the sun // today is going to be a good day

the sun

the sun that peeks through your curtains to wake you and whisper

today is going to be a good day

no matter what they say

no matter what they think

today is going to be a good day

the day passes

the sun always watching you from above

its rays of shining light keeping you in a warm hug all day long

do you ever look up?

do you ever thank the one who made that shining ball of gasses keeping us alive?

look up into the beaming smile above you

ask

pray

please make this day a good day

and when it is not

and the moon holds the place of that light

wake to find it whispering

today doesn't have to be a good day

sincerely,

darrion

if you liked this, please let me know! i'd love to know what you think. also, go check out evelyn's blog, the raven and the writer, that inspired this style of writing. tell her sincerely d sent you :)

creative collages // photography

kinda getting into editing old photos... these pictures are from earlier this year. just though i'd edit them into collages.

hope you like them!

early morning frost collage (above)

sincerely darrion collage (also edited into my current header). things i love... winter snow, my blue flower dress, early morning sun flares, and tea from my short blue teacup.

my sister, willow, and the color yellow

 red, white, and blue (picture with cap taken at disneyland)

collage of art by dmr (digital, traditional pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor)

well, tell me what you think of them! have a great day :)

sincerely,

darrion

alpha // jurassic world fanart // notebook sketch // pencil

So, we went to see Jurassic World in 3D.

   Yeah, I sorta loved it... immediately came home and did some fanart :)

   Owen is the best! I really liked his character. Not to mention, it's Star Lord! How cool is that?!

    Not sure if I should keep going and do the background or not... thoughts?

   Just like I did with the Tadashi sketch, I used a clip to hold the original reference picture (printed off of the internet) to the other page. I guess I didn't line up his facial features quite right. But overall, I'm happy with the way he came out. I liked working with the contrast.

   The 3D was great, too. We went to see Age of Ultron in 3D, then decided it was totally worth it and went to Jurassic3D. Of course, my dad said he gave his 3D glasses to my mom to hold, but she couldn't find them. So they were loudly whispering and looking under their seats while it started. Willow and I were shhhing them :) Eventually, Dad had to get a new pair.

   Also... Jurassic cup! My Grandma took us to Dairy Queen a couple of days after going to see Jurassic World, and our blizzards came in Jurassic World promotional cups. That was pretty cool :) I got Owen and the Raptor Squad, and Willow got Claire and the Indominus-Rex.

Also, to get both you and me into the mood, here's an awesome Jurassic Park theme cover by Peter Hollens!

Sincerely,

Darrion

best blogging buddy award // evelyn, megan, sarah, willow

Hello, people of the internet!

   I was awarded the Best Blogging Buddy Award by the super sweet (and very artistically talented, might I add) Moriah Q. Thanks bunches, Momo! :)

Okay, here are the rules of the award...

1. You must make a post to show your award on your main blog.

2. You must tag the person who nominated you in your post (also take the cute owl picture above with you).

3. You must nominate all of your best buddies, and those whom you want to become best buddies with, who, to your knowledge, have not been nominated for this award.

4. You must ask your buddies at least 15 questions in your post.

5. You must answer all of the questions your buddies ask you on your post.

Here are my answers to Moriah's questions from her blog, momoslittleworld

Candy or chocolate?

   Chocolate! I like dark and medium. But I'd eat whatever you'd give me :)

If you were to travel abroad, what would be your reason?

   I think the reason would be to see all of the sights of the world, and to see how other people live outside of America. Not to mention... beautiful foreign accents :)

What is your favorite genre of music?

   Um... I'll listen to nearly anything if it has good lyrics, and I like pop mostly... but I really have a broad appreciation for music, so it's hard to say.

What is your favorite season? Why?

   I'd say winter, because I like to snuggle indoors on the computer with a bathrobe and a cup of hot chocolate :)

Who is your favorite character? (The person can be from a movie, book, TV series, your novel, etc.).

    Ah, this is hard... I'd say the Tenth Doctor from the TV show Doctor Who. Or maybe Captain America from the Avengers... or Thorin from the Hobbit... or Conner McKee from my book... dude, this is a hard one.

What was your favorite item as a child?

