What I've Been Up To!

This year has been busier than most for me, but in a good way. :) Just weeks ago, I have started my own business selling cookies and so far, it has been a success! It's a very small business, being run mostly by me and my husband (I do all the baking and the work, and he helps out by bringing them into his work and selling them to his coworkers), but it's really off to a good start. I'm so excited that I'm actually getting requests and orders of a dozen!! However, since the whole thing is fairly new, it still has lots of room for growing and improvement. I've just ordered some business cards and I still need to get some pastry boxes and a Costco membership so I can start buying ingredients in bulk for a good price to help me earn profit. This will be very important, especially if I'm going to branch out to Korea (my brother is stationed there and has ordered cookies from me and soon will be helping me sell them where he works as well). It's going to be a lot of work, but I think I'm on the right track. I just need to give it time and be patient is all. In the mean time though, I'm really having fun doing this, as I really love to bake and it just feels so good knowing that people actually look forward to the days I sell cookies! ^_^

It's kind of funny, the reason why I actually started this little business... I've always wanted to run my own bakery, but my love of baking isn't what spurred this idea into action. The real reason behind it was actually so I could help fund my newest hobby of Pullip (and Dal, respectively) collecting. xD For those of you unfamiliar with them, Pullip and Dal are both Asian fashion dolls that are part of the same line and company (they were originally being manufactured by Jun Planning, but are currently manufactured by Groove). They've got rather large heads and slim bodies, and have an almost anime-like quality to them. There are also a few others in the Pullip family as well; their names are Isul, Byul, Taeyang, and the newest addition, Yeolume! I think they're such beautiful dolls and I've become quite captivated by them! I've even started a new blog dedicated to them to (hopefully) attract Pullip lovers from all over and to write reviews on the dolls I personally own! If any of you are interested, please check it out at iheartpullip.blogspot.com! 

Animal Crossing Design Request - BloodieMary ∞

Finished making a pastel goth design for BloodieMary ∞! Hope you like it! I know I had so much fun making it. Lols!

What it looks like on....

My Dog Is My Hero!

Surprise! After what seemed like forever, I finally convinced my husband to get us a dog! We got ourselves a handsome and dashing golden retriever puppy, Odin, just a couple of months ago, and have been loving every bit of our time together since then. In the short amount of time that we've had Odin, he has already saved me from my anxiety just by keeping me company and having me focus on things other than my fears when I'm alone and my husband is away on missions. He has already become so dear to me and Odin and I have forged an amazing bond already, so much so that even my husband believes that Odin truly is my dog, since he and I are pretty much inseparable and the fact that he listens to me over him. xD Aside from my husband, Odin's the only real friend I have, but he's starting to change that, too, it seems.

 Lately when I take him out for walks, we have been getting approached by many people, some of which we now encounter regularly. At first, it all started out as small talk about Odin and their own dogs, and then escalated into talking about ourselves and getting to know each other better. For a shy girl like me, this is almost like a miracle. I've always had trouble talking to other people and tended to keep to myself, and now I find myself opening up more and more, all thanks to Odin. To think that he could bring so many positive changes into my life in such a short window of time is just incredible to me and it blows me away. What is it about dogs and their magical powers that can change someone for the better?

He blinked!

Pokemon X and Y: Thoughts and First Impression

It's been a long time since I've been excited over a new Pokemon game (there hasn't been one I've been remotely interested in since Yellow Version first came out). Over time, my enthusiasm over the latest releases in the Pokemon franchise has dwindled, and eventually, it vanished completely. Needless to say, my indifference toward the series didn't stop the creators of Pokemon to be any less successful or from cranking out game after game, and I'm surprised to say that I'm glad that it didn't. The reason for that is because that would mean X and Y wouldn't exist. These two new installments of the Pokemon series have piqued my interest in it yet again, something I thought would never happen. 

After seeing the previews and hearing so much about X and Y, I became more and more curious to see what it was like. It actually made me want to play! The battles looked so much more detailed and the idea of character customization greatly appealed to me. I was also happy to find out that you could choose to be a male or a female character, something I've always wished for as a kid when playing either Red, Blue, or Yellow (I'm aware that one of the other Pokemon games that have come out previously allowed you to pick your sex too, but this is the first Pokemon game I've played where this was an option). Then, I found out about mega evolutions and the apparently new fairy-type pokemon being introduced, and I was sold! I just had to have it! My husband (a Pokemon fanatic) and I were thrilled and bought a copy of both games (he got X, and I got Y) on the very day they came out! As soon as we started playing, we couldn't put it down! 

So far, I really am having a lot of fun with Y. Some of the things I really enjoy about it are Fennekin (yes, I feel Fennekin is reason enough to love this game), character customization (not only can you pick your character's sex, but you can choose your skin color and eventually further change your character's appearance by going to the hair salon and buying different clothes and accessories), Furfrou (I looove being able to choose different hairstyles for Furfrou a lot!), being able to grow berries and berry mutations (my husband told me you could grow berries too in Gold and Silver, but there weren't berry mutations), being able to trade anywhere with your friends, and being able to choose either Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur in addition to picking among a Fennekin, Chespin, or Froakie rather than them being completely replaced by the latter three. Another fun and rather addicting part of the game that I absolutely adore is being able to grow closer to your Pokemon by using Pokemon-Amie, where you can pet them, feed them pokepuffs (which look really delicious, by the way), and play mini-games with them and win them more pokepuffs! Doing all of this increases the bond between you and your pokemon, and the closer you are to them, the more likely they'll be able to shake off status ailments such as poison or confusion. There's also Super Training, which basically helps raise your Pokemon's stats through playing soccer and using punching bags, which is also quite enjoyable. It really sets itself apart from the Pokemon games that I was used to and that I grew up with. 

If I had to complain about something, it would be how you have to sometimes be at just the right place or angle to be able to talk to some people or enter some doors. It can be quite annoying, especially when the person you're trying to talk to is moving. I also don't really like that you can't really use a pokeball on a pokemon in a horde unless you wipe out all the other ones first (especially when that horde happens to be a Zangoose surrounded by a bunch of Seviper and the Seviper kill it off before I can try to catch it!!!! It's a good thing my husband has X, so I can just trade him a Seviper for a Zangoose!). Luckily, this can all be easily overlooked as the game as a whole is great!  Pokemon Y has been a pleasant surprise for me and has really surpassed my expectations of it. It actually not only makes me curious about future Pokemon games to come, but it has also made me want to play the previous games that had come before it and that I have ignored, as well! Good job, Game Freak, it appears that you've won me back over!

Animal Crossing New Leaf Dream Address

Please feel free to stop by and dream about my lovely town of Sanrio!

Dream Address:
5900-2371-3357

Hope you like it! :D

Animal Crossing New Leaf Dress QR Codes

I've been getting into the spirit of Halloween (even though it's not quite here just yet!)  by creating some cute new dress designs in game. They basically look like costumes, but they're also plenty of fun to wear just because! Enjoy!

Mermaid:

Fairy:

Nurse:

Minnie Mouse:

Animal Crossing New Leaf: More QR Codes!

So, I had a little time to make some more dresses and flags/sign post/whatever designs, and I personally liked the way they all turned out, so I thought I'd share them here. :3 Please enjoy!

Dresses:

Flags/Sign Post Designs: