Been away from dA for a while. Got busy with work and it hasn't really let up since February. Plus life happens and well, you know how it goes.

I'll try to check in to dA more often when I can.

Hope my few friends here are doing well.

So I’m such a slow poke about posting these things, but the past month or so has been a lot of fun and I finally have a bit of time to share it with all of you.

It all started when picked me up for lunch at the end of last month and totally surprised me with a birthday gift! To torture myself, I decided to open it later at the restaurant. After we arrived, we chatted a bit, and then I finally gave her the group birthday gift from her deviantART friends. I had tried to give it to her on her birthday, but her schedule was packed that week, so she got it the week after. You can read about her fantastic reaction to it here: [link] .

After making her emotional with her birthday gift, I gave her my part of the art trade and I managed to render her speechless, which she says almost never happens! I totally geeked out and went into extensive detail about making the set. I am such a nerd. I think Katie thought I was a little nuts. Anyway, here are some pictures of the set and some cute pics of her reaction and of her wearing it.





^Katerina423 says she’ll take some nice pictures of her wearing the set later when she has some time, so I’m pretty excited about that.

So then I moved on to opening my presents from her and $arachnid15 and found a tiny pot of strawberry seeds and a really nice journal and pen (to encourage me to write more ). She hadn’t known this before, but I love eating ripe strawberries and cherries and strawberry and cherry ice cream, and I had considered purchasing a similar journal. It was like she read my mind or something! It was so awesome that she knew me that well.

The goodies don’t stop there though. About a week later, ^Katerina423 and I met again for lunch at the beginning of February and she gave me her part of the art trade. I got a set of 5 signed metallic prints!! They are such beautiful images of her looking glamorous and sexy and the colors just pop. I need to get frames for them. I just love them!! I can’t wait until she posts the images so everyone can see them. The metallic prints are amazing and almost look 3D.

Then about a week after that, I get a surprise birthday gift from ! She sent me two signed prints of images that I love:



And a few days later, right on Valentine’s Day while I was feeling miserable from a really bad cold, the mailman delivers another surprise birthday gift! This one was from and was a signed print from one of my favorites in her gallery:



Thank you so much to my dear friends on dA, , , , and for the wonderful and thoughtful birthday gifts, and thank you to everyone who gave me wonderful birthday wishes last month! I still can’t believe Katie outed me! LOL

I had the best birthday ever!!! You guys rock!!

EDIT: Read all about ~kahl's adventures: The Honeymooners: Part One and HoneyMoon Adventures: Part Two.



and her husband, , ended their honeymoon in the Bay Area in California so they could hang out with , , me and my husband. I was so excited and nervous! I kept leaving awkward voicemails for ^Katerina423 as we played phone tag so we could plan for ~kahl and ~axlerod’s visit. I finally met the three of them for the first time ever on Wednesday, 10/15/08, when we got together for dinner at Pedro’s. It turns out that my husband and I only work 2 miles away from ^Katerina423! And ~kahl was staying in a hotel just a few minutes walk from ^Katerina423’s work, so it was really easy for us all to get together. ^arachnid15 was not feeling well, so he wasn’t able to make it to the dinner. We had a blast and hung out at the restaurant until 11:30 p.m. Here’s a group shot of us:



I had bought ~kahl’s awesome book, Chrysalis, and brought it to the dinner so she could sign it. I was like a total fangirl having her autograph it. Here’s a picture of her first book signing:



~kahl and I had done an art trade and we got to give each other our gifts in person. I made a jewelry set for her and she wrote me a book, The Roofwalker, with illustrations, which completely blew me away and far exceeded my greatest expectations. I had only expected a short story with a single digital illustration. Instead, she rocked out with a full novella and lots of digital illustrations based on photos from ^Katerina423 and ^arachnid15 and other stock photos, and had her best friend, *Melara, help review it. The story is incredible and the ending gave me chills. I love it and whenever she has it available for the public to order, I’m going to pimp it. ~kahl should think about being a novelist. She is THAT good. For me, The Roofwalker is luscious, like eating a yummy dessert and savoring every bite. It made me feel so good after reading it, which is how my favorite books always make me feel. I’m hoping she writes a sequel. I cannot say enough nice things about it.

She didn’t have the hardback book available yet, so she gave both me and ^Katerina423 a pdf instead as a placeholder until she could send us the hardback. It was so fun seeing how excited ^Katerina423 got at this wonderful surprise. Once I get my signed copy, I’m going to get ^Katerina423 and ^arachnid15 to sign the book the next time I see them.

So, here is a picture of what I made for ~kahl and a picture of her wearing it.



Oh, and I spent Thursday night hanging out with the three of them and my husband until 1:00 a.m. in the morning. It was so worth it even though we didn’t get home until about 1:45 a.m. and had to make it into the office early enough so that my husband could attend a 9:00 a.m. meeting on Friday. They are all so awesome. I miss ~kahl and ~axlerod already. Luckily, ^Katerina423 and ^arachnid15 live close to us, so we’ll get a chance to hang out again.


Pssst…Carissa, is page 42 the image you were talking about? Because that one is beautiful.

I don't really know how to tell you this, but our romance is over. I think I realized it that night with George Bush and his wife and I saw you sit on my avocado plant. I'm sure you're ashamed enough to understand that your Honda sucks. I'm returning your false teeth to you, but I'll keep the results of your blood sample as a memory. You should also know that I never liked eggplant fetishism.

Warm regards,
JB



Tagged by

RULES:
Do the "Letter MEME". Tag no less than 5 other people, and leave them a comment, informing them that they have been tagged. Then copy the "How-to" Letter Meme, and finish your Journal entry.

I tag ¬













Dear (the last person who left a comment on your journal):

I don't really know how to tell you this, but ___1___. I think I realized it ___2___ ___3___ and I saw you ___4___ ___5___. I'm sure you're ___6___ enough to understand ___7___. I'm returning ___8___ to you, but I'll keep ___9___ as a memory. You should also know that I ___10___ ___11___ .

___12___,
-Your name-

1. What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - Our romance is over
Red - Our affair is over
White - I'll join the monastery
Black - I dislike you
Green - Our horoscope doesn't match
Grey - You're a pervert
Yellow - I'm selling myself
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You're a loser
Other - I'm in love with your sister


2. Which is your birth month?
January - That night
February - Last year
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on sesame seeds
May - First of May
June - When you put cuffs on me
July - When I threw up
August - When I saw the shrunken head
September - When we skinny dipped
October - When I quoted Santa
November - When your dog ran amok
December - When I changed tennis shoes


3. Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Pizza - In your camping car
Pasta - Outside of Chicago
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad - As you ate enchilada
Chicken - In your closet
Kabob - With Paris Hilton
Fish - In women's clothing
Sandwiches - At the Hare Krishna graduation
Lasagna - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a state of trance
None of the above - With George Bush and his wife


4. What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Hit on
Red - Insult
Black - Ignore
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - Put leeches on
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the toupee off
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive out


5. What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My best friend
White - My father
Grey - Bill Clinton
Brown - My fart balloon
Purple - My mustard soufflé
Red - Donald Duck
Blue - My avocado plant
Yellow - My penpal in Ghana
Orange - My Kid Rock-collection
Pink - Manchester United's goalkeeper
None - My John F. Kennedy-statue
Other - The crazy monk


6. What do you prefer to watch on TV?
Scrubs - Man
O.C. - Emotional
One Tree Hill - Open
Heroes - Frostbitten
Lost - High
House - Scarred
Simpsons - Cowardly
The news - Mongolic
Idol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Senile
Top Model - Middle-class
None of the above - Ashamed


7. Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful I've felt
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That Santa doesn't exist
Angry - That your pimples are at the last stage
Depressed - That we're cousins
Excited - That there is no solution to this.
Nervous - The middle-east
Worried - That your Honda sucks
Apathetic - That I did a sex-change
Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your hamster
Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men
Overjoyous - That I'm open
Other - That Extreme Home Makeover sucks


8. What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your ring
Yellow - Your love letters
Red - Your Darth Vader-poster
Black - Your tame stone
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - The pictures from LA
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your contact book
Grey - Our matching snoopy-bibs
Purple - Your old lottery coupons
Pink - The cut toenails
Other - Your memories from the military service


9. The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your photo
C/D - The oil stocks
E/F - Your neighbour Martin
G/H - My virginity
I/J - The results of your blood-sample
K/L - Your left ear
M/N - Your suicide note
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X - David's tricot outfits
Y/Z - Your grades from college


10. The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Always will remember
C/D - Never will forget
E/F - Always wanted to break
G/H - Never openly mocked
I/J - Always have felt dirty before
K/L - Will tell the authorities about
M/N - Told in my confession today about
O/P - Was interviewed by the Times about
Q/R - Told my psychiatrist about
S/T - Get sick when I think of
U/V - Always will try to forget
W/X - Am better off without
Y/Z - Never liked


11. What do you prefer to drink?
Water- Our friendship
Beer - Senility
Soft drink - A new life as a clone
Soda - The incarnation as an eskimo
Milk - The apartment building
Wine - Cocaine abuse
Cider - A passionate interest for mice
Juice - Oprah Winfrey imitations
Mineral water - Embarrassing rash
Hot chocolate - Eggplant-fetishism
Whisky - To ruin the second world war
Other - To hate the Boston Celtics


12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand - Warm regards
USA - Best regards
England - Good luck on your short-term leave from jail
Spain - Go and drown yourself
China - Disgusting regards