Vivienne's Adventures

  As I sit here, holding a sleeping toddler, it's hard to not take a nap myself. That's something I've always been amused by. When we're little, we don't wanna take a nap, but then we grow up and go to college and get jobs, and then we're so busy and tired that all we want is a midday nap. Sometimes it works out, often times it doesn't. I've found that even a short power nap can be super helpful. Sometimes it only takes the edge off the Tired, and sometimes it's what you need to feel more awake and ready to problem-solve. Or write. I don't know about you, but i nearly always dream when I'm asleep, and often have interesting adventure dreams. Lately, though, my dreams have been taking heavy inspiration from the TV show I've been binging. I'm always excited when I have a dream that makes just enough sense to make for a story idea.

Sometimes writing isn't easy. It's worthwhile, but sometimes it's really difficult to get started, or to pick up where you left off. Lately it's been harder than normal to work on my story. It's a little frustrating, but I know a few things that helps. Writing parties with friends (aka going to a coffee shop with a friend), journaling as the character to get a better sense of their emotions, and making sure you don't stop for the day at the end of a chapter. Stopping in the middle of the action, or in the middle of a scene makes it easier to pick up the threads and continue on. I've also noticed just changing your environment also helps a lot. My goals for this year include a lot of writing, but I'm excited! I just gotta remember the tips and tricks that help me be more efficient and less frustrated. (It also helps when you're in tune with your story to the point where your characters almost talk to you. It's hilarious when the story practically ...

  Rock climbing isn't super easy. Even when you have an easy route, you're still pulling yourself up by your arms and legs and trying to find the right hand and foot holds so you don't fall off. At the place we've been climbing, there are two options for rope climbing, auto belays, or belaying each other. We went rock climbing yesterday, me, my cousin, and her boyfriend. It was so much fun!! I had a blast! But the thing about my cousin is that she constantly challenges me. It's fun, because I look at a route and think, Oh, I probably can't do that one. But she challenges me to try, and half the time, I make it to the top! There was one route that she challenged me to try, and she belayed me.  Thank heavens she did, cause if it was an auto belay I wouldn't have made it up. I kept having to stop and rest, and by that point in the day my hands were starting to fail me. Somehow, I got to the top and tapped the highest handhold, but Dang! I didn't think I cou...

  So, quick and cute update on the Little One, he loves music. He's been dancing along to the songs from the Scuppermonkeys' album, which is about the cutest thing ever. He also doesn't want to go to sleep anymore. Not entirely sure why. Maybe he's teething, maybe he's just unhappy...I dont know. Last week I got him to fall asleep while I held him, listening to music, and then put him down. That lasted like, 15 minutes. Then he was Awake until I picked him up. By the end of it, I held him for the better part of two hours and he was Out like a lightbulb. It was nice to hold a warm, cuddly baby again. Haven't done that in a while. There are things that I know I'll miss when he's older, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. There's something so special about babies and toddlers snuggling with you. ^_^ Makes my day!

  This picture is so entertaining to me. I love making characters, and even more, I love playing different people in role playing games, like DnD! A few of my friends and I have started a RPG based on the RWBY tv show. It's an unofficial gaming system, but none of us had played it before, so we're learning as we play. It's been....entertaining. One of the biggest differences is that the DM doesn't roll dice. Only the players do, even when we're fighting Grimm (the bestial monsters of RWBY), so that has made things interesting.  I am loving the new form of creativity in this game. It takes a lot more roleplay in some situations, like combat, because we get extra dice when the DM decides something we did/want to do was really cool. So I have started rethinking about how my character fights. I've also realized I had way too much fun creating my character. ^_^ His name is Kyo, and he's got a lot more personality than I first expected. I can't wait to see how...

  As I have mentioned before, I've been working on the third book in my speculative fiction series currently, and it's a fun project! The first book deals with Taliesin De's adventures in a realm called Kirsi, the second book deals with a dragon named Ziggy's adventures in a realm called Mataia, and book three is an interesting continuation of that.  Book three is two-fold. It picks up where books 1 and 2 left off, and Ziggy and Tal'De have to work together to solve a big issue before it's too late. The other half of the story is about Maximillian, in a realm called Galatea, who is trying to figure out the weird things happening to him, and trying to figure out why he can't write.  The two stories are connected, and it takes all three of them to solve the big issue. One thing I love about this story is previous version have, well, surprised me. There's a side character who decided to be part of the story without telling me first, but now, I can't tak...

