Green Thumb Adventures Begin!

May 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Is it too soon to be calling me Farmer Kelly? Ok, maybe it is but we are closer to finding out if my thumb is black or green!

After talking & dreaming of fresh, garden grown veggies for weeks I can finally say that we are so much closer to making those dreams a reality. This weekend, besides doing our belated Mother’s Day dinner, we finally were able to get those yummy soon-to-be veggies in the raised bed. And boy has this neighborly garden been quite the experience! Oh well, you live & learn better ways to plan next year.

So what all have we learned so far?

  1. Planning & Measuring! Learn about the plants you want to grow. If you are limited on space like us, this is extremely important! We let our dreams overtake reality a bit & had to work on a tiny addition to fit everything we already obtained, which meant that some other wants got left out.
  2. Scheduling. If you want everything to be a group experience then you need to create a schedule & block out time for planting. It’s been such a pain trying to coordinate schedules so we can get the fill dirt (since we don’t have a truck & plan on sharing expenses). I can say that if this wasn’t a neighborly garden, we would’ve had those plants in the ground a few weeks ago.

Now the real hard part begins…the wait!

I find myself constantly going to check on the garden. Making sure it’s had enough to drink. Seeing if any miracles have happened overnight & we suddenly have a garden full of food to enjoy. But don’t worry, I’ve not run out there digging things up to see why there is nothing to eat yet!

How is your garden adventure going? I’m sure we’d all love to hear any valuable lessons you’ve learned this season.

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Nerd Candy: Super Dungeon Explore

May 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

When I’m not crafting, designing, reading, working, or writing, I am usually found playing games. This weekend being a very good example of that. It’s something I’ve done since I was a tiny nerd in elementary school & will never stop doing. And I often get asked from other gamer friends what some of my favorite games are to play, or what I might recommend that they check out. Chances are that if you haven’t asked me this yourself, you might be wondering the exact same thing. So why not put it out there on the blog?!

So I guess I will start out with my absolute favorite board game out there, Super Dungeon Explore. You could probably say that I’m a bit of a fangirl when it comes to this game. If I had an endless supply of money, I would gladly throw all I can at every Kickstarter they’ve done & every addon available (like this one). And if you’ve ever seen my Instagram or looked at my blog, you’ve more than likely seen a picture of some of those cute chibi heroes or vicious monsters of SDE.

Who is this game for?

There is a simple answer…everyone! It’s for the young & old. The experienced & inexperienced table top gamers. The MMO players. The console gamers. And definitely for anyone that has ever loved exploring a dungeon.

If you enjoy teamwork, then heroes are for you. If you enjoy trying to screw over people, then you are going to be the perfect Consul.

What do you do?

The key to the game is for the heroes to defeat the big, bad boss guy. But to do that you have to defeat the little monsters, destroy the towers & hopefully grab some loot while doing it. Of course that will require some smart thinking & great teamwork on the heroes.

When can you do it?

Any time you have a few hours to waste in a fantasy world, but it really depends on how many players you have & the luck of your rolls. I’ve seen some games end as quickly as 15 minutes, but drag on for 4+ hours too.

If you are new to the game, it might take a bit longer than usual while you get used to what each of the abilities spells do. But it really is an easy game to understand quickly.

Why do I love it?

How do I love thee, let me count thy ways!

There are a wide range of hero types for just about every person, which means that everyone is pretty happy. Paladins, mages, rangers…take your pick! While I prefer to play support roles in most games, I have found a few of the ranged & melee heroes in this game that are quickly becoming new favorites. And it’s even caused me to branch out a bit in some other games!

Teamwork! I’ve played games where it’s a free-for-all & they are fine + dandy, but I much prefer a game that gets people to work together for a common goal. You have to admit that working with people can be more difficult than being on your own, which adds another challenge to the mix. Coordinating abilities & predicting the chain of events to follow. Of course the support character in me would rather have a group to support than drag the game out for days trying to survive & poke monsters to death.

