Herbs.

    So, just a super short post today...but one I feel strongly about. :) Herbs. Herbs are not bad. It makes me sad when people automatically associate herbs with voodoo and dark practices. Therefore, "if you use herbs you must be involved in something bad! *GASP*"

    No.

   Medicinal herbs have been around for centuries upon centuries - they've been around much longer than the chemically-derived medicines we use today. Herbs have legitimate healing properties. :) They're here for a reason, aren't they? What do you think apothecaries used for so many centuries? Herbs. Plants with medicinal properties.

    They are not something to be scared of. :) They're good. Medicine found in nature. <3 So...I wish people would stop making a fuss about how "dark" and "bad" they are. Because they aren't.

    That's about it. :)

Have a great one, dear reader!

-Bryn

New Drawing. :)

    I wanted to update my Blog, but have nothing in particular to post about. Well, nothing that would make it sound like I have a life. XD My current goals right now are as follows: Beat my video game. Start a new video game. Beat that video game. Start another one...etcetera. ;)

    However, something sorta exciting did happen. :D I filled up my...*thinks and counts on fingers*...6th? I think my 6th sketchbook. Hooray! :D I'm not a terribly talented artist, and it's taken me years and years to get to where I currently am. I had such a hard time with developing my artistic skills. You see, in a school setting...they don't let you just do your thing. =/ At least, not where I am. The teachers were incredibly harsh, and only looking for certain styles. There wasn't freedom to experiment and figure out your own unique style (which, I did finally find! However, I don't really show those pictures to other people. ^^;; )...freedom to figure out what worked and didn't work. It was just...suffocating. Ugh..

    So, every time I got put in an art class, I'd go off of art for a few years. But...I always come back to it. It's an emotional outlet in certain ways. :) Not always, but it can be.

    I've started dabbling around in realism, and I do an anime-inspired style. I don't feel like I can call it anime 'cuz I really suck next to those kinds of artists. XD But I definitely get it from there. My true style has been described as "surreal" by the few I showed it to. :) I don't hide those pictures because I'm stuck up or anything, 'cuz I'm not. I just...the surreal ones...those are direct sources to my soul, to my innermost thoughts, feelings, or desires.... It's just too personal to really show. You know? It's almost like a journal. :D

    Anyway, I draw primarily with pen. I found that I actually draw a lot better, and with 90% less mistakes, if I never use pencil. Pens are the way to go as far as I'm concerned. I also use colored pencils. I think I mentioned all of this before??

    So, I filled up m 6th sketchbook. :) My mom was amazing and surprised me with a new sketchbook about a week or so ago, and tonight I filled up the first page. :D I was excited about it, and wanted to share the drawing!

    There are areas that could be worked on. But, you know, I'm just happy with it. :) I'm finally free from school and able to do what I want. I'm still new to doing backgrounds, so...that considered, I think it turned out alright. Not great, but alright. :D

    Right then.. XD Here it is:

    This is a bit of a "self-portrait". :) I've got this pale yellow and light pink dress that I like to wear, and in the cooler months I've got a dark purple overcoat I wear with it. (The combination truly looks awesome; a wonderful contrast that you wouldn't think to put together, but it just works. :D ) And the necklace in the picture is done based off of a necklace that some of my younger cousins made for me about a year or two ago. :)

    But yeah. Here's to my 7th sketchbook, and the wonderful potential for improvement on those blank pages! :D

    That's about it. So I'll stop being full of myself now.... ;)

Have a wonderful day, dear reader!

-Bryn

PS:

    My thought for the day: Life...is kind of like a  series of sketchbooks, isn't it? :) Pages and books already filled. A lot of mistakes along the way. A lot of pages full of practice, and pages with a little more pressure because those are the "official" drawings. But with each new phase of our life, there are more and more blank pages for us to fill. All with the potential to get better, find your style, and to shine. :D

    Remember that you have great potential, dear reader. Everyone does. Some people choose not to live up to what they see, while some choose to fill what they see, and still others choose to exceed what they see. :) You might not think so, but I know you have wonderful potential. So hold your head high, smile, and know that you can do anything you set your mind to. You can do anything you want, and you can be anything you want. You don't have to fit into a mold you get tossed into if you don't fit it. Life is about self-discovery, so go out there and explore. :D

    Now then: Be brilliant, be free, and have a great day. ;)

Follow-Up Post: Hangover.

