The girls and I had our annual beach trip this week. Due to outlying circumstances, the trip was earlier and shorter than usual, but it was still a lot of fun. It rained a decent bit, so we only were able to go to the beach once. We watched Howl’s Moving Castle and Dirty Dancing, played Sushi Go Party and Mad Libs, shopped, ate, sang, danced, and saw Wonder Woman in theaters. Overall, we had a lot of fun, and I can’t wait until next year. We may not have the condo, as the owners are attempting to sell it, but we’ll still find somewhere to travel together and get away. Until the next quest—–
17-19 March 2017
This weekend was LouisiANIME at the Crowne Plaza hotel here in Baton Rouge. I almost forgot to journal about it since it was local. Andrés and Chris went with me for the weekend, and Hailey and Holly came on Saturday. Hailey won 2nd place in the Hall Cosplay Contest with her Yugi Muto! I was Emma Swan from her date with Killian, but casually so. It was an anime convention, though, so not a one person knew who I was. I got a Sailor Saturn keychain, Sailor Mars figure (my baby!), a t-shirt of the convention mascot, a Ditto Umbreon plush, an alpaca, and two posters: Rosalina from Super Mario and Miraculous Ladybug. It was my first time at LouisiANIME, and it was a lot of fun! Hopefully next time I’ll have a more relevant costume! 😆 Until the next adventure—–
10-14 December 2016
Andrés and I were back in Dallas with his family to see his brother, the other Gabriel, also called Chele. He’s the tallest of the brothers, and I could definitely see the resemblance between them. This was my first time meeting Chele, and he was so nice! We only got a day with him before he left for his meditation retreat in India, but it was great to finally meet him. Now I just have Miguel left. I had fun with Andrés, Tati, and their parents over the remaining days. The trip was wonderful up until the morning of the 13th…
Mama called Andrés and asked him to break the news to me that my poor baby, Kaya, had passed away suddenly. A few hours after receiving the news, I pulled my cat totem stone – carved out of black stone – out of my crystal bag to find it had split clean in half. That was a rough day. I powered through, and I buried the totem with Kaya when I got home. I did enjoy seeing downtown Grapevine, the “Christmas Capital of Texas.” Like I said, it was mostly a good trip. Until the next one—–
26 November 2016
Andrés and I have been in Dallas for Thanksgiving weekend with his family. We had a wonderful dinner on Thursday. We went to the Galleria yesterday for Black Friday (which I normally would never do), and I got some stuff at Spencer’s. Andrés, Tati, and I also stopped at GameStop and got some goodies there. Today, we went to the Grapevine Mills mall to explore. I got a green apple milk tea, and we went to the Round1 arcade for a bit. I tried some Japanese rhythm games and a photo booth. The pictures came out great! Andrés and Tati are working an event right now, and I’m home with the rest of the family. We’ll be heading home early tomorrow. Until we’re home—–
9 October 2016
Day 2 was fairly relaxed. I walked around as Emma Swan and had a few requests for photos. I mustered up the courage to talk to Haiden Hazard today! I got a quick video clip with her for the YouTube video I’ll be making from this weekend, and I got a signed print of her Yang Xiao Long cosplay. Funnily enough, she was cosplaying Blake Belladonna today. I bought two Funko POP!s today, a BB-8 for myself and a Cheshire Cat for my mom that glows in the dark. I grabbed a shirt from Tee Turtle with a cat playing a video game rather intensely, and found a necklace with a picture of the storybook from Once Upon A Time. Carrie Beth found me later and came with me to the cosplay panel. After the cosplay panel, we stuck around in the same room for the steampunk panel. I have such a renewed interest in steampunk now, and I can’t wait to go to the Steampunk & Makers’ Fair in downtown Lafayette next month! All in all, the second Louisiana Comic Con Lafayette was pretty great this year. Until the next quest—–
8 October 2016
Today at Louisiana Comic Con was pretty fun. Connor, Paige, Hailey, Sara Lane, and Hailey’s friend Chase all attended. Hailey was Sailor Neptune, while Connor and Paige were Naruto and Hinata. I was a low-key Raven. Basically, I wore the wig and chakra gem with regular dark clothes. People really liked it, though! I’m feeling much more confident about this cosplay, and I’m so much more motivated to finish her! I definitely want to have her done for Halloween, now. If I can just remember to schedule an eye appointment in the next two weeks, I’ll be all set. I bought a really nice Sailor Moon poster today, and I got a Sailor Venus poster for Hailey. I’m going to try to muster up the courage to go talk to Haiden Hazard tomorrow and get a picture or an autograph. At the very least, I’ll buy a signed print. I have a slight rant to record about some things with the cosplay contest. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll check in tomorrow—–
7 August 2016
I’m home. Holly and I rode together again, and Hannah rode with us this time. After writing on Thursday, we all went to the beach and the pool for a while and spent the night at the condo. Friday night was our fancy night. We went shopping during the day for souvenirs and a nice dress for Hannah. We had dinner at a wonderful Italian place called Travinia. They have a delicious Granny Smith Apple martini. I’ll have to try making one here at home sometime. We watched the Olympics that night and the following day, after one last visit to the beach. Overall, this week was really nice. I got a great tan, great souvenirs, great memories and bonding time… I can’t wait for next Ladies’ Trip! It’ll be some time next year. As for the next trip, that will likely be sometime in October. Until that next adventure—–
4 August 2016
Hailey & I are alone at the condo. The other girls went to the store to grab some things, and we stayed here while some painters work on the door, after which we’ll head to the beach. We did the cosplay shoot yesterday, and it went really well! Most of the photos turned out great, and Hailey looked amazing. I can’t wait to get home and put them on my computer and my blog. We pretty much chilled at the condo all the rest of the day yesterday. We played Sushi GO! and Mad Libs, and talked and laughed most of the day. It really is just SO beautiful here… I’ll write again later—–
2 August 2016
We went to the beach & the pool today. The water at the beach was so full of algae! It was so overwhelming. We also went shopping. First, at Grand Boulevard, we had lunch at Pino Gelato – so good! – we browsed Kate Spade & Banana Republic, and we got some things at the Disney Store. We also stopped at Best Buy & Wal-Mart. I bought a tank top & magnet for myself, a t-shirt & tote bag for my mom, and a new charger for my Nikon battery. We’ve been sitting and talking since getting back. I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow, but maybe we’ll get the cosplay shoot done. Hailey & I are pretty excited. I’ll write again, soon—–
1 August 2016
The girls & I – that’s Hailey, Holly, Paige, and Hannah – drove to Sanctuary today. We left sometime after 11, maybe 11:30, so the drive took most of the rest of the day. We stopped in Spanish Fort for lunch, as usual, at IHOP this time. We also browsed the World Market, and I picke dup a set of hair pins, a pretty box, a piece of jewelry fro my head (similar to a circlet), some Pocky, and a fox-shaped container of lip balm. We snacked & drank after we settled in, and we played Mad Libs with a twist. We’ve already had so much fun, which bodes well for the rest of the week! We’ll probably head to the beach tomorrow, and we have some errands to run. I’ll check in again, soon—–
Alirien's Haunt 