On Tuesday I started at the Wal Mart near my house. This means more money which is definitely a good thing. The flip side is that I have less time to be online or do art. Like today is Father's Day and I honestly don't know if I'll be able to draw anything for my dad or father in law. From now on, if I get commissions, I'll be taking them for small things like sketches or icons. I just apologize if it takes awhile for me to get to them. The turnaround time on things like character portraits or all out illustrations will probably have a heinously long turnaround time now and that'd just put more pressure on me cuz I'd hate it taking so long. I'm really worn out after work and the trend this week has been to turn on my computer, check messages online, then turn the computer back off and flop somewhere. That said,  alopex03 I haven't forgotten your sketches and promise they /will/ get done.

Now on to the last thing. Last Friday night, I was doing dishes and my dad called to tell me that my grandpa/his dad was dying. He was unresponsive and having trouble breathing and my dad thought him bad off enough that he could've gone that night. He didn't. He did however die last Sunday afternoon and I've been struggling all week. I'm not crying all the time but I feel really sad about it a lot. His funeral was Thursday and his burial was Friday. Couldn't go to either because of the freaking distance and I was starting at Wal Mart. My grandpa was such a full of life spirited man though that allowing my last memory of him be seeing him as a lifeless corpse in a casket would've felt wrong. As it stands, I have a really nice last memory of him from when my mom took me and my little brother to visit him in March. I gave him hugs and one of the last things I ever told him was that I love him when we were about to leave. He never said it back but that's fine. He expressed his love in plenty of other ways. It just wasn't his thing to say that. I'm going to miss him and sharing my birthday with him. I know he lived a very long life since he had just turned 91 and he was suffering horribly at the end but it just feels really weird that he's gone and now my grandmother on my mom's side is the only grandparent I have left.

So yeah there has been a lot going on.

June 8 is an all around good day. Happy Birthday to myself and to my good friend  zabercat Don't get to talk to her much anymore cuz Amazon keeps her busy but I hope she has a wonderful day today. How about you help her have a wonderful day and leave her some birthday messages on her page? :D I'm sure that'll make her smile after a hard day at work.

I'd also like to thank all those who have left birthday shouts so far today. That is very sweet of you and I appreciate it so much.

Tomorrow is my birthday *balloons and confetti* One thing that means is today and tomorrow are the last days of my $2 sketch sale and then sketches are $5 again which lets face it is still a fair price.

If any awesome souls want to draw me birthday giftart, that'd be very awesome and I'd love you forever and here are refs of characters that I'd like:

Koudo: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2300390/

Alone or with my Maelstrom whose ref is here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4227598/

Derby:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5825630/


Course just happy birthday messages will make my day as well.^^ Especially since my family wasn't able to visit as planned and I haven't seen them since March and feel kinda bummed out about it. =P

$2 Sketches are back because I want some extra spending money for my birthday. The sale will last until June 8 and will look like this:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5312082/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4895456/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3644110/

You can choose either regular pencil or a color of colored pencil. All refs need to be G rated. Extra characters are $2 each. You can choose to just have a high res file or I can ship your sketch to you for another $1 plus tax. Due to the low price, I will need payment upfront and take it via Paypal. I can do a variety of species and wouldn't mind a bit if any of them were of MLP OCs. All sketches will also be G rated.

Forgot to add, these are one-shot sketches meaning no changes will be made unless the character design ends up being way off. So make sure you're specific from the start about pose, expression, etc.

Slots are pretty much unlimited. Hope to see some interest.^^ Comment here or note me or both if you are.

C'mon, this is an awesome deal and isn't going to last long

I need more people to chat with on AIM and especially MSN. There's so few people to talk to on MSN anymore that most days I just sign right back out of it and hours go by when I have noone to talk to on AIM. Now it helps a lot if we have something in common so here are some things about me:

My interests are my husband, guinea pigs, dragons, my cat, My Little Pony and to a lesser extent now, The Lion King. I also enjoy fantasy and am a Christian.

Some ground rules for IMing with me:

Clean conversations only. I am not interested in talking about adult rated things in the least. That includes fetishes. Fetishes are a private matter and I don't want to hear about them. =p

I'm more than willing to listen to your problems and give advice, but if you IM me just to talk about your problems or other things related to yourself and don't even bother to ask how I am, I consider that rude and inconsiderate and it comes off like you only care about yourself. Enough of that happening and off my list you go.

Respect my boundaries. Cyber hugs are okay but only that. No nuzzling, snuggling, etc. I'm also married so any attempts to flirt with me will get you warned or blocked.

I need conversations to last longer than 'hi, how are you'. If after awhile, it becomes clear that we don't have anything to talk about other than saying hi and asking how each other is then we probly won't work out as chatting partners.

I don't do any RPing of any sort. I used to years ago and loved it but a writer's block has been in the way for years now. =P

One last major rule: Never give out my IM info.

Now that those are out of the way, if you want to do some chatting, note me and I'll give you my IM info.