    First of all, for anyone who read my previous post and went, "Heeellooo! Cooking WINE." I would like to now utilize the advantages of my hair by directing you to my blog title. ;) "Ramblings of the Blissfully BLONDE". ;) I'd read the ingredients, but it just didn't register that there was alcohol. An honest mistake. :) The good news in all of this is that it was rice-derived, so allergies weren't an issue! ;D

    Well. After I made my post last night, I felt great for a while. Then I got hit with some hard nausea and the previously mentioned drunken symptoms got worse. Oh joy. My kittens were both avoiding me today, so I guess I was acting really strange or something. I recall conversing with my video game at some point, so maybe that was it. :( Poor babies. I, uh, also remember at one point while I was talking to the game character that in the middle of my sentence I abruptly held a finger up to my mouth and very loudly went, "SHH!!!" *pause* "Yes. I did just shush myself. So??" I...I just don't even know. XD

    Okay, so I tried to get my parents last night for help. My mom was like, "What d'you nee' help with..? *mumble mumble*" and went back to sleep. My dad woke up and escorted me back out to the couch where he told me that I was fine and it would wear off - my body just wasn't used to whatever I'd eaten. Then went back to bed. So..? XD Yeah. That was great. My mom was laughing so hard today though. Kept teasing me. I get the feeling that this is something that's gonna be joked about for a LONG time. ;)

    I woke up today in my dark room, in the middle of the day - an overcast day. I was thinking about how nervous I was to wake up and see what my mom had thought. I woke up facing the window. I usually don't like to face the window when I wake up. I like to sleep in the dark, and I even have my window covered so that my room remains fairly dark even in the daytime. But what little light that was coming through, was kind of pleasant. I had a bit of a headache, and when I rolled over so I was facing the dark, that headache spiked up. I started feeling that nausea again. Stood up, and my limbs just felt heavy. I felt a little dizzy too. Strong smells were adding to my nausea, as well.

    Brushed my teeth (the headache felt significantly better once I was out in the light), came out of the bathroom and heard my mom go, "How's the hangover?" with a chuckle. And that led to some interesting conversation. :) She was much amused, we will just say.

    I think the hangover could have been worse, and I'm thankful it wasn't. But I will say this: I can't believe how super sensitive I am! I was talking to my parents this evening, and my mom commented that she wasn't too surprised. Her side of the family got drunk fast on very little. My dad...well...apparently, that's the opposite case on his side. So, I inherited the lower tolerance. XD Yikes.

    Anyway, so. I dunno. Not having experience with this before, I wasn't sure what to do. I made some lotus root tea (AMAZING stuff! <3 ) and sat down on the couch. My mom made me some allergy-friendly flat bread and explained the the bread would help soak up the alcohol. So. Bread. Bread is hangover food! Aye. This has been interesting. XD

    I've just kinda been a slob today. I seriously didn't feel up to doing anything, and I figured if I tried to do anything major I'd probably just wind up falling and hurting myself. I've done that on better days, so.... >.> Yeah. Bedhead all day! xD

    Mmm...it was kinda funny when my dad came home. He asked me how I was and I told him I was good all things considered. And he was like, "Still feeling funny or something?" - "Dad. I have a hangover. I was drunk." - "Oh! Well you'd seemed fine to me...."

    Dad started going off about how in Princess Bride, Fezzik had stuck Inigo in hot and cold water to get him to sober up. "Did you want me to do that?? We've got two sinks." :'D Ohh dear. And then mom had fun making up new lyrics to a song, "You got. . .that drunken feelin. . .ooohhhh that drunken feelin. . .you got that drunken feelin, not quite gone, gone, gone, oooohhhhh ooohhh." Etcetera. ;)

    Yup. Love my family. :) Glad that this is something we can joke about.

    But, basically. I'm okay. :) I intend to get back into a better pattern tomorrow with some exercise and stuff.

    Not much more than this. *waves a hand in the air* Just figured it'd be good to make a follow-up post. :)

Have a great day, dear reader!

