13 Seasonal Goals: Autumn 2014

For a year now, my good friend, Lilian, has been setting 13 goals to try to achieve every season. Simply titled 13 Seasonal Goals it is an opportunity to challenge oneself to complete various types of tasks or activities over the 13 weeks of a season. Some tasks are meant to be geared toward the season, but many don’t necessarily have to be festive. For details on the specifics, please check out Lilian’s post here.

This is the first time I’m participating, and I think it will be a fun way to be more creative and to really challenge myself to do more than I typically do. Some goals cross over into more than one category/specification.

Paint a canvas

I have canvases. I have paints. They’ve been sitting around for over a year. It’s time to try to create something with them! Maybe I could paint something fall-themed. Or something creepy-cute!

Donate to a charity/organization

I would like to donate money, supplies, or time to an organization that helps animals. I don’t donate as often or as much as I would like to, so I want to do make sure I do that this season.

Use NaNoWriMo to write 50,000 words of The Unheard-of

I’ve been struggling with this story for so long, and I still haven’t figured out my plot issues. I met my Camp NaNoWriMo goal for this story, but I would like to work hard to get more of it fixed up and maybe finish the thing! It’s very special to me, and I would love to see it completed.

Save at least $100

Every time I try to save some money I end up needing it for something, so I would like to set a little aside each week and have at least $100 at the end of the season. If I reach my goal early, I might be able to use the funds to buy Christmas presents!

Write five poems

I used to write poetry all the time, but I haven’t written as much over the years, and I would like to get back to it.

Treat myself to something for my birthday

Even if it’s something silly or inexpensive, I want to find something I really want and buy it for myself as a birthday gift. Maybe I’ll go to Build A Bear and get that Toothless plushie I was eyeballing a week ago. :)

Knit a doll scarf

I’ve been trying to learn how to knit, and right now I’m just doing the basic knit stitch to get a feel for how my hands should move and what the movement of the needles feels like. I would like to do a small-ish, simple project like a doll-sized scarf as my first completed knit job.

Try making a festive recipe

Fall and winter flavors are my favorites, and I always do a lot of baking during the holidays. There are some things I make every year, but I would like to try making something new this year as well. I’m already searching for the perfect thing to make!

Make an accessory for my dark mori witch cosplay

I’m not sure what I’ll make yet, but I would like to take a closer look at how I want to layer my outfit and what accessories will work best. From there, I can try to make a suitable necklace, scarf, or other item to go with it.

Attend a fall gathering or party

I never do much as far as getting together with people during the fall, aside from at Thanksgiving, but I would like to find some festive gathering, either public or private, to attend. It would be a nice way to really celebrate the season.

Go to a fall carnival or other festive activity

A lot of local churches and organizations do fall carnivals or fairs, so I’m going to try to check one out this year. Maybe I’ll go to the pumpkin patch one of the churches does and get a pumpkin to carve.

Make something with Sculpey

Many years ago I bough some Sculpey to make doll-sized food items with. I haven’t messed with it in a long time, but I still have clay left, so I want to try making something again. It would be nice to make use of more of the craft supplies and materials I have stashed away!

Get a haircut

It’s been about a year since I had a haircut, and I usually never go this long between cuts. Even though I might try growing my hair out, I need to get it cleaned up and ready for a longer style.

Well, those are my goals. Some are more challenging/complicated than others, but I think they give me some good things to try without putting too much pressure on myself. The NaNoWriMo goal alone is probably going to be crazy! But I’m going to try my hardest to avoid my enemy, procrastination, and get a ton of stuff done!

Take care, and I hope your autumn season is going well so far!

Strangely,

Chantel

Memories, Dreams of Autumn

Autumn is upon us! In theory, anyway. Here in south Texas, there’s not much of an autumn to speak of anymore, but I have wonderful memories of the season from when I was a child.

I remember the way the air started to cool, almost imperceptibly, but there was a sense of warmth surrounding the season, the same way the smells of fires burning in fireplaces makes a cold winter day seem somehow warm.

