today started so  normal, kids to school , which is teen on her bike to her school and my son at the bus stop for the school bus on time.

ate breakfast, did some last  bit of fixing to the reading list, which i  knew i probably be doing today, since   adding a bit of html too much or too less can happen to everyone. all ended up working as it should, and i was fairly happy that it did.

Did some housework, had lunch, and then did some banking... only to find out my phome bill was 53 euro instead of the ususal 29. wich took some money off my household money for the last week. but of a bummer, but got a full fridge, so with a few days of cheap means i will still get to the end of the month.

the bad came  in the evening, when i wanted to pick my son up from his special after shool care.. my bike was gone.   it was in  the yard behind my house, and i had the gate closed.  it still was there  around 16:30, since i tossed some garbage away at that time,  and the garbage can is also behind the house.  but when i wanted to pick up my son at 18:15, it was gone.

the odd thing: half the enighbourhood leaves their bikes at the street-side of their houses, wich makes them easy-takeable sometimes..  the people across the street have two standing in front of their house.. mine, beihind a closed gate, behind the house, gets stolen.

now my bike was my only mode of transport, besides walking, and money is tigth this month.. too tigth for me to be able to affort a new bike. *sighs* i can walk, but walking does not get me everywhere on time.. and back home on time.  i have  some social work types around to help me with the kids,  and i hope they migth know a  way for me to get a bike.. anything that is good enough to bike on will do for me...

..i hope whoever took it will not have much fun with my bike.

I am curios as to what people prever in voting and nominating.  the result of this poll migth influence the way things will be done from now on, but i can not promise anything beforehand.

this is just a curiosity form me, engelina, since i am the one who makes the forms each year, i want to know what people like, and if they may prefer to just use email. (( maybe a downloadable txt file from the site, with all cats on it, so you can easily add your noms? )

ideas are welcome, if you know something i have not thougth about yet.

what is out of the question is  things like a lj comm, a devart club, etc. Since it only means more things me and rei have to keep updated.

Poll #1516353 TMNT AFFA Nomination form
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3

How would you prefer to nominate Fics/art to the TMNT AFFA Competition?

How do you prefer voting to be done?

The Nomination window for the TMNT AFFA competition is still open, and will be until feb 1. you can go to the affa site, at http://tmnt-affa.com and then once on main, the nominations dates are a link to the nomination form.

if you have trouble with our form, then you can try the alternative form, linked in the top of the page the normal form is on. If this gives trouble too, then you can use the mail address on the contact page on the AFFA site, but if possible use either of the forms.

so far there are no nominations yet.. i hope you all will help me and chance that, because with out noms, there is not much competition to be held.  Remember, it is you, the readers who nominate the fics, and not us, the staff. Even if its only one or two fics you think age good enough, every nomination is one. There is no need to fill in every category  we have. 

If you have questions, just ask them, i and if she sees this, Reijiro, will answer as fast as we can.

(( rei, if you want, i can post this on the communities as well, tomorrow. )) 

It has been a while since i posted, and while my live was not boring, i wont go into details about what happened.  in short, the normal stuff keeping me busy, and a little bit of not-normal.

Lets talk about right now, instead:  My son is not home, and not going to be  until Sunday evening! Why? he is sleeping at the Place he normally goes to after school,  from Monday until Thursday. they help him and me with What is a light handicap, that is his mental capabilities  being low for his age ( weak-minded? not sure what its called in english. )) 

He Loves going there,  wich is a bonus, and it helps  us as a family a lot. the only thing is that he goes there after school 4 days a week, and stays there until after dinner. wednesday is an exception, when i pick him up a little earlier for swimming lessons, but on the other days i can pick him up after 6 in the evening. fridays he does not have to go, and since he has a half day of school, its a afternoon when i spend some time with him. I have no way to translate what the place is called in english..So if i mention my son's after-school care place, this is what i mean.

The first time he went for a weekend was in November, and it went so well, that they sceduled him for one weekend every month. They do extra things with them in these weekends,  and that is part of why he likes it.