-Bryn

Oh Dear!!! Cooking Wine!

    Now, let me start this post, dear reader, by saying that I have never drunk alcohol before in my life! I'm slightly drunk at the moment, purely by accident. After some prodding, I've agreed to make a post while like this, just so I can come back to it later and see what I said. I doubt I'll actually say anything...different than I might when I'm severely tired. Apparently I'm acting just about the same as I would then. However, I've no intention of typing anything funny like my they would like for me to.... :) Instead, I'll tell you what happened in case someone reading this makes the same mistake I did.

    Let me tell about how this happened. Now, there are a few reasons why I've never drunk: 1, In the religion I'm a member of, we have something called the Word of Wisdom. This is there to help us be healthy, and to be free from addictions. Alcohol is something members are advised to stay away from. 2, I'm allergic to corn, and a lot of alcohol around here is corn derived. 3, Alcoholism runs strongly on both sides of my family! So that could be bad. ;)

    What happened was that tonight I was trying out a new recipe that called for two kinds of cooking wine (technically one kind, plus sake - but I was told I could substitute sake with rice cooking wine). I was led to believe that if you ever cooked with alcohol, that it cooks out. After eating my dinner, I started feeling kind of funny. A bit of a "buzz" and kinda went, "Now what could that be from, hmm?" Wherein I discovered that cooking wine...is alcoholic. Between the two I used, there's a 30% alcohol level. Then I was like, "Nah. That's supposed to cook out! And I didn't even use that much!" The funny feelings got worse so I did some poking around. Apparently it doesn't cook out completely. o.o''

    So, that. That is how I came to be slightly drunk on accident. (I bet the person who told me to go ahead and make the post is going to be disappointed with this. >.>)

    Basically, dear reader: If you're new to cooking like I am, and also haven't touched alcohol before.... Well, make sure to read the labels. Make sure you know that cooking wine has alcohol in it. Research on how to best cook out the alcohol, 100%, before sticking it in the recipe.... -///- It isn't too bad. I mean, I'm over the nausea part of it now, mostly. The buzz in my head is sorta clearing up. The room doesn't look like there's a heatwave in it anymore. So it doesn't seem to last very long. But still be cautious if you're like me! *laugh* This has been an experience....

    I also want to clear up: I don't have anything against people who do drink. I know some very wonderful people who do. It's just something I don't do. :)

Take care!

-Bryn

[Late] Valentine's Post

(((First: I didn't look up the history like I said I would in a previous post...sorry about that. ^^;; Maybe next time?)))

   Well, it was recently Valentine's Day for anyone who didn't know. :) I know growing up I kind of always hated Valentine's. I was that kid who got beat up very nearly every day of Elementary and wound up being kind of socially awkward in my Junior High and High School years as a result of that.

    There were very few people I truly got along with in Elementary, and that's because I wasn't interested in playing the "back stab" games. My mom will comment sometimes on how impressed she was that a young child would be able to recognize mind games and be able to see other children who were "social climbing" in a sense and go, "No." I'd had opportunities thrown at me to ditch the only friend I had for the more popular crowd, and never took them.

    Obviously, the little girls my age didn't like that and didn't like that I stuck up to them. So that proved...difficult...later. As for the boys who beat me up, well...I think that comes down to me being opinionated. Anyway, so I hated Valentine's Day in Elementary school. Why? Because it was mandatory to give everyone in the class a Valentine. :) I didn't like them and I knew they didn't like me - so why force us to give each other something?

    In 4th Grade, I got transferred to another school as my mom was made aware of a particularly violent bully I'd been in the same class as for a few years. I thought it would maybe be nice to go to a new school. A new start, you know? Haha...what a cute thought. >.> They were too snobbish to beat me, mostly. It was more teasing and ganging up on me during dodge ball and...other things. In some ways it was worse, and other ways it was the same. Everyone absolutely hated me - and I could barely stand most of them. But then, there were some cases where they would pretend to have "changed" and wanted to "friends" - really, they just wanted to get me to trust them so that I'd be vulnerable to humiliation and they could have a good laugh. There was one kid who I believe legitimately wanted to be friends, but peer pressure kept getting to him.

