ModCloth Hits One Year in Plus Size Clothing

**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

ModCloth is celebrating a very exciting milestone this week -- the one-year anniversary of officially launching plus-size clothing on their site! In just one year, they’ve expanded their product catalog with more items that fit all body types. Check out the full-range fashion page in their Style Gallery, which showcases community-uploaded photos featuring ModCloth items that are available in a full size range. Why? Because fashion should be for all!

I really love ModCloth, I even bought one of my potential wedding dresses from there! The 1950's section is my favorite, I really think I was born in the wrong decade sometimes. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

Beach Blanket Bingo One Piece

'S Marvelous Heel

Roadside Attraction Dress

Star of the Antique Show Dress

What are your favorite ModCloth pieces? Let me know in the comments below!

St. Jude's Play Live (Updated!)

Hello everyone! I am happy to share this awesome fundraiser that I have signed up to participate in, and I hope you'll sign up for it too.

As you know, I watch Danielle's videos on YouTube quite frequently. She was one of my favorite contestants on season one of King of the Nerds, and it was just major bonus points that she's also a fellow World of Warcraft player. So I was super excited to see this video, explaining her involvement in the upcoming St Jude fundraiser Play Live.
With all the buzz surrounding John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, childhood cancer is having a moment. Which is good, because awareness is never a bad thing. But cancer isn't just having a moment with me, its been a constant in my life. I've had family members that have fought long, hard battles with cancer that they ultimately lost. In my late teens/early twenties, I had precancerous cells removed from some pretty important parts. And since then, I've had a bevy of tumors removed from various other parts. Luckily those have all been benign, but at some point I figure my luck will run out.

I have signed up under Danielle's team (Team TradeChat) to fund raise for this event. Any donations I earn will go towards Danielle's ultimate goal of raising $100,000 for the hospital. I have set my goal at $100, and I hope you'll be there to help me reach it. If I can get five people to join the team by June 12th (the day before the fundraiser officially begins), I will hold a giveaway here on the blog. I have some Attack on Titan, Titanfall, League of Legends things to give away....and that's just for starters. If I can reach that $100 goal I've set for my team by June 20th, I will add in some more awesome prizes. I guess its like Kickstarter...or achievement unlocking. Help me reach my goals, and I'll reward you with awesome goodies :)

This is the first time I'll be live streaming anything, so I'm really nervous about it. I will be playing World of Warcraft and Hearthstone for the streams. I'm not the best player at either game, but I figure I need to get past my gaming insecurities so I can help out this great cause.

I really hope you'll join me on this adventure: http://playlive.stjude.org/krystellemt is my donor page info. Play Live runs from June 13th 2014- September 1st, 2014.

Everyone seems to take on causes whether they mean to or not, and cancer has always been one for me. This St Jude's fundraiser is a great way to support geeky guys and girls in their gaming endeavors while supporting a great cause like St Jude's. And even if cancer isn't your personal crusade, think of all the Augustuses (Augusti?) and Hazels out there that could benefit from St Jude's research and facilities.

#Cosplay Video (#Selfie Parody) VS. #Selfie by the Chainsmokers

This is the first in a new column I like to call Versus. And it's exactly like it sounds. I pick two (or three, or four....) like things and compare. I hope you enjoy!

I came across this YouTube video the other day, made by Nerd Reactor. There are a lot of cosplayers in the video that you will recognize (and yes, that is Lindsey Stirling at the beginning of the video!). I thought it was pretty fun. It captured the spirit of the original song but applied it to cosplay.


And the original, #Selfie by the Chainsmokers. I really don't like this song. It gets played on the radio here all the time. My favorite part of the song is when the girl says ratchet, because white girls trying to be ghetto and saying things like ratchet is hilarious to me (and I can say that, I'm the whitest white girl you will ever meet).

The verdict: Honestly, both videos made eyes hurt from all the selfies and hashtags flashing onscreen. But I think the cosplay video wins....because its cosplay (and slightly less annoying than the original).

Which video do you prefer?

Keeping Up With The Cons- This Weekend

If you're in California and looking for some comic book fun this weekend, there are a couple of small conventions going on.

