TWTYH has a brand new appearance! It actually looks like an online manga/comic site now. Yay! I really hope everyone likes it and is not too shocked by the difference...

http://emi-art.com/twtyh

Oh, and page 10 is up too. That's exciting too!

My bike got stolen! >____<

Not only that, but my landlord's garbage can was moved a couple houses down, most likely by the same idiot who took my bike. It's really creepy to think that someone came on to our property some time during the night and took our stuff. Good thing we have a security system.

CURSE YOU, STUPID BIKE THIEF!!!!!!!!!! I hope you get in a crash riding it and get hurt. Or die.

Well, now I know what I want for my birthday...

Anyway, I've been working vigorously the past few days on a new site layout. It's finally ready now, so I just have to wait until midnight to upload it. I'm too excited to wait, I might just upload it now. XD

Yesterday was a good day, even though Tsukasa had to work and couldn't go to church like he wanted to. >_< I got to try on my maid of honor/matron of honor gown for my friend Sara's wedding! I thought it was slightly too large all around, but one size down probably would have been too tight. I'm really between sizes, so like a size 5 dress would probably be great. Sara's mom is going to tack in the seam at the top of the shoulders, and just doing that will really help it fit my frame better. Just before leaving my parents' house with the dress, her mom said to me that she'd like for me to take Sara around once she gets back to Seattle and get some things that she'd probably rather do with me than with her mother... I'm thinking that has to do with intimacy stuff XD I think it would be traumatizing to get stuff for your wedding night with your mother.

My parents and I went to visit my grandma at the hospital yesterday evening. She's still hanging on, improving little by little each day. Once cardiac drainage stops, she'll be moved to a rest home facility, but we haven't decided yet which one would be best for her. The ultimate goal would be to get her back to her own home, but I don't know how realistic that is. She seems to be pretty tired and ready to end all of the discomfort. It's been nearly 5 weeks now...

Well, last night my sister, Tsukasa and I played Clue together. That was a blast... it has been years since I'd last played it. She's probably going to want to play it again with us soon. XD

Today I'm going to be getting a ton of work done! I'm going to finish page 9, do some scripting, and hopefully start page 10. I've gotten a lot of mixed responses as to whether I should do set updates or random updates, so I still don't know. ^^; I'm thinking that my old update schedule of Wednesday / Saturday was pretty good. I might adopt that again.

I got an email from someone just dying to know whether Miyabi and Yayoi would be staying together or not. My response was vague and completely without spoilers. ^o^

Tsukasa and I just had the ultimate pleasure of going to Benaroya Hall to see the Seattle Symphony in their concert, Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy. The composer, Nobuo Uematsu, was there and sat in the audience to enjoy the show. And what an amazing show it was! The symphony and Seattle Chorale Company did an amazing job and really brought some of the most incredible video game music ever written to life. There was a large screen that showed clips from the games as the music was being played. That really added to the experience!

Here's the list of music that was played:
Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali
Final Fantasy X: To Zanarkand
Final Fantasy VIII: Don't Be Afraid
Final Fantasy VII: Aerith's Theme
Final Fantasy I-III: Medley 2002
Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends
Final Fantasy IX: Vamo' alla Flamenco
Final Fantasy VIII: Love Grows
Final Fantasy XI: Ronfaure
Final Fantasy series: Main Theme

INTERMISSION

Final Fantasy VII: Opening - Bombing Mission
Final Fantasy VIII: Fisherman's Horizon
Final Fantasy XI: Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds
Final Fantasy VIII: The Man With the Machine Gun
Final Fantasy IV: Theme of Love
Final Fantasy series: Swing de Chocobo
Final Fantasy VI: Opera - Maria and Draco
Final Fantasy VI: Terra's Theme
(And then Nobu-san came on stage and joined the choir for a very special final number...)
Final Fantasy VII: One Wing Angel

It was AWESOME! Pure awesome... seriously. We were both so moved. If you catch word of this concert in your part of the globe, and if you like Final Fantasy, then you CANNOT miss this!

Also, I just updated my site with page 8 of track 09. http://emi-art.com/twtyh/9_08.html Trying to see whether my fans want me to create a set update schedule or if they'd rather I just upload new pages whenever I finish them.

Last Monday, we went on the underground tour and learned about some of the history of Seattle. Turns out that early Seattle had its fair share of problems from geysers in the "crappers" (ohhh, yum!) to flooding at every high tide. After a fire swept through all of downtown, it gave the early settlers a chance to start over, so they built a bunch of retaining walls and built up the city again several feet higher than the original. So in and around Pioneer Square today, what we see as the ground level of the buildings is actually their second story. Interesting! I took some pictures (I've gotten so camera happy now that I know how to post pics on LJ!)

( Sort of a dark and dreary place... )

Right, so yesterday was LDS night at the Mariners! An entire section of Safeco Field was reserved for LDS members, so Tsukasa and I, my two cousins, and my sister and dad went to the game! Call me lame, but it was my first time at a Mariners game after years of living in Seattle... XD; I know, I know... I've never been much into watching sports. Anyway, it was actually pretty fun, but I noticed in baseball there's a lot of standing around and that can be really boring. Honestly the funnest part of the game was when the crowd started doing the wave around the entire stadium. Oh, and someone hit a home run, which was awesome! Again, I took some pics! I tried to specifically get pics of Ichiro and the moose, but we were so high up that you can't really tell it's Ichiro.

( Pics of the game! )

So yeah! Good times. Tsukasa had yesterday and Monday off to celebrate our anniversary, but today he's got to go back to work. I will do the same and will be working on either TWTYH pages or a cover for track 06. It'll probably be pages because I really want to advance the story. We shall see!

Holding true to tradition, we saved the top level of our wedding cake to eat on our first anniversary. It had been in our freezer for a whole year and had somehow gotten a bit smashed... ^^; That morning I put the cake in the refrigerator to thaw a bit so that by the evening we could attempt to eat it. We took some pictures, so please enjoy!

( Pictures of our first anniversary! )

We still have quite a bit of the cake left. We'll try to finish it as soon as possible, since we can't freeze it again. Oh, and by the way, it's chocolate cake with raspberry filling. It isn't nearly as yummy as the fresh cake was a year ago when we got married. ^^;

Happy anniversary to Tsukasa and me!!!! ^o^ We've been married for one whole year! Yay, we haven't driven each other crazy yet. ^^; Heheheh... I've finally figured out how to upload pics on LJ (I know, lame.... but I never took the time to figure it out before) so I've got a few pictures to share with everyone! Now that I know how to do this, be expecting a lot more pictures in the future. ^_^


The gorgeous spires of the Portland temple! It was so incredibly beautiful, especially with the sun glinting off of it like that. *___*


The entrance to the Portland temple. Just lovely!


Me standing next to a beautiful rose bed on the temple grounds.


Tsukasa posing next to a huge hunk of petrified wood at the Discovery Museum in Portland. I want to know how old this was, and how much it would cost!


Me with the same massive hunk of petrified wood. I look like I'm tripping in this picture. ^^;

That's all for now, but be expecting more pics in the future. ^^

We're back from our trip to Portland! It was so much fun, though the excessive heat and trying to find our way in a new city put a little damper on things. But over all it was so great to get away and explore a new place. Tsukasa was so excited crossing the Columbia River from Washington into Oregon. ^^

The city is really beautiful! Some parts of it reminded me of Seattle, though the layout seems to be a lot easier to navigate, and we didn't see as many weird creepy people or places. Our hotel was really nice, located south of the city in Lake Oswego. After we arrived, we walked around the Lloyd Center for a while. I hadn't been there since Kumori Con in 2005, so it was fun to be back. We spent most of the afternoon wandering the city and practically getting heat exhaustion. I hate being hot, so I was trying my best not to complain or let it get to me too much. Eventually we decided to go back to our nice cool hotel room and chill for a bit before deciding where to go for dinner.

