National Strawberry Shortcake Day!

Mood:

I love strawberry shortcake!This holiday was on Tuesday. Seems kind of early to have a day devoted to it. It seems like a mid-summer fair-type treat. The day before was National Cucumber Day. Cucumbers are awesome! Even just eating them plain is good. Yesterday was National Fudge Day. Today's National Apple Strudel Day. So much good food!

This is my wallpaper for June. It's another Pandora Hearts one. The series is already heavily influenced by Alice and Wonderland, so it's interesting to see one where they try to parody it. There are a lot of differences between the two stories, but they have a lot of the same elements. Even nicknames for characters and their chains might be the same as names from Alice and Wonderland. Heck, the main character of Pandora Hearts is named Alice. Oz is the other main character, and towards the end of the manga we found out who or what he is. Really, both the pocket watch and the rabbit make so much sense for him. The concept of time keeps popping up throughout it, too. The Abyss is like the rabbit hole. Although, the 'world' down there seems even more messed up and demented than the one in Wonderland.Break's 'chain' is called the Mad Hatter, and he's sometimes referred to as that himself. He certainly fits that character. A cat that was originally Alice's mother's (her name was Lacie) turned into the Cheshire Cat in the Abyss. I'm not so sure about Sharon being the Queen of Hearts in this wallpaper.Her chain is Equus, which is a horse that can teleport people back to safety. If I'm remembering correctly, there was someone who had a chain called the Queen of Hearts, and they kept muttering things like: "Off with their heads!" They seemed like a side character. Important, but was only mentioned briefly. They were the ones who were decapitating people. They should have picked that character instead...I'm not so sure about Gil being the March Hare, either. His chain is the Raven. Apparently, there was a minor character named The Monstrous Crow in Alice and Wonderland. 

My beagle calendar features another cute beagle.This one barely seems older than a puppy. His whole body is shown in this one. His tail is sticking straight up. The info blurb this time is about 'the Beagle Brigade' that patrol baggage-claim areas at over 20 international airports. They successfully seize tens of thousands of items every year. Also, that a beagle's coat is water resistant. 

My Jewish calendar features 2 pics of what looks to be parts of the same chuppah. Chuppah is like a canopy that a Jewish couple stands under during their wedding ceremony. They have the same info with both the pics, too. Made by Saskia Weishut-Snapper; out of velvet, tulle, paint, metal threads; Epse, Netherlands; 1991. Interesting designs that seem a bit difficult to really pick out the scenes. The other pic features a mizrach, made by Abraham Yakin; paper; Jerusalem, Israel; 1987-88. A mizrach can be an indicator of where east is. People in the diaspora, or those not living in Israel, face east while praying. So, there might be a special painting or other piece of art that indicates where to pray. I don't see these little 'indicators' too often. Odd that one would be made in Jerusalem itself. While there, people pray towards the Kotel. Wherever that is in relation to where they are. Maybe it's used in that sense, too. This one is colorful with a menorah, Star of David within a circle, branches stretching out, two deer that seem to be kissing, a meadow, and flowers. Looks really busy, but nice.

The month-long holidays are: National Candy Month, National Dairy Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Seafood Month, LGBT Pride Month, National Camping Month, National Oceans Month, National Rose Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. 

Well, it's been a lot longer than I expected it to be since the last time I posted.It seems my symptoms were (still are) worsening, and with recent events like what happened in Orlando, it all threw me off for a bit. Also, there were some days where it was unusually warm for us, so I turned my computer off during those times. Hopefully, despite what might happen, I'll post more often on here.

I emailed my gastroenterologist last week about the symptoms. Interestingly, I didn't have a lot of the same ones when I was diagnosed. I guess that sort of thing can evolve. Some, not all (others were kind of a bit tmi...), of the symptoms I mentioned in the email were: being fatigued almost all the time, frequent waves of nausea, joint pain (particularly in my right knee), strong abdominal pain (stronger at times than what I've been 'used to'), lightheaded, ears are ringing a lot more often (I think that's usually like an internal alarm for me that something's not right when it happens), heavy and acidic stomach pain (I didn't have that much stomach pain when I was diagnosed, the pain was mostly in my lower abdomen), a lot of pain just before eating and just after, and more gurgly than usual. Recently, about 3 days ago, I've had stabbing pains on the middle right side of my abdomen that radiates across my back and towards my spine. Also, some weird chest pain that just started about 2 days ago.

