It's already back to being warm again! I really enjoyed the misty, cold days we had a week and a half ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if Winter is already done at this point. There's some residual congestion, but I've almost completely recovered from the cold Bear graciously gave to me, thankfully it was fairly mild! On Saturday we watched the Royal Rumble. We've made it a yearly tradition to watch it with a friend who does not watch wrestling at all, but this year she also caught a cold and had to cancel. Get well soon!

I haven't been keeping up with wrestling in what feels like an eternity, but it was nice to see everyone again!! Very happy to see Randy Orton back in the ring, did anyone else notice he's even more buff than before?! AJ Styles too. I was surprised Jade didn't win the women's rumble! She was close, but I guess I'm ok with Bayley taking that championship match at Wrestlemania. Very excited to see Cody win the men's rumble but I doubt he'll take the belt from Roman, if I'm honest... The company just favors Roman way too much.

Congratulations Asuka and Kairi on your tag team championship!!! I was so, so happy to see them again, especially since Kairi had temporarily left at one point. I got to meet Kairi in person after an NXT show years ago!! She's even more adorable when she's right in front of you, it was so worth fighting the crowd to see her. Coincidentally, I'm wearing my Asuka shirt right now. Check out her personal channel, KanaChanTV!

A Christmas package from a friend arrived recently!! I am so, so blessed!! She got me the BABW Purin and Muffin!! I love Purin's jammies so much, and yes his charm point is intact! Muffin doesn't have a booty for some reason which just feels wrong. Am I going to have to embroider one myself? She also sent me a bunch of skin care, some clothing for my future custom doll of myself (to be with Travis and Chris!!) and wrote me such a sweet and thoughtful letter, on tea stained paper too!

Purin is so soft and perfect!! I'm glad he has Muffin by his side.

The kind of dumb stuff you get from me when we're friends. Her package should be arriving today too... I always forget to send tracking numbers, oops.

Last week we went out for my mom's birthday dinner, at Red Lobster. I had never been and while my sister and I don't care much for seafood, I at least love shrimp and had some tasty shrimp pasta. I surprised my mom with some flowers, perfume rollers, and a cat shaped salt lamp as a throwback to when she had seventeen cats growing up. My mom got after me for spending too much on her (teasingly, affectionately calling me flaquita because of the weightloss since I last saw her) but she told me she felt special and especially loved the salt lamp! She named it Garfield. I don't often get to see my family so it was really bittersweet to see everyone and listen to them reminisce about when they were younger, especially any talk about grandma and my uncle who passed two years prior to her. Thank you for a lovely evening everyone.

I survived last week!! It hasn't been this cold since 2021, no snow though... We don't have proper heating in the house but I don't mind at all. I spent most of the week at home relaxing, chatting, watching Olivia Monroe and the GDQ marathon and working on very late Christmas gifts!

I just barely escaped work during the days with the lowest temperatures, but Bear had to go into work so I bundled up and told him I was coming too! Only he and one other co-worker had to be there for the night and despite his annoyance at having to go in, it was pretty comfy. I stayed in the back drawing on my iPad (still getting used to it, but I think it's getting easier!). Afterwards we got ramen at a place we were surprised was still open, and we weren't the only ones dining either. During dinner, the restaurant was playing Oblivion by Grimes and we both agreed we like the Miku version better.

It was a very Kuchipatchi filled day.

The next evening, we went out to see the Gurren Lagann movie, it's the first part in a pair that basically covers the whole anime. Gurren Lagann is Bear's favorite anime, regrettably I didn't watch it when it released, but when I was already in my 20s so it wasn't as impactful on me as it could have been. The movie was good though! There was so much about the anime I had forgotten, which means I also forgot how much fanservice there was with Yoko... The whole theater seemed just as uncomfortable as me when her boobs bounced for the 10th time. Come on guys, she's fourteen! I also got to wear my Angelic Pretty coat which was very nice. Lately when I look in the mirror I just think I look worn out so it felt nice to feel cute again. The second part of the movie will be in theaters this week, so we'll go to that showing too. I wonder why they didn't just do a double feature?

Then on Friday, I had a dentist appointment! The clinic I go to is very busy so the dentist was only able to get one filling done, but I just need one more appointment and I'll be good! The best thing was afterwards I realized the anesthesia completely numbed my jaw and I was totally pain-free for a couple of hours!! Holy cow, I forgot what it was like to not be in pain because even though my headache and jaw pain are currently only about a 2 on the pain scale, it's nonstop and being in pain 24/7 definitely wears you down after a while.

After my appointment we headed straight to the mall so I could go birthday shopping for my mom. She asked for perfume, but I really have no idea what she likes and I'm so inexperienced with perfume! I hope she likes out what I picked for her... I want to go perfume shopping for myself too one day. I happened to see Vera Wang's Princess still on sale, so feeling nostalgic, I sprayed a bit on my wrist. Yes I know it's considered more of a juvenile fragrance but I still like it, sorry! We also happened to bump into a friend who was buying a Godzilla squishmallow, but needed more items to redeem his coupon, so I got to pick out some earrings!! I was so surprised to see The Last Unicorn set, and it was the only one too. It was meant to be.

Corn in a "cup" we had and the earrings I got!! I really shouldn't have gotten those earrings at Claire's but I couldn't resist. I'm usually more of a studs girl but I'm trying to work on my dangling earring collection now.

僕の可愛いワニはいっぱい米食べる
僕の可愛いワニとずっと一緒だよ

Ah, I fell asleep while we were watching Chicken Run! Bear is usually the one who falls asleep during movies (Nausicaa comes to mind, he really missed out) so it was funny to see it happen in the reverse for once. I guess I was just really tired from work, but it was nice to revisit a childhood movie and I still want to see the sequel that was released last year.

