versa. They have a transparent trust and know that one will have the others back through thick and thin, though they still have a hard time opening up about the state of their friendship/relationship/what-they-are-to-one-another, reasonably because their circumstance and Cherish's overwhelming respect for his late wife. It's not as simple as "hey i'm attracted to you, you're attracted to me, let's be together" they know that there is too much to risk and are afraid to bridge that gap. I enjoy watching their relationship flourish and evolve.
May, 9, 2019 Inspiration for Simon
In the wake of the release of our newest book "Cherish and Simon: The First Year" we are doing several blogs about the characters, plot and setting of the book in these upcoming weeks!
Tonight I'll go into my inspiration behind making Simon! So for this we have to turn to a completely other story that was created before the concept for Cherish and Simon was ever dreamt up. It is a future sci-fi type of story with a character named Simon who is an advanced scientist fixated on his fathers projects to create artificial humans (this was way before the craze of human robots picked up) He created a woman who he named R.O.G.U.E. and attempted to teach and test on her as she developed into her humanity. This didn't go very well and the government came for his head once they learned of his creation and they had to go underground. I don't want to spoil too much about it but eventually we had come to like these characters so much that we wanted to make an alternate timeline or story for them and made them siblings. In this story we made them teenagers and therefore gave them parents, Simon's father was "Simon Sr" (Who is the regular Simon in our book) who looked identical to him but was very strict and Cherish was Rogue's mom who was kind and caring to Simon Jr as well as her daughter. In Simon Sr.s past he and Cherish had an affair which created Rogue ( paying homage to a Simon being Rogue's "creator"), Simon Sr. was in a loveless marriage with Susan who was Simon Jr.'s Mother and was helplessly head over heels in love with Cherish but in a position where he couldn't leave his ruthless wife. He was a politician who was having an affair with his secretary (Cherish) and the scandal had to do with people finding out their secret. Well what we didn't predict was that the Parent's story became more interesting than Simon and Rogue, we ended up creating yet another alternate timeline where Simon and Rogue are babies being raised by Simon Sr. and Cherish. And thus our book begins. So far from it's roots, Rogue's name was changed to Jasmine (A very pretty name in my opinion), Simon is changed to Simon Jr. and Simon Sr. is given the official title of simply Simon (are you confused yet? Because I know I am!) The whole circumstance of how they met, Jasmine's parentage and how their romance develops all changed for, in my opinion, the better. I wanted Simon's career to be a sort of important and successful office job that required a high pedigree and a Lawyer fit the bill. As per his religion, I was trying to think of a demographic that we hadn't incorporated into our stories yet and it just seemed to fit, when I presented the idea to Eva, she loved it and his family became Jewish. Slowly over time, we began refining their journey together and felt out deeper personalities and experiences for them, their story became so much more than we originally thought and I couldn't be prouder about the end result that we're continuing to evolve.
April, 25, 2019 The Baby Maddie Chronicles:
A Doggone Good Time
One time when Baby Maddie was in New Brunswick there were a bunch of dogs because for some reason people out in the boonies collect dogs and there was a big German Shepherd tied up to his doggy house, he could only go so far and so there was a big dirt circle surrounding the dog house beside the barn. Every time Baby Maddie would go near the dog he would jump up and try to run after her, so she'd run away from the circle and he'd get caught by the end of the chain. She was scared by the dog but wanted to get inside his house. After a while Baby Maddie decided that she was going to get a stick. Baby Maddie was having some bad ideas. Baby Maddie goes over to the dog when he had his back turned and his booty hole out in the open...... so while making sure that she was outside of the dirt circle so he couldn't bite her arms off, she put the stick in the Great Beasts booty hole, he whined and spun around and hid inside of his doggie house.... and so Baby Maddie won with a valuable lesson: When you're scared of someone, put it in their butthole.
