28 Days of Lists - Day 8: About You

There's so much about me out there, I'm not really sure what to share about me. I mean, all these lists are about me. Well, let's see what I turn up with.

1. Lived in Scotland

And I miss it all the time. I know I took full advantage of living there, but I still feel like I could have taken even more advantage. I learned the joy of wandering while I lived there.

2. Was a Film Critic

No, seriously.... I was a film critic. Mingled with the big wigs, like Martin Scorsese and Sydney Pollack. Myself and my husband ran our own site and had a podcast with our friend. It was really quite awesome, but after some things that happened in Scotland I fell away from film criticism because I realized I was snarky enough to be successful. I was too heartfelt and real. Everything about me comes from the heart.

3. Wish I could dye my hair a crazy color

When I was younger I wanted to do RED, but I wasn't allowed. I've also wanted to do blue and purple, but I almost feel like my age and job are in the way a little bit. Who knows. . . maybe someday I'll make the jump and at least have like. . . red or blue bangs!

4.  I am an INFJ.

After all these years I still register as an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs. I've taken the test at every university I've been to, because they offered it for free and it's been really great. Sadly, I'm the most awkward of them all. On the flip side, it also explains my sensitivity to energies.

5. I swam in the Aegean Sea in March

When we visited Athens, we took a bus to the beach so we could swim in the sea (the bus drive said 15 minutes.... it was the longest 15 minutes of our life....). Strangely enough, the end of March is the COLDEST time to swim in the sea, but we did it anyways! Then when we bought postcards of our trip in Athens, we were given a plate. We, um... left the plate in our hotel room. It seemed a little sketchy to us.

28 Days of Lists - Day 7: Things I Would Tell My 20-Something Self

I feel like my 20's are still too much with me, even though I'm about 4 years out of them. It was my biggest period of change. Honestly, for who isn't it one of their biggest changing eras. I have a few things I'd tell myself, but. . .I think I lived it the most honestly and life-embracing that I could. But here are a few things:

1. Pick up the dog poop!

Seriously. . . it just became such an issue everywhere we went, because I trusted my husband and I'd defend that he picked it up, but apparently it wasn't always being done. Just apologize and pick it up. ::sigh:: DAMN YOU DOG POOP!

2. Don't Doubt Yourself

No matter how much they beat you down and tell you everything about you is wrong, remember you felt that way for a reason and there's nothing wrong with you not wanting to be part of their group. They're miserable and wanted to drag you down to their miserable level.

3. Unpack and Purge and Stop Accepting Stuff

When you move, unpack EVERYTHING and purge what you don't need. Then, once you've done that, don't accept tons of junk from other people. Just because someone gives it to you doesn't mean you HAVE to keep it.

4. FORCE THE GEEK!

Stop doubting that you're a geek. . . you loved Hero Quest. . . you loved movies. . . you loved books. . . don't not understand who you are. You're just at a different place than these other guys. Embrace the games and the Guild.

5. Just Stay Away

Keep away from people and don't let them persuade you otherwise. While a said mentality, the people you meet are not worth the pain they will put you through. And if you do #4, you'll be better off all around.

28 Days of Lists - Day 6: Antidotes

Day 6 is Antidotes. . . I had to giggle at this, because I was trying to think of antidotes NOT for the zombie apocalypse. I guess that will be #1!

1. Zombie Antidote

I don't want to be one of them.

2. Truth Serum Antidote

There's nothing more violating that being FORCED to speak things you'd rather keep hidden.

3.  Tracker-Jacker Antidote

What better way to bring two lovers together than with an antidote!

28 Days of Lists - Day 5: Fears

Day 5 is Fears. . . and I have a few I can share, but some are too personal and I don't want trolls to take advantage of my honesty. So if I had to face my fearscape in Divergent, what would I face. . .

1. Falling

This has been mistaken for a fear of heights, but it's really just unstable heights. I don't fear the height, I fear the giving away of what I stand on to cause me to fall! I LOVE the heights. . . Eiffel Tower included, but when I can see through the floor, it sends me into a meltdown. I rise above it, though, because the experience and the memory far outweigh the silly mind games.

2. The Unseen

I don't fear ghosts, but I have such an active imagination that I can actually scare myself by creating the things unseen. So when I was 18, it was The Blair Witch. Even after I knew it was a hoax, it didn't change the fear that something was there. Something was watching. I can't say I'm fearless when I'm hunting what I fear, but there it is. Let's just call it the unseen.

3. People I Don't Know/Unfamiliar Situations

Like with falling, it's one of those fears I deal with and get over, but I actually develop a severe anxiety when meeting with strangers. Whether it's going to a party or participating in something public or an event. . . if I don't know the people there, it really creates a huge build up of anxiety, which is clearly directed from fear. I can become uncomfortable an agitated, as well, and that never goes over well.

