Your sweet dreams and your sci-fi sunsets

There have been so many big changes in my life recently that I thought it might be time for just one more.

( Direct from Christina's cameraphone to you )

Happy Birthday, Christina. You're the best mother anyone could ask for.

Freakiest marketing campaign ever goes to... Well, I don't know who it goes to. But they win, because it is quite creepy. * Although I can't imagine how they were allowed to do so. What kind of product are they reddening the water with? Whatever it is it can't be good for the wildlife. Bastards. Some people don't care about anything in this world but themselves. I'm about to start calling around to movie studios to see which one is responsible for this. It's unbelievably stupid on their part in so many ways. Don't they realise how this is going to affect people? Even if they're not worried about this filth moving out to sea and killing the marine life (and I could have a whole three page rant on that alone) do they think mass hysteria is amusing? People get killed when hysteria is rampant. Not to mention the ammunition that is being handed over to the religious extremists right now.


* For those that missed it, the Thames currently looks like blood and there are numerous sci-fi forums going mad over it tying in with a new movie that's going to be released. Cloverfield has a hell of a lot to answer for right now.

Things are... okay here. Deacon has a daughter. He has a sixteen year old American brat who thinks she's the best thing to set forth on the earth in all history. I don't really know what else to say about her, except that I really wish she wasn't living in my house. Deacon is trying to adjust to suddenly being a father and Christina has already taken the girl well under her wing, a fact which - I admit - makes me a little bit jealous. I don't know why. It's not as though Christina's looking for Jezebel to be her shiny new replacement for me.

Also, Jezebel. Who names a child Jezebel? Although from what Deacon has said about her mother I suppose that isn't the worst it could have been. Her mother sounds like a nightmare, which is probably a little bit obvious from the fact that she let her teenage daughter come half way around the world in search of a father who had no idea of her existence. What a bitch. If I ever meet her I might have to give her a word or two of harshly spoken advice.

Deacon and I are going to be okay. He's explained it all now and I can hardly blame him for any of this. I still wish that girl wasn't here though. We are not getting along, and I'm not much enjoying playing the wicked stepmother to a moody teen at twenty-three.

Happy freaking birthday for me.

Deacon has a daughter!!

I've been teaching Carrie how to use one of my old cameras and we've been taking silly photos all around the house today. We have an interesting one of Deacon's knee that I think could be the start of Carrie's own photographic knee project.

Yvonne, thank you for coming around yesterday. Carrie loves seeing you. You're really helping her out a lot. Christina would like to invite you around for dinner tomorrow if you'd be interested in coming.

I really want uni to go back. Something has gone wrong inside my mind!

I do not rant! Deacon, you're a horror!

Of all the days she could have been there, it had to be then, didn't it? Christina was talking to a class about her poetry and then I saw it all on the news and oh god I was so scared. I must have been one of the few daughters to be worried about her mother and not the other way around.

But she's here now and she's got Carrie on her lap and she's alive and I can't believe how grateful I am. I'll never ever take her for granted.

NO!

MY MOTHER IS THERE!!

Deacon has barely left the house for the last month. He sits in his little work room, painting for hours on end before emerging triumphant and covered in paint. I fear he's starting to lose his mind.

( Photos! )

Yesterday two Argentinean girls came to stay here for a few months. It's nice to have some new foreign artists again. I love talking with them.

And Christina told me yesterday that she's finished the novel she's spent the last year writing. Bravo! She won't tell me what it's about though, not even now that it's finished. I'm going to have to wait until it's published. She's such a pain.

We have a new member of the family. I can barely contain my happiness at this. Oh, you all have to meet her because she is the most wonderful, sweet, beautiful, fantastic, brilliant little girl I've ever had the pleasure to meet, and call my sister *GRINS*

Her name is Carrie, and she's just turned five. Christina finished all the paperwork a few days ago, and she has officially moved in to Briar Rose as of today to be fostered by my wonderful mother, who is now getting to be a wonderful mother all over again.

Apparently Carrie has had some hard times, and she's a little wary of people sometimes, but we're all sure we can make her feel right at home here.

I'm allowed to open my big mouth now and tell everyone that brilliant news: Christina is going to adopt a kid! I'm am so beyond excited at this. I'm going to have a little brother or sister! Not that I'm completely obsessed with having family or anything :D (Speaking of: Jude I'm coming around to visit you tomorrow.)

So, yes, she's put in all the forms and everything and she's going to start looking through... I don't know, applications or whatever it is that you do when you're adopting. I don't know, but it's exciting anyway. She's not going to get a baby, since she said that having a baby around was utterly stressful and she likes be able to sleep these days, so she's going to look for someone just coming up to school age.