Anyways, I mentioned how this didn't sound like I was in remission. I've read that when you are, you have very few symptoms, if any. One of the goals to go into remission is to take care of the symptoms first. My last blood test results and the sigmoidoscopy indicated that I was in remission. The sigmoidoscopy was done at the beginning of April, and the most recent blood tests were done at the beginning of last month. I mentioned at the end of the email that I wouldn't mind having a phone appointment with her to talk about these symptoms. She emailed me back a couple of days later, and she agreed that we should discuss it further through a phone appointment. I thought she would ignore me or not take it seriously, since the last batch of tests indicated I was in 'remission'. Also, because of the way I felt at the end of my last physical appointment with her. She didn't really take one of the symptoms I was feeling at the time seriously.

Had the phone appointment Monday morning. She was surprised by all the symptoms, and agreed that they weren't normal or what people usually have while in remission. To her, some of the symptoms sounded like they might be caused by the azathioprine. So, she wanted me to go from 2 pills a day to 1 1/2 pills a day. This scares me a bit, considering it's the only med that I'm taking that's specifically for it.I do remember that when I was taking 3 a day, it caused some nasty side effects. I'm wondering if maybe my body doesn't like to be on it for too long. It takes a while for the azathioprine to build up in your system and to actual start to kick in. Maybe I need to switch to another med. But, that might mean trying a biologic like humira or remicade. Pretty much the heavier meds are the only ones I know about that are left.

She also wants me to do another test to see if my small intestines are affected, and it will also show if my colon is starting to get inflamed again. Not to gross people out, but it's a stool sample test. It's nasty, and I was only able to do it once.The lab tech 'prepared' the samples for me. (Many of them prefer people do it with a kit at home, but you supposedly can do it there, too.) Hopefully, they can do that this time. It's still gross. But, if it gives a better view of what's happening, I'll try. 

They haven't looked at my small intestines yet through any sort of testing. It's all been about everything else on my digestive tract. I've been curious about that area since I had my endoscopy/colonoscopy last summer. It's somewhat of a tough area to test. It would be nice to have them look at it through imaging. To get even a better idea of how it's doing. I might ask about that after doing/getting the results back from that test she wants me to do. One thing at a time is probably good with that.I've read that some of my symptoms correspond a bit to what people might experience if their small intestines are affected. So, that should be interesting. I know my gastro can't exactly pinpoint which IBD I have (either Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis), but what if I have both? This might be why she can't be entirely certain. I've read that some people do have both, although it's more rare.

She said I could try 2 over the counter meds for a couple of my symptoms. One I had already, but she recommended I have more than what they say is the highest dose you can have in a 24-hour period. I think the other one my mom used in pill form. But, my gastro said the powder form would be a lot more effective for me. At least, she didn't insist on taking miralax still. I tried it twice before. Didn't work, and couldn't stand the smell or taste. This new powder reminds me a lot of Tang.Haven't actually had Tang in a very long time, but this stuff smells and tastes like it. Which is like 1000x better than the other stuff I was trying. It actually tastes good.Hopefully, it won't be addicting. The only downside to it, that I noticed, is you have to have a lot of water with it. You have to drink it fast, too. 

She wants me to email her back in 2 to 3 weeks about how I'm doing. She might email me sooner if something is really out of whack in the results of that test. She was a lot more helpful than I expected. If she hadn't been, I have a referral to see another gastro, just in case. Even have it on paper. I'll keep it, and see what happens. I watched a webcast on CCFA's site about treatments, plans, what remission really looks like, etc. A lot of what I learned from it weren't even touched on when I saw her in person or even on the phone. They also mentioned that at any time, if you don't feel satisfied by how your gastroenterologist is treating your case, you should get a second opinion or entirely switch to someone else. They said there are great risks to you as a patient if you essentially don't advocate for yourself. This also means that you have to be clear, update them on new symptoms as soon as they come up, stay in contact, etc. So, it somewhat works both ways.There were several months where I basically tried to ignore it, but the symptoms were more difficult to deal with because of this. I'm trying to be better about it.

