Kawaii

Good news and a photoshoot.

Kathleen and I have been waiting a long time to do another photoshoot together. We had been planning to do one last year, but we waited too long and the cold weather beat us to the punch. Boo! I think it all worked out well in the end because we had a really fun time doing this shoot yesterday.

I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to wear because I wasn't quite sure what kind of theme I wanted to go with. At first, I was planning on wearing a pretty flowing dress, either bright white or red. I decided to go with more earth tones since we'd be working with scenery that was just beginning to come back to life after a long winter. I had no idea what Kathleen was planning until we met up at my parents' house. Even though our outfits were pretty different with colors, I think it all worked out very well. When editing the photos, I concentrated on warmer tones of yellow and orange. With Kathleen, I made sure to add more pink and red hues to help compliment her skirt.

Solar Summer Photoshoot

My favorite scene to work with was the marsh that's in the banner above. I had always wanted to work with the long cattail-like stems. I was relieved to find that all the summer bugs weren't quite out yet because the shoot could have turned out pretty badly if they were. I get agitated easily when it comes to bugs and anything else that's creepy-crawly.

My biggest issue with the shoot was posing. Compared to Beth and Kathleen, I feel a lot more uncomfortable in front of the camera. Even if I practice posing in front of a mirror ahead of time (like I did yesterday), I still can't seem to feel comfortable in my own skin. I almost always feel better if I have a prop to hold in my hands; then I feel like there's more of a focus on the prop, rather than just me. I definitely need to loosen up more! Kathleen was much more natural at posing so it was fun watching her as I snapped away with the camera. I felt better after we gave each other a few tips on how we could improve the photos and our individual methods of posing.

When editing the photos, I made sure to keep the theme going strong. I wanted that extreme heat from summer days to come across easily in my photos, which is why the colors seem a little drained and less saturated. I was very happy with the faded tones. Compared to most of my photos that are filled with bright colors, I feel like this photoshoot as a very mature feel to it that still expresses a sense of youth.

Solar Summer Photoshoot

Overall, I had a fun time doing the photoshoot! If you're interested in seeing all of the edited photos from the day, feel free to check out my Solar Summer Photoshoot collection or my Flickr set.

And now for the really good news!

After I got home from the shoot yesterday, Shawn let me know what happened at work that day. He had a meeting with his managers and they let him know that he was being promoted. On top of that, he's going to be getting TWO raises! This news is a huge deal considering Shawn is supporting the both of us. He's extremely diligent when it comes to saving money so we've always been very secure financially, but now that he's gotten these raises, we'll be even more comfortable. This feeling of security is incredible. It's like a huge weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. Knowing that Shawn now holds the position of Programmer Analyst is just as awesome, because I know it's a position he's been working towards ever since he started working for the company. I'm so incredibly proud of Shawn! I kept telling him that yesterday.

Anyway, that's what's been going on this week. It's been great so far. ^__^

A sweet weekend ahead of me...

While I don't celebrate Easter for its religious beliefs, I still love the general feeling this time of the year gives off. I have really good, happy memories from my childhood. They stick with me every year around this time. I love it!

I have a nice (sweet) weekend ahead of me. Shawn took off of work today, and we're picking up Beth to go to the mall. Not only are all the new spring lines out, but I have a little care package that I'm putting together for a friend that still needs some goodies added to it. ^u^ (I have so much fun putting together gifts for people, especially super sweet friends.) On Sunday, Shawn and I are going to Illinois to visit some of my relatives. It's an annual tradition for me to go to my aunt's house for some food and family time.

