It's been a while since my last post or tweet, so I figured I owed you guys an update.

First of all, I apologize for the multiple hiatuses, especially this last (long one). I swore I wouldn't be one of those webcartoonists, yet... here we are. Bah.

Unfortunately real life took a heavy, heavy toll these past few years. My family has had to taken on the many (and continuing) burdens of a couple of family members, which as been tiring, time consuming, and frustrating. This has been the case for three long years, and it has had a deep affect on my ability to work on the comic. I am not happy about this, but it is what it is. I'd like to say things began to settle down, but unfortunately they did not. For my own sanity (and because I cannot constantly deal with the problems created by another person), I decided to distance myself from this person's self-inflicted troubles and finally begin focusing on my own once again.

And so I have. I mentioned, quite a while back, that I began 'extreme couponing'. I don't think I quite explained that. A few years back I had lost my job when the business I worked for lost a main supplier and could not afford to keep me on (my boss tried his best, but could only do so much). I held on as long as I could, but eventually due to mounting debt and no income, had to move back home. While I appreciate a place to stay, it... has not been enjoyable.

I did eventually find a part time job at a library which, after a year of hard work, turned into a full time job that I love. But the debt remains, and I've been working hard to reduce it. That's where the couponing thing comes in. The fact is, I'm quite good at it. 'Extreme couponing' has helped me consistently save 60-70% off my grocery trips, spending about $10 for $60 worth of stuff that filled a basket. In comparision, I was spending about $60 per trip and barely walking away with a couple of sacks. That, plus rising gasoline costs, were killing me, so I gave the couponing thing a try.

Unfortunately it takes a lot of time, which cut into comic making. But there's another reason I do it, besides saving money: my plan is to be debt free and to buy a house within a year. In order to pull this off, I will need to live within a tight budget. Right now I'm training myself to live within very limited means so I can do this and get by. And this is one reason why I've been so quite lately. My focus had to be on this plan.

I did announce a while ago on Twitter that I was working on pages again and hoped to be back soon. Unfortunately projects and couponing overwhelmed me, and I didn't realize until now how long it's been since I worked on a page! I've actually been trying to draw all week, but time kept slipping away, as there were more priority projects to do. I have finally made some time to get to pages tonight, and I hope (but don't promise!) to be more consistent about it.

Honestly, though, the time away has been good for me. I was getting so negative on my work that I'm surprised anyone kept checking in. I let my mistakes get to me rather than accept them as the product of learning. With that time away, I can get back to simply enjoying what I'm doing.

To give you an idea of where I'm at: I have two pages penciled and one additional page sketched (hopefully more after tonight). I'm seriously behind, but I'm not giving up, especially at this point in the comic's life.

I make no promises on a timeline, but I'm trying to find a balance for everything going on right now so I can get to this comic again.