28 Days of Lists - Day 4: Geek Girl Power

Day 4 is Geek Girl Power and I wasn't sure what to do with this, so I just tried to think of geeky power.

1. Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation

Um. . . seriously made me feel empowered as a geeky woman.

2. Felicia Day from . . . well. . . the internet

LOVE HER! Seriously representing and giving geek women a voice in geekdom. There are tons of other women, too, but Day really helped bring it out, I think.

3. IGGPPC

Is that cheating? I hope not! GO GEEK GIRLS!

4. Rachel Maddow

Talk about a news nerd! She is so awesome and just really lets her passion for news and entertaining show. Like a female Jon Stewart. Love her to pieces.

5. Michonne from The Walking Dead

Well centered, well-meaning, tough, and just an all around bad-ass. If I survive the Zombie Apocalypse, I want to be like Michonne. For all her losses, she rises again and moves forward being strong, contemplative, and caring. The sword doesn't hurt.

28 Days of Lists - Day 3: Things I Would Tell My Teen Self

Day 3 is things I would tell my teen self. . . and that's a tough one, but here I go. . .

1. Don't Graduate Early

You need your senior year to develop who you are as an individual and to learn some of the skills that you're going to miss when you start college. Don't try to get a year ahead, because it's really only going to put you years behind.

2. YOU ARE A GEEK! EMBRACE IT!

I didn't know how to identify myself and it made it very difficult for me, but I was a geek and I was too scared to join the groups that would really have shown me who I was. Even when I met my husband, you didn't term yourself things like that, but that's exactly what we were. I wish I had found D&D and all that, but that's my advice #3.

3. Fantasy and Sci-Fi are not BAD things!

Don't let my parents distaste for the books your brother read and his playacting derail what you really enjoyed. I know you want your parents love, but you know deep down that you love these things, too. Don't let him stand alone. It was his friends who made it weird. That doesn't mean it's all weird. Don't hide your love X-Files, enhance it with some Star Trek: TNG.

4. Listen to your Forensics Coach

If I had forced myself to be more dedicated to my forensics, I could have gone far, instead of screwing around acting like I knew it all already. At least I went out on a bang with my Dead Poet's Society piece.

5. Seriously. . . stay away from the car. 

People used you and you abused the car. Slow down and be responsible.

6. Be forceful about your boyfriend's sister.

Tell him it's kind of a make-it-or-break-it deal here. She is poison and will seek to create nothing to terrible drama and issues for us because you let her!

7. Stop having roommates.

No, seriously. . . they are nothing but trouble and even the ones you think are nice will turn on you in the end for some petty reason or anything. You're better off living alone. Hell, just get your own apartment off campus so you don't have tons of issues period!

8. Be proud of being you.

Don't let others dictate to you who you are and what you can or cannot be like. It will only drive you mad trying to please everyone, because there's nothing to show for all the traumatic effort you put into it.

9. Go All In 

That guy you're dating. . . he's the one and will love you for a very long time. You'll have the most amazing daughter ever and he'll be the biggest support you've ever had through everything you ever do. You've found your soulmate. Have no regrets, only love.

28 Days of Lists - Day 2: Who Inspires Me

Day 2 is Who Inspires Me. This one is a bit rough, because I get it all depends.

1. Family

My grandfather was a huge inspiration in my life and helped me to realize my passions. I also share my love of Peter Pan and Dr. Strangelove with him. He also showed me how easy it is to cook and kind of inspired me to be more creative in my food choices, exposing me to flavor combinations I'd never heard of in my youth. He was always my biggest influence and when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's it was devastating. Even moreso, because I found out after his mind had already drifted a bit too far into the void. It was during my traveling and moving days. Other family has been inspirational to me and I love them for all that they expose me to and help me through.

2. My Husband

His ability to deal with the world and be so calm about things is really inspirational to me. Plus his ability to put up with me. ;-)

3. Felicia Day

She really did help me come out of the geek closet. She gave me that touchstone to help me realize what I was holding back my whole life. What I was denying of myself. I felt if someone this amazing was a geek and had no problem being open about it, why was I not being open about my own self? My first entry on here about finding myself talks all about how she inspired me.

4. My daughter

Her ability to be so sweet and innocent and so caring about everyone. . . I wish I could still be like that and my hope for her is to never have to feel the pain of life that I've felt. She inspires me to continue to find myself and bring back and rebuild the me that has been so damaged.

5. My Iggles

Yeah, my girls. They always lift me up and might not even know it. Love them to bits and pieces and how they are so happy about life. Love 'em!

28 Days of Lists - Day 1: Geeky Favorites

My house over at my favorite geeky girl site is doing a 28 Days of Lists challenge. Every day post a list. There's no specific amount listed (5 is always good.... or my favorite numbers 3, 9, or 15).  I just wanted to be able to have some fun with this and keep myself feeling awesome.

So let's start with Day 1: Geeky Favorites

1. Tabletop Games

Can't really explain much about this, because it's very self-explanatory. Here's the picture

2. The Walking Dead (Zombies)

I seriously am in love with The Walking Dead. I have delved into both the comics and the television show. My husband and I are just addicted to the show. One of my students last year watched it and whenever we see each other now, it's "did you see that last episode!" "OH I KNOW!" Good times. Plus it goes into my enjoyment of things zombies.

3. Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

I really liked the books when I was a youth, but I LOVE the movies and the visual-style of it. What I consider my past-long-forgotten was in the film industry, so I love film and I am a sucker for cinematography. I love the framing of scenes and lighting and color. The pallet of the 16:9. But I also love quotes from the books and so much of the culture. It's a package deal.

4. Stephen King

I think out of all of these, I have been a Stephen King fan since way back in middle school. I remember actually reading Eyes of the Dragon as my first Stephen King book and then as I got older, I started reading more and more of his books. I don't remember why, but something connected with King in my childhood always made it feel like a shameful read. Maybe it was my private Lutheran school or something adults said or something. I don't know, but I love everything Stephen King and I am definitely a super fan. I mean, seriously, I was reading Anne Rice and those YA R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. I guess I get that Stephen King was going to be so much more graphic in his writing than the YA novels, but still.... all well.  "Go then. . . there are other worlds than these." ~ The Gunslinger

5. Supernatural

My husband and I are super geeks for Supernatural. We love the characters, the stories, the seriousness, the silliness and Castiel and Crowley. We like the whole kit-and-kaboodle. Good stuff.

6. Pins (pinbacks, buttons, whatever)

I collect pins. I've always collected pins. I LOVE pins. Even when I was a little kid, I had to have pins that I could pin all over the place I am a relentless collector of pins. What always breaks my heart about pins is that they fall off. That's hard for me, because I cherish them and want to show them off, but I am too scared to lose them. I am also an avid collector of Hard Rock Cafe pins. If you live near a Hard Rock Cafe anywhere in the world, think of me and grab a local pin.

7. Cups

Not just any cups. . . those tall plastic tumbler cups with the plastic straws. I have a geek collection of these and it's starting to drive my husband nuts, because we're running out of room. I use these the most in the summer, because I start making my green tea drink and have to put it in something. I have so many of my fandoms in the cups. Good stuff.

8. T-Shirts

I am a t-shirt freak. No, seriously. . . another thing I have way too many of. I use them for teaching or just expressing my love of geek. I am in love with t-shirts. They are my favorite thing to wear and, well. . . I like to let the world know stuff when they look at me other than "hey, look... an awkward girl!" Good times. I love Woot!shirt, SnorgTees, and TeeFury. TeeVillian is another one that I've found some great shirts on. I've been trying to get at least one for each of my fandoms.

9. Sci-Fi

Yeah, I love Science Fiction. It's my favorite thing to read. It's usually my preferred movie genre between Fantasy and Sci-Fi. It's also the thing that I have the longest history with. I read Ender's Game and was totally hooked. I even have Ender engraved on the inside of my class ring. I love Star Wars and Star Trek and Asimov and Futurama. It's kind of my go-to and I love it!

I'll stop with 9 today for this list. Kind of got carried away, but I don't know exactly what means Geeky Favorites... I have so many.

5 Fandom Friday - My Favorite Things About Winter

I live in Wisconsin, so Winter is literally a way of life! I live just on the border of super cold north and the south of Wisconsin, which is right in the path of one of the airflow currents that brings down winter hell. The last two winters have really been unbearably cold. . . this Polar Vortex junk has been super intense. With it being a way of life, it's not hard to find the joys of life in this winter climate. Here are my 5 Fandom Friday Favorites Things About Winter.

1. Hot Drinks 

Teas, Hot Toddies, Hot Chocolate, and Cider have been the drinks of choice around this household. I discovered the joys of a Hot Toddy last year. It's essentially a small amount of whiskey (1oz), black tea, honey, lemon, and a cinnamon stick. Served hot! You can find dozens of different types of recipes for how to make it and what to add, but that's my recipe and I'm sticking to it. Sometimes I add a little sugar to give it a little sweet bump.  They're a treat only on the coldest of days. For other days it's all about the tea. I am not a coffee drinker, so you won't find me brewing a fresh pot or anything, but you will hear the tea kettle going off. I'm big into Castiel tea right now from Adagio. Totally perfect.  Other are apple cider and hot chocolate. My favorite is Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. Plus cupping the mug is always so comfy.

