The Winter Court of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So thankfully, we didn't really need a new modem. Something was wrong outside. A technician came out and fixed it! Things have been fine since then.

I rented Frozen 2 on Amazon, as per Crystal's suggestion, and watched it three times during the rental period. My feelings are ... mixed. I still don't like the ending. I don't think it had to be that way. But ... aside from the ending, I found it a beautiful film and I loved the songs. It was a much higher quality film than the Wreck-It Ralph sequel, as I expected and hoped.

The reasons why I have problems with the ending are as follows.

1, Elsa's powers separated her and Anna for most of their lives. They had only had three years together finally bonding again before the Frozen 2 ending separated them again. At least they're going to visit, but it's not the same.

2, It's Anna's mother and culture too, and she should also get to explore and learn about the past. Of course, somebody has to watch Arendelle, but I think it would have been much more satisfying if Elsa and Anna stayed a bit to learn about their mother and mother's family and Elsa learned more about her powers and then they both went back to Arendelle. Maybe Anna could still be queen so Elsa could be "free," but Elsa would mostly live in Arendelle and travel to the forest when she felt like it or if there was trouble. The four spirits are the guardians of the forest, so it doesn't seem like Elsa has to be there. Elsa does seem to have an adventurous side, understandable when she was cooped up so long, afraid of her powers. But that shouldn't have to equate living apart from Anna.

3, One reviewer on YouTube commented that she thought Elsa had to live in the forest so she could unleash her full powers without hurting anyone. That would just be sad if that's the reason. And it goes back to what I said about her learning to control them even better while there, but not having to stay there. Elsa does love the forest and seems more at home there than in the city, but then that's because the writers wanted it that way. Maybe some of the fans would have different images of Elsa or feel like she would be happy in the city getting to be with Anna and not be afraid of harming her. Or maybe everyone decides to move Arendelle closer to the forest so everyone can be more connected to each other. That would have been satisfying too. But basically, Elsa learning the full scope of her powers should really make her feel free, and how would it make her feel free if she has to live apart from the city for fear of harming them with said powers? That is not a happy ending. Of course, it's just that reviewer's opinion that that's why Elsa decides to live in the forest. I don't think that was what Disney intended.

Really, though, the original Frozen had the perfect ending already: Elsa learning how to start controlling her powers and the kingdom realizing she isn't a monster and them all being accepting and happy together.

All that said, the Show Yourself sequence is just incredible and my favorite part of the sequel. And I thought Olaf's sequel song was better and funnier than In Summer. I liked that they toned down Olaf falling apart. Waaay too overdone in the first film. I think I loved all the songs in Frozen 2, whereas in the original I was enthusiastic about maybe three or four. Frozen 2 was also less crude. So ... a mixed bag. But definitely worth seeing. I'll probably want to own it someday. I definitely want the soundtrack.

I've thought a lot lately about how much I can relate to Elsa on some things. I love both girls, but I definitely find Elsa the most relatable, struggling with herself and what she is and worrying about concealing her true self. (And also relating to having a bit of an adventurous side, although at the same time I wouldn't be comfortable doing anything risky, heh.) I know a lot of lesbians gravitate to her and wish that Disney would make her a lesbian, but I wish Disney would make her asexual. :) Oh, one of my favorite lines in Frozen 2 is in the childhood flashback. Anna is obsessed with romance and Elsa's reaction is, "Anna, kissing won't save the forest!" ROTFLOL. I love it. I would love to have a Show Yourself moment and finally feel free to reveal my complete self to everyone.

Gansley did indeed come on the day I was thinking he would! It's pretty awesome to have all five members of the Big 5 in G. I. Joe form now. I wish I could think of stories to act out with them, heh. Mostly I play with them by picking them up and moving them around. There are lots of cute hugs with Lector and Nesbitt.

(Also on that day, which was Dad's birthday, my brother wanted to get him a birthday dinner. He ordered KFC. Yuuum! I'm having a lot of trouble with tomato intolerance, which is really frustrating me lately. Of course, the most upsetting thing is when it affects my pizza intake. I'm considering having fried chicken for my birthday this year.)