Since I've been feeling so crummy lately, what with events happening like Orlando and my symptoms, I decided to put makeup on for the first time in a very long time. It usually makes me feel better, if I look better than I feel. I didn't just put lipstick on either. I put foundation, blush, mascara, a little eye brow pencil, and eye shadow. I used about 4 different shades/colors of eye shadow (white, sparkly gold, light blue, and a light beige), but they seemed to blend well. It was fun picking out which ones to try. Certain eye shadows don't show up very well on my eyelids. They kind of disappear.The lipstick was called Fuchsia with Blue Pearl. It's kind of got a metallic sheen to it. Seems to glow in dim light. Apparently, people loved that color on facebook. It's one of my favorites, but it feels like it might not go with too many things. I was wearing a light blue sweater. 

There was only one comment that was somewhat upsetting to me. This person made a similar comment the last time I posted a selfie. That was, I think, in March. I don't do selfies that often. Anyways, they said they see my mom through me in that photo. That seems especially creepy since my mom passed away 4 years ago. In that sense, they might be trying to comfort me, but sort of ending up doing the opposite in the end. I'm also me. I'm not my mom. I'm a different person. I have different tastes, interests, personality, etc. There are also very very few similarities with the way she looked and the way I do now in pics. So, this is weird to me. The person who said it is a really nice person, so I know they mean well. It just doesn't really come across that way to me. I certainly don't mean to be rude or hurt other people's feelings. Just the way I view it.

I also did my nails. Haven't done that in a while.The nail polish I used is called Scarlett O'Hara. A really nice bold sparkly red. One of my newer ones. I normally like stand out sort of colors. So, if I do red, it has to be bold and different. I have some metallic blue ones, metallic purple, light creamy blue (they call it blueberry), frosty colors, orange, very dark purple with glitter to put on top of it, and more. 

For the past few weeks I've joined the bandwagon in posting 'TBT' or Throw Back Thursday posts. For one of yesterday's pics I posted one of me when I was 4 months old laying in a big tub(?) chair. Drifter, one of the cats at the time, was on the back of the chair watching on like a statue. The other one is of me when I was about 16 (the note on it said it was a month before or the month of my birthday that year, close enough) in my high school marching band uniform holding my clarinet. I was in marching band from junior high up until a couple of years into college. Only stopped because of an accident during practice where I nearly broke my tailbone. They couldn't actually tell, because there was too much blood internally obstructing what the x-ray could show. Hurt like hell for months after. It had to heal, and after that I couldn't high step. Sad, but I have a lot of good memories of it.

Pumpkin Day!

Mood:

This was yesterday. I used to hate any dish that had to do with pumpkins. I would even steer clear of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. For some reason, I slowly started to like it over time. I seem to have changing tastes as I age. Used to love mushrooms, now I can't stand their texture. (The flavor's still fine.) I also used to hate cheesecake, until I tried some at summer camp. Anyways, maybe I finally had a good slice of pumpkin pie or something.Now, it's the only squash I'll eat. Who knows, maybe that'll change in the future. I find some of that pumpkin spice stuff (especially the Starbucks latte) kind of fake. Doesn't taste as 'authentic' as the real thing. Although, I found a nice pumpkin spice tea that's made with actual pumpkin in it. It's a heavy flavor, but good. (Kind of like drinking pumpkin pie, only without the calories...) It was also Pretzel Day and Mincemeat Pie Day. I've always liked pretzels and mincemeat pie. I was perplexed by the name of the pie before I tried it. I've heard other people hate it with a passion, and people warned me that it's an 'acquired' taste. I don't see why.It's a fruity/buttery/spice mix of things in pie form, essentially. What's wrong with that? The original pie, I've read, did have meat in it. But, the modern version doesn't. Today's National Potato Day. I absolutely love potatoes!Could probably eat them with every meal. 

Good news! I'm back on my insurance plan. Yay!Found out on Friday. So, knowing I still had to get a blood draw this month, yesterday I went to the lab to have it done. Apparently, they didn't have the order in from my gastroenterologist. She put it in at the end of last month, like she did the previous month. They didn't even have her name in my records. This was a little unsettling...They did have my primary's name, but that was it. They called my gastro's office about it all, and told me to come back tomorrow to try it again. Interestingly, there were 2 lab techs there, instead of the usual one. Maybe one of them was in training? 

