Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Day 51 - Wide Open Spaces

Ugh, long day again today. If you're on my plurk, you know about it. If you're not, to make a long story short, my parents' little dog [my puppysister!] had to be rushed into surgery for pyometra yesterday. It just tore my parents up because besides me, that dog is their world. We never had indoor dogs when I was growing up, so we didn't know that not having a female dog spayed could be really bad down the road. She's an indoor dog, never around any other dogs at all, much less male ones, so it was one of those things we simply didn't know had to be done. She's 7 years old, and it's common in older dogs, although it can happen in little ones too. So let this be a lesson to you all! Like Bob Barker always said, get your pets spayed and neutered!! The little one is back home now and I spent the day over there with them. She just did not like this day. At all. My poor baby puppysister. :(

Oh. And I'm pretty much always going to be 12 years old because in my reading about the problem, I still snickered at "Treatment requires the bitch to have the uterus removed." Yeah, bitch! Get that uterus out!

*******

So while I'm waiting for Ulaa to get her new computer and build a new house that I just have to have, I'm thinking about what to do with the rest of the parcel.

Day 51 - Wide Open Spaces


My original thought was to have like a little farm or a vegetable garden. But I dunno now. Now I'm thinking more of a park setting. And yes, that is our wedding gazebo still back there. I finally moved it but I just cannot pack it away! I just love it!

I have a feeling that I won't feel comfortable setting up the rest of the parcel until I have a new house. And yes, I could TOTALLY just use another house, but I like hers best in terms of quality and style. So I'll wait.

I'm SO tired now. I think it's bedtime.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Day 50 - Faith

What a day. It was one of those days that make me, yet again, so grateful that I have faith. Because without that, I don't know how I would make it. I'm really tired and stuff, so I'm going to bed. I am SO sorry my blog posts here are so boring sometimes!

Day 50 - Faith


Sunday, February 26, 2012

Day 49 - My inventory sucks

I totally forgot about doing a post yesterday, didn't I? Well, I can't say that this one is going to be stimulating because all I'm really doing tonight is trying to clean my inventory a little bit, and so you get yet ANOTHER picture of me on the couch.

Day 49 - My inventory sucks


Sometime last week, my inventory climbed to over 81k. It's not as high as some peoples', but it's definitely too high. I have been boxing up some things that I really didn't want to get rid of totally to send to my alt Piper [she holds a lot of stuff for me!] and throwing away a few other things. I'm not under 80k yet, but possibly before I go to bed tonight, I'll get there. I only have about 400 more things to go! And really, I wish I could say that it's mostly junk I have, but it's really not. It's NICE things I've gotten from events and gacha things and stuff like that. Of course, I did run across an old pair of Schmooz boots, which was odd since I really thought I had gotten rid of all my old shoes that have invisiprims still, but they were hiding in there!

Ugh. There's someone on Flickr begging for someone to send them free poses for their blog when they don't even credit poses. Before I get all up on my soapbox again, I think it's time for bed.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Day 48 - Advice Givery Again!

Oh hi! I woke up all advice givery again! Aren't you excited? :-p

Day 48 - Advice Givery Again


So in the last advice post, we discussed bloggers. This time, let's turn to the creators! You hear a lot of things on plurk, and there are two things I hear quite frequently. "I'm not getting many sales!" and "I'm not getting blogged!"

For the sales thing, someone inevitably chimes in with, "It's the economy!" And sure, the economy is pretty crappy and that doesn't leave a lot of extra money for luxuries [which is what buying stuff in SL really is, if you think about it]. But there are stores that seem to do really well ALL the time. They almost always have someone in the store buying something - even when it's NOT a sale day or event time. They easily make enough to pay for their full sim and/or enough to cash out every month. So why them and not you?

Take a look at your stuff. The number one reason you're not making sales or getting blogged is that your items just aren't that good. I know. Ouch, right? No one wants to hear that! And I know what you're saying. "But Ali! I asked my best friend and my SL mom and my SL sister and my SL cousin! And they all said it was coooool!"

Yeah, they mostly lied.

Well, not LIED, but if they love you, they tend to overlook some mistakes you might make, or they don't want to hurt you. Sometimes it's better to ask someone who is more impartial, OR make sure that your friend/family member is willing to really be straight with you. Ulaa usually asks me to do a walkthrough of her builds before she starts the final stuff for them just because she knows I'm the first one to scream "TEXTURE GLITCH!!!!" if I see one. And if YOU'RE the friend being asked what you think of someone's item? TELL THEM. You do them no favors when you're too nice. It's like when someone's told their whole lives that they have a nice voice, then they go to American Idol and are told that they suck. You always see the disbelief in their eyes because they honestly didn't know.