Mar, 31, 2019 The Baby Maddie Chronicles:
Jesus Woulda Slapped Me With The Hand Of God
Down the street where her family in New Brunswick lived, there was a cotton candy colored church that her family went to that was famous for looking weird. Baby Maddie isn't going to church because she loved Jesus, she loved pretending that she was important and most of all loved the cotton candy ceiling. Now. Aunt Josie would take Baby Maddie because Baby Maddie's parents were atheist so once they got to the church Baby Maddy saw how everyone was touching the little bowl of water. Back at Swiss Chalet, they give you little lemon bowls to wash your hands in and Baby Maddie would always mistake it for lemonade and drink it. Back to church...Baby Maddie went over to the water bowl and slurped it before getting a smack from her aunt. Sitting in the "table benches" Maddie would look around with her mouth wide open and look at the stained glass windows of Jesus being killed...yaaay. then right when she was about to fall asleep out of boredom they started passing out snacks....so when her aunt got into line to go to the priest, Baby Maddie got in line too. When she got to the old man to get her little piece of cookie she reached into his bowl and got a little handful of a bunch of cookies and put them in her mouth. These cookies were the body of Christ and these cookies were the most disgusting thing Baby Maddie had ever tasted and so right in front of the priest she spat them out onto the floor. Baby Maddie wasn't allowed to go back to church with her aunt anymore.
Mar, 27, 2019 The Baby Maddy Chronicles:
Charged in Small Clams Court
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I apologize for the absence but i'm back from my trip which went amazingly well and there will soon be Instagram updates about it! This time for my blog i'm starting up something that has come to be called The Baby Maddy Chronicles which are strange or funny stories from my childhood. They can be a little messy but that's what we're all about so enjoy the hot mess and read on!
At the tender age of five, Baby Maddy's Daddy took her to go clam fishing on the beach nearby since they were on an island and love the beach. But the WAY it smelled...it was like Davy Jones britches...aka seaweed and death. After picking up a bunch of these clams, Baby Maddy only managed to pick up one clam....from the top of her dad's bucket and claimed it as her own. She named it Samantha as she named everything that she got as a pet. She told her Dad that they were not eating it and placed it in the garden outside. Thinking her sweet little clam was going to be okay while frothing-at-the-mouth out of water, Baby Maddy went to sleep. The next morning Baby Maddy ran down the steep stairs of broken legs, ran by the rabid dog Tit-Tit, and ran into the garden only to find that Samantha was dried up, frozen solid and dead. Baby Maddy was a murderer. She felt crushing guilt and took Samantha inside the house with her, ran up the stairs of doom and cried on the bed she shared with her parents. After crying for a bit she realized that she needed to hide the evidence so she put Samantha inside her Dad's pillow. A few days went by and her Dad was complaining about the smell in the room...afraid that he was going to find Samantha's body, Baby Maddy took her out of the pillow and found that she was seeping with brown slime. She went to find her baby brother in his baby seat as he looked at her with those big cute hazel eyes and curly black hair, he had just been baptized at the church and so she stuffed Samantha's body in his jumper and asked Nate to take care of Samantha before going off to play with her cousin. By the time Nate had his diaper changed.....Baby Maddy was dragged home and had her ass beat because they knew it was her, she also went for round 2 when they were packing to leave and her Daddy found a brown gooey spot on his pillow. Baby Maddy learned that when you commit murder it's better to just turn yourself in to save your ass from being red.
Mar, 10, 2019 Taking a Trip!
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Starting in 7 hours I'm going to be on a road trip to Washington DC!! I'm excited for this trip because A: I'll be in America, Land of the Eagles B: This will be a much needed vacation from work, and C: I'll be collecting some pictures and experience of the setting for an upcoming book so stay tuned for that in the future!
After I come home to sweet, cold Canada I'll be uploading pictures of the experience onto our Instagram @mw_authorsandbloggers
Love you all and thanks for the support, I'll be back to blogging next Sunday
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Mar, 5, 2019 Our Feelings: Dane and Leon
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I'm going to start this with an apology for missing my last blog but I am excited to share my opinion about these two. Both of them contribute to the story in opposite ways that mesh well together.
Dane West is the big strong silent kind of guy that is physically intimidating but when you look into his eyes all you see is a gentle giant, a big softie inside. He's reliable and sensible, close to his friends and family, vulnerable enough to be human but fearless enough to be a hero. I like him but that is about the extent of it, he is pretty fun to write as at times and perhaps that is because I myself am not that physically strong, though mostly I love him with Quinta as a pair more than just a character on his own. Their chemistry, strength and love softens my heart and the sex they have gets my gears going in my typically fervent perverted fashion, I'm just so weak for it. Sadly I find myself not able to find much more to write about him and that is my issue. He's a good character but he's not exactly "my" type of character.