    I remember that year for Valentine's, I changed my stupid little Valentine's cards to "I hate you's". Mom had made a bunch with me the night before and on the car ride to school, I stuffed the nice ones into my backpack into the very back, and had the "I hate you's" in front. Mom had no idea. "Clever", eh? ;) That got me into trouble, naturally. I'll admit, it was a plan half-baked. The teacher was furious with me, and when I tried to explain that the whole class was bullying me and I was just getting back at them and that I honestly didn't love them and was therefore just being honest...well, that back-fired. He called my mom. Or maybe he made me call her. I don't know. All I know is, I got into trouble. And I seem to remember having to bring something the next day for everyone to make up for it.

    Terrible, absolutely terrible! I hated Elementary! Then Junior High comes in. "It's gonna be different now!" :D Nope. Well, yes, but no. I'll spare the details. But needless to say, this is the age where you might start doing something for your crushes to let them know you "like-like" them, not just "like". No one ever had a crush on me...or...no one...normal.... There was one boy throughout all my Junior High years that kept running up to me and making animal noises or something weird before running off. I still don't know what that was all about.

     Okay, so no one ever like-liked me, and the people I'd crush on were crushing on other people. But, now I had a large group of friends. All of us social outcasts banded together. :) So Valentine's Day in Junior High? You can write a love note to your crush in the school newspaper, send a chocolate rose to your crush, and so on and so forth. (And bring a piece of candy for each of your friends.) I always hated Valentine's Day. Because you'd get these girls who would get a million chocolate roses and notes and balloons and all sorts of things. You'd be like, "Okay, she's loved. Cool." Then you'd look around and realize that everyone in the class except for you had gotten something from someone.

    Cue: Sliding down in your chair, pulling your hoodie over your head and looking down so no one looks at you goes, "LOSER!!!!" Oh! *laugh* I hated it!! I hated being that loser kid. :)

    Then for High School! It just got worse. Not only do you have the chocolate roses, the love notes in the school newspaper, people getting called down to the front office to pick up something that a special someone or secret admirer dropped off for them - but now you can ask the choir to go sing a love song in the middle of class to someone! And...and. Now you've got mushy couples everywhere. And the school dance; Sweethearts. Lovely~! Oy. -///- Yeah.

    Okay, I will be the first to admit: I had a boyfriend my Sophomore year. We broke up a month or two before Valentine's Day. My Junior year, it was the same story.

    I always helped decorate for the dance because I was part of the club that was in charge of it; FCCLA. (Which, coincidentally, meant that I had free admission to the dance as part of the decorating committee.) I didn't go the first year, but I heard from some friends how wonderful it had been. My second year, the decorations were particularly amazing (and I also had a bouquet of fake roses I needed to retrieve before people raided the decorations at the end of the dance)...so me and a friend set each other up with some other friends. Mine took me as a pity date, but he was fantastic. My friend's...we had to bribe him...and he didn't even stay for very long. So my date wound up on a date with both of us - and then wound up on a date with us and another of our friends who had been forced to show up since she'd been elected for Sweethearts Sophomore Princess or something to the effect. That guy was so awesome. He made sure to dance with all three of us, and he'd sit and talk with us when we didn't want to, he got us drinks afterwards, he opened the doors for all three of us...he was just a good guy.

    My Senior year, I didn't go. I helped decorate, I photographed everything...but I didn't go. I wanted to really bad, but I swore I wouldn't go unless I was legitimately asked. I wouldn't pine for anything.

    And all the while, I never once in those 6 years got anything remotely romantic. Every year I'd hope that maybe I had a secret admirer or something cheesy because, well, that would be fun and exciting. I had friends who got that, but never me. It was kinda lonely in a sense. But my friends and I would always exchange treats at the start of the day, or at lunch, if anything. :)

    But! Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. :) Here is why: Every year in those 6 years of schooling, I would make sure to get a chocolate rose for each of my friends. I would throw a little party for me and my gal friends who were single so that we were never alone on Valentine's Day. We could make fun of mushy couples and be bitter about being single and watch violent movies. It was awesome.

    My number of friends - close or not - has decreased significantly. I more-or-less went from 20 friends to a small handful. :) But as I've been out of High School, I've continued to have my friends over on Valentine's Day because we're all still single. :) I make dinner for them every year, and I make sure to get the a small box of chocolates and a single rose. It took me up until this past year to figure out what Valentine's Day is to me.