The price of the Wreck-It Ralph Elsa and Anna dolls finally came down on Amazon, so I bought them with a gift card. They came on Monday. They're slightly disproportionate, sadly, and hollow plastic instead of solid, but they're very cute and I'm happy to get them at last. It's fun seeing them in modern clothes. LOL, Anna's shirt has a sandwich.

And my three-foot Elsa arrived on Friday! It was an amazing day and really felt like Christmas, heee. I woke up just before the delivery and was able to immediately get her inside. I needed more sleep, so I got her out of the mailing box and brought her into my room. I thought I'd be too excited to sleep, but I finally dozed off, and I had an amazing dream, one of the haunted house dreams I have such fun with. And it plunnied me for a fic at last! I hope I'll be able to develop a whole plot from it. I'm thinking that Noa buys a house because he wants a big one for him and his mother to live in. But weird things start happening and they end up calling the Big Five and Yugi and company for help. Then they have to try to solve the mystery of what happened in the house and why the ghosts are angry. I suppose that unlike Evangeline's house, which will always have some mysteries, I'll need to try to solve this one. My house dreams never do solve the mysteries, though. Lol. There's lots of wandering through all the rooms, and there's bedrooms with all of the past tenants' stuff and the feeling of ghosts lingering and being angry. In the dreams I always want to take some of the neat stuff and use it myself, but I never feel free to because of the eerie feeling. This dream had a huge bathroom with spa and a room with a stage, and rooms filled with stored furniture that felt haunted. And all of this stuff was on the basement level. Usually it's higher levels.

I probably won't try buying much of anything for a while, except a picture here and there by ElfBean. I'm pretty happy right now and want to play with all the lovely things, hee. I feel like I've been having my birthday shopping spree since April.

I finally finished my interview fic and got it all posted. I hope it looks alright. Johnson's was the hardest for me. He's my least favorite member and it's the most difficult to get into his mind.

I also kept being pestered by my original Purple Avenger plunnie, where Lector becomes a vigilante because he feels betrayed and abandoned by his friends. I finally had to pen it, and I wrote it as taking place in another verse. But it's a misunderstanding created by Dartz, who was hoping someone would give into their inner darkness. Everything gets resolved and there is squee.

Frozen 2 also provided plunnies. I love the line in Kristoff's song "You're my True North, because without you I am lost in the woods." I had to adapt the line for a squee scene with Lector and Nesbitt. It may or may not be part of my next mystery fic. It looks fine as a stand-alone, but I know I get a bigger audience for the ensemble fics. I'm not sure it fits the tone of this upcoming house fic, though. So I'm still thinking about placement for that.

Then Anna's heartbreaking song The Next Right Thing, where she thinks Elsa is dead, provided inspiration and I had to draw a heartbreaking picture: http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com I'm planning to color it, but haven't yet.

I also want to draw Lector swinging on his grappling hook as the Purple Avenger. I love that concept of Lector as a vigilante way too much.

On the 2nd we went to an open house. They've been building ten new houses near us and they allowed everyone to tour them before the families moved in. It's a company called Self-Help Homes; I think the deal is that whoever is moving in does a lot of the building themselves. It was mentioned that food would be provided, but not what. I looked up what's usually served at real estate open houses and turned up cake, so that's all I was expecting and wasn't surprised when we got there and found some. We didn't make it in time for the opening ceremonies, though, so it was probably announced there that they'd be serving an actual dinner after the house tours. While we were touring, I saw that getting set up and heard some of the other people talking about that. It was awesome to get dinner, especially after 90 minutes of walking! A hamburger with cheese, a hot dog, all kinds of toppings, Doritos, ice water, and giant chocolate chip cookies! Yuuuum!

The houses were all gorgeous. My favorite ones had huge bathrooms with the toilets off to themselves in nooks. One house even had a giant walk-in closet with a light off the bathroom! It was epic.