Mostly copy and pasted from LJ which is more like DeadJournal nowadays:

Just saw the new episode of the new looney tunes show on cartoon network yesterday. Was a different take on Bugs meeting Lola for the first time and she has been assigned a horrible personality. She was wonderful in Space Jam. Now she's so annoying, neurotic and chatty that I wanted to shoot her through the head. Way to ruin a favorite character. x.o Her parents were neat at least though. Also, they do these little song segments throughout the show. So far the songs are lame as all get out. They try to be funny but aren't.

Other than the crappy songs and ruining Lola, this new show is pretty cool though. I love how Bugs and Daffy interact and most of the other characters from what I can tell are still awesome.

Update: I'm in my Watchtail room now. Here is the link:

http://www.watchtail.com/view.php?v.....udoawaiaVortex

Update 2: Finished the banner and am open to take more in stream commissions. I'll stay about an hour then leave if noone shows up.

Today marks my and Mael's three and a half year anniversary. Can't believe it's been that long already.^^ We plan on dinner and Rango tonight. Also, since it is our anniversary, I'm taking the day off and will resume work tomorrow.

Edit: Dinner was great. Had steak tacos and shared fried ice cream with Mael. We decided to wait for Rango to appear On Demand instead of seeing it in the theater due to the negative reviews both his parents gave us and opted for getting Tangled On Demand instead. We loved it. Turned out to be a great movie for a romantic occasion.

I'll be gone tomorrow through Tuesday. Obviously I will not be able to bring the laptop with me so I will not have much if any internet access until sometime Wednesday.

The trusty Sony Vaio that Mael got before we were dating and that he started letting me use when we were finally bit the dust yesterday or at least the monitor did, making it unusable which is why I was gone all day yesterday. I am typing this from Mael's computer while he is at work.

That said, I need to raise $500 to pay for a new computer. I can't lower my prices but I can offer something like a free sketch of the sort you already get with my special or doodle icon to anybody that helps me with this fundraiser.

Soon as I get Paint Shop Pro installed to my account on Mael's computer I can continue with my commissions. Going to do that shortly after I post this journal. Edit: Well I tried to do that to no avail. I'll get Mael's help with that when he's home from work. I really apologize to those who are waiting for another delay in working on your commissions. It doesn't make me happy either.

Thank you to everybody that helps. My commission info, prices and examples journal is in my journal header.

I've decided to extend my free sketch with every purchase special until the end of this month. You get a simple pencil sketch and it's completely free unless you'd like it shipped in which case I'll need $1 for shipping.

I'm offering flat color colored pencil cut out portraits of your character. They're not very big, are drawn on cardstock and work best with feral characters. Full body ones are $5 plus shipping and sales tax if you'd like yours shipped and the headshot ones are only $2.50 plus shipping and sales tax if you want it shipped. Like the iron artist tablet sketches, these are something pretty quick and easy to do in between my regular commissions when I have a period of time when I'm not able to progress with them. I take payment for these upfront by Paypal. Here are samples of what you'd be getting:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5350151

I'm willing to sell the silver fox, albino ferret, raccoon headshot and kangaroo headshot from the example sheet if anyone would like them.

If you want one of these, don't comment here. Please note me and we'll work out the details.^^

Also don't forget about the $10 tablet sketches I've got going on for iron artist. There are 94 slots for that left:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2131953/

Also my free sketch with every purchase special is still going on and has been extended until the end of this month instead of ending on the 11th. You get a simple one character pencil drawing. If you want it shipped though, I do need the shipping paid for.

So that's that. Hope there's some takers on these portraits. They're very fun to do.^^

I'm finally joining the Iron Artist bandwagon. What is up for grabs is 100 slots of tablet sketches for $10 and one person can get more than one slot. As long as you order these by March 11, you still get to participate in my free sketch with every purchase deal. I'm planning on doing these between my regular commissions. As such, payment needs to be made upfront for these so I can go ahead and get started when I'm ready to. A second character costs extra.

Examples of what you'd be getting:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4942838/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4834774/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4841051/

Also these would be great for portraits of your pet as well as of your character.

 kaltazar 5 slots

Trying to help out my longtime friend  twinklestah She needs to raise money to go on a trip with her Snox asap. She's got a lovely unique style and a beautiful coloring style which is usually done with watercolors. Also, just like I'm doing, she is offering a free sketch to everybody who commissions her. So yay free stuff. Follow this journal to look at what she's offering and her prices:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2130030/

The following is my work schedule for commissions and will join the list of links in my journal header:

Due to a new job, whenever I get time/am not too tired.

I generally take Sundays off but there are times when I'll do some work on a Sunday too.

 sianblackperil just became my 1,000th watcher. :D Thank you to Sian and to /everybody/ who has been watching me from the day I joined in 2005. I really appreciate that such a vast amount of people like my art enough to follow it. It does mean a lot and this couldn't have happened on a better day. I hope to do some art for the 1,000th watcher or general art for it if I get the time. Again thanks so much everybody.

Also remember, I am still offering a free sketch with every commission until March 11 in celebration of this.^^

I have two new policies in regards to commissions:

(1) I try to work in in order of who is listed on my commission list. If I do not get a reply about a commission sketch from Person A within 6 hours though, to keep the line moving along, I will start working on Person B's commission. If Person A still hasn't replied with what changes they need to their sketch or to given the go ahead and paid me within 24 hours, Person B takes priority especially if they have paid first. If Person B has paid first, Person B becomes first in line and I will continue Person A's commission after Person B's is done if Person A is ready then.