This Saturday and Sunday (May 17th and 18th) is the Big Wow ComicFest at the San Jose Convention Center. Ticket prices at the door are $25 for an adult one day ticket or $35 for an adult two day ticket. Children's prices are $15 for a one day ticket and $20 for a two day ticket. Children are considered 8-14yrs old. They have a lot of guests attending and some after hours programming. There's also a Batman Museum and a Monster Film festival at the convention.

If you feel like braving the heat this weekend, head to Bakersfield for Bakersfield Collector-Con. Located in the Marriott, its only $5 to attend. And, if you wear a costume, its only $2.50! This convention is Sunday (May 18th) only. Its going to be a very small convention, but there's a chance to audition for a zombie movie!

Are there any conventions I've missed? Let me know in the comments. Have a great weekend!

Personally....Mother's Day and Red Balloons for Ryan

So I wanted to post yesterday, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. I thought maybe I would keep it funny and share my favorite Mother's Day song (Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake- Motherlover). Or maybe I would go the overpersonal, whiny route. My in-laws kinda crashed the last minute plans my husband made when he realized he'd forgotten what day it was (so yeah.....no presents for me), and my mother-in-law plans on crashing the other plans we made for a date night later this week (seriously). But in the grand scheme of things, it all seemed trivial to me. Something has been weighing heavily on my heart, and it made me feel selfish to be upset.

Early last week I was doing my usual early morning Instagram check and I kept seeing these pictures of an adorable little boy with beautiful red hair with the hashtag #redballoonsforryan. Of course I went searching the tag, wanting to see what was going on. Eventually I learned the heartbreaking truth, he had been hit by car and passed away the Friday before. It broke my heart, and I have no connection to the family at all. And then I got pissed off, because while the majority of comments were nothing but supportive, I saw negative ones too. People that blamed the parents because they had let their little boy play in the front yard. Because they let him live.

The Internet can be equally a grand and awful thing. So many businesses came together to make specialty items celebrating Ryan's life (like this Mulberry Press Co print), with all proceeds going to his family. There were funds set up, auctions held; all to help pay for whatever the family needed. Of course, you should always donate with people you trust, because there are people that can take advantage, but the generosity was overwhelming. Most of the auctions and special product orders ended yesterday, but Indie Nook is still donating a percentage of the sales of their Red Balloon shirts indefinitely to Ryan's parents. There was far more positivity than negativity for this little boy and his family, and that was heartwarming. It restores some faith that people still want to help others, that people are still kind.

So now you know why I felt so selfish because I didn't get a present. I still have my children, and that's more than enough. I can't even imagine what this family is going through, its truly devastating.

From @babyboybakery's Instagram. This is how she spent her Mother's Day.

Sending red balloons into the sky in Ryan's memory, instead of hugging her little boy.

Here are some links to get a better understanding:
*Baby Boy Bakery - Jacqui's (Ryan's mom) blog
*Diary of an Addict- Alissa Circle's (Jacqui's best friend) blog. Ryan's story is here and here.
*CBS Los Angeles reports about his accident, and the out pour of support from online.

Hug your loved ones always. Never go to bed angry. Unplug and be present. Do what makes you happy. And annoyingly enough- YOLO. Because its true.

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?

Liebster Award

I really enjoy these Liebster Awards :) This time, I was given a Liebster by Gwen of A Geek and Her Oven (thank you!) You should check her blog out if you haven't already, its one of my favorites.

If you haven't heard of a Liebster before, then check out my previous posts here and here. Now, on the questions! 

1. What made you start blogging?

I've always kept a written journal or diary (in junior high I went through a Harriet the Spy spy notebook phase as well). When I finally had Internet access, I used Xanga and Livejournal to document my teenage angst. I gave that up for a long while (and missed it), then started different blogging adventures later on as a way to get back into writing. 
2. If you could have dinner with any celebrity (alive or dead) who would you pick?

That's a tough one. I would choose Drew Barrymore or Gwen Stefani. They both have so many qualities that I admire, I would love to pick their brains. 
3. Whats something you collect?