   Depends what you'd call child. As a very little one, I loved this purple blanket... I'd pull the fuzz off of it and rub it against my nose, 'cause it felt fuzzy. When I was a little older, I loved my Star Wars action figures. There was an ARF trooper I loved to play with, I named him Cameron. He was my first OC character, I guess :) And after that it was the Lego Hero Factory character, Breeze 2.0. She's was awesome :)

What kind of food have you always wanted to try?

   I want to try caviar (for book research, of course) and that snail dish, but they both sound disgusting to me. No idea how they'd taste.

You are forced to lose a sense. Which one would you decide to lose?

   I'd hate not to be able to see the sunrises/sunsets (and everything else, of course), or smell the wonderful food (or taste it, either), so it'd have to be touch.

What is your favorite natural phenomenon?

   Huh... well, I love to see the sky's different colors. Like in a sunset or sunrise, they're both so beautiful :)

Do you have a favorite artist? If so, who?

  I know, I'm suppose to answer someone famous, like Van Gogh or someone like that, but I'm going to make this interesting. There's this Youtuber/deviantart-person/instagram/facebook artist who I've only recently found, but really love. Her art style is so adorable. I actually don't know her name... her screen name is Drawing Wiff Waffles, which I think is super cute :)

   She does speedpaint videos on Youtube, and that's how I found her. She's really inspired me to draw more, and helped me in my endeavor for good digital art. I also love the way she talks about her art, it's very entertaining. I often listen to the videos while drawing. (extra note: my favorite video is probably Sally in the Valley)

What is your favorite movie?

   The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. No question. (extra note: my second favorite is probably The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn. Love that movie! The artwork in those books is so cool...)

What is your favorite genre to read?

   I'd have to say mystery (I'm trying to read through the Hardy Boys books now), though I do like fantasy also. But... *cough cough* this is kind of awkward... I'm not much of a reader, I'm more of a watcher. I know some people really don't like that kind of person, but hey, life's short. I ain't interested enough to read the book. If I'm intrigued, I'll go find the book and read it through. But I don't just read for the sake of reading.

What activity have you always wanted to try?

   Ugh, parkour... I totally do not have the body/discipline/pain-tolerance for that, but hey, who doesn't want to go jumping all over the local Costco?

You get to strengthen a sense. Which one would you want to strengthen?

   Sight! I'd want to see really, really far away really, really clearly.

Do you have a book that you would like adapted into a film? If so, what is it? (P.S. The film would be very accurate, haha).

   Ehe :) Well, this is another odd book answer... The Hardy Boys: the Missing Chums. I really liked that book, and Frank and Joe are some good detectives (and their friends are hilarious!). And, another choice... The Adventures of Tintin: the Black Island, my favorite Tintin book.


Okay, I guess that's the end of that. On to the nominees! Here it goes...

Willow on In the Words of Willow
Evelyn Ashby on The Raven and the Writer
Megan McKeel on Rustic Remains
Sarah on Sarah'Sword

   Here are my questions for you guys... and a few of these are sort of a this or that and why kind of things.

1. group-person or loner?
2. read a book or watch a movie?
3. what's your favorite saying or quote?
4. what's your favorite movie or book?
5. life song (song that comes on the second you walk into a room)
6. which is better: a cloudy or sunny day?
7. internet or outdoors?
8. art or writing?
9. how would you describe your personality
10. ask a friend to describe your personality (and don't let them see your answer before giving theirs)
11. dress-up or dress-down?
12. sleep in or morning person?
13. embarrassing childhood story, please ;)
14. what's the most annoying pet-peeve to you?
15. if you could, which story character (from either a book, movie, or whatever) would you want to meet?

   Please comment a link to your best blogging buddy award below :) I'd love to see your answers!

And thanks again to Moriah for awarding me :) Sorry it took me a while to answer. Thanks for reading, guys!

Sincerely,

Darrion

new headers // which one? // UPDATED

I'm thinking of doing a new header... but I've got two of them to choose from. I got inspired by Evelyn's new header on her blog.

Which one do you like better?

one

or two

Or do you think the blog doesn't need any changes? I could wait a while...

I kinda like the first one better. Comment below to let me know what you think! I'd love your advice

Sincerely,

Darrion

UPDATED

Well, that didn't really work out... the header is both really big and too dark. I tried it, and it looked like too much black. And black isn't really my thing. I like the more... light-hearted kind of look, which is why I did that collage and background.