The weird thing is, while we were touring I kept having intense Sonic the Hedgehog nostalgia and thinking about getting that Amy Rose plush. Something about the touring or the houses or the time of day or the way the sun was coming in or all of the above was making me remember something Sonic-related, but I couldn't remember what and I still can't. It may have been a memory of around ten years ago when I was on a big Sonic kick in late summer. Or it could be a memory of when I got my first Sonic game set in July 2001, but that was a cloudy day, so I don't think so. In any case, it was very nice but also very strange. Maybe it was a memory of being into Sonic while taking those driving classes years ago, but I don't know what new houses would have to do with that. I don't know what new houses have to do with any of my Sonic memories, honestly. LOL. Maybe being on a Sonic kick and listening to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack on our way to my childhood friend's wedding reception in her big backyard? I don't know. Maybe it's even as simple as the new houses being for families, and that reminding me of when I was a kid and just newly getting enthused with Sonic. It wouldn't explain the specific Amy Rose association, though. Then there's the thought that maybe I was associating the houses with anime, like Sailor Moon, and thinking about those characters' families, and how I got into anime in summer, and thinking of Sonic since it's also a Japanese property and I have many summer memories of Sonic....

I did finally get my gift card and order the Amy plush, and I got the last one. I was worried wondering if there was really one left or if I'd get a message that she wasn't available after all, but she was there and shipped and I got her the day before I needed to cancel the Prime trial, the 11th. She's so cute, and gorgeous, and so soft! Her dress is soft too. It's so hilarious that I would actually end up wanting an Amy plush, but realizing she didn't act out nearly as much as I'd thought really helped, because she was so cute and sweet in the episodes I was watching, and tough when she needed to be (not when she didn't need to be). I also like that sometimes she's kind of a voice of reason; when Knuckles flips out she usually stays logical. (Of course, then sometimes she's illogical herself at other times, heh. But I guess she's a pretty well-rounded character.) I love characters who are voices of reason; that's one reason why I love Gansley so much. (And I love Marc Thompson's voice for him in season 3; I could listen to that for ages. Help, I have a crush on a 60-year-old man (who isn't someone I've watched in stuff at various ages)! How did that even happen? Lol. I keep remembering this Charlie's Angels episode where Sabrina has a crush on a 60-year-old man because she loves his intelligence, and Jill and Kelly keep giggling about it. Of course, I certainly don't like the way Gansley acts with Yugi and Atem in their duel, but what I don't think people tend to realize is that if I write for a character for a long time, sometimes I end up falling in love with the version of them that I'm writing. Gansley is repentant in my post-canon verse, and combining that with his voice and being one of the logical ones of the group, well ... squeee. (And I think his "happy" sprite in Nightmare Troubadour is adorable.) Same thing with Nesbitt, minus him being one of the logical ones, lol. But I really love the way I've developed him in my post-canon verse. It's really those versions I'm crushing on, not what we see in canon where they're displaying such repugnant behavior ... although I do feel sorry for Nesbitt, especially considering his backstory in the original Japanese, and of course I love Gansley's canonical logical behavior trying to look after the others. Team Dad Gansley is adorable both in canon and in my verse, I have to say. Johnson doesn't seem to have any good qualities in canon unless he cares about the others, and Crump is so repulsive with his dirty-minded behavior towards Tea and Serenity in the original Japanese. The dub thankfully removes that, but he's still repulsively sadistic and I really don't have a lot of sympathy for him in either version. I do like the versions of him and Johnson I write for, though. I didn't think anyone except Lector was even deserving of a second chance until I re-watched the episodes enough to pick up nuances and realized that they seemed to care about each other. Then I really wanted to save them all.)

I was worried wondering if they'd even get any more Amy plushies in, as then it was saying "Unavailable. We don't know if or when this item will be back in stock." But I checked again and it said she'd be back in stock this week, so that's good. I have never seen something like this. All of these Sonic plushies are so popular and in demand, and they keep flying off the shelves almost as fast as Amazon can put them back! That should tell Sega that people still want quality Sonic merchandise. It's so hard to find Sonic stuff in stores right now and it's so frustrating. I love that I was able to get a shirt at ShopKo before they closed. I still feel a little sad that I didn't get another one I saw, but I didn't have much money and it was white and long-sleeved. I don't really like white for shirts because it gets dirty so fast, and I only wear long sleeves in public and in cooler weather, so I figured that shirt might not even get much use for a while. It was definitely more practical not to get it, but I still feel a little sad, especially when it's so very hard to find Sonic stuff.

