Friday, May 26, 2017

Celebrate The Small Things - May 26, 2017



 

This week I gave my second dog a bath and a haircut. It took me two hours to cut his hair because he doesn't like the clippers or the scissors. I managed to trim the hair around his eyes so he can see. He looks like a different dog now. I have to do the same for our other dog, but didn't have the energy for it just yet. She's bigger and more cooperative, but takes two hours to trim as well. It's a chore, but saves us $50 per dog. They love me more after the bath and trim, too. 

I laid out 70 pages of my graphic novel so far which is 54 more than I did last week, but according to my calculations, it's going to be FOUR TIMES longer than I was expecting! I really was thinking that it was going to be shorter, so I'm surprised. I did the calculations three times. Soooo, I'm going to have to cut out a lot or see if I can split the book in two. Or both. Maybe I should've laid the design of the panels out as I developed the story so I wouldn't have to do thumbnails TWICE. This is my first graphic novel, so it's all trial and error for me as well as research, research, research. *sigh* I hope it goes more smoothly next time.

I checked out a big Dennis the Menace book from the library and have been studying the drawings and the ideas for humor. I used to read some of it as a child, but didn't get into it that much, but now, wow! I've learned so much by studying this book. Artists today still draw hands like that and I thought that was just a Disney thing. I was trying hard to think of funny themes for my webcomic, but that was like trying to squeeze water out of a dry rag. I'm glad I stumbled upon this book by accident.

I learned something interesting this week. My husband told his coworkers that he got called for jury duty which surprised the foreigners from Poland and Austria. They were shocked that we get a summons in the mail and we have to report or we may suffer the consequences like being fined or going to jail. I thought everyone in the Western world had to do that. I'm curious how other countries do it now. I never put any thought into it before. Geez, I wonder how everyone else tries their criminals. I'm kind of afraid to find out.

This week, I read that after you get your book published, the publishing company doesn't help you with promoting/marketing your book. You have to really hustle to get your work known. Yikes, yikes, and YIKES! They help promote your book six months before it is released, but that's it. What a harsh reality! 

I thought that I would hurry up and do drawings for my webcomic so that I can become known for that. In theory, I would develop a fan base before my graphic novel is published and fans would buy my book. Another balloon deflater that I read was that it can take years to develop a following for your webcomic. What am I celebrating out of this newfound information? Well, I'm celebrating that I actually FOUND this information so it won't be such a shock if things don't turn out the way I planned because I STILL plan to do my webcomic and graphic novel.

I've been mopey since I found out that my favorite Zumba teacher is no longer teaching at a convenient time for me, BUT I discovered something delicious to eat this week. Both are negatives really, but that's beside the point. At Trader Joe's they were sampling coffee syrup over French vanilla ice cream. Coffee syrup! It's like having a chocolate sundae, but coffee flavored. It was so good! We bought both and I had to refrain myself from eating it every day. I'm still sad about my Zumba teacher, though. He's teaching a special class on Memorial Day this coming Monday, so I'm going to have to get my butt over there on a day I was going to rest. *sigh* I guess I'll take this small miracle.

In the book, Happy For No Reason, the author says to pull your shoulders back, take a deep breath, and put a big smile on your face. It'll make you feel better right away. You may feel silly and look maniacal, but it works. Try it. It's free.

This is a blog hop!
Check out the blogs below for your reading pleasure and please visit our hosts' blogs:
Lexa Cain: http://lexacain.blogspot.com/
L.G. Keltner http://lgkeltner.blogspot.co.uk/
Tonja Drecker http://tonjadrecker.blogspot.com/
If you would like to join our blog hop, visit Lexa Cain's blog for info.

1.