I can't figure out how to make the header smaller... I'd like it to be not so big, but I can't really make it that way.

Note to self: never change header again. Ever.

Anyway, thanks for your votes (even though I ended up using something different)! Do you like the new header, or do you think I should make something different? Comment below what you think!

Sincerely,

Darrion

un-happy 4th // nobody listens to you when you're a teenager // UPDATED HAPPILY

Ugh. The 4th of July.

   The day that everyone forgets what's suppose to be celebrated and, instead, does one or more of the following: drinks, lights of explosives, gets bit by blood-sucking bugs, freaks out little dogs who are afraid of loud noises, forcing them pills to calm them down, or get hit by fireworks.

   I am the last of these.

   Seriously, I don't know if I have some sort of mutant-gene that attracts the blasted things, but it seems to happen to me more often than I'm comfortable with.

   For instance...

   We (Willow and friends) were nestled beneath the play-set, keeping inside of our sleeping bags for both comfort and warmth. I was wearing protective glasses (yeah, I'm a little bit paranoid about fireworks, so what?), and they were all smudged. Some of the bigger fireworks were going to be set off by my older brother (who loves them, he makes a whole show of it), so I ducked under my bag to wipe off the glasses.

   There was a flash of pink, and a moment later I peaked my head over the covers. "What?" I asked my gaping friends as they stared at me with horror.

   "That firework went right over you're head! It would have hit your face!"

   Other than fireworks falling over, my brothers 'modified' firework (a combination of taped together pieces) fell and went right for my legs. Of course, I moved enough that it didn't hit me, but I was really shaken up and ran inside for a good cry.

   And there was the time my brother (he's quite notorious for this sort of thing) threw a little explosive at my feet.

   Paranoid, me?

   More like experienced.

   I can just picture the obituary: Darrion, tragically killed by a colored flaming ball of explosives (also known as a firework) to the face. Service on Friday at 11. Please bring cookies for afterwards.

   Those little incidents have all lead up to this, the most dreaded holiday of the year, at least in my case.

   Also, a bunch of people in our neighborhood light off fireworks a whole month before July even starts. Which freaks out my little dog, and makes it hard to sleep for both him and me. It's been a really warm (which also means dry!) few months in our state, which isn't usual. i.e. fire hazard.

   The local fire-station is asking the town not to use fireworks, but to just go see big shows or watch it on TV.

   Well, that's just dandy. A sign of what's to come, I'll wager.

   I am also the one saying in way to the store, "Are you sure we need more beer, while lighting fireworks off and all?"

   But guess what?

   Nobody listens to you when you're a kid.

   That makes scenes, you don't have much experience, you are just a kid. But when you're a teenager?

   What do you think, I'm a hormonal mess who can't think about situations logically? Apparently, I have enough foresight so see that alcohol and explosives do not go hand-in-hand.

   Seriously. Who would trust themselves to light of a grenade after they've had a couple of drinks?

   But, in reality, I love Independence Day. Everything that it stands for; the signing of the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are all great things. I'm a third generation immigrant, I'm an American. I love all of these things, I love this country. I'd love to celebrate it.

   But no one seems to. They don't care what it's about, just so that they can blow things up.

   What ever happened to reading the Declaration? What happened to dressing up in Colonial fashions? Com'on, have a tea party or something!

   I don't have anything against people lighting off fireworks. They're pretty to look at. But preferably not up close.

   In other words, I just don't want to get hit by them. Let's see what happens this year...

Sincerely,

Darrion

 UPDATE

   Well, that wasn't so bad. I didn't get my head blown off.

   We had a smaller celebration this year, and my brother's wife's family were over. We had good food (though I did spend half of the day making potato-salad for Grandma) and good talk.

   The fireworks were on all horizons, a lot of people in our neighborhood and town were setting them off anyway.

   After the show was over, we (Willow and I) stayed up watching Thor: the Dark World that was on TV. We had been watching Captain America: the Winter Soldier when the little dog was freaking out. The loud TV helps drown out the firework bangs.

   Anyway, it all ended up okay. I guess I am kind of paranoid ;) But hey, I wouldn't be so cautious if they hadn't nearly hit me.

   I hope you all ended up with a safe and happy 4th like I did! Thanks for reading my rant :)

Sincerely,

Darrion