I have so much to catch up on here in this blog - from my visit to Tokyo, my involvement in the Oingo Boingo Secret Appreciation Society podcast, my trip to Disney World and my trip to California last year, not to mention various conventions and life changes along the way.

For now, though, here's some of our Halloween decor - we're keeping it a low-key this year, but couldn't resist adding a little spook to our home. Autumn is always the season I feel most like blogging and vlogging, so maybe I'll finally update this place. See you soon!

We haven't had snow yet here, and I'm so terribly jealous of those around the country who have been blessed with it. We did get some lovely frost though, and it was almost enough to pretend.

Well, this is where I usually do a recap, I guess! Not a whole lot to report, of course, and yet it's home to some of my biggest and fondest memories - mainly my trip of a lifetime to Tokyo with Moose, to celebrate our tenth anniversary! It's honestlty wild to think we managed to do that this year, before the entire world got a little, well, 2020-ish. I still  have yet to blog about it, it's so big and there's so much, but I think I'll start posting about it here next week - marking a year on from our trip. I can't believe a year ago today I was gearing up for it. 2020 seems to have gone so quickly. Just as well, really. I think we're all quite happy to see the back of it.

Still, as much as this year was kind of a bust, here's a list of the things I did manage to achieve in 2020!

...I saw in the new year with my best friends, as usual, surrounded by food and games and kind of scary fireworks.
...Went to Japan with Moose to celebrate our tenth anniversary, exploring Tokyo, Hakone and Disney Sea!
...Attended Secret Cinema's 'Stranger Things' event for the second time, which was incredible and I wish I could do it again.
...Had fun at a pop up retro arcade event in Bristol for Matt's birthday!
...Redecorated my room in true lockdown DIY fashion, painted my units, got new furniture, new carpet, repainted the walls...
...Actually managed to attend a second Secret Cinema event, this time a 'Drive In Cinema' where we saw 'Knives Out' from the social distancing safety of our cars. It was amazing.
...Had a wonderful birthday where Moose surprised me with a lovely picnic (no restaurants or pubs open at the time!)
...Attended my one gig this year, a 'No Such Thing As A Fish' podcast recording in London.
...Managed to sneak in a weekend with Moose up in Basingstoke between lockdowns, where he saw 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' for the very first time! He's still not sure what he made of it, haha.
...Took more private commissions this year than any other, sold more woodburnings than ever and did a decent trade at a few 'online' conventions that took place in leu of their real life counterparts.
...Attended Stourhead at Christmas' lights event twice! And avoided the rain both times!

...okay, so it's not the longest list. But this year hasn't exactly offered much in the way of opportunities. So, I watched a lot of television instead. 

...Trinkets
...Ratchet
...Dorohedoro
...Jane the Virgin
...Dare Me
...Dash & Lily
...Dynasty
...Kipo & The Age of Wonderbeasts
...Emily In Paris
...Dead To Me
...Selling Sunset
...Dolly Parton's Heartstrings
...Brave New Animal
....Hollywood
...Merry Happy Whatever
...Sweet Magnolias
...13 Reasons Why
...I'm Not Okay With This
...Tiger King (don't judge me, lockdown just started!)
...Beastars
...You

I also managed to sneak out to the cinema a few times this year before lockdown, and just after it in that tiny gap between cinemas opening and our local cinema (Cineworld) closing semi-permanently.

...Dolittle
...Sonic the Hedgehog (saw this one twice!)
...The Personal History of David Copperfield
...Emma
...Bill & Ted Face The Music
...Onward
...Tenet
...Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite (last film we saw at our local Cineworld before they closed).
...The Rocky Horror Picture Show 

...not a whole lot, as it turns out. Mum and I actually have (or had, I guess) Cineworld cards, which let us attend unlimited screenings of any films we liked, so we used to go to the cinema a fair bit. This year, obviously, they closed the cards down, and then the cinema down, and now the only regular 'entertainment' we had is gone. I know everything's moving to streaming now, but there's something so nice about going to the cinema, grabbing a snack and being in the dark without the temptation to check your phone, or answer the door, or reply to that email. Cinema is an event to me, and it's one of the biggest things I miss right now.