The opposite could be said about my all time favorite, the man, THE LEGEND: LEEEOOOOON DELACROIIIXX!! To put it simply, Leon is my spirit animal. Many of his traits come straight from myself but most of all we share a sort of goofiness and quirk that can pull some strange looks but we also have the common sense to pull it in and be serious when the time calls, the desire to be lively for the entertainment of friends and make a scary situation lighter, to be helpful in any way. He has a deep compassion for others that runs deeper than his own self worth and well being, the type of person who wants to be a cop from the bottom of his heart solely to help people in danger. Then there's the physical part of it, I love his sharp features, blond hair, slate blue eyes and the uuuuniform, I am weak for uniforms. I love this man.
As much as I could go on about Leon, I actually really adore Dane and Leon together. Their friendship is kind of sweet to me, it starts in tension about Addie, it has it's ups and downs but gradually they start to become like brothers, able to openly joke about one another.........and i'm going to straight up admit that I have had 10003094855 thoughts about them in bed together. I don't think I could be so cruel as to have Leon take DANES massive weapon of ass destruction up his little virgin booty hole so....Dane is usually bottom in my weird ass fantasies. Neither are gay, i'm just a sick twisted fangirl that has strange gay fantasies of nearly every male she writes. It's all good.
That being said I think that about wraps up my thoughts on Dane and Leon, two iconic characters for me, otherwise known as "muh boys"
Feb, 25, 2019 Our Feelings: Quinta and Addie
I'm going to be blunt and preface this entire blog with the statement of "I love these girls". Both of them are so crucial, memorable and important to the plot as well as enjoyable to read and relate to despite the situation they are put into.
I did not make either of these characters but I am more than happy to interact with them. Quinta is near and dear to my heart, everything from her aesthetic to her accent, her genuinely hard working and practical character won me over as well as her womanly instinct to nurture those around her. She is a strong female lead who isn't afraid to also be vulnerable and human. Since Dane is my character I will explain from his point of view how she is the perfect person for someone like him. She is quiet and without saying a word can understand him with just a glance, they have a deep and innate connection that they can't explain and don't feel the need to. She is literally his soul mate. Now that I have said the sweet stuff, let me move on to the fact that she is sexy. as. all. hell. She's short, fit, thick thighs, wide hips, decent sized breasts and a drop dead gorgeous face. I'm serious when I say gorgeous, she has beautiful exotic island features, lovely cheekbones, honey brown eyes, a cute broad nose and plump plush lips. To summarize: I'm in love.
On to Addie, sweet strange Adelaide. What I love most about her is her character growth. Although all of the characters grow in their own way, I feel like she has made the most progress. She went from helpless, young and scared to someone who despite being physically weak is able to contribute to the group in one of the biggest ways. Her ability to pull herself together, mature and start her own business in a market full of sharks speaks volumes. She loves her family and would do anything in her power to protect them at all costs, Dane is the one who is usually protecting her in almost a fatherly way now but she does her part in making sure he is taken care of as well. On to that personality and boy is it a personality. I think her comedic nature and lightheartedness had some hand in the friendship that formed between her and Leon, they are similar in many ways and could goof off on a good day. She has a way of keeping a little light of hope on in the group so that even in their darkest times there is still a light and still a future ahead of them. Being that she is the youngest in the group, I feel like her representing the future is very prevalent, i'm also sure that if it came down to it all of the other characters in the group would surrender themselves for her well being, she is...in a sense the most important person, at least to them.
I'm excited to expand on their stories in the upcoming TWWOK 3 book that we are about to start writing, there is a lot more focus on Addie in this book and as for Quinta...well, I'm sad to inform you that you'll just have to wait and find out her fate for yourselves :P
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Feb, 21, 2019 Our Feelings: Sanctuary
As much as there could be a lot of bad to be said about Sanctuary, otherwise known as #816, I personally see it as a step up from the bloody, dangerous decay that lays outside of its walls and let's just say when the world is ending, beggars can't be choosers. It's either live in shit or die like shit, and hell...I'd rather be livin.
That being said, this sector is one of the least taken care of, budget and rations seem to be low for necessary resources but they are generous to those in high positions despite them not necessarily being needed or deserving of that large of a wage gap. With that in mind it's important to remember that some parts of the sector are unclean, unkempt and very much like a ghetto for regular civilians but the other side of the sector is well maintained, cleaner and more guarded.
The economy in Sanctuary leaves something to be desired, the markets aren't fair and inflation occurs from sheer greed as opposed to increased flow of money. With the lack of fair rations, citizens will find themselves scraping to get their basic necessities and will have to turn to the over priced shops for things that the rations wouldn't provide.
