Yeah! It was delish!



We celebrated Kiyoshi's birthday last month with a nice ice cream cake burger! Tasted like oreo ice cream and chocolate cake. Yum! ;D

( Photos in large size for Kiyo~ )

I guess I should post these before an eternity passes.  Kie posted hers a while back. 
But first!  My latest haircut!



I don't think my hair has been that short since I was five  years old!  Thanks to Kie for this photo (you can see the greenhouse that Nightshade likes to sleep in, too).  I still don't really like the short hair on me, but this cut is better than the last.  It's more layered in the front, giving me less of a young mother look. ;P

And for the previous haircut, when I first cut it short:
( Photos from Lionel. )

LJ lost one of my icons.  The keyword was still there, but the icon itself wasn't. 
XD  My poor Army was defeated but Ike returns to fight again!

Minnesota trip came and went.  I did very little, but it was still fun.  Actually, I think all I did was eat, shop, play video games, and go to ren faire.  And hack, cough, and sneeze because Minnesota is too green or something.  It's real pretty there now, but I can't deal with the bugs and pollen. >.<

My hair has finally grown to the length where I can stand it.  I should take some pictures this weekend.  I really don't like having this shorter hair.  It's not even that short, but it's shorter than I've had it since I was... oh... five years old, maybe.  But it's too high maintenance and doesn't go with my long face.  I rather enjoy the short ponytail, but I don't want to wear my hair in a ponytail ALL the time. XD  I also discovered that I'm allergic to almost all hair products, and the only hair conditioners I've found so far that are safe for me are the crappy cheap ones. :[  buuuuu

I need a new computer.  I should build myself one. :3

I didn't think such a renowned site would be so awkward to navigate.  I'll return to it when my brain is less tired. XD  Meanwhile, friend me!  Or however it works.  I'd post a link except I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.

I think the reason I don't just try out more video games is because when I start one, I have this need to finish it.  I hate having to keep track of doing multiple things at once, and I can't just put an unfinished game away unless it's REALLY REALLY BAD (or makes me physically ill to play).  So now I've put about 60 hours into this mediocre video game, and I'm coming back to such a backlog of LJ that it makes me really appreciate how dependent I am on my computer.  XD  I must spend most of my evenings upstairs in front of the computer, because in this past week or so that I've spent downstairs in front of the TV, I've seen enough random animals walk by the glass door in the back of our house to wonder whether there are always this many critters running around at night. 

One night I saw four raccoons walk right by.  And then the next, an opossum who was not at all fazed when I turned the back outdoor light on and stared at it from a couple inches away through the glass door.  And the next night, one raccoon which promptly ran off when I turned the back light on.  And then I saw a single opossum again, likely the same one I saw before.  And then I thought, well shoot, now all I need is a skunk.  YEP.  Two nights later, a skunk wanders by the door.  (At least this one didn't stink-bomb our house...)

Speaking of animals.  We've noticed a nightly kitty pile gathering under our Honda Insight (is it particularly warm or something??).  These three kitties sit in a cluster with their feet tucked under them, so close together like they're trying to all get at this one spot.  I've never seen so many kitties willingly sit that close to one another. XD  It's baffling.  And they look ridiculous!

In other news, I got my hair cut much shorter than usual about a week ago, and I went to Waterworld today.  Oh and I got this neato glowing cube ipod speaker thingy, and then mommy told me about how daddy built a light organ for a men's choir back in the 60's.  Too tired for commentary on all that.  Maybe tomorrow.

I SEE KIE'S BUTT!!

Photo and hat courtesy of OHMIMUNCH.
(and apparently Nintendon'ts is marginally famous?  We had some weird encounters at Comic Con this year)

More later, but for now:

- Came home to no van and a Honda Insight instead.  So I guess I won't be buying my own real soon now that daddy has one. XD

- Slept the entirety of beach trip on Monday.  Sore as heck.  Ate lots of evil noms noms.  Itchy as heck.

- Was it just me or was SDCC less crowded this year?  Preview Night was the worst, though.  I guess because everyone was in one place.

- I have reaffirmed that San Diego is very good for my skin and my health.  I definitely need to move south and closer to the beach. Eventually. XD 

- The sound on my Yoda lightsaber works now!  It never worked before!  Either San Diego is magical, or Darryl is!  Or maybe it was just excited at the prospect of beating on Huy.

- SDCC was awesome this year.  Hotel, food, friends, cosplay, it all worked out so well this year.  And as always, there's plenty to see and do.  YAY!  XD  Even the weather was good.