I remember the leaves on our chinaberry tree turning gold, orange, brown, and red. I remember them falling to the ground, hiding the green of grass beneath the new colors of fall. My twin sister, Lacy, and I, along with our friend, and neighbor, Jay, would gather twigs and rocks, sit among the leaves in our front yard, and pretend to be out camping. The crunch and rustle of leaves filled the air as we shuffled through them. We were warriors, fantasy creatures, ninjas, royalty, anything our imaginations could conjure. And although spring, summer, and winter provided unique opportunities for play, I somehow remember autumn the most clearly.

Perhaps it’s because I yearn terribly for the season that seems to escape me year after year. I want the crisp, cool air. I want to see the leaves change and fall. I want to feel the difference between the seasons instead of having only the near-constant heat of spring and summer as they spread later and later into the second half of the year. This yearning is what, on occasion, makes me think I’d like to move somewhere generally cooler so I can experience distinct seasons again. That, and the fact that I want to wander through beautiful forests like some kind of faery, and there aren’t any beautiful forests where I live. Another dilemma is all the amazing sweaters the stores sell around this time. I love so many of them, but it’s so pointless to buy so many sweaters when I can only wear them a couple days a year. It’s tough.

Autumn Leaves by Colin Brough

To me, autumn is magical. I all too often, when working on stories, make sure to build my timelines to include part of the season because I’d much rather write about cozy sweater-wearing characters crunching through leaves, sipping hot beverages, baking delicious pumpkin-based goodies, and anticipating the holidays than any number of things that might take place in spring or summer.

Plus. Plus! It’s the season of baking, steamy bowls of soup or chili, hot cocoa, Halloween, Thanksgiving, warm colors, and so much more! Lacy and I have already made a few pumpkin-based treats, like frosted pumpkin cookies and pumpkin cinnamon roll pancakes. Honestly, for a season that barely exists in this area, I look forward to it almost all year. My body is ready for autumn…always.

So, what’s autumn like where you are? Do you have any particular memories or thoughts regarding the season? Feel free to tell me all about them! No matter how you feel about autumn, I hope it starts off magnificently for you, and that it is full of delightful surprises.

Strangely,

Chantel

Bargain Shopping!

I don’t know about everyone else, but I love shopping. I really do, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Shopping for books, clothes and shoes, craft supplies, bath products, cute anime junk at conventions. It really doesn’t matter. And, although there are numerous expensive things I would like to (and sometimes do) buy, I’m mostly a bargain shopper. I love getting a deal, and rarely ever pay full price for something if I know I might be able to get it cheaper later or from another store.

There are some exceptions, as with one of my hobbies, collecting ball-jointed dolls. But a lot of that comes from the uncertainty of after-market availability and prices, as well as some other factors that I won’t get in to at the moment.

The point is, I love being able to get a lot for the money I spend.

Yesterday, after a yummy breakfast with my mom and my twin sister, Lacy (link here), we went to T.J.Maxx/Home Goods to check out what kind of goodies they had. I didn’t really plan on buying anything, but I found a few things I couldn’t resist, and for awesome prices!

• Adorable nature-themed notebook - $2.99
• Box of note cards - $3.99
• Philosophy “Granny’s Apple Pie” shower gel - $12.99
• Restricted floral oxfords - $16.99

One of the shoes was missing its lace, but I can fix that or wear them without laces. Maybe I could find some thin, pretty ribbon or something to use instead of regular laces. I also bough some meringue cookie things and some other items for my mom and sister, but these are the items that I bought specifically for me.

We also went to Dillard’s a little later, and I found a very inexpensive dress that will be the base for my dark mori witch costume for A-kon 2015.

It’s very difficult to get pictures that show the details on it, but I think it’s going to be the perfect piece to layer with other items and accessories to create the look I’m going for. And the dress was only about $17!

That’s what I call shopping success!

What kind of bargains have you found recently? Feel free to tell me all about them, and I hope you have a lovely, relaxing Sunday!

Strangely,

Chantel

Things I Love Thursday: Writing Related and Other Fun Stuff!

Greetings, everyone!

I hope this post finds you all enjoying your week and looking forward to the weekend. This week has been pretty rough, but there have also been some great things that made me happy.

Here we go!