Then there is the leadership around this place. Completely self serving, corrupt and heartless. This is the main reason why this sector is failing so badly. The one in charge is terrible at what he does and shouldn't be in his position in the first place, he is a failure of a leader. Someone should have kicked his ass out a long time ago. No names have been said but we all know the chunk of unworthy shit that i'm talking about. Thankfully we have some good-natured people working there that are doing all they can to make Sanctuary a better place to live. Thaaank you Leon~ <3
All that being said, if I had a choice between what is outside of the walls and inside of the walls, I would choose to live in Sanctuary. Still, it's no way to live and we are excited to show what some of the other sectors are like and the giant strides some of these communities have made in restoring humanity.
Feb, 18, 2019 My Feelings: Major Jonathan Pinder
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This week is about our antagonist Major Jonathan Pinder, now coming from someone who usually loves and fawns over the villains and bad boys, I have to say that Jonathan is a very big exception.
He does exactly what his role is meant to in the story: cause tension, fear, animosity and be an ever-looming threat to our protagonists. He causes those unpleasant and disgusted emotions when reading his creepy demented look on the world and obsession with someone who wants nothing to do with him in the slightest. He puts the lives of those we care about on the line for a reason that readers can only guess. Personally, I hate his ass to hell and back and I'm not afraid to say it, but, for me...this is very strange because he's exactly the type of character I would cream over.
I've had to ask myself why on many occasions, he's a decent looking man who is broken with a redeeming back story with all of those wild and crazy traits that I usually crave but I think what concluded my feelings about him was the time that I had a look at what goes on in the desolate wasteland that is his mind and the depraved, vile things that I read and saw completely repulsed me from top to bottom, it makes me shiver in the worst way. He belongs on the dark web, the deep net, on red pages where people do the worst of the worst to innocent people and revel in it. That is Jonathan and I would like him as far away from me as possible.
That being said, watch, by a future book he'll probably be a character I like once more of his story comes to light and I might find delight in his devilish deeds. I have made absolutely psychotic and terrible characters in the past that I adored and loved every second of writing so I understand why he is a favorite to Eva.
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Feb, 10, 2019 My Feelings: Commander Decker
This week i'm talking about a character that seems to be on both sides of the controversy in the TWWOK series, Decker. Decker was a character that was meant to give some kind of authority figure to our group but as the series goes on he becomes a more mysterious and scary person, blurring the lines between friend and enemy. For Leon he is someone close to him and crucial to his past, so to have someone he respected and aspired to be like end up possibly being one of the people that they feared and had something to do with the government schemes going on, it creates a lot of inner turmoil for our Canada-born cop.
Jan, 30, 2019 What Inspired Me To Make Leon
Unlike Dane, Leon didn't come to me fully completed in my mind, he was always a work in progress and born out of the possibility of him needing to pick up Dane's story line and carrying it once he passed on.
At first I wanted Leon to be an authority figure, someone who was armed, perhaps a member of SWAT who survived when the outbreak happened in the middle of a mission. He was a character that was surviving with a small group of other cops and SWAT members who were using their resources to help others survive and that was when he came across Dane, Quinta and Addie. That "small group" evolved into being the Sanctuary and it became a much larger nest of lies and betrayel. He also started out pretty firm, commanding and no-nonsense....BOY did that change. Accidentally my personality got poured into his character.
This happened when Eva and I started playing zombie games together. Mostly Left 4 Dead and Dead Island, pretending that our characters were in the game to try and get a feel for the atmosphere or fighting styles we would like to give them, it was a good stress reliever and fun to actually see what our characters would be like in that situation. I would mostly play as Leon but unfortunately I am terrible at zombie games and can't aim to save my life so I was terrible at it. To compensate, I was my typical strange quirky self, cracking jokes every time something terrible would happen and make terrible excuses when I screwed up and Eva would in turn call me an idiot while laughing. That sort of comedic relief became a big part of his character, he is optimistic and looks at the humor in life where everything else is dry and desolate, he isn't afraid to be silly if it means making others smile. He knows when to be serious when it matters and does his job regardless of his personality, he believes in doing anything to help others and is really very stubborn and steadfast at times, he doesn't give up and pulls through to the end even if it seems impossible.
I wanted him to be a character that lightens the tone of the story in tandem to Addie who gives a refreshing young perspective, he helps the other characters loosen up and relax, it's hard to be scared with a reliable idiot around. It is also why in the end I decided to make him French Canadian as a sort of homage to my own roots, he is one of my top favorite characters and my top for this book series, I love to write as him and his character growth in the plot line makes me proud.
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Jan, 27, 2019 What Inspired Me To Make Dane
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When we first began making this story and filling it with ideas and plot-line, the original intention was to have disposable characters, meaning that if a character died from a bad decision or unfortunate encounter then they would permanently die and we would make another character carry on the story from there. That is when Dane started.
I decided I wanted to write a character that could do brave things like wander the apocalypse alone and fight close handed melee with the undead despite their grotesque danger. Typically bravery comes from foolish recklessness but in the case of this character, I made him this brave because he wasn't scared of death, it was already an expectation he had in the long run and had very little to live for aside from making sure his sister got into capable hands before he passed on, I made him terminally ill with the intention of having him die by the end of book 1. I wanted him to be someone who despite dying gradually was naturally physically equipped, someone who was very tall, muscular but quiet, like his days alone in the hospital and his past of losing his friends had affected him which only became worse once the world died. I made him likeable and helpful which gave a sort of tragic feeling knowing that despite his chemistry with Quinta and the bond he has with Addie, they were going to lose him because of something that can't be helped. He's practical and protective, placing the needs of those around him ahead of his own because from his point of view they have so much more to live for, everything for him is temporary. I felt like because of his point of view and willingness to save others made him a good candidate to be a sort of "Hero" character for our books.
Now, despite wanting to be faithful to our intention to have disposable characters, Dane, Addie, Quinta and Leon became a lovable group that we just couldn't split up so easily, they had much more chemistry than we intended but it became a big reason why I love writing this story so much.
Jan, 20, 2019 Relaxing with Video Games
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Every once in a while to relieve some stress I like to play video games, they've always been a passion and an outlet for me since I was a child and I'm astonished with how far they've come since then. Although there are some intense settings with hyper-realistic graphics, endless action and adventure, sometimes the type of game I want to play to let loose are the ones which are slow paced, take time and grow. Those who have played Harvest Moon, The Sims, Animal Crossing or any sort of tycoon will understand what sort of satisfaction I'll be talking about.
Harvest moon is a game series that I got into pretty late and if I were to have to describe it to someone offhand I'd probably call it "Farmville before Farmville", the graphics are rounded and chibi-fied but somehow still complete and fulfilling to look at, it adds a softness and ease to the game-play that immediately puts me off edge, the music is lulling or bouncy when it needs to be, the village characters are sweet and give the world in each game a sense of being full and having purpose so you actually feel a drive to make your farm the best it can be to help the community. The farming part is what i find to be the most therapeutic, taking the time and patience to till your land, plant the seeds and nurture them until they start showing results. It's the same formula for the animals, if you take good care of them and feed them regularly, they'll grow into big meaty, healthy livestock.
I won't go on much about Animal Crossing because it is a very similar concept but with a slightly more animal friendly and puppet look to everything, there are some differences of course like being in real time, not having much of a discernible plot-line and no farming but the concept of gathering bells, making friends with locals and creating something of your own are similar enough for me to skim over.
I'm going to preface this by saying: This is Eva's favorite game. Her addiction. She loves this game to the ends of the earth and it shows in her extensively successful baby farm that she has kept up for years on end. The Sims. That is a huge franchise that takes me back to my prepubescent years and oh how far it has come. Unfortunately there are some things about the original and being the original that they just couldn't replicate in the sequels but in lieu of that they improved on making The Sims so much more personal and customizable. I find it exciting to wind down playing a successful doctor with a penchant for theater on his off days or be a young socialite who lives in condo and works as a social media mogul, maybe play a life as sweet but humble trailer trash or go full hippie living without a house and just with a plot full of nature and love. The possibilities in this game are endless and the options are ever-growing with a constant stream of DLC and additions, the game makes it capable to create any person you want, any path you've wanted to take and play out a fantasy life where you can achieve goals, learn skills and create friends with anyone you want to if you're stubborn enough.
In the end, for me it's all about reward, rewards that show thanks to your efforts and that is the part that I feel is most fulfilling. In life you have to be patient to see the results of your hard work and dedication, it can be hard to do your best and you still can't see what you got out of it, especially when life sets you back at times. Being able to play and fulfill that sense of accomplishment while in between real successes in life is very helpful in my opinion.