So this weekend is one of the  sleepover weekends, wich means its just me and my teen daugther.  It also means sleeping a little  longer then normally, since my son is not capable if sleeping long in the morning.. no matter how late he goes to bed, his inner clock says its morning around 7.. playing in his room and listening to music can keep him occupied, mostly until between 8 and 9. past 9 if i am lucky. so sleeping in normally is not an option, and i surely plan on doing some of that this weekend.

Here is a slide-show off some photo's i made this month. If people like this, i might post them more often. (( so  tell me if you do? mind-reading is not my thing ))  All i Ask is to not copy the photo's/slide-show and post it elsewhere. I made these photo's myself, and want to keep an eye on where i post them. If you really want one or more of the photo's form something, ask me, okay?

as each year, i made a form for the nominations.. to  filter out any trouble beforehand,  i want to test it.. and the best way to do so is to have as many of you as possible  fill and send the same.

there is no need to fill in  the whole form, but make sure you add a working email address.  also if you encounter any trouble,  please tell me, by any way of contact you prefer.

Nominations form, please test?

do not worry. nothing added now will count for the affa.   all will be deleted after testing, and before the real nominating starts.

thanks in advance to all who are willing to do this.

At my mom's place. like every Year. And like very year, i spend the night there, so no having to go home in the middle of the night With the kids.

new years day i also spend at my momś place, after bringing some stuff home in the morning.

Happy new year everyone!  still evening here, but  i wont be able to get online later on.

i can go and explain all in my wording, right here, but its easier to just send all to reijiro's post about this:

http://reijiro75.livejournal.com/91583.html

which in my case, is Christmas:

I added the 2009 section to the competitions part of the main affa site. not much there to see.... yet. 

I finally finished doing the fine-tuning i wanted to do on some of the skins on pizzas and scrolls. added a links page, now all i need is a nice list of links. working on that one now.

I also removed the reason why it took me ages to do all the fine tuning: the green elegance skin. while the other three skins ((liquidsteel, csszen, and zenlike)) where easy to change and to add things too, elegance kept giving me headaches, and rfused to do what i wanted. so i removed it completely. i hope no one was too attached to that skin..

Now i have three skins left i know how to change into the way i want.

what i did today:
Removed elegange.
Moved skin-chooser to top on zenlike ((need to center it, will do so later))
added links page to menu on all skins
added recenr stories to meny in csszen
removed top ten lists page from all skins. if people miss that ( and tell me they do) i can re-add it.

and some background-fine tuning that should help to keep things go smooth.
I may try and make a special pizzas and scrolls skin, with the logo in it, fitting colors, etc, but it may take some time. i probably will use one of the current skins as a base for that.

okay i want to try and challenge myself into writing a bit more. lately i am distracted by reading a lot, and by clicking around on the net, so here is what i want to ask to you, the people on my friendslist:

give me one word you want me to try and write a fic around.
if you want, you can tell me for what i should write. f you only give me a word, then i will pick one myself.

here is a list of things i want to write about:
Little Turtle series
Wolf Series
TMNT (( not including either of the above))
The world of Narret. ((a fictional world i am working on developing, and am using in rpg with a few good friends at the moment. ))

since i do not want to make the list too long, i will stop after 5 words. i may re-do this, if it works out well for me.

if you like the idea of doing this as well, feel free to do so. giving me a word does not mean you have to do this too.

Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

Questions from autumndandelion


1) Why are y'all looking to change the logo to AFFA when it's already so awesome?

first i want to note that this answer is my pov, not that of the affa staff as a whole.

While the current logo indeed is awesome, we wanted a logo that was made and picked by the community, since without the community, and all the people who nominate and vote each year, the AFFA would not exist either. i hope to get a logo that all feel comfortable with, no matter what adult fic they write. I myself like all the new logos people made, and had a very hard time picking a nr 1 and 2.

2) What's the best part about having a teenage daughter?