While I was there, both Dad and I decided to get our flu shots. We checked-in with the front desk, filled out some paperwork, and waited for the nurse to come get us. We saw the people at the front desk clear out and close their booths. So, after waiting a little longer with no one coming to get us, I saw a sign about the flu shots and when they were being done. We had checked-in at about 4:45pm. The sign said they stop doing them at 5pm. By the time I looked at that sign it was already 5:02. So, I went back to the lab to see what we should do. They said to keep the forms, and get that done tomorrow, as well. So weird, though. They shouldn't have checked us in and given us paperwork to fill out, if no one was there to administer them...It's a waste of time that way. 

I also sent an email to my gastro about it all last night. Just as another heads up. I thought even if just her team gets it, it should be good. She was pretty quick at responding. Last time I tried to email her, I got one of her nurses. But, this went directly to her. I like when it's a direct thing. The go-between can mess things up by accident, or not know much about my records.She said she just put in a new order, and I can get it done within the next few days. Hopefully, that includes today. She apologized for the inconvenience, and said she was glad I'm covered again. I don't know why, but I keep thinking she's going to respond to my emails/calls in a negative way. She never has. In fact, her response is usually very nice and warm. 

My IBD might be 'flaring' up again. It's not nearly as bad as it was a couple of months ago, at least. It's still worse than it's been for the last month or so. (Also, seem to be dropping things more often. Not sure if that's related or what, though.) It scares me a bit. So, it's the perfect time to run that blood work. Maybe the azathioprine isn't working as well, even after upping the dosage? Maybe going down to a smaller dose for the balsalazide wasn't a good idea? (I'm so sick of this one, though!They're huge plastic capsules, and 3 at a time. At least with azathioprine it's one tiny tablet each time.) I don't know. The tests will help to see what's going on now. Hopefully, the sed rate is still going down. It measures inflammation, and can be an indicator to see if the disease is in remission. It was still really high last time, but it was slowly going down from what it started with. I still find it fascinating to see the results. Even when they're 'normal'. 

Saturday night I went to a fun Halloween party. I won one of the games, wore a costume, had snacks (Dad and I brought potato chips. 2 kinds: garlic, and BBQ), other people had alcohol (I can't drink alcohol because of my meds mainly), watched some weird and interesting youtube videos, and chatted. It was a bit sad that the person who invited me on facebook was sick and couldn't really attend. There weren't that many people there, but that can be nice in its own way, too.

During that day, Dad and I went to go get costumes at 2 local stores. I wanted to be a unicorn, but nothing seemed to work with it. One place had a weird light-up unicorn horn, and the closest the other place had were My Little Pony things. Not really enough.Dad wanted to be a pirate wench, but nothing seemed to fit. Kind of threw us both off. I looked around to get some more ideas for a costume at the last place, and landed in the cat section. 

After looking in that section for a while, I decided to be a punk-like cat.Found some black cat ears that had a lot of different studs on the inside part of the ears. On a corner of one of the ears there are small chains hanging off of it. A pair of black fuzzy fingerless gloves, as well. They have silvery paw pads in the palm area. Although, they seem to be slightly off-center. They're nice and cozy. A black choker with silver studs/spikes around the band, and a silver heart that hangs from it. So, it's like a collar. I was surprised it fit. In fact, I could have it on the tightest part and it'll probably still be fine. A black 'fancy' cat tail that has a glittery pom-pom at the end. It has some sort of joint inside, so you can move it around. So, you can show more emotion with it. It's nice and long, too. Kind of bounces as I walk. And, finally a small black eye mask, that apparently didn't fit. Or, more accurately, the elastic band was placed so oddly, I can't figure out how to really unravel it enough to put it over my head. Although, I don't know if it's supposed to be double banded...That would be for an awfully small head.I'll check it out again for Halloween. I kind of like it without the mask now, too. But, if I can figure the mask out and it actually fits, I can use it for future costumes. It's the only thing that didn't 'fit'. 

