My Year In Review

Hello my dears! Truth be told I stole this post idea from my friend Jeff (Hiiiiii!!!!) and it's a damn good one! I think it's important to review the year and see how far you have come. And boy did I have lots of that this year.  I will get a bit personal here as I take a look back at this year. For starters 2015 was the 2nd worst year of my life.

First selfie of 2015!

2015 started out normally....with a cold that never fully went away. In April I woke up one morning to a ringing in my ear. I went to the doctor a week later and was prescribed Flonase to take care of the problem, assuming that my clogged sinuses and ears were to blame....then it all went down hill from there. For 2-3 months I battled severe illness as a result of a combination of a bad reaction to the Flonase and from the stress of dealing with tinnitus 24/7. I had never been so sick in my life, even when I nearly died from pneumonia as a child. It was absolute hell and nearly landed me in the hospital a few times. Of course my doctors were a bit puzzled and weren't much help. Eventually we figured out that the stress and anxiety I was feeling from the ringing was physically making me sicker and making me incapable of getting better.

 I eventually (luckily) recovered but then had another enemy to battle - anxiety. The ringing racked me with severe anxiety. It was at the point where I was constantly pulling all nighters and finally falling asleep for 3-4 hours at a time around 8 or 9 in the morning because I couldn't stop the panic attacks. I had the hardest time eating really anything but yogurt; I lost 20 pounds as a result of everything from the anxiety.  Tensions at home were high - my mom didn't understand anxiety at all so she snapped at me a lot. She was also really worried because I was so sick and she was convinced she would come home one day and find me dead.

To make matters worse, I went to the ear doctor and there was nothing they could do to stop the ringing or help me. That was my breaking point and I just spiraled down from there. After a week of not sleeping at all and feeling like I was not only  in a Nightmare on Elm Street movie but also feeling like I was on drugs while I waited at the ear doctor's office because I was so sleep deprived ,I decided it was time to get help for my anxiety.

 So I went to the doctor and insisted she put me on medication for it. I was prescribed Zoloft for my anxiety, after two weeks things got better. I was having less panic attacks, I could actually sleep for the most part and I could actually do things other than coloring, reading Harry Potter  or watching TV. One thing I never knew possible - if you have severe anxiety it is near impossible to focus on a task.  I did however have my dose upped from there and it was totally the best thing I did. I recovered which I never felt was possible. Sure my anxiety is still a struggle I'll probably have for the rest of my life. Sometimes I still get minor panic attacks but I can usually calm myself down. Loud or sudden noises startle me quite easily now too ever since I had those struggles.

As a result of being severely fucked up until say August/September of this year I in a way lost myself and had a lot of internal struggle. What really helped me through all of it were 3 things: my friends Vicky and Natasha and my rediscovering of Wicca. I don't remember what triggered it but something convinced me to get back in touch with my witchy roots...it was the thing that saved me and pulled me out of the darkness. It helped me to cope and gave me something else to focus on. No this isn't one of those "I found religion so I'm better" things; on the contrary. I still retain my atheist ideals, I don't worship any sort of god; rather I worship and celebrate nature. I was also into wicca at a young age and just lost touch with it.

No, children the pentagram/pentacle is not evil. It represents the 5 elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Spirit. There is nothing evil about wicca, it is actually a very peaceful way of life. No...we won't curse you. 

From there I formed my own coven with Vicky and it has all felt so right.

Some good things did happen this year, so it wasn't completely horrible. What good came from 2015?

 I got to have the tea party of my dreams.

I finally saw that damn blood moon that I had been trying to see for 2 years.

I began not only writing one book but two. And it has felt absolutely wonderful to get back to writing.

I got more into cosplay and makeup. I also resurrected my business.

I grew very close to some new friends this year and also grew closer to old ones. Particularly Natasha, Charlie, Jeff and Vicky. I now talk to Natasha and Vicky nearly every day and it makes me so glad that we do ^__^.

Another major thing that happened this year - I gained some confidence. I don't have the best self confidence honestly. There are guys on twitter that will tell me I'm hot, cute or beautiful and it just leaves me clueless. Like, are you sure you're talking about me? I may seem like a really confident person with the various projects I share with you all but I'm not. You should see all of the work behind the scenes and my struggle when I record songs and try to decide if I should post them.

 I don't always feel like I'm pretty let alone beautiful. I used to text Vicky every time I was going to post a picture of myself online to see if it looked alright.

