Ho ho ho~

Hi! I had a little lapse in updating due to my digital camera breaking-but alas, I have a new one now thanks to my dad, and I am in love with eet!
Christmas was wonderful, my mom is wonderful, Matt is wonderful, etc. I feel so lucky to have the family I have, and I feel so lucky to be so fortunate. ♡


 Let's seeee...well my mom cooked breakfast, but we also ate a lot of dinner food too like baked macaroni and cheese (yummm). Then we opened presents while watching the Disney Parade! Best ever. I got Matt some lifting gloves for the gym and an Admiral Ackbar action figure, and I'm giving him a large chunk of money from my next pay check since that is what he wants the most! My mom gave us a new TV which is really nice, since our old TV was starting to go bad and it had a line across the screen! My mom had some really interesting gifts for Matt:

Le Shake Weight~

THE MAN CAN

I found this to be a really good gift for Matt, considering he likes to have knowledge of lots of weird things. I now know that tampons were first made out of wooden sticks wrapped in wool...eugh.

A gift for both Matt and I, an AWESOME Pokemon calendar for the new year!

My mom also gave us some new knives, a cool change jar with a lid that counts how much money you have, a new scale that tells you your BMI, water percentage, and muscle mass, and...

Squirmles!! I am beyond amused at these odd things, they are just these cute fuzzy snake creatures tied to invisible string that dance and are just generally cute!

Thanks to both my mom and my dad, I now have enough money in Starbucks gift cards to buy myself 25 drinks! YES. My mom got me a lovely new coat, a new shirt and dress (I haven't taken a picture of the dress yet, but I will), a share of Disney stock with a framed stock certificate which is really awesome and cute and generally a really cool gift, and some cash as well. My favorite gift from her has to be this new perfume:

This one is my favorite, it smells SO GOOD I just want to bathe in it. You know when you are wearing a perfume and you just feel prettier when you smell yourself? Yeah.

This was the first Christmas with my mom's new puppy, Mepup, and she was so cute! Henry, my mom's other dog, was being a poophead and kept barking at Mepup because he was jealous, which wasn't that nice, but I think Mepup had a good first Christmas!

I also took a lot of random photos around the house, since I was trying out my new camera.

My mom loves Nutcrackers. You have no idea.

My mom really wanted me to take a picture of her new potholder, haha.

Little Christmas tree in the dining room.

SHE IS NICE TO ME.

These were Matt's gifts to me, I am in love!! My old DS was breaking from opening and closing it so much over the years, and plus I think Matt was tired of me using his DSi to use the camera so much, haha. I love Cooking Mama, I am set for life.

After that, we headed over to Matts moms house and hung out there for a little while. I am now an owner of a leopard print Snuggie! I recently saw Tron Legacy and Black Swan, which were both amazing! I want to see them both again and again. Right now I am at Sara's house and there is an absolute blizzard raging outside right now. We just finished watching Cry Baby and eating pizza, and tomorrow I want to go to the mall and see Black Swan again, if the weather isn't horrible and Sara doesn't have to go to class! I'm sure we will be taking lots more pictures tomorrow, I love you Nikon Coolpix.

What I Wore Today ♡ Shirt: Kohl’s Cardigan: Forever21 Shorts: Forever21 Tights: Target Shoes (not shown): Black flats from Payless

I am going off to bed now! Last time I saw the clock, it was 10PM, and now it's 4AM so I have no idea what just happened, but goodnight!

See the Shiny Light ♡

      Hello! ♡ Gosh, it's been a little while. I have been pretty preoccupied lately with cleaning, work, friends, and Harry Potter. I started rereading the books again last week and right now I am in the middle of Prisoner of Azkaban, so I have been reading pretty much nonstop! Taking a break from the internet is nice though, to be honest! 





      Last week on Black Friday (after I worked), Sara and I went to see Tangled and it was so adorable! I loved it, we both want to see it again. I worked Black Friday, and it was a really good day actually. I was in at 4AM for the store to open at 5AM, and I worked until 11AM. I like when it's busy at work, I like to always have something to do.

      Besides that, not much has been going on I suppose! I bought Epic Mickey on Friday and I have played about an hour, I really love it so far. I always make my enemies like me, Sara gets so upset because she wants me to be "Bad Mickey", haha! It's really fun and interesting and I've only just started, no wonder why it was called "The Best Wii Game" by IGN and won 15 awards at E3.