I wore those accessories with my black short sleeved v-neck sweater. It's the longest sleeved black shirt I have. The sleeves are actually now close to halfway down my arms. They used to be (before I lost so much weight) half as long, the rest of it used to be smaller on me, too. It looks the most fur-like, too. Also, wore my black pants. They've gotten rather baggy on me, too. The sweater and pants are actually 2 different shades of black. The sweater being slightly lighter. But, cats can have different shades/colors in their fur, so it still goes with it. I wore my black tights under that. I'm really not used to wearing tights anymore. These were actually slightly big on me. I wore my black flats for the shoes. They kind of have a nice ruche pattern. Dad had found a witch's dress (I think) we had at home to wear. It might be different on Halloween though. Don't know. 

I think I might wear nail polish with that outfit on Halloween. I have a duo nail polish thing where one side is a very dark purple (almost black) color, and the other side has confetti. The confetti has some bigger pieces than the glitter stuff. It's called Nail Art: Moon Candy. It'll be like I have shiny claws. Last time I did this nail polish, I didn't wait long enough for the dark purple part to dry before I put the confetti stuff on. It was kind of a mess.So, we'll see how that turns out this time.

We've been invited to friends of the family's wedding anniversary party on Halloween. I think it's a costume party, but can't seem to find the paper version of the invitation to double check.The email didn't say much. I just know that they needed to know how many people were coming beforehand, because it's going to be catered. Sounds fancier than what I originally thought, but it is a big thing. At the very least for celebrating their anniversary. I'm not even sure if it'll actually be at their place. We usually go to their place for Thanksgiving, occasionally a night of Hanukkah, New Year's Eve, and a Passover seder. I guess I'll find out more later. I'll try to take or have someone take pics of me in costume. Most of the time, I'm cool with having my pic taken if I'm in a costume I like on Halloween. It's different the rest of the year. Also, a week after that is my birthday!Yay!

I've gotten back to my sit-ups for the last couple of weeks. This week I'm doing 20 of them twice a day. Hope to get back to my walks, too. It'd be great if I can do the 3 2-mile walks a day. But, I'd be fine with getting my usual 2 in. 

Finished watching Rurouni Kenshin. The last episode was kind of a waste.They kept teasing the fans throughout it. They put real life pics in the background occasionally. That looked a bit bizarre. The last story arc was a bit disappointing, too. Someone commented that there's an OVA that is truly the ending. Like I mentioned last time, I'll go through all the movies and OVAs, as well. The live-action movies should be very interesting. I've heard all 3 of them are considered some of the best anime/manga to live-action movies. It can be difficult to pull off.

I colored in the skull and candle drawing I did for my cover art in Photoshop. Also, figured out a background color and effect. I still want to color the drawing manually with colored pencils. Just to compare the Photoshop version with it. I might make 2 different cover arts for it. One with the colored pencils, and the other with the Photoshop one. Also, to compare to see which is best. I have somewhat of an idea for the title's font and its color. Hopefully, it'll be as clear and as neat possible. So, people can be drawn to it. 

Hopefully, I'll get to posting here more often again.I translated more of part of a You Maga article recently. It's about info for Japanese families that are living in the US. Many have questions about the school system, health care, etc. It's been interesting so far. Sounded better than I expected when I played my clarinet recently. Studied some kanji and quizzed myself on JapaneseClass' recently, as well. 

Read a lot more of Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman. It's been interesting so far. I have a feeling that the killer or the people he's mentoring are about to kill a little kid that went missing. I don't want that to happen, but it's looking like that. Also, Peter found out that his mother is a friend of Rina's ex-husband's family. It's the first time he's seen her. He was adopted at birth, and he searched for her for years, but gave up. He thought she hated him, and apparently she thought he hated her. So, both of them thought it was a lost cause. She was only 15 when she had him, and she said her true love was his father. But, her father didn't like their relationship, and gave her an ultimatum. So, she left him behind. He later died. When he died, all his religious books and most of his belongings were sent to Peter. He hadn't met him yet, but was about to. When his mother first saw him, she passed out. Peter dropped the plate of food he had and just froze staring at her. He now knows he has half-siblings. That part has been very interesting. 

Youtube:
A Fairy Tail amv based on the current arc (which has been pretty epic):

Another hilarious Gintama amv:

A cool Kekkai Sensen amv:

2 more Gintama amvs (the last one shows the serious side of the show):

Universal Music Day!

