Life.

Today some bike pedals fell onto my head at work.

I still don't get it.

xoxo

Saralyn

It's just too cold for me.

Winter can be pretty great and beautiful at times, but I'll tell you what, I don't like being cold all the time. No matter how much I bundle up, my bones still feel chilled. I would put on lots of warm wool socks, but it seems as though there is a sock cretin living in my bedroom, because I can't find ANY of my socks. Typical. Another thing about winter that I don't like: dry, chapped skin. I bathe in lotion, but I still look like a snake shedding its scaly skin. It's totally the best. Dry skin flakes all around!

If I had my way, I'd wear my fleece hoodie and pajama bottoms everywhere, all the time. Fleece, I will love you 'till the day I die! I'm planning on lining my coffin with fleece. It gets cold underground.

If you don't have any fleece items of clothing, GET SOME NOW. My recommendation? The Glacial Fleece III Hoodie by Columbia. Here it is!!

It's gloriously comfortable, and it comes in 6 different colors. Aaand it's cute. But it's just really, really comfy. Thirty-five American dollars for this bad boy. It's so plush. Mmmmm.

I may or may not be addicted to jackets and sweaters. And hoodies. And pullovers. I love layers. Especially comfy layers. Working at an outdoor retail store wreaks havoc on my budget. Do you know how many different brands and styles of cozy jackets there are? TOO MANY. And I want them aaaallll!! If by chance anyone wanted to get me a gift for any reason, any reason at all, jackets are ALWAYS appreciated. Just a thought.

Gah, my toes are glacial! I could stick them in someone's drink and it'd be as good as an ice cube. I sometimes wish my bed was a hot tub. Okay, I always wish that.

I've become positively frozen sitting at this computer. I'm going to go put on some fleeeece, wrap up in my fuzzy blankie, and watch a movie or something. Because that's what you do when you're sick and cold. And I am currently both of those things.

Stay warm!

xoxo

Saralyn

Photo op with Paper Paul!

xoxo

Saralyn

Thanksgiving

I was going to write an awesome post about what I'm thankful for, including illustrations. But work was a beast today, and my body has decided to turn to jelly. So tired.

Anyway. This blurry picture pretty much sums up my Thanksgiving, which was really nice.

Just kidding about the picture. Blogger's a butt and won't let me upload anything.

So I'll just ramble, because that's what I do when I'm tired. I'm going on a date tomorrow with some kid who was at my work. I don't remember what he looks like...eehhhh...but I remember that his roommate was super cute. Rats. I don't like dates, because there is sooooo much awkwardness running rampant. And this one will be even more awks, because I won't be able to recognize him, and I may or may not have forgotten his name. I'm pretty sure it's Michael. In my defense, I saw him for less than a minute. He caught me as I was just leaving work, and I honestly don't even know what's up, because I didn't even see the kid at all beforehand. Maybe he was just going to grab the number of the first girl he saw, and I happened to be it. He could've been creep stalking me and I just didn't notice. That's a possibility.

Dressing rooms. People are so messy! Hangers on the ground, pants inside out and flung everywhere, shirts hanging from light fixtures, dresses tied together in knots, broken glass, teeming mobs, MADNESS! PITCHFORKS! RATS IN SEWERS! DEATH AND DISEASE!---you get the picture. Black Friday is the poops if you're an employee. It means grumpy customers, noisy crying kids, people evvvverywhere, and ten zillion zippers to zip up and clothes to hang. Good news though: I walked in on someone today in the dressing room. A man in his undies. It was a bummer. Literally.

I'm going clubbin' tomorrow night, gosh dangit! And by clubbing I mean hot tubbin'. Probably by myself. In my neighbor's hot tub because they are gone. I tried to re-create a hot tub in my bath tub, but the jets are a little tricky. I mostly just got water everywhere. And probably spit, since I was motor-boatin' it with my mouth.

