So About That Last Giveaway.....

Congratulations to Nicole! You are the winner of the iTunes gift card! So check your email....its a lengthy one lol.

If an iTunes gift card wasn't your cup of tea, next week I will be giving away a $10 League of Legends card, good for the purchase of...whatever it is you buy in LoL.

This giveaway was a bit of an eye opener for me. I found that people didn't want to enter if they had to donate. I get that. Times are difficult. But for any of the giveaways I'm doing that are specifically to raise money for St Jude, that's going to be mandatory. The thing is, you don't have to donate a lot. You could donate one dollar and not only be eligible for the prize, but I would be pleased as punch that you donated. I hate that people might've felt like I was looking for a huge amount, because I'm not. Its true that I set my goal at $100 by today, and no, I haven't reached it, but that's okay. As long as I reach it by the end of the fundraiser (September 1st), I will still feel proud of  myself for accomplishing that goal. And I will be so grateful for everyone that helped me reach it (I'm already so thankful for the donations I've received.). I will be holding at least one giveaway thats not St Jude related (because I love you guys), but the option to donate will still be there (it just won't be mandatory).

With this giveaway I also learned that people will be deceitful, and that's so wrong. I advertise my giveaways on Instagram as a way to get fresh eyes to my blog. I had someone who seemed really interested in entering comment on it over there. Well.....she lied about donating to St Jude to unlock all the extra entries. And then she lied about the information needed for extra entries. I thought I was clear when I said that I verify. And the fact that the donating to St Jude option wasn't really an option, but was mandatory to unlock the rest....I don't understand how anyone could think it was okay to lie.

This whole thing has been a learning experience. I have to accept it as such and move on, and next week's giveaway will hopefully go a lot smoother.

Play Live Progress and a Tiny Blog Update

Happy Monday everyone! I am working hard to get some steady content back up here. Last month I took two online courses and a webinar that really gave me a lot to think about. The biggest one being- where the hell is the pillar content? I realize I lack it something fierce, so I'm trying to write some things that I think can be interesting and relevant for more than a month :)

Also, as you know, I am participating in St Jude's Play Live. I've been obsessing over it really. Learning how to stream on Twitch has been really fun, and I'm still trying to figure out how to talk on it lol. And its kind of exciting to see when people are watching my games. I'm a pretty private person by nature, and really not even that confident a gamer. I don't even talk in Vent when I play WoW, so putting my face on the screen while playing has been huge for me. I am sad though that I haven't gotten any donations yet, its a little disheartening. I still have the $15 iTunes gift card giveaway happening until the 20th, and nobody has entered :( There are no donation minimums, I cannot stress this enough. Even if you donate one dollar, its a help. I wish I could give you guys the great stuff like video games and headsets, but its just not financially in the cards for me right now. Maybe next year I can come into this with some sponsors, but right now I'm freeballin' it (for lack of a better expression).

The team I'm on (Team TradeChat) is currently number two in the leaderboards for most money raised. This is largely due to Danielle, as she has such a web presence. She really cares about this fundraiser, and I'd like to help her out. And in a really sad turn of events for her, her father passed away from cancer over the weekend. Loads of people asked what they could do for her, and she responded that she'd like them to donate to St Jude. She got a lot of troll lashback for it (which is so rude), but her asking makes perfect sense to me. Her father just died of cancer, and shes trying to help raise money for a place that not only takes care of cancer stricken children for free, but who also do research on cancer.

This post sounds really bitter. I will probably remove it in a fit of blogger's remorse later. Its just that when I focus on things, I really want them to turn out the best they can be. I really want to help Danielle raise all the money she set out to, not only for the St Jude's children, but now for her father. It makes me angry that so many people badmouthed her right after her father died, I want to prove them wrong, that what she's doing is a good thing. And selfishly, I'd like reach the goal I set for myself as well. I want to know that if I set my mind to something, I can achieve it.

Monday Mix Up #21

Happy Monday everyone! In honor of my starting the Blog Life e-course done by the super talented sisters Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess, I have decided to make this Monday Mix Up all about blogging!

This e-course is priced at $50, which is not cheap. But it comes with a lot of their personal experiences peppered with valuable advice on how to make a living off your blog. They also give you cute printables to take notes on :)

Link.

I randomly stumbled upon Alexa Poletti through IG the other day, and was surprised that one of her latest blog posts was so in tune with what I was thinking about in terms of my own blog. While her guide focuses more on fashion and beauty blogging (because thats what she blogs about), there are still some tips that can translate to any type of blog you're writing. 

Link.

Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community

I read this book while starting my blog last year. Its what prompted my almost immediate URL change (oops!). It has a lot of really good advice in it, and I will be re-reading it again soon (probably after Elsie and Emma's e-course). I recommend this book if you want to learn a lot of blogging basics. 

And here's a picture of Neil Patrick Harris as Doogie Howser- the OG of bloggers.

Anyone else love this show? I still do.

My Blog As A Mixtape

Joie from Confessions of a Book Pimp had the awesome idea to do a My Blog as a Mix Tape post today, so I decided to play along. I made a ton of mix tapes back in the day, then transitioned to mix CDs as the times changed. I participate in the IGGPPC music swaps because I still have a deep love for mixes, and its nice to meet others that do too!

I chose songs that I think represent my blog pretty well., or I hope they do. Making this list was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. Here's the track list (and if you're listening where there are fragile ears around, be warned. There is some cussing and adult themes in some of the songs):

*California Love-2Pac I'm proud of my state, what can I say?

*Never Gonna Fall In Love Again- New Kids on the Block Old school NKOTB. You guys know how much I love them.