2021 hasn't started brilliantly. We went straight into a full lockdown again in January, and then America started eating itself. Covid cases are currently higher in the UK than they ever have been. It's all still a mess, frankly. And yet I'm trying to go into the year optimistically, with the hope that by the end of 2021, we'll have a little more normalcy to enjoy. The vaccine is under way, and I just booked an actual, honest-to-god convention (Kokorocon, which isn't happening until 2022, but at least it's something to look forward to!)

Resolutions? Just the usual, here. I want to draw more, even without the constant motivation of conventions. I'm going to try and make an art book this year, so that when the cons return I have something a little more tangible to sell. "Draw more" and "blog more" have been a constant resolution of mine my whole life, haha. Someday I'll crack it.

2020 hasn't been a normal year for many people, and even though I was fortunate enough to spend Christmas Day the way I always do, surrounded by the people I usually spend it with, it still felt a little different. Sadly, the day was marred when Dad went to check our café and found that some lowlife had smashed into our gas cage and stolen our entire supply of gas, which means we had to spend hundreds to replace everything before business can resume on Monday. I guess some people really don't have the festive spirit, huh?

Still, as a whole, we had a pretty great Christmas, all things considered. It was, as always, a day full of food, drink and cheesy TV. Oh, and gifts, of course. I was spoilt his year, as always. I think Santa knows I'm always on the nice list ;) So, I thought I'd do a little wrap up of our Christmas Eve, our Christmas Day, and our Boxing Day, in photos. Enjoy!

I saw this tag over on A Geek Girl's Guide by Michelle and I thought it'd be really fun to take part! Fandom is my life. I'm a complete and utter fangirl, I'm somebody who completely wears her heart - and her fandoms! - on her sleeve. Being involved in fandom has been such a world changer for me. Heck, I wouldn't be an artist if it wasn't for fandom, and I sure as heck wouldn't have the circle of friends I do now without it, either!

Have you ever made fan art?
​Um... yeah. It's kind of my job, haha.
Have you ever written fan fiction?
I have! I've written fanfic my whole life. When I was a kid I used to use Dad's old Amstrad to write Sonic the Hedgehog stories! I mainly write 'drabbles' - stories limited to just 100 words - due to my very short attention span. You can find some of my fanfic over on my A03 page - it's mostly Doctor Who and Yuri on Ice! (and I'll warn you, though none of my fic is adult, I am a bit of a slasher... ahem!)
Have your ever gone to a special event for a fandom? (midnight releases, etc.)
Assuming we don't mean conventions, because boy, I've been to a lot of those, I've attended quite a few fandom events as well! I am fortunate enough to live right next to Wincanton, a small town that regularly hosts Discworld events such as Hogswatch, and I went to the midnight release of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, too (and I won cinema tickets for best fancy dress!)
Have you ever been active in a fandom community online?
Very much! I used to roleplay in the old days, and as a dedicated fanartist, I'm always sharing my creations with the world. I'm really active on Twitter, in Discord communities, and on forums (yes, some still exist!) 
Have you ever made friends because of mutual fandoms?
Heck, most of my friends these days are through fandom in one way or another, either because I met them at cons, or through my art, or in an online video game. I'm a lifer, man.

Learn to surf, or at least give it a go [Nope, but I’d still love to try!]
Get married, and have a small, wonderfully themed wedding ('Autumn' or 'Luau') [Nope, sadly, but I’m still dead set on those themes!]
Go on a cruise down the Thames (a nice evening cruise especially, with wine and music) [Yes! I actually did this! Moose and I went on a Thames cruise with his parents as a sort of double-date anniversary gift! It was lovely!]
Take a flight in Concorde* (it'll never happen now, but I've wanted to do this since I was a kid, so it stays on my bucket list.) [fair]
Holiday on a canal boat [Yes! And you can read about it here!]
Publish a comic [Still no, but hopefully someday!]
Get featured in an anthology of comics or art [see above!]
Sell art at a convention [Yeah, I kind of nailed this one]
Visit the remaining Disney parks I haven't yet been to: [prior to 2012!]
--California Adventure Park
--Blizzard Beach
--Disneyland Park, Paris [Yep! I’ve actually been six times now! You can read about them in my Disney tag!]
--Walt Disney Studios Park [See above!]
--Hong Kong Disneyland
--Tokyo Disneyland
--Tokyo DisneySea [Yes! Earlier this year! I’m still in the process of writing it up!]
Go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida [Big plans to finally return to Florida finally in 2022, fingers crossed!]
Meet Danny Elfman [Sadly, still no. I've tried several times, though!]
Visit the Valve studios in Seattle [I’d still love to go, but Valve don't seem to be the same company they once were :(]
Own MOC (mint on card) My Little Pony 'Gypsy' [Nope - but someday!!]
Go on a 'Wolf Walk' in Reading [Sadly, they no longer offer wolf walking experiences to the public! Missed the boat here, I’m afraid.]
Go diving (even if it's just a little shallow dive) [Not yet!]
--Similarly, swim around a coral reef, among tropical fish [Still waiting!]
Own a dog [One day!!]
Swim in the Pacific Ocean (I can't believe I've not yet done this) [...and I still haven’t!]
Swim in the Dead Sea 
Visit the 'Wonders' of the World I hadn't yet seen:
Ancient:
-Great Pyramid of Giza
Medieval:
--Colosseum
--Great Wall of China
--Taj Mahal
--Eiffel Tower [Yep! I'm in the middle of writing up a blog post about it!]
--Leaning Tower of Pisa
Natural:
--Great Barrier Reef
--Mount Everest
--Victoria Falls
Go to New York and do all that crazy New York stuff [Yes!! Visited twice, once at Christmas, too, in 2014! Read about that here!]
Ride in a helicopter [Nope… not sure I really care though, now!]
Ride in an air balloon [Nope, but I’d still like to!]
Own my own place [Hah. Yeah. Maybe someday.]
Have a pony room! [See above!]
Go to an ice hotel [No! We were going to go to one in Amsterdam but it was sadly closed the week we went!]
Swim with dolphins [Nope, but I’d still love to, provided we found an ethical place to do it]
Fly first class [Still the dream]
Do a 'high ropes' course somewhere [Maybe when I lose a few stone…]
Go on a banana boat ride [I mean, sure? Haha, not sure if this is bucket list material, but sure!]
Bask on a tropical island [Gosh, yes please. Still would like to!]
Do a Caribbean Cruise [...Maybe even a Disney one and visit Castaway Cay?]
Drink out of a coconut [Yes!! On a street market in New York, which isn’t the tropical destination I thought I’d do this in, but it was great until the heavens opened and we ended up in the middle of one of the most exciting storms I’ve ever encountered!]
Cram all of my friends into a photo booth and take some dumb photos [Well, I’ve crammed some friends into a booth for photos! Not sure why this is a bucket list entry, though! Past me had pretty low expectations, haha.]
Do all the achievements in TF2 [Hah. Only 131 to go…]
Get a pentakill in League of Legends [...Do bot games count?]
Be a bridesmaid [Naw. None of my best friends seem to want to get married :(]
See the Northern Lights [I’d still love to, maybe on a cruise somewhere…]

So, there you have it! That is what 2012 me considered a bucket list! A few of those entries remain pretty solid, to me. I'd still love to visit an ice hotel, for example, and I can only dream of the day I achieve a pentakill in League of Legends! But some parts? I'm not sure why I ever thought a squished photo booth photo or a banana boat ride was that exciting. And visiting Mount Everest? Sounds a bit cold and dangerous, to me!