I have to admit, in spite of the silly rivalry with Mario, it seems to me like Mario is clearly the winner in merchandise and almost always has been. There was a time when Sonic figures were around and more interesting than Nintendo figures, though, but that's long past. And there's a book about Mario that's readily available, while The History of Sonic book was never easily obtainable and went out of print before I could save up enough to get it. Sigh. I miss the days when Sonic stuff was easier to get and so plentiful. Even though the non-Boom ban is over, it seems like companies aren't getting back on track very quickly. Boom really ruined the merchandise scene and it's never recovered.

Then I have the problem that I love these Sonic plushies so much that I ... really want the actual Sonic one. The thought of petting a Sonic with minky-like fur just sounds glorious. But I think I'd feel more guilty getting another Sonic plush than I would for almost any other character, because my classic Sonic plush was such a close companion of mine as a kid, probably my favorite Christmas gift ever, and I never really wanted another Sonic plush because I was so happy with him. I know the plush isn't really alive, but it's really hard to think in logical terms like that, especially for someone sentimental like me who kind of wonders if the inner life idea could be true. Plushies and figures and dolls are alive to me, because in Jessie from Toy Story's words, "that's how they [the kids] see you [the toys]." I try to rationalize it by saying I have classic Sonic and why not get modern Sonic; they're different so it's not a betrayal of the classic plush; it would be nice to have a Sonic without felt spikes, etc. We'll see which side of my mind wins out.

The 4th was ... probably about the worst holiday I've ever spent. As a normal day it was okay, but as a holiday it was really lame. Two wonderful things happened, though: I reached the Big Five arc in my game that day and I got to role-play with Crystal. After that, the day went downhill and didn't stop. We didn't do anything as a family to celebrate and I wasn't even able to get a pizza. (I did finally get one next week after the Scottish Festival, though.)

The Festival was fun and we got to see the band The Fire again, which was awesome. I was a little sad they didn't do a full hour concert like they usually do (it was 45 minutes instead), but I guess they were worn-out from the heat. It was so hot, ugh. Although I don't think it was as bad as last year, where it was so stuffy it was hard to even breathe.

I wanted to find a pendant with a purple gem or rock so I could think of the amethyst ring I gave Lector in my fics, but I couldn't find anything like that. The jewelry shop I like so much didn't come this year, for some reason. The new store I liked so much last year was back, though, and they had some raw amethyst samples that were really tempting. But I really wanted something to wear and I didn't have much money, so I ended up not getting one of those.

It has been a really busy month. Most of this past week has been taken up with preparations for my sister getting re-married, and then the wedding was on Friday. Outside. In 97 degree temperatures. GAH. But at least it was at a beautiful place and there was some shade. The reception was pretty awesome. Most receptions around here only do dessert, but they did a meal! Cheese sandwiches and crackers and cheese squares and potato rolls and punch and nuts and M&M's and vegetable trays and gigantic pieces of cake ... ! Paradise! And on the way home I found the My Little Pony Bubbles at Target! This is G1 Bubbles, not G4 Bubbles. This Bubbles is yellow with blue hair, one of the two sitting down Ponies. I've wanted her for a long time. I hope I can find her friend Seashell too, because it would be too sad not to have her BFF. Plus, she's also really pretty, lavender with turquoise hair.

This week may be busy too; I'm desperately hoping we can have fun on our local holiday, especially since the 4th was such a bust as far as doing fun family things to celebrate.

And I finally beat the Nightmare Troubadour game, after many struggles against Yami Marik! I have to admit I oddly enough didn't have too much trouble with the other odd or difficult duels in the game. No one else really seemed to be on Yami Marik's level. I kept getting trounced to the point of utter frustration and aggravation, especially since I thought he was the final barrier keeping me from getting back to the Big Five. Finally some Internet searches brought up some advice and a gameplay video with good strategies I was able to use and I beat him. It was especially hard because I had to defeat him with Obelisk, and he kept destroying my monsters before I could get him on the field, and occasionally when I did get him on the field, Yami Marik did something else to make me lose, like play Ring of Destruction after already whittling down my lifepoints with Lava Golem.

