HOOYEAH! Fluffeh, my gigantor computer, is ALIVE! Best Buy's Geek Squad brought him back from the dead, and I'm totally back for more shenanigans!

Okay, in truth, I never really left to begin with, but this means that I can at least post a few arts that I make on the computer. Not sure if my all in one printer was just screwing up with the computer or not, so I'll have to test it later.

But since they only had to replace the video card, they didn't have to wipe my system again. So I don't have to reinstall a bunch of stuff again. I still need to install some things from my previous wipe, but at least it's not square one. Glee!
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Aside from my computer news, I have another story.

It looks like my Grandma is coming to visit for Christmas! My Grandma (on my Dad's side) lives in Texas, and I haven't seen her in a few years. My Dad has been a little homesick lately, so he decided to invite her up here. She bought plane tickets to come up on Christmas Eve and stay until the Tuesday afterwards. It will be nice to see her, but I'm not sure what all we're going to do that week. Grandma is kind of 'get up and go', while we're kind of homey, I suppose. The only real downside for her visiting is that I have to sleep on the couch for a few days since we let her take my room. I remember she came to stay for Christmas a while ago, and she ended up leaving hand lotion on my doorknob, which was kinda funky. All this means that I have to clean my room, which I spent a few hours on today, but it hardly looks like I did anything. It sucks, I've completely grown out of my room! I need to get rid of some things, but I know it won't make much space. >.o

Hope everyone's Holiday season is going well.

||Remember, there are people less fortunate than we are, so in this season of giving, lend a hand if you can, and accept what receive graciously.||

Toodles!
~SgL

This is one of the best ideas I've seen here on DA. Join in on the fun! :3

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THE BASICS: write a Christmas/Holiday wish list. It can be any 10 wishes you'd like to have granted, no matter what they are. Possible or seemingly impossible. People look and grant the wishes if they can. It's not about "OMFG PRESENTS", it's about making someone else's holiday a little brighter by giving. Personally, I get more out of giving than receiving sometimes. It's just a good feeling to give.

STEP ONE

** Make a post in your journal. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

** If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. In this case, you can always just note someone on dA for the sake of privacy.

** Make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your journal, so that others can join in and participate to spread the holiday joy!


STEP TWO

** Surf this forum ([link]) and browse the lists. Here's the important part:

** If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

** You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.


My Wishlist:

1. I wish that the Holidays weren't such a source for stress and anger, and that people would just be happy and kind to one another.
2. I wish more people knew about Vieo Una, the story my boyfriend and I are still putting together. ~Vieo-Una
3. I wish I had the money to just be put under anesthesia and have all of my teeth problems fixed.
4. I wish I could go to Disney World and Epcot with my friends and family!
5. I wish for gift art. I love gift art, whether it's of my own characters, or characters from an Anime/Manga I like (Such as Rurouni Kenshin, or Ghibli movies)
6. I wish for Totoro related anything!
7. I wish I could lose the amount of weight I want to lose already!
8. I wish I could draw backgrounds.
9. I wish I could drive.
10. Surprises are nice. :3

Note me here on DA if you have an answer to one of my wishes.

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For anyone wondering why I haven't been posting art lately, my computer was still having issues. We took it into Best Buy to have the Geek Squad repair it, and with twenty computers in front of mine, it might take a little while. I also need to figure out what's going on with my all in one printer, since while my computer was going haywire, my printer decided that it wasn't going to scan or copy. Not sure if the problem was related or not.

I promise I'll have work up as soon as I can. I might end up taking pictures of some drawings at some point so I can at least update my gallery.
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Toodles and Happy Holidays!
~SgL

I've been having trouble with my computer for a bit, and a few days ago, it just sorta all went into a spiraling hellish whirlpool. It seems the video card was dropped, and we can only start the computer in safe mode, since the monitor goes to sleep or gets a bunch of lines on the screen after a minute or so in normal mode. We couldn't download the driver for the video card in safemode, and the unhelpful people in gateway's customer service chat made us go through a bunch of nonsensical processes before finally telling us to do a system restore. Ugh.

So, I'm gonna have to back up all my pictures onto some discs or the external hard drive that we have (not sure if the external would be able to install on my computer in safe mode, we'll see). Most of my music is backed up, but I know there's some that I'll need to save.

On top of that, I may have to get a new all-in-one printer, since it seems that the scanner and copier don't want to do their jobs all of a sudden. This happened before my computer melted down, so I think it's something to do with the camera or whatever it is inside the printer that takes the image from the paper and puts it on the computer.