Slowly, I began to stop caring. Hell I even posted a few pictures of my makeup-less (which is rather scary) face this year! It used to be if my photos showed even a tiny bit of imperfection I would scrap it. But now I just post what I want. I also am learning to become more comfortable in my own skin. It used to be when friends would come over to hang I would have to put on a full face of makeup, now I am happy to say I have no problem being bare faced around them. However I still can't go to the store without makeup.

We adopted my cat Nina in January of this year, and I love her so much <3.

This year I became even more of a weeb. From watching more anime and now having a gigantic chunk of my room covered in anime posters. I think I even became more of a fangirl ._____.

I also started this blog!! I started it I think in February? Either way this blog is nearly a year old! I honestly can't believe it and I have all of you lovely readers to thank for keeping me going with writing this. So thank you so much for sticking with me and supporting me, even if I'm not the most reliable poster.

We had a lot of drama in my family this year; between one of my grandma's psychotic and mentally ill adoptive children (whom is pretty much disowned) showing up at her house with a knife and threatening her, my mom's health struggles and mine, my grandma being diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma last year (it hasn't become cancerous yet), a nasty custody situation with my cousins and my aunt's dog becoming paralyzed from Lyme disease (he's getting better and walking low). Yeah.....fun times!!! My family is like a fucking soap opera.

I'm still single. Although many signs have pointed out that I should focus more on my mental well being, I hope that that special someone comes along in 2016. I'm at the point where yes I do want love. I've always been the type that rolled their eyes when friends were all lovey-dovey with boyfriends/girlfriends and I swore off wanting a relationship. But I guess because I'm growing older things have changed. And I have changed a LOT in the last 4-5 years. No it isn't my biological clock ticking, I never want children.

I don't trust online dating, so sorry fanboys. Fingers crossed for me guys!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. My Christmas was very nice. I went to a party at my aunt's house New Years Eve and got a little tipsy xD....my uncle's sister kept coming by refilling my glass! 

White Christmas Martini with Pinnacle vanilla and Godiva chocolate liquier

On Christmas I stayed home with my mom, we sat in our PJs and watched Disney movies while having cocktails. We had some insane summer like weather and had to have the A/C on which was a first in December.

 I got a lot of lovely gifts such as these from Vicky:  

A book from my favorite Wiccan author, a Hagrid Funko figure (I'm trying to build my collection) and a Jack Skellington bow.

My mom got me the new Fire tablet since the tablet my dad got me (and the last thing he ever gave me) died this year. It's beautiful, I absolutely love it!! I named it Tabby *^*. It really surprised me for a $50 tablet. I can even side load apps to it!

She also got me this necklace to put my dad's ashes in so that I can carry him wherever I go.

And this beautiful tea cup charm for my charm bracelet.

I got this necklace from my Aunt Sharon and I'm completely obsessed with it.

My friend Amanda got me these from Lush (including the heavenly rose scented shampoo bar I've been dying for  - Jason and the Argan Oil) 

And I got a beautiful package from Natasha with a bunch of things I love. My favorite however is this Sailor Moon lanyard (which I put my keys on) and a flash drive for my writing. Thank you so much again! <3

Gee...could you tell that I REALLY like anime??? 

I'm not going to list everything I got though, just thought I would share some of my favorite things ^_^.

My last selfie of 2015.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve and be safe! Don't drink and drive! I hope 2016 is an even better year for everyone and that it brings all that you wish <3

Xoxo

Heather Zombie <3

P.S  To my friends - for a few days I may be out of reach, as the anniversary of when we lost my dad (January 4) is drawing near.

Pale Girl Problems

 Hi everyone!!! I am so frustrated. I had an awesome post done last night about my favorite anime movies, but the blogger app sucks and it wouldn't post. The draft didn't save right so I'll have to schedule it for another time (maybe tomorrow if I still have time today!). This post was sitting in my drafts, so I thought since I had the time and was at my computer I may as well edit and post it.


As anyone that follows me on Instagram or really has seen pictures of me knows - I am super pale. I am proud of my porcelain complexion! I live in a world where people prefer to be tan, and where having my complexion is the oddity. Although I love it, us ghostly looking girls do have some struggles! So today I'm talking about pale girl problems.

- Finding concealer/foundation in the correct shade

 

THIS right here! This is one of the biggest struggles that I encounter. Many makeup brands do not make shades fair enough for my skin. Mac's lightest shade is still at least 2 shades too dark for me.  If a brand does carry a shade light enough, they're usually too yellow based. Even worse - some oxidize once applied and make me look orange like an oompa loompa (I'm looking at you Clinique!). I have only found two foundations that spot on match me and they are Revlon colorstay (liquid and whipped) and Urban Decay Naked Skin. If they ever discontinue either one I will weep.