  This picture makes me smile so much! The day I took this, my nephew was being super cuddly, and I was enjoying it. I love this kiddo! I can't wait to start taking him on adventures. I recently went with a friend to Ikea, which I haven't visited in so long I barely remembered it. That was fun. it was HUGE, and there was a lot to look at.  After that, we grabbed food and visited the mall. I don't think I'd ever been to that mall, and dang! So much to see! I honestly had a great time because I have missed walked around with friends chatting about whatever, and looking at things, and finding the few stores that are dangerous to my bank account if I'm not careful, lol! But hopefully soon, we can return to doing things with our friends and family, in a time when things aren't so...well, locked down and stressful. Here's to the adventures we can have soon!

  I am super excited about this picture!! My friends just released an album, and it came out on St Patrick's Day, and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since it released. My heavens! My friends sound so good! I was delighted to listen through the music and sing along to the ones I knew from singing them at ren faire for the past several years (Olde Dun Cow, Mingulay Boat Song, Bosun's Bouncing Boy, and Health to the Company), but then! I heard a new one that I didn't know, and realized that it was sung by the youngest member of the group, which made me super happy! I have been loving this album, and I already have most of it memorized just from the repetition and singing along, and the songs still crack me up just as much as they always do. "The Night that Paddy Murphy Died" is one that is totally ridiculous and that's the one song that is nearly always stuck in my head....But I'm not complaining. ^_^ But seriously, my friends, The Scuppermon...

  One of the things I miss most in this whole pandemic, besides my friends, is being able to visit my library. There are several awesome libraries near me, but the Bellevue branch is my favorite because I used to work there. I miss working there, and I miss my coworkers, but I'm excited for whenever things open up, because then I can see my library people! There's something about the library that's just peaceful and calming. I've always loved being surrounded by books, and the library, in my opinion, is better than a bookstore, because there's no pressure to buy something, and there's all kinds of fun things to stumble on. It's also an amazing place to write because it's fairly quiet, and the smell of books immediately makes me ready to write. So...when are the libraries open again? ^_^

  Last year around this time, I hadn't started watching the little one, but now look at him! He's so big! We visited our church and he got to see another kid his size! Well, mostly. Even though she's close to four, she wasn't too much taller than he is. It's crazy! He's so tall! And still super cuddly. I love this kiddo so much! ^_^ It's absolutely amazing to watch babies grow and develop! It's fascinating to watch these little things that can't get around on their own, start to roll around, then crawl, then all of a sudden they're walking all over and climbing everything that looks accessible. Geez, slow down a bit! lol But they don't wanna slow down, and honestly, I'm happy watching this kid, especially when he's happy and he finds something fun or delightful. His little smile and his laughter are my favorite things.

  Oh my heavens, looking back at last year, I was working on a lot of art, but not writing much. I didn't get my writing mojo back for a long time after the shut downs and everything. It sucked. Being suddenly unable to go out and do things, being stuck at home all the time...it was Rough. Especially after I had decided that 2020 was going to be the year of the phoenix and I had all kinds of plans and hopes for the future. Part way through the craziness, my aunt and I met up and we worked on figuring out what my priorities were, and set up some goals. (Which has been super, super helpful.) With my aunt helping me, things are looking better, and I've gotten back into the swing of writing. I was amused the other day to realize that January, I took book 1, and chopped 20k out of it, and sent it to my editor! Then in February, I replotted and rewrote book 2 completely, and now I'm working on rewriting book 3 to be even better! I'm excited for how things are currently going.