• Writing Excuses 8.47: Roguishness with Scott Lynch – Oh my, but I love Scott Lynch! Lilian linked me to this in a comment to last week’s list, and I listened to it almost immediately. Not only is Scott’s writing amazing, but he seems like a charming and entertaining person. Very cool podcast with great information!
• Minecraft Space Chickens – This Minecraft series (by Guude from the Mindcrack server) includes mods such as Chococraft and Galacticraft, and there are so many strange and wonderful things. Plus, Guude is a funny and cool guy. Warning for NSFW language.
• The Diviners by Libba Bray – Awesome young adult novel set in 1920s New York. Deals with paranormal abilities, murder, cult-like religious beliefs, and so much more. Very interesting! I finished this a couple days ago, and will definitely be reading the next book in the series.
• Autumn candles! – Bath and Body Works already has some fall fragrances out, and I’m so excited. This is my favorite time of year for fragrances.
• Cheese toast – Such a simple snack, but so delicious. Seriously, toast some bread, put some cheese on it, melt the cheese (This part works best in a toaster oven or regular oven), and eat!
• Organizing writing resources – I recently decided that, with how many writing-related posts I had in my Likes on Tumblr, I would try to get them out of there and organized somewhere separate from my other Likes. So, I created a Tumblr specifically for those items. I’ve been reblogging stuff from my Likes to that other Tumblr so I can easily reference the information I might need or want. I’ll probably create a tags page in the future, but it seems like it might be a bit time consuming, so it may take me a while.
• Victorian Trading Co. – This shop has some wonderful pieces I’d love to wear. Quite pricey, but lovely!
• Midnight in Paris – I love this movie so much! It’s just so wonderful and magical. I could watch it again and again. <3

Well, that's it for this week! Don't forget to take note of all the simple things that can make a big (positive!) difference in your life!

Strangely,
Chantel

Things I Love Thursday

Greetings, lovelings! Welcome to my first Things I Love Thursday post here on Strangely, Chantel. I used to do these on a regular basis when I still posted on LiveJournal, but I stopped as people switched from LJ to other blogging platforms. Hopefully I will be able to keep these up as a frequent way of reminding myself of all the great things I encounter and enjoy throughout the weeks. Here we go!

• Scott Lynch’s The Republic of Thieves – This is the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series, and it was just as thrilling, beautiful, and amazing as the previous two. I absolutely love these books and Scott’s writing! I can’t wait for the fourth book!
• Master of Tides – Lindsey Stirling – This performance is so cool, and it makes me very sad that I don’t know how to play violin (even though I have a violin).
• The release of AlchemicMuse’s autumn fragrances! - There are quite a few I’d like to try, such as ZomBee and Bonfire.
• White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino with raspberry. – I love the combination of white chocolate and raspberry, but I only recently thought of asking the Starbucks barista to add a pump of strawberry syrup to my white chocolate drink, and it was super tasty!
• Making envelopes! – I found a tutorial online for making envelopes, so I tried making a few. I’m thinking about labeling them and using them to save for various things, like dolls, a new laptop, or an Etsy shopping spree. XD
• Planning my kawaii witch outfit for next year’s A-kon. – I have a bunch of items favorited on Etsy that would work for my original idea, but now I’m considering doing a dark mori girl style witch. I just don’t know anymore, but it’s fun looking at ideas!
• Clean sheets and blankets. – I always sleep so well when I have freshly laundered bedding.

The three envelopes I made!

Well, that’s it for this week’s list. Hope you are all having a lovely week so far! Take care!

Strangely,

Chantel

Writing! And Hunting! Oh My!

Greetings, strangelings! I’m still working on getting posts up on a more regular basis, but things are happening, fun things, so I’m hoping I will have much to talk about.

July was an eventful month as far as my writing goes. I really want to be a published author, but I’ve been in a bit of a funk for quite a while. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to write, but I had a lot of trouble making myself do it. To be honest, it was kind of painful to be disconnected from my writing for so long.

So, when my friend and fellow blogger, Lilian, over at Petticoat Pedaler asked if I was going to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, I gave it the briefest of thoughts before deciding that I would. I needed the push, the challenge. I could have started something new, but I chose to edit existing content and write new content for my oldest story, The Unheard-of. My goal was 25,000 words. Although I did a significant amount of copying, pasting, and editing, I also wrote a whole new scene and added quite a bit to the end of the story. I’m still not sure what I will do with the middle to build tension and move the plot along, but I’m pretty happy with what I did considering it’s a very rough piece of writing.

