Hello there, February

       

Heyyyyyy, February, heyyyyyy. Hey, girl, hey! I usually have a long exposition dump in the intro, but for some reason, I can't think of anything to write in here. I'm just gonna do my usual disclaimer. If one of the bullet points is marked with a moon symbol, it means you can skip over it. It's most likely to contain heavy-themed topics or spoilers. If the cloud symbol is next to a bullet point, you can also sleep on that part of the post lol. It's definitely gonna contain happy stuff. And I understand that not everyone likes to be happy for someone else (I wish it didn't work like that though), so you are more than welcome to skip reading it if you're not in a happy mood. ( Edit: I took too long in getting this up and now some stuff is in a weird order in the way they happened. I’ll try to catch a lot of them, but if I don’t I’m sorry! I hope you guys had a great Valentine’s Day) 

MARI’S ADVENTURES THUS FAR: ✦ ✦ ✦

• Eight of Cups. I thought I'd never see this card in my own Tarot reading. This is the energy I've been seething in for a while now. 
• Favorite New Comedian/Animator/Video Game Designer/Artist/Podcast Host: Alasdair Beckett-King. It's impossible to archive every video that Alasdair has made, but these are my Top Five Favorites (which is already definitely hard to pick): One | Two | Three | Four | Five. His hair is so pretty. He’s like Venus from Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus” painting. And his name is so cool! It’s like Alucard from Castlevania! 
• Mama Bear has extra storage space for the rental space she's currently using. So it means, I can dump old, school stuff over there and I can actually organize my closet, seasonally. I'm not looking forward to doing it now, but come springtide, I'll be ready to do some spring cleaning! (Edit: Actually got started early, and I can’t wait to move stuff over as soon as my arm stops being sore from the booster shot)
• Not sure about Arceus. My eyes are just not ready for any gameplay right now. And I still haven't finished playing three of the games I picked up for the Switch last year. 
• Published 12 Winter Posts. I'm so happy to finally get those up. My eyes are slowly getting better, and I'm able to do a little bit of reading other bloggers' blog posts like before. But I still need to frequently rest my eyes. You know how when you were a kid, every adult with a backache or a headache looked so glamorous? I was totally a copycat, pinching the bridge of my nose, pretending to nurse a headache myself, and now it's happening to me when I'm 29 and it's not glamorous at all! Five-year-old me was so dumb. I’m wearing sunglasses, turned off all the lights, drawn the blinds down, and have my iPad at the lowest brightness setting as I’m typing this :\\\ 
• I finally figured out why cat ladies never marry. It’s because furry friends always prefer guys because of their warmer temperature, taller stature, and they’re scratchy beards o: Well, I finally know how to play the game, so that I won’t ever have a chapter in my life called “Chubby’s Betrayal” because I know she’d dump me in a heartbeat for some tall, dude with a beard and that’s not happening, bitch o:  
• New Fave Target:  no crowd, fully stocked, with dim lighting, and better inventory. Picked up ACNH pink beanie with embroidered leaf tickets and also the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Best $25 ever! And I was finally able to get Raymond after one week of playing (140 hours or so)! He was at the beach and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him! I need to thank Cheynna for telling me about this game! I got lots of stuff that I need to do. I still don’t have carrots and mushrooms. And I’m still too scared to time-travel. Currently working on Harv’s island and getting all of the shops set up. 
• My Valloween Icon: Iago. The best Disney villain pet ever. My Anti-Valentine Anthem is from the sequel “Forget about Love.” When Iago said “Love really is revolting/It’s even worse than when you’re molting,” my Valentine-Grinch heart felt that.   
• My little brother is so stoked that I introduced him to "The King & I" and "Legend of Zelda." He couldn't stop listening to so many renditions of "Great Fairy Fountain." And also showed him “Snow Fairy Sugar” and he loved that too.  
• The extended project (Alchemist Love Letter) is going to be discontinued?  I have several reasons. I don’t think I can meet my deadline, for one thing. That’s one reason. And I didn’t anticipate the things that have happened around January. And just when  I finally decided on a title: “Love Letters to a Blonde Satan.” Well, I could also put in “Dirty Blonde” but I don’t wanna have my blog get re-flagged again . _ . ;;; Also, I don’t really appreciate people messaging me about “Love letters being highly manipulative” O: Or other messages that accuse me of  “worshipping white people” o: I literally can’t change the color of his eyes. He is not a fictional character o: What do you want me to do??? Also, another reason is that I’m having a hard time bringing my vision to life ; o ; I’ve been watching how to tie ribbons (even the slowed versions) and I still suck at it :(((( I mean I could probably cheat, and just get three different strings, and then tie the center like I would with my shoes, but then it won’t be the same o: I want the ribbon to be undone, and then all the 29 letters fall off in one fell swoop :\\\\\ I don’t know. I might just publish it late this year, but I don’t know yet. 