Plum & Pink Petals

The photo of Plum above was taken yesterday. ^___^ She had been wearing sweaters and thicker clothing for so many months because of the cold weather; I felt like she needed a very bright and airy change! Plum is wearing one of her many candy themed dresses, along with a hot pink cosmic imp hat-- both made by two wonderful Etsy sellers. This dress is one of my favorites because of the scene it captures. The print shows a little girl (who looks like a Blythe doll) in a candy shop. She's standing next to a display of candies and cupcakes while a bunny helps her pick out all the sweets she wants. Ugh, so cute! >w< I wanted to really capture the spring and candy themes so I surrounded Plum in a sea of candy hearts and sweet mints. The imp hat adds an extra ounce of cuteness. I think I was first drawn to it because it reminds me of Katamari's cute little characters and its overall game designs.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Edit: Mum just called to let me know that a very pink package has arrived for me-- a surprise from my friend, Blair. Wow, that just makes the weekend even better! Shawn and I will have to swing by the house to pick that up... *happy dance*

Milk Kittea was the Featured Avatar on Gaia!

I've been a member of Gaia for a little under two years, and I've been having a blast ever since I joined. I feel like I've been able to accomplish a lot on the site in many different ways. I've participated in events, met new people, designed avatars that have gotten a lot of praise from people I respect, played the games (including zOMG! the MMORPG), decorated my car and aquarium, and I've even gotten friends and family to join the community. And just a few days ago, I was able to meet a big goal of mine: my avatar was featured on Gaia's homepage!

The previous Friday before Milk Kittea was featured, I received a message from a Gaia administrator. He let me know that it was likely that my avatar would be featured on the homepage the following Friday. I was incredibly excited. >w< The week beforehand, a friend of mine had been featured and I realized that a Friday feature meant that Milk Kittea would not be up for the usual one day-- she would be displayed Friday and all throughout the weekend. As excited as I was, I started to become a little anxious. The admin had warned me that the Featured Avatar often gets bombarded with private messages, comments, and friend requests. He suggested that I turn off some of those features if I didn't want all the attention. After thinking about it, I knew I wanted to keep those options open. Really, what fun would be if I isolated myself from people? This was an honor and I wanted to enjoy every second of it!

This last Friday, March 19th, I woke up and found myself staring at my little message center on Gaia. Over the next four days, I experienced the following:

 

Needless to say, those few days were extremely exhausting. All in all, I think I received a couple thousand comments and messages (not to mention friend requests). I made it my mission to try to answer as many of them as possible. As people who have read my blog know, it's always been a priority for me to respond to those who take the time to contact me. I feel that people deserve replies if they took time out of their lives to write to me. For the most part, I received extremely positive feedback from both strangers and people who know me around the forums I frequent. I was shocked that I didn't receive a lot of phishing messages (trying to trick me into giving out my password). In fact, over the whole process, I believe I only saw one in my inbox! People were mostly interested in congratulating me for being featured and for my engagement to Shawn, which is mentioned in my profile. Other people commented on my Hello Kitty engagement ring. Some wanted to know more about my blog and its contents, especially my dollies. ^__^ A good number of commenters wished to know details about my avatar's items. I tried to respond to as many people as possible, especially those who wrote really long messages to me.

But of course... there was also a handful of people who felt it was necessary to find some way to insult me. Whether it was done out of jealousy (which most of my friends believed), or just plain hatred towards the Featured Avatar, they tried to hit me in personal ways. One lady told me that I was not a good writer and that I made a lot of mistakes. She proceeded to tell me this by writing:

"I read something about you being a great writter. Well you made Lots of mistakes. But whom am I to jude right?" 

I laughed pretty hard after reading that one.

Milk Kittea: Featured Avatar

Other people tried to attack me for being a bad photographer or by saying that I was "too old" to be on Gaia. *chuckle* It was hard to hold back a smile with most of them. I'm a very positive person so that kind of stuff doesn't affect me very much. I never like creating drama so I just ignored the negative comments and focused on the positive ones.

