January

Hi there! It's been a while. I'm going to be brutal, random and contradictory right here, as I have a fair bit to catch up on.

Winter is always hard for me. This one has been the saddest I can remember. It is strange though, as right now I am dealing with my dermatillomania addiction better than ever. I quit completely on New Year's Eve and have only had a few minor slips since. No full on relapse. It is fucking amazing and I am amazed. So much so that my vocabulary has been shot to pieces :)

So... it has been a month and I have skin now, regular skin like other people! My face looks much the same to me but Dan assures me it is clearer. I have started wearing make-up most days to stop me from touching my face. But my legs are majorly improved! Hardly any scarring at all. So good that I am going to have a Blythe portrait tattoo on my calf just as soon as I can afford it.

Dan has appointed me 'Minister of Fun' in the household. My job is to scout for entertainment and suggest fun stuffs to do. So far I have scheduled plans for February and August. Both involve Cradle of Filth gigs. It has been too long.

I asked Dan to marry me. He said yes. Though we are still in negotiations regarding rings or other token. I feel very happy that we have each other. We'll be enjoying a fantastically fun trip to London next week for Cradle/Behemoth show, plus hopefully Camden food! Then a fancy meal out on Love Day. (I'm celebrating Love Day this year, for real.)

I'm stitching along with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Once Upon a Time Sampler. There will be a different fairytale for each month, and January featured Snow White. I'm aiming to use each months team as a starting point for all my artwork/creative stuffs, and the above portrait of me is my best attempt at Snow White. I'm leaning more towards the Elizabeth Bathory / wicked queen character than Snow White herself. Themes of power, beauty, control. Very much part of my own life with dermatillomania.

I *think* I would like to try to take a self portrait for each fairytale all year. My original plan was a drawing/other artwork, but this might just work better. I love the challenge of portraying a story.

I do have fluff/dust in my hair. We moved the bedroom to the studio yesterday, and the new studio/former bedroom is looking pretty raw. Hope to get it sorted soon. New bedroom is amazing though!