• I’m going to make out with the void this year, by meditating more often. And also, I wanna stay in touch with my inner Jedi. I always catch myself thinking, “What would space Jesus do?,” so I’m gonna make Obi-wan proud.  
• ⋆⁺ ☾ Battered: I talked to my therapist a few weeks ago, and we both agree that I'm just not tired. I'm battered. My eyes can barely tolerate dim-lighting and I'm having difficulty with concentrating. It sucks. For privacy reasons, I can't specifically name my stressors here. But we both agreed, that something always new came up every month since August last year. And it was too much. By the time, January has rolled around, I'm beyond exhausted. 
• ⋆⁺ ☾ Tommy: I’ve been cleaning up vomit and blood a lot lately. I was hoping Tommy has beaten his cancer by now, but we always just get so sad every time he throws up his favorite foods (Filipino beef steak, briskets, and fajitas) and even his favorite Greenies treats that are chicken-flavored . _ . But I always get so happy when I see him sleeping and making old-man noises or when he sighs in his sleep. The vet said he had less than a year to live, but it’s been about a year and he’s still here. So that gives me a lot of hope. Everyone should hold on to obstinate hope! As Alfred would say. 
• I feel really bad that I haven’t been able to check up on my internet friends regularly. But whatever it is you do, just know that I’m your silent cheerleader! I’m always here secretly rooting for you to accomplish all of your dreams! 
• I like to operate in vulnerability, but something last year has made me stop. It's like all the softness in me has dried up. For now, I'm pretty happy with just withdrawing my energy until I can gather my strength. 
• ☁︎ Best of 2021: I had the most growth for my blog traffic last year. I befriended Tommy, Ahsoka, and Captain Rex (Stray Cat Gang). My long nails lasted for nearly a year (10-months). Those were my Top Three moments. And of course, an honorary mention would be me, seeing a therapist and psychiatrist regularly. 
• I need to remember this: "When you have gratitude, you have everything."
• I keep thinking that I don't have anything ready for SEO Valentine Content, but then I remember I wrote love letters over two years ago lol. 
• 2022 posts are prepped. Ready to go inside the oven. Sadly, this means I will be taking another hiatus. I'm gonna try and sprinkle three posts per month though. 
• I'm thinking of going back to get my Master's Degree now that my loans are reaching their maturity date pretty soon. Maybe, I can study in a new city. And work for non-profit organizations in the future. I've never had this much hope when I was an undergrad, which is a pleasant change. 
• I'm happily working through my modules during my late afternoon studies. Tommy is my study buddy.  
• Favorite new mask: KN 94 Blush mask. It's perfect for the flu season, keeps my neck really warm this winter, and it's great for when I'm giving our rabbits fresh, new hay (Hays always used to make me sneeze a lot before I started utilizing masks even at home). 
• Build shelves? Everything is on the floor because I want everything to be within reach. Do tall people get scared of shelves, or is that just me being super tiny? I always get scared of floating shelves because I feel like they're gonna randomly fall on me and I'll break my neck in the process, somehow o:
• I'm thinking of getting a pink, vintage typewriter to get a lot of writing done, at least until my eyes recover. 
• I keep seeing articles about the 6th mass extinction starting everywhere . _ . 
• I found a lot of variations that I liked for Great Fairy Fountain. Here are a few of my favorites. Which I just noticed has a lot of fast to slow progression. One | Two | Three | 
• You know what I've done wrong all these years? I'm not specific enough when it comes to asking for things that I want. So when I see my future wife (and/or future husband) this year (Year of Our Lord 2022), I'm going to ask God to let her or him see me, ONLY during my Ovulation Day. I look so gooood. My hair, my cheeks, my skin, everything. I'm walking around like, "New uterus lining, who this?"
• My blog got mistakenly locked about a week before February has started and it was so stressful. They were like you have 89 days, before the complete removal of your blog. And I was so angry, I ended up sending them feedback (because I don't think Blogger truly holds any social media presence). They ended up reinstating my blog after I'd messaged them twice. I read the Community Guidelines that they sent me, and I definitely did not violate any of them. Anyway, I was really happy I had Kat to talk to. She's always here both rain or shine. I'm so grateful for her. It's so nice that we've had time to talk to each other since the holidays. I remember we talked on Instagram for hours and didn't realize how long we've been messaging each other back and forth :)
• Got my booster shot successfully! It’s Moderna. And I also voted early for the Primary Election. 
• Spent Valloween with Tommy and watched Part 1 & 2 of Batman: The Long Halloween on Movies Anywhere. 
• Went crazy at the bakery section and picked up a lot of cookies and pies 🥧 Buttermilk pies are so goood! I eat them with strawberries and ginger ale! 

