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 in response to Mimzy...   Thanks for writing back. I just really wish that I could get to that level myself. Even if it's only once and doesn't last long.

Yeah, finding out about IMVU. Maybe I should have come here first to read that warning. But it's so addictive with all the customizing. lol Plus I've been having fun in my new room too. It's my dream room apartment that I'm going to have someday. But you are right about getting lost in the site.

Oh, the Riddler one with Jim Carrey! I saw that one! It was a good movie. Yeah, there's lots of people I'd like to hook up to the box. lol
Like how to make some money...ugh.

I'd really like to find a way to make more. I'm so frustrated with what I'm doing and I don't really enjoy it. It's such dull zombie job that I feel so tired doing it. I want something more engaging that I feel offers a challenge. Putting books into a box and sending it down the rollers isn't offering me a future. Plus it's only part time and I'm lucky I got that. Where are all the jobs that were promised?
I'm not an engineer, a tech geek or medical staffer - I'm an artist.
I'm a creative geek and I really want to make it doing something I love to do. Any advice?

As for being a mom you sound cool - You play games with your kids? That is so awesome! So many parents are too busy to get into what their kids are doing. They can't really have a talk since they have no common subject to start with. Plus they are so wrapped up in all the problems they are dealing with that I think they forget about being there.

It would be a blast if my mom could play on some of the games that I do. I think she'd have a lot of fun.

But at least she included me and my siblings in on the problems that she had to deal with. I never whined about not getting some fancy clothing or bugged for some tech toy. I knew that we needed to pay the utilities or we wouldn't have them. I knew that we had to be careful not to go gobbling up the food or we wouldn't have much later on. We would talk about ways to save on the bills, as well as try to come up with ideas to make some extra cash.

Yard sales, collecting scrap metal, anything we could think of to help make a bit of extra money. So I learned to appreciate what my mom sacrificed just to provide for us. But now that I'm trying to make it I really want to prove that I can. My mom says that this isn't the best economy to do that with so many problems that need to be fixed.

But that wants me to prove myself even more. I hope that things change for the better. But the news isn't showing much that's positive. I really don't like that voter ID thing I keep hearing about. There are a lot of things going on that I don't like, but I'm not sure I can do anything about.

Hope that you have a nice sleep. Thanks for writing to me.

 in response to Aluralynn...   Okay, first off - breath.
I'm not that big an artist. It was a long time ago. I have no idea what happened to the paintings sold and I just hope someone is enjoying them.
Yes, I guess I was sort of the literary/artsy equivalent to a rock star back then. But a local rock star...low key, a few parties and it wasn't really all that glamorous.

Stop watching all those Hallmark movies...lol Life just doesn't turn out that way very often. True I tend to watch the Holiday specials on there...but not too many. I run out of tissues otherwise.

Yes, the IMVU site is big. I've lost a few hours on that site more than once. You have to be careful cause it will suck you into it. lol

My kids would like to tap into my brain for a number of reasons. Kinda like off the batman movie. This is your brain on the box. This is my brain on the box. They would love to get into mine and find out all my secrets. lol

Some of my kids just think I'm cool cause I'm not the typical mom type. Not a helicopter parent. Not a parental unit. More of a person you can talk to and even play games with.
I mostly do RPG type. MMOs online mostly now, not as much time to game them offline in a AD&D game (tabletop) - I tried the First person shooters...got fragged too often...it's not nice to snip mommy! lol Never did get the hang of strafing. Besides, they were a lot better than me.

Well, I need to go as the rain is making me sleepy. Take care and have fun this weekend.

 in response to Mimzy...   Wow, I went to that IMVU site and it's really big! There is a bunch of stuff on there and all those artists creating new items and selling. It all really blew me away!

You had your art in a gallery!? You're a professional artist! Have I seen any of your work? Where did you have a show? How long ago was that? I can't believe that you are just here chatting to people. I mean, professional artists go to fancy parties, like famous writers and rub elbows with famous people...right? All the artsy classy people like in New York and California. Or have I been watching too many Hallmark cable shows?

Thanks for talking to me and helping feel welcome. You're kids must really be lucky, you must have so much experience to share with them. I'll do my best to try to relax...I'm just sorta nervous by nature.

 in response to Aluralynn...   Yes I do have a number of children, my daughter, the artist/writer is your age, plus I've still a younger one who's almost 15. My youngest is 8 - a son.

I understand completely. When I was younger I was an artist and did some professional work, even had some of my work in a gallery or two. But getting the respect and fair price when first starting out can be frustrating. But it's worth it in the long run to finally get your work accepted and make those higher priced sales.

That image I use is my IMVU character. You may want to check them out as I find the customization rather inspiring myself. lol

I'm sure that you'll do fine. Just read some posts and if you think you can offer support or advice or even a resource - reply.
Other than that, you can post about things you need help with yourself. I think that you'll catch on rather quickly.

Take care and relax, things will be okay.

 in response to Mimzy...   Hi again. Yes, I do have an account on deviantART! I sometimes get some commissions there. But it's hard to find anyone that is willing to pay a fair price. I put a lot of work into my drawings and I don't think it's wrong to want a fair price.

I like green a bunch, it's one of my favorite colors. I do like candles and that is a picture of one of my big tri-colored ones. I don't light them much any more since I learned about soy candles and the paraffin type. Now I try to buy soy, palm oil and beeswax types since they're healthier.

How old is your daughter? Do you have more children? I hope I'm not being too nosy, I'm just curious.

I like your picture too, it's really interesting. Thanks for welcoming me to the site and for helping me out a bit. Maybe it won't be so bad here, though it's still a little strange yet.

I hope you have a nice night and thanks again.

 in response to Aluralynn...   Glad to help and don't worry no one is going to be mean. Most are rather nice here. I like your candle picture - I like purple and that glow is nice.

I'm guessing you like green and like candles. I have a daughter that likes green and candles too. She is also an artist too. Do you have a deviantART account? It is a great place for artists, writers & other creative people to network.

Anyway, welcome to the site. I'm sure you will be fine, just take things a day at a time. You'll figure things out as you go.

Great news about the electric and getting your money. Think about setting up an account to put away some money in so that you can cover the bills each month. Or to save for surprises, that's always a good idea.

Take care and try not to worry too much.

 in response to Mimzy...   I'm really shy about talking to people and I don't know anyone here.
But I did talk to the electric company rep. and I was able to work things out. I didn't even know that I had extra money in the escrow from when I put in the deposit!
The lady said that I could use some of it to lower the bill and buy me some time. I agreed and a few days later I got the money that I'd been waiting for.

I was kind of afraid to talk to them, but it worked out great.
Thanks for the message, it helped to get me moving.

Guess I will try to fix up my profile - I'm still a bit nervous since I don't really know what to say or how to help.

Thanks for reaching out.

Maybe a little updating on your home page might help to get you noticed. And as for the elect. I'm sure that something will come through for you.
Just talk to them and see about working something out. See if you can get an extension or set up a payment plan so that you'd have more time.

There's several ways to make money, since you're an artist try putting up an ad on craigslist or go to local classifieds to see if you can get graphic art work. Set up a website and showcase your work on it and link to it in your ads.

I'm sure that you will be able to figure out something. Just try attacking the problem from another direction. It may give you a new perspective on the issue.

Good luck :)