2. The Landscape

I live out in a mostly country. Lots of farms and open landscape with trees and other natural settings makes winter landscapes beautiful. Especially when the sun is setting or rising and it's creating that gorgeous winter scene that includes colors! Or, you get those gorgeous crisp landscape scenes. The beauty of it is so photographic, you just can't help but want to break out the camera and start clicking away. It feels so peaceful and puts you in an instant good mood with the beauty of the scene. Now cue some Lord of the Rings epic music.

3. Time for Book Binging

It's time to light the fire and snuggle up with a good book. For all the books I get at Christmas, there is never a shortage of material to read while trying to stay warm under a fluffy comforter. Snuggle-up reading is the best. You can be close while enjoying your favorite story. For some reason I always feel compelled to grab Harry Potter. It just feels so wintery with their scarves and stuff.

4. Favorite Series Binging

Binge-watching is all the rage now adays. I can't check a feed without seeing someone raving about binging out on a show. I am not above this current trend. Last winter we binge-watched Supernatural and The Walking Dead. I can't still remember sittin' back and sippin' on a Hot Toddy while watching the rise of The Governor. This year it's Parks and Recreation. We got hooked from catching episodes on TV that would run like 8 in a row and then out of order. So now we're in it to watch it all. It is so cold out, our dog is scared to go outside to pee. Sticking out hand outside for the leash hook could mean instant frostbite.

5. PLAY MORE GAMES!

And the gamer in me comes out and it's time to take away the guilt of playing board games, because outside is just TOO DAMN COLD! Plus I'm participating in the 10x10 Challenge on BoardGameGeek and I've got to get some gaming down. Oh. . . and we got tons of games for Christmas and my birthday. Good times!

Other Fandom 5 Bloggers

• Darling Stewie - My Favorite Things About Winter
• The Nerdy Girl - My Favorite Things About Winter
• Meghan Sullivan - Mesulli's Medley of Musings - My Favorite Things About Winter

5 Fandom Friday: New Years Fandom Resolutions

There are resolutions I'd like to make in general, but I make resolutions throughout the year to myself as needed. So I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and try this new thing called 5 Fandom Friday, which is a frequent thing on a Google+ group I'm part of called Female Geek Bloggers.

So here are my 5 Fandom Friday: New Years Fandom Resolutions:

1. Play More Games

I am a tabletop gamer through and through. Cards, dice, boards, . . . you name it. . . I'll play it. So this year I'm participating in the 10x10 Challenge on BoardGameGeek. Play 10 games 10 times. I'm participating in the Hardcore and the Normal Challenges. Hardcore means I dedicate myself to a specific set of 10 games and the Normal Challenge is any 10 games as I want and I don't have to plan it out. I'm really quite excited about it and it'll be great. I want to make sure I record these in my blog.

2. Play Games with More People

Even though we're part of a gaming group, we don't get out much to game with them because we have a 4yo. We just can't afford to pay a sitter to go out and we don't live near anyone who would watch her for us for free or for a few hours or anything. We have to count on when my mom takes her.  So I'd like to make sure I'm playing more games with my kids in my Tabletop Club at school. Like, not sharing more games, but actually playing games with them. I'd also like to branch out independently to the local game shop and start some sort of women's game night for women gamers. It'll keep the men at home babysitting (hehe).

3. Meet My Reading Goal

I'm a literacy teacher for a middle school. I have to try to stay on top of what the kids are reading or what's popular. Sadly, I like books that challenge me a little more than YA Literature. So I cannot exclusively read YA. I also don't read exclusively Graphic Novels/Comic Books. I've taken to enjoying a few, but I really am a reader through and through. It's what I have my degree backgrounds in. It's what I love. So I'd like to make sure that I'm reading an equal amount of various materials. I have a 34 book goal on GoodReads. I read 39 in 2014 and my goal was 30, so here's hoping!

4. To Get To GenCon2015

It's going to take a lot of savings and lot of scraping and scrimping, but we are going to make it again to GenCon! This year our friend Jim is going to go with us, which will help things a little bit, I think. Either way, it's going to be awesome and we are going to make this work. If it means Ramen noodles for us every night, so be it. It'll help when our daughter is done with daycare and starts school with limited summer attendance.

5. Finally Fully Invest Myself in My GMing

Last year I had my first little foray into being a game master for Pathfinder. I created a sweet Google+ Pathfinder adventure using the Beginner Box and set things up with my husband and our friend (who lives in NC). I ended up crafting these additional adventures and while I feel I succeeded at the storyline, I was struggling with balancing the experience and items in order to keep my participants happy. So once things start to become a little less depressing around here, I'm hoping to start dedicating a little bit of time to getting back into that, so we can RPG with our friend a bit more over the summer.


And that's it! My First #5FandomFriday and My 5 Geeky Resolutions.