Thanks for the facts, i assumed she was a VT when i first got her (since the petsmart here only has male VTs/CTs and "female" bettas).
I was surprised how big and beautiful she grew up to be! Her body was about 1/2 the size when i first got her, a pale pinkish color but has more of a tan/orange look. Her spade-shaped fin was literally 1/5 the size of it is now, with a beautiful darkish-red color that contains blue stripes along it. it's amazing how well these fish grow after just a year.
she's also mighty feisty, she actually jumps a bit out of the water when my fingers are even remotely close to the water hehe.
but thanks again everyone!