SOME STUFF I GOTTA GET DONE THIS MONTH:

• PCP appointment on Valentine's Day. My lab result didn't come back normal and I think they're suspecting my lupus is back? I've only ever had minor lupus, I think. And I think even then, way back in high school, they couldn't really diagnose me as having lupus. Anyway, I gotta go ask if it's safe to get the third booster shot. Also, just wanted to do a quick shout-out to my doctor. She's so awesome! She doesn't make me feel like I complain too much. We're going to establish regular doctor appointments this year to treat my anxiety. I'm going to see her every 6 weeks from now on. But she did offer every 4 weeks as well. I think I'm gonna change it to monthly appointments from now on. She also very kindly explained to me the difference between physical anxiety symptoms and having a real, organic deterioration problem (I think that was the term; I can't remember). 
• Make an appointment to see a rheumatologist for chronic joint pains 
• Make an appointment to see a nutritionist | My weight has plateaued and I need to gain more weight to reach my weight goal (Edit: My nurse helped me set up an appointment for a virtual group coaching session. From there, I can request for individual appointments). 
• Make an appointment to see a physical therapist help me with intermittent hip pain
• Make a return appointment to see my psychiatrist | We couldn't do it during the last session because the clinic was closed to help the main hospitals with Covid patients . _ . 
• Make an eye doctor appointment. I'm not really sure how I developed this light-sensitivity out of nowhere . _ . ;;; It's a lot better now, but I'm still having a hard time concentrating. 
• See if I'm eligible for a booster shot (Edit: I am. I might need a fourth booster shot, but I still gotta ask)
• File tax returns (Got all of my documents ready)
• Return stuff at Target. I grabbed the wrong things because of my dumb eye problem. 

WHAT I AM EXCITED FOR IN FEBRUARY:

• Get back to New Horizons? Happy Home Paradise is more up my budget, to be honest. I just hope I don't have to sign up for the monthly Nintendo Online Membership to be able to play it. Stitches is gonna be like “Where the fuck have you been, loca???” when I finally come back to my overgrown weed of an island. 
• Take it easy | Why would I honestly kill myself trying to be productive for a whole month and for what? For three extra days that January has? Fuck no. 
• Watch more Book of Boba Fett episodes! Chapter Two and Chapter Five were so awesome!!!
• My Happy Place: Continue listening to more HorrorBabble for classic horror & Loremen for folklore and oddities. I'm on Season 3 right now (I'm jumping around seasons) and Alasdair and James Shakeshaft never fail to make me laugh. This podcast is a "milky treasure"! Pimp out of Pimp! Pimp is how you say five in Welsh. If me and Chubby were ever move to Wales, we're gonna have a grand, old time ordering 500 carrots because all we have to do is say "Pimp can't moron" :D It's hard to pick a favorite episode, because I like them all. But I really liked listening to "The Soap Woman," "The Mabinogion," and "The Lady of The Lake." I like the ones where there's a female guest (Deputy Loreman) the most. You know how people assume that actors are secretly in love with the actors they play the opposite with? I don't think that way with actors, but sometimes I wonder if that's the case with comedians? Like are they all secretly in love with each other? Or maybe it's not like that. And comedians are all like "Yeah, sure, you made me laugh, but I'm not that easy."
• New Indie nail polish haul to come in | I ordered one polish from Nail Hoot. It's this light blue linear holo with a red copper shift. Red shimmers are my weakness. And Mylar Glow from Polish Me Silly. 
  
• Apply as a nail swatcher and see if I can get approved |This is going to be my last year of buying nail polish btw. If I'm able to do it for make-up, I think it's safe to say I can do it for nail polish too. I'm just lucky that my hobbies can be enjoyed visually. So after this year, I'll only indulge with watching nail polish seasonal collections by watching videos of new releases. I've been doing really great with my No-Buy so far :) I’ve been scanning all the receipts for Fetch Rewards, I’ve used for necessary purchases like restocking essentials, and it’s made feel good to have a a new hobby that doesn’t require me to spend a lot. 
• Tamagoyaki cooking journey Day 3/365. I took most of January off, but I hope to get back to it this month. 
• Pixel art of daily food on Procreate, creating my first isometric design, and start using Pixaki for simple animations 

What is your February like so far? Let's chat in the comment section below! Love you guys! Take care! xx

SUGGESTED READINGS:

 ✦ Ana Luisa NY: Kelly Necklace Review | Ambassador Liaison | Discount code included 

 ✦ Hello there, May 

 ✦ So long, April | My April 

 ✦ Sephora VIB Spring Sale 2021 | What I Picked Up 

✦ Daiso Haul: Sakura Stationery  | Pink Spring Haul 

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