After about two and a half days, I started to lose steam. I was upset to find out that people had started stealing my images from my post style. It caused my Photobucket account's bandwidth to exceed its limits and made all of my account photos unable to be viewed. In a panic, I transferred most of the images to a new Photobucket account in the hopes of making my Gaia account keep its clean and professional look. I was exhausted and realized I had enjoyed my status of the Featured Avatar long enough.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience. It got a little rocky towards the end, but I feel the good heavily outweighed the bad. I'm so proud of everything I've accomplished on Gaia with Milk Kittea. n___n

Please note: Since my old Photobucket account's bandwidth was exceeded, some images are not appearing properly on my Vox blog. This is not a permanent problem; they'll reappear once my account's bandwidth is reset in April!  

Ready for warmth and sunshine.

Winter in Wisconsin this year wasn't that bad-- I'll be honest. We usually have a few big snowstorms that cause all forms of life to completely stop in their tracks for a few days. Not this year though. This year, we had (I think) two snowstorms, and now that March is here, I think the worst is over with. *crosses fingers*

Even though the season wasn't bad, I'm still excited about the warmth that's headed my way. I'm most excited about sitting outside on our patio with my laptop, soaking up the sun while I sip on a smoothie.

These past few weeks have actually been busy. I'm surprised, too, because I haven't had any real big responsibilities to juggle in a while. I was able to finish off my sewing classes at JoAnn, which I'm really happy about. The last two classes I took focused on learning about my specific sewing machine. My beautiful brand new sewing machine can be seen here. It's a Viking Sapphire 835. The description on that photo's page lists a bunch of reasons why I love it so much, with one of the main reasons being that it's so much more high tech than the other machines I've worked with. Thank goodness for technology; it makes life so much easier sometimes. ^___^

Missing Summer

I volunteered to go with Mom to Grandma's house a few weeks ago. I've been wanting to make it a priority to spend more time with Grandma since I hadn't been able to do that in the past (when I had work and school to deal with). Mom's aunt was visiting, along with some other relatives. I met one of my second cousins for the first time. I rarely ever have fun talking with younger relatives but I did this last time. Finding someone who I'm actually related to and have things in common with was more fun than I thought it could be.

I went to Kelly's bridal shower yesterday. Kelly and I have been friends since first grade-- almost 20 years ago! Back in grade school, we were inseparable... Even though we don't keep up as much as I would like to these days (I miss her a lot), I still consider her one of my closest friends, someone who I can always feel comfortable talking with. She's getting married in June, which will be the first of FOUR weddings that Shawn and are going to be attending this year alone. It's that time in my life when all of my friends are getting married and having babies. It still feels weird for that to be happening since I feel so young myself. I look at my friends now and can't imagine the time that's passed for us to get where we all are now.

Since my last post, Fru has been doing pretty well. She has her good days and her bad days, but all in all, I think she's really happy. I'm noticing that she's breathing heavier at times, and she sleeps a lot more... but when she's awake, she's on top of the world. n___n Seeing her be so strong makes me feel proud. 

Fru. She's such a trooper...

Fru's one year birthday was this last September, which I was really happy about. Whenever I get a new hammy, my hope is that he or she has a very long and happy life. So far, I think Fru has really had a great life. She's such a strong hammy!

The last few weeks have been a little difficult for me when Fru is concerned. About two months ago, I noticed a small lump on her lower belly. Right away, the first thing that came to mind was that it was a tumor. When Yukimo had started getting sick in 2008, I had the sudden need to learn everything I could about dwarf hamsters. I started picking up a lot of books about hamsters, specifically dwarf hamsters. I learned that they were extremely prone to getting tumors so I made sure to always look out for anything that looked suspicious.

"Lemme Out!"

Because I had such horrible luck with bringing in small pets to the vet when I was younger (they always died shortly after), I couldn't bring myself to take Fru in the first few weeks. But the lump continued to grow and I couldn't take not knowing what was wrong with my sweetie. I finally got up the courage to take her to the vet about two weeks ago. (I put her in her small carrier and wrapped it in a big, soft blanket so the freezing weather couldn't hurt her.) The vet did some blood work and confirmed that Fru has a tumor. In a big way, I was relieved that I knew what the problem was. The vet agreed with me that it would be too traumatic for a small animal like Fru to have her go through surgery, especially since there's a high risk that the tumor would grow back. Instead, he suggested that I make her as comfortable and happy as possible; after all, she could still live for many more months.

