(My interview with the Vox Team can be found here. It was just put up yesterday!)
I'm sitting back and drinking my warm eggnog latte as I write this entry. Just that image alone should sum up how the last few days have been-- relaxing, rather warm, snuggly, fun, and a little bumpy/lumpy along the way. I started writing another entry and got rather far, but then I realized that I wasn't really writing about my Christmas, or even myself, for that matter. And I really missed writing about my life while the Kawaii Holiday Event was up and running. I finally get to catch up. ^__^ That's why this entry is so long.
This was the very first year Shawn came with me to my Christmas. It's funny-- I don't know why, but I never invited him to my grandma's house in the past. I didn't do it (or not to do it) on purpose, but I guess I figured that he just wasn't interested. So, on Christmas Eve, we headed down to Illinois to celebrate the holiday. I was so happy with how the entire day turned out. I have never seen Shawn so happy around the holidays. He's usually in a slump-- he barely talks, he mumbles, and he's just plain rude to people, including me. (Sorry, Shawn, but it's true.) My family, however, changed that. Everyone immediately accepted him. They had met him before for Thanksgivings and graduations, but this was the first big holiday where he traveled with us a farther distance to celebrate an occasion.
The previous night, I had totally forgotten that Shawn would be the odd one out at my grandma's house, meaning, he would be the only one not getting presents. We had exchanged presents the day beforehand, so I discarded the idea of getting him more presents on top of what I gave him-- which was the Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex, anime series. (He loved it.) So on the morning of Christmas Eve, Mom and I rushed out to get him more presents. We picked up the second season of The Pretender, a new Modest Mouse CD, a few Mead composition notebooks, a rottweiler plushie, and a few other little goodies. He was shocked that he was getting more presents, but he loved everything. Shawn was even more shocked when he received presents from my family. (Thank goodness for sweet aunts.) I think the part that made him feel the most welcome, however, was the fact that he and my grandma got along so well. The three of us talked for a long time. She's extremely intelligent, so I take whatever she has to say extremely seriously. She asked Shawn to come back for any other family get-togethers. ^_^ I couldn't believe how well everything turned out.
And now, it's present time. The lists (yes, there were several, all of which were sent through emails) I gave Mom were rather long and full of expensive items. I knew I wouldn't get everything, but I figured that Mom would strive to get the easier things on the list, so I put a bunch of ideas on there with the hopes of getting a certain few for sure. I'm just that smart, haha. I ended up getting a pink DS Lite (to match my regular pink DS!), Final Fantasy III for the DS, a brand new Tokidoki bag in the Paradiso print, Barnes & Noble gift cards, jewelry, and a nice amount of money to put towards my new camera. I was in heaven. I've been playing the Final Fantasy games since I was a wee one, so playing this one brings back tons of memories. I love getting nostalgia for Christmas. That will forever be my favorite present.
I'll backtrack a little now. (Save the best for last, right?) Shawn and I exchanged presents on the 23rd, because we knew that the next few days would be extremely hectic for the both of us, together and separately. I was pretty pumped up to open his present, because I knew that a huge present ordeal had taken place between him and a friend regarding my present, but I had no idea what had happened. I was about to find out. I opened up the rather thin package and found a beautiful portrait of Shawn and me. Shawn had commissioned one of his artist friends to draw the picture of us a kissing, a photo that I had taken back in the Summer. Shawn had given a pocket-sized photos of us to David, his friend, and he drew us from that one small photo. The detail in the drawing is freakishly amazing. The camera doesn't even begin to reveal the gorgeous depths of the drawing. I lost my breath when I first laid my eyes on it. Not only was this gift utterly romantic, but knowing that Shawn, being his creative self, took the time and energy to fight for the drawing to be made so I could own it myself... gives me the most wonderful feeling inside. (I won't get into the gritty details of the drawing exchange right now.) Only Shawn would do something so perfect. The original picture that the drawing was based on can be found here.