Art uploads are on hiatus for a little bit until I get my computer in order. I'll probably be doing a few digital pieces once it's back to normal, but I may only be able to take photos of my traditional work until I get my all in one back. Both my computer and my all in one printer are still under warranty, so everything should be fine even if I have to replace them.
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On the art front, I've started playing around with artist trading cards, which are just fun little pieces of bristol paper (there's a few other kinds of paper, too) generally the size of a normal playing card. You can see all sorts of these cards by bunches of artists for sale on Etsy. When artist's trading cards are sold, they're called ACEOs. I don't remember what that stands for, though. You can trade them with other artists, too.

The ATCs are sold on art supply sites, such as DickBlick, and are about three dollars for a pack of twenty cards. The shipping might be a little annoying though, so look in your local art supply store, or craft store to see if you can find them there first. I got mine when ~TyrackWolfII went to the bookstore on campus of the community college and picked a few packs up for me, so I didn't have to pay for the shipping from DickBlick.

I've been experimenting a little with my art lately, taking a break from what I draw all the time and trying to broaden my horizons a little. It's kind of hard to push through the wall of habit, though. Hopefully I'll be able to figure myself and my art out soon.
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Toodles!
~SgL

First, features!

I will add the first 14 people to comment on this journal to the Promotional List.

For each of those 14 people, I will put their avatar and three deviations I like from their gallery on the list.

If I feature you, you'll have to do the same in your journal, putting me on the first place, completing this way the list with 14 people. (I don't have many watchers, but I will follow the rules. First, I'm going to feature the person who featured me on their journal.)

1: Tohlee: [link]

[link]
[link]
[link]

2: Heather!: [link]

[link]
[link]
[link]

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Artician!

I made an Artician account! You can see it here: [link] Artician.com is an art website similar to DeviantArt. Don't worry, I'm not leaving DA! I'm just posting my artwork there in addition to what I post here. Artician is a new, up and coming website, with lots of customization, easy browsing, and a wonderfully easy layout. Take a look and join if you wish! You can watch people just the same as you do here, as well as make friends. So go out there and spread your art!
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~Svedios' birthday was yesterday! Woo, she's officially an adult! No longer in that not-a-teenager-anymore-but-not-an-adult-yet limbo! I just went into that limbo myself last week. Go give her birthday hugs!
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VU News

I'm working on a CG piece now. I'm not sure how happy I am with it, but it should be posted within the week. It's just practice with my new tablet, after all.
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Toodles!
~SgL

Hey, lookit that, it's my birthday today!

I turned twenty around six this morning, I believe. Goodbye, teenage years! It's bittersweet to be in age-limbo where I'm not a kid anymore, yet I'm not old enough to drink. Either way, I'm happy for today!

Tomorrow, I'm having ~Svedios, ~TyrackWolfII and ~Pixelated-Beauty over for some funtime, Maryland crabs, chicken, cake, and hilarity!

I was gone from Saturday until Wednesday afternoon in Salisbury, where I spent some time with ~Svedios and her cousins. We spent a few hours out at Ocean City, which took a while to get to since she had to return some shoes. But we got lunch at Cracker Barrel! Mm, delicious! It was nice to go to Ocean City again, since I had only been there once. This time, I stood on the beach to catch some waves on my legs as they rolled in. For anyone who doesn't know, Ocean City has a pretty rough beach. In the morning, before tourists are out, surfers are often riding the waves since they're pretty much perfect for the sport. I also saw my first plane advertisements, where small planes ride by with a big lettered tail, advertising different hotels or restaurants nearby. I was also glad to see the Ocean City carnival is still up and running. There was talk of maybe shutting it down due to financial reasons before summer started, but it looks like they found some funding. I've told my parents that if we can't go to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday, I want to go to Ocean City to visit that famous Purple Moose bar!

I also went to Otakon this year, which was pretty fun! We went on Saturday, the 18th of July. There was lots of walking like always, but going to the Dealer's room and Artist's alley is always fun. I bought prints from ^budgie and :devlonemomo:, as well as =luciole and *celesse sadly, I missed *QueenOfDorks! I was so sad when I found out that I missed her booth! Most of my money went to prints, which is pretty surprising, since I usually spend it all on plushies!

Next year, I might dress up as Gaz, and ~Pixelated-Beauty might dress up as Invader Tak, both characters from the television show, Invader Zim. My cosplay really depends on how much weight I lose, since I don't want to be too chubby of a Gaz.
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I've been working on some charms to sell on Etsy. I'm making charms out of the Little Girl series from my gallery, and I'll also be working on some accessory charms to go with them. Such as a skeleton key charm, a crown charm, and a ribbon charm. I'll be posting pictures of these as soon as I work everything out.
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VU News! ~Vieo-Una

I've been working on some sketches recently. I fancy one in particular, but I'm still not finished, or completely satisfied with the sketch. Don't worry, I'll have some work up for VU eventually!
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Toodles!
~SgL