Jennifer Awesome

Tasty Peach Studios: Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi

November 13, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys One comment

Halloween Variant Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios

I missed the preorder opportunity for the variants of last year’s Halloween Meowchis (and didn’t get the originals last year either), but Tasty Peach Studios offered a last chance to order the remaining Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Halloween Meowchis last weekend, in addition to the remaining Witch and Demon Meowchis that were introduced this year, so I woke up early that day and scooped them up as soon as they went live.

The Purple Vampire Bat Meowchi is a variant of the black Vampire Bat that was available last year. He has felt wings, just like this year’s Demon Meowchi. He also has spooky red eyes and adorable vampire fangs. His whiskers are also red, presumably to show up better on his dark-colored fur. He reminds me of a cross between the Bitey Bat and Meowburt animal orbs in Castle Crashers.

The Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a variant of last year’s Candy Corn Meowchi’s. He has a chocolate face instead of the original yellow. He has an orange stripe across his middle and a white stripe across his rear, just like a real chocolate candy corn! He has the same adorable happy facial expression as the original Meowchis. Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a delicious addition to any Meowchi collection!

Here’s all of my Halloween Meowchis, as well as my entire Meowchi collection. I think I may have a slight problem, though my Meowchi collection does pale in comparison to some of the photos that other fans have shared on Tasty Peach Studio’s facebook page. I love how stackable these things are. They’re like potato chips. You can never have just one!

These limited edition Halloween Meowchis were definitely worth adding to my collection, despite Halloween being over. They are cute enough to display all year!

Don’t Buy Cacti from Home Depot

November 12, 2015 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro No comments

Angel Cactus in Oddish Planter with R2D2

I decided to get some house plants recently. I got a few cute Pokemon planters from Etsy and wanted some plants to put in them. I decided to go with cacti and succulents since they are supposed to be difficult to kill.

I bought two cacti at Home Depot earlier this week. When I got home and went to re-pot them, I found that one of them was already dead. The Copper King cactus I bought barely had any roots attached and upon closer inspection, was hollow inside. I’m not sure the employees there ever actually water the plants.

I also realized that the flowers on each of the cacti were fake and glued on. Apparently this is a common practice at big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart. They glue dyed straw flowers to cacti to attract buyers, since people like colorful things. They are taking advantage of people who don’t know a lot about plants. Having random things glued on can’t be very good for the plant either. It’s like if a pet store were to glue a wig onto a dog to make it look fluffier.

I ended up returning the dead cactus and removing the fake flower from the living one. I should have thought to look closer at the plants before I bought them, especially after seeing some other plants in the store that were painted odd and unnatural colors. It just never occurred to me that a well-known store like that would do something so underhanded. Lesson learned. From now on, I will be buying all of my plants from local nurseries.

Here’s the dead Copper King. After researching online, I found that it’s supposed to be green in the middle with coppery brown spines. This one is brownish all the way through. While looking closely through the spines, I noticed a few holes in the body. It was hollow! Also notice the glue under the straw flower.

Here’s the Angel Wing cactus with the fake flower, and then without. After just a little bit of research on these cacti, it is pretty obvious that it’s a fake flower. I managed to get it off with minimal damage by heating up a knife and carefully cutting at the glue. The final bits of glue on the top of the cactus came right off as I pulled on the last bit of glue holding the flower on after cutting through most of the glue. Ignore the R2-D2 measuring cups in the background. Actually, don’t ignore them. They’re awesome!

Have you ever seen an Oddish with a cactus on his head? A leafy plant would have made more sense, but cacti are awesome!

Starbucks Christmas Cups

November 11, 2015 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro No comments

In light of the Starbucks holiday cup “controversy,” I created two festive cup designs for Starbucks to use next year.

The first one features Odin riding Sleipnir. What could be more Christmasy than the original inspiration for Santa Claus himself? Long before Christians forced Germanic Pagans to convert to their religion, the Germans had their own yule traditions. Odin would lead the Wild Hunt atop Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse, bringing toys to all the good children who left straw and carrots in their boots for Sleipnir. At some point, as Christianity took hold in Europe, Odin became Santa Claus, and Sleipnir became eight reindeer who liked to bully poor Rudolph for being different. It’s the Christian reindeer way.

Next we have a coffee cup featuring Krampus. Krampus is a popular holiday character in Germany and Austria. While Saint Nicholas is distributing gifts to the good children, Krampus is tasked with dealing with the naughty children. Krampus puts all the bad kids in his bag and takes them away. Depending on the particular tradition, he may drown them, eat them, or transport them to hell. I bet children who’ve heard of Krampus are much more well-behaved than those who have only a coal-filled stocking to fear!

I think that my new Starbucks cup designs are just as Christmassy and Christian as the snowflakes that the people complaining about the plain red cups were hoping for!

NaNoWriMo 2015

November 1, 2015 Jen Ný Writing No comments

NaNoWriMo starts today, so I might not be posting much this month.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with NaNoWriMo, it is a yearly writing challenge to write the first draft of a 50,000 word novel in one month. It takes place every November. I haven’t participated in a number of years, but I would like to give it another shot. I’m not sure if I will have time to write 50,000 words, in addition to classes and work, but I will sure try!