I'm re-re-re-re-re-reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It one of my favorites. Another one of my favorites: apple juice. It's not a book (that I know of). It's a tantalizing fruit drink that makes teddy bears disco in your tummy. "YA'LL ARE DANCING IN A MONSTER'S TUMMY!" (Adventure Time reference, anyone?)

Therapy tomorrow, yay! I sincerely like going to my therapist. It's therapeutic. 
 .........
Wordplay. Gets me every time.

I should tell my faceless nameless date that, "I just got back from therapy, and oh my, how the tears were flowing. So many lost memories. So many lost moments! So much pain brought to the surface, like lava boiling up and out!"

I think he'd like that.

Hope your Thanksgiving was awesome. 

Be jazzy.

xoxo Safalyn 

(ug, it's one of those nights. Safalyn it is.)

Sharing Time

One of my favorite illustration artists recently posted this picture. Aaand I'm sharing it with y'all.

The title is, "Anxiety." It's almost like I relate to it or something. .........

Bye.

xoxo, Saralyn

Teaser

A new installment featuring everybody's favorite subject: DRIFTWOOD! ...and love. 

This is a preview. 

I'll post new diary entries here and on tumblr (http://threecrookedarrows.tumblr.com/) as I complete them.

Stay funky fresh. 

xoxo Saralyn

 

 

 

Still Out There?

So I'm obviously not great at updating this blog. For anyone who still reads this junk, I'm going to be more on top of getting posts published.

My life as of late consists of sleep, work, and art, with the occasional meandering on my mountain board. (I got a mountain board. It's cool.) I really enjoy work, and was recently trained in a new department. Today was my first day in that dept., and it was pretty overwhelming, but I like having options as to where I can work.

I've been spending insane amounts of time with a pen in my hand. At first, drawing was just a way to relieve my boredom. But I've become somewhat of a monster. I have this constant urge to draw everything, all the time, ALL THE THINGS! I've been taken over. I do art, I read about art, I get on the interwebs just to look at art....it's never ending. Drawing has become a way for me to deal with things I can't handle. When I draw or paint, I can forget about everyone and everything that is worrying me or causing stress. It's really quite therapeutic...until I stop drawing and everything comes flooding back. Not ideal. But I'd like to think that all this drawing time is helping me improve and grow as an artist.

Tomorrow I have my first appointment with my new therapist. Yep, I'm now one of those people: the precious few who get to boast about having a professional reach into your brain and tear it all apart, in the hopes that you'll become less of a head case. I'm actually looking forward to it, because I really want to get better. In case you haven't already noticed, I have issues. ISSUES UP THE WAZOO. It would be great to get my brain back on track. I'll always be a little crazy, but that's normal for me. Anyway. Hopefully I can sort out all my junk and become functional again.

Here are some pictures. I have a tumblr account where I'll be putting all of my drawings and illustrations, but I'll post some of them here as well. I have a lot of posts to make up for, which means more illustrated stories from my embarrassing life files. YUSS.

Oh, in case you'd like to keep up with me on tumblr, here is the link:
http://threecrookedarrows.tumblr.com/

Keep it fancy.

 xoxox, Saralyn

Introducing: Murl

Here's Murl. I'll be doing a series of him like I did with Sterrence, but hopefully Murl will last a little longer. He's a champ.

Have a good Labor Day weekend!

xoxo, Saralyn

It's Been A While

My dedication to this blog as of late has been seriously lacking. I think it's the heat. I'm really not a summer fan.

Nothing super exciting has happened since I last posted, which is probably why I haven't posted anything new. I live in a pretty crowded house now, but so far having two babies, a dog, and 8 other people squished into a small house has been really good. No one has gone crazy. ....yet.

My anxiety and depression has calmed down quite a bit in the last few weeks, which I am supremely grateful for. I think that working has had a big hand in that. I work quite a bit, and when I'm at work I'm not thinking about all the things that worry or upset me. I get out of my head and get busy helping others. It's been a really great blessing. I've made some awesome friends at work, and have learned a lot. I'm currently saving all my monies for a car, which I will hopefully get soon. COME ON CAR!