While she can give me quite a headache sometimes, she can be very sweet, like today. She got an offer to work in a flower shop for today, and got payed for it. And she also got me some red roses. I also like things like going to a movie with her. Its also someone to have friendly good-meant discussions with. I don know anyone else who can stick to a point of view like she can.

3) If you could spend the day with any of the Ninja Turtles, which one would it be and what would you do?

Probably Donatello, to talk about technical/computer stuff. If it can be a non turtle, then Splinter. I think it would be really interesting to hear stories about things the turtles did from him. Every parent has some of those stories they can ( and on occasion, will ) embarrass their kids with.

4) Why do you like Avatar?

At first, I was not a big fan of the series, but the more my kids watched it, the more I started liking it too. I really like to see uncle Iroh, and the interaction between him and Suko.

5) Which of your fanfics are you the most proud of?

Mmm, lemme think. That would be the little turtle series. I first was hesitant to write that story, but I am glad I did, even if it took me doing a re-write before I was really happy with the first story.

yep, update time! with luck, all will go smooth, as it has been during previos updates. no worries, thoug, i backup evberything before i update, so nothing will be lost.

will edit this post when done, or when i encounter trouble.

edit 1: update done, all looks good, checking if all works...

edit 2: and the forum is back open for all again! report any trouble you encounter to me, while i go and chase out the yellow smilies that sneak in every single update.

Speedy And Raphael by *engelina-cartoonfan on deviantART

 Here is a photo of the two turtles that joined my household. it took a bit of time to get a clear picture of them.  My kids named them, my teen named one speedy, my son named the other.. easy to guess where he got the idea.

they are about 4 centimeters now, not sure what the species is in English. they look like red eared sliders, but with yellow on their cheeks instead of red. i know what they are called in dutch, but cant seem to find a translation.

Speedy is on the top/rigth, Raphael is the one looking at us.

THe certificates for 2008 are done, and ready to be admired and picked up by the winners! Go here!

I will add them to the AFFA Site gallery soon, in fact i am working on doing that already.

edit: gallery added!

The dates for the next AFFA Competition are:

• Nominations Window - Monday 18th Jan 2010 to Sunday 31st Jan
• Preparation Window - Monday 1st Feb to Sunday 7th Feb
• Reading Window - Monday 8th Feb to Sunday 21st Feb
• Voting Window - Monday 22nd Feb to Sunday 7th March

If you have a question, or a problem with the dates, or think there may be a problem, please just say so, either by reacting here, on the affa forum, or in the schoutbox on the affa site.  if you rather not say it out in the open, then you can use the mail form on the affa site.

since today, i got two new house mates.. they are cute, small (( for now... they will grow ))  have shells, and a still a bit empty new home. its that last part that i can use tips for.  what are good things to  use to make a nice home for two small waterturtles?

for now, i got the basics.. but only the basics (( new home, food, island for them to sit on, a special lamp, and dried food an d vitamin stuff from the pet shop.)) internet is confusing, one site says this, another contradicts it.  so yeah, any good and  care for turtles tips, and sites i can trust are welcome.

p.s.,: will post piccies later.

As i say above, somewhere during the coming week, there will be a mayor AFFA forum update, code-wise, that is. If all goes smooth, all you as members migth notice is that the forum is down for a bit while i update.

I will backup all before updating, so nothing posted here will get lost.

questions can be asked here, or on the news post on the forum. i will post a message her and on twitter when i update.

I really hate it when this happens.. and since i live in the netherlands, i do get to see it more then i like. sometimes it happens while following a link on a site, or a link posted by someone somewhere.. in this case, i followed a link on a website.

Day 1: no photo's. I did two walls, the one next to the door, and the one behind the bed. I also managed to get paint in my hair, in my clothes, and on one of my feet.

Day 2: See below: did a second lair on the wall behind the bed, and the wall with the window in it. that left me with one wall, the one between door and window. also added more paint to my clothes. i was smart enough to put on the same ones as the day before.