    No, I never had anything romantic happen to me on Valentine's Day in my life. Well...no...that isn't true.... Last year...last year I got a very sweet text from a very, very dear and sweet friend.... <3

     Outside of that, there hasn't been anything. :) I've never been in a relationship long enough to be with someone on Valentine's. I've never gotten asked out on a date for it. But...what it took me so long to figure out is...it isn't about romance and being in love with your significant other. It isn't about couples and kissing and dates and romantic surprises.

    It isn't about having your significant other there at your side, and laying under the stars in the backyard on a blanket, staying close to one another to be warm - talking and dreaming about the future. It's a lovely thought, but it isn't what it's about. :)

    Valentine's Day is about love. "Who do I love in my life?" Well, I love my mother and my father, my brother and his wife, I love my friends, I love my extended family, I love my elderly next door neighbor, I love people in my neighborhood that I know from church, I love my Heavenly Father...I love a lot of people. :) And Valentine's Day is the perfect time for me to do something nice for some of those people.

    It didn't have to be anything elaborate either. For my immediate family, I made them dinner, and a small two-layer cake. For my best friends, I made them dinner and a heart-shaped cake. For my elderly neighbor, I went with my mom to visit her and gave her chocolates and a rose. Little things, really, but hopefully enough to remind them that I love them. :) I love to decorate and I love to cook for people...so I did something for myself, too. I did things that I love to do for the people I love and I love seeing them smile. :)

    And...aren't the majority of people single on Valentine's Day? So why make it a holiday about couples, and especially if you happen to be part of that single crowd? I think, just try to do something fun with your friends on Valentine's Day. You don't have to make or get them anything. Just hang out and watch a movie. As long as you're having fun with people you love, you're celebrating a beautiful holiday. :)

    It took me a very long time to figure that out. Or, to figure it out on a conscious level. So I wanted to share about my Valentine's Day life experience and hopefully make the holiday a little less bitter for someone next year. ;)

    As long as you have someone you care about, you have someone you love. And as long as you have someone you love, you have cause to celebrate.

    If you happen to find yourself alone; you don't have friends and you either never knew your family or your family is dead...then do something nice for yourself. Even if you aren't at a point in your life where you can say you love yourself, still do something nice for yourself. :) What better day than Valentine's Day? And if it's the "your family is dead" part...take a moment that day to remember your family. You hold them in your heart, and so you still love them - and they still love you. So, you aren't truly alone. :)

    I wish you much happiness, dear reader. :)

Take care!

-Bryn

A Simple Kindness.

   I was able to go out tonight, which was nice. :) I was dropping off a gift to a friend, and my mom had a few stores that she wanted to swing by real quick. The last place we went to, I noticed someone smoking as we pulled up. The first thing I thought was, "I wonder if I'll have to put my mask on?" Because I've been slowly working on being alright with being outside for short times without needing to wear my mask. (Oh: I don't have a problem with people who smoke, I promise. But I am allergic to nicotine, thus the thought about the mask.) Then I remembered an incident from quite a few months ago.

    I had been out with a friend. We were walking home after meeting up at a local collage, and after I hadn't been able to get a hold of my mom for a ride home. I was panicking from all the car fumes on the busy road when she called. We told her we'd meet her at the top of a particular hill we were near.  We started up the hill and about half-way up came close to a bus stop where someone was smoking.

    We were still several feet away - too far for the smoke to have any effect on me yet when my friend blurted out loud enough for him to hear, "Oh great! That guy's smoking! Now you're gonna die!" And proceeded to laugh.

    I got a really embarrassed forced-smile on my face and sighed, letting out an awkward attempt at a laugh. I mostly succeeded at looking embarrassed. I couldn't believe that she'd just done that! I could just imagine how offended this stranger must be, and was worried about if he'd say or do anything. He looked over at us and, instead of glaring or making a comment, he took several steps out into the road, since no cars usually passed down that hill. He looked back forward and went back to minding his own business. I made sure as we were passing him to comment to my friend just loud enough for him to hear (I hope), "I really hate having allergies." Just so that he would know that we weren't trying to be jerks, although that's how we probably came across. For which, I am sorry.