Stickers! And postcards. I love postcards.
4. You get a call saying you've won a free vacation (all expenses paid) to anywhere in the world but you have to leave right this very moment, where would you go?

I would go to Amsterdam. I've always wanted to see the Anne Frank House.
5. What's one show you would want to guest star on?

2 Broke Girls or some crime procedural like NCIS or The Blacklist.

This is the part where I am supposed to nominate more blogs but, I will leave it up to you! I will leave five questions below, and if you want to write a post answering, then great :) Just make sure you link back here. 

1. What are the five things that make your day most enjoyable? 

2. If you could live in a television show, which one would it be?

3. What do you think your pet would say to you if it could talk? (And if you don't have a pet, what do you think animals in general would say if they could speak?)

4. Do you have a library card?

5. If the weather was permanently stuck in one season forever, which season would you want it to be?

Liebster Award

Super excited to say that Amanda from Geekphoria has nominated me for a Liebster Award! I know that part of this is to nominate five or eleven other blogs, but most all the other blogs I read have already been nominated, so I am not nominating anyone at this time. 

And what is a Liebster?

“Well, it is only an AWESOME award given to up and coming bloggers. Given by other up and coming bloggers. It’s a cool way to find other blogs and feel like you are getting into the blogging stratosphere. It is simple, you get nominated by someone else, mention their page and a link to their blog in your Liebster Award Post, answer the 11 questions they give you, then tag 11 other nominees and give them a new set of 11 questions to answer.”

So here are the questions that Amanda gave me to answer:

If you were trapped inside a video game for the rest of your life, which game would you want it to be?

That's a tough one, but I think I would choose World of Warcraft. The areas are pretty, there are professions to support yourself and with the upcoming expansion, we'll finally have houses lol. 

Which spaceship would you like to explore the universe in?

Captain Picard's Enterprise. 

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your blog?

I wish I knew how time consuming it would be lol. No, I wish I had started my blog with more knowledge of HTML/code and things like that. I still don't know how to do that stuff. I think it would make my blog look a thousand percent better if I could do those things.

If you could have any mythical animal as a friend/pet/companion, what would it be and why?

I always wanted him when I was younger. I loved The Neverending Story.

What fictional world is your home away from home?

Forks! Lol, that's a joke....kind of. I love watching the Twilight movies as a way to kill some time. My second is Azeroth. What can I say, WoW rules my life sometimes!

If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would it be?

I think I would want to be Katniss or Tris for a day. To be that badass...that'd be awesome.

What daily (or semi-daily) activity/chore do you wish you could get by without doing?

Clutter cleaning. I have kids, they leave things everywhere! 

What is your number one pet peeve?

Having to repeat myself more than once. I despise when I'm talking to someone and they just keep saying "what?! what?!" over and over. How about you hush up and listen to me the first time!

If you had to pick an apocalypse, which one would you pick?

Hmm....zombie maybe. Seems like there'd be less rioting, looters, and general bad people, even though there seems to be a steady supply of them on The Walking Dead.

What job did you want as a kid? What job would you want if you didn’t have to worry about making a living?

It changed year to year. Being decisive has never been my strong suit. In kindergarten, I wanted to be a cheerleader. In first grade, a Disney animator. Second grade, teacher. Third grade, military police(wo)man. Fourth grade until the end of high school, lawyer. If I didn't have to worry about making a living, I'd want to be able to just art journal for a living. Maybe own a scrapbook/Smashbook supply store. That would be awesome.

What is your favorite color, and what is your favorite nerdy thing corresponding to that color?

Blue and purple are my favorite colors, and my favorite nerdy things are my blue Alliance hoodie (I'm wearing it in this post ) and my Epic Purple Lanyard from Blizzard's booth at SDCC last year.

Just a Little Update..

Things have been so crazy lately! But I have published and replied to every comment that was left, so if you left one, thank you and sorry it took forever to get back to you. Also, I have a few blog posts that will be going up this week, so everything should be getting back on track. This month has been absolutely busy, and I didn't prepare for it at all. Also, congratulations to Shannon and Joie for winning the GlaDOS and Stickers giveaways respectively and thank you to everyone that entered both of those giveaways. Its my hope to have another giveaway in April, probably after WonderCon.