I still have my previous NaNoWriMo manuscripts sitting on my hard drive. Maybe one day I’ll open them up and decide what might be salvageable after some heavy editing. The point of NaNoWriMo is simply to write as much as you can. You can always go back and edit it later if you decide to publish.

My novel for this year’s NaNoWriMo will be based on different fairy tales, folklore, and mythology. My main character is a mermaid princess, who is also a witch. Her familiar is a squid. I know, it sounds cheesy, but that’s what I want to write! She is selfish, manipulative, and is prone to misusing her magic, which will ultimately be her undoing. That is all I’m going to say about my idea for my novel right now.

Anyway, if you are participating in NaNoWriMo and are looking for writing buddies, feel free to add me!

The Knock

October 31, 2015 Jen Ný Writing No comments

Here’s a spooky short story that I wrote for Halloween. Enjoy!

I was sitting on my chair in the living room, drifting in and out of sleep. After some time, I was awoken by the chime of the clock as it struck twelve. I didn’t mean to sleep for that long. I was just resting my eyes.

In a half-awake daze, I was startled by a creaking sound from somewhere outside. Several moments later I heard the sound of someone, or something, knocking at the door. I struggled to get out of my chair. My legs aren’t as strong as they once were. I slowly hobbled to the window, but I didn’t see anyone there. It must have been my imagination, or perhaps the wind.

I returned to my chair. As I sat down, I thought I heard another sound. It was the unmistakable sound of a child laughing. My children are grown and my grandchildren never visit. The story is the same for my neighbors. There haven’t been any children in this neighborhood for years.

“Hello,” I yelled out. “Who’s there?” No response. The faint sound of high-pitched laughter ceased. Perhaps it was only my imagination playing tricks on me again.

I settled back into my chair. There was another knock at the door. “Is somebody there?” I yelled out a second time. The knocking stopped, but there was no response. I watched the shadows of the trees outside dance around on the hardwood floor of my living room. It must have only been the wind again, I reasoned.

I looked around my living room. The ticking of the clock seemed louder than before. I heard the sound of light footsteps outside my window. It sounded as though someone was walking around on my front porch.

After several minutes, there was another knock. This time it was louder than before. I gathered my courage and resolved to investigate again.

“I know there’s someone out there,” I said as I stood up again. I slowly made my way to the foyer. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

On my front porch stood two small girls. They wore bright green skirts and matching vests covered in sewn-on patches.

“Can we interest you in some cookies?” One girl asked cheerfully. The other stood next to her holding three boxes of cookies. There was a wagon parked on the sidewalk behind them filled with more.

“Sure, I’ll take a box of Thin Mints,” I replied as I shielded my eyes from the midday sun.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Halloween Designs

October 30, 2015 Jen Ný Freebies, Gaming No comments

I made a few Halloween designs in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer to help you get into the Halloween spirit! Incorporate them into you home designs to help the animal villagers decorate for Halloween! Just scan the QR codes you want into your game. They will work with Animal Crossing: New Leaf as well.

First up is a witch costume Pro Design. Let your favorite villager dress up in this costume for Halloween! (If the image is too small to scan, click on it to enlarge.)

Are you sad your character can’t wear a fun costume in Happy Home Designer? You can still get into the Halloween spirit with this witch standee Pro Design. It makes for fun photo-ops for your villagers’ Halloween parties! (Again, click the image to enlarge if the codes won’t scan).

I also made some fun designs that can be used as artwork, worked into custom furniture remodels, worn on clothing, or displayed however you want. I made a spooky ghost, spider, and Jack ‘o lantern. These are standard designs that can be used on anything.

Jack ‘o Lantern:

Creepy Spider:

Spooky Ghost:

Do you have any Halloween designs for Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer or Animal Crossing: New Leaf to share? Let me know in the comments!

The Spiced Pumpkin Village

October 27, 2015 Jen Ný eBooks, Writing No comments

My newest book, The Spiced Pumpkin Village, is now available through Amazon. The Spiced Pumpkin Village is a lighthearted Halloween-themed story about a girl who finds herself transported to a magical world. Along the way, she learns to accept a part of herself that she has kept secret from even her best friend, as she finds herself developing feelings for a pumpkin spirit girl she meets in the Spiced Pumpkin Village.

Autumn is just an average girl who loves fall and pumpkin spice lattes. She, and her best friend Summer, get lost in the woods the night before Halloween. Autumn never imagined that magic could exist until she gets separated from Summer and finds herself transported to a village inhabited by pumpkin spirits. There, Autumn meets a pumpkin spirit girl named Curpepa and they fall for each other almost instantly. The pumpkin spirits mistake Autumn for one of their own and insist she hide in their village until All Hallows’ Eve is over, as the veil between the spirit world and the human world is weakest during this time of year. The pumpkin spirits seem terrified of humans, so Autumn decides to let them believe she is a spirit. Eventually, Autumn is faced with the decision to reveal that she is a human to save Summer and risk losing Curpepa, or to continue her charade. Along the way in her adventure, Autumn learns to accept herself for who she is and what true friendship really means.

