Update #6: A few unfortunate things, but mostly awesome things :)

 I'd like to start this off by saying, if you're still coming to read by blog, then I applaud you. I've never been good about setting a consistent schedule for myself with these kinds of things, and as much as I love running this blog, I've been very bad at keeping up with it. Not to mention, a lot of stuff has gone on between the beginning of May and now. I've had to deal with funerals, losses, busy days, recurring bouts of depression. I don't want to go into detail here because that's not what this blog is about. But I will say that I'm feeling somewhat better now, and I'm hoping to actually write down a schedule for this blog so I can post weekly or bi-weekly. I love talking about my plushies and I will certainly try to post more consistently in the future.

Anyways, in case you're wondering, "have you gotten any more plushies in the last month and a half?" Well of course I have! I typically go through phases when collecting plushies but this phase seems to have lasted basically the whole year at this point. I sort of have an addiction to looking through the plushies and stuffed animals at Goodwill. What can I say? A dollar per plushie is a great deal!

On June 20th I was glancing through the plushie bins at Goodwill, as I usually do, and I stumbled across a dingy and somewhat dirty looking fennec fox plush. I honestly almost passed on it because it looked like it was pretty well loved, and I prefer to buy stuffed animals that are still in decent condition. I think what made me change my mind was that I showed it to my mom and she thought it was really cute. I decided that I would bring him home and give him a chance. Worst case scenario, I would simply return it.
So I brought it home and I decided that I would try to hand wash it. It looked like it had been played with a lot and had never been washed. To be fair, I don't actually wash plushies very often (the ones that had been washed when I was a kid were thrown in the washer and subsequently had their fur ruined). But I knew if I wanted to give this cute little fox a chance, I would need to give him a bath. So I filled my bathroom sink with lukewarm water and a bit of laundry soap, and I scrubbed that plushie for about 5-10 minutes. I did actually see quite a bit of dirt come out into the water! I had to let him hang dry overnight and the following day I placed him in front of a fan to finish the drying process. Then I used my dog's slicker brush to fluff out his fur, and honestly? He looked so much happier once he was all nice and clean. And he smelled nice too! Here's the before and after:

I decided, at this point, to instill the spirit of Sandy into this plushie. I had planned on getting another National Geographic fennec fox plush, which would've been about $25, but I'm quite happy with this plush despite not looking as realistic as the NatGeo one. Also would like to point out that he's relatively small compared to Alex and my other fox plushies, which I appreciate because fennec foxes are, in fact, pretty small creatures in real life! So he is in fact a permanent member of my plushie collection and I'm happy to have him!

Next I have something quite exciting to mention! On the 4th of July I had to help out with setting up for a symphony concert in another city, so before I had to do that I stopped at their local Goodwill to look at their plushies. Guys. I found so many!! I probably could've gotten more but I ended up picking out eight that I wanted. Eight plushies for eight dollars isn't half bad! But considering I'm on somewhat of a tight budget it did hurt my wallet a little bit lol. I'll talk about them in pairs below!

These two in particular stand out to me because not only are they both Webkinz which I didn't own as a kid, but they also both have sparkly bellies! So cute! The one on the left is a Whimsy Dragon (released in May 2008) and the one on the right is a Blufadoodle (released Nov 2009). Oddly enough, despite having 45+ Webkinz as a kid, I never had any dragons and I only had one bird, that being the Budgie. I don't think either of my childhood friends had these plushies either. So this is a bit of a new experience for me. I think the Blufadoodle is really cute but I've miraculously become totally infatuated with the Whimsy Dragon. Of all the new plushies in this batch, he's the only one I've named thus far, his name being Isaiah. I like to think he's a femboy who likes cute things. Perhaps the Blufadoodle could be his best friend? I'll have to figure that out soon.

The next pair is another two Webkinz which I didn't have as a kid, though one of them I do currently own (therefore I now own two of them lol). The left one is a Pink Pony (Jan 2007) and the right one is a Cherry Blossom Bird (June 2009). Though I never owned a Pink Pony, I have some fond memories of when it was Pet of the Month back in June 2009. It got its own theme song and I can still sing it to this day! "And the very next time I see you, I'm sure you'll be wearing the crown. And I hope when I tell you you'll believe me, that you're the prettiest Pink Pony in town!" I actually had a friend who owned a Cherry Blossom Bird and I always thought she was really cute. I just got my very own a few weeks ago after finding her at Goodwill. I happened to find two more this time, though one of them was missing her eyes somehow. I snatched this one up and now I have two! I don't know yet if I'll give her to a friend or try to sell her.