Super high replay value, with so many different choices before the game even begins & the odds of rolling dice you might never have the same outcome ever again. And like I said before, things are more fun when you aren’t facerolling through a dungeon. You have a pretty good range of selection for heroes & dungeon tiles. The Consul gets to choose which monsters he rolls. And then you are at the mercy of your dice roll/loot drops.

Personal Favorite Hero?

It really all depends on the group. Most of the time I prefer to choose my hero last to see what everyone else picks, that way I can either be the support we need or try something new. But if I had to pick my absolute favorite I would probably choose the first one I ever played as, the druid. The model looks pretty awesome & you can even switch into RAWR bear form!

In all honesty, I don’t think I could recommend this game enough to all my friends. I haven’t had a ton of experience with table top games like this, but this game alone has hooked me so bad that I can’t wait to try each & every one ever released.

Have you played Super Dungeon Explore? Do you have a favorite hero/monster? I haven’t tried playing as Consul yet, but I’m hoping to give the mister a break at some point to try out the adorable heroes. But I will say that I’m digging the “turtle power” from the Caverns of Roxor expansion (& if you ever played Molten Core in WoW you will find a familiar face in this expansion).

/* These opinions are my own & I have not been compensated in any way for this post. */

Filed Under: Nerdisms Tagged With: , , ,

Bookworm Adventures: Nerd Do Well

May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

If you were given the chance to meet any one of your geek crushes, but could choose only one, who would it be? Felicia Day? Matt Smith? Benedict Cumberbatch? There is no hesitation in my answer, hands down I would choose Simon Pegg above any of them. Sure I have crushes on the others I mentioned. Yep, I know who they are & why they are so nerdtastic. And yes, I’m talking about that adorably nerdy fella in Shaun of the Dead.

If asked why, I would simply respond with “why not?!”. He knows how to speak to a nerdy girl like me, be it with zombie references or nerdy quips. And as a girl that fell in love with aliens the first time I saw E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, he brought another lovable, but more perverse, alien to the mix with Paul.

And since the mister has quite the man crush on him too, it really didn’t take hardly any work to convince him that we had to add Simon Pegg’s book Nerd Do Well to our little library. Give us the chance to see what happenings caused this man to become the nerd idol that he is today? Yes, please!

So later that day I opened the book to start reading, fully expecting lots of nerd references & mentions of his good buddy Nick Frost. After many good chuckles early on, I was surprised to find an entirely different book altogether. Sure he mentions his best friend a few times & talks about his nerdy delights, but there is so much more to the book than that. And while my expectations couldn’t have been more wrong, I have to say that I really enjoyed every chapter of this book…& am crushing on him even more now.

So what did I take away with me after reading this book? So very much!

The big thing? He’s just like us!

He dealt with bullies. He wasn’t handed everything on a silver platter. And despite the failings that came his way, he became something amazing because he never gave up. /* Plus it helps that he had a supportive mother. */

Moral of the Story? It’s a great book for any nerd especially if they already love Simon Pegg. But I will warn you that it might not be suited for the younger nerds with some of the things mentioned. So if we had to give this a rating like they do in the movies, I would say it might get a PG-13.

For all you mystery loving bookworms (of all ages) out there, I have the inside track on some great deals from a semi-unknown author (a.k.a. Papa Bear). If you want to give a new author a try, one of his stand alone mysteries Photo Finish is FREE for Kindle until Friday.

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How Do You Beat the UFO Blues?

May 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This past weekend, as I was going through my craft room in search of the test yarn for my design, I crossed paths with an UFO or two. If you are a fan of The X-Files or E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, you may think that I am one super lucky gal but I better stop you right there & explain myself. I’m not referring to those flying saucers in the sky, when I mention the UFO blues I am talking about unfinished objects. Those pesky crafty projects that are hidden around your crafting space, maybe in one of those many project bags you’ve collected during your creative journey.

Why do we have UFOs?

There could be many reasons a crafter leaves a project incomplete.