Mood:

Yay, for music!This was on Saturday. We should celebrate listening and/or making music every day, though. But, some people might need a reminder every so often. The organization that started it, says it's a day to encourage people from around the world to make some sort of music. If they can't, at the very least listen to something that's inspiring or that really resonates with them. Kind of a cool idea. 

The weather was crazy on Saturday. It was very rainy and windy. In fact, it apparently had gotten so bad that downtown (along the waterfront) was flooded. The videos I've seen of it are amazing to watch. (One person calls it a 'hurricane' in their vid.) It's like a river opened up over the main road.The lights flickered occasionally during the day here, but there wasn't any real flooding around us, and the power didn't go out. Just looked really messy outside. Sunday was a bit chilly, but sunny at times. Quite different than the day before. 

I still feel like I'm slowly coming out of my cold or whatever it was.I'm a lot better than I was, though. Hoping to start up my sit-ups again on a regular basis. I did them last night and this morning. So, it's a start. Doing 10 sit-ups 2 times a day this week. Somewhere simple to start with. It'd be great if I can get back to my 2-mile walks again, too. 

Something has been weighing heavily on my mind since Wednesday. (Although, I feel a lot better today about it.) I was told that I'm off of my health insurance, after I tried to order more of the azathioprine. Funny thing is, I ordered another med on the 2nd, and didn't have any problems with it. In fact, it was cheaper than usual. Which had me really puzzled.Dad had switched jobs to a local school district recently (she works at the high school that's about a 5 minute walk from home now), and I think the insurance changes over in October. (I'm a dependent on it.) It's supposed to be the same sort of plan, because it's the one offered to all 'educators' in the state. (I think.) 

Anyways, I decided to put the azathioprine on hold for a few days to see if it was a glitch. It was still the same yesterday. I had to order it, considering I'll run out on the 19th. They still haven't updated the dosage, so I get 20 days of it instead of 30.They told me I should tell my doctor about it when I got my meds right away, so it's changed for next time. Thank goodness it didn't cost as much as the med I got on the 2nd, if I wasn't covered. Normally, for that one while I'm covered, it's $6. When I ordered it on the 2nd, it was $3. If I wasn't covered, it would have been about $140. Crazy!That's a huge difference. 

I read that there might be a waiting period between the switch to the 'new plan'. Some say it might be until the 15th. I'm a little angry about it (ok, maybe more than just a little angry...), but I'd be so relieved if it did kick in then. Some say it might be as long as 90 days. I can't wait that long...Found out last night that Dad's off of it now for the time being, as well. (She really needs it, too.) So, it kind of feels like I'm falling without a safety net at the moment.Luckily, I'm pretty stable right now with my IBD. Although, this has caused a bit of stress on it. I was supposed to get a blood draw at the beginning of this month, but knowing that I'm not covered yet, I'm putting it off. It's free while I'm covered, but without it, it can be pretty expensive to have lab work done. They show how much the insurance pays for that and other things on a chart online so you can see how much things would cost. It's interesting to look at if you're covered. If not, it can be scary.If I do get back on the plan on the 15th, I'll get the blood draw done as soon as I can after that. I'm going to email my gastro about some of this stuff soon.

It feels scary also because I still feel new to IBD stuff. I feel I still don't know much about it, even though I'm learning a lot. I read a lot of it also has to do with how each individual's body reacts to it. It's different for everyone. That's also another scary part, since I was very recently diagnosed. Not enough time to really know what it's doing, or what the meds are doing to me. So not being covered feels like throwing me to the wolves this way.

Since I started azathioprine (especially with the most recent dose), I've noticed that my nails have thinned, become soft, and are somewhat rubbery. It's a weird feeling. I noticed it a bit before I upped the dose when I took off a Jamberry nail thing. (They're kind of like really strong stickers or decals for your nails. They have some interesting styles.) It left marks, and part of the inner nail area flaked off. I did it exactly as they told me to. Now my nails easily bend, get little nicks in them, have weird ripples/indents, and can be hard to clip. The hard to clip part is mainly because of that rubbery thing. (I only used the Jamberry samples on my index fingers, so it definitely didn't cause this. So, I'm not downing them.) It's kind of sad.I'm staying far away from Jamberry now. I only tried it once, but it doesn't sound smart for me right now. I'm even a bit weary of nail polish, but think it might be better for me. 