Oh, also? You might not be getting sales if your store sucks.

Don't let your store look like this


Okay, so that's just an abandoned store I found on mainland, but you get my drift. :-p

And that's my advice givery post for today! Keep in mind that this is all just opinion, and may not have anything to do with you or your sales.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Day 47 - Why I'll never get bored of SL

I've been in SL a while, right? I've done a lot and seen a lot. At this point, I should be bored! I should not get excited about logging in EVERY time by now! I should be like some of my friends who complain that SL holds nothing for them and they're bored with it. I don't think that will ever be me, and that makes me happy because I always want this to be a place that I enjoy! If it ever gets to the point of me whining for weeks on end that I'm bored with SL, I hope someone slaps me with a reality stick and tells me to either shake my SLife up or just GTFO.

But honestly, I just do NOT see myself ever getting bored with SL because of things like what happened to me today. I was going to write an opinionated post again because those seem to get me the most new readers [Hi, new readers!] so I headed to mainland to find a picture of an ugly store. A lot of them on old mainland have been long since abandoned by their owners, but reside on land that I guess is old school "First Land" or something, since they never really seem to go away. I just opened the map, found an area on a road, and teleported in. And much to my surprise, THIS is what I teleported in next to!

Day 47 - Why I'll never get bored of SL


How in the HELL do you ever ever ever get bored of a place that has giant robots from 1927 just sitting out in the middle of nothing?? I spent the next half hour or so just wandering down the road, looking at things until I was called away.

Despite all the flaws, I still love Second Life as much as I ever did, and my sincere wish is that everyone felt that way!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Day 46 - The Denimore-Otoro Wedding!

My friends Lourdes and Salvatore got married today!! I was their DJ, so I took extra special care to dress nicely.

Day 46 - Before The I Do


It was a great place and it was really nice to see some of my plurk buddies in world! We so rarely get together. Well, okay, I so rarely get together with them. I'm sure a lot of them see each other all the time. But of course, nothing was better than seeing the bride walk down the aisle. LOOK AT THAT DRESS!!

Lourdes Walking Down The Aisle


They had Pamala, Aldwyn's friend who officiated at our wedding, also do theirs! I thought that was nice, because Pamala really seems to get into it! :)

At the altar


Awww, the bride and groom!!

Mr and Mrs Otoro


We had a really great time at the reception. They requested a pretty much all 90s playlist, which of course you know I was totally into. I love 90s music!! And yes, we did take our shoes off!

Party time


Kesseret really enjoyed the reception! She did share, though, so that was a plus!

Kess enjoying the wedding


It was really an awesome wedding and I'm overjoyed that I got to be part of their day. :) Now who is NEXT???

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Day 45 - Stop It

So earlier today, someone mentioned that a fashion blogger actually blogged that they wouldn't be able to show anything new because they didn't have any money to buy anything. My first thought was, "OMG WHAT?!" I mean, that's just straight up tacky. But, again, there are people who get into fashion blogging under the assumption that their entire SLives will be paid for. They blog a bit, maybe a friend gives them something from their shop, and a few weeks later they feel like the Lelutka and Maitreya fatpacks should just be rolling in.

Hahahahaha!!!!

They learn quickly that fashion blogging takes MONEY. Cold hard cash, baby! You will not be on the Fatpacks Forever list of most stores. You can even be on a list and then taken off later if the creator decides they don't like how you blog, or even how you look. And that brings me to the next thing. Don't expect for a lot of the super popular designers to shower you in free items if you look like this:

Day 45 - Stop It


Saddle hag, invisible pony rider, Grand Canyon, Derp face - I've heard many terms for this kind of shape. I've exaggerated it a bit here, but you've seen them on the feeds. They look like they're riding a horse that isn't there, their frowny mouths look like they're about to slide off the chin, the eyes are so squinted people wonder how they can see at all. The faces are unappealing, and the bodies stretch out the clothing in bad ways. Poses often look wrong, as well. In that pose, my foot is actually supposed to be hooked around the other ankle. A lot of creators refuse to give items to people who look like this because they don't want their creations to be shown badly. And that's a good reason! After all, they've spent a lot of time making things. Why would they GIVE it to someone who is going to stretch it out and make it look ugly? They can't do anything about it if you buy the item and blog it, but they are definitely less likely to just GIVE you the item.