The next pair is actually two beanie babies which I absolutely couldn't resist buying. The poodle's name is Ooh-la-la, and she didn't come with a tag but I found out that her birthday is May 2004. I had to do a bit of digging to find the rabbit, and I found out that her name is Hippie and her birthday is May 1998. I've honestly never seen this one before and I'm a fan of tie-dye colored beanie babies so I feel really lucky to have found her! And of course I just love poodle plushies so Ooh-la-la will also be a great addition to my collection!

The last pair are somewhat outliers but I still liked them enough to get them. I randomly found this Fire Luigi plush while digging through the plushies there. I have never seen a Super Mario plushie at Goodwill so it kinda caught me off guard, but I would've been a fool to pass him up! The other one is a Webkinz Pink and White Dog (Oct 2008). I got him because I actually used to own a Pink and White Cat (still do though I don't know where she is at the moment) and I figured they would make a great pair!

I would like to mention that, besides the Luigi plush being a bit dirty, all these plushies are in very nice condition. I'm especially happy that the dragon and beanie buddy rabbit are in great condition, I think they're my favorite ones in the whole group. I've been taking Isaiah with me everywhere I go and he has earned a special spot on my bed along with Sterling, Mr. Thwompo, Mario, Spongebob, and my blue bunny. I'm very happy with this plushie haul but my search shall continue!

*As a side note, about a month ago I got a Webkinz Charcoal Cat. I should show her off sometime soon.

Blog #18: A very shy guy indeed!

 I'm back to talk about more Super Mario plushies, and today I'll be discussing the second one I got: this very smol and very shy lad :3

I've always been particularly interested in these guys. I remember, as a kid, that my brother really liked them a lot as well. They're kinda quirky in a way, just small lads wearing a cloak and mask to protect their true appearance. I totally respect and admire that dedication to modesty lol. Anytime I play a game where shy guy is available as a playable character (namely Mario Kart 7/8 and Mario Party 9, among others) I always have such a difficult time choosing between playing as him or Waluigi. Basically what I'm getting at is, I really like these guys a lot.

So when I took a trip to the Kalahari Resort in northern Ohio and in the arcade I saw this guy in a claw machine, I knew I had to have him. I must've played that claw machine ten times, and I eventually gave up because claw machines are terribly rigged against the player. Plus I've never been good at them. So I unfortunately had to leave empty handed, though I didn't forget about that plushie.

About a year later I randomly thought about that shy guy plushie again, and I remembered that I could simply buy one online, so I did just that. I finally got one in October of 2019. It's crazy to think that, after I bought the Mario plush in 2013, it took me another six years before I ever got another plushie from that series. I can't remember how much I paid for it, I want to say it was around $14-16, which I think is fair for a licensed plushie (and also the reason why it took me so long to get as many as I have).

I don't have much more to say here, except that I really love this plushie a lot and I'm very happy to have him in my collection! <33

Blog #17: Yahoo! Mr. Mario is here!

 Welcome back to my plushie blog! I'm gonna be starting a mini-series today, talking about all of my Super Mario plushies! 

So I'm a big fan of the Super Mario series (and it's actually one of my special interests)! I have been since around 2010-2011, when I finally got a chance to play Super Mario 64 for the first time since I was a wee tot. I have a ton of merchandise, from plushies, to figurines, to home decor, to blankets, and so much more! Since I'm so fond of plushies (if it isn't obvious by the fact that I have an entire blog dedicated to them lol) I would like to write some entries to talk all about my Super Mario plushies, how/when I got them, and why they're so special to me!

The first one I'll talk about here is a plushie which I have had since early 2013: [in Chris Pratt's voice] it's-a me, a-Mario!

So this started to become one of my special interests when I was about 11-12 years old. Around 2011 my dad got me and my brother an NES, SNES, and N64, which he bought from a co-worker. I remembered playing these consoles when I was a wee lad so I wanted to jump back into it. With that, I became infatuated with Super Mario 64 (which is, to this day, still my favorite game of all time) and the series as a whole. I tend to like things that are cartoon-y and cute (but not overly cute), and these games fit that criteria perfectly! So this is one of those special interests that hasn't faded away to any extent, I loved it dearly back in 2011 and I still love it dearly in 2022.

