The 12 Days of Geekmas

So last year I made a blog post called The 12 Days of Trekmas which I enjoyed writing, and this year, I decided to write another wonderful rendition of the 12 days........

THE 12 DAYS OF GEEKMAS!!!!

On the First day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
A really badass chemistry lab

On the Second day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Third day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Fourth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Fifth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Sixth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Seventh day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Eighth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Eight planet surface maps
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Ninth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Nine Amazon gift cards
Eight planet surface maps
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Tenth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Ten sci-fi DVD's
Nine Amazon gift cards
Eight planet surface maps
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Eleventh day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Eleven collectible action figures
Ten sci-fi DVD's
Nine Amazon gift cards
Eight planet surface maps
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

On the Twelfth day of Geekmas my true love sent to me...
Twelve ThinkGeek t-shirts
Eleven collectible action figures
Ten sci-fi DVD's
Nine Amazon gift cards
Eight planet surface maps
Seven pairs of safety goggles
Six DNA model kits
Five comic books
Four astronomy books
Three physics books
Two Periodic Tables
And a really badass chemistry lab

This survey knows me very well...

Eating - low riskYou really know how to eat well -- and healthy! That's great!


Right, because anyone who knows me and follows my blog knows I eat so well, right? Wanna hear about what I've had today? A vanilla chai low carb yogurt and a starbucks "chonga" bagel with cream cheese, deli turkey, 1 roma tomato, and 2 packets of mustard, and a venti brewed coffee with gingerbread spice and half and half.


That might be healthy (minus all the empty calories from the coffee sweetener) if it was for 1 meal, and not an entire day's worth of caloric intake. And all their tips are to cut calories and exercise more and watch your portion sizes and.... and...... and.................................................. and I can cut more calories, but that doesn't mean I should.


edit-add on 4 frozen blueberry waffles just now

The Cannibalism of Critters

So a while back I was thinking about the praying mantis and how the female eats the male during and shortly after copulation and I was curious as to whether or not this always happened. I wondered if it was a necessary part of the mating process or if it was simply something they did. And if it was a necessary part, what made it necessary?

Well, I looked up some information and discovered something interesting. Copulation Canibalism is not necessary for the praying mantis, but it is simply the nearest source of nutrition for the female's prospective children. Sometimes the male gets away, if he is quick enough. Sometimes the female starts eating him during reproduction. Sometimes it is after.

But the MOST interesting things I found were about other such critters. There is one that in order to ensure that no other male will follow after them they break off their penis. This holds their sperm inside and prevents another male from mating with that female. Most of them just ate their mates for nutritional value post-copulation.

The making of Halloween Costumes! (part 1)

This year I decided that I really wanted to be a fairy after seeing a fairy costume at my work and I wracked my brain for something that I could do with Alex so that I could be a fairy. I think it's cute to have matching/coordinated halloween outfits and last year we were both pirates. So I thought and I thought and I thought and I came up with something I think will work out well.

King Oberon and Queen Titania of the fairies from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

So here I am to document the costume making at every stage! First I had to plot out how I was going to make my nearly 2 year old son a Fairy King without making him completely hate me for it when he gets older and sees the pictures. I tried to look up costumes online but came up empty handed with anything that wasn't overly girly seeming or seriously impossible for me to make on a budget until I found one picture, that I can't find again for the life of me, of a guy wearing something like a long sleeved shirt under a tunic decorated with leaves, matching pants, and a crown. I don't remember if he had wings on or not, but that costume is the basis of what I'm making Alex's costume look like.

For my costume, one of my coworkers gave me a pretty white skirt that she was going to donate to goodwill which I quickly decided to use for part of my outfit. It's a little small for me but fits if I hook it up high on my waist instead of where it's supposed to be. I'm going to dye that red and then make a top to go with that out of the same fabric I'm using to make Alex's tunic and pants.