Something to keep in mind if you're just starting out as a fashion blogger! :)

Since I'm being all advice-givey, someone asked me not too long ago how I manage to blog for events like Stumblebum and Festival of Sin and stuff like that. Well, honestly? It comes down to just keeping an eye out for open blogger calls! Many fashion events call for bloggers a month or two in advance. Just keep your eyes open and apply when they ask. But keep in mind that even though you apply, you might not be chosen. I've applied for events and never heard Yes, No, or Kiss My Ass back. Sometimes the event gets more blogger applications than it could possibly ever handle. Let's face it, there's a TON of bloggers. Sometimes the event organizer just takes the first 20-30 bloggers that apply. Sometimes they are honestly picky and only choose the ones they like best. And yes, sometimes they pick their friends first & a few others after. It happens! Oh, and if you ARE chosen, sometimes that only allows you early access to a sim or something, it doesn't guarantee freebies.

So to conclude my little advice post:

1. Don't expect freebies if you're a fashion blogger.

2. Don't expect freebies if your shape is really out of control disproportionate.

3. Don't expect freebies even if you are an event blogger.

Oh, and don't blog about how you can't afford anything. That's tacky and it does not guarantee that someone is going to take pity on you and send you freebies.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Day 44 - Hideaway

I spent some time today fixing up our parcel a little bit more. Had to get the hammock out!!

Day 44 - Hideaway


Busy working on the wedding playlist, so no time to talk!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Day 43 - So Tired

I'm tired tonight. It was one of those days and I have a screaming headache tonight. Aldwyn isn't one of those "C'mon! We have to talk talk talk and do all the things!" type of people, luckily for me. We've been sitting together for the past hour, quietly working on our own projects [I'm putting together a playlist for Lourdes & Sal's wedding, he's working on a computer for a client], not talking much but still enjoying each other's company.

Day 43 - So tired


I think that's what a lot of people don't understand about SL relationships. It's not always about being crazy, going to parties, hopping on poseballs, and things like that. A lot of the time it's just sitting together quietly, doing your thing while they do theirs, and just knowing that the other is there for you. That's my favorite part of the whole thing. :)

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Day 42 - The Drama Pose

I hadn't put out the mesh couch that The Loft had for the last FLF [I think that's what it was for] because it didn't fit our color scheme at the time. But I put it out last night and we had a chance to sit on it tonight. We were flipping through poses and then we laughed at this one!

"This is our new drama pose!"

Day 42 - The Drama Pose


Yeah, I know my arm is all kinds of in my leg. That's dramatic maybe? LOL

Friday, February 17, 2012

Day 41 - Do I need a piano?

I went out to LISP today because for the life of me, I could not remember the name of a set I have that I wanted to put in our living room. Isn't that awful? But while I was there, I saw pianos! WHY did I not know there were pianos there????

Day 41 - Do I need a piano?


I need one...right? Maybe?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Day 40 - My favorite place

When you're in SL long enough, people always start asking you things like "So what's your favorite place?" I never quite know what to say because I don't really leave Bluebonnet THAT often to explore unless I'm deliberately going somewhere to find a new place for photos, and saying "My island" is not really the answer they want to hear. But honestly, my favorite place in SL is sitting on top of Aldwyn.

Day 40 - My favorite place


You can't visit my favorite place, sorry. It's mine! But feel free to stop by Bluebonnet. It will always be my favorite sim. Of course, I am kind of biased!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Day 39 - He amuses himself

Once in a while, Aldwyn finds something that makes him laugh to the point of not being able to talk. I don't always get it.

Day 39 - He amuses himself


At least one of us looks totally cute. And I do mean me!! :-p

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Day 38 - Come Along Spring

I was painting in the living room earlier and I felt a big rumble. Oh! This is it! Quickly, I threw down my paintbrush and climbed up to the roof to watch the Bluebonnet Mountains leave us for the winter.

First they were there...

Day 38 - Come along Spring


And then they were gone!

Day 38 - Come along Spring-2


As much as I love winter on the island, I am always excited for spring. I miss having grass and flowers and all that. And of course I love seeing how the other Bluebonnet residents decorate! Aisuru has already begun her work on her parcel. If you ever, in any season, stop by the island, you should check out her corner. Her place always puts the rest of the island to shame!

I hope you guys had a lovely Valentine's Day, or if you're against that, at least had a great Tuesday. :)

Monday, February 13, 2012

Day 37 - We need a car

I dragged Al out with me while I took a photo for the style blog. Afterwards, we waited for the bus home. One thing is for sure.

We need a car.