A year ago, I was still making all my art using large pieces of paper and various pens. Not that this is bad or anything, but this was about when I started wondering what else I could use for my art. So I started playing with paint, and I got some little wood boxes, painted them for my friends, and added glow in the dark details for fun. Then I got ahold of some canvas boards, and started experimenting! I ended up making a umber of custom pieces for friends, had a lot of fun, and kept playing.  I probably mentioned this before, but the piece I made for the Christmas family party went over really well, ending up with my Grandma, who loves it. ^_^ One of my friends from church loved the picture as well, which I found really cool! And speaking of...that same lovely lady is letting me paint a mural on her new office wall! I get an entire wall to decorate! I'm super excited and I have lots of ideas, but it's going to be a new challenge for me. New medium on a much larger scale, so i...

  Have you ever played the board game Pandemic? It's an intense cooperative game where you and three other people work to save the world from 4 different colored diseases before they spread too far and you lose. It's a bit nerve-wracking to play and there are lots of things to pay attention to, but it's pretty great when you're able to work together and make the vaccines for the 4 diseases and get rid of them. Sometimes I wish life were a little more like that game: clearly defined with an actual solution as long as you work together. Alas. But it hasn't been all terrible! Like I talked about last week and the beginning of 2021, it's had ups and downs, the worst of which is not being able to go out and do things with my people, the best of things being DnD, writing, and my nephew. It's taken a year to find this sort of balance, and while it's not perfect by any means, I think it's getting better. I hope that soon things will calm down, but in the mea...

  I love my friends. They're so weird, but the thing is, my weird meshes well with their versions of weird. I have several people that I've been staying connected with, a number of them I play DnD with, so that makes it easier. Because of the state of the world right now, I haven't been able to see hardly anyone in person that's outside my germ circle, but I have been able to meet up with one of my DM's every now and then at a cafe. (He's one of the two people who got me sucked into DnD.) I've also been able to chat with my friend Chris, who I met through Sakura-Con, and it's been fun to play video games with him over voice chat. It helps me feel a little less distant from people. The picture above is one of my pirate friends, one of my DM's and the other person who brought me into DnD. ^_^ I miss seeing people in person! I am definitely an introvert, but I like my people, and need to see them every now and then. I haven't been able to, but onlin...

  On this week's installment of staying sane, I definitely want to talk about writing. Writing for me is something that I've learned I Have to do. When I don't have an active project, I start to spiral down, and that's no good. Besides, I have so many stories in my head that are constantly begging to be written and worked on. So, I decided that once I'd finished rewriting book 2, Ziggy, I was going to take one week off, and then reread book 3 to see what shape it's in. I really enjoyed my reread of book 3, aka Zarath'gar's Curse. It is a slightly more complex story than book 1, definitely more so than book 2. Zarath'gar's Curse is a triple point of view story, with two halves. One half is about a writer named Maximillian, who ends up being the unwitting host to a mean, incorporeal demon, and the other half is about Tal'De and Ziggy (main characters from the first two books) working together to find Ziggy's mentor and find a way to save hi...

  Ok, this picture is super exciting for me, let me tell you why I love it. Rock climbing has turned out to be an amazing way for me to stay physically active and remain connected with my cousin Alyssa and my sister. We've fallen in love with climbing, and it's super fun! After taking a class on how to properly and safely use the belay ropes and auto-belays, we've practiced belaying each other quite a bit. In this picture, my sister was belying Alyssa, and I was eagerly watching, hoping Alyssa would make it to the top. For context, she and my sister struggle with heights (I'm definitely not one to judge, I have a phobia about thunder.) but they've been working on it, and Alyssa did get to the top! I was so happy because it's a clear sign of progress, and I love watching people grow and get better at things. Also, this particular route was a funny one, and the handholds were super weird, which makes me happy. The thing about rock climbing is that it works out you...

  One of the five things that have been keeping me sane lately is DnD! I get to play in multiple games, and I'm running two of my own. I just joined a new role playing game (rpg) that's based on a show and uses a different system than DnD. For this character, I decided that he needed an Irish accent....but then I realized I don't know how to speak with an Irish accent...I can do American or British English. But that didn't stop me. I did some research on youtube and listened to people talk about how to master the different sounds of a basic Irish accent, and practiced. (Oh, and watched the Boondock Saints movie for fun.) While I'm not super confident with my new accent, I'm excited to have a new thing to work on. This and all of the games I'm in make not being able to see my friends in person a little easier to bear. I've really been enjoying the way I've been able to help develop the plot and apparently throw us in a new direction, even though this ...