Day 3: see below: I did the last wall, checked the others for spots that i might have missed. luckily, i had not. i also put my son's toys back, and put up the decoration's he likes tmnt and spider-man, but since there is no shop that sells tmnt stuff here, i went with spider-man.



i myself am quite happy with the result. not bad for the first time painting walls.

My son's room has been needing its walls painted for a long time.. and i finally decided to give it a try, since i never have done that before myself. seen others do it, but have not done it myself.

bought the paint and other necessary things last week, and started today. managed to do two walls, and will hopefully finish the painting in one or two days, depending on how it goes. while painting the wall, i managed to get some paint on me, too. not much, but still.. and i have no idea how i got paint in my hair.

more news as i continue this little project of mine. o, and anyone here interested in photo's  of said project?

My daughter is 16 years old now. hard to believe that 16 years ago, she was this small baby with a thin lair of red hair on her head.

16 years. they flew past, from my point of view. not all those years where easy. We had good and bad times, and good and bad moments. From they day she was born, i have seen her grow, and learn how to do things herself little by little. Little by little i have let her go, each year a bit more, because each year she was a little more grown. Each year, she became more and more an individual, with ups and downs. I am sure there will be many more ups and downs in her live. I will be there for her, maybe not always able to help, but i will be there.


16 years.. for better and for worse. i hope my daughter will have many good years to come.

i remember seeing this commercial air on the dutch tv.. and a lot of people i know, and knew back then, liked it. found it again today, and did not want to keep it from you all.

i know, i already am playing two pet games... but this one looked like fun. ((thanks for the link, ramica!! ))



nice looking eggs, yes? .. also.. please click?

took me a while to make them, and the first Raphael i made was claimed by my son, so the Raphael in this picture is the second one i made.

Title: Survival guide for babysitting a 5-year old mutant turtle
Fandom: TMNT
Characters: Casey Jones, Donatello
Rating: Nothing extreme in this fic.
Summary: A list written by Casey Jones, after having to watch a 5 year old mutant turtle.
Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles, just the idea for the Little turtle AU
Notes: Part of my Little Turtle universe.

Posted on Pizzas and scrolls, here: Link

( or under the link, here. )

lets start with my main site, which i am turning into a website focused on my photo-making and non-fan-art. its already changed, all it needs now is visitors, and maybe even a comment or two. * looks hopeful at people reading this* i will be updating that site a few times a week, and will try to post a new picture daily.  LINK

all my fan-art and fanfic will be moved, the art probably here, the fics on pizzas and scrolls, and here or linked to from here.


now for the affa- site: the re-done site is almost done, just need to check for errors, and add one or two things, then it is ready for people to visit! from all the new/changed things, i think people migth like the new master links lis the most: a list with all stories nominated for the affa since 2006! it was quite some work to write and code it (( thanks go to reijiro for all the writing!)). Link, still to old site


last, but not least, i got some news from pizzas and scrolls too. i finally managed to re-find the liquidsteel skin a lot of people liked, and asked me about adding again. will go and add it asap, and may make it the default again! LINK

i have been working on re-doing the affa-website for some time now,  and here is some info on what i am working on, and what you can expect:

- no more frames! (( while still keeping things easy to update for me. ))
- new look menu.
- New look for the gallery
- re-vised links page, now with a list that has all fics nominated so far, alphabetically, and a list sorted by author.
- the shout box makes its return on the main page.
- contact form  re-done, now has captcha.
- competitions in one  section, which each years info  posted by year.


wich reminds me.. i still need to add  a list of people who made the certificate art..

Today is movie day! my son is camping with the daycare he goes too (( for four days! he left yesterday, will come back on Thursday. I hope he has fun!)) and my teen and i decided to go and see the new harry potter movie today.

Already reserved the tickets, so its all set! Best not forget the paper with the reservation number on it! i will need it to get said tickets. My teen is exited, and looking forward to the movie. Until yesterday, i only said we where going to see a movie, not which one. 