    I still can't quite figure out what his expression meant. But I do remember how touched and thankful I was at how kind he chose to be. The smoke still effected me, but not as much as it could have since he'd stepped out into the road. :) I know that he could have easily shot a glare at us, and he could have said a snide remark as we walked by. But, I think he could see I was embarrassed. I wonder if that had been the reason for his response, or if he would have stepped out into the road regardless to be a bigger person?

    Either way, I'm so thankful to this individual. It really shows a lot about someone's character to react with simple kindness when met with unkindness first. It's a certain strength, I think.

    I wish that more people could be kind. I wish that my friend hadn't been so rude. But...I feel like I learned a little something from this experience. And even if I hadn't, it still impressed me.

    Anyway, there's not much more. I just wanted to share this simple experience. :) And maybe...I would like to add on: The next time you're about to say something that you think is funny, pause and think on if it would be offensive. I think people offend through humor more often they realize, myself included at times, and without the intention to do so most of the time. And if you're offended by someone, maybe try to be a bigger person. You don't have to be kind to them to be bigger, you can just not respond to them. Sometimes when people react to offense it only escalates the situation, and that can break out into a fight or argument that may or may not have a lasting effect on someone.

    I guess...I just wish the world were a kinder place than it is. You know? :)

Have a good one!

-Bryn

Just An Update.

   I haven't really been updating my Blog too much again because, quite honestly, I can't think of much to post about. I mean, my mom got me off on this ramble about how I was gonna start my own country and name it Canadia to compete with Canada. (You see, I frequently refer to Canada as Canadia by mistake because inhabitants of Canada are Canadians. I don't know why my brain does this to me, but it does. So I thought it would be convenient to just re-name the country, or to start my own. I'm just awesomely terrible like that. I'm sorry, Canadians! I am so sorry! I blame the hair. But I don't think I've yet offended my Canadian relatives, so that's good, at least. :) )

    But by the time I got around to thinking of making it into a Blog post, I convinced myself that it would be offensive to any Canadians that might read it. I would think I was being funny, but they might not. *chuckle* Honestly, I think that I probably think I'm funnier than I really am. I like to pretend I'm hilarious, but I'm afraid I'm not nearly as clever as I think. Half the time when someone laughs it's when I'm being serious about something and they find the way I say it to be funny. So..? Not sure what that says about me. Anyway. Back to Canadia. Canada. That post. >.> I didn't make it, obviously. Quite frankly, I can't even remember the extent of the ramble.

    It had something to do with Canadian Bacon and the grudge I hold against it, though....

   Anyway. So then I keep getting prodded at to make a Blog update and then I keep thinking, "What should I post about? Today I made 2 baby hats for a friend. It was very exciting. I sat there and worked on the hat loom for a while and watched reruns of a silly show I grew up with. Yay!" Yup. That's exciting.

    So then I got thinking, "I don't have to post about anything serious, right? I just have to update the darn thing. I KNOW. I'll write about crayons."

    And so I shall. That, my dear reader, is what I've decided to post about today. Crayons. I'm not terribly fond of them. I much prefer colored pencils. It's just easier to get all the little details in a drawing that you can't get with a crayon - well, unless you happen to be very skilled. :) I am not skilled with crayons. But I do like the color variety you get with crayons that you may not get with colored pencils. You know? And sometimes they are just fun to color with. They're definitely good to have if you're helping out with little cousins. Just bring crayons and paper and they're happy. :D

    However...I also prefer colored pencils because, for the most part, they're smoother than crayons. If you do them right, I mean. Sometimes it doesn't look too smooth. Crayons definitely leave a certain texture.

    And what of markers? ...I refuse to use them. Ever.

  Granted, I know some very talented artists who use crayons, colored pencils, and markers and their creations look absolutely amazing! :D I'm not one of them, obviously. XD

    So...just for kicks and giggles, I'll include a colored pencil drawing I did some months ago. :) It's a horse. I'm not very talented with horses. ^^;; To do this one, I actually have...um. *cough* Well. A lot of mess-ups, we'll just say. But I liked how this one came out. :D

Have a great one!

-Bryn