Maybe you’ve reached a part of the pattern that confuses you & you need to do a little research on a technique. It’s possible that the pattern has an error & you haven’t seen an errata for it, making it difficult to move on past that point. And there is always the dreaded mistake or dropped stitch many rows back, with the mere thought of ripping out all that hard work causing you to abandon the project at the time.

For me? It’s usually one of two things. One being that I have started a project that takes quite a bit of time & concentration, but find myself low on that spare crafting time. Or I have come down with a bad case of crafting ADD & come across another pattern that causes me to get distracted from what is currently on my needles.

How do we cure the blues?

This is something that I really haven’t mastered in all my 30+ years of crafting, if I had then I wouldn’t have found those UFOs in the craft room to being with. But I’m sure we can find a way to remedy this!

We’ve got a few options:

  1. Pledge to not start a new project until one UFO has been completed. This may not completely fix the issue of UFOs, but it will help you not let that pile get out of control & take over your house…or world. Basically a crafty decluttering of one-in-one-out, if you will.
  2. Evaluate each UFO. Really look at the project & why it became a UFO in the first place. Did you lose interest in the pattern? Make a mistake or drop a stitch? If it looks like you will never finish the project, then consider frogging the project so that the yarn can become something you will actually finish & love.
  3. Find a crafting partner-in-crime. Sometimes all we need is a little nudge from a friend to get going again. And if you come across a bit that is confusing you, turn to them for a little guidance.
  4. Schedule crafting time. If you are like me &  find yourself struggling to get that quality crafting time that you desperately need for sanity’s sake, maybe block off 30 minutes to 1 hour of your day from UFO work. You might not turn the UFO into an FO overnight, but you will at least be a few rows further along!

So, is there anyone out there that wants to be my virtual crafting partner-in-crime? I could really use a little push to get that UFO stash under control!

So do you have any other cures to add to the list? I know that I didn’t exhaust all the options & would love to know what tricks you’ve done to get control over your project list. And if you are looking for a crafting partner(s)-in-crime, let me know. Maybe we can set up an UFO support group?

Filed Under: Handcraftery Tagged With: ,

Weekend Plans with Old Friends

May 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The Summer break has started in our little home now that the mister’s semester is officially over which has got me thinking about the things I want to do this summer. Of course we will be tending to our little garden which will help me experiment in the kitchen a wee bit. /* As much as my picky eating habits (which I’m trying to break) will allow. */ And hopefully taking a few little outings & road trips. But there’s another little quest from this month that I’m hoping will lead to a path of many more exciting things, which I plan on starting this weekend!

If you don’t know I’m a zombie job employee that has been dreaming of joining the living, which means that I have been dreaming about doing my own thing. Using my crafty skills & creativity to open a little online shop of geeky wares for amazing nerds. Ways for people like us to add a bit of geekery to our every day looks & life.

The other day while I was waiting for the clock to strike the 5:00 pm quitting time, I got an idea for a hat design for that future shop. So this weekend I’m going to spend a little quality time with some stash yarn & see if I can take that sketch from paper to the real deal. You see, I was actually pretty nervous about being able to complete my short list of quests for the month all because of the handcraftery ones. It seems like there is always something to throw a wrench in my crafty plans, as of late. So I couldn’t be happier to spend a little quality time with some dear old friends, crochet hooks & yarn.

And don’t worry, I will be spending some quality time with both Momma Bears this weekend but we are postponing the great festivities until next weekend. You see this baby bear takes after her Momma Bear. While I’m planning on spending a good chunk of the weekend with my hands on some yarn & pencils /* Gotta make notes if I plan on making some of these hats for ya’ll! */, Momma Bear will be enjoying the weekend in her cute little booth at a downtown festival selling her handcraftery.

Who knows? I may even take my project bag along with me & get some sage advice from my crafting guru, dear Momma Bear. One of many creative ladies in my life that formed me into the craftaholic that I am.

So what are your plans this weekend? Don’t forget to add spoiling your mothers to the list. And for all those mothers out there, I wish you the happiest of Mother’s Days!

/* Hopefully I get enough progress done this weekend so that I can share some pictures of the hat & talk about my design process. */

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