Dinner was delicious! We went to a seafood place called McCormick and Schmick (I think) and I had some of the best salmon I've ever tasted! Crab and shrimp stuffed salmon, to be exact. ^____^ The crème brûlée was also exquisite. Even though it was a few days early, it was the most perfect anniversary dinner I could have asked for.

It was the first time I'd slept in a king size bed! When I was on one side and Tsukasa on the other, I could barely reach him when I stretched my arm out! It was super comfy with soft down pillows. *o* But yeah, huge bed. I'm perfectly content with our queen size bed.

The highlight of the whole trip was when we went to the Portland temple yesterday morning. It is so immaculate and indescribably beautiful! The inside is exquisite, and the feeling within its walls filled me with peace and love. We didn't want to leave, but still had lots of things we wanted to do. We went back downtown and explored Nob hill, which has a lot of chic boutiques and pretty cute fashions. We also spent about an hour trying to find Voodoo doughnuts, but failed... It'll give us another excuse to return to Portland someday soon. Hopefully not when it's so hot. ^^;

Well, happy Independence Day! I'm going to my parents house in a while to have food and hang out. Tsukasa will meet me there when he gets home and we'll probably all come back here to watch fireworks since we have the best view. They're illegal in Des Moines now. ;A; Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Yay, things are cool between my dad and me again. ^_^ He called me and apologized for being so off last night. Perfectly understandable... having my grandma in the hospital is extremely worrisome and stressful. I can't imagine if my mom or dad were having the same ordeal.

I asked my mom this morning what she and my dad did for their first year anniversary. She didn't really remember. o_o; She said that they probably went out to dinner and a movie. They didn't get any fancy gifts for each other, they've never really been into doing that. Mom told me she was expecting, so they didn't do a whole lot. GAH! Pregnant within the first YEAR??! Sheesh... I am sooooooooo not a part of that mentality! XD I will thoroughly enjoy my husband before I bare his children! Heheheh...

So yeah... not quite sure what to do for him for our anniversary. Rather than a gift, I think I'd like to make some really special memories with him. Besides, we can't afford much anyway. We are actually planning on going to Portland tomorrow, exploring that lovely city. I'd really like to go to the coast too, especially Cannon Beach! So we'll see... maybe all the places will be completely booked up because of the holiday weekend. Yeah, we really didn't plan this too well, there was just too many other things going on. But going away, being alone together in a new place would certainly be very special. ^_^

What does a man want for his first anniversary??? o____o

Well, my grandma is... enduring. -_- I just heard today that she may go to a rest home at the end of the week for a little while and then maybe get to go back home if she recovers enough. Her esophagus is so sore that it's hard for her to want to eat, so she's not even getting enough nutrition to be able to heal. My aunts are visiting and able to spend a lot of time with her at the hospital, so I'm glad she has her daughters with her to help care for her. My dad and uncle were installing some fixtures into her shower to at home to make it safer for her. Here's hoping she can go home soon and actually put them to use!

My dad's really stressed... Having his mom sick is taking its toll. I feel really bad for him. It doesn't help that I made him really stressed out today by telling him it was a good idea to register my sister for Sakura Con today before the rate increases. >_< THAT was a ridiculous conversation, but anyway... He was partially joking saying things like, "I would like to retire someday." He'll get an inheritance from my grandma's home, but that's only if it can be sold... I want my dad to be able to retire, and I hope he can feel less stressed soon. I just feel so bad about contributing to it...