Most importantly, I’m excited about my story, my world, and my characters again. I once again feel the desire to write, to expand my story and learn more about my characters through writing them. It’s an amazing feeling after going so long without writing much. And I’m proud of myself because I reached my goal. Actually, I exceeded my goal a bit. I ended the month with 25, 454 words.

Now comes the task of keeping up with my writing, of developing better habits so I can finish this thing, find an agent, and get published. Writing is the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do, and I need to work harder to make this dream come true.

By Yan Moura

What else? I undertook another challenge of sorts over the last week when I participated in GISHWHES, a scavenger hunt of epic proportions. This was my first time participating, and it was challenging and fun! It forced me to be more social, which is always a bit of a problem for me as I tend to be pretty shy. I did a lot of strange, wonderful, silly things, and I’m fairly certain I will participate again in the future.

I was buried in sand (during which I got a sunburn for the first time in YEARS), played a bookie for a paper boat regatta, created tweed porn and a life form made of books and book parts, played a vampire sucking blood from a doughnut, took pictures for a rock album cover, a Sears-style gender-swapped photo, and several mug shots. I also drew a picture of an actor/panda hybrid, made a museum-style installation using dishes, painted a backdrop, fed a demon, and decided on the next hipster accessory. Most importantly, I met and worked with a lot of really cool and interesting people.

Now, I embark on the rest of the month. Now that the hunt is complete, it’s time for more writing, more searching for a better job, and more creativity in general. I hope you all are having a wonderful August so far, and that the month brings you many wonderful things.

Strangely,

Chantel

On Conventions and Cosplay: A-kon 25

Hello, everyone! It’s taken me a while to really get going with this blog, but my attention was a hundred different places over the past month or two. My biggest distraction was A-kon, an anime convention I’ve attended every year since 2004. This was the first year I tried cosplaying, so I spent a lot of time leading up to the convention working on costume-related things. I’m not a seamstress and don’t have much experience with hand-making things, but I altered a skirt, added details to a shirt, and created accessories for my cosplay. My friends and I cosplayed our own versions of princess from Adventure Time, and I was Raggedy Princess.

Kuroshitsuji cosplay group.

Me as Raggedy Princess.

Cosplaying was an interesting experience. First of all, it took me so much longer to get ready in the morning than it would have if I’d just been wearing regular clothes. Heck, even if I had worn something special it still would have been less time consuming. I think I went into it with the mindset that I knew what I wanted to do for my makeup, and didn’t have to worry about my hair because I’d be wearing a wig, and I knew where everything was going to be. Surely, it wouldn’t take that long to get dressed. But it did, and I was relieved to be ready for the day. Unfortunately, my skirt started out a little on the large side, I lost about seven pounds prior to the convention, and I decided to wear shape wear, so my skirt didn’t want to stay where I wanted it to. This kind of made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but the skirt was still a lot of fun to wear. I was a little disappointed that only a couple people recognized who I was supposed to be, and one of them only after standing there with me for several minutes. However, I had a feeling that might be the case since Raggedy Princess doesn’t seem to be a very prominent or popular character compared to other Adventure Time princesses. Either way, it was a fun and different experience, and cosplay is definitely something I want to do more of. We’re already planning to be kawaii witches next year, and I might do an anime character as well. We’ll see.

View of the atrium from outside our room.

Regarding the convention itself, my experiences over the last few years have been pretty different compared to what they were before. My first time at A-kon, back in 2004, was full of activity. Lacy and I went alone. We didn’t have any friends staying with us, and we attended panels, checked out video rooms, and shopped. We attended our first j-rock concert, had our pictures taken with the band, went to their Q&A, went to the dance, and stayed really active throughout our time there. Even in subsequent years, we found a lot to do. Over the past few years, I’ve cared less about the bands that have attended, and A-kon doesn’t seem to invite many Japanese guests outside the bands. Lacy and I were talking about how awesome it would be if they invited some Japanese voice actors. Even some smaller conventions have a lot of Japanese guests, so I’m not sure why A-kon doesn’t. Then again, I’m not an expert on planning or managing such things. Anyway, there were many years that we had upwards of eight people staying with us, making things crowded and noisy. There was drama and disagreements that made enjoying the convention a bit difficult at times.

