Kawaii

It's a certain hamster's first birthday...

"Herro, World!"

Happy birthday, Yukimo! I've been thinking that over and over now for the past few days. I know that the "anniversary" of Yukimo joining my little family is coming up in early November, but then I started realizing that her actual birthday has probably already happened. After all, she was already a few weeks old when I bought her last year.

I don't think I've ever shared the small story of how Yuki came to be in my family, so I thought it would be appropriate to share it on her first birthday. *snuggles Yukimo*

This time last year was a bit rough for me as far as friendships go. Beth and I had always been close, but she had recently fallen into a complicated relationship with a guy. The relationship between the two dramatically hurt what Beth and I had, so the only real person I could turn to was Shawn. One of the ways he helped me was supporting my decision to get a hamster. Since my apartment (at the time) didn't allow cats, I thought a hamster would be the friend I really needed when Beth wasn't around.

One cold night last November, Shawn and I drove back to a pet store near his house. (We wanted to go to a place with a wide selection of hamsters to choose from.) I had made sure to clean my entire apartment, including the table where the new hammy's cage would go, before we left. I had hamsters when I was little and remembered how sensitive they were to germs and small spaces. I wanted to make sure my new hammy would be completely healthy and comfortable in her new home.

Peaceful Sleep-Eating

Shawn and I spent quite a while in the "rodent room" looking at all the hamsters. I started off browsing the regular-sized hamsters. I hadn't planned on considering a dwarf hamster. Shawn, however, was already a little freaked out by the size of hamsters but for some reason wanted me to consider getting a dwarf instead. I figured that since Shawn and I had decided on getting a hamster together, I would make sure that he was as equally happy with our sweetie as I was.

I went over to the two or three cages with the dwarf hammies and found two that I was drawn to. I was either going to get a grey and white boy or an all white girl. Ironically enough, I found that I wanted to get the all white girl, even though I told Shawn that I didn't want a hammy that was all white right before we went into the pet store. I never really liked all white rodents for some reason. This hamster was different though, so I had the pet store employee come over and "wrap her up" for me to take home!

The thing about dwarf hamsters is that their life spans are short; they usually only live to be one to one and a half years old. My goal for my hamster was for her to live to be at least one year old. I wanted to prove to myself that I could take care of a pet on my own (with a little help from Shawn) and help her live a happy life. Now that Yukimo is a year old, I really feel like I've helped make her time with me special. After all, Yukimo is special to me in so many ways. And even though I've fulfilled my dream of having a cat (or two), I still find that Yuki and I share a strong connection. At times, I've even put Yukimo's health and happiness before my own. (An example of this would be keeping my apartment's temperature at 60 degrees while Beth and I freeze. Yuki absolutely loves the cold air!)  

I really wanted to share Yukimo with the rest of the world. She's affected my life in so many ways... So here she is, at age one, exploring the vast world in front of her. I have to admit-- she has never looked so fluffy, white and happy before, tee hee. She even starts wiggling around at one point. o___O (I narrate during most of the video by giving tidbits of information about Yuki.)

Yukimo, the Best Hammy Ever

Happy first anniversary, Vox!

Yay, Vox!

Exactly one year to this day, Vox made its public launch. The website opened its doors to the public and let thousands of people into one of the greatest blogging networks around. I'm so proud to be part of such a great community, and I'd like to dedicate this post to Vox and every single Voxer out there.

I've received countless gifts throughout the past year; Vox is to thank for many of them. I think my favorite gift of them all has been the opportunity to express myself to people I've never even met in person. To know that I can use my blog as a creative and personal outlet in so many ways is pretty extraordinary.

My passion for photography was strong before, but it's grown even more since I started posting photos here at my blog. I know that I've mainly focused on a small portion of my life (with dollies, my sisters, Shawn and things I come across in my everyday life), but I've been able to slowly pick up new photo subjects that catch my eye. I think that one of the great things about Vox is how willing to encourage every reader is. With the encouragement and small pushes in new directions from awesome friends here, I find that my confidence is building day by day. I don't consider myself a very social person outside of the internet, but blogging at Vox has made me feel a little stronger. The fact that I can step outside, taken in my surroundings, and then form new ideas about what images I want to capture is a confident step in the right direction. I no longer feel the need to socialize in the way that other college students do anymore. I've realized how great it is to strengthen what I do have and what I really enjoy-- and that's the quiet atmosphere of my blog in the company of people that I call close friends. (That's you.)

Event: <3 Vox

My blogging life extends to amazing highs, ones that I can really say I'm proud of. About two months after Vox made its public launch, I hosted my very first Kawaii at Vox raffle. Over 80 people participated at the time. I was ecstatic! Then, only eight months later, I threw my second raffle. By then, after Vox's community had grown even more, over 100 people joined in on my event. Knowing that people in just one community on the internet could have fun through such a simple event like a raffle really made me smile.

It was the events and the dedication Voxers had to their friends here that have made Vox what it is today. Like I've said before, the amount of community participation between each other and Team Vox is incredibly strong. I think that community is what makes Vox stand apart from every other blogging website out there. I've had the pleasure of being able to see both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, I was a simple blogger who enjoyed her occasional blog post, and on the other hand, I was given the opportunity to work with a great group of hard working people who have dedicated their working lives to better the entire idea and vision of Vox. I take a look at the leaps that I've made in my life thanks to every single ounce of luck (and fate) that has come my way, and I can only say one thing: thank you-- to Vox and to every Voxer who has been able to participate in this great blogging experience.