Have to go now, time to get my rear in gear. have some things to do before i can pick up those tickets. just wish that cinema was closer to my home. i got to go there by train, since its not in the center of the town i live in, but outside town.

*watches several on friendslist post to do lists, and generally be nervous about going to the comic con. * i am so going to but all off you for piccies!! have fun, everyone that is going.  and keep posting about it, i like to read all the entries about it. dont think i willever be able to go, unless i win a lottery or something like that, but stories and piccies make up for a lot!

also good news on the saffa frond: i am re-programming the site, moving pages around, reformatting some, etc. its getting along nicely, and hopefully will be done soon. maybe i will give a sneak peek or two here soon... if anyone is interested,that is.

i had a nice vacation, even if the water decided to be rainy all week. there was enough to do there to be entertained even withthe rain. piccies can be found here: Link  ((thart is my mom's photobucket. thje photos where taken by her, me and some others. mixed together in that album. ))

one of the things i did was take a tour in a local beer factory (not sure if i translated that correct)0 despite b me not being a beer drinker, it was fun to see how its made.my daugther almost lived in the indoor pool, and my son was  on the playground a lot. we also went away a few times, driving around, shopping (( bougth a new ds game there)) and  we most days would go out to eat. i did not cook that week, and neither did my mom.

the only shade was the thirt family. ((my step-brother and his wife and two kids..)) they had a figth half-way troug the vacation, and after that basically just did what they wanted.. and not asking me, my mom or my step-dad if we wanted to participate. after that day, did not ask them if they wanted to participate in what i did, either. what also bugged me is the way they raise their kids.. basically, if the youngesty son said he wated to do something, like bowling,  they would do it.. seriusly, that  9-year-old basically decided what they where going to do daily, and if he punished him for something.. she would  pull him towards her, and cuddle him, basically canceling any punishment. ((dad saiys: go and sit in your bedroom.. mumsays,  you dont have too, poor kid.. arg.))  in short, it made me glad i am a single mom....at least i dont have figths with my partner.

i  am worried about my step-dad, atm.. he came to the conclusion that he cant go on vacation with his sonś family.. and it hurts him a bit. he has 6 kids. only one visits him, this one. and to have to draw that conclusion cant be easy on him. he sleeps badly, and is so lost in thougth that he forgets things.  me and my mom are keeping a eye on him, at the momend.

my son is still going to the daycare, even now inthe vacation, and will go camping withthem next week. i want to look for a sleeping bag today, so i don't have to loan one.  he is going away for four days.  in those four days, teen and i want to go and see a movie.. we are not sure wich one, thoug, althoug she keeps repeating harry potter... i can easy guess wich movie she wants to see.

short post for now, will post pics  and details later, but i am back home after a week of vacation... got  some bags to unpack, laudry to do, house to air, and fridge to check  (( i forgot to toss out some food that could spoil. best do that asap.))

but yeah, back home, all is well.

all sites: a downtime from a few minutes during the nigth my time(gmt+1). the host has to replace a broken hard disk. should only be a couple of minutes.

i started a twitter account where i will post updates about my websites, or the sites i host, like my own website, pizzas and scrolls and the TMNT AFFA website. so if you want to know what is going on, or if  one of the sites is down and i am working on it, you can find the info there.


you can find it here: http://twitter.com/engelina_c

 

i made a few crochet turtles, and managed to remember what i had done while making them. under the cut is the pattern.
two pictures to show you what you can make with the pattern under the cut:


( ninja turtle pattern under the cut )

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

if you make a turtle, and want to, would you mind taking a photo and showing it to me? only if you want to, of course!

Pizzas And scrolls,   my fanfic archive for all tmnt and usagi  fics, has moved to a new location. you can find it here: LINK

there still are some bugs, but i  am doing everything withing my power to solve them. if you encounter a serious bug, please report it to me. if possible with a screencap.

grabbed from..half my flist.
( Who comments the most on this journal? )

with the fansite being down, the other hatcheries not working as they should, and me not having enough credit on yarolds to keep two scrolls up there, i am posting my 9-year olds dragons here.

he catches them himself, mostly (( mum helps with the newer, more rare dragons) , of the abandoned page, and names and breeds them himself, too. normally, he can post them himself, too, on the fansite, even learned him how to trade. okay, it has been only from my scroll to his,  but still.

but due to it being down for a few days already... time for some parental help. and some help from all the nice people on my friendslist, here.. please click on the dragons, and help my kid?