- Hard to find highlight colors

Anyone ever go onto Instagram and see those pictures of girls with concealer smeared all over their faces? Using a shade a few shades lighter for highlight and a few shades darker for contour?  I have the hardest time doing that! Many brands have highlight and contour palettes out now. I have yet to find one with a highlight shade light enough for me. As for concealer, I have found only one that exactly matches my skin let alone lighter.

So what do I have to do? I have to mix white foundation with my foundation for a highlight. Or hell just use the white foundation. I often have to mix white foundation to get foundations to match my skin. Manic Panic's Dreamtone White is a ghostly girl's best friend. 

- Instagram filters making your nose disappear
 

Hahahaha, yes this happens! The lighting in my house isn't the greatest. I often need to brighten my photos. In the process, many times it makes my nose disappear in photos xD.

- Having to stay out of the sun/ wear lots of SPF

 

The sun is my enemy. Seriously, I hate it. Not only do I have sensitive eyes but my skin is sun sensitive. If I don't slather on tons of SPF, I burn very easily. So I tend to stay out of the sun and wear a lot of sunscreen.

- The "you need bronzer" comments

 

These piss me off. You don't tell a darker skinned girl that she needs more highlights, do you? I constantly get comments like "girl you need bronzer" or "you're too pale" though ones like "you're so pale, you're nearly transparent" crack me up. My favorite is when people at cosmetic counters recommend me shades of foundation that are 2-3 shades darker to make me look "healthy" ...what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Oh yeah, my face is 3 shades darker than the rest of me so it looks healthy!! This is why I don't let my friends to go the cosmetic counters alone!

- Eyebrow shading

My hair/eyebrows are an odd shade. You can't really tell from photos because my hair color looks different based on the lighting. It is an odd mix of brown and blonde. I have a hard time finding brow filler for my eyebrows because of this. My biggest problem: sometimes a shade that matches my eyebrows perfectly is too dark in contrast with my skin! I often have to opt for blonde toned brow fillers and build them.

- Dark lipsticks make lips look tiny

I know other people have this issue, but darker lip shades in contrast to my skin make my lips look SO much smaller!!

- People think you're a vampire

 

Okay, they may not TRULY thing you are. People mostly just joke that I look like a vampire or a ghost. Though I'm pretty sure in high school a few people really thought I was one. 

- Blush makes me look like a hooker

I have to go with a very light hand when I wear blush, especially if it's pink or I look like a hooker. 

- Redness for DAYS 

My fellow porcelain ladies are no strangers to redness. Though I do naturally have a lot of redness to my face, when you have really light skin you're more prone to redness. Wax your eyebrows? You'll have red patches for days. Exercise for 5 minutes? Your face will be red for a few hours. 

There you go! I'm sure there are more struggles but that's all I can think of. Hope you all got a laugh out of this! 

Xoxo

Heather Zombie <3

Update on Life

Hello my dears! I'm sorry that it's been forever since I last posted anything. No, this isn't an actual blog post per-se, but an update on life and why I haven't been posting. I have been so extremely busy these days! Between reviving and running my own business and writing I have been swamped with work. I haven't had the time to even really write a new blog post let alone to post it! Don't worry though, I will find the time soon to post something of actual substance. I'm not abandoning this blog or anything, it's just going to take me a little longer to post for a while. With the holidays approaching, I know I will become significantly busier.

So what have I been up to lately? For starters, I revived my makeup artistry business. Most of my time is taken up by marketing and various behind the scenes work. It is extremely difficult to juggle so many accounts on top of my personal ones AND this blog. But, as hard work as it's been it has been extremely rewarding. It feels amazing to be my own boss and to be able to show people my website and say "Oh yeah, I have my own business.".

Another huge chunk of my time has been consumed by writing. A few weeks ago I began writing a novel from an idea that's been kicking around inside of my mind and I have been running with it. It feels wonderful to get back to fictional writing, where I avoided it like the plague because I tend to get horrible writers block. I dare say I am confident that I will actually finish this story! Which would be a first. I am hoping that it'll even be good enough to publish! Hey, you never know.

