As nixed from Saniika.

MYSTERY ELF WISH LIST

1-. Make a post in your journal. The post should contain your list of ten holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

If you wish for real-life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

2-. Surf around your friends list (or friends friends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part: If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

3-. THE LIST (Stars will be filled in as wishes are granted.)

Peace on Earth. That isn't too much to ask for, is it? Is it so hard for people to think of others before themselves and weigh someone else's needs alongside of their own?

(I have high hopes and no way to know if it is being fulfilled) Smile at a stranger at least once a day, even if it's for one day. You just might change someone's mood (it might just be your own!)

To exchange holiday cards. (edit: Mystery Elf has struck!) The kids get a kick out of seeing holiday cards from around the world. Be forewarned, my cards have pictures of my kids, not me!

The following are some pretty selfish things that I feel silly for putting up, but if you don't ask, no one will know, right?

A piece of fanart for one of my fics. Your choice. Stories can be found at [link] (edit: I have promises...)

A real, charcoal portrait of me. Something of substantial size that would look really nice framed.

A photo session with Mr. Helmes the next time he comes to town. Heck, I would love to just sit down and hang out with him over drinks the next time he's in town!

The following things are not expected to be fulfilled but one can hope.

One week alone. No kids. No spouse. Just me in the house.

To have a fantasy drinks night out with Yoko Ono. I just really want to sit down and pick her brains.

Hmmm, only eight. See, I'm not asking for too much, am I?

Go and thank alyprincess221 for this bit of TMI.

Follow these directions please:

1. Post these rules.
2. Each tagged person must post 10 things about themselves on their journal.
3. At the end, you have to choose and tag 5 people (because I'm kind) and post their icons on the same journal.
4. Go to their pages and send a message saying you tagged them.
5. No tag-backs.

Okay, here goes:

1-. I'm older than you realize.

2-. I'm smarter than you realize.

3-. I'm not as talented as you think. I think you'll realize that shortly.

4-. I don't get enough sleep.

5-. I don't get enough to drink. (You figure out of what)

6-. I have way too much to eat.

7-. I'm guaranteed to have a long life because I'm so behind on everything that I need to accomplish in this lifetime.

8-. I'll probably spend that long lifetime in jail for murdering some member of my family.

9-. I don't lie. Really.

10-. I can't spell. I live by spell-check.

There you go. Now, who to torture....

I choose:

FaeriesMidwife

Biscuitnapper

HollyBell

AsheRhyder

Janey-Jane

...because I don't hear enough from you guys.

O-o-o-o-o! I just received a new Wacom Bamboo tablet, size Small (5.8" x 3.7")

Not that I know how to use it.

Not that I asked for one.

No, it was purchased so that a true signature could be written on scanned documents. I have been told that I can use it, too. I've also been told that it was bought with me in mind.

Yeah. Like the laptop that was given to me (sort of) for Christmas. That I've only used three times because the gifter has been on it daily.

**sigh**

Don't be expecting any thing new and glorious from me just yet. The thing still needs to be loaded on two desktops and the laptop, and GIMP needs to be loaded on all of that as well, then deciphered and decoded so I can actually use it without complete frustration... (If anyone wants to help me along and walk me through this initilization process, I would deeply indebted to you.)

That, and I really need to just sit my touchus down and write my fanfic! GARH!! AWAY, NU SHINEY, AWAY!

There are times when I feel that I need to be self-indulgent. Right now, I'm feeling:

--crappy waiting for my 'friend'
--old and unloved
--overworked
--culinarily stressed
--tired and I don't know why

Sounds like I need a happy space.

What I would really love to do right now is to ask for a commission of a self portrait. Nothing huge (unlike my ego), just something about half a sheet of paper, done in pencil or charcoal. I have in mind a three-quarter facial with magnolia blossoms and branches and my hair doing that wispy thing. I would love to see it done by (HA!!! As if that would ever happen!) or or maybe even , if she had the time (I know that pencil and charcoal aren't her medium, but she can do wonders beyond wonders).

A girl can dream, can't she?

A few of you might know, but most of you don't, I'm coming out of a period of time that most people would find trying. It is during these sorts of phases in one's life that time seems to drag on, each day stretching out so that, in retrospect, you wonder how you ever mananged to maintain some semblance of sanity. I know the first time I went through this, I felt that way.

So, here I am, three years later going through this again, and I'm thinking to myself, "Hey, that wasn't so bad." What's the difference from then and now? This place. As weird as it may seem, this (and FanFiction.net) are the only real differences in my life during these (virtually) identical periods of my life. So, here goes:

Thank you, Paisley Rose, for engaging me nearly daily in raucous, raunchy conversation. You've given me an outlet I don't think I would've ever found (Hurts Like Hell)

Thank you, outinarizona, for helping me keep on my toes both in your beta work and in my beta work for you.

Thank you, jollyjack, for entertaining me. I actually spent 3 hours straight to catch up completely on Sequential Art. Not to mention, Chloe, The Men from the Ministry, A Tip o' the Hat, Sky, and many others.

Thank you, Pika and Ashe for taking the fandom to a weekly comic strip. It's a pity that it is a fandom and you can't print it out. It's just too funny and good to let it go into oblivion. I promise you that when you decide to finish off your respective strips (NEVER! ! ! !) that I will burn them all onto a CD and wipe out my local Staples of their ink in the print job I will have done!

And thank you countless others that I've visited, commented and enjoyed. You've made the days slip by for me to say, "Where did the time go?"