*Sail- AWOLNATION One of the songs I listened to on repeat when I first started this thing.

*Let It Go- Idina Menzel from the Frozen soundtrack I love Frozen, and it represents the movie reviews I do.

*Riff Off- Barden Bellas/Treblemakers from the Pitch Perfect soundtrack Another movie song.I nerd out hardcore to this movie! I have a deep love for Skylar Astin, Anna Kendrick and acapella singing. 

*I Got That (Boom Boom)- Britney Spears ft the Ying Yang Twins To show my love for the early 00's. And Britney. I appreciate her much more ever since her breakdown, no lie. And for nostalgia's sake. I'm all about nostalgia on the blog.

*Taverns- Blizzard Entertainment Its a song from World of Warcraft, I had to put it on. I have a lot of WoW elements on the blog, even if WoW Wednesdays are taking a small hiatus right now.

*Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Minds  The 80's and Brat Pack movies have shaped me into who I am today :)

*Radioactive- Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix Last summer's post-Apocalyptic jam covered by a violinist (did you know I play?) and an acapella group. So much greatness.

*Video Games- Lana Del Ray I like video games. I write about video games (sometimes). So why not? 

What would be on your blog mix tape?

Superheroesque Launch

For the past few months, I have been a member of a great G+ group called Female Geek Bloggers. Its exactly what it sounds like, a place for geeky girl bloggers to hangout and share our work and other things. Through this group, I have had the chance to be exposed to so many new bloggers and their work, and one in particular is Mia Moore. I liked her blog as soon as I read it, and she cosplays Ramona Flowers something fierce. So I am happy to help promote a new blog that she is running with her friend Liz Locksley.

Superheroesque is a community where you can be your nerdiest self, and not be judged. Its a safe place to geek the hell out, and know that its totally okay to to so. From the site: 

Superheroesque is a community about celebrating who you are and what you love. It’s a place where outrageous geekery is not only acceptable, but encouraged. No matter your race, size, shape, gender, creed, or background, everyone is welcome and encouraged to join the party. Superheroesque’s mission is to help you love who you are and work to be the best version of yourself possible. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress and enjoying the process. We strive to create a community of not only self acceptance, but acceptance of those around you. Superheroesque is a home for everyone – a safe place for nerdy references, punny jokes, and critical geek culture discussions. Above all, Superheroesque is a judgment-free, positive zone of love and geeking out.

Today is the launch of the site, so I hope you'll all go stop by and check out its very first post (about being a "real" geek). And I can honestly say that I've already learned something new from the site. I had  no idea what Galentine's Day was! (I only watch Parks and Recreation sporadically, I guess I missed that episode) So Happy Galentine's Day to all of you, and Happy Launch Day to Superheroesque!

Its Goal Settin' Time- The Renaissance Project Revival

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Everybody makes New Year's Resolutions, and usually breaks them within the first month. Or maybe that's just me, which is why I stopped making resolutions years ago. Instead, I like to set goals. I am a chronic goal setter. But I am also a chronic non-achiever, in that, I still usually end up falling short of meeting my goals.

At the start of 2011, I started a New Year's project for myself called The Renaissance Project. It was loosely based on a very old diary entry of mine, where I mused that being a Renaissance woman (in a more modern context) is what I needed to be loved (I was like fifteen at the time, and every movie I was watching had the gorgeous, popular boy falling for the artistic, worldly girl. I wanted that so bad, I just had to be that girl.), and also the very definition of Renaissance that was taught in history class- great changes, all for the betterment of mankind. I started the year off fairly well, until six days into that new year, my grandmother passed away. We knew it was coming, she was ready for it (or so she told me every day after she got really sick), but it hurt. It still hurts. We were very close, and it just hit me so hard. I tried to continue with the project. I was determined to finish something for once, because she has seen me try and fail at so many things, but she always supported me. But the pain got to be too much, the depression too great, and after our birthdays in March, I gave up. Then last year I decided to try again. I even made a website to document it and everything (The Renaissance Project). I thought that maybe I'd gain followers, become accountable to someone other than myself, and that would finally be the trick to succeeding. But can you guess what happened? That's right. I wasn't meeting my goals and I gave up. Again. I like the idea of the blog, and that's why I never took it down. And I might use it again. But for now, I will be attempting the Renaissance Project for the third time, and sharing it here. With you. Below are the first versions of the goals I've set for myself for this year. They will change, I guarantee it. I might meet some of them and expand them. Or I might find that they just aren't working and eliminate them. But I will keep up with them and I will keep going. I have to.

Personal Goals:
*lose 20lbs

*visit the Old Zoo in LA

*read 10 books
*keep up with Rat Queens and Sex Criminals
*visit one National Park
*more road trips
*make more time to be creative
*Project Life (by month, not week)

For the Blog:
*four giveaways (first one starts January 13th!)
*more contributors (if interested, please email jenarynkrystelle@gmail.com)
*new segements- The  Renaissance Project and Currently
*book/comic book reviews (for reals this year)
*a mini series on explorations from Keri Smith's book How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum
*be a contributor on someone else's blog
*improve my social media presence (especially the blog's FB and Twitter)


So there you have it. This is some of what I hope to accomplish this year. I hope 2014 is everything everyone wants it to be :)

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Personally.....Personal

So I had hoped that with all the craziness of July behind me, that I could get back on blogging track. But I have been so sick the past few weeks (crazy bad migraines, body aches, fever, chills, just to name a few) that I have been avoiding the computer and anything else that really makes me do anything but nap lol. But I finally seem to be feeling better, so I think I will gradually be building back to normal posting, with my regular schedule back on track for September (I have some super fun things to share!). Thanks so much for your patience, I really appreciate it.