- Epic G.I.JOE photoshoot on submarine was epic.  Made new friends. :3

It was a good close to a busy con season.  I always enjoy Comic Con most.

Some allergy is hitting me real hard, and besides sleeping way too much, I feel all sorts of awful and depressed.  I've been pretty good about my diet, so mommy cut away all the blooming flowers on the front porch, and I've decided to stop using this new shampoo and conditioner I have.  Hopefully one of those will do it.  Mommy is having to rub medicated cream on my raw scalp, too, and once again I'm tempted to just chop all my hair off.  I need beach real bad. D:

So I hope you guys will like the tank.  Cuz uh... I haven't started on it yet. >.>;;

I was just thinking how different the convention and cosplay scene is now as compared to 10 years ago.  Wah, I'm getting old. XD

The first couple AX's I attended, there were much fewer cosplayers, and even fewer good ones.  Girls like my twin and myself could get attention in any costume, from guys and girls alike.  People took pictures of anything cool.  I as well.  I had my camera, and I took pictures of just about every cosplayer I saw, good and bad not so good.  Didn't matter that I didn't know what it was.  It was cool that people tried.

Now, there are SO many cosplayers, and so many good ones, it's overwhelming.  I'd be taking pictures all day, and friends like Al already do that.  The past couple cons I haven't taken a single photo.  After all, I can always mosey on over to Al's or Lionel's or Wayne's or heck, ACP's... there's a lot.  Like me, it seems people are more inclined to look and say, oh that's neat, and then move on.  No need to take a photo unless you're a huge fan. 

But then there are the "photographers."  Guys lugging cameras.  When I was in Arc, I had one girl stop me besides the friends who always get my picture.  Fair enough.  People hardly know who he is.  But wow the number of photos we got in Osaka Koi no Uta, and nobody knows what those simple white dresses are from!  And then again, in my Alchemist, when I didn't think anyone would care any more, and I was hounded for pictures as soon as I walked in the door.  Katie and Mer, too, in what they thought were uninteresting outfits.  Friggen skirt chasers!!  X3 

That's how you know it's gone mainstream. XD  (Nerd and skirt chaser in the same sentence??)

But I must admit, it was rather entertaining to watch guys RUN ACROSS THE CONVENTION CENTER to get Samichi's picture in High Priest.  Maybe next time I'll keep count of the number of guys falling over themselves.


Time to stuff Kie in a skimpy costume to give incentive to get in shape! >:]  Muah ha ha~  DOAX at the Marriott again anyone?  Wait, let's not advertise that.

Mommie had a run-in with Yune a little orange bird while we were at AX.  It got all tangled up in the net we put around our apricot tree (I guess the net served its purpose! >XD).  So she cut the little bird out and held it and pet it and then let it go. D: !!!!!  I WANNA PET A LITTLE ORANGE BIRD!!  Gah, cute!  X3

I'm glad to be home and resting after AX.  I had a good time, even though it was hectic, stressful, and things didn't go as well as I would have liked.  I wanted to chat with more people I saw there, but I was exhausted.  I'm really glad we stayed the day after.  It really let me wind down and enjoy the last day.  And although the Holiday Inn was inn quality and not hotel quality, I still enjoyed it.  The walk was not bad at all.  It was inconvenient to be in a different hotel from friends, though, since the convention was a bit far and closed too early to provide a good meeting spot.  I felt like I missed a ton of the con, but I still got to enjoy it.  I'll definitely go next year.

Kie and I left for the con late Wednesday.  We're always late, but this time, I planned to be late.  It was so bloody hot, I didn't want to drive down in the heat.  And it's a good thing we didn't, because we drove back up in the middle of the day (noon to 7pm) and when I pulled my Janaff wings out of the car, Kie went D: !!!!!!  There's a huge patch of feathers missing!!  And yeah.  Apparently, the heat in the car melted the feathers off.  Really cleanly, too (yay)!  SO.  Now I don't have to whine about how I wish I could remake them.  Because I CAN remake them!  Plucking the feathers off cleanly was something I was dreading trying to do.

Getting my badge was amazingly painless (and retrieving my badge after I lost it was even more amazingly painless).  I saw Momusu from way too far away at the panel (took a good 20 min to realize that ugly mop was Ai's.  WTF, her hair is usually the best thing about her.  By far), but at least I saw them.  They're so cute and well-groomed. XD  Then I cam-whored like crazy in Janaff.  I actually made it to the Fire Emblem gathering on time.  Early in fact.  AND GUYS, YOU'RE RIGHT!  The sandals don't hurt any more!  I love Nicole's new wings, and this time, she smelled like roses. ;D  Boo for Mike forgetting his skirt, but at least I got to see the gloriousness of Rafiel on Saturday! X3

Friday was hectic, but I'm glad I got a short photoshoot in with Tina!  Welcome to cosplay, Tina!  Don't get too addicted! XD  Or is it too late?  Also, I had dinner with part of the crew at Morton's.  OMG.  RED MEAT.  And giant potato skin.  With a huge pile of bacon.  :9

Masquerade times was exhausing.  Masquerade backstage was spiff.  We had SO much space back there.  Even more space than last year for running and snickling and whatnot.  I do like the Nokia theater better, though.  This stage had too much stuff on it (lights and speakers) which made it look a bit cluttered.  It distracted from the acts (which honestly, I didn't watch too many because I was tired, but I did see Lyn, Lisa, Ash, Bri, Wendy, and OMG YAS).  The masq crew and judges were really sweet and a pleasure to work with.  I am so flattered we got a trophy.  I wasn't even expecting a certificate.  I just wanted to get it over with so I wouldn't have to haul that much crap to a con again.  Thank you Lionel for transporting so much of our stuff, and for letting us borrow your RC truck (and steal your oversized foamcore XD).  THANK YOU Kiyoshi for all your hard work, especially on the Damned Pixel Horse.  You really helped us make it happen.  Thank you Nicole and Cindy for being awesome stage ninjas!  Big hearts to the rest of the crew for obvious reasons.  And thank you Hai for taking my Vanilmirth.  I'm glad the crew still has it, but I didn't want to keep it myself.  Now YOU get to deal with the nesting spiders.



Enough for now. XD

I got my Rebel Cheerleader uniform in the mail today~ <3  It all fits perfectly EXCEPT the shell top... which is the outer layer and is too big.  Why did I get a size 36?? I can't remember.  XD  It should have been a 34 at most.  LOL  Oh well, I guess I could try to take it in.  And uh... pluck off that varsity tag because it's so obvious...  XD  Bah, I'll worry about that after AX.

And also to worry about after AX (oh, the distractions!):


Tiger Lily!  Should I do it?? Yea? Nay?  It's so very tempting.  I don't think I've done a Lily yet!

As if it weren't disgusting enough already!  Luckily it's already disgusting, so I don't mind.

But why is there a spider nesting in my Vanilmirth?!  YUUUUUCK!  And now it's dead, so I can't even chase it away, I actually have to scrape it off! D:
How do spiders always get into my cosplay projects??  I HATE SPIDERS! D:

Bobby took some great shots.  Thanks Bobby!  There are more up at http://www.cosplay.com/gallery/152355/.  I'm particularly fond of http://www.cosplay.com/photo/2082013/ -- which, by the way, I already fixed up the wig (it was coming out due to transport) and finally added that bun cover I was supposed to have. XD  Whee~ I rather like those ears.  I think those are the woochie large space ears...?  Totally threw away the packaging years ago.

I also really love
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13279830@N08/3584114131/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13279830@N08/3584921660/
from chibimofo ~ Thank you for those!

And how could I forget the awesome photoshoot by lionboogy  AFTER my wing broke.  Thanks for making that one work, man!

Apparently Janaff goes to Heaven when he dies. ;P
More up at ACP: http://www.acparadise.com/acs/display.php?c=1130

I started fixing up my wings, but I still need to re-inforce it.  I'm just sad my wings will never look again as pristine as they do in Al's masquerade shot.
http://www.cosplay.com/photo/2068971/

Oh well, he's a hawk, right? :]

Thank you, agentsakur9 , that was a most amusing capture!  I didn't think Leanne would be interested. ;D
Now if only I didn't look so stocky in that outfit...

Seriously guys, how are thong sandals comfortable?  Flat ones, too!  They have no support and they dig at your wittle toes!  My feet hurt so much now. XD  And my big toe on my left foot has a tender spot and keeps going numb.