I'm going to write up a new bucket list. I think I'll be including quite a few things from this old one, but my tastes and priorities have changed a little since 2012, and it'll be nice to see what I can achieve in the next eight years going forward. Do you have a bucket list? Has it changed over the years? Did you manage to tick many things off?

This is actually an outfit from a little while ago, but I love it so much I felt I had to include it. In honour of it being UK Ponycon that weekend, I'd braided my hair overnight resulting in this fabulous 80s faux perm!  It reminds me of how I styled my hair for Secret Cinema's 'Stranger Things' event - dang I love the 1980s and its ridiculous fashion choices.

Dress - The White Stuff
Leggings - Primark
Boots - Rocket Dog

​I don't know about you, but I've been using lockdown as an excuse to devour as much media I as I can! From books, to Netflix, to games I'd not yet tried and, especially, podcasts!

Podcasts are the newest form of media to me, but one I took to super fast! In fact, I've become such a podcast fan that I rarely listen to music in my car, not even my carefully curated YouTube Music or Spotify playlists. Instead, I turn to Pocket Casts, an app perfectly tailored to podcasts. Here's my top five podcasts to listen to, but I suspect I'll find many more to enjoy before 2020 is over!

[listen here]
​This is currently my #1 podcast! I  enjoy the show so much, I've actually seen them perform it live in London twice (and was booked to see them during lockdown for a special 'drive-in' event that sadly was cancelled). No Such Thing As A Fish' is a podcast by some of the fact-finders behind the TV show 'QI', where they each tell you a random interesting fact they've researched that week. I used to love QI, but I much prefer this podcast - it feels far more authentic, rather than relying on comedians, celebrities and performances. Instead, you have four people chatting about their fact of the week, and it feels like you're just hanging out with three friends, bantering in the pub. Which, y'know, is something I've very much missed this year. You can jump in on any episode, they're all great.

[listen here]
If you're into Dungeons & Dragons (or any tabletop roleplay game, for that matter), you've probably heard of 'Critical Role', and I'd say 'The Adventure Zone' was its little brother. Originally a spin-off from their 'advice' show' 'My Brother, My Brother & Me', 'The Adventure Zone' began life as a D&D adventure by the McElroy brothers and it has since become so much more than that. It's been running since 2014 and has changed form, game-play system and story many times, but I'd honestly recommend starting at the very start. In my opinion, their first season, 'Balance', is still the best story of the lot, with the best characters of the lot, and it's probably the one you've heard of if you've heard of any of them.

[listen here]
I don't really know how I found this one, but I absolutely love it. Dubbed 'True tales for the curious mind with a short attention span', 'The Way I Heard' It by Mike Rowe is a podcast about real life people, and real life stories... though maybe sometimes a little... fabricated. The way he talks and spins his stories is utterly captivating, and each only ten minutes or so long, so it's perfect for a short commute. I absolutely love the reveal at the ending of so many of his tales, and so many times I've been left in awe with honest-to-God goosebumps! You can jump in on any episode, but I really recommend episode 96 - 'The Pilot and the Passenger'!

[listen here]
'Teen Creeps' is a podcast about young adult fiction - or specifically, about those old horror books we all loved as young teenagers. I was a sucker for Point Horror books, and R.L Stine in particular, and Teen Creeps digs right into these as well as a bunch of other books by similar authors in the same creepy vein. Sometimes the hosts are a little chatty and go on slight tangents, but they're nice and enjoyable to listen to and often make me giggle as they reveal just how dumb and silly those old books were.

[listen here]
One of my favourite pass times is reading TripAdvisor reviews on places I've been to. I particularly love reading negative reviews on places I love, because it honestly astounds me sometimes how crazy some reviewers can be! When I found 'Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet'. I couldn't believe my luck. A podcast devoted to unfair and often bonkers reviews of places? Sign me up! Their dramatic readings of one star reviews are genuinely a joy to listen to, but you might lose your faith in society a little bit!