I've also been taking the odd day off to spend time with friends and to work on various home made Christmas/Yule gifts. Yes - I celebrate Christmas, but only the family and giving back aspect of it since my family celebrates. I also am celebrating Yule since I am a Wiccan. Anyway, this will be taking up even more of my time soon with family and friend gatherings. This weekend we will be decorating my home and putting up our tree. I will do my best to post pictures of the decor!

So that's pretty much what I've been up to lately. Again, I'm sorry that I haven't updated!! Anyone have any post requests? When I have the time I'm thinking of writing about manga or some shows. I'm not sure.

Until next time,

Xoxo

Heather Zombie <3

My Thoughts on AHS: Hotel Thus Far

Note: This post was written before the most recent episode.

I'm going to be up front: this season isn't my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I do like it. It just hasn't hooked me as much as the past seasons and I'm not digging the whole detective story line. Half the time I feel like I'm watching CSI. I'm just not in love with it like I was with all of the past seasons. I feel like so much less has happened this season. Where's the horror???

Maybe it's because of the whole vampire thing, maybe because it is more psychological. I much prefer gore and straight out disturbing shit vs a psychological mind fuck.

I'm not only getting a "The Shining" vibe from the hotel and from John, our main character (he reminds me of Jack Torrence) but I'm also picking up on some Clockwork Orange influence.. Maybe it's just me but a lot of the scenery/set reminds me of the movie as well as some of the music.

I love how they fit in legendary serial killers. Mr. March is obviously based upon H.H. Holmes. I love that they included Aileen Woronos. And even a nod to Charlie Manson. They also included John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Zodiac killer and Richie Ramirez. Serial killers fascinate me, it always baffles me how someone can kill another human. Which makes me a bit obsessed with the show Killer Kids. I thought it was really cool how they put little sort of easter eggs and facts about the serial killers into this particular episode.

 Lily Rabe is perfect as Aileen. Even down to little mannerisms. I am very impressed! Speaking of impressive, Lady Gaga's acting is wonderful.

I never doubted her, she went to a preforming arts school and learned to act way before she became a pop star. She is absolutely killing it! I love how into it she is getting too. If you follow her on any sort of social media you know what I'm talking about. I really hope she is in another season of the show. I would love to see her in another character. It definitely was a good move to put her in this season, it really helped to soften the blow of not having Jessica Lange.


I love seeing Sarah Paulson play a more evil and dark character. Her around children is literally me. I died when she did the thing with her teeth and looked at the little girl.  I should also mention that  Hypodermic Sally's hair reminds me of the Cynthia doll from Rugrats.

Okay, not an exact match. Hence why I said REMINDS me of. 

One thing I'm REALLY not cool with is the rape scene that happened in the first episode. I wasn't cool with it in the first season either. As a rape and molestation victim I can't handle seeing scenes like this. They aren't cool or funny. And I don't appreciate them being used at all. They're so unnecessary. I also would appreciate shows at least putting a trigger warning along with the other warnings. Some people have very bad reactions to these such triggers. I personally get not so fun flashbacks. Game of Thrones does the same shit and it really pisses me off.

Anyway, I do hope that this season gets some more action and more interesting. I really expected much more from this season. I'm also ready to see the characters that Ryan Murphy promised we would see check in from previous seasons. So far we have just seen the realtor from the first season.

For my fellow AHS fans, what are your thoughts so far on this season??

Xoxo

Stay creepy

Halloween Weekend + Cosplay

Hello my dears!! I can't believe it, I opened up Blogger to type this post up today and I saw that this blog has over 3,000 page views!!! 

I never, ever in a million years would have thought I would get so many people reading my blog. Thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart! It continuously surprises me how much people actually care about what I have to say. When I started this blog, I thought it would be cool if even 1-2 people read this blog. I was surprised when even 5 people read it. Hell, I was surprised when I started my twitter account that 10 people would follow me and be interested in my thoughts let alone the 600+ that follows me now. I was always the weird kid in school. Growing up people generally didn't care what I had to say. I continually got ignored when trying to voice opinions, I even had some people tell me "Shut up, no one cares what you think". So to have so many people care and continue to read this blog and to support me in my endeavors makes me more happy and humbled than you could ever know. 

So again, thank you so much everyone. Without your support I probably would have abandoned this blog long ago. I'll continue to do posts that interest you and to share aspects of my life with you all. You're all amazing <3.


Enough feels now, onto the post! I love when Halloween falls on a weekend day - it tends to mean that I celebrate all weekend long. At the last minute I nearly ended up losing my plans and I was unable to make new ones. That crushed me. Halloween means a lot to me. I was at the point of swearing off the holiday because every single year some sort of drama/disappointment revolving around plans. Luckily things turned out alright in the end! 