Day 37 - We need a car

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Day 36 - It Had To Be You

I was going to use this picture for the style blog but after looking at it, I realized you could hardly see what I'm wearing anyway. Not that I'm wearing much. So here's my butt! Enjoy! :-p

Day 36 - It Had To Be You


Every day this past week, the Bluebonnet Mountains have been sinking into the ocean. Spring is coming so fast, I can taste it!! I really can't wait to get started on the parcel. I'm getting ideas, I really am! The thing I need to do next is start my shopping to find garden/farm stuff. We need a new house, too, but I need to wait for Ulaa to get back to building. Yay for new computers! I hope it comes soon! Of course, I have houses of hers that I've never used before. I'm spoiled, what can I say? I always want her newest house!

Since I've been bored almost to the point of passing out while watching the Grammys [I did the pic while Tony Bennett was singing "It Had To Be You"], I think I'll try to wake up and do something now that Al is online.



Saturday, February 11, 2012

Day 35 - Tearing Down

I was really sad to hear about Whitney Houston dying. When she made it onto MTV in 1986-87, I was just at that age when I could totally start getting into music. I loved her. Her style, her dancing, her voice. I was a chubby little girl, she was someone I wanted to be. Some people have been really tacky and showing how low class they are by making jokes and pointing fingers, but to me she'll always be that pretty girl with the pretty hair and the voice that made you look and take notice. It's just sad to me.

Since I was pretty bummed out tonight, I thought I'd start tearing things down in the winter park because spring is coming this week.

Day 35 - Tearing Down


The PLAN is to put up a nice garden. Kind of like a little farm, but not crazy or anything. Of course, you google "Pretty Farms" and all you get are Farmville pics. I DON'T WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE FARMVILLE!!!! I want it pretty, with grass and trees and stuff surrounding and places to sit and a pond and all that good stuff. I need to work it all out in my head. If I could draw, that would probably be better if I could sketch it out, but my skills are definitely NOT in art and it would end up looking like I sketched it with my feet and nothing would come out right.

I'm really tired, I think it's bedtime.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Day 34 - Polly wanna give me money?

So first things first. Remember when I said I had newsssss? Well, guess what? I'm a SLuicide Girl! The blog is NSFW, btw. Most all the dirty pics are behind cuts but sometimes a stray boob pops out. My SLG character is Trixie Belle. No, you won't be seeing Trixie having wild SLex with lots of men. Trixie is a married lady! :) This is really exciting for me because most of my blog posts are not these well planned out things. Well, like I really have to tell YOU guys that. Posts like the Thanksgiving Eve post or even the day I babysat Emma were pulled out of my head in about 10 minutes. [Rylan and Sixx spent more time with their posts and pics than I did, which was pretty apparent. LOL] Even my fashion posts are usually "Oh I put this together today. HURRY! STAND SOMEWHERE AND TAKE A PICTURE." To actually make a little story and find poses and plan everything out is different for me! And of course the subject matter is VERY different! But I think I'm going to really really enjoy it. And yep, I have Aldwyn's full support! I would NOT be doing this sort of thing if he was uncomfortable with it. That's what partnerships are about, ya know.

So earlier tonight I ended up at the Old Orientation Stations at Dore. There's a section of the Destination Guide called Second Life Origins and there's all these old places to visit, either again or for the first time. This place basically has the tutorials that the first residents of SL went through back in 2003. Most of the tutorials are basically still business as usual. But then I came across this parrot. And I remember this parrot from my own orientation [which actually happened a month after I joined SL since I was immediately teleported to a club within about 5 minutes of rezzing into SL].

Day 34 - Polly wanna give me money


Now this parrot said if I wanted some money, I just had to ask for a kiss. So I did.

No money.

Not that I was expecting any, of course. God knows that parrot is old as heck & the script inside is probably broken.

Oh, but if you go, don't fly over to the Orientation Island Public. I made the mistake of doing that and as I got closer, I heard people talking on voice. None of the people sitting around appeared to be new since they had last names, and they were all basically calling each other names. I know most newbies start somewhere else now, and probably most of them don't go to the public island, but if I were brand new and my first experience with SL was a bunch of people standing around using bad language and picking on each other, I'd probably leave and never come back!!

But that's a post for another day.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Day 33 - That's why I don't let you do things!

Sometimes I tell Aldwyn that he's not doing things because I don't let him do things, not because he's not doing them because he didn't want to.

Then he swings me around until I'm dizzy and I forget what I'm talking about.

Day 33 - That's why I don't let you do things


It's probably better that I forget what I'm talking about sometimes, because I tend to chatter on about absolutely nothing for ages.

I was going to actually go out today and take pictures to do a more interesting post, but I ran out of time. There's always tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Day 32 - Drop It Like It's Hot

The title of today's post doesn't have much to do with anything, except I told Aldwyn earlier I was dropping it like it's hot.

Day 32 - Drop it like it's hot


We have a little vacation spot away from Bluebonnet that we got after the wedding. It always appears to be raining, though.