      Sara and Andrew slept over this last weekend and we went to a Pokemon tournament Saturday morning, one of the City Championships. I had a ton of fun, it was a really good day! Andrew came in second place, also! I am very proud of him.
I did pretty well, although not as well as last Saturday when I went 3-1 and had to drop to go to work, but I ran into some bad luck in my match against Sara! I just love my deck (and Sara) so much, I can't complain! ♡

      It makes me feel very proud of myself that I am gaining more and more respect from the other players for how long I've stuck with my Porygon-Z deck, and how much better I am getting. I get so flustered when I'm told by my opponents that they are scared of facing me because my deck is tough, or when I am facing a really good player and I can tell he is visibly nervous, hands shaking! That sounds awful, that it makes me feel good to have my opponents worried, but don't get me wrong, I love everyone there and they are a great group of people that I'm happy to know. There are many amazing players and I used to feel like, as a girl, that I wasn't taken seriously as competition.

Eric and I playing in top cut for one of my second place wins in 2009 Autumn Battle Roads.

       Honestly, most girls there aren't taken seriously simply because most girls that play don't take it as seriously as the boys, and they aren't very good because of it. They mostly don't have the desire or passion to get really good at the game, from what I can see, which isn't always a negative thing and that's not meant to sound negative. A lot of girls just have bigger priorities than practicing every night at a card game to win a trophy, and while they have fun playing it and hanging out at the tournaments, they don't care if they are good or bad so long as they're having fun. Don't get me wrong, I always have fun at tournaments, and I wouldn't go if I didn't. I have said many times that I wouldn't play Pokemon if the community and the players weren't as fun to be around as they are and if I didn't love the game. However, I aslo have the desire to win and get better, and I would love to have a medal around my neck or a trophy in my name, just because I love the game so much and feel so dedicated to it, I want my dedication to be rewarded by winning! That's natural for anyone who is passionate about a particular-anything!

Andrew and I playing for first and second place, in one of my only first place wins in the 2010 Regional Championships DS Tournament. I won either a Nintendo DS or a check for however much a DS costs, so before Andrew and I played, we made a pact that whoever won, we would split the money!

       A lot of girls there, and I have to add that the number of girls to guys is severely unbalanced in the first place, generally play either because of their boyfriends, or they just play to socialize and because they think Pokemon is cool (and it definitely is!). Surely, there are also plenty of guys who don't take it as seriously as some of the others, but with the guy to girl ratio so skewed, all of the best players are guys. I asked Judge Steve if a girl has ever won a National Championship or World Championships, and he said he couldn't think of any since he had been judging. I would love to be that girl! Also, I have to add that Sara and Meg are both wonderful players. Sara is great, and she has won more tournaments than me I reckon! She doesn't get to play very much and thinks about quitting sometimes, because she has a lot going on in her life between school and her career, which is understandable. Meg judges more than she plays, but when she plays, she does really well! Although I don't talk to Meg as much anymore, we kind of had a silent falling out from us both being so busy, us three gals have to stick together and be the best we can be. Girl power, anyone? ♡ 

Like I said-girl power!

      Although I started playing Pokemon because of my boyfriend, (but I did collect the cards when I was younger), I gradually began to take the game more seriously and I want to be considered a serious player, a serious competitor, and respected! It really hurts to be doing something you love, and have your opponents brush you off as an "easy win" when they are paired to you, because they don't think you're anything to worry about, just playing because of their boyfriend or because they think Pokemon are cute.

Matt in the Top 8 at 2010 Regional Championships, I am standing in the back with Andrew, Con, and Alex talking to Judge Steve!

       Now that I'm getting better at the game, thinking outside the box more, and really understanding my way around the different metagame decks and strategies, I'm winning more than I'm losing, and if I'm losing, I'm usually putting up a really good fight to the end. It feels nice to finally feel accepted and respected in the community not only as "Matt's girlfriend with the pink sleeves who plays Porygon-Z religiously" but as myself, a legitimate player who is worth respect, who will always bring a good match to the table, and whose oddball deck, that no one else plays, is admirable and actually tough to beat!

Myself at the Nintendo Store/Pokemon Center in New York City last winter.

       I finally feel like I am beginning to gain that respect I have always wanted, and I am even happier that I have stayed true to myself the whole time. I can honestly say there are no guys at Pokemon, except maybe one or two I can think of, that would feel ashamed or embarrassed to ~lose to a girl~, and that is also a wonderful feeling, to be treated as an equal among mature guys, and to be all-around respected, not just as a player but as a human being. It's nice to beat someone and hear them talking about your match to some of their friends, and instead of hearing them saying I got lucky, or some other excuse for why I didn't win legitimately or fairly, I hear them saying how awesome my deck was, how well I played, and how good I was. I feel like I've come a long way and I'm just so happy!

Con, a friend, at 2010 Regional Championships. He is also our 2010 National Champion!

      Through Pokemon, I have made some amazing and loyal friends who I couldn't live without, and I just can't imagine never playing Pokemon, it's just a great game, a great, diverse and friendly group of people, and the healthy competition makes me feel so good about myself at the end of the day. I will be deeply sad when I have to stop playing, or when all of my favorite players and friends stop playing. I imagine Matt and I will play Pokemon until we have children of our own, and then when they're old enough to read, they'll play Pokemon and we'll be a Poké-dad and Poké-mom! ♡

      I have been drawing a lot recently too, as if reading, playing video games, working, Pokemon tournaments, and hanging out with friends haven't been enough to keep me off the internet. I have always loved Rainbow Brite since I was little, and I used to draw them a lot, so I started to draw them again! Here is all I've done, and they both took me way longer than they probably should have:

Shy Violet

Krys and Rainbow Brite

      Anyway, I'm off now, it figures that the moment I decide to go online today, Tumblr is down! I recently received my first clay kit from Sophie & Toffee so expect some sweets and a review coming from me soon! ♡ Bye!

Special promo code for you all courtesy of Sophie & Toffee!

Head over to Sophie & Toffee for 15% off your purchase (before shipping) with the discount code “thankstiffany”, from Black Friday until Cyber Monday (Nov. 26th-Nov. 29th)! Get your deco on for the holidays! If you like deco and want to try it, but don’t know where to start and need some ideas, allow me to suggest the Easy! Clay Sweets Crafting Books 1 & 2! You can see more details on the books by clicking the links. Create your own sweets and miniature desserts with clay crafting kits that you can use for one of a kind accessories and deco parts! I’ve personally had my eye on these adorable Minnie Mouse Donut Cabochons, so adorable!
I hope you all had a great holiday and wish you happy crafting! I’d love to see some of the deco projects you all are doing and have done! ♡

Anniversary ♡

 Hello! Today (November 22nd) was Matt and I's two year anniversary. Yesterday, Matt woke me up and made me Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast, and then we left because Matt had a surprise planned! We ended up getting a little lost, which was upsetting at first, but we finally got "there", and "there" was an adorable bed & breakfast in New Hampshire!

I didn't take this picture, there is no sun or greenery this time of year, haha!

We got there and Matt and I checked in and then went out to dinner at "The Red Parka" up the road, which was this cute little restaurant where Matt got some ~delicious $22 duck~ and I had delicious vegetable lasagna with french fries (don't judge me). We even got dessert, which was a warm cookie drenched in hot fudge with ice cream on top, buried in so much whipped cream you couldn't tell there was anything under it! It was so yummy. Matt and I took a bath and he tried to scald my first layer of skin off with the water temperature, so I just sat on the edge and massaged his feet, haha!

Clearly my four-hour-car-ride-insanity knows no bounds.

We also got to use an iPad for fun, because the bed & breakfast had a few of them that they lend to all the customers to use in their rooms like computers basically! Oh my goodness, I love the iPad. I didn't know how much I would care for it until I was sitting in bed with Tumblr in my lap and I was like, "Yep, this rules." Matt and I also played Scrabble on it! Matt is a Scrabble genius. Also, the bed in there was the comfiest, softest, most wonderful - king size - bed I have ever slept on and I wish we could have taken it home with us. It was perfect.

Today when Matt and I checked out, we went driving ten minutes up the road to North Conway, NH where there is a big group of outlet stores, and we went to the Gap where everything was super discounted. Matt bought himself a new winter coat because he is too small for his old winter coat that he bought two years ago, and I bought myself some comfy pajama pants that I love!

Then we hit the road and I slept and drooled for an hour until we made it into Rochester, which is near my hometown. We decided to go see Harry Potter at the theater in Newington, and then visit my mom on the way back before heading all the way home! Harry Potter was obviously awesome I don't think I need to explain, and we got to meet my mom's new puppy! It is so adorable, I can't even. Her name is "Mepup" which is indeed a strange name, but that's my mom for you, haha! 
I took the opportunity at my mom's house to grab some of my Harry Potter books and Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X-2! I haven't actually played VII although I own it, and I've only played through half of VIII and a quarter of X-2, so I intend on hopefully playing through them all!

Matt saw this on the side of the road and took a picture of it when I was sleeping. TOO funny.

 My gifts to Matt were a Rei (Neon Genesis Evangelion) figure that Matt would always pick up and look at, every time we went to the comic book store for the past year (haha!), "Rift" by James Jean, and four packs of Pokemon HG/SS: Triumphant which he pulled a Gengar Prime and half of a Palkia/Dialga Legend out of! ♡ I was really happy at how much he appreciated the Rei figure, I didn't know how surprised he would be, but I was very happy at how happy he was to see it and how thoughtful he thought it was!

We got home and watched Dexter while I ate pizza and then repainted my nails. It has been a really good weekend! Now I want to go to bed, it's been a long day! Bye! ♡