My Halloween weekend kicked off Friday, the day before Halloween. One of my close friends came over. We made cocktails, did a face mask (I'll spare you all my scary goop covered face) and watched Rocky Horror and Hellsing Ultimate. I got tipsy which was quite funny. I got cut off when I started to crack up over my own laugh. 

We tried the Game of Thrones Ale that I mentioned in a previous post. I'm not a fan of beers or rather ale so I wasn't a big fan of it. It was pretty bitter. We made cocktails called Witches' Brew which contained coconut rum, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and sprite. 

It was really good *^*. We didn't get to the vanilla vodka pictured above but I had the small bottle of marshmallow vodka and it was really good. It reminded me of UV's cake vodka. Many lewd comments at Alucard's expense were made. When my friend Beckman and I get together, the floodgates to lewdness open. Vicky usually has to deal with the aftermath...she can tell when we've hung out xD. 

I accidentally got some blood in my hair from the knife so I just went with it. 

Though we didn't do much, I felt like dressing up. This was supposed to he a creepy ghost sort of costume. I wanted to see if I could do a scary type of makeup without blood or prosthetics and still have it be creepy . And I ended up having blood in my hair anyway. Oh well! I had fun doing the makeup and taking the pictures for it. I walked around without my glasses for half the day because I really liked how this turned out.

Blueee liiipsss. This is Sweetpea and Fay's Limited Edition Lip Joule Liquid Lipstick in Lottery Bride.

I admit the blue lips are a bit bright...but honestly I just wanted an excuse to wear it!

I tried to make the scary cute. DERP. 

Halloween, I spent with my friend again. We went to Home Goods in costume. I certainly got many odd looks which was hilarious! That's probably because I looked like a gothic-hooker-anime-drag queen xD.  Sadly there was an incident that ruined the mood of the day but we still had fun. We watched anime and horror movies.

For the first part of the day, I was a gothic version of Asuna from Sword Art Online. I even carried a little plushie of Kirito around with me. This costume was interesting to deal with all day. I had limited visibility because the two sets of false eyelashes I wore were so big! They also kept hitting my glasses. I need to try to get contacts before Connecticon!

Cookie fun. I made a huge batch of Halloween sugar cookies the Thursday before Halloween and I topped them with an orange icing I made. 

My friend Becky and I

This picture makes me feel short ._.

Doesn't he look kawaii???? 

Later in the day I did a costume change and became Sakura from Naruto. This was a spontaneous costume because I had a pink wig and the leaf headband.

Sensei's pet <3. If I had Kakashi for a teacher, there sure wouldn't be much learning happening (hehe).

I became the ultimate weeb on Halloween - we watched Sword Art Online while I was Asuna. My friend kept going "there's your husbando!" Whenever Kirito was on screen. I kept going "look I'm on TV!" When Asuna was on.

I should've watched Naruto dressed as Sakura. But that would have ended in either me telling myself to shut up....or lewd comments at Kakashi's expense.

Though my friend had to leave while the night was still young I still had fun by myself. I watched some horror movies and did some Samhain rituals. For those that don't know - Halloween evolved from Samhain. Samhain is a Wiccan holiday equivalent to the Mexican Day of the Dead; it takes place on the night of October 31st and the day of November 1st. It is where the term Halloween came from, as it was referred to as All Hallows Eve. It is the day where we honor our departed ancestors. It is when the veil between the worlds is thinnest and the dead roam the earth along with us. Samhain is also New Years to many wiccans/pagans. I just use the day to celebrate spookiness and to connect with my beloved dead. I did a few Samhain prayers and I set an extra place at the dinner table to invite a departed relative and to show them respect.

Later on in the evening I did an EVP session - my very first one where I didn't have another person in the room with me.  EVP stands for electronic voice phenomena for those that don't know. It is where you try to talk with spirits and record the session. Many times spirits can leave noises or messages on a recording that you don't hear while you are recording.The session definitely was interesting. 

This is a topic I tend to steer clear from because frankly I have no patience for skeptics. If you don't share the same belief, please kindly keep comments to yourself. My house is very haunted. So many strange and creepy things happen here nearly on a daily basis. This is what I am currently writing a book about. Many people have experienced things here, so it's not just me or in my head - some experiences with multiple witnesses.