Last year and this year there were just four of us, and it was nice. It’s not that I don’t love my other friends who stayed with us in the past, but it’s wonderful to have more space, to not have to wait for six other people to shower, and to not feel quite as left out of conversations because you’re shy and awkward…even around people you’ve known for ten years for some reason. The past two years have also been more about shopping, wandering around the main convention spaces, and lazing about in the hotel room. It’s fun being able to just hang out with people you might only see once a year, but part of me wants to do more, like those first years. I think cosplaying is one step in doing more at the convention, but maybe next year I’ll attend some panels or workshops, go to the dance again, or check out the concerts even if I’m not familiar with the bands. Shopping is ridiculously fun for me though, and here’s this year’s haul! Don’t let the toys and plushies fool you, I’m totally an adult!

Clothes and shoes for Clover, and an outfit for Rikkit!

Kawaii grab bags! Includes stationery, stickers, memo pads, etc.

Plushies! Small clip-on deer and spider, a larger fox, and an Enderman from Minecraft. Also, an art book of 30 princes and princesses in the style of Adventure Time, a mini print of Badou from the anime Dogs, a super adorable eyeball necklace, kangaroo rat and coffee cup stickers, a fluffy moon pin/hair clip, winged star hair clip, and red cat ears from Yaya Han's table. The little paper on the bottom left is a "Rumor of Adventure" from The Happy Grackle Trading Venture. It cost a quarter and reads, "They say a trio of Devils, or at least Very Unwholesome entities of some sort, agreed to enhance the old brewman's ale for five years. And verily, that devilish ale is better this year than ever before - yet what will be the price, when the devils come to take their due? And who shall pay it...?" Favorite purchase? That guy at the back of the table...

Mephisto Pheles (Ao no Exorcist) DFX figure that I've wanted since I saw it! This was a game prize in Japan, and not something made for sale/order, so I feel lucky to have found it. :3 He's so cool!

Excalibur (Soul Eater) cosplayer.

Overall, I love A-kon. This year was a vast improvement to last year, where it felt like the majority of my time was spent in lines. Lines for registration! Lines for the dealers room and artist alley! Lines everywhere! Things went much smoother this year. We didn’t have to wait in line at all to get into the dealers room, and that helped prevent a lot of frustration. In general, conventions can be a mixed bag. People are annoying and inconsiderate. They get in the way, say stupid things, and behave badly. Con staff can be loud and disrespectful, treating con-goers like idiots who don’t know how to follow instructions; to be fair, some of them really don’t know how to follow instructions. Sometimes you encounter people, whether they’re other cosplayers, convention-goers, or artists in artist alley who just don’t seem very nice (or happy to have your business!). However, conventions are also exciting and interesting. There are things to see all around you: fabulous, elaborate costumes, detailed artwork and figures, eye-catching displays, and people who look like they couldn’t be happier than they are in those few days among friends and strangers with common interests, having fun and being themselves. It truly is a great thing to see, and I honestly don’t think I’d be who I am today if I never decided that I wanted to attend an anime convention. It may sound silly, but it’s true. So if you ever doubted wanting to do something like this, just give it a chance. You may find something you never knew you needed.

Strangely,

Chantel

Welcome! Welcome, one and all!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Strangely, Chantel.  This blog is simply a place where I can explore my thoughts and creativity, and talk about the things I love as well as those that inspire me.  I’ve never been good at introductions or bio sections, but here’s a bit of info about me!

My name is Chantel.  I’m a strange lady-creature from Corpus Christi, Texas.  I’m an aspiring novelist who loves writing (obviously!), reading, drawing (though I’m not very good at it), listening to music, and much more.  I consider myself a bit of a geek.  I collect Asian ball-jointed dolls, watch anime (and attend conventions!), and appreciate creativity in all its forms.  I’m inspired by tons of things, fascinated by the strange and wondrous, and I hope this blog will help me develop better writing habits, meet new people, and share a part of myself in this massive place called the internet.

I hope you will join me on this little journey and find something of interest here!

Strangely,

Chantel