  This kiddo! I love him so much! Even on days where I am just exhausted, he's got the sweetest smile! ^_^ This week I wanted to chat about 5 things keeping me sane in these insane times. I was hoping that 2020 would be an awesome year, and then everything caught fire. and burned its way into 2021. But! I've had this Little One to watch and play with, and he's really helped. I don't know what it is about babies and little kids, but it's like they share their energy and exuberance for life with you, without you realizing it. I love my nephew ^_^ He's the best! I think it also helps to have a task, in watching a toddler and making sure he doesn't get himself into trouble...or eat weird things. haha! How about you, what's been keeping you from losing your mind lately?

  Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a wonderful week, full of awesomeness! This week we've been talking stories, and happily enough, I have a new one to talk about! A few of my friends and I started a new roleplaying game, and at the end of our first session, one suggested a show on YouTube they thought I'd like. I was warned it would be a few episodes before there was plot.  Cut to a couple hours later, I'm over at my sister's so I can watch the kiddo in the morning, and I realize that I forgot my computer charging cord at home! Woops. So, unable to watch the other thing I'd been intending to, I sat on my phone and watched this little show. Heavens. I got sucked in! I really love the fascinating characters, the long, interesting names, and the really rich story world that they run around in! ^_^ Yay for friends who give you fun things to watch!

Watching the Little One lately has been really fun. It's been easy to get him giggling like crazy, as I discovered last week when I was reading to him. We were looking at a simple counting book, with all these fun pictures, and I was counting them out loud for him. (He kept turning back to certain pages so that I would reread them over and over lol!)  What really got him laughing, though, was when we switched to a story book. I was reading each character with their own super silly voice, and he thought that was great! lol I love how easy it can be to entertain little kids. One-year-olds are a cute and special brand of fun, before they get to the "terrible twos." My nephew has been really entertained with books lately, so I'm trying to take advantage and show him how awesome books are. ^_^

I love stories! I know I've said this before, but I do. I devour them like some people devour coffee. One of many things I absolutely adore is my friends' stories! I mean, yes, I like hearing about what they're up to and all that, but I'm talking about what they've been writing! I have several friends who are also writers, one of them has been working on a book series that has been super fun to watch evolve. I got to read one of his early drafts, when he was first figuring the story out, when he thought it would only be one book.  Now, a couple years later, he's got a really awesome full draft of that story (not gonna lie, it made me cry. So good!) as well as book 2 written out, and he's working on book 3! I'm so excited to read the second book, cause I haven't read any of it yet, and I only know about the few things he's told me about it. ^_^ I love watching stories evolve into better versions and writers get better and better. Even more than th...

  Do you ever have those nights where you wake up from a dream and can't go back to sleep? I don't often, but over the weekend I got home and was super sleepy, so I decided to crash early. I woke up 5 hours later, after a really interesting dream that sleepy me figured would probably be a cool story idea. But then I couldn't go back to sleep lol! So I wrote down the story idea, modifying it slightly for less chaos ('cause dreams are Weird) and tried again.  Point is, story ideas for me, come from everywhere. I see the world in terms of stories and story ideas. It's an interesting way to view things, sure, but I like it. As a writer, I kind of need this ability. I have so many story ideas, I don't even know what to do with them all. Some little tidbits never go far, and some (sometimes the weirdest) get turned into their own books. I am constantly entertained by the variety of interesting facts and descriptions and names that I collect. I'm even more excited ...

  See the glazed look in my eyes? haha That's a great representation of how I feel right now. As you know, I have been working on a rewrite of book two in my series, currently named "The Lost Dragon's Mourning." aka Ziggy. Well, I started writing it Feb 2nd, and wrapped it up last night! I finished the story...Aaaa! It's done! Well, this version is. But I managed to accidentally do a February Nanowrimo because I wrote over 57k in 27 days.  Good heavens. But that was a fun story! I really like how it turned out this time, instead of the really terrible last version. (But hey, that just goes to show how I've improved as a writer.) Now, I get a week off to let my brain rest. (Time for video games with friends!) Come next Monday, I'll probably have a new writing project. ^_^ I like stories!