I might also be losing muscle mass or 'wasting' slowly. Wasting's such a weird term for it, but that's what people call it. I normally am extremely muscular in my legs. I know, because not only did I do marching band from the beginning of junior high until a few years into college; I took 2 weight training classes. One in high school, and the other in college. Weight training's also a gauge since I could see how much weight certain muscles could stand in my body. I remember the first time I was on the 'sled' in the high school class, I started with the wrong amount of weight. 200 pounds.It's a machine where you lie back and push up a platform that holds weights with your legs. Normally, people start with maybe 20 pounds at most. The 200 pounds felt like nothing, which impressed the teacher. I was allowed to slowly continue adding weights to it as long as I had a spotter. (He lectured me first about safety with the weights.) I think I made it close to 400 without much of a problem. I beat a football player who challenged me on it.Interestingly, I think there were only one or two other girls in that class. It was similar in college. That shows you how strong my legs can naturally be. I also had to walk uphill to a lot of my classes in college, getting my 'cougar' calves. (The cougar is their mascot.) I also had to walk to school and back in junior high and high school. Sometimes I had to walk to and from several times, because of band stuff or clubs. Anyways, I'm noticing that those muscles seem to be shrinking. I'm getting bonier in those areas. I don't want to lose them. I'm losing fat in those areas too, but I feel the muscles themselves are going as well. I don't feel as strong there. My upper arms feel weaker, too. It's a weird feeling.

I'm getting close to finishing Rurouni Kenshin. I don't really want it to end. The art just kept getting better and better. Seems pretty high quality for the time, too. The current arc is a bit weird. It's on feng shui, and how people are exploiting others through it. I wonder how the series will end? There are still movies, OVAs (Original Video Animation- usually either like a special or an original story based on the series. They can be a few episodes long), and 3 live-action movies. The live-action ones are rather new, and would also be very interesting. There are parts of the show that seem kind of 'magical', but are usually explained in a real life sort of way. So, I totally think it can be pulled off in live-action. I think I've watched one of the OVAs a long time ago. It was before I watched an episode of the actual series. I think it was called Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, and it was a lot more tragic and sad. I might watch it again, along with the other stuff I haven't seen, after I'm through with the series. I think I'll go in chronological order. The first thing is a movie from 1997. 

The finale of Kekkai Sensen or Bloodline Battlefront was finally put out last week.They postponed it for close to 3 months. It was roughly twice as long as a normal episode. I really love this series, so it was nice that they made it longer. I don't like that they made the fans wait for so long.I get maybe having a couple weeks for a break, but 3 months? I read that one of the issues was that there were scheduling problems. Many people had complained in the comments section even after the finale that things seemed too random, it was too fast, and they didn't know what was happening. It sure didn't seem random to me, and even though it was pretty complex and quick, I understood most of it.But, I like those ones that make you think. They still didn't answer a lot of things, but I think part of what made it good was the many little mysteries scattered throughout. (Of course, the humor was a huge plus.) It had a very bittersweet ending. Ghost or White disappeared. (She called herself Ghost at first to Leo.) I think she passed away, but gave Black (her brother) the power of the barrier. I think they got rid of the 'King of Despair', who was like the king of the vampires that hid in Black. He would take him over repeatedly, and had the opposite personality. (His eyes would go from blue to red, and he styled his hair differently.) I say he might have disappeared, because at the very end we heard the tune that the 'King' is always whistling coming from someone else. We don't see their face, but their back. There were hints of a possible 2nd season. Libra welcomed someone new at the very end. Again, they didn't really show this person. Leo's sister was shown at the end reading his letters while in her wheelchair at a park. Someone is behind her. She opens her eyes, and it seems like something happened with hers as well. I was thinking halfway through the series that maybe she's blind, but her eyes looked 'special'. Not like Leo's, but like they didn't have pupils, grey, and almost like she had galaxies in them. I'm wondering if the person behind her really read the letters out loud to her while she held them...(All we hear is Leo's voice reading it out.) We don't really know. Someone said White wasn't in the manga. She's pretty central to this season of the anime, but maybe that means there's even more of a possibility for it coming back. There are plenty of 'bad' guys left, too. I'd love a 2nd season, but hopefully they'd plan it better if it happens. 