It sounds like picking someone out at a shop, but Christina is going to be a wonderful mother (again!) so it doesn't matter what all this excited babbling sounds like.

I love my family. So much. And I might have wonderful news about them soon, but not quite yet. *tries to keep her mouth shut*

( Family photos )

Okay, well... that's new.

Everything is so terrible right now. I wish I could say something beautiful for Vivian but nothing feel very beautiful. She was, though. ( Because this is how she'd want us to remember her. )

Her funeral is in a few days and I don't even know where Asher is. I can't imagine how he must feel to have lost his sister.

I just wish Jude would come home. Because if I stop thinking of that as an 'if' instead of a 'when', I'll die. I don't want to lose Jude.

Sixteen days and counting. I cannot allow myself to believe that you are dead.

Biscuits baked with love?

Uni so far is fantastic! I'm having so much fun. But we're not far in yet so maybe you should ask me again in a week and see if that's what I still think. But, really, I get to take photos for credit. How can that not be the best thing ever? From my world view at least. I've been taking yummy ones of Deacon but he doesn't know they're for class. Hee!

Christina and I are starting a new art project together, but I'll give you more details of that as we get it together. Just rest assured it will be fantastic, because she's brilliant at all things.

Haha, Nienna has lost her wings. That's what happens when you're a VERY BAD FAIRY! Oh well, at least she's still got her band, right?

I have been to a class and am home and Deacon is STILL in bed! And since I've just posted an awesome scene to DM, I've got nothing else to be doing. How terrible is that? I'm going to go jump the hubby :D

We're home!

The thought of trying to write down what India was like is just too difficult. It was amazing. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. I'll talk to you all, you know that, and you can just put up with in person babbling about it. Because the written word fails the capture the very feeling of all of it.

This was indeed my best honeymoon ever :D We were gone for almost three weeks but it feels like so much less. It wasn't enough time. Not for India, not for us to be together in that beautiful place. Gods above, I love that man so much. I've been so blessed to find him.

Some of our time was spent in the cities but we actually spent most of our time in the more rural areas in the south of India. It was incredible. We even helped a family build their home. Not very much of it was us, but we were there for three days! I feel so grateful and a sense of pride that we were there for that. And on the fourth day before we left I went to the school with their son and daughter.

( Less talking - more photos! )

Since I'd been lazy and hadn't yet changed my name on the info of this journal, I thought I might as well do some quick edits to the things I'd said there as well :)

Tomorrow my husband (I LOVE saying that) and I are flying to India. This is incredibly exciting! You can probably guess how much film I've got for my camera, not to mention batteries and memory cards for my handy little digital camera too. I don't need clothes - I have my camera!

Which makes it sound like I'm going to be taking some rather pornographic footage but that wasn't what I meant :) I just meant bag room could be filled with photography things instead of clothing.

I love everything right now!

You are now looking - at least in the internet sense - at Mrs Isabelle Callahan.

I'm so happy right now I can't even describe it in words.

Thank everyone who was there. You helped make this the best day in the world.

Married. Tomorrow.

I realised that I picked my bridesmaids but not a Maid of Honour, and you're meant to have one of those, aren't you? I don't even know what she does! But it you, of course, Sweet Kat. Would it be really tacky to just Wiki this?

Deacon has moved out of Briar Rose. Don't fear! It's only temporary. He wants to build up the excitement by being away from each other until the ceremony. I think he secretly just wants to enjoy the last of his freedom away from me and having a huge party. God, just don't tell me about the strippers.

Nienna has been a total pain in my arse since she got her wings. I want to kill her off, or send her away or something. Someone should hit her over the head with something heavy!

Oh god, it's the 1st already!

My dress is finally completed and its gorgeous. I cannot wait to wear it down in the fairy glade with all of you there. I can't wait to be married to Deacon. I'm am so lucky I can't even begin to describe it.

And to make me even more of a lucky woman, Deacon told me today about our Honeymoon plans. He's taking me to India. India. Holy. Shit. That is amazing. India. Oh God, so much I want to see there! We're going to be travelling around India for two weeks. It's the most incredible thing ever.

I love my Deacon.

I'm getting married in 23 days. OH MY GOD!!

Bridesmaids, Nina says she's finished your dresses so I'll have to get them to you. They're all burgandy with petticoat/underdresses of cream. My wedding dress is the same, but the other way around. I don't think that made any sense. My brain is turned off. i need to remember to breathe.

Renee and Jude! I have all today free, will you please come and be beautiful for my camera?

Because Deacon didn't post them then I'm going to have to. Poor boy is all embarrassed or something.

( Hahaha )