Now I am a reasonable and intelligent person. I don't see something fall or hear a noise and automatically yell "ghost!". No I try to find a rational explanation of what happened first. But there have been SO many occurrences that simply can't be explained. On Halloween I try to connect with the spirits more in hope of having an encounter. The supernatural has always fascinated me and I consider myself an amateur ghost hunter. I do know how to handle myself and protect myself so don't worry guys! 

All weekend long I found myself giving Tarot readings from my new deck. Surprisingly 99% of them were spot on! It was getting pretty creepy actually. 

To end my Halloween, I finally watch the movie It Follows which I've been dying to see! It's a horror movie about this girl that has sex with this guy - then she finds that this thing begins to follow her. It is fairly creepy, it reminds me of the Halloween movies. It has such a unique premise! I really enjoyed it.

The aftermath of Halloween:

Lashes everywhere! At least my cats didn't eat my lashes like last year. Yes...in my house if you leave false eyelashes laying around my cats will eat them. I was so tired that I just took everything off in my living room and left it XD. 

Pumpkins I carved on November 1st because I wasn't ready to let go.

My favorite pumpkins! :D 

I'm going to cry this weekend when my mom forces me to take down most of my decorations. 

Anyway, that was my Halloween! What did you all do on Halloween? Comment and let me know!


Xoxo

Stay creepy! 

My Weekend At College

Note: If formatting is screwed up, I'm posting this from the app as I'm unable to from the computer at the moment. 

This past weekend I visited my best friend Vicky at her college in Pennsylvania. I have never even visited a college before so it was totally a new experience for me. This was also my first vacation in over 10 years so it was nice to get away. 

This was me before leaving. 

I also wore this headband. Halloween is near and it's kawaii so why not? 

What even is this facial expression? 

                         On the road! 

One thing that really surprised me was when we first pulled onto campus. It had to be 10:30 at night on a Thursday and people were still walking in and out of buildings. There were even some guys playing basketball. I always thought that there was some sort of curfew where everyone had to be in their dorms at a certain time so I was extremely surprised to see this. As time went on I was quite surprised at how late college students do things. We would have dinner around 8/9 at night, some people were even in empty classrooms studying at night. 

I stayed with Vicky and her room mates in their on campus apartment. It's basically a dorm room, but they have a kitchen, their own bathroom with a shower, a living room and large bedrooms. It was really nice! Vicky's room is huge, I stayed in her room with her. 

On Friday, the first thing we really did was go to the cafeteria for lunch. 

Here is me trying to fit in on my first day of college life hehe. I wore a Black Veil Brides T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. A purple baggy beret along with my ouija cameo necklace and a crystal one. I wore brown lipstick with orange and red eyeshadow. I also put my hair in braids halfway through the day because my hair was annoying me. I realize that this hairstyle makes me look like Anna from Frozen. 

Funny story, when we were walking from the room to the cafeteria, we got halfway down the hallway of the dorm building when I suddenly realized I was still wearing my slippers and not actual shoes xD. I was extremely embarrassed but Vicky said that it isn't uncommon for that to happen and that people go to class in their PJs quite often. 

When we first walked into the cafeteria, I definitely was having flashbacks to high school. No lie I felt like the new kid in class even if just for a few minutes. I certainly was overwhelmed - being an awkward/shy person that doesn't do well in huge crowds. 

 With this particular school's cafeteria, instead of paying for whatever you buy you just pay with a card that already has the money for your food on it. I was absolutely amazed when I saw what they had to offer. They didn't have the typical "lunch lady" or gross food. Everything looked gourmet. They have a "the grill" which was an area where hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken patties and fries were sold. There was an Italian section, a small deli and 1-2 other areas. They have an ice cream freezer case, a small dessert area and even a cereal bar. They even had vegetarian and gluten free options! Once we exited the restaurant sort of area, they had soda machines and condiments just like from a restaurant and a salad bar. It was all so cool! Even better, you pay once and can eat whatever you want, from wherever, in any combination and as much as you want. I doubt that this is typical for most schools but this one is a private catholic university. 

We sat at a table with some of her friends and everyone was so friendly and nice to me. I instantly clicked with this one girl talking about anime and Kpop. Her other friend that was with her was super awesome and welcoming.  I  honestly was so afraid that Vicky's friends wouldn't like me or that we wouldn't have anything to talk about! I know I can be annoying and awkward around new people. 

After lunch Vicky took me on a tour of the campus. It is a beautiful campus with lots of nice and some old buildings. 

I got to go in and see the classrooms, the theater and the mail room. I found it really cool that in a few areas of the school there were random pianos that people can just walk up to and play. 

