I haven't posted anything in ages, and it's about time that I changed that. Here's a brief bit on what I've been up to lately, and I apologize for my lack of presence.

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Costume
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As I haven't even posted since 2010, I haven't mentioned last year's costume for Dragon*Con. I've never worn a costume at that convention before, but a friend suggested the idea of going to the con as "huge fans" (pun fully intended), and Robert, our roommate, and I could never shake the idea. So we set about making our own fan costumes. Here are a couple of photos of the results.


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Uploads
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On one hand, I really like when Zazzle and CafePress add new types of products. It provides more opportunities to add images to interesting things and more options for customers. On the other hand, it can be a real pain trying to keep up with the number of items added sometimes, and really cuts into time for creating new designs.

I do have a couple of things in progress, and a few ideas for more. Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple up soon (ideally before the next Dragon*Con).

For other bits of possible interest, I now have a website of my own and a Facebook page for my art. The website is only a collection of links at the moment, but for the time being it's a nice way to get all of those in one place.

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Wedding
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Robert and I have been together for a while, and this year we decided to finally turn our unofficial anniversary into an official one. It was small, but a lot of fun, and the best man brought monocles to complete our outfits.



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Project Comment Feature
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To finish up, here are some neat images from the group ProjectComment

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Mature Content

Robert and I both enjoy cooking, though we often don't really get to stretch our muscles, so-to-speak. For Christmas the year before last, Robert's parents gave him a gift subscription to Cook's Country magazine. This magazine (put out by America's Test Kitchen) has been one of the most interesting and useful magazines that I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of various other magazines, especially things like Popular Science, which probably leads to part of the reason that I enjoy Cook's Country so much. Not only does this magazine have some really tasty recipes (we've tried a few, including French Country Chicken and Flank Steak with Shallot-Mustard Sauce), it also has interesting articles for most of the recipes explaining how they got to the recipe printed. With nifty little tips and tricks on how to figure out various things or do complicated kitchen operations in a much easier way (such as easy ways to cut a whole chicken into pieces) and a good deal of scientific explanations behind why certain ingredients were added or why an early recipe screwed up, this magazine scratches several itches at once for me. Plus every issue includes a full page spread comparing different foodstuffs from a given category (such as a whole page spread on the different types of cherry tomatoes), a product comparison page with reasons why specific brands or items won out over others, and various useful tips and tricks sent in by readers (such as using an ice tray to freeze leftover egg whites and yolks so that you can pull them out for use later).

The recipes tend to be purely American or American-ized versions of recipes from other countries, but they do pull from a wide variety of states (Huli Huli Chicken from Hawaii, Kentucky Burgoo, and Joe Booker Stew from New England to name a few). Also, though you'll find one recipe each edition that remakes an old favorite with lower fat content (carrot cake was one), this is not a low-fat only magazine and definitely not a vegetarian magazine. If you're not looking for something specific like that, though, this magazine may just be something worth looking into if you enjoy cooking magazines. Also, the same company puts out another magazine called Cook's Illustrated. According to a chef friend of ours, Cook's Country is the dumbed down version of Cook's Illustrated. Country does have far more pictures and a slightly more friendly layout, while Illustrated feels a bit more like a text book. Overall, though, from what I've seen, they both contain really good information. And for someone like me who grew up being taught how to cook Hamburger Helper and little else, Cook's Country is just fine. I still learn useful information in every edition. If you're interested in seeing a bit more about the magazines, check out www.cookscountry.com/ Cook's Illustrated is linked at the top of the page so you can compare.

Finally, I am almost to 10,000 pageviews (less than 50 to go), and I wanted to offer a small kiriban to anyone who catches it. Send me a note with the screenshot of the 10,000th view, and I'll feature 5 of your deviations in a journal and create your choice of a small (3 layer) mandala or a small Celtic weave (the digital file will be sent to you once it's complete).

Hope you guys have a great day, and enjoy this sampling from some of the groups that I watch.


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Great Groups and Community Projects:
Member or higher:
Watcher only:

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Prints and Products:
deviantArt | RedBubble | Heaven and Earth Designs | <a href=www.cafepress.com/valeriedesig…">CafePress | Wedding Invitations | Zazzle Holiday Designs