And now, for the most recent event, my birthday. First, thank you to everyone who left me a comment, sent me a message over AIM, or sent me a private message here at Vox. You are such great friends and I feel so special knowing that you thought of me and remembered my birthday. My birthday was filled to the brim with a bunch of ups and downs. A lot of good things happened, but there were some disappointments along the way, unfortunately. I'll get the bad stuff over with first. I really had my heart set on buying a camera on my birthday since I finally had enough money to get a great camera just for myself. Sadly, the two cameras I had in mind didn't work out-- not just yet, anyway. I found out that the cheaper (in price) one is actually the same camera Beth has, and I really don't want to get the exact same camera as her. (It's a sister thing.) The other one that I wanted was nearly $1000, so I'd have to save up a little bit more to get it. Instead, I'm looking at other amazing cameras, and I'm seeing what package deals I can find online. Like Beth suggested, I'll find great package deals online, whereas, the deals at stores are rather... crappy, to put it lightly. As soon as I realized that I wouldn't be getting a camera, a sinking feeling filled my stomach. I couldn't help but feel depressed for a few hours. Other little things started to get to me. That stupid video that I taped for the raffle turned out to be rather poor quality through the Vox video setup, and YouTube gave me a headache when I tried using it. Instead, I just opted for the crappy looking video that Vox uses. I was a bit angry and frustrated. (Poor Shawn. He was with me the entire day, and he had to put up with the mood swings.)
A lot of good things happened, too, so they pretty much cancel out all those negative vibes I got. Swiss, my BJD (ball-jointed doll), happens to share my birthday (I received her as a present exactly one year ago on the 27th). I think it was fate, because the dress I had ordered for her arrived exactly on our birthday. I felt like I had a new doll to look at and adore. Swiss looks even more gorgeous than ever, if that's even possible. Besides her beautiful new gown, Shawn brought me flowers, after getting ordered to by me. He's brought me a lot of bouquets in the past, but he hasn't for a while, so I decided to "ask" for them. ^_~ Beth, Shawn and I went shopping several times yesterday, and both of them were generous with their time and patience. They knew I had been disappointed, so they did their best to cheer me up. Whatever magic they used ended up working, because I felt great by the end of the day.
I missed almost all the calls from friends and family yesterday. I actually only ended up catching one, which was from Jeremy. I felt bad because Shawn and I couldn't spend more time with him. We had gone over to Jeremy's house on Christmas Day. It's heartbreaking seeing a best friend leave town after only seeing him for a few hours. Thank goodness, he's coming back on January 1st, so Shawn and I should be able to see more of him. The times I've had with Shawn and Jeremy are some of the best memories I have. They make me feel good about myself. I think that's another gift I received for Christmas and my birthady. I'm really lucky.
Oh, and before I forget. I received two very special presents on Christmas from Shawn's mom. For the past month, she worked on a gorgeous pink blanket for me. It's absolutely huge. Shawn made sure to ask her to make it big, because he knows how cold my apartment is. Not only did she work on that for me, but she made a matching mini-blanket for Plum. This entry has a photo or two of her using it.
I've always been known as "the pink girl," because of my love and obsession for pink, so you might see a little pink pattern throughout the next few photos.
Happy Belated Birthday
Posted by: Wislander | December 28, 2006 at 01:13 PM
Ahh... I missed your entries. =) No matter how long your entries may seem, it doesn't matter. I feel like I'm sitting right next to you talking and listening to what you're saying. =) So it's not long at all really.... *hehe*
I'm glad that your Holiday was great and that Shawn was there with you as well to spend it with. I'm even more happy to hear that Shawn had a great time with you and your family. I remember the first time my Hubby came over my house on Christmas. It was a weird feeling for him but my family loved him so he felt right at home. *hehe* I remember inviting him to look at my room and he didn't want to even walk up to the door. He stood like 5 feet away and was like, "Oh... it's nice." and was getting all nervous. hahaha! Boys!
I'm glad you got wonderful presents. I'm sorry you didn't get that camera you really wanted though! Patience my dear. You'll get something GREAT in no time! I'm like that too but I've learned to just suck it up, pout and get over it. In due time it will happen. I wanted a new pc and a new camera as well but we have other priorities. It sucks but that's how it is on our end right now. LOL I can't wait for you to get your new camera though! I'm going to be soooooooo excited for you girly!
And that drawing! OMG... how gorgeous! Shawn is such a sweetheart for getting that done for you! Something about drawn portraits makes them ultra special.... I love it! Beautiful... and the original picture is gorgeous too! You guys look so utterly in love in it. =)
I hope I can catch you online soon... Miss chatting with you!
*huggles*
xoxo
Posted by: ●Mami.Rosa● | December 28, 2006 at 01:16 PM
The drawing is AMAZING. I love it. Oh, I have a black ds lite. I wanted the pink but Bryan wouldn't get it since we would be sharing it. He said he would go back and get me the pink one though. I can't wait. Oh, do you have Animal Crossing Wild World for DS?
Posted by: Jessica | December 28, 2006 at 01:33 PM
[this is good] That entry was just wonderful!!
I'm pretty jealous of your multiple pink DS's and wonderful tokidoki bag!!! I almost got a tokidoki bag as well, but instead I got a Tarina Tarantino Pink Head hello kitty necklace!! And i can't stop wearing it! hehe.
That drawing of you and Shawn is beyond precious.... it kicks my bootay, seriously, i could never do anything like that. I did an oil painting for my mommy though! (It's in the second post down on my page)
I'm glad your family warmly accepted your man!! It's such a wonderful feeling when family and friends start to really embrace your significant other!! I'm seeing that more and more in my own family and network of close ones with my man Anthony! And he hasn't had warmth and love in a very long time, so it means the world to him and THEN some. :)
Have a fantastic new year!!!
-Amyrose
Posted by: AmyRose | December 28, 2006 at 01:35 PM
[this is good]
I loved this entry. :)
First of all, I'm really jealous of your DS's. I want one sooo bad. I'm saving for one, hehe! ;)
I'm happy that your family accepted Shawn. I'm having some problems with my new boyfriend and my family 'cause they're still a bit "attached" to my ex that I dated for over 4 years. I'm hoping things will change soon and that they'll start opening up for him 'cause he's really special for me, you know?
I hope the new year brings good things for you and your loved ones. :)
Posted by: Lena Katrin | December 28, 2006 at 03:12 PM
[this is good] I am glad that overall your Christmas and Birthday were good (sorry I didn't send you a happy Birthday on time)(HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY). I love your pictures of you swag, and the picture of Shawn and you looks amazing. I hope you can get a new camera soon.
Posted by: little wonders | December 28, 2006 at 03:15 PM
[this is good] Happy Belated Birthday!! Yoshi's Island is pretty addictive on the DS as is Zookeeper!
Posted by: ::c:: | December 28, 2006 at 03:43 PM
[this is good] I LOVED your entry. Glad to hear you had a great holiday and Happy Belated Birthday! ;))
Posted by: ♥ Lady M ♥ | December 28, 2006 at 04:27 PM
[this is good] Looks like you got a lot of nice things this year. Sorry about the frustations!
I didn't know that you like BSG too! ^^ Got the Season One DVDs and got the rest from the iTunes Store...
The SCIFI Channel website for BSG has soo much, including podcasts from
cast members and the creators of the show... even the the opening music
- which is a prayer to the Gods of Kobol, sung in Sumerian! :)
http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/
Happy birthday!! :)
Posted by: Mikey | December 28, 2006 at 06:43 PM
[this is good] HI Lauren! It's very good to know that you enjoy the holidays with your whole family and your love Shawn. Take lots of care and god bless!
Posted by: Lin's Cuisine | December 28, 2006 at 07:01 PM
Beautiful pictures and very cute gifts, they're very "you"
i'm glad you had a good one and got some relaxn' time.
Another wonderful blog entry, always a treat when you post
*poke*
=)
Posted by: Phillip | December 28, 2006 at 09:51 PM
Merry Christmas! Looks like you've had a wonderful stash this year and ample relaxation time!
And congrats on the Team Vox profiling! :D
Posted by: Anise & Cloves | December 29, 2006 at 12:28 PM
Sounds like you had a wonderful christmas :D
Posted by: kawaiikitty | December 29, 2006 at 02:22 PM
(huggles) I hope you have a happy New Year!
Posted by: Pixie Wildflower | December 29, 2006 at 11:23 PM
Hey Im with you on the pink obsession! I love the Tokidoki bag & I was hoping for one for Christmas, but sadly I didnt get it. Smasbox currently has a Tokidoki makeup collection & the packaging is really cute. I want me one of those pink DS's too! Have a Happy New Years!
Posted by: le rose est amour | December 30, 2006 at 09:45 AM
It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas and birthday! It's always great spending the holiday season together with your family and boyfriend. I'm glad Shawn had a good time too. That drawing he gave you looks amazing!
Posted by: Baloo | December 31, 2006 at 08:00 PM