Around that same time, I had a few friends who liked to do whatever it was that I was doing, and liked whatever I liked. Because of that, they both liked Super Mario stuff as well. At one point, one of my friends had gotten this same plushie and a blanket from Meijer, and when I found out about it I had to get one for myself. So 13 year old me bought this really big Mario plushie for $20 back in 2013. As a kid I didn't have a whole lot of merch, because the only money I had came from my parents and my parents were often broke (plus, even as a kid, I was "ashamed" of my interests because of how I used to hyperfixate on them, so I didn't talk about them to my parents very much), so getting this plush was a huge deal to me back then. To this day I always have him sitting on my bed with a few other plushies (namely Sterling, a Spongebob plush, my thwomp plush, and a blue bunny) and he's very cozy to curl up with in my bed. 💕

Nine years later, I have a ton of Super Mario merchandise, but I'll always remember this plushie as being a representation of my long-time, undying love for the series!

Update #5: Tough Decisions

 There comes a time in every plushie owner's life when they have to make a choice that isn't easy. A few months ago I had to make the choice to sell my only fennec fox plushie, in pursuit of one that better fits my standards. Today I have encountered a similar, yet somewhat more challenging, scenario.

So one particular plushie that I've wanted for at least a year is, somehow, just as difficult (if not more so) to find than the elusive silver fox plush. It's the genet plush, and it's been hiding from me for a very long time. In case you're not familiar, a genet is a relatively small cat-like animal which is native to northern Africa and regions of the Middle East and southern Europe. They're about the same size as a housecat, and their tail is the same length as their body. They have spots similar to leopards, and a ringed tail. They're very good at climbing, and they live primarily in forests where they hunt for prey on the ground as well as in trees. Most of all, though, they are absolutely adorable animals, and they don't pose any threats to humans (in fact, they help control rodent populations so they're actually beneficial to have around). I learned about the genet sometime when I was in 6th grade, and they've been one of my favorite animals ever since. So when I discovered in 2021 that Uni Toys makes a genet plush, I was right on top of that. The only problem is, this plush hasn't been available for quite some time.

I spent a good chunk of February desperately trying to find a place which sells a genet plush. Most online websites are out of stock, and after contacting Uni Toys I was informed that it has been out of stock for a long time and they don't know if or when it will be available again. I forgot to write about this back in February, probably because I was struggling with my mental health and I was so frustrated I really didn't have the energy to write about it. I'm honestly glad I didn't, I don't want to bring any negativity to this blog.

Through some help from an online friend I found a store which sells a genet plushie and has them readily available. The only problem is, their store is located in Cape Town, South Africa. For reference, I live in Ohio, US, so that's quite a hike from here. I spoke with the person who runs the store, and she was very friendly and wanted to help, but she had never delivered an item to someone in the US so she was unfamiliar with the processes of the United States Postal System. Unfortunately my search came to a halt with this, because I don't know anything about buying items overseas either (aka filling out customs forms and figuring out shipping costs). Thus I have spent the last month and a half, dreaming of someday owning my very own genet plush.

 


Just look how cute she is though!! I need to bring this lovely baby home!!!

I recently thought about it again, and I decided to get back in contact with the person I initially talked to over email. She gave me some contact info for someone who could possibly help me, but they never replied to my email. After sending her a message thins time, I got an email from someone who said they were graciously willing to ship the plush to me, given that I cover all the costs (of course). 

This is where my problems start, though. See, back in September-January I had a decent amount of money, but over the last few months my family and I have really been struggling financially. I'm still out of work, finding a job is no easy task (especially because I technically have a disability which keeps me from being able to work many popular jobs), and so I've had little or no money for a while now. I've been finding things to sell to make up for other things that I really want, and I'm finding myself in this situation again. If I really want this genet plush, I'm gonna have to find a way to make some money. I've come to the conclusion that the best way for me to make a sizeable amount of money to cover the $30 for the plush, plush however much I need for shipping, would be to sell whatever plushie of mine I care about the least (not that I don't care about them at all, I love all of my plushies, but of course I like some more than others). And that plushie happens to be Zephyr the Husky. 