Then when I finally beat Yami Marik, I found I wasn't at level 20 and I had to be at level 20 to see the Big Five again. I was just barely at 19. So there was some frantic dueling to level up, and occasionally a Rare Hunter or Yami Bakura showed up and screwed up my EXP. I love Yami Bakura and any other time I would have been happy to see him, but not when he ruined the EXP I'd got from Seto by causing me to lose before I'd saved again. He showed up a couple of other times and I beat him those times, so then he helped me get EXP. (I don't get any when I lose.)

It's been a delight to play against the Big Five again! I don't like that apparently I can only duel them in a row and have to start over if I lose to any of them, but at least I get to see them again in some way. I don't like that the game made it sound like they're possibly holographic projections, but I'll just insist they're real and this is their new job, lol.

I'm finally wrapping up my multi-chapter fic. I ended up feeling really badly for Pegasus, as through this fic and other ones of mine, he's seen or heard about characters getting second chances and yet he can't have Cecelia back. I don't even like Pegasus that much (mainly because of how flippant he acted about all the horrible things he did, even after he supposedly repented), but I felt like I was slapping him in the face and it just didn't seem fair, like that everyone is allowed back except Cecelia. (Of course, there are other characters who stay dead, but I don't think any case other than Cecelia's involves a loved one so unable to deal with the death as Pegasus is.) So I've set up a situation where Shadi's taking him on a quest that may bring Cecelia back. I was going to end the epilogue with them reuniting, but now I wonder if I should leave things with him on the quest and possibly have the next fic with more of the cast ending up on the quest too and having that be an adventure fic. Maybe it should be the one I've wanted to do for so long with the Big Five having to take Capsule Monsters trials. I'll think about it. That could take focus away from Pegasus, but I'm really not sure I could write a fic with him as a central character. It took me years to finish Until You Find Answers, mainly because I couldn't get into Pegasus's mind and was dreading his chapter so much.

So, yesterday morning I did something I wanted to do 15 years ago and didn't do for some reason (probably money-related). I bought the Tomy Jessie and James figures, the ones that came together in the Japanese release. That means I'll have to buy Meowth separately, but I have my eye on a listing for him too. Heh, I was worrying about doing a whole Amazon order right now and then I go and do that. Typical. Although they cost less than an Amazon order, even with shipping. And I will be getting another cash-out soon....

I wish there were movable figures that were affordable. The only movable Team Rocket figures are the Figuarts ones, and those are out of the question. So expensive.... Anyway, I don't like that the Meowth in that set looks so grouchy. And I wasn't wowed by James' expression either, to be honest. I think the cutest figures, expression-wise, are the G.E.M. ones. They are very dynamic! But I prefer figures standing up straight if they don't move, so I decided the old Tomy ones were just fine. I might get the G.E.M. ones too at some point, though.

One nice thing about preferring Classic Era is that just about all the characters I'd want to have in a figure release exist. I wish they'd made Delia too, though, and Giovanni would have been cool. I also discovered that Brock is hard to find. Great. **sarcasm.** I'm somehow not surprised that the set with Nurse Joy is rare, but even by himself, Brock is not easy to get hold of and more expensive than the others, even loose. At least Ash and Misty will be easy to obtain....

I wish I could find another set of stickers like the ones I got at Toys R Us years ago. I used one sheet and they're mostly faded from water on the binder. The other sheet is unused. I love stickers, but I don't have many logical places to stick them. Part of me wants to use that sheet, but when it's the only other one I have, I don't dare.

And I'm feeling sad again that I didn't get to get that gift bag all those years ago. Silly, so many years later and for something like that, but it was so cute.