Lexa Cain2.Fiction and Film
3.Writing Off the Edge4.Kidbits
5.TheCyborgMom6.Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
7.Intentional Insights with S. Kelley Harrell8.Constantine
9.My Miracle Life10.Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams
11.Lara Lacombe12.TF Walsh
13.Life, Yoga and Other Adventures14.Suzanne Furness
15.Elizabeth Seckman16.Avalon
17.My Baffling Brain18.Planet Kimberly
19.Shah Wharton20.Victorian Scribbles
21.Tanya Miranda22.Ann - A Friend of Jesus 2013
23.Special Teaching At Pempi's Palace24.Square Pegs
25.Patricia's Place26.Anne Higa
27.My Antimatter Life28.Bouquet of Books
29.Lightravellerkate30.Curious As A Cathy
31.Glennie's Random Ramblings32.In My Own Words
33.Tamara Narayan, Author34.My Creatively Random Life
35.Yvonne Ventresca36.On Becoming a Writer
37.Decadent Kane38.Stacy Uncorked
39.Sharon Himsl--Shells, Tales & Sails40.Cloud Nine Girl
41.Our Simple Life42.Our Prime Years


Thursday, May 18, 2017

Celebrate The Small Things for May 19, 2017



I'm posting this a few hours early since I missed last week's post.

This week I watched a video by Frannerd that helped me organize my graphic novel. With the knowledge I gained from the video, I've laid out 16 pages out of the 180 pages of thumbnails I need to go through. Being hard-headed and lazy, I didn't think I would have to work this way, but after laying out the first eight pages I felt more confident that I could finish my graphic novel quicker and with less problems. It makes me feel better, happier, and gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I discovered a free one-week cartooning workshop that I instantly signed up for. If I didn't sign up right away, I knew I would never do it. It's offered by The Center For Cartoon Studies. If I was a young student again and lived on the east coast, I would love to attend this school. I did the first assignment, albeit I did it wrong. It was supposed to be a 4-panel comic, but I got so into the comic that it became a 7-panel comic. At least I got one comic done which is better than having done nothing at all. There are no due dates for the assignments which is good. My plan was to work on these assignments during idle times while out with my family on the weekend. Like standing in line, waiting for our food at the restaurant, waiting for the kids (and husband) to look at all the toys in the store, etc.

We celebrated Mother's Day early on Saturday with our moms, then on Sunday for me. I chose to eat at El Torito's brunch buffet. It was so good! So many gluten-free items! I tried a new dessert that was fried bananas in caramel. I had to decline the alcohol since I'm allergic, but it was still so good!

While I was coloring my hair, I was listening to David Paulides' lecture in Australia about the mysterious disappearances of people in national parks. I have several of his Missing 411 books which I love. Instead of 411 missing people, he has researched over 6,000 missing persons cases. Wow! I don't go in the woods, but I was considering going to Yosemite for a vacation. After he said the majority of the missing people went missing in Yosemite, I changed my mind. Well, I said a few expletives and a "hell no!" first. One of the guys that went missing a few years ago is from the area I grew up in. He was with a church group, but was out of shape so he was at the tail end of the group. They turned around and he was gone. Search and rescue couldn't find him. He was never seen again. 300 people were in the park that day. I was thinking there would be safety in numbers, but that didn't seem to work for him. Poor guy. The Missing 411 movie just came out. I'm doing my little joy dance! I'm hoping to get it for my birthday in June if I drop a lot of hints. It's only available on DVD.

Below is the first comic I did for the cartooning workshop. I plan to ink and color it later.










This is a blog hop!
Check out the blogs below for your reading pleasure and please visit our hosts' blogs:
Lexa Cain: http://lexacain.blogspot.com/
L.G. Keltner http://lgkeltner.blogspot.co.uk/
Tonja Drecker http://tonjadrecker.blogspot.com/
If you would like to join our blog hop, visit Lexa Cain's blog for info.

1.