As you probably know, I got Zephyr back in January. He came all the way from the UK, it took 3 weeks for him to get here, and I paid a handsome $43 for him. I was very excited when he finally got here, since he does look quite a bit like the Webkinz Signature Husky, a highly sought-after plush in the Webkinz community. However I'm noticing, at least compared to my other plushies, that I don't do very much with him at all. He's still in perfect condition, and I find that plushies which are "perfect" tend to simply sit on my shelf since I don't want them to get ruined. Plus, I don't particularly remember what made me think of getting this plushie, since the Signature Husky was honestly never a plush that I was dying to own as a kid, unlike the arctic fox and red panda. And what it really comes down to is, if I had to choose between keeping him, or selling him for a guaranteed $40+ and getting the genet plush, I would really prefer to go with the latter decision.

Ever since I've (at least mostly) overcome my depression I've been on, what I like to call, a "Great Purge." I started to do this a bit last year, and now my desire to get rid of old stuff and/or things I no longer need is much stronger. I'm even starting to feel this way about my old stuffed animals, which is a very weird feeling for me because I've had many of them for 10+ years, but honestly, if they will just sit in a tote for years, then why should I hold onto them when they would likely make another kid very happy? I haven't yet decided to sell any of my old plushies, but it's still a thought floating around in my mind. I've gotten rid of quite a few things, including things I used to believe I still needed, and the more I think about it the more okay I am with listing Zephyr for sale online. There is probably someone out there who would absolutely love to have a Webkinz Signature Husky lookalike, and if selling him means that I make someone happy and I get my beloved genet plush, then it's worth it. 

This blog post kinda turned into a rant/vent, and if you're still reading then I have to applaud you. I would bake you a cake if I knew where you lived and I could give it to you. I think writing these blogs really helps me sort out my thoughts on a matter, and I'm feeling less like it's a tough decision now. Zephyr will always be with us in spirit, and I will continue to draw him along with my other plushies, but the plushie itself will unfortunately have to find a new, loving home. I may think on this decision for a bit longer, because it is still a bit difficult in a way. Making sacrifices is never easy, but sometimes it has to be done.

Goodbye, my lovely boy. You'll never be forgotten...

Blog #16: Evelynn the Red Fox (Webkinz Signature)

 Evelynn the Webkinz Small Signature Red Fox

Name: Evelynn
Gender: Female
Obtained: Dec 2021

Background: I got this plushie right around the same time I got the Webkinz Spotted Spaniel, and it came from Mercari as well. With shipping, the total came to about $22. I remember, many years ago, when one of my friends had this plush. I remember liking it a lot, and I'm not really sure why I never got it as a kid. The only thing I can figure is that it wasn't in any nearby stores, and my parents very rarely bought stuff like this for me online. I actually don't see it listed online very much, and the ones that are listed are either too expensive or they're in poor condition. This one seemed reasonable to me, so I got her.

I've been skeptical about buying this plushie in the past because, while this is a very nicely made fox plushie, what always seemed to get me was the tail. Part of the reason why I love foxes is because of their brush tails, and how they're so fluffy and bushy. This fox's tail is quite small/slim in proportion to her body. But this plushie gets everything else right, notably the coloring. Oddly enough, it's difficult to find really well made fox plushies like this; I've found that it's quite difficult to get plushies from Uni Toys unless it's listed on Amazon, or you actually live in Germany (or somewhere in Europe), and many other high quality red fox plushies I've found are sold out or are no longer available. I figured I would settle for this one, despite having a smaller tail, as if she were a young fox kit (which I don't actually have a problem with, it's just one of my little nitpicks).

The only other bad thing about her is, because she's a Webkinz small signature, she's smaller than all my other regular sized plushies. She's about the same size as Ben and my regular Webkinz, and she's significantly smaller than Alex. Although I usually don't worry about plush sizes too much, I always say bigger is better. But the nice thing about her being so small is that she fits perfectly in my backpack when I go places for long periods of time, and I actually take her with me quite often for this reason. So despite all the things I think could be improved with her, I value her very much as one of my fox plushies.