I do wonder why a lot of the official merchandise back then, like the bag and the stickers, and even the wig for Pokemon Live, depicted James' hair as lavender. It always looked blue to me, and at last the merchandise reflects that too. At least the old Tomy figures are one thing that showed it as blue even back in the day.

We had to get groceries this past day instead of on Monday because of Dad having a dentist appointment on Monday. At Wal-Mart, I found a lovely material to use for James' hair if I make a plush! It's the perfect shade of blue, and it's so soft.... Expensive too, at $5.97 a yard. Eeek. But luckily, I don't need near that much. If I could find the same material in the right color, I'd like it for Jessie's hair too. If not, at least I found some fleece in the right color....

The church Christmas party was also this past evening. This was perhaps my most favorite menu ever. Ham and rolls, ice water, and SEVEN KINDS OF CHEESY POTATOES! Heaven! Also, many, many desserts. I brought back two kinds of brownies and a giant chocolate cookie. Yuuum. Few things make me think Christmas as much as the smell of many varied desserts.

October 28th, 1966 was when the world was introduced to Lucrece Posey and her bizarre gang of crooks in the Wild Wild West episode The Poisonous Posey. For the 50th anniversary last year, I made sure to watch the episode. For the 51st anniversary this year, I also wanted to watch the episode and was able to. I also got to see Count Manzeppi's second episode, The Feathered Fury, and ended up going to look over my Wild Wild West story that heavily involves both of those episodes as well as The Sudden Plague. And I just wrote a little bit for the next chapter. That felt pretty good too. It's always liberating coming back to a fic and finally feeling the time and inspiration are right to do a little more. Maybe I'll actually be able to get it finished. I really liked it.

I do need to see if I can get the current Turtles fic done by Halloween, since it's slated as the Halloween fic, but I have the feeling it won't be done by then, especially since it's a humor fic and those sometimes move slower. Also, I may still want to detail some of the Halloween preparations and this fic would be better for that, pushing the actual Halloween venture to still a later fic, and probably a post-Halloween one, if I do it at all.

Earlier in the week we watched the Emergency! episode where the lady keeps thinking her dead sister is haunting the house and wanting her husband out, since the sisters had a falling out over the now-dead one thinking the husband wasn't good enough for her sister. It ends where they think the lady set a fire in the house and honestly believes the sister did it, but actually, no one saw her set the fire. The husband just naturally assumed she did it, as did the paramedics, since none of them believe the place is haunted. I got a plunnie where Ginger and Lou are contacted by the husband, who discovers that while he's in the house alone as his wife is undergoing psychiatric observation, something else really is there with him. He's terrified, as well as horrified that he's sent his wife to the psychiatric ward when she doesn't belong. Ginger and Lou come to investigate and find that instead of the sister, something dark and evil was summoned at the seance that started the madness. That would be a nice Halloween fic too. I'm sure I wouldn't get it written in time, though, but I really want to give it a whirl.

I did a dry run of my costume Tuesday night, as I figured that would be better than putting it on for the first time right before the party the next day. It came out pretty good. I took a few selfies, which I posted here: https://cubeupload.com/codes/bff957 The thumbnails don't show the entire picture, though, so they have to be clicked on to see it all. Hopefully later I can get someone else to take a picture or two to get the whole costume in. It is a pity I couldn't find a brown wig, as I prefer Baxter with brown hair, but I'm glad I found a wild one, at least!

The Halloween party went alright, but there wasn't much of a turn-out and hardly anyone actually wore costumes. I was disappointed, especially compared to previous years. At least the girls weren't uncontrollably wild. And they had fun. And there were leftover cookies from the ones they were decorating to give people, so I got to bring some of those home. Yum.

I found out that the most one can earn at the book fair is indeed $10. I also discovered that working two shifts in a row is exhausting, just as I feared it would be. I only did it because that was the only possible point in the week when I could do the extra shifts. But they had dinner for everyone afterwards, both because of teacher conferences that night and the book fair. So many different delicious soups! I had a cheddar and potato one, along with a roll and ice water. Perfection! Then I brought home a combo of chili and taco soups and three dessert things: a pumpkin and chocolate chip cookie, a raspberry cheesecake cookie, and a brownie. I love copious leftovers so I can do that!