Stickers Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Since I did a giveaway in honor of my son on his birthday, its only fair that I do a small giveaway in honor of my daughter on her birthday! So here it is- stickers!! She loves stickers so much, so I'm giving away some extras we have.

Here is a picture of some of the stickers up for grabs.

Now for the rules: This is open to US addresses only. Once the giveaway is over, a winner will be contacted by email and has 48 hours to respond to that email. If no response is received within that time frame a new winner will be chosen. No giveaway accounts can be used for entries in this contest. That means, if you do what the widget says and one of your entries is chosen, and I can very obviously tell that you use that FB/IG/Twitter/Tumblr/BlogLovin account for contests only, your winner status will be thrown out and a new winner will be chosen. This is not a sponsored giveaway. It is not affiliated with Jinx, Disney, so-so, or any other brand of sticker I may send to you.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Personally...30

Thirty, flirty and thriving. Jennifer Gardner's character in 13 Going on 30 sees that tagline in a magazine, and that's all she wants for her thirteenth birthday. In a Big like twist, shes get what she wishes for, then finds out that she maybe doesn't want that after all. End the movie with her and Mark Ruffalo living a happily ordinary life.

Today is my thirtieth birthday. In terms of birthdays, this is one of those big ones. Celebrities say that thirty is great. All the insecurities of their twenties just fluttered away, and thirty is awesome. I'll be honest. These past few years have been rough for me. I guess its the depression or whatever, but things have been hard. I have also found that navigating these years without friends has been harder than I thought. It was easier in my earlier twenties. I had a job and no kids, so I could spend all my money on distractions like books, movies, and clothes. But once I lost my job and started to have kids, the ability to spend on distractions vanished. And while concentrating on them has been good (and I love them to pieces), I miss doing my own things. They've also noticed that mommy doesn't have any friends, and the comments are hard to take sometimes. They are little, so they don't say it to be mean. But when my husband is constantly going out to do his hobbies and see his friends and they see me staying at home all the time, they say things. I feel like I am setting a bad example for them, and I don't want that. I want my children to have very happy, fulfilled, and social lives. But at the same time, I feel like its too late for me to make any friends anymore. Everyone pretty much has their set of lifers, and then every once in a while they add to the acquaintance pool. I feel awkward trying to meet people and make friends. I feel like they notice how insecure and friendless I am. Is all this really supposed to go away now that I'm thirty?

Of course it won't. I am not a celebrity. I don't have access to all the things and people they do that make their lives easier. I still have a lot of personal work to do. I think being alone for so many years has made me unacceptable as a friend. I wouldn't even know where to start anymore. Living in your head is no way to live, and that's pretty much where I am right now. I still need to lose weight. Feeling fat hasn't done me any favors in the self esteem department, which hinders all kinds of other areas in my life. And with all the health issues I've had lately...it really scared me...and all this extra weight isn't helping with those.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't bemoan this birthday, even though it sounds like I am. I am using it as a reflecting period. I am grateful for the thirty years I've been given so far, but I do have a lot of regrets. A lot of missed life experiences because I was afraid to say yes to things, afraid to let people in. And look where that's gotten me. Maybe if I can finally get all my feelings out in the open and not stuck in my head, I can get started on what needs to get done. No more excuses. There's no more time for those. I've already lived thirty years, and they've gone by way too fast. If I'm lucky, I'll get thirty or forty more. It sounds like a long time, but its not. And I've got too much left to do to keep on wasting it.

Pokemon DVD Giveaway! (CLOSED)

In honor of my son's birthday today, I'm doing a small giveaway. Pokemon is his favorite thing right now, so I am giving away Pokemon Collector's Set: Pokemon Heroes / Pokemon 4Ever / Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys / Pokemon Jirachi: Wish Maker.