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Jan, 16, 2019 Rainbow Hair Journey
I've never been a cosmetologist and I never went to beauty school but once I became a teenager I dabbled with changing my hair. As a young child I had long dark hair that flowed past my skirt but after my first bobbed haircut that all changed because I saw a door open when it came to the hair on my head.
You see, my mother has had grey hair since her early 20s and has been dyeing it ever since, it became easier for her to do when she could get me to help her once I became old enough and when I realized I could dye my moms hair, I knew I could dye mine too. From then on bleach, ammonia, peroxide, dye colors, permanent, semi, demi, etc. they were all things that I learned from and experienced with the good, bad and the ugly. A few examples would be the time that I bleached my hair and damaged my scalp so bad from rubbing it into my roots that I ended up getting lice within the month, I've unintentionally made my hair a sickly green and the time that I cut my hair so short in one spot that I had a bald patch on the top of my head and wore a hat for a whole year.
Experience is bred from Mistakes.
I only worked with permanent box dyes for the longest until I moved out into the city and saw what a beauty supply story looked like, there was also the invention of YouTube that was in full swing with user experience of how they got to "perfect pearl pink" or "dark mermaid waves". This is where I learned about vibrant semi and demi permanent colors and it changed my identity.
I wanted to have white hair for the longest time, my favorite anime characters had it, unique and evil characters in movies had it, I needed it and I wanted it. Back in Madeline's box dye days there was no option to go white but things had changed. It took a lot of trail and error but step by step I managed to lift my thick strong hair up to a pale yellow and once the blue toner touched it, it became a beautiful silver white color that I was LIVING for.
I rocked this look for as long as I could manage and boy was it an uphill climb, with every shower I was met with the yellow menace, the natural hue of my hair trying to fight through the toner and throw my whole look off. It took a careful balance of blue hair dye and conditioner to make sure it covered the sickly pee color in my hair but didn't go so far as to take me to pale blue locks. With the damage that my ends took from this whole process, I took my long snowy witch hair to a short white bob, I was living my YoRHa No.2 Type B fantasy.
Eventually our good friend Eva did me a solid and told me it looked terrible on me. Oh how cruel you are, reality. Thankfully we have honest friends. From there I went to a pale bubblegum pink, Miku Hatsune mint, vibrant teal, emerald green and a ghostly violet. This is where the pastel train left the station because I went right into rich, deep colors starting with a deep gem-toned Magenta, hot hot pink, firetruck red, dark blue and now we have come full circle to a deep dark violet which looks magnificent with the abundance of new growth on my head.
Which brings me to my last point. After going through all of these changes in the past two years I saw a lot new hair growth and in that new growth came my mothers genetics. Dear lord save me. I always hear "you can always grow new hair" as a way to rationalize some radical hair decisions but I think while we make our hair match our fashion fantasies, we forget the genuine beauty in our hair that our parents gave us. I have a natural rich chocolate hair color that I used to be praised for but that color is testing to change on me. Before I started my grey hair transformation I had maybe 3 grey hairs at the supple age of 25, now that I've let my hair grow out I've counted up to 42 grey hairs that have come from my ripe 27 year old head.
I've decided for now to let my natural hair shine it's own beauty. I've done it all and I've seen some looks on me but my natural hair color isn't something that I can get back if I don't let it shine while it's still here. I have a lot more in-depth advice and stories to tell about my hair journey and I look forward to branching out into more blogs about it
Let me know what you think and leave any suggestions on what you may like to hear about, whether it be asking for advice or sharing your own story. Thank you for reading <3
Jan, 13, 2019 The Pets of a Lifetime: Here and Now, More to Come
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Now that I have moved away from my hometown, I live with my Fathers dog Ellie, she is a pale blond terrier mix who has a strangely calm and human air about her, she has her cute moments and a deep unshakeable desire for treats until the end of time.
Here is the real light of the show, my cat Sugar. Yes, you heard me, a cat. I know i'm a traitor but hear me out. Sugar used to be my best friends cat, she adopted her from the humane society and was an incredibly shy and scared cat. Sugar was mute and suspected to be deaf because she was a full white long haired cat with green eyes, she lived in the closet and refused contact with everyone for almost a year when she slowly but surely opened up. One day she was accidentally locked in the bathroom for a night and made a strange screech to alert my friend to where she was. Sugar was no longer mute but made small light sighs for meows. This was the cat I knew when I would come to visit and I always saw her as the ideal and only type of cat I ever wanted, I would joke to my friend that I would take her home one day and that day came.
