Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Thought Process: Navigating Your Thoughts

Hello, lovely people. :)
   I'm back once again with another blog post, nice and quick after the last one. And it's another Thought Process. Wow, been gettin' a lot of these, hehheh.
   Actually, I have quite a few thought threads that I'm working through and hoping to one day share with you all. I even have a few drafts half written out and waiting to be finished. But some Thought Processes require a bit more thinking, while others are a bit easier to sort through.


   This is one of those latter posts. It's one of those ones that I write up really quick without much forethought, but only because it doesn't require much. In this one, I am going to tell you a little bit on how to deal with your own thought process.
   Okay, so, I don't know how many people know this, but I am a very deep thinker. I'm constantly thinking about deep stuff, which I already explained in my original Thought Process post, so I won't bore you all with explaining it again. :P
   You might not realize I'm that deep of a thinker when you first look at me, or if you only know me on surface level, or even if you're one of my "casual" friends. Even most of my family and other close relations don't realize how deep my thoughts go sometimes. Most of the time I don't even get what in the heck my brain is conjuring up.
   And sometimes those thoughts can get a little tangly, or they can even reach a stage that I like to simply call "Too Deep". Since this actually happens quite often, I have discovered a few ways that work for me to either sort out my thoughts or get them under control. And if you're also a thinker, maybe these can help you out too.
 
   First thing that's helped me, is blogging about my tangled thoughts. This really helps me to get my head focused and sort through what the heck is going on in my mind. It's easier to pay attention on what you're thinking about, and knowing that it has to make sense to other people helps clear it up in your own head.

   Another tangly thought help is finding pins and blog posts and edits and WHATEVER that you relate to, and save them on social media. I.e., repin that one really good pin that describes exactly what you're thinking. Because A.) It's nice to know you're not the only one and B.) You're going to help the next person that sees that and figures out that they're not the only one too.

   And then, when the thoughts reach "Too Deep" stage.
This one, this is a real trickster here. Everyone has their own level of too deep, and sometimes that level can go even further and reach unhealthy levels. But I'm going to save that even higher level for another blog post that is currently in the works. For now, let's simply address the "Too Deep" stage.

   Okay, so first of all, pray about it. I'm gonna bare my soul here and just go ahead and tell you that I struggle with some major self esteem issues and insecurities, along with anxiety and some pretty crummy thoughts in general. And I often feel that I have no one who I want/am willing to share that with. Thus, the best option, even better than sharing it "face-to-face" with someone, is praying. For help, comfort, or even just telling God what your brain is thinking. It helps, peeps. Do it.

Another thing that I do all the time is write out my "Too Deep" thoughts, the ones that I consider too tangled to blog about. I have a little journal that I keep them in. I use different colored pens and washi tape, something that makes it feel really homey. And I write them out. I don't worry about them making sense, I don't worry about them being hopeful or having a "happy ending". I just write them out and let them be what they are, and by the time I'm done I feel... Relieved. Like a weight has been lifted off of my chest. Sure, the thoughts are still there, but I feel like writing them out helps me A TON.

And finally, as almost a bit of a sidenote, I thought I'd add that you can (and should sometimes) share those "Too Deep" thoughts with someone else that you trust. You won't always want to do that, but it'll probably make you feel better.

As one last, final sidenote, I'd like to add onto that and say that if you ever DO need to talk to someone, I am totally more than willing to be that someone for you. I'm good at listening, even if I'm not super great at giving advice all of the time, but with a little time and thought I will try my best to help you. :)

And so, we have come to the end of this post that ended up being longer than I had previously anticipated. But here we are. I hope this helped you if you needed it, dear reader.

Until next time.
MR

Monday, April 11, 2016

Prayer Request

Hello guys!
   I just wanted to make a quick post to ask you all to pray for something.
   There is this little girl in my church who has been recovering from cancer she had when she was about 4 years old. She is 6 now, and today they just discovered that it has come back.

   When she first had it, I didn't actually know her at the time. But now I've been her teacher in the kid's program at our church since the start of the school year. So it's a pretty hard blow for all of us, not to mention her family.
   She is going into surgery on Friday to have the cancer in her face removed. Please pray that it would go well and that they would get all of it out. Please pray that it is successful and that her recovery time is quick. Please pray that God would give her and her family strength as they prepare to face this all over again.
   Thank you guys so much, and I'll be back with another blog post soon. :)

MR

Friday, April 8, 2016

Spring is in Ze Air

Hello, dearest readers!!
   Here we are, on my new posting schedule. So, happy Friday!! This is by far my favorite day of the week, the day that I live for. There's just something about it that feels so good, and we usually go out and do something fun instead of doing school, and I get to stay up late. Of course, I stay up late every night, buuuttt......
   What's your favorite day of the week?
   Well, since I'm suddenly a bit busy again, I'm going to try and keep this post pretty short. And, since it has been so incredibly lovely as of late, and everything is starting to come out after winter, I thought I'd post some springtime pictures of all the pretty flowers and things in our yard. :)


This first one is just a picture of some tamarack buds my mom found lying on the ground when our family was out on a disc golf adventure. 