Grabbed from askre,cynlee, and a few others on my flist:

Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher 70% Geordi LaForge 60% Spock 55% Uhura 55% Jean-Luc Picard 55% Chekov 50% Will Riker 50% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 50% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Mr. Scott 40% Deanna Troi 35% Worf 30% James T. Kirk (Captain) 25% Data 15% Mr. Sulu 0%

A good physician and a caring parent. You are devoted to your children and to your occupation.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test


i think i have seen people get most of the others by now.. do we have a complete crew, yet?

At this momend, an update of the AFFA forum is in-progress. please be patient while i finish it, and keep fingers crossed that it will  go smooth.

Edit: Update done! all went smooth, and all should be in working order! report any errors you migth run into to me, either here or on the forum.

i also fixed the AFFA site-news Page, wich will work again when the forum works. i am going to do some minor updates on the site, and posted a change-log on the news page, wich i will update with the latest changes.

if you have suggestions for things you would like to see onthe site and/or forum , they always are welcome. i cant promise i will implement all, that partly depends on my coding skills.

( Crochet piccies under here )


and now the rambling part:

easter was nice, spend the first day over at my momś place, together with other famly members, and went out with my parents and my kids on day two, to a local kinderboerdery ((sorry no idea what its called in english)) i made some photo's, from which i made a slideshow, which you can find here: Link

for the rest things are more and more falling into place.. my son changed schools, and seems to be settling in well, on his new school, and since last week, he finally got swimming lessons, too. my teen daughter is still being a teen, among things.. i will ramble about that in detail later.

Found this on autumndandelion's journal:

You Are a Lynx

You are a quiet observer of the world around you. Your wisdom comes from listening carefully. You've always been extra sensitive and aware. And it's made it difficult for you to fit in. You see past people's outward personas. You are able to penetrate a stranger's soul. What you've learned about people is both beautiful and ugly. And you keep these secrets to yourself.

I really have gotten he hang of making these, and am having a lot of fun while doing so. so far, most things have been claimed by my kids. the ones i still have are the ball and egg i knitted for practice, and our cat is having his eyes on those, so he migth get the ball. anyways, here are some pictures:



the egg, ball, hearth, and the second turtle. the turtle i made for my son, hearth went to my mom, and is not a key-chain, ball and egg still in the bag i keep my yarn and other crochet stuff in.


And a little bear i made.  I am  making a second one for my son, with the same yarn as the carapace of the turtle above.  and after hat, i have no idea.. but if i get my hands on some green yarn.. i am going to try and make a ninja turtle!

 we ( me and reijiro) have talked about it,  made sure it was no problem one way or another, and  now it is done: the affa site has its own url!!

the site moved from a sub-domain  of my domain, http://tmntfan.nl, to its own domain:

http://tmnt-affa.com

this means the forum also has moved, and you can now find it here:  http://tmnt-affa.com/forum

i am happy the whole move went smooth, did not loose one letter on the forum, as far as i can see!  the only thing  that still has to be moved, or altered into a new format, is the links page. i am working on adapting a base script i found on a site, to fit the affa needs.


i will be doing some optimalising, still have to fix the news page, (or replace it with something else))   and in the next few days will remove th\is year's section for the temporary fics. if you find anything not working, then mail me at: engelina@tmnt-affa.com , or   reply here!

while cleaning my bedroom, i found the bag in which i had some yarn stashed. its quite a lot, but i don't have enough of one color for a big project. i remembered putting my crochet-needles in a drawer earlier this week, and started expirimenting a bit, and in the end decided to try and make a turtle. result posted under cut.

( under here.  )