We went back to the room and I worked on some writing since Vicky had a meeting. I got so much work done! Then one of Vicky's roommates and another friend came in the room and we talked for a while. When Vicky came back we went to some really awesome shops.

First, being a witch shop. Being a Wiccan and teaching Vicky about it I was most definitely excited for this one. It was a small but nice shop. Surprisingly it was run by a man (there tend to be less men and more women in pagan/Wiccan religions). We talked with the store owner for a good while. He was really nice but intimidating, blunt and opinionated. I'm a pretty shy person around strangers so I bet you guys can tell how that went! Haha! It was great though.

We talked about his views and how he practices more of the old religion that Wicca branched off of. We learned a lot about the history of wicca that I didn't know. We also learned some other cool things, such as why people think wiccans are evil (when actuality we are the most peaceful people). It was really interesting, I had always wondered where this belief stems from. Apparently it stems from Catholicism and the belief that if you worship any sort of horned god, then you must be worshipping the devil. If you guys care, maybe I'll do a post on Wicca in more depth. But in Wicca you can pick and choose deities to work with, some are horned though not evil. Personally, I'm an atheist Wiccan. Meaning I don't believe in or worship gods/goddesses. But I worship nature and the spirit of Mother Nature. 

Anyway! We also learned that the Salem witch trials didn't even happen in the town of Salem that we know today but in fact another town. 

The shop had a lot of great things though a small selection, such as incense, herbs, candles, jewelry, books, altar tools, ouija boards, runes, tarot cards and crystals. Vicky and I went a little nuts with the crystals. I also got a sage smudge stick. Yes...it looks like a huge ass weird cigar. It isn't something you smoke, it is used to cleanse a home. 

From there we went to a rock shop which had a crazy amount of crystals. They also had a lot of beautiful jewelry and cute little animal statues carved from various stones. I got 2 more crystals here - Malachite and Opalite.

After that we went to this oddities shop. I was so excited for this one, I love creepy and obscure things. I'm also a huge fan of the Discovery channel show, Oddities. It is on my bucket list to visit Obscura someday. 

I was instantly in love with the oddities shop we went into, literally most of it would be my future home. I wish I had taken my own pictures on the inside but I was afraid I would get yelled at if I did. But I did find the shop's Instagram page and was able to save some pictures from there. 

When we first walked in, there was a huge taxidermy lion. Yes, I shit you not a lion!! In the window were skeletons sitting around. They had an entire wall of bat taxidermy, I was spazzing because I LOVE bats. 

Honestly that would be the only taxidermy besides butterflies that I would own. BUT I would only want taxidermy where the bats ethically died. Like someone found a dead bat and preserved it. I absolutely do NOT support people killing these beautiful creatures and leaving baby bats orphaned just so we can hang them on our walls. 

They had various bug taxidermy, some different animal heads, lots of skulls. 

They even had specimen jars which were kind of creepy. One had a kitten in it and another has a pig and a snake together. They sold some awesome Tshirts and tarot cards. But also alligator feet and raccoon penis bones. Yeah you read that right. 

I got to see where Vicky works for her field work which was awesome. She loves her field work so much and I was happy I could finally see it. It is a wonderful places called Candie's Place which helps cancer patients cope with their disease. She really is helping people and making a difference which makes me so proud of her. She just beams when she talks about the place! It is non profit and they offer some alternative therapies. They focus more on mental well being there but also physical health as well. My readers should totally check them out and support them. 

We went to Dollar General too which was a first for me! It kind of reminds me of Five Below. 

After that we went back to the apartment, had dinner and watched cheesy movies to make fun of them. 

Oh yeah and they have Loki wearing Dipper Pines' hat in the corner of the living room. 

On Saturday we hung around the apartment for most of the day, researching some things and printing them as well as  watching a movie. We went out to dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant. It was really cool, they were all decked out for Halloween. They had a few anematronics including this creepy/awesome zombie holding fake fire. I ordered a chicken quesadilla and had a strawberry daiquiri. It was all delicious! 

I wore a My Chemical Romance shirt, jeans and sneakers. I teased my bangs and pinned them back then put my hair in braids. I also wore my red plaid hoodie which I love so dearly. For jewelry I was wearing a small amethyst pendant and my crescent moon/clover necklace. I noticed halfway through the night that I lost a hairtie and was walking around with a braid and a ponytail. 