So... I went to the dollar tree 2 days ago on my lunch break at work and I bought 2 leaf garlands and 1 bunch of flowers, several things of glitter glue, 2 pairs of green wings, some glow stick fairy wands, some Mardi Gras looking necklaces, some ribbon, some foam sheets, and probably some other stuff I don't remember... And then today (10/10) I went to goodwill and I made out darn good if I do say so myself. I got 2 long sleeved shirts for Alex (one to go under his tunic that he can also wear any other day too) and 2 pairs of pants for Alex, a stuffed frog with a zipper pouch that I let Alex pick out, a dark green flat sheet, and a really pretty see through purple thing with swirls and flowers design on it that I think is supposed to be a table runner. Anyway, I got all that for $11.13 and not on sale it all would have been about $30 but they were having a 1 day only orange tag sale - 50% off of everything that was orange tag, and every red tag item was on sale for $1.29

So here's some pictures of the stuff before I did anything to any of it....

The skirt Laurie gave me

The "table runner"? Folded up

Alex's new shirt

The dark green flat sheet

All the stuff I got, glitter glue, ribbon, foam board, pipe cleaners, etc.

The glow wands, flowers, leaves, and wings

Closeup of the flowers and leaves

closeup of the glitter glue and stuff

closeup of the ribbon 

closeup and singular view of one of the pairs of wings

The box of dye for the skirt (and alex sitting back there, cutie)

So right now the skirt is in the dryer but it doesn't look "scarlet" though, it looks more pink than anything else. I'm going to see what it looks like after it's dry and see what it looks like with the dark green and the purple before I decide whether or not I want to try and dye it again. I got a dark green rit dye that I can take back into work and swap for a refund or if I want, another scarlet since I don't need it as I got a big dark green flat sheet (pictures and mentioned above) instead.

In case you can't tell, I'm making this as I'm typing this blog, lol. And I think it looks ok still. The skirt is like a salmon pink color now, not a scarlet, but it still looks ok with the green and purple. I'm working on making mine and Alex's wings different from how they originally were, different from each other, and making Alex's more boy appropriate. I know, fairy wings on a boy just aren't going to be excessively masculine, but I can at least make an attempt as LESS feminine. But either way they are sparkly. :) 

I'm also working on making Alex's pants and tunic out of the sheet as we speak. To make the tunic it was pretty easy to figure out the measurements. I wrapped my measuring tape around his middle then did the same from his shoulder down. So I'm cutting a chunk out of the sheet that is going to measure 28" long and 13" wide. From his shoulders down to the bottom of his shirt was 12" but I want it to be a little longer than his shirt is and also I want to have some room to hem it. Around his middle was 22" which divided is 11" but also I want it to overlap a little and still have a little bit extra to add a hem. Also I want to give it a little bit of room just in case I make a mistake cutting it. The pants are going to be a little more difficult. I remember the way I made my pajama pants when I was in high school and that's how I'm making his pants. First I need to measure him from his waist to his ankles, then I need to measure around his waist, then I need to measure the inseam (crotch to ankle), and then his thigh. Once that is done, I'll need to add a little bit for seams, a little bit at the waist to fold over for a drawstring, a little bit for hems, etc. And then I'll need to make a pattern out of paper, cut it out, and sew it. And hopefully it'll fit him. LOL.

I'll post more later <3

What is Beauty?

Beautiful adj. Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight.


So it really is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is nothing that says one person is more beautiful than another or a certain shirt is more beautiful. If a person finds that something is beautiful, then it has served it's purpose. So why is there so much debate surrounding whether or not a person is beautiful? And why am I the one that is debating what is?


How could any girl honestly be confidant and secure with the media and society shoving down our throats that we just aren't good enough and even if a girl is, even if she is the right size and has the right hair and wears the right clothes, if they gain or lose a little weight it's all over blown totally out of proportion. No wonder so many people have image issues. No wonder so many women wish they were thinner even if they are normal sized. The pressure to be as beautiful as the people we see in magazines and on tv and all over is so immense. And maybe it isn't from men who seem to increasingly say they dislike the stick figures, but other women are cruel sometimes too. I think it was tyra banks who did an episode on her talk show about girls being super mean to other girls. Girls are mean...


I'm insecure. That is always what sums up everything I've typed on here lately. My blog has become a list of my dramatic insecurities. What I eat, what I don't eat, what I say, what I don't say, what I do, what I don't do, what I wish I did.... The issues on top of issues on top of issues that I can type day in and day out about and never say anything truly worth reading.


So what is beautiful to you?