Anyway, other than that, things are going well with Tsukasa and me. He got to talk with his store manager today about the management training program at Macy's coming up at the end of the month. He'll have an interview at that time, a panel discussion type thing with a few other candidates, so we're hoping he can be chosen to get that promotion! We had a "mock interview" last night, and I was extremely impressed with his knowledge and ambitions and how he could really improve the way things run in management. His English continues to astound me! Sometimes I have to remind myself he's a foreigner. ^^; And he has the most amazing accent. XD

I got page 7 of track 09 done today! I'm going to update my site tomorrow, and let everyone know about my new plan. I'm implementing the suggestion a wonderful commenter left me. Everyone who donates in any amount will be able to "vote" for which character or couple they'd like to see a drawing of. At the end of the month, whoever donated the most will get their request for all to see. I really hope that this will encourage people to donate... Since I'm not working for the summer, that's a serious reduction in our income. Having financial support from the readers of my manga would be so wonderful!

Registered for Sakura Con. $70... >_< It'll be worth it though. Oh, and rent's due tomorrow... whoopie. Well, Tsukasa's watching a movie, so I think I'll snuggle up next to him. I'll update my site right before I go to bed, so look forward to it! ^^

Thank you all for showing such concern about my grandma. ^_^ *hugs* She's been doing better, but she still has her down days. It just takes a long time to recover, especially when you're 80+ years old. One of my aunts made it up, and another will be arriving tomorrow I think. Just having all of her kids around will make her feel better.

Anyway, Tsukasa's little vacation will end tomorrow. ;_; We've had a great time! The best part of all is that his employment authorization card came on Tuesday, so he is able to legally go back to work tomorrow! We've been able to do a lot of fun things without spending a lot of money, which has been great. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo on Tuesday and had a wonderful time. The animals were relatively active, and the weather was extremely pleasant! The snow leopard and arctic fox were my favorites, they're so majestic and cute! >o< Wednesday we were able to exchange our aroma therapy diffuser and we watched one of our Netflix movies. Thursday we took my sister downtown and strolled around the waterfront and Pike Place market. We played a bunch of games at the arcade and won a total of 80 tickets! Woo! At the market, we bought some delicious fresh made mini doughnuts and enjoyed them at home while watching the news report on CNN about Michael Jackson's death. :(

Tsukasa's next "little vacation" will start next week, in and around our one year anniversary! Exact details as to how we'll celebrate are pending... I'm not even sure what to give him as a present because we don't have much money to spend. We probably will go to Portland and stay there for a night and then go through the Portland temple... That'd be a nice little getaway. ^_^ I love Portland, but Tsukasa's never been there before. It should be fun and not too expensive!

Alright, now I gotta go make dinner. Tsukasa wants spaghetti. Ciao!

Father's Day was good. :3 He really liked the sweet pizza I made, it actually turned out really well! We went to go visit my grandma at the University hospital and she was doing pretty well at the time. She had had a stint put in, but had also had some complications due to it. She was on a lot of medications, and actually also needed to have a transfusion. But she said she wasn't suffering or in pain, and she was in pretty high spirits. That's changed now, though.

As of yesterday, her condition was fading. I don't know all the details completely, but it sounded like her blood could start to clot due to the plaque in her arteries, so the doctors want to give her blood thinning medicine. Also she constantly needs oxygen now, either the nose tubes or the face mask. Only about 20% of her heart is functional, maybe even less now, so because of that there's really not much else the doctors can do to try and save it. She didn't have any bypass surgeries because of that, just the stints put in. I guess she had another little heart attack early yesterday morning.

Yesterday evening my dad called his three sisters out of state to tell them they better get here soon if they want to see their mom alive. She may not last the week, at the rate in which she's deteriorating. But who knows, she may surprise us and last a few months. It's hard to say. I know she's just so tired of not feeling well and not being able to do things because of her weak heart. I've prayed for her, especially that she'll feel comforted during this scary time in her life. I feel at peace no matter what will happen, because I know that I will see her again in a glorified sphere.

My dad and his sisters will be finalizing the will and seriously thinking about all the details for burial and a memorial service. It is depressing, but she has led such a stalwart and exemplary life that now is the time to remember and truly celebrate her legacy. If she does "graduate" due to this, then it will be such a relief for her to no longer have to feel tired and sickly. I will be sad if she's not around on this earth to see my children, but I'll have so many great stories to pass on to them. And plus she'll finally be reunited with grandpa. ^_^

I don't know what's going to happen today, but if possible I'd like to go and see her again really soon. Tsukasa and I are going to enjoy this beautiful day and this time we get to spend together. We'll cherish it, just as everyday should be cherished.

I really shouldn't watch "Ghost Adventures" right before going to bed... I woke up at about 1:45 and couldn't get back to sleep for a while. I just kept thinking about the creepy voices and things the crew saw. Hahah, I'm such a wimp! XD I love watching it, but then I get so freaked out! Why do they have to show it at night???

Anyway, Tsukasa and I have been enjoying our time off together! It's really nice that he doesn't (or can't legally) work right now because it gives us so much time to spend together doing whatever we want. But I also can't get much work done... It was a miracle that I finished the cover for track 05 on time. ^_^; Isn't it cute?????
http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=5910

Today is my usual Saturday cleaning/cooking day. It'll be interesting to have him here to assist with that. O_o He wants cheesecake, so he said he'll help me make cheesecake today. I also want to make a sweet pizza thingie for my dad for father's day. I used to make that for my dad on father's day and think it's a great time to revive the tradition. It's a sugar cookie crust with cream cheese, fresh fruit, and this time I want to add some chocolate shavings on top. ^_^ Yum!

Before I get on with cleaning, I better get dressed and stuff. Tsukasa's not even awake yet. XD

Tsukasa was able to get the leave of absence without pay and will be not working for possibly the next week and a half to two weeks. That's because it's illegal for him to work after his employment authorization card has expired, which it did yesterday. Luckily, the new one should arrive within in the next two weeks, so until then, he's going to be chilling at home with me as my own job will end tomorrow. Fun. No income. ;A; I'm just so glad that Macy's was understanding enough to grant him this time off. That's an answer to many prayers!

I've scanned the cover page for track 05 and will be working on it tomorrow with Photoshop. I hope to be able to have it complete and all of track 05 up on wowio by Saturday, so we'll see how it goes. Since I won't be working, I'll actually have more time to work on what I really care about!! That is, if Tsukasa doesn't distract me... I've noticed that when we're home together, I don't get much work done... ^_^; Anyway, the design is really cute and I'm excited to start coloring it! I want to try a slightly different coloring style, so I hope I can pull it off well.

My grandma is in the hospital, possibly going to have triple bypass surgery. I wanted her to do that back in December after she had her first two or three heart attacks (no joke), so I'm glad she's seriously considering it now. I'm worried about her, but apparently she's doing well. Makes me want to avoid saturated fats even more now...

I soooooooo want to do more with TWTYH and have more pages to post for Saturday, but the cover page is my first priority this week. I can't wait until I'm done with all the cover pages so I can focus just on the manga. I enjoy drawing manga so much more than I like doing illustrations and stuff, which is something I've recently discovered about myself. I've found my true niche, and it's manga! ^o^

Uhg, gotta get up early tomorrow for work... -_- Thank goodness it's the last time until Fall quarter. G'night!

First of all, I can't seem to remember the password to my "newlywed blog," so I'm thinking that I'll just use my LJ to post all the new pics and things with regards to newlywed life. I initially loved the idea of having a shared blog for Tsukasa and me, but I'm the only one who ends up posting things anyway... I wish he'd be more into stuff like this, but maybe it's just the difference between men and women. I'm personally very sentimental and want to keep personal records to pass down to my family some day, so I guess I have to do that work for the both of us. ~_~ Anyway, new pics and post will be coming soon with regards to what we're doing. I'm starting to make a better effort to take more pictures and keep everyone updated on our lives!

This past week has been like a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Tsukasa's employment authorization card (EAC) issued by our beloved Department of Homeland Security (sarcasm) has yet to arrive. His current one, issued right after graduation last yer, expires this Monday. We applied for the renewed card in February, then got a letter from USCIS requesting "further evidence" in the form of 2008's tax returns. So we sent the extra information to them in March and were informed that within 90 days he'd receive his new EAC. Well, it's been... 93 days? Yeah, something like that. When his current EAC expires this Monday, we can no longer legally work. Tsukasa went to the local USCIS office here in Seattle to explain to them this problem and to obtain a temporary card until the official one arrives. Well, it turns out the government failed to inform us that they needed evidence that my dad (Tsukasa's joint sponsor for the I-485 affidavit of support) is in fact a legal US citizen. So Tsukasa had to go to my parents' house, scan my dad's birth certificate, print a copy, return to the USCIS office and present it to the worker. Thank goodness the worker was Japanese and helped him very well with this situation and said she'd do all she could do to resolve things. She was also upset that the government hadn't even bothered telling us they needed dad's birth certificate. >_< Had we known, none of this would even be an issue right now. *sigh* Anyway, so what this all means is that he will *hopefully* receive his new EAC within a week or so. He's going to talk to HR and his store manager this Saturday to tell them this situation and ask for about a week off without pay while this gets resolved. At first I thought he should just keep working and keep this to himself, but that would be dishonest and illegal... If Macy's won't allow him that time off, then we'll know whether they truly value their employees or not. There is a chance that he could get laid off. I don't work during the summer (there's nothing for me to do at the collge during summer quarter), so the prospect of having zero income is scary. And all this right before our one year anniversary! Looks like we may need to cancel our trip to the Olympic Peninsula.

All of this, and numerous other feelings of hopeless inadequacies (mostly my own personal self-battery... won't really go into those) led me into a pretty deep bout of depression last night. But as the new dawn rises, so too do opportunities for healing, renewal and self improvement. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the air is clear and fragrant with the sweet smell of Spring flowers. Whatever happens, I know that we will be alright. ^_^

So, those were the downs... the ups were that we were able to enjoy another session of karaoke! We're planning to take my sister and karaoke this evening. I also found an amazing moth on campus on Tuesday, (looks like this)
http://www.pbase.com/m3ling/image/64035260
and then just yesterday as I was walking home, I spotted another one!!! Just by chance, I wasn't looking for them, but I was able to see them. Never before in my life have I seen that kind of moth, and this past week I've found two of them! The one I found yesterday I gently scopped into my hand and took home to show Tsukasa, because I had told him about the one I found at school. It was smaller, but just as adorable. ^^ The face is just soooo cute!!! XD I called my supervisor and told her I'd found another one, and I think my new nickname will probably end up being Mothra.

My own personal artwork and stuff is going extremely slowly. I seriously had SO much more time to work on it when I was single! It's pretty frustrating to me, but the joy I've felt this past year is so incomparable, I really can't complain. Just have to look forward to the summer when I'll (hopefully) have all the time I want to work on TWTYH and stuff. That is, if Tsukasa doesn't get laid off and if I don't have to find a job... @A@;

I'm really just trying to stay positive right now and remember to pray and always be faithful. I am so grateful for what I do have and am trying to count my blessings. I will try my best to smile during the storms and not just on sunny days. ^_^

For tomorrow's update, I think I'd like to post pics of Tsukasa and me from the past couple of weeks to show my fans. I'll post them here. Oh, and I also have a new email address! emily.muto@gmail.com :D Please send me a message! Anyway, we're going to get my sister soon and go sing karaoke! Later, guys!

Last Friday Tsukasa and I took a road trip to Leavenworth! We went there on our honeymoon and wanted to go back because we had such a great time there. :D It was so much fun, but it was extremely hot that day there, like close to 90 degrees, if not slightly over. ~_~ It hasn't changed at all, but totally took us back to 11 months ago when we went, after just "tying the knot." We also were able to get a present for my friend who is getting married on August 8th. I took some pictures and will try to post them on my other (very neglected) blog.

Yesterday was my friend Allise's birthday! We went to dinner at Todai, a Japanese sushi buffet restaurant. There was a lot more than just sushi there, and I was able to eat all of my favorites all at one time. ^___^ It was over $30 for dinner, but it was worth it. I felt bad that Tsukasa had to work and wasn't able to enjoy it... but that would have been close to $70 if he had been there too. After dinner, my friends and I met up with Tsukasa as he got off of work and we all went to a karaoke place. That's when the real party started... we had such a blast! It was a Korean karaoke place, but they also had a ton of Japanese songs and American as well. I successfully sang several songs, and attempted to sing others... heh. The funnest was when Tsukasa and I sang 紅 (Kurenai) by X-Japan and "Highway Star" by Deep Purple. XD I could have done without some of the participants drinking their booze, but other than that, everything was cool.

I've decided that for my birthday, coming up in two months, I'd like to have a karaoke party too. I want to do karaoke for like 4 or 5 hours! I could seriously go for that long... karaoke is one of my favorite things to do. I'm planning to memorize the lyrics to a lot of songs by then. ^_^

Today Tsukasa and I went to Snoqualmie Falls! For those not aware of Washington's geography, it's a huge waterfall in the Cascade Mountains. We hiked all the way down to the river level from the observation deck and climbed onto the rocks to feel the mist from the waterfall. It was amazing! The hike back up was really tiring and hot... It's a steep trail. Afterward, we stopped by Remlinger Farms for some ice cream, and even though the ice cream store was technically closed for the day, a very nice worker made some exceptions. ^_^ It was so nice to go and do those fun things together. We took a couple of pictures and I'd like to upload them onto our very neglected newlywed blog. ^^;;

As for other things that are going on lately... my sister went to Disneyland on a band trip last week. She had a blast, of course, and their band scored some pretty high marks. My parents cut down the huge sequoia in their backyard because it was dying on top and the roots were pushing out of the lawn and heading toward the patio. ;_; That was sad... that tree was so beautiful and really graceful in the breeze. Tomorrow they're going to be cutting up its remains to use as firewood. Tsukasa and I have been really getting into Mugen lately, though I don't play it... I am so horrible at fighting games, it's pathetic. ^^; But he's insanely good and I love watching! Our favorite characters to use are Hatsune Miku and Ronald McDonald. XD We're also starting to get into aroma therapy and he wants to buy a diffuser mister thingy. We got some rose scented oil today and burned a little of it... it smells so lovely. ^o^

And best of all, I completed page 1 of track 09! I'll be updating with it tonight, I'm so excited! I was hoping to have page 2 as well, but, as usual, things have been busy. Tsukasa also knew that I wanted to create a Twitter account, so he made one for me this morning. My username is TsukaEmi, but since we've been gone all day I haven't done anything with it. I want to customize it and use it as a tool to let my fans know what I'm up to in real time. Hopefully it'll really keep me on track and motivated to keep working.

Well, that's about it for now... I think Tsukasa wants to watch a movie and snuggle with me. ^^ Hehehe, being marring is awesome! Later!

Sorry for keeping everyone out of the loop lately. I didn't get a chance to update my site on Saturday, and that's mostly because I didn't have anything ready yet to update with. I've been working on a commission the past week, and I think I may have finished it... I'm just stepping away from it to update my LJ and when I get back to it I'll determine whether I'm satisfied with it or not. I haven't started the cover page for track 05, I don't even have an idea in mind for it yet. I also haven't started any pages for track 09 yet, though I'm thinking it would be a nice break from all the color work I've been doing lately. :3

Other things in my life have been going well, except that I got accosted the week before last while walking home from work. It made me feel sick and horrible for a few days. That was also my first experience calling 911. I have no idea whether the police ever caught the creepy masturbating pervert, but I have altered my walking route and will be getting some pepper spray as soon as possible. The head of security where I work recommended a great place to get it.