When my friend got pregnant, her already needy cat became a problem with jealousy for the baby, she couldn't handle having Sugar anymore so she asked me to take her. I don't think I've ever begged so strongly for anything in my life as I did when i plead to my Dad who quickly denied me, he hated cats, my Mom hated cats and my Step-mom hated cats. Surprisingly, my Step-mom suggested a trial week and I took it, my Dad fell in love with Sugar before we even left my friends house and to this day it's impossible to imagine that he didn't want her because he spoils her, adores her and talks to her several times a day.
I expected Sugar to be shy and avoid me and I was concerned but it was all for no reason, within the first night she crawled into bed with me and slept against my chest and from then on we have been inseparable, never before have I become so close to a pet as I have with Sugar. At first it was a bit of a struggle to take care of an animal that I had no experience or previous knowledge of but thanks to Eva who walked me through all the steps I was able to give Sugar the care she needs and it made us closer. She meows at me like she's talking, whines for attention so she can lay in my arms like a baby, cries when I leave my room, follows me to the bathroom, meows at me to go to bed with her and she's there for me in my lowest moments when I need to have a good cry.
Now that I've talked about animals from my past and present, what is to come in the future? I'll be moving into my own place soon and with that comes the ability to own whatever animal I want. I know it is an unpopular opinion but I have a passion for spiders, I think they are fascinating, cute and definitely a pet I really want to have. I want a Grammostola pulchra (Brazilian Black Tarantula), a Brachypelma auratum (Mexican Flame Knee Tarantula) and the adorable Phidippus regius (Regal Jumping Spider). I also yearn to own a Ball Python of any morph but I would obviously love to have a snow morph and a Crocodile Skink which looks strikingly like a baby dragon. Fear not, my love for canines is still very much alive and well and I still want to get another Shih Tzu like my childhood dog, as well as an Alaskan Malamute.
Some people may see animals as creatures below them but I see so much soul and personality in animals that I will never agree, please comment below and let me know about your pets, share their story about the good times and the bad. Thank you for reading <3
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Jan, 10, 2019 The Pets of a Lifetime
In general I think it would be safe to say that most people like animals, it shows in the huge amount of people who have at some point owned pets and dedicate at least some portion of their life to them. Some people couldn't care less for pets but for those who do I wanted to share some details about some of the pets in the past that I've owned and treasure the memories of to this day.
As a kid I always wanted a dog, I was obsessed with my neighbours dogs, I loved them and was only interested in having one when it came to pets. Finally a Neighbours dog was having a litter of puppies and we were coming home with one, she was a sweet little tricolor Shihtzu in white, brown and black that we named Gidget and as much as I loved her to bits, it turned out that she wasn't exactly a fan of children in the least, in fact she liked to scrunch up her face, growl and bite. Despite all of this, over time we built up a bond and she was the light of my life for a long time to come.
After a couple of years around Christmas, my parents had me open a present which was a small stuffed Wishbone doll and for those who aren't aware, Wishbone was a show in the 90s that depicted a smart dog that would solve problems with his knowledge of classic literature and tell the story to the audience. Needless to say it was one of my favorite shows. When I opened the present I was overjoyed to have this toy but it only got better because my parents let me know that it meant that I was going to be able to pick a puppy out of Gidget's litter and have a puppy of my very own. Once Gidget gave birth, I was able to hold a puppy and I instantly fell in love, this was the puppy I wanted and I named her Samantha because at the time it was the name of my best friend in school. Samantha was rambunctious, lively and very dumb which coined her the name in the family which was "Dopey Dog" she was my favorite and I rarely did anything that didn't involve her.
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Sadly, one day I played with Gidget too much and ignored her warnings, she bit me on my face and did a lot of damage. I had covered up the other times she bit me and left marks but this time I couldn't hide it and she was given away but thankfully it was to my uncle and since Gidget was going, her daughter Samantha went with her. I was so disappointed but knowing that they were still in the family gave me solace, at least until I got the news that my precious Samantha had gotten out from the backyard and got hit by a car, passing on. I was devastated.