My favorite flower in the yard is all bloomed out! 


One of our many pretty daffodils 


My violas under our cherry tree that I thought were dead, BUT APPARENTLY THEY'RE ALIVE?! They didn't bloom last year, but they're back this year. So I don't know, is that just how violas work?? 


A yellow one


The bleeding heart is just starting to bloom! Actually, this is probably my favorite flower in the yard. :)


Here come the tulips!



You're a cherry blossom, you're about to bloom. You look so pretty but you're gone too sooooon..... 
(I'm sorry, I'm done now)


Pretty purple flowers that always grow in our grass. We used to have a kitty that would lay in them when they bloomed. :) 


Little white weeds/flowers that are currently growing in my flower bed. 


Flower close-up. Kinda....


Sun through the trees. :)


Raspberry leaves. :)


   And that's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed looking through my pictures and thinking about springtime. :) Is your area this bloomed out and warm, or are you all still drowning in snow and rain? 
   Have a great week everyone! Until next time. 

MR

Sunday, April 3, 2016

GGGOOOOOO!!!!!

Hey, I'm back again but only for a super quick thing!!!!!
   The Wingfeather Saga animated series Kickstarter has 22 HOURS until it's over!! AND WE ARE SO CLOSE TO GETTING A PILOT!!!
   Thusly, I am once again asking you wonderful people to go support this wonderful project while you have the chance. You will not regret it!!!
   And even if you can't give money, please, SHARE THE LIFE OUT OF THIS THING!!! Even if you can give money, still share!! The more people we can get to support this, the better. SO GO!!! GO NOW, GIVE AND SHARE GOOD PEOPLE!!!
 


Saturday, April 2, 2016

Update in the Life of Your Friendly Neighborhood Blogger

Heyo readers!!
   How are you guys doing? Well, I hope. :)
   First off, I just want to say that yes, I AM ALIVE. I know I haven't blogged in, like, weeks, but it's because I have been super busy. I mean, like, crazy busy. I had a bunch of orders to catch up on, first of all. That included two Mabel sweaters and three dolls to crochet in that time. Then I got to do an illustration for the next RoboTales book before the end of the month. It all kind of hit me at once, and it was like, gggaaaaahhhhh....
   But I did it! I got everything done in time, and I am going to start blogging again! :D
My RoboTales picture
Though, I think I am going to change things up just a bit. I just started an art channel on Youtube, and I'm planning on getting a video up every Monday. So, preparing a blog post and getting an art video up on the same day might be a little tough, hehhheh. Thusly, I've decided to change my blog posting days to Fridays instead of Mondays. Which also means that my thought process posts will probably be on Tuesdays instead, or whenever I get the inspiration for them. :P
   Yes, yes, yes, a bit of shuffling around to do, but I'm getting it done. 
   In other words... 
   Yeah. I'm suddenly not very busy and it feels weird. I definitely like being creatively busy like that, a lot more than I like being socially busy. And it feels off when I go form being quite busy to being not really busy at all. 
   So yup, pretty calm around here all of the sudden. Spring is coming, and it has been so lovely these last few days. Part of me is happy, because I love being able to go outside and soak up the sunshine and draw and read and rollerblade and swing on the playground swings across the street and not have to worry about school and all of the other things summer brings. But the other part of me is deeply in love with winter and I am sad to see it go. In a way, I'm almost ready for it to be back again even though it's just ending. 
   How about you guys? How's your weather? Have you been busy? Have you been enjoying yourselves? Tell me in the comments. I really care about you guys and want the best for you in a completely non-creepy way, haha! XD
   But yes, expect a lot more content from me in the near future. Maybe some pictures of the springtime, some deep and thoughtful posts, some creative posts. Wherever my fancy takes me, I suppose. 
   Thanks for reading this, you wonderful person! Have a lovely day. 