Fru's Breakfast Plans...

Since the vet visit, Fru has continued to be extremely happy-- and so healthy! Besides the tumor, her behavior and eating habits have been completely normal. She still gets excited when she hears me shake the container full of her seeds. She still attacks the piece of lettuce I give her every night. She still runs in her wheel every day. She still wakes me up in the middle of the night because she wants attention. Right now, life is very happy for Fru and I plan to keep it that way. I'm not taking any time with Fru for granted.

Other news that came from the vet was something that I was really pleased about: he confirmed that Fru is, indeed, a GIRL! Hahaha. Now I don't have to wonder whether my hammy (who I've had for over a year) is a girl or a boy, like I did with Yukimo. ^__~

My sweet Hello Kitty Blythe, Pinkachu!

I know I've already posted tons of information and photos of Pinkachu on Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook... but I couldn't leave my blog out of the loop. ^^ I'd like to introduce my new pink Blythe love, Pinkachu. <3 From what I know, she has three main obsessions: Hello Kitty, pink, and Pokemon!

I first saw Pinkachu (whose previous name was Miwako), a custom My Little Candy Blythe, on one of the Blythe forums I frequent, Plastic Paradise. She was up for sale by her owner and customizer, Daniela. Pinkachu was one of those dolls that was truly love at first sight for me. Taking everything in-- the pinkness, the Hello Kitty eyelids, the incredible detailed faceup-- was more than I could bear. After a lot of struggling with my conscience, I realized I couldn't let Pinkachu go; she had to be mine.

Pinkachu

I received more holiday and birthday money than I expected, so I was able to put part of the money towards my new dolly. It took about two weeks for Pinkachu to travel from Italy to my home, but the wait was worth it.

Sadly, my first impression of Pinkachu in person was not what I would have liked it to be. x__x Her shipping box had been a wreck, and upon opening her doll box, I discovered the Pinkachu in a fetal position with her hair and pullstrings tangled everywhere. I almost died right then and there. I immediately took control of the situation and gave Pinkachu a very long spa treatment, which consisted of three parts: 1) a combing session, 2) a straightening hair session (with an iron), and 3) applying my own special haird product to help style the hair. Thank goodness, after all of the treatment, Pinkachu's hair looked immaculate. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a My Little Candy's hair look so good 'til I fixed her hair!

I had been wanting/planning to add a pink haired Blythe to my doll family for the longest time. My very first Blythe ever (back in 2004) was a Mademoiselle Rosebud (who I named Poe), a stock girl who supposedly had pink hair. She arrived and I was disappointed with how orangey her hair really was-- not pink at all. =\ A few years later, I bought Primadolly Peach. I never bonded with Lamb; I think it was due to her hair sidepart and lack of bangs. Anyway, neither Blythe lived up to my pink standards. Finally, Pinkachu has the perfect shade of pink and style hair. Yay!

Pinkachu

Like I mentioned above, the details on Pinkachu are amazing. Daniela is a BJD customizer so her attention to detail using paint is phenomenal. Pinkachu's painted eyelashes are actually several layers of paint strokes that consist of pinks and blues. Her lips are also several layers of pink paint done in gradients, and upon a closer inspection of her lips, I can see the detailed lines that make her lips look real. The two little white dots under each eye and on her lips are some other details that made her stand out. All of her makeup is sealed, which gives her face an extra smooth complexion. Also, Pinkachu's original Takara Blythe body was replaced with a Pure Neemo Flection body. If I were to describe it, I would say that it's much like a BJD body because of the flexibility of its joints.

Of course, the big selling point for me was the addition of Hello Kitty on Pinkachu's eyelids. Duh! (I usually don't like eyelids with designs on them, but Pinkachu was my exception.) A stock Hello Kitty Blythe was released a few months ago (named Ribbonetta Wish), and Blythe fans were very disappointed in her lack of... Hello Kitty-ness. As other people have told me, Pinkachu seems to be the real Hello Kitty Blythe, what Ribbonetta Wish should have been. I'm so grateful to have her with me now. All of my other Blythes have such natural looks that I like to spice up with lots of fancy clothes and accessories. Pinkachu is already vibrant with just her faceup and hair alone; she can wear a simple dress and look perfect!

Happy hollydays from kawaii.vox.com!

Moonmallow (the adorable plushie above) and I hope you and your loved ones have some very happy hollydays this year. ^___^ I've been busy with buying pressies for my friends and family, wrapping the pressies, and sending out cards to people over the past few weeks. Everything seems like a blur-- but a very happy blur!

I'm sending many warm thoughts your way. <3

The day and the years of Isis.

I've spent a lot of time on my blog and other places online talking about Ed and Fru. I was thinking about it a while ago and I realized that I rarely ever come out and talk about just Isis, even though she's a huge part of my life. In the last year or so, she's played an even bigger role in my happiness.

When I first got Ed and Isis, I remember being disappointed about how unattached I felt with them. I wrote a blog post about it here and I got a lot of great feedback about how loving pets can take time sometimes; it's not always instantaneous. Everyone who said that was right and I'm really thankful for their help. Isis is one of those kitties that took a while to warm up to me-- much longer than Ed. And in all honesty, the wait was completely worth it.

Isis: Face On

Shawn, Beth, and I noticed that there was something a little "off" about Isis when she first came to live with us. She was terrified of everything. Even for a kitty, the horror in her eyes every time someone walked past her seemed excessive. We all watched her carefully and then came to the conclusion that she was most likely abused by one of her previous owners. As far as we knew, she had at least two previous owners, but there could have been more. The way she ran away from people and ducked her head whenever anyone would make any quick movements made me feel like she had once been struck by someone-- most likely a male since she's always had a greater fear with them. I know that not all kitties are warm and cuddly (I've been around a lot of cats in my life), but the feeling I got when I saw the fear in Isis' eyes told me something extremely bad happened to her in her past. Knowing this made me determined to help her feel comfortable in her new life.

I first started noticing a change in Isis when I took her (and Ed) to the vet for a checkup about two years ago. Ed was pretty calm, but as usual, Isis was terrified. I gently picked her up and held her the entire time she was there. It was the first memory I have of her clinging to me because she felt protected and safe in my arms. I remember how I couldn't stop smiling. Shawn even mentioned that Isis and I were having a "bonding experience." Ever since that day, I've felt a deep connection with Isis.

Isis, Reaching Out

Since then, she's been slowly becoming more loving. I took advantage of that change and started to "work" with her more often. When she was really young, she wouldn't let anyone hold her and would claw her way out of a person's arms. (I have a scar to prove it.) I decided to take baby steps with Isis to help her understand that being held was a good thing. Every day, I would slowly pick her up and take her over to a window where we could watch the streets outside. I would talk to her in a very soft, soothing voice (very non-threatening) so she knew that I was still there with her. I figured that the movements on the steets would distract her enough so she wouldn't concentrate on the fact that I was holding her. Sure enough, Isis became used to being held by me. After a while, I was able to hold her for an infinite amount of time. In fact, I'd have to say that she now gets sad when I have to put her back on the floor after holding her.

These days, Isis is very relaxed. She's still afraid of almost all strangers (like a lot of kitties are), and most men. However, her attitude and mannerisms have changed to an enourmous extent with the people she's familiar and comfortable with. Isis no longer runs away when people are walking towards her. She doesn't duck her head quickly if people around her are moving their arms or moving objects around her. When Shawn and I walk in the door after being out for a few hours, she stays asleep in her kitty bed in the main room. If anything, she might look up at us to acknowledge our presence... but she doesn't run to a hiding place.

