Captain's Log #9: Back in the Captain's chair

Hey guys!

This weekend I went to Geek Girl Brunch! It was an absolute blast! Our brunch for this month was Lord of the Rings themed and it was fabulous.

I didn't know we doing a serious face with the props, so here I am smiling with a sword

Also, $2 mimosas? Yes, please. 

I'm so glad I got to hang out with old friends and make new ones! To top it all off, I won a copy of The Silmarillion and an Arwen bookmark!

  
AND....

***SPECIAL NOTE***

If you are attending PAX South, I will be at the after-hours GGB multi-chapter event!! Come hang out and say hi!  


And now, on to the Captain's Log!       

Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch. (Book) If your a regular reader here, you know I was super obsessed with the Wayward Pines TV show. Since we bought a Kindle, I decided to start reading more and the trilogy was free on the Amazon library. I'm currently on book 2 and I love it! It's very different from the TV show, so I like not knowing what will happen at the end. If you like creepiness, definitely check this one out.

Dorkface. (Blog) It's no secret, I love my fellow geek girl bloggers. I found Jemma on Twitter from some of the IGGPPC girls and I love her blog. From blogging tips, motivational posts, fun ramblings, DIYS, she has it all. I even joined #theGirlGang. Definitely give her a visit here.

Pokemon Moon. (Nintendo DS) We picked up Pokemon Sun and Moon and I absolutely adore it. This is the first full Pokemon game I've played so I love experiencing it for the first time with Jonathan who has played all of them. The graphics are great and I love the characters and storyline. 

The ClueFinders. (PC...kinda) Okay, this is a little bit weird, but hear me out. When I was a kid and AOL was a thing, we received a free trial of this game. I absolutely loved the thing and played it for months, even though there was limited content. I mentioned it offhand to Jonathan a while back, and I couldn't even remember the name of it, just that it had math and Mothra (this was the 90's). Also, yes I was a nerd obsessed with an educational game. For Christmas, he managed to find the whole game and gave it to me. I cried of laughter and couldn't wait to reminisce on this dorky thing. Turns out, my math skills have barely improved but it's still as fun as ever. Now at 21, I can see how cheesy it is but I adore it. (Even though I had to do a little maneuvering since it only runs on Windows 95.)

Demolition Man. (Movie) It's no secret that I'm so behind on movies. I really suck at watching them, even though I love them. Last night, Jon convinced me to check this out and I'm so glad I did. It's like watching Galaxy Quest with Rambo. I loved it. Cheesy 90's action goodness is my favorite thing ever. I encourage all my fellow geeks to check this out.

Saturday Night Live. (TV) Ok, this is kind of weird but I cannot watch SNL on TV. I get too distracted and restless. