Day 154: The Mouse Gets the Cheese

I went out today to look for a new scanner. I decided that I'm going to wait until payday to buy my scanner. Until then I'll do the best I can with just my tablet.

I can't remember how or why I thought of this little scene, but I had to draw it. The title is: The Mouse Gets the Cheese. I was going to give the big cheese a tongue, but it just made it look silly-- er, sillier anyway. 

Day 153: Three Bugs

I found out yesterday that I can't use my scanner on my new computer. This is the only thing that I've had any trouble with. I think this scanner is about 5 years old. There is also some flaws/scratches on the glass, so it's probably time to find a new one anyway. I'm hoping I can score a cheap one in the next few days (I don't need top of the line for what I'll be using it for). Right now I'm having to hand-draw things on my sketch pad, and it's taking me longer than it would with pencil. I did a few studies on some bugs. I'm working on a couple of garden/bug illustrations, so best to start learning a bit about the anatomy now. I was going to do some spiders, but they were creeping me out so I denied them access to my art for today.

Day 152: News and Some Canada Day Fun

The past few months have not been great for me art wise. I had a friend ask me about the quality of my drawings. I told him that I haven't had much time to devote to drawing, so I haven't put the detail and effort into my drawings like I would like to. Time, actually, has only been a small part of the problem. 

This past April I found out that I was pregnant. I didn't announce it because I had lost my last pregnancy at about 10 weeks this past December. I still in the first trimester. I am now happily in the 14th week of my pregnancy and have a due date of December 25. 

While being pregnant is a good thing for me, I wasn't prepared for what came with it. Almost right away I was extremely tired all the time. It didn't help that I was having trouble sleeping at nightAnd starting in the second month I had terrible nausea (which I didn't have last time). I was out of breath just walking up a flight of stairs, and I was having trouble breathing. Things were going really terribly (hence the month absence), until my husband scheduled a doctors appointment for me last Thursday.  

At this appointment I found out that I have Asthma. I've never failed the Asthma blow test before (my doctor said I should have studied first). He prescribed an inhaler for me. I can't even begin to tell you what a difference it makes. I will say I can do laundry without gasping for air.

I'm feeling a lot better now. I am having some trouble sleeping at night, because my nose is a bit stuffy. My doctor says it's likely I have allergies too (I have a cat so that might be it). I can't have any test done on me because I'm pregnant, and I also can't do much for it for the same reason. No antihistamines for me. :( I'm hoping I'm only having these problems because I'm pregnant. Only time will tell. 

I'm not going to give up on my goals because of any of this. I will have to live with being slightly slower right now, and accept that I can't do everything I want to do. I am having a bit of a focus problem right now, but I'm hoping that will pass with time.

My Canada Day Kitten:

I know I said I'd post yesterday, but I was just exhausted after I got home (which is really sad because my husband and I got back by 6:00pm). We celebrated Canada Day on Granville Island. For those of you who don't know: Granville Island is an absolutely beautiful and fun (and don't forget expensive) tourist trap.

We didn't get out of the house until after noon, so it was pretty late when we got to our destination. There was a really nice Jazz band playing when we arrived. Their music was excellent, but I insisted that we find something to eat before we did anything else. The food stands were expensive, and most didn't have meal worthy food (the samosas were good, though). After a bit of walking we stopped at GL Gelatto and Coffee house to eat. The paninis were good, but the tomato and roasted pepper soup was to die for. They also made their own ginger ale, which was really good.

The street performers were good. Nothing better than hockey players on stilts playing street hockey with little kids. I had wanted to blow a glass flower for $35, but I didn't want to go back the next day or have it shipped to me. We're kind of in the process of moving (again) and it was likely to break in any case.

I hadn't bought film before we went (big mistake). Wouldn't you know there wasn't a single shop that sold film. We would have had to go some 5-6 blocks outside of the island just to find film. I know almost everything is digital now, but seriously... that's just annoying. The toy stores were a lot of fun to visit. My husband wanted to buy a magic set (for himself) which I made him put back. I would have liked to buy some of the clothing they had, but most was out of my price range (starting at $200-$300 and going up beyond $1300 for the fancier things).

I think one of my favorite places to visit was the kitty table. Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue had their own table set up with lots of kittens that needed good homes. I wish I could have adopted one, but my cat would have probably eaten it (or died out of fear). I was going to get a Canada Day tattoo, but my OCD kicked in when I saw that everyone was using the same water to put them on (seriously eww).

We never did go back out to watch the fireworks (other than the few we caught on tv, and from behind the trees). I really wanted to see them, but I was also really sore from the time we spent out. I guess I'll have to wait until next year to see the fireworks. Oh well.

Tomorrow, Hopefully

So it will probably be late tomorrow when I post. It's Canada Day here, and I don't quite have everything ready for my new post. I am (almost) back and will make my first post ASAP. Here's hoping for the best!

An Update

I'm once again informing you that I wont be around for a little while longer. I have a lot of little things to attend to here, so I wont be back in action until July 1st. Don't worry, though. I will be back in action at this time even if I don't have everything sorted. I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope you'll all come visit me when I'm back in July!

Still Vacationing Without the Vacation

Guess who? It's me! I'm still alive, though I'm not blogging every day. I am going to be getting my scanner hooked up (really need a new one, maybe Santa will be early this year) so I can scan in some drawings. I really like working on the computer, but there is something to be said about putting pen to paper that I just don't get on the computer. Even if a drawing is finished on the computer, my drawings still look best if I scan a draft in first. I think it will be faster for me. I can draw some things faster on the computer, but I'll sometimes just stare at the computer screen because I spend most of my day staring at a computer screen. I need to get away! I might have not even needed to take this little break if I had been doing more away from the computer. Now it's in the past, so it doesn't matter. Que Sera Sera and all that jazz.

I recently bought a new printer. It's sad, really. I lost the cord for my old one (or it's forever hidden in storage). It's a good five years old and it was out of ink. It was $10 cheaper to buy a printer with the colour and B&W ink cartridges packaged with it, than the two inks in a combined package. It's an energy saver apparently. Not so great for the environment if I were to buy a new printer every time I needed ink. I don't think the old printer will go to waste. My Mother-In-Law could probably use a printer for her computer, or I can always give it to Salvation Army. 

I'm still looking for a job that will keep me out of the house at least half the day. Being a Graphic Designer is great, but it's not really for me. Maybe it's the fact that I do way more layout and fixing of other people's files than I do actual design. Maybe it's the long hours in front of a computer. I do know that I'm not happy where I am right now. I'd rather be at a diner serving burgers right now than doing design work. Fries anyone?

I'd love to get some commission work eventually (or even now, anyone looking?). Commission work and a part-time job. That would be nice. Here's to dreaming!

A Little Break

Hello Everyone,

I hate to make this post, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take a break from this project for a few weeks. I'm just overwhelmed by a few personal things that are going on in my life. I'm hoping it will take no more than two weeks to get back on track. I promise that even though I wont be posting drawings every day that I will be giving you an update a couple times a week so you know where I am. I will work on some drawings so I have things to show when I come back. I will, of course, be finishing up this project in January instead of December because of this delay. A special thank you to all of you who comment and read. You have all helped me to get this far and there is so much farther to go! I hope to see you all soon!

Sincerely,

Dani Duck