Vox, you are my favorite blogging place and I don't know where I'd be without you today. Watching you grow up into the strong and healthy community you are today makes me so, so proud. Happy anniversary, Vox!

So this is what it's like watching her grow up.

Will & Kathleen

About two weeks ago, I went home to help Kathleen get ready for her very last high school Homecoming dance. Helping her with makeup and hair has become a pretty fun ritual over the past few years, so I was looking forward to seeing what kind of look she had in mind.

As usual, Kathleen was dressing to kill. She had found a beautiful black dress at Hot Topic (her current place of employment), and she matched it with some kickass black and white striped stockings and huge black boots. Now that I think about her entire look, I'm realizing how I dressed the complete opposite for my dances my senior year. For Prom, I was decked out in an all white, strapless dress, white flip flips, and a pretty wreath of flowers (that I made myself). Go figure-- Kathleen and I are opposites when it comes to making impressions, tee hee.

Kathleen wanted her hair to resemble Amy Lee's hair from an Evanescence video. (Kathleen is a hardcore Amy fan.) Pressed for time, I worked on trying to tie half of her hair up while giving the bottom hair volume. The end results were really pretty-- simple, yet stunning. I wish I had been as cool and collected as Kathleen is for dances. I mean, I know she has her share of stress, but she handles everything so well.

Putting on her makeup only took a few minutes. Now that I think about it, Beth, Kathleen and I rarely ever spend more than ten minutes putting on makeup. I don't know if it's because we've got our routines down or we don't really care what other people think as far as details go, but it's nice not spending hours laying on layers of fluff. *grin* In the end, Kathleen's makeup was perfectly pretty: shades of purple and light pink, colors that offset the dark of her outfit.

Crossing Stripes

I think the one detail about this dance that really made a difference for me (and Kathleen) was the fact that a boyfriend was in the picture. In her seventeen years, Kathleen has never had a boyfriend so having one around Homecoming was a huge deal for her. To me, the entire relationship seems almost surreal. Out of nowhere one day, I found out that Kathleen was going to Homecoming with a guy I didn't know. Just a few minutes after that news, Kathleen told me that she had liked the guy for a while. And then, a few days after that, they're dating. I, myself, had never dabbled in the whole relationship thing after only knowing a guy for so long. The only two guys I dated, I had known for a couple of months to a couple of years. I guess that's why Kathleen's news came as such a shock. It shouldn't have been though-- she's a normal high school student!

Her new boyfriend's name is Will. Beth and I were able to meet him for the first time only a few days after Kathleen started dating him. I immediately liked Will because of how quiet he seemed. Actually, I know I liked him because I noticed how Kathleen was the dominant one in the relationship. Like me, Kathleen knows what she wants and what she doesn't want; she's picky and all too clever when it comes to figuring people out. Will is lucky. If she's dating him, she has good reasoning to. With that in mind, I approved. (Heh.

Youth & Love

Unfortunately, the good first impression that Will left Beth and me was lost a few days later. Kathleen called me, almost in tears, after finding out that Will had been suspended from school and the Homecoming dance he asked her to. (It would have been the first dance she could go to with an actual boyfriend. In the past, she's only gone with friends.) Silly, silly Will. Like a lot of high school kids I knew back in "my days" (a term that makes me sound completely old), he pulled something pretty stupid. Will and a couple of his friends decided to skip school and go to a library. Sure enough, they were caught and punished. I'm just glad that nothing too serious happened because of the actions. If anything, I hope he learns that the decisions he makes will, in fact, affect others... including a certain girlfriend.

So even though Kathleen and Will couldn't go to the dance together, Kathleen was a trooper and decided to go with a group of friends again. Before the dance, however, Beth and I drove Kathleen over to the restaurant that Will works at so she could take her "Homecoming pictures" with him. He may not have been dressed up, but the photos of them still make them both look sweet. I'm just glad Kathleen was able to kind of have a memory of dating a guy during this time in her life. She has the photos to prove it.

With every bit of drama that happened in the following weeks, Kathleen handled everything with amazing maturity. I have never been so proud of her in my life. She talked with Will and made sure that he understood where she stands in their relationship. They came to agreements, like most adults do after months of dating. I know their relationship might not be perfect at this early stage, but that spark of maturity in Kathleen gives me so much hope. I really do love her for everything she does.

A Darker Side of Elegance

Kathleen and Will are still together. Every time I call Kathleen to see how she's doing and ask about how she and Will are doing, I get a very bashful reply. I can just feel that smile on the other end. As much as I'm excited to see where Kathleen is going, I'm also tense about it. The idea of her moving forward as such a fast pace without me to keep an eye on her freaks me out. When I lived at home, I could keep in touch with her on a daily basis, but now that I'm away from home, we're cut off. I feel like I'm missing out on something every time I talk with her. In a way, I think this is how a mom feels when her kid moves away for the first time. Such good and sad feelings can be mixed together. Through it all though, I'd have to admit that it's more interesting than anything else I observe. This is reality and my sister-- mixing it up.

More photos of Kathleen can be found under my tags called "Homecoming"... or just go here.

I know that it's been a while since I last wrote here. I've been thinking about Vox a lot lately, so just know that you are all in my thoughts. *hugs* I appreciate the messages on AIM and the private messages so much. Thank you for keeping in touch with me. Even if I haven't responded to you, just know that you probably made my day just by sending me a little message.