Fanime was still fun, despite nothing seeming to work out like it should.  I completely missed Thursday night and all of Friday, and the Swap Meet (T_T!!) finishing up my Fire Emblem costume.  I learned so much from these Fire Emblem costumes, though, I'm totally excited about working on costumes now.  I really love being able to work with a variety of people and picking up different tricks and techniques.  It really satisfies my artist side.  I worked with make-up latex for the first time, and I didn't even have to use it on myself! :D  Huy is always a good victim.  I like how his scar turned out after Kie put the makeup on it.  As for me, I'll just scratch my own scars on my face... >.>

My wings for Janaff were weak, but I knew that coming in.  I figured I would be careful enough, but what I didn't count on was the strong wind this weekend.  My original design was an aluminum skeleton with illustration board and foam wing surface, but daddy didn't have any aluminum scraps large enough (*glares at Huy* NO I DIDN'T GO STEALING SIGNS OFF THE STREET).  I really wanted to avoid using foam board because I knew how weak it was, but I ended up going with it anyway because it was so lightweight.  And yep, the wind eventually snapped the foam board at the base of one wing.  Nothing that can't be repaired, though.  Better now after two days of wearing than at AX or something.  I'd also planned on giving it a thicker arm and more of a proper curved wing shape (Bernoulli surface, for Mike), but my poor time management didn't allow it.  It probably would have allowed my front feathers to lie flatter, too.  Ah well, it's ok I suppose.  I'm happy there shouldn't be too much touching up for that costume.

Masquerade was enjoyable even with all the setbacks and changes (sorry I looked so awkward on stage, but that's just me ._.;;), but I was way too tired to stay and watch everyone else.  I did watch you all on youtube last night, though!  I hearts you all, you were all so amazing!!  So much good stuff for a fan to enjoy, and a good variety of old, new, popular, and obscure.  And of course, Misa's crew did a great job!  Congrats to everyone!  You put on a great show!

Sunday Kie and I had an IdolM@ster performance which... didn't go so well.  Wasn't terrible, but Samichi wasn't feeling well, and we didn't get a single runthrough beforehand.  I felt very awkward on stage and messed up more than I have ever messed up before, even including practices when we were learning the dances the first time around.  We missed the Fire Emblem gathering because of it as well, and it almost didn't seem worth it to perform, much as I LOVE performing IdolM@ster.  I think I'm getting a bit old to pack in that many events in one weekend.  But I really look forward to Sac-Anime where IdolM@ster will be our main focus (and I won't be wearing a strapless dress...).

Monday I got to catch up with a lot of people, which is good because even so I missed so many!  I felt like I was hardly at the con, but at the same time I was glad because I hear glomping was rampant.  I wasn't really liking the immature atmosphere.  I'm not that old, am I?  The paper says the general age range of attendees was 15-20.  Yikes.  I watched CherryTeaGirlAndFriends Kie and Charie and Janelle and... sorry I don't know her name XD perform Para Para on Stage Zero.  It was adorable~  Sorry I couldn't join you guys, but I had way too much to do and just not enough energy.  You picked some really cute songs, though!  Maybe we'll get a chance to do it again, yeah?  And im@s!  X3  Had some good eats before wrapping up the con, and I could tell by then I was very very tired.  I was so tired, when Kiyoshi said "Hey Lily!  Do you want more onion rings?" at lunch, it seriously took me 30 seconds to comprehend what he was saying. XD  NOM NOM

Overall I really like Fanime.  The attendees are a bit young and scary, but the event is wonderful.  The hotel situation is getting ridiculous, though.  I must have had to take the stairs up to the 7th floor at least a dozen times.  Next year, The Sainte Claire.  It's only across the street.

In other news, there are too many black widow spiders in our yard, and I smell cha gio!  This requires away-from-computer time!

I never realized feathers were accordion membranes. But I guess birds couldn't fly otherwise! XD

Also, I would just like the world to know I'm slightly annoyed that my left wing pointers are at least an inch longer than my right wing pointers. The left are so gorgeous, but I'm going to have to cut them short to match the right! ~_~ Wah.


KIE DON'T FORGET TO BRING THE LAPTOP HOME!! XD

( And for Kie's entertainment )

So after a meeting at work this morning, it was determined that since I was the smallest person in the room, I had the duty of bringing home that leftover dozen donuts.  And how could I refuse??
Now I just need to not touch my face for a week, and I'm good! :3  I'm a bad influence on Kie's diet.

*wonders if she can still find all the pieces to her Ibuki costume....*

Janaff:  Naesala, no matter how bad things get, you always come out smelling like roses. I have no idea how you manage.

Kekeke.  I think someone needs perfume~


(BTW, I recorded some lines and gathered some BGMs.  Who's mixing our soundtrack? XD~)

Something tells me Kie and I should get on that Rin/Len cosplay ASAP.  That something being... you know... a couple yellow road rollers parked in the neighborhood... until the end of June.

:o