After dinner we had to drop a few people off and then we went to a Halloween store. We had so much fun trying on costumes. I kept trying on little hats. 

I found a Jack Skellington one I was particularly in love with. It's so going on my Christmas list. 

Vicky tried on this child's sized Hulk costume hoodie xD.

We all tried on Maleficent's horn hat...Vicky was the only one that could work it!

We tried on masks. I ended up being Peter Griffin from Family Guy. 

They had a small Nightmare on Elm Street section and I was jumping and pointing at it xD. Vicky found this Freddy lawn gnome. It is so beautiful! *^*

We saw this teddy bear at the checkout area. It's so cute! 

I guess someone was a little horny when creating this... (Bada-tsss). Seriously it isn't what it looks like xD, it's supposed to be a unicorn headpiece. I guess you could wear it if you wanted to look like a dick head (*nudge nudge* get it, dick head?. Okay, okay I'll stop with the bad jokes! XD).

After the Halloween store we went to Walmart to look at some things. I was so disappointed by their Halloween section. One of Vicky's roommates took a bike out of the bike displays and rode it around xD. We approached the garden section and I wanted to hide in a corner and cry...why you may ask? There was a fucking Christmas wonderland in there. If I see anything Christmas before Halloween I get really annoyed. Like no, it's too early and not even Halloween yet!! UGHHHHH. I'm slowly turning into the grinch because of Christmas coming earlier and earlier every year. 

There was a creepy santa animatronic that scared the shit out of Vicky. In that area I found a huge stuffed Hello Kitty and got so excited I was jumping. I hugged the shit out of it. I love Hello Kitty, I don't care how old I am! 

After Walmart we went back to the apartment. We got a little lost because of road work. But we found our way back! We just hung out for the rest of the night.

Sunday was the day I left. I did most of my packing the night before so we woke up and got ready to go. 

No pictures of what I wore because I was too lazy to really dress up. I just wore jeans, my Expecto Patronum shirt, sneakers and my black and white bat infinity scarf. You guys sense a pattern? Jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt is like my uniform. I like to dress comfy and in things I like. 

We had extra time  before we had to be on the road so I had Vicky bring me to a  Cemetery to take pictures. There are a lot of cemeteries in the area of her school. On 3 sides it's surrounded by them. She thought it was funny that I kept going "Dead people!!" In the car whenever we passed one. Oh how goth girl of me. Although I'm not technically goth, I think of myself as an honorary goth because I love gothy things....and because I used to be full on "I shit spiderwebs" goth. 

I love cemeteries. I think they're beautiful. And I love old tombstones. I love the history of them and reading the dates. It's fascinating to me to see really old birth dates like in the 1800s and to imagine what type of life they had.

I had such a fun weekend and I'm so glad that I went.  It was a great opportunity. I definitely went past my comfort zone and realized that I still have a ways to go with my anxiety problems because I had some issues throughout my trip. But I got through it and had a fun time! Thank you so much for everything again Vicky!! <3 I'm so happy I could finally see your school, your field work and meet your friends. 

I did get some souvenirs while I was gone on my mini vacation.  

I got these crystals from the witch shop and the rock shop:

I got this sage smudge stick from the witch shop:

I got this cup from Dollar General:

I absolutely had to get it. I can't say no to Halloween cups.

I got some pens, erasers and a lighter. Ok, not souvenirs...I actually really needed to get those things. I know, I'm a weirdo for grabbing random shit I needed while on vacation. I didn't even need them during my trip.

I also got these awesome posters and art from Vicky. She got them at New York Comic Con. And her cosplays were amazing!! She was Rose from Steven Universe

 Let's all take a moment to admire how stunning my best friend is in her cosplay *^* she did such a wonderful job!! <3 

And Greg from Over The Garden Wall.

The girl dressed as Wirt is Sam, I met her over the weekend and we totally bonded. They both did such a fantastic job!! These cosplays are spot on. Vicky even had the rock and have out rock facts! 

Here are closeups of the posters. This is  a poster from Naruto The Last:

A Sailor Moon Crystal poster:

 and a Kakashi drawing. I love it so much!!! 

All of which now resides on the weeb wall: 

I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures!! I'm sorry this is so late, I have been really tired this week since getting back home. I've also had a really shitty couple of days and I haven't had any motivation to write. 

I also literally just got this in the mail (like 20 minutes ago at time of writing)! My very first Tarot deck and Sailor Moon season 2 part 2.

Anyway I hope you all have a lovely day. 

As always,

Xoxo

Stay creepy ^__~