This giveaway is not sponsored and is not afflilitated with Miramax or the Pokemon franchise in any way. This is for US addresses only. Winner will be contacted by email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email, and if no response is received by that time, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Liebster Award

Super excited- Usagi from Usagi in Wonderland gave me a Liebster Award. My first blog award!

So what is a Liebster Award exactly? 

"Well, it is only an AWESOME award given to up and coming bloggers. Given by other up and coming bloggers. It's a cool way to find other blogs and feel like you are getting into the blogging stratosphere. It is simple, you get nominated by someone else, mention their page and a link to their blog in your Liebster Award Post, answer the 11 questions they give you, then tag 11 other nominees and give them a new set of 11 questions to answer."

Pretty neato, right?  Now on to the questions!

1. What is your favorite quote?

I have so many! Can I give my top three? "Keep moving forward." - Walt Disney, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."- Ferris Bueller, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

2. What is on your bucket list that you want to cross off this year?
I would really like to see Childish Gambino in concert (since I try to see him every time he tours and am never successful) and to visit a National Park.

3. If you were a pizza, what toppings would you be?
Ham and pineapple. I don't know why, that's just what speaks to me.

4. Which TV show are you loving so much right now and hope it doesn't get cancelled?
Pretty Little Liars and Almost Human. There isn't much left plot wise for PLL, so I can't imagine it going on much longer :( And I really hope that Almost Human finds its audience, because I really enjoy Karl Urban, er, the show.

5. Which film(s) are you looking forward to this year?
22 Jump Street and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are the two movies that first come to mind.

6. Have you see The Lego Movie yet? (BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME!!)
Yes! This Friday's Poppin' Off will be about it, but I loved it so much. Everything is awesome!

7. Who is your current celebrity crush? (Totally stole that from Gwen!)
My biggest ones (because I have a lot at the moment) are Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill (don't judge), Justin Timberlake and Karl Urban.

8. Are you a Zombie, Vampire, or Werewolf fan?
Zombies and Vampires are more my speed, I haven't been bitten by the Werewolf craze.

9. Why do you blog?
Once upon a time, I wanted to be a writer. I gave up on it to pursue other things, but blogging has been a way for me to start working on it again and to see if writing is something that I really do want to eventually try as a career.

10. What do you hope to accomplish with blogging?
Well, I hope to write things that people enjoy reading, and that might teach them something new. I wouldn't mind making money from it, but that's a tough bracket to crack into. And if I make some friends through blogging too, I certainly wouldn't mind. You can never have too many friends :)

11. What do you want to improve in 2014? (Photography skills, write some more, travel, etc.)
I hope to improve the look of my blog. It needs an actual background and style to it. I'd like to take more road trips and read more books. I'd also like to improve my leather working skills. I used to do a lot of leather crafting as a child, and have recently picked it up again. I'd like to get good enough at it to possibly start selling the things I make. I'd also like to work on my sewing machine skills. I don't sew on a machine as well as I do by hand. 

So who do I give the Liebster Award to? 

Geekphoria

Zany Zany Zebra

Geeky Ramblings

(I know we're supposed to choose eleven people, but most of the blogs I read have already done this!)

And here are their questions, should they choose to accept it:

1. When did you decide to start blogging?

2. What is your favorite dessert?

3. If you could have an all expenses paid trip to the convention of your choice, which one would it be?

4. If you could change the ending to one book, which book would it be and why?

5. Is there a movie you can quote all or almost all of?

6. Twilight movies- best thing for vampires, or the worst?

7. Cat person or dog person?

8. Favorite Saturday Night Live sketch?

9. Are there any superstitions you believe in?

10. If your country was divided into Districts like The Hunger Games, which District would you live in?

11. What was your favorite book when you were a child?

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!

Currently

I had a feeling I wouldn't keep up with these Currently/Recently posts, but I here I am trying another one :)

Gone Girl

Reading: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I thought I'd be more into than I am, to be honest. Maybe its because I've been so distracted with other things that I haven't given it a fair shot. I might just start over (I'm not that far into it).

In the comic book front, I have been reading Rat Queens, Sex Criminals and Deadly Class. I am hoping to get my hands on Ms. Marvel, I've heard its wonderful.