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I started watching the 2nd season of Kuroko no Basket or Kuroko's Basketball. It seems even more interesting this season. I think there's one more season to the series so far. I'm thinking of watching the 2nd season of Haikyuu that's currently airing, soon. Another sports themed one. Haikyuu revolves around volleyball.

Started reading Hyde and Closer recently. It was recommended to be similar to Hitman Reborn. I can see a lot of similarities already. The 'teacher' and the other stuffed animals seem much cuter and deadlier, though. (Rather than the 'babies' do in Reborn. Seemed like they were just going for weird and slightly cute in that one.) I like that sort of thing. Shunpei Closer's grandfather, Alsyd Closer, would travel around the world and always came back to Japan to tell his grandson about his amazing adventures. Before leaving for Africa, he gave Shunpei a teddy bear named Hyde on his 7th birthday. 6 years later and Shunpei receives a dangerous package that had a stuffed monkey inside. The stuffed monkey came to life and started attacking him. Later Hyde comes to 'life' and eventually saves him. Shunpei apparently comes from a long line of legendary mages. He's the last descendant left, and all mages from around the world are after him. If they kill him, they can gain immeasurable power. Apparently, his grandpa gave him Hyde to protect him, and to teach him how to hone his magical powers. Powers Shunpei didn't know he had. Hyde likes to put candy cigars in his mouth, drinks honey like it's whiskey, and has his weapon called 'Texas Chainsaw' stuck up inside him. Shunpei has to unzip Hyde's zipper in the back in order for him to take it out. So far he doesn't seem to have any friends or people that join forces with him yet, like Hitman Reborn did. It'd be interesting if it progressed like that. I wouldn't mind if it was similar, but had its own unique qualities. 

Magico has gotten more and more interesting. It's a pretty unique series so far. I'm at the final round of the husband and wife tournament Shion and Emma are in. If they win, they finish one of the rituals for Magico and they get a magical home as the prize for winning the tournament. It feels like they've befriended almost everyone in the tournament. Shion's brother showed up, and asked him to stand in for a ritual for him where he's not sure if he'll survive. Later, Shion refused and said he'll do anything to stay happily with Emma. He doesn't want it to end like that. His brother, Faust, seems really evil. After being turned down, he got really pissed and showed himself as a contestant in the tournament. He was apparently signed up for it under a different name the entire time. Now he's out for blood against Shion. Saying Shion is so selfish, and only thinks about himself. Sounds like he has it backwards...He's pretty powerful, but never became one of the great sages like Shion. He's resentful towards him, and considers Shion a failure of a human being. He apparently has the power to use the dead to fight, can kill and bring back people alive instantly, can pop in and out of people's mouths, and has some sort of black fire. Interesting. After the tournament, Shion promised a couple, their kid, and their cat that they'd be able to be neighbors in his dragon, Sieg. His dragon is like his son. He found his egg buried somewhere, and took care of it. His home is inside the dragon. It looks like there's a whole village inside, though. But, he along with Emma, Luu, and their cat are the only ones that live there. Shion was really lonely with just his cat there for a while, and thought it'd be great to have neighbors someday. The family also couldn't go back to where they came from, so it would be perfect. Interesting to see how it unfolds. And, after this part of the greater Magico ritual, what's next?

Yesterday, I drew a skull with a candle coming out of it, that'll be used in the cover art for my nightmare anthology. I finished it remarkably quickly. At least, for me it was quick. Turned out much better than I expected, too.Didn't have to edit much in Photoshop. I'll color it in Photoshop and on my drawing pad to see which is better. (Color the candle, and maybe darken parts of the skull.) I'll use the best one. Then, I have to decide on a background color, any effects I want, and the title stuff. It's progressing much faster than I expected. Getting kind of exciting.After I finish the cover art, I might do one more read through, and then I'll submit it to Smashwords. Then, it's a waiting game. The first approval will put it in their normal catalog. Then, after the 2nd approval, it's put into their 'premium' catalog and distributed to various online retailers. I think it took about 2 weeks for my first novel to go through the whole process. I've decided to call it: Sweet Endless Terror: An Anthology of Nightmares.