MR
   

Monday, March 7, 2016

Favorite YouTube Artists

Hello dearest readers! :D
   I'm going to be honest. This is a rather quick, easy post for me. I have a bang crazy TON of crochet orders at the moment, and I mean a BANG CRAZY TON. As in, two Mabel sweaters, a Merlin, a Hiccup and Toothless and a jet plane that I'm currently finishing up with. Might not seem like much in writing, but it's lot. Especially the sweaters. Even more especially when you've already made, I don't know, six? They're all kind of running together at this point.
   So yeah. I'm a little busy, but the Etsy is going well!! :D My shop name is Magestic Makery if you wanna check it out. I sell crochet junk and some artsy things, and if you shoot me a message I'm totally up for doing crochet and/or art commissions. *Insert shameless shop promotion*
   But how are you guys? I hope you're doing well, I truly, truly do.
   For my post this week, as you may have guessed from the title, I'm going to be sharing my top 3 favorite YouTube artists.
   What brought this on?
   Eh, I don't really know. I'm really wanting to start an art channel on YouTube, but I've gotta upgrade my laptop first (which should hopefully be happening tomorrow, hehheh), and then we can start doing that. I've already got a nice camera, a tripod and a decent-ish set up, so I'm really just waiting on that. Also, a new laptop will mean I can really start getting into digital art since I'll actually be able to download a nice program. So yes, very much excite. :P
   I'm not subscribed to a lot of YouTube artists at the moment, to be completely honest. I've only recently really started getting involved in this community, and I'm pumped to keep finding awesome artists! But these are some really great artists with some really awesome personalities, and I thought I'd share some of them with you. :D

1. Doodle Date

Guysguysguys, if you haven't heard of Doodle Date or watched their stuff you've gotta. You've gotta. I mean, the cutest channel EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF EVER.
   It consists of Adam and Stephanie, a couple that get together and film super cute art videos every week. They each draw a picture and they have the cutest styles and they are just so cute! Just go watch one their videos, gogogo.
   Here's one of their recent ones to get you started..




2. Jellie Bee

SUCH CUTEST STYLE, GUYS!!!!!!! Agh, her art is just lovely! She does a lot of work with ink and copics and digital. Lovelylovelylovely!!
   I've never actually watched Steven Universe, but this picture of hers is just so gorgeous, so yes, watch it. *Drools*



3. Kattvalk

I haven't actually been subscribed to her for very long, but I may have gone back and watched her videos up until a few months ago, so.... Yeah. She is amazing! She's got such a lovely style!!!!  Go check out this video to get you started. 



So, yes!!! That's about it for this post. :D Hope you all enjoyed and feel free to share some of your favorite YouTube artists with me. 

Have a spectacular week! Hopefully I won't have drowned in crochet projects by the next time I post. :P

MR



Thursday, March 3, 2016

WE ARE LIVING IN AN AGE OF MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!!

HEY GUYS, SUPER QUICK POST TO INFORM YOU ALL OF SOME VERY IMPORTANT NERDY NEWS!!!!!
 
((I HAVE SERIOUSLY BEEN SCREAMING ABOUT THESE FOR AWHILE NOW, I JUST....))

So first off.
One of my favorite book series of all bloomin' time is The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Seriously, guys. Pretty much the best books ever.
   Mr. Peterson had a Kickstarter for the fourth book in the series, The Warden and the Wolf King. I reeeaaallllyyy wanted to participate, but I had no money.
   None.
   But I mean, my support wasn't really needed seeing as how they succeeded over and above the goal by leaps and bounds. And I was able to get the big fold out map, Pembrick's Creaturepedia, and "My Love Has Gone Across the Sea" in the end. Anywho, yadda yadda ya, this is not the best part.

Guys.

GUYS.

Finally, after months and years of waiting, there is something spectacular coming for these books.
IT'S AN ANIMATED SERIES FOR ALL FOUR OF THE BOOKS, THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!
    I have seriously wanted this for soooo long, and it is finally happening! And I can actually be a part of it!!!! WAAAGGGGGHHHH, I AM NOT LYING WHEN I SAY I'VE BEEN SCREAMING ABOUT THIS FOR DAYS!!!!!!!!
   Hereherehere, go click on the link, read about, give all of your money toward it. If you haven't read the books, GO READ THEM RIGHT NOW!!!

Bring THE WINGFEATHER SAGA to the Screen! project video thumbnail
Look at how beautiful this is, aaaaggghhhh I am so excited!!!!!!!

GO HERE!!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/478789344/bring-the-wingfeather-saga-to-the-screen/posts/1508415


BUT GUESS WHAT ELSE I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT??!?!!!!

GUESS

WHAT


THIS TRULY IS AN AGE OF MIRACLES, BECAUSE DISNEY JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE COMING OUT WITH A BIG HERO 6 TV SERIES ON DISNEY XD IN 2017!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A BIG HERO 6 TV SERIES, YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'VE WANTED THIS FOR SO LONG AS WELL, I JUST......

OH sweet golly gosh, I am just so excited!!!!



Here's a link to a bit more info:

http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2016/03/02/big-hero-6-tv-show/

SO YEAH!!! That's the end of this quick post, I just had to vent my feelings a bit because, OH GOSH I CAN'T EVEN!!!

I'll see you all on Monday, dear readers!! :D

MR

P.S. Ahem, actually, I also started a Fanfiction account if anyone's interested. That means I probably won't be posting anymore fanfiction on here unless I'm really proud of it or something, heheh. So here's one more link to that. https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7598088/ZeGreatM