 

Happenings:

I had to wear a heart monitor the other day for 24 hours. I couldn't shower with it, so that was gross. And the white things had a ton of adhesive on them, which I had happen to be sensititve to, so I was itchy and I now have welts where they were placed. Minimal complaints considering that I was wearing a freaking heart monior because my heart has been going super wacko lately. My doctor seems to be going towards stress/depression/anxiety as the cause. He didn't come right out and say it, but he sent home this huge questionnaire about it (not very discreet). But I also had to have a bunch of blood drawn, and I Googled some of what they were testing for. That wasn't smart, because it was for things like blood clots and toxins released from heart damage and lots of things relating to mortality rate. Made me a little anxious (okay, absolutely terrified). I still have some more tests to do, and I'll know everything by the end of the month. I figure that if something comes back really bad before then, they'll call me. So, no news is good news for now right? (Or that's what I'm telling myself at least). 

But, on a super happy note, I got badges to San Diego Comic Con this morning :) Only for Saturday and Sunday, because that's what my husband and I had budgeted for. The four day preview night was still an option, because I got in right away, but it just wasn't in the cards for us financially. Maybe next year :) We're also seriously considering going to Phoenix Comic Con this year, so we will need money to make that trip as well.

Listening: 

Dreamer by Ghost Town

Watching: 

Source.

Pretty Little Liars. This season is so good. *Spoilers ahead* Now that we can see Ezra being A, isn't it even more creepy? He's still not working alone, but did he really make an alliance with Mona like it was hinted a few episodes ago, or is it someone else? And why is Ezra after Ali? Still so many questions. And I really can't wait for Aria to find out. She should've stayed with Jake.....

Raid Snacks- Geeky Sprinkles!

Today I would like to share with you a tasty Kickstarter for Geeky Sprinkles! The brainchild of Tara Theoharis (aka The Geeky Hostess), these fun sprinkles are perfect for Doctor Who, Steampunk or wizard enthusiasts.

Her goal is set at $33,500, and her Kickstarter ends on February 19th, 2014. The sprinkles will be made and bottled in the United States, so there's no worry about overseas hangups. There are plenty of incentives at every price point (some featured below), and remember that every little bit helps (for $3 you get Sprinkle Karma. Who couldn't use some good karma in their lives?).

I asked Tara if she plans on expanding her Geeky Sprinkle line to other designs if her Kickstarter reaches funding, and also if there are any other types of cooking supplies she'd like to sell in the future. This is what she said: 

If the Kickstarter is wildly successful, I'd love to branch out to other sprinkle designs. I want to make what the backers want, so I've been listening to suggestions. I've heard requests for pirate and zombie-themed sprinkles as well as a lot of licensed shapes. If it can be small, one color, and recognizable, it's possible!

My dream would be to have a well-known geeky sprinkle and baking accessory brand. Ultimately, we'd have everything a craft or baking store would have, but created exclusively for the brand. Cupcake liners, boxes, recipe cards, tea towels, you name it! 

Any future shapes or cooking supplies is entirely based on how well this Kickstarter goes. I've been thrilled to see the response so far and can't wait to see what the future holds!

I think everything mentioned above sounds fantastic! If you haven't had a chance to read her blog, you should. She has all sorts of creative, geeky and yummy ideas on there. And definitely donate to her Kickstarter, lets see these Geeky Sprinkles in action!

Important links:
Geeky Sprinkles Kickstarter
The Geeky Hostess Blog

Recently

This is the first of my Currently/Recently posts. I'm not sure if I'll keep these up, but I've seen them done on so many other other blogs and I love them, so hopefully they can find their place here on KMT.

Happenings: The Wienermobile was in town recently. I succeeded in getting a Weenie Whistle, even though I had to embarrass myself greatly by singing in public to get it. And shout out to our local paper, who felt the need to print that in an article the next day :)

Listened To: I love this song. They hardly play it on the radio, and that's a shame. Guess I need to stop procrastinating and buy it from iTunes already.