I also decided that for all the work I did, the meatiest book choices were the two Pokemon ones. As much as I wanted the Pony storybook, it is for episodes I've seen. And it's a short story picture book. The Pokemon storybook was a chapter book of episodes I haven't seen, and then the other was the guidebook to the original 151 Pokemon. I was a little surprised that some of the things firmly ingrained in my mind weren't introduced until Gen II or later, like Pichu. The books are fun and I feel like they were worth what I did.

Still, I'm not sure that I'll do the book fair again when it comes time. It really was a bad week to try to do it, so I guess I'll have to see what things are like on the week it comes back. Also, though, maybe next time they won't have anything I'd consider worth all the work. We'll have to see. I did end up finding one other thing there I thought was pretty cool, a book about gems with some raw samples of some. But getting that would have meant not getting anything else, so I stuck with what I'd already chosen. That looked pretty awesome, though. I love rocks, minerals, and gems. Always have.

Ugh, I sure made a bad decision on Friday to go out that morning. Because of that, it led to me not being able to go to a family event the next day. I had honestly planned to go, but I thought I needed to go to K-Mart on a different day because we'd be rushing so much to get to the event and I wouldn't have time to say a proper Goodbye. I honestly believed we'd be back in an hour and I could go to sleep. Instead, the tire blew and everything got thrown off and I was far too exhausted to be able to go the next day, even after the tire problem was solved. It's very upsetting, because I could have got to the Toys R Us I wanted to visit last week. And there was a wonderful meal I could have shared in. Of course, it would have been nice to see the family too, but since I'm not extremely close to those family members, my focus is more on the shopping and the food I missed out on, as shallow as that sounds.

I'm also wondering if I should have bought a doll at K-Mart. It's too late now, but I ponder on it. I like the webseries based on the first Descendants movie, Wicked World, and I idly considered getting some of the dolls. K-Mart still had Freddie when I got the snow cone maker. I like Freddie, especially her wanting to be good after having been bad, as that will never not fascinate me about a character, but she does creep me out a little because of her dark sense of humor. If the dolls had been Mal and Evie, I probably would have got them in a heartbeat because their friendship is one of my two favorite elements. (Repenting bad guys learning how to be good is the other.) Possibly if by some amazing chance I get another opportunity to go to the capitol city K-Mart before it's gone, they might still have the Freddie doll too and I'd get another chance to decide. But who knows, I might make the same decision. At this point, I'm just not sure. I hadn't even thought of getting her on Friday because I didn't think she'd still be there, and when she was, I was tired and couldn't figure out if I wanted to get her, even for $6.60. I'm trying very hard to balance my money right now because of needing to help with the groceries. Still, I hate to pass up a clearance deal that I would have wanted.

That brings me to another thing I'm wondering about. Hasbro is currently having some amazing Pony sales, or at least they still were last night. They have Fashion Style Starlight Glimmer for $6, and the Lyra and Sweetie Drops dolls from the Everfree movie for $7.49 each. I wanted Lyra and Sweetie Drops when they came out for Rainbow Rocks, but then they disappeared instead of going on clearance, sigh. (I hadn't wanted to pay full-price.) But ... I'm not sure I like the Everfree versions as much. I think both Lyras are great, but I really prefer the Rainbow Rocks Sweetie Drops. However, since those are out of print, I probably wouldn't even be able to find them for very cheap. So I'm debating if I want them enough to order them now, even as Everfree versions. Also debating if I'd rather just get Starlight. Hasbro only does free shipping for $14.99 and up, at least on their eBay store, but the shipping for just Starlight is only $1.99, so that's still an amazing deal for a Fashion Style.

It is very difficult to debate the problem when I also have to think about the groceries. Especially this week, as Mom's been feeling sad to only get the barest minimum of stuff lately and she hardly ever gets to go out and food is probably one of the only things she gets to look forward to, so I think I need to try to make sure to get at least one special thing each week for her to enjoy. And there should definitely be something on a holiday, even if it's one we don't celebrate much anymore. I'm also hoping to get a pizza for myself (and I'd share it with Dad if he wants; Mom usually can't eat cheese). That is, a fancier pizza than we usually get. If not a Little Caesar's pizza, then at least a fancier frozen pizza than the $1 ones. I'm usually content with those, but I do often long for something that tastes more like delivery.