I was reminded of this charming little character Sanrio made all the way back in 1978, Big Challenges. I love that smile, this gator is ready to tackle the world!

It made me think, what other cute alligator or crocodile characters can I think of? There's not a lot, but I know of a few:

Badtz Maru's pet alligator, Pochi! Pochi is not the same gator as Big Challenges but is still very cute.

Poking around, I found out Sanrio actually made a third gator character! This is Gatorgags from 1988, he loves mischief, hence his name.

The crocodile Sylvanian Family! Their exact release date seems to be unknown, but they were released sometime in the late 80s or early 90s. I really would love to see a similar set release again!

The Croconana collection by Sorbet Jungle! I don't own a Croconana myself but it's always tempting when I see their booth at cons. Maybe one day I'll pick up a baby Plancaiman.

Totodile! There are a few gator/croc mons and I love them all, but Totodile is definitely the cutest.

The gators from Animal Crossing! Gayle is my favorite of course, it was such a good idea to have her wear lolita fashion too.

That's all I can think of! In conclusion, we need more cute wanis please!! I'll try to do my part too.

Already two weeks into 2024! I've been spotty in keeping up with my resolutions, but I just keep reminding myself that change doesn't happen overnight and perseverance is more important than meeting the impossibly high standards I set for myself in my head. I do wish I was more energetic though. I've always been a low energy and slow to act kind of person. Or maybe my identity as a low energy person has held me back and created a self-fulfilling prophecy? I'm not sure! I really miss caffeine though... I had a bit of coffee the other day and I usually love that "wired" feeling but I ended up feeling anxious. Maybe it's just because I haven't fully recovered from the stress of last year though, plus my jaw still causes me chronic headaches. I hope I can enjoy it again one day, hopefully when my head stops feeling funny!

A friend was kind enough to humor me and watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force with me... I forgot how much I loved this dumb show and how much it makes me laugh. Behold, my scribbles of the Kawaii Force.

Bear and I went to hot pot with a friend the other day at a new place that opened up not too long ago! It's been our Christmas tradition for a few years now, although this year we did it in January instead because our schedules just didn't align well last month. It was so delicious!! I tapped out first but we still managed to finish almost everything we ordered. Honestly, I want to go back already... There are still foods I can't eat at all but I'm so, so happy I can have meals that aren't JUST soup anymore, like the beef shawarma bowl we had yesterday after our monthly comedy show and the chicken fried steak I had today.

I finished my first piece on my iPad!! It's the little doodle of myself on my about page. Procreate is so fun, I love the brush selection you get without even downloading anything extra and the UI is relatively simple but I'm still learning the ropes. I did have to edit the final image a bit on SAI but thankfully transferring is so seamless with Dropbox. I want to draw!! But I feel like I'm suffering a bit from choice paralysis. I guess I'll just make a list and pick at random!

My little sister is moving out on her own!! I'm so proud of her, it's going to be really tough but I know she has a good support system to help her out. I'm a little anxious about the area she's moving to, but she's not far from us so I think she'll be alright but I still want her to get some self-defense tools just in case. She came over today and we talked a little bit, about what we'd like to do for mom's birthday coming up and how I'd like to transform the kitchen a little bit to be more organized. It was really good to see her and I can't wait for us to have dinner together to celebrate.

I made a couple of bittersweet decisions recently. One, to let go of some of my stuffed animals, mostly the bigger ones. To any normal person, it probably doesn't look like my collection got smaller at all, but it was painful to stuff everyone in bags, apologizing and telling them I would find them a new home very soon. I really am too sentimental, this is also why I have to steer clear of the stuffed animal section at any thrift store: I just look at those glassy eyes and want to take all those lonely looking teddy bears home! The second was to let go of a community I've spent the past two years building. I had so much fun with it, and I met so many wonderful friends, and gave art, comfort, advice, and received it all back, but I'd like to take a step back and prioritize myself now. It's always been easier for me to make connections online, but of course the only bad thing is that you often don't get to say goodbye when online friends finally weave out of your life, forever. I never forget anyone I encounter or the experiences I've had, good or bad...

I really messed up today! I was supposed to open up at work but I mistakenly thought I was off. It's not like me to make a mistake like this... I guess it's more proof that I've mentally checked out from my job when I can't even be bothered to double check the schedule. I did cover for my co-worker on the 1st on short notice though. Why were we even open on NYD?

We didn't get a Christmas bonus or party like we usually do, we're no longer allowed to have water bottles from the fridge during our shift, and we don't have lunch breaks. My co-worker agreed that she liked the old location better and it made me happy that it wasn't just me who thought so. I'm not happy to return to the shark-infested waters of employment hunting, but it's really time to move on. I enjoyed what a laid back job it was for a good while at least.

I rang the new year in with Bear and his family! We were graciously invited to go to his mom's friend's house in a nice neighborhood. Everyone drives around in golf carts around to each other's houses and they even cleaned up after the fireworks show instead of leaving it in the streets like the barbarians in our neighborhood would (later, I found out this was all because they're part of a HOA, heh... that figures). I couldn't believe how beautiful their backyard was, they had a catio for their cat, a beautifully decorated she shed, a mini pool, and a fire pit! Bear and I had some small fireworks too. I loved the heart shaped sparklers, I didn't even know those existed!

I really loved their cat, she was such a diva and kept crying to be pet! She doesn't look like it in that picture, but she was actually super fat too. It makes me miss having a cat so much, my heart feels a little empty without one. It's been almost a year since Booger passed away now. I'd really like to adopt, but I can't be sure any potential cat wouldn't be let out against my wishes, and we have too many cars and strays in the area to chance it...