Watched: The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Beverly Hills. Atlanta was the first Housewives show I watched, and its always been my favorite. Beverly Hills is getting really stale and I'm not sure I'll be watching it next season. Kim needs to go, Brandi needs to shut up, and Yolanda needs to get back to being nice.


Read:

 

The Bling Ring: How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World

I should have a review about it up soon. I want to watch the movie now.

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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Happy 2014!

I hope everyone had a very safe and fun New Year's night, and I hope all of you  have a wonderful 2014. As always, the start of a new year often makes people reflective and gives them a new hope for the year. Maybe this will finally be the year something great happens. Or maybe not. In any event, I will have a proper post about all that another day. Today is for everyone to go outside and see what this new year has in store for them. To feel great about the possibilities. And to maybe nurse that hangover :)

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One Republic- Counting Stars

"Old/But I'm not that old.

Young/ But I'm not that bold."

"Everything that kills me/

Makes me feel alive."

Personally...The Holidays

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I have been a little absent from the blog. The holiday season got to be a little overwhelming- and it isn't even over yet! In addition to New Year's, I have four birthdays to celebrate over the next few days. Today is my father-in-law and my youngest niece's, New Year's Eve is my mother-in-law's, and New Year's Day is my oldest niece's. Crazy busy time. Down below are just some snippets of my past few weeks. I'm sorry I haven't been around much, but that will be changing soon- promise! New year, new blog resolutions :)

First up, on December 6th, I became an Auntie one more time to a very handsome boy. I would love to share a million pictures of him, but I don't know how my sister would feel about that :) So now between my sisters and I, there are four girls and three boys. My parents like to joke that we can now start a softball team with the grandchildren. My sister (the one who just gave birth) also celebrated her birthday on December 11th.

Since I was late to the Advent calendar party, I did a twelve days of Christmas countdown with my kids. Above are some of the presents they received. They didn't really get that they were Advent presents, so they called them bonus presents instead. It really worked with distracting them from their actual presents.

So I won't lie, I didn't put up my Christmas tree until about six days before Christmas. I hadn't planned on that, but I had a procedure done on one of my toes that limited my mobility for a while, so that hampered my tree set-up. I felt bad for my children, but we had our mini pink Christmas tree up in our bathroom since the beginning of the month, and I put up new Christmas lights in there, so at least they had some festive details. I also added a garland to our fireplace mantle, along with the Elf of the Shelf Pop! Funko and I wrapped some sparkly garland on our mailbox outside. So it wasn't completely Grinchy here, but next year will be better.

Christmas Eve morning we took the kids to see Frozen (finally).I liked it, although it was pretty sad. And *tiny spoiler ahead if you haven't seen it* I really hate that Disney always kills the parents off in their movies. But visually it was stunning, and Olaf was my favorite.

Also on Christmas Eve, we made reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn. Its just Grape Nuts, glitter and star confetti- but my kids enjoyed making it, and really had a blast tossing it all over the yard. I let them put it out during the day since I knew we weren't going to be home later that night. It was so sunny on Christmas Eve, so the glitter really sparkled on our lawn.

Christmas was great. A very long day, but it was good. My husband and I bought our children the Wii U Zelda edition (which was really hard to find), and that was easily their favorite present. I'm excited to try out Wii U Fit, if I can ever pry the controllers from their hands lol. I received an Asus tablet from my husband, which I love. And pretty much everyone else got me gift cards, which is okay by me! I bought my husband some new shoes for him to play Airsoft in and some 49ers PJ pants. I was pleased with myself because I didn't have to use any of his money to buy it (I'm a stay at home mom with no income of my own). I always hate buying him presents with his own money, it just feels wrong. But I sold some stuff earlier in the year and made enough to buy some gifts. He did buy himself one gift that I gave him though- it was Killzone for the PS4. We bought it in a bundle from Target- it was buy any two games, get one free. And we had bought two games for our kids' Christmas presents in the same bundle. But he was the one that told me to wrap it up and give it to him lol, so I did.

Here is Pentatonix singing my favorite Christmas song Carol of the Bells. I didn't know who they were until I started watching The Sing Off this season.


How was your Christmas/ holiday season?