Lexa Cain2.Fiction and Film
3.Writing Off the Edge4.Kidbits
5.TheCyborgMom6.Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
7.Intentional Insights with S. Kelley Harrell8.Constantine
9.My Miracle Life10.Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams
11.Lara Lacombe12.TF Walsh
13.Life, Yoga and Other Adventures14.Suzanne Furness
15.Elizabeth Seckman16.Avalon
17.My Baffling Brain18.Planet Kimberly
19.Shah Wharton20.Victorian Scribbles
21.Tanya Miranda22.Ann - A Friend of Jesus 2013
23.Special Teaching At Pempi's Palace24.Square Pegs
25.Patricia's Place26.Anne Higa
27.My Antimatter Life28.Bouquet of Books
29.Lightravellerkate30.Curious As A Cathy
31.Glennie's Random Ramblings32.In My Own Words
33.Tamara Narayan, Author34.My Creatively Random Life
35.Yvonne Ventresca36.On Becoming a Writer
37.Decadent Kane38.Stacy Uncorked
39.Sharon Himsl--Shells, Tales & Sails40.Cloud Nine Girl
41.Our Simple Life42.Our Prime Years

Friday, May 5, 2017

Celebrate The Small Things - May 5, 2017



Since I'm very late typing this up, I'll try to keep it brief.

This week my husband and I are celebrating our 16 year wedding anniversary. Yay! Where did the time go?

My youngest son went back to doing martial arts after over a year of resting a broken toe. All of his instructors were happy to see him back. (Kyokushin Karate, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

Our city is finally fixing the streetlights in our neighborhood after years of the residents (including me) complaining. The lights used to be off for weeks at a time while houses were being burglarized. We would call the city and they would say it's the electric company's responsibility so we would call the electric company and they would say the lights belong to the city. It went on like this for years. When someone would complain, the lights would go on for a few days or even just a few hours, then go out again. People complained on the electric company's Facebook and one of the residents who knows the mayor complained to him.  Whatever it was that got them to take action, I'm grateful for because we will finally get good lighting around here.

I found a bunch of good books at the library this week including one for my son which is a huge Big Nate book that is like an anthology. I hadn't known about it until I happened to walk by and see it on the display shelf. Jeff Kinney (author of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid) interviews the author, Lincoln Peirce in it. I want to read this myself because Jeff Kinney was a fan of Lincoln Peirce's work and reached out to him for advice on doing his own comics. Kinney became successful with Diary of a Wimpy Kid and helped Peirce gain popularity with his Big Nate comics. Big Nate was published and went on to sell over 15 million books! It's so inspiring! (I had to re-edit this because my facts were wrong, previously.)

What are you celebrating?
Check out the blogs below for your reading pleasure and please visit our hosts' blogs:
Lexa Cain: http://lexacain.blogspot.com/
L.G. Keltner http://lgkeltner.blogspot.co.uk/
Tonja Drecker http://tonjadrecker.blogspot.com/
If you would like to join our blog hop, visit Lexa Cain's blog for info.
1.

Lexa Cain2.Fiction and Film
3.Writing Off the Edge4.Kidbits
5.TheCyborgMom6.Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
7.Intentional Insights with S. Kelley Harrell8.Constantine
9.My Miracle Life10.Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams
11.Lara Lacombe12.TF Walsh
13.Life, Yoga and Other Adventures14.Suzanne Furness
15.Elizabeth Seckman16.Avalon
17.My Baffling Brain18.Planet Kimberly
19.Shah Wharton20.Victorian Scribbles
21.Tanya Miranda22.Ann - A Friend of Jesus 2013
23.Special Teaching At Pempi's Palace24.Square Pegs
25.Patricia's Place26.Anne Higa
27.My Antimatter Life28.Bouquet of Books
29.Lightravellerkate30.Curious As A Cathy
31.Glennie's Random Ramblings32.In My Own Words
33.Tamara Narayan, Author34.My Creatively Random Life
35.Yvonne Ventresca36.On Becoming a Writer
37.Decadent Kane38.Stacy Uncorked
39.Sharon Himsl--Shells, Tales & Sails40.Cloud Nine Girl
41.Our Simple Life