But, it's lucky that we have the spot because I have a scene to set up for a blog post I'll be doing soon. It's not for this blog, or the style blog. I'll let you guys know what it is later, though, I promise! It's nothing like I've done in SL before, which is pretty exciting for me, and kinda scary because I don't want people to be like "Oh. Look at that bitch, eating crackers like she owns the place."

Of course, some people are probably like that anyway, so whatever. But I don't want to share my news yet! :)

Hmm...Al is demanding my attention at the moment, and we've had so little time together lately, I better go!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Day 31 - Rumbles

I was sitting in the bedroom when I felt it. A little rumble. Just very slight, but I know what it means.

Day 31 - Rumbles


The Grand Bluebonnet Mountains are shaking a little. They will be retreating back into the depths of the ocean before long, and spring will come again.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Day 30 - Psst Psst Psst

Usually every night, he asks me what is going on.

Day 30 - Psst Psst Psst


Some day, he's going to stop asking, because once I start, I have a LOT to say!!!

I really need to stop waiting so late to do these posts. I end up writing with my eyes half closed.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Day 29 - Don't you?

What? Don't you feel the need to dance around in an apron with vegetables?

Day 29 - Don't You?


That's all for now. I'm desperately sleepy.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Day 28 - Blogger Blooper

Sometimes when I'm doing posts for the style blog, I use a combination of the Anypose HUD and the emoter in my Mystitool to get an expression on my face. The Anypose has the facial emotes too but I find that they "snap" back to normal a little faster than I'd like and I like it to go slower so I can catch my mouth in mid change. Sometimes it works well. Other times, I end up with a face like this.

Day 28 - Blogger Blooper


Yeahhhh...that's NOT going in the style blog.

This brings me to another topic. What is with all the homely ass avatars I see on Flickr lately? No, not the doofus girls with their skinny legs and hips so wide that they look like they're riding an invisible horse and the squinty squinty eyes and the extra frowny mouths that look like they're sliding off their chins...

Well, okay, I still wonder about those girls, too.

But I mean the just plain ugly ones. Now I know, before anyone starts lecturing me, that people get tired of the "beautiful" avatars of Second Life. People want flaws and stuff. Have you ever really seen your crotch in SL? Talk about flaws! But do flaws have to mean UGLY? You can have something a little off, but do you want to really look like you were slapped in the face, repeatedly, with the ugly stick? Maybe I'm totally off base here, but I honestly don't see the appeal of being deliberately unattractive. Of course, the unattractive avatars I've met also have really bad attitudes, so maybe it's one of those things where you have to have a good personality to make your ugly avatar work.

Now that I sound totally superficial, I'm going to bed.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Day 27 - Let's Ride Off Into The Rainbows

So y'all know I'm a huge fan of B&B Spiritual Supplies, and if you've never gotten in the subscriber there, you're missing out because Burke sends out super cute gifts from time to time. Today we got this sculpture!

Day 27 - Let's ride off into the rainbows


I think it'll look better in the yard when it's springtime. But it's totally going in our yard somewhere because I love it! I'm not sure Aldwyn knows what to make of it, but well, sometimes you just NEED a rainbowy horse with a girl and butterflies!





Thursday, February 2, 2012

Day 26 - Is it spring yet?

We always get really excited for winter to come to Bluebonnet every year. But after Christmas, people start getting itchy for spring. But we also like the chance to decorate for winter without Christmas decorations, so it all kinda works. I was checking the Farmers SLAlmanac and in the next couple of weeks, spring is supposed to come, so I spent some time tonight dancing on the ice and thinking about what I will do when spring comes to the island again.

Day 26 - Is it spring yet?


Don't laugh at my outfit! I like to buy the probably-made-from-templates-less-than-$100L full outfit from the Marketplace when I'm bored.

I'm thinking for the spring, I'm going to turn the part of our parcel where the gazebo and ice rink are into a little farm. Nothing too crazy, just some little animals and crops. Do you guys know if anyone makes plants in SL that can actually grow? That would be so cute to plant some crops and watch them grow!! But not ones that I have to keep paying for water and stuff. I just want to plant and let them go without sinking money into it like I did into the breedables.

I'm sleeeeepy!!!!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Day 25 - If you can't beat em, join em!

When Aldwyn came home tonight, he started a one man dance party in our living room. No, I don't know why. I guess sometimes...the rhythm really DOES get you.

Day 25 - If you can't beat em


But you know what they say. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Day 25 - Join em


We're still having a party in the living room, but you guys can't come. I'm only half dressed. Of course, in my next style blog, I'll probably still only be half dressed, but WHATEVER. :-p