My husband is trying to get into the management program at Macy's, either that or he wants to get on at Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus. He's getting awfully tired of the sales associate bit. Once he's able to earn a higher salary, he's encouraged me to quit my job and focus full-time on my art and manga. I've been dreaming of that day for years... There's nothing I'd rather do than create wonderful stories and art for the world to enjoy.

I'm feeling inspired now to work on the script for track 09 and maybe even start sketching page 1! I know I should be focusing on the cover pages, but I really miss working on progressing the story. So if I update my site with a page or two of track 09, then I'll feel satisfied for a while and able to continue getting the cover pages done. I won't be regularly updating track 09 until all those cover pages are done and tracks 05-08 are up at wowio.com. But an update here and there is certainly not out of the question. ^_^

Speaking of which, the first quarter royalties from wowio will be coming this week! I love receiving a check in the mail because of TWTYH. ^o^ That'll make my day!

Anyway, off to do something productive... Thanks for the continued support, guys!

Track 04 is now up at wowio.com!

http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=[5894]





So happy!!! I hope a lot of people will view it and download the PDF. Meanwhile, I'm going to think of ideas for track 05's cover. ^_^

Yesterday was our ten month wedding anniversary! Woo, married for ten months! We went out to eat and played RockBand afterward. XD Ah, the simple pleasures truly are the best!

Yesterday Tsukasa and I went with my aunt and uncle to the tulip festival over in the Skagit Valley. ^_^ We're talking hundreds of thousands of tulips in dozens of varieties! It was quite spectacular. The weather was sunny and pleasant, and all of the tulips were very robust and healthy looking. I think one of Tsukasa's favorites was the Angelique tulip, and he asked me how I'd like to name a future daughter Angelique... I guess he really likes that name!

The most stunning sight was an entire field of red and pink tulips. The red ones particularly looked like a giant crimson sheet made of velvet... We determined that each row in the field had approximately 9,000 tulips, and there were far too many rows to count. I mean, this field was ENORMOUS, so it's mind boggling to try and fathom just how many tulips were planted in it! If anyone has a chance to come to Washington during Spring, definitely check out the tulip festival in the Skagit Valley! It's really a breathtakingly beautiful sight!

We also went to Deception Pass and two different beaches around there. At one of the beaches, Rosario Beach, we saw a Bald Eagle perched atop a tall pine tree! I've seen a few of them around my house, but every time I see one it's so inspiring. They're such regal birds! The grassy meadows around the beach are home to so many rabbits! We spotted several and were able to get pretty close before they scampered away. And, of course, the tide pools are fabulous and full of anemones, fish, crabs, and hermit crabs. Tsukasa and I climbed a rocky hillside to the top of a hill very high above the water with a vertical drop down into it. We got close to the edge of the cliff and could see the emerald green water far below. There were a few tall kelp stalks that were probably close to 20 feet long. All we could see were the tips bobbling near the surface. Tsukasa was afraid of getting too close to the edge, and he made me back away even though I wanted to get a better look. The view from up there was amazing! At certain times of the year, it may be possible to see orcas from that vantage point. We went back down to the beach and skipped rocks into the ocean, taking a moment to stare out onto the vast horizon. I'd been wanting to go to the coast with him for months, so yesterday was so special to me for that reason.

I guess I'm terribly biased, but Washington is the most beautiful place on Earth! I am so delighted to live here. The next time Tsukasa and I get to go on a fun day trip, I'd really like to show him Port Angeles and the Olympic Peninsula. It would be so much fun to make it all the way to Forks and Cape Flattery, the most northwestern point in the United States.

Anyway, I've started the cover art for track 04! I like it a lot... hehehe. ^^ I'm planning to CG it. We'll see how it goes!