The Spiced Pumpkin Village is suitable for teens and young adults and is available from Amazon and Smashwords. It will also be available from other major ebook retailers soon!

Tasty Peach Studios – Halloween 2015 Meowchi Review

October 26, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys 2 comments

I got this year’s limited edition Halloween Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios as soon as they went live on their website. If you’re not familiar with Tasty Peach Studios, I have written about other plushies from them before (here and here). I couldn’t choose between the adorable witch and demon, so I got them both.

They are both super soft and are made from the same minky fabric as the other Meowchis. Both of these limited editions also have their own unique facial characteristics.

The witch is green and has a felt witch hat attached to her head. She also has cute little warts on her face and one tooth sticking out of her mouth. Her eyes are slightly slanted to give her a mischievous look, as though she is thinking about putting a spell on you. The felt that makes up her hat is stiff and a kind of scratchy. There are ear holes on the hat to accommodate her ears. Witch Meowchi is the perfect familiar for any kawaii witch!

The demon is red and has devilish horns sticking out of his head. He also has felt wings on his back, which are made of the same type of material as the witch’s hat. Rather than the standard rounded tail that most Meowchis have, he has a pointy tail, just like a real demon! On his face, he has evil little fangs and the same mischievous eyes as the witch. Demon Meowchi is ready to cause all kinds of mayhem on Halloween!

The witch and demon Meowchis are still available on the Tasty Peach Studios website (as of this writing), but they probably won’t last long, being limited editions. They are $25 each, as are all of their limited edition Meowchis (the standard Meowchis are $20). If you miss out, they will be available again in January during their “last chance” offering of this year’s limited editions.

SNHU

October 24, 2015 Jen Ný College, Cool Story Bro No comments

I’ve been pretty busy with schoolwork and finishing up editing a new book that I hope to self-publish before Halloween. I haven’t told many people yet, but I am going back to school via online classes at SNHU now.

I was originally going to get my bachelor’s degree in video game development, which is what my associate degree is in, but I changed my mind and have switched to creative writing. I have a number of reasons for making this switch. I believe that I could combine these two skill sets and become a writer for video games someday, or simply be a freelance writer or independent author while also working on the occasional indie game. I think this is just a better career path for me (not that many people even end up working in the field they majored in anyway!).

I also had significantly more credits that could be applied to the creative writing degree, which is the difference between being in school for just over one more year, or for just over two more years. An extra year would mean significantly more debt.

I will save reviewing SNHU until after I have taken more classes there. I chose SNHU because it is a fully accredited university with an actual campus. Taking online classes is the only way I can keep working while also going to school full-time.

I just wanted to write a quick update, since I haven’t posted anything in a while.

Pumpkaboo Cosplay and Nyancon 2015

October 5, 2015 Jen Ný Cosplay No comments

We went to Nyancon this past weekend. Nyancon is a free one-day local convention at Lakeland Community College. Even though it is small, only lasts one day, and has free admission, Nyancon is still better than some paid multi-day conventions I’ve been to (I’m looking at you, Shinbokucon!).

There were a lot of different panels going on at any given time, so there was almost always something interesting going on. There were also several different screening rooms, though we didn’t check any of them out (I’d rather spend convention time doing other things, and watch anime at home). The only thing I didn’t like was how crowded the dealer’s room got. The aisles were way too narrow for the amount of people there.

My favorite panel that we went to was Pixlbot’s Retro Game Challenge. It started off with the contestants playing Super Mario Bros. 1-1 with a dance mat instead of a controller. After that challenge, they had to play through several pretty evil Mario Maker levels created by the panelists.

During the week leading up to Nyancon, I decided to put together a Pumpkaboo cosplay to wear to the con and for whatever Halloween events I end up going to. The only new thing I made just for this costume was the headband. I also used the cape I made for my Dragon’s Crown elf cosplay, the boots I got for my Skyrim cosplay, a brown skirt and vaguely medieval-looking belt I already had, an orange dress I bought just for this cosplay, a belt, and two potion bottles filled with yellow sand tied to the belt. I thought potion bottles would be the coolest looking thing to use to represent the yellow circles on Pumpkaboo’s body for a human version of Pumpkaboo. It’s sort of like a Pumpkaboo-themed witch! I also got a pumpkin basket and tied to amber potion bottles too it and brought my Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist plushies that I made last year for Halloween. I thought it turned out pretty good for being mostly a closet cosplay.

Lately I’ve been enjoying gijinka types of cosplay (well… just Pokemon) more than regular cosplay. It’s fun to think of how to design a human outfit for plant- or animal-like characters than to just try to match what a character is wearing.

Anyway, Nyancon was really fun, despite being so small. I think I like smaller conventions better than the larger ones anyway. Smaller cons are less crowded, more relaxed, and have much shorter lines. They tend to be more fun, as long as there is enough interesting programming to keep everyone entertained.

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