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Years later, my Dad managed to get Gidget back in his care in the end of her life and I really got to bond with her again full circle and be there until the last day of her life. My relationship with Gidget is very special and meaningful to me and I cherish it even now.
Over time I tried to put the idea of having a dog in the home behind me, I dreamed of a day when I would grow up and have all the dogs I could handle. Here comes Mocha. Eventually my Mom met my Stepfather who owned a dog named Mocha, she was a beautiful American chocolate lab and despite us not having had a dog for years she fit in perfectly. She was the rascal of the house and could suck in food faster than Kirby himself, my Mother became incredibly attached to her and Mocha followed her around like a shadow.
Here comes double the trouble because someone who had an English chocolate lab couldn't take care of him anymore and so Buddy came to our house on a trial to know if we wanted to keep him and although he was beyond a handful from eating batteries, chewing shoes and devouring Mocha's food, he won us over with his winning charm. For me it was love at first sight, he was old, had mange and was very skinny but he was so lively and happy to see me that I sat on the floor and he rolled around in my lap soaking up the affection and begging me with his youthful eyes not to let him go. Thankfully after training him and treating him right for many years he has a shiny full coat, he is muscular and strong but he was still dumb as a stump. Huh, now that I think about it, I think I see a pattern in my preferences. Sadly, Mocha passed on from arthritis and Buddy is late in his years but thankfully he is still as young in his soul as he was the day we met.
So far all i've talked about were Dogs but over the years I had owned two hamsters and two toads. My first hamster I creatively named Hamtaro after my favorite show, my dad told me I wasn't getting one and guess what, he got me one on Christmas like a total G-Unit and once that hamster inevitably passed, my dad replaced him with a white hamster that I named Bijou from the same damn show. Although they were my hamsters my dad ended up having a very endearing affection toward them when he cared for them while I was away.
I found a toad in the window well of a local church on a hot summer day and upon finding many charred, crusty corpses of frogs in there I took it on myself to bring him home without permission and care for him. He earned the name Gamabunta for all of you weeaboo Naruto fans out there. When my little brother found out, he brought home another toad for the same reason, I took her in and wouldn't you know, I named her Gamakichi. There isn't much to say about them aside from that they would sit on my hand and "watch" TV with me, that and Gamakichi would spend most of the day sitting on Gamabuntas head which was adorable in its own right.
I could jokingly say that I once owned a clam and worm but that would be another story for another time. Please feel free to share all of the stories you have of previous pets, the ones that you'll remember for one reason or another, the good and bad. Thank you for reading <3
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Jan, 6, 2019 Budgeting for Life
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There comes a time for everyone to fly the coop and set off on their own path in life, but in this day and age how are we supposed to afford this with the inflating market? When I was told I would need to find a place of my own I found myself asking this question, though I admit not as calm or eloquently. Setting my panic aside I began looking at all of my options and planned out a budget and to my horror found that despite being in debt I had been making a lot of money on a monthly basis, more than enough, so what was the issue? Irresponsibility. It turns out that although the economy is hard right now I was doing myself no good service in throwing my money down the proverbial garbage disposal and so I cut out things like fast food, entertainment and subscriptions in favor of couponing and cooking from home, using free games and books and cutting off all unnecessary monthly payments. In just two weeks I looked at my account only to be amazed by how much progress I made with such small changes, sometimes all it takes is a little shift to make a world of difference. Hopefully, given that I stay true to my budget and goals, moving out on my own won't be so bad after all.
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Jan, 1, 2019 Goals For The New Year...Sort of
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With 2019 comes the new prospect and opportunity to open a door to a dream. As with every year, 2018 came with it's hardships and frustrations from arguing with friends to losing family members, as well as developing on budding ideas and preparing for something better. Starting today i'm opening a new chapter of my life with the opening of this blog and publishing of our books.
That being said, I'll be honest and say that I've never liked new years celebrations, nor do i believe in the power of it's resolutions. Even from a young age I was irked at the idea of being forced to create goals for the new year, given a paper in school to fill out all of the things I wanted to achieve and hand it in to be graded, I always lied and wrote generic things without much thought or feeling.
This year is very different from the others. This time I do have a goal; a dream for people to read our work, to see what we have created and like it just as much as we do. I want to create something successful out of a hobby that I've done with love and passion every day for countless years and bring it to the public to see.
I'm sure with everyone's support and our ambition that by 2020 I will have even more to wish for and look forward to in the upcoming year.