(2) There are going to be times when somebody would like their commission done by a certain deadline. This is a problem though if there are already several people in line ahead of them. If none of the other commissions have a certain deadline and it looks like I won't get all of them done in time to finish yours by the deadline, you can pay $2 extra per person skipped to become first in line so your piece will be done in time.

If there's ever a time when more than one person needs their piece done by the same deadline, first the one who asked first takes priority then the person who can pay first does. This means I'll start the piece for the person who asked for the deadline first but if the second person tells me what changes they need and pays first, then the second person takes priority.

Hope everything is clear on these. I'll be adding the first policy to my commission list below the to-do list and the second policy to the Info part of my Commission Info and Prices journal. Both journals are linked to in the top of my journal header. If anything isn't clear, feel free to ask and I'll be glad to help you.

Also when you do want to commission me, make sure you do go over the Commission Info and Prices journal. That way there are no surprises. :)

I'm almost at 1,000 watchers which is freaking awesome. In celebration of that and as a thank you for the fact that I've gotten commissioned more over the past couple of months, everyone who buys a commission from me for the next month gets a free one-character sketch. That includes people who are currently on my to do list, not just new customers.^^ Browse my Commission Info and Prices journal which is located in my journal header and pick out something you like while remembering you get something free out of it too.^^ Slots for this are unlimited.

I just found out through someone on DA that Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series passed away. This came as a great shock. I've been a huge fan of the Redwall series and have read it since I was a teenager.I also drew a lot of Redwall fan art and the Redwall site's links list is how I found out that online art let alone furry art even existed. Going to feel very bittersweet when I'm finally able to catch up on the last couple or few books I haven't gotten to read yet. There was no chance I was ever going to get to meet the guy, but this still shocks and saddens me greatly since I loved his work so much. redwall.org gave the news of his passing which apparently was two days ago. It doesn't say why he died, just that he did.

http://www.redwall.org/

Rest in peace Brian Jacques. Thank you for introducing us to valiant mouse warriors, perilous hares who could outeat anybody and badgers you didn't dare cross.

Wasn't online at all yesterday due to a virus attack on both my computer and Mael's. Took until this morning for all the mess to be completely cleared off. This meant I was not able to work on commissions yesterday and so I apologize for the delay.

The way I've decided to draw my digital art now is nicer looking I think but it also takes a whole lot longer than how I used to do it. As such, I will be raising my prices soon to reflect that. Just wanted to give the heads up. If you want to get a commission at the prices they're at now, you better do it quick before the prices are raised. Follow the Commission Info and Prices link and pick something out.^^

Some of my watchers who have been with me for a long time may remember I did a couple of 'Have You Kissed A Dragon Today?' pictures such as this one:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/579890/

or this one which illustrates a 'Have You Hugged' version of these:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5218032

I have one more commission to do but after I'm done with it, I'd like to open for commissions of 'Have You Kissed A (insert your species here) Today?' commissions with Valentine's Day coming around. They would be $15 and don't just have to be of dragons. It can be of any species. You can also have your persona kissing or licking your mate on the cheek or forehead and if you like it can even be a hug instead so that you can have a picture with your best friend if you don't have a mate to celebrate Valentine's Day with. For the muzzle kissing ones, I'd like it to be male and female only. Anything goes for the hugging or cheek kissing/licking ones though. As usual, I take payment via Paypal and full payment after the sketch is approved.

Only 9 hours left on this auction. Hurry and bid before it's gone. D:

Just started an auction for illustrated wooden board commissions on Furbuy. Check it out and I hope there will be some bidders.^^

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1021192.html

Today marks six months since Mael's grandpa showed up at our door with a little black and white tuxedo kitten wrapped in a towel with a purple collar around her neck. We were to take care of her for a week but his grandpa said that if we wanted to keep her after the week was up, we could. I think you can tell what the decision was. Mael wanted to name her Figaro at first after the tuxedo kitten in Pinocchio before we found out she was female which was pretty soon afterwards. We decided upon Nightfury for her name since just the night before I had said the next black animal we got should be named that. She was shy at first and warily prowled the house but warmed up to us very quickly and proved to be about the most affectionate pet either of us had ever had, even beating out my very affectionate guinea pigs.

Since then, while she is still a kitten, she definitely is no longer a tiny one and is growing into a beautiful long sleek-coated cat and still warms our heart with her love, affection and funny antics. We love her to death even if she does get on my nerves sometimes when she takes on her Black Rat persona and misbehaves. Can't wait to celebrate a year with her and many years after that.

Due to the recent insecurities on FA that has caused things like having to clear out our notes, I don't think it'd be safe for the time-being to conduct commission business through notes here. I actually prefer doing it through notes but until this thing blows over, I'd like to conduct business through e-mail. If you need to get ahold of me until things are completely fine here again, email me at KristynLioness[at]yahoo.com