Sleepy Time

Whenever I'm asleep and Isis sees me curled up under my comforter and another very soft blanket I always use, she hops up on top of my stomach and falls asleep there. A few days ago, I woke up and was able to get off the couch without waking her up-- she stayed in the same spot, sleeping, for over ten hours! Most of the time, she's purring happily whever she's sleeping. And if I don't cuddle with her in the morning, which has become a routine for the two of us, she comes up to me later in the day and gives me sad mews to let me know she wants some cuddles.

Having two kitties who are so different from each other is amazing. Ed is friendly with everyone and is very sociable. Isis has grown into a kitty who chooses who to love, and if you're chosen, you feel like you are the most important person in the world. That's exactly how I feel whenever I'm with her. It was difficult for a long time for me to grasp the idea of Isis being calm and loving, but seeing her so happy every day has made her overall happiness a normality. I couldn't be more grateful for her and the fact that she's overcome whatever pain she experienced in the past. Her ability to move on and be happy has made me happy.

Plum's favorite 15.

A lot of Blythe people are doing their dolls' favorite fifteen items on Flickr. I decided to do a photo for Plum! She has so many favorite things... It was difficult to fit even just fifteen of them into one shot. o_O

And actually, all the items in this photo are Plum's favorite clothes and accessories, not just the fifteen that are tagged on my Flickr. I cheated a little! But I only tagged fifteen of the items, haha. ^__^

I can't wait to take more photos of Plum in the outfit she's wearing right now. She's totally dressed for autumn and winter. I dressed her and Jinkies the other day and they look so cute next to each other. It's been super cloudy and rainy every day this week so there haven't really been any opportunities for me to go outside and get good lighting for photos. I was lucky I got a chance to jump outside for this quick photo today. In fact, I almost didn't get any shots in because the tiny dresses started getting blown away. x_____x Shawn stood outside with me and made sure it all stayed in order, tee hee.

BlytheCon 2009

So much has happened since I left for BlytheCon. I'm not sure I can go through every single thing I've experienced, but I'm definitely going to try. To sum it up in a sentence: BlytheCon was amazing. I can't believe how busy I was over the past few days!

When I arrived at Rebecca's house in Indiana, everything seemed to fall into place. All my insecurities disappeared... She made me feel so welcome and I'm really thankful for that. As soon as Shawn and Ryan left, Rebecca and I got down to some serious dolly business. We talked for a long time as we got ready for our trip to Atlanta the next day. I helped her make a sign for her booth while she cut up some business cards, and I showed her all the dollies and toys I brought with me. I really felt like we had known each other for years.

BlytheCon 2009: Sherri's Tattoo

Sherri arrived early the next morning. Like I told both her and Rebecca, I was so nervous about meeting Sherri. O__O She's been one of my idols ever since I started collecting Blythes; her saran and mohair reroots are incredible-- one of the absolute best rerooters in the world! I felt intimidated before Sherri arrived, but as soon as she arrived, my nerves settled down. She was so down-to-earth and so much like me... I immediately felt like I could relate to her, and that doesn't happen very often when I meet new people.

Our ride to Georgia was extremely long: about nine hours. Surprisingly, I didn't fall asleep once. Haha, Sherri, Rebecca and I talked the entire time-- about dollies, Pet Society, our lives, and so much more. In fact, we talked about so much, I'm almost afraid I'm going to forget some of the details. A long car ride was the perfect way to get to know Rebecca and Sherri even more.

We were able to settle into Rebecca's mom's house really quickly. I think it's because we were all so tired and hyped up for the next few days. For a while, we sat around exchanging dolly clothes and stories about our girls. I've never had the chance to talk for hours on end about dollies in my pajamas before... I wish I could do it more often. I felt almost spoiled for having such a great vacation so far. My sleep was wonderfully deep and comfortable.

Friday was the day dedicated to the Georgia Aquarium. Sherri, Rebecca, Rebecca's mom and I all went. We were all a little disappointed at how little there was to do at the aquarium, but everything that was there was really beautiful. My favorite part of our visit was definitely the tunnel that's underneath water. To be surrounded completely by water, fish and sharks was incredible. We all loved that part so much that we decided to walk through the tunnel a second time before we left.