This morning I had my first psychiatrist appointment. I'll be honest: the fact that I have to see a psychiatrist makes me feel pretty crappy. I'm one of those quacks that has to see a quack. At least, that's what I thought before I went. I'm still not super gung-ho about having to see a psych, but after the first session, I feel a lot better about it. And if it helps me better deal with life, then I'll give it my best shot.

I'll try to be better about posting. 

Have a beautiful day!

xoxo, Saralyn

The Crazy Life

Hey. It's been forever since I've posted, mostly because life has turned kind of crazy. I'm living in a super full house, I work a lot, and I'm trying to get a handle on my health problems. The peaceful moments I have are spent working on my latest art project (which is hopefully going to be suuuper cool), sleeping, reading, or watching an intense tv show. (Fringe!)

I'll be honest: I've been having a rough time for the past two months or so. Things have come up in my life that I just don't know how to deal with. I've had moments of happiness and peace, but I've also had times where I didn't want to be alive anymore. Times where I thought I was going crazy, and times where I felt completely and utterly alone.

Somehow I'm still here. I know Heavenly Father is keeping me afloat. I would like to say that I have had spiritual experiences during this whole mess and am faithful and trusting in God despite these challenges, but I'm afraid that's not the case. All I can say is that I know God is helping me stay alive. Sometimes it's a blessing, and sometimes I'm not so sure that I want to be kept alive. I'm not trying to be creepy and depressing---I'm not planning anything rash. Some days are just harder than others.

There are good things. Adorable nieces and nephews, having fun at work with awesome co-workers, pouring rainstorms, games and fun with the family, gummy frogs, etc. There are good things.

So that's the update. Ha, I'm afraid it's not too uplifting, but that's my reality right now. It will get better, eventually. I promise my next posts won't be downers.

xoxo, Saralyn

Tribute: Nan Lawson and The Weepies

Beautiful Things: Illustration

I love illustration art. LOVE IT. I'm always on the lookout for new, awesome illustration artists. Here are my latest favorites. Enjoy!

Alice Potter

Chris Keegan

Eiko Ojala

Frida Clemens

Graham Francoise

Graham Francoise

Graham Francoise

Helen Green

Kelli Murray

Millie Marotta

Nan Lawson

Pascal Campion

PoconoModern

Samantha Lewis

Sarah Coleman

Scott Wills

The Art of Shin

xoxo, Saralyn

Likes and Dislikes: Picture Style.

Stuff I like:

Scenes of Vader's best parenting moments.

Electric vibrator scalp massage.

Shadow puppet pillows.

Tetris lamp.

WIN WIN WIN.

Posters that love me unconditionally.

Earth's composition. I like it.

Stuff I don't like:

Floating ghost bunnies on my roof.

.........This guy.

Mice that invade your brain and use your eyeballs as windows to the heavens. GET OUTTA MY BRAIN, MICE!

Cats. Specifically, Marie Catoinette in a flower garden, looking at me in a trying-to-be-seductive-but-looks-more-like-a-psycho-killer kind of way. 

This hybrid clown/human/rabbit creature holding a pocket watch. It's the polka dots that frighten me the most.

THE WALKING DEAD?!?

xoxo, Saralyn

Going Native

I'm a big fan of geometric, native-esque patterns. I love them -- so much so that I created one myself. 

I've been experiencing health issues as of late that make me extremely exhausted and completely unmotivated. I have all these great ideas for posts that I want to share, but I'm completely drained. Because of this, my posts might be lacking in enthusiasm, creativity, and length for the next while (If you haven't already noticed, my blog has been missing all those things for quite some time). 

So that's what's up. You could stop reading my blog for a few weeks and you wouldn't miss anything. Even if I did post something new, you wouldn't be missing anything. Ha! 

...But really.

xoxo, Saralyn