Personality and Other Stuff: Evelynn is very kind-hearted and caring, but she often gets too involved in the personal lives of others and often gives unsolicited advice. She tends to annoy people with this habit, but she thinks she's being genuinely caring and is quick to apologize for her wrongdoings. She knows that Alex really likes her, but she seems to lead him on a lot and not say anything about how she truly feels. She's not sure if she likes him back, but she values their friendship so she keeps that a secret. She's best friends with Coco Sakura, and they enjoy spending time together by sitting on the couch, watching tv, and gossiping about others.

Fun Fact: Despite the fact that Alex and Evelynn are two totally different sizes, I still see them as being basically the same age/size when I draw them together. Like I said before, I don't worry much about plush sizes since I can choose how big /tall they are when I draw them, though it is kinda weird to have Evelynn sitting next to Alex, who is easily twice her size in plushie form.

Blog #15: Coco Sakura the Spotted Spaniel (Webkinz)

 Coco Sakura the Spotted Spaniel

Name: Coco Sakura (nickname is Coco)
Gender: Female
Obtained: Dec 2021

Background: I stumbled upon this plushie while looking at Webkinz on Mercari. I'm not sponsored by Mercari, nor am I affiliated with them, but I've bought and sold quite a few items on there and it's so easy and convenient to use. It's an especially fantastic place to find gently used plushies, and most of my recent Webkinz purchases have come from Mercari. 

Anyways, the person who was selling this particular plushie had it listed as a "webkinz dog, with pink and brown circles." Obviously looking up the name of the plushie itself would not have yielded this result, so I guess I found it by some stroke of luck. The actual plush is called the Webkinz Spotted Spaniel. Its design and color scheme appealed to me, so for only $5 plus shipping I snatched her up quickly.

She has very quickly become one of my favorite Webkinz that I own. She didn't come with a tag but I get the feeling that she has hardly, if ever, been played with. Her fur is in perfect condition, and the curly fur on her ears and legs is especially soft and bouncy. I've talked before about how Webkinz's later plushies are made really well, and this one is no exception. She sits upright very well, not too stiff, perfectly floppy and cute. After buying this plush and realizing how overjoyed I was to have it, I decided to look into some of their other spaniel plushies, and honestly? This one is the absolute best one in terms of design and quality. I can't put into words how much I love this plushie. She definitely has a new forever home! <3

Personality and Other Stuff: Coco is positively beautiful and radiant, and she knows it. She sometimes comes off as arrogant and uptight because she freely takes compliments without any courtesy. But people don't mind that she can be somewhat of a snob, since she makes up for it by being fun-loving and a jokester. She is best friends with Evelynn, and they often like to gossip to each other about their friends, as well as their personal lives. She's also somewhat of a loaf, and despite having similar interests with Juniper they often clash in what they enjoy spending their free time doing.

Fun Fact: Despite absolutely adoring this plushie, I'm actually not a fan of what the Spotted Spaniel looks like in the virtual Webkinz World. This has been the case with a few other Webkinz plushies as well, but it's especially disappointing for this one because the plushie definitely exceeds my expectations, and I know that the Webkinz team is capable of making some really interesting virtual pets.

Quick Update!

 I have to apologize for being MIA for the last month and a half. My mental health got a bit out of control in the first half of February, and beginning about a week or so after my last blog post I started taking a higher dose of my anti-depressant. I'm feeling much better now, but as a result I've been spending the last however many weeks doing a lot of self-care, and even grieving somewhat. Don't worry about me, though, I'll be okay. :)

Anyways, I'm back now and I've noticed that there are still a ton of plushies which I haven't written blog entries about, so I would like to start doing that again. I'm also interested in potentially writing short stories involving 2-4 characters at a time (the character being based on my plushies of course). I don't know yet when I'll be starting this, but I think it would be a nice way to get back into writing and storytelling, which is something I've been wanting to do for a few weeks now.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I have many plushies that aren't Webkinz or any other brand that I've described in this blog, and I'm considering writing about them as well. This even includes my plushies that are based on popular IPs like Super Mario and Spongebob! They all have interesting backstories, and despite being outliers from my regular stuffed animal collection, they really deserve some attention as well. 

So yeah, you can definitely look forward to some new stuff! I'm thinking of setting a schedule for myself to write in this blog so that I don't go through long periods of silence again. Thanks for reading!~