BlytheCon 2009: Talulah Swimming!

One of my other favorite things about going to the aquarium was how interested people were in the Blythes we brought with us. Sherri brought Penny (her @Nai custom); Rebecca brought Tallulah (Betsy's crazy cross-eyed custom); and I brought Nami. We not only had visitors coming up to us to ask us about our dollies, but the aquarium's staff expressed even more interest. A security guard wanted to hold one of our dolls. A few of the staff members in charge of taking photos asked me a bunch of questions about where Blythes could be found. And the absolute best Blythe experience was at the end of our aquarium trip. As we were paying for our items in the gift shop, cashiers started piling up behind the registers to ask us all questions about Blythes. They couldn't get enough of our girls and left customers waiting in line and at registers so they could see the dolls! Rebecca, Sherri and I all took turns showing them our dollies. They loved changing the doll eyes. Rebecca and Sherri got a few photos of all the staff people (like seven or eight, I think) asking us questions.

BlytheCon 2009: Georgia Aquarium

Dinner that night was fun. The four of us went to a restaurant where we had some delicious meals. I had a shrimp and alfredo meal. *drool* It was so delicious and it was a relaxing experience to have before the busy day ahead of us.

Finally. Saturday was BlytheCon. All of us were so antsy before we left! We had packed most of our stuff up the night before so we got to the con on time. Because Rebecca was a vendor so we could get into the building before any of the other attendees (which I was happy about because I didn't want to be stuck outside in the cold). The girl she was supposed to share a table with was sick so Rebecca had the entire table for herself. I helped her set everything up and went back-and-forth between the convention room and outside, where more and more people were starting to arrive. I switched between taking my three girls out; a lot of people seemed to already know who they were, especially Pigeon! I had fun posing for photos with my dolls and everyone was incredibly nice. <3

The convention was so much fun, but it all seems like a blur now. Everything was so fast paced. I somehow lucked out and was one of the first people to register. Because of that, I got into the con fast enough to check out all the vendors and their items. I snatched up everything I was instantly attracted to-- oh gosh, my loot is all so cute! I keep looking at all the clothes and accessories I bought.

BlytheCon 2009

I was constantly meeting new people. A lot of the people are friends I've had online for a few years. I felt like crying a few times because I was so excited to actually meet some of them in person. After all these years... finally! Pigeon's customizer, Megan, was there. She was one of the main reasons I knew I had to attend BlytheCon. She was such a sweet person and I feel like I know Pigeon more because of meeting Megan. I feel bad about not remembering every person's face; so much was happening at the time so I knew it would be impossible to remember everything.

One of the most exciting parts of the day was the raffle. I only bought five tickets but THREE of my numbers happened to get picked. O____O Because one of the items I won was a double, I only got two of the prizes-- I didn't mind though. The big prize I won was a free mohair reroot for a Blythe. The second prize I won was a free Blythe application for an iPhone. Because I don't have an iPhone, I gave my prize to Rebecca. I was so excited (and surprised) that I was shaking the entire time after my numbers were called.

Needless to say, the entire event was more fun than I could have ever imagined. Like I told Rebecca and Sherri later on, the BlytheCon trip was the best vacation I've ever had. Getting to know both of them is probably what I love most from the experience. Unlike the friends I had in high school and college, I connected with Rebecca and Sherri. They didn't make me feel socially awkward and we shared so many interests. I think it would have been impossible to not love those two girls.

All of my photos can be viewed on my Facebook BlytheCon 2009 album and in my BlytheCon 2009 Vox Collection.

Many thanks to Shawn and Ryan who drove me all the way to Indiana. Many more thanks to both Sherri and Rebecca for being the sweetest friends ever. And a lot of other "thank yous" go to those of you who followed my adventure on Twitter!