Such a long day, beginning with evil insomnia rearing its head as it likes to do once or twice every month. I had a long day ahead of me and I'd be running on three hours' sleep.

Actually, the family reunion/picnic started out pretty fun. There was a breeze and we were under a pavilion. Everyone brought their own lunches, but some people had stuff to share, like Brazilian cheeseballs! Yuuuum! And my sister who was hosting the thing had brought food to share with everyone. I had a hot dog and chips and ice water and was thrilled. It became less fun when the heat increased as the afternoon wore on. Ugggh. And driving around in the heat wasn't much better. It was hard to breathe at times and I wanted to scream. I want fall. I love seeing some stores getting fall merchandise out, like Hobby Lobby and Joann's and Dollar Tree. Autumn is the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas season is right up there too, though.

I did get done what I needed to. I wrote after I finished eating. Then we went out and I bought the fabric markers for Vincent and took care of Mom's thing and found the other Turtles shirt at K-Mart, so this time I snapped it up. I also saw that the holey blue shirt is being sold, to which I went WTH. But the picture is nearly the same as what's on the America shirt, only smaller, so even if I find one that isn't holey, I doubt I'd buy it. (Then again, I might because of the beautiful blue color and the amusing text about how to be a ninja.)

K-Mart looks a lot barer now and it's sad. I even had a dream the other day about going back there to get the shirt. It looked pretty bare in the dream too. The more time goes on, the more it really sinks in that it's going away. For a long time now, it's had a strong scent of something ... lotiony? Soapy? I'm not sure what makes the scent, but it's very distinctive. And it will forever remind me of Baxter because last summer was when I really noticed it and that was when they briefly had that shirt with Fly Baxter and I was planning my first Turtles story, so I was thinking of Baxter while in the store both because of the fic and the shirt. This past day was likely the last time I will ever smell that scent or be in that K-Mart. At the end of the month, if things work out to visit the one in the capital city, it will likely be the last time I will ever be in a K-Mart at all. I will likely bring up the memories of being happy in K-Mart many times in my mind and they will forever be bittersweet.

(I am also going to forever mentally kick and snarl at myself for not buying a soft YGO pillow there many years ago when they were clearancing it. Mom tried to encourage me to get it, and I wanted it, but money was tight right then and I thought I wanted a Detective Conan DVD set more. Of course, as things go, interest in that series was brief and soon waned anyway, while love for YGO has always been strong.)

Waaah, K-Mart, don't go....

Back at home, the blue fabric marker covered all the parts that will actually be visible; I'm glad I realized it likely wouldn't last for coloring all of Vincent and so I should first color what had to be colored and then see if there was any ink left for the rest. I had contemplated buying two blue ones, but I hoped one would cover what I really needed and I could get the purple one too (instead of hoping to find my purple Sharpie and use it instead. I'm still hopping mad about it getting lost in the closet two years ago thanks to gravity being nasty). I hope I won't regret the coloring job. I kind of liked the inaccuracy of a Caucasian Vincent and how that color scheme worked with the clothes. But I always knew I really wanted to color Vincent if I found a good way to do it.

One thing that's complicated is the oddity of trying to get a laptop shape on this cloth doll's head. I pondered many times on how to do that, whether to get a toy laptop and try affixing it to a body I'd sew from scratch in blue cloth, or sew a cloth laptop, or other weird thoughts. But when I decided to use the existing doll for Vincent, that left me with trying to make the head look like a laptop. I didn't want to mutilate the head for fear of making a mess (and just plan feeling bad to do that to a doll), so I drew the screen and screen frame on it. The keyboard will be attached separately. Not exactly accurate to a laptop due to the head shape from all angles, of course; it may look more like a purple version of the desktop-ish model he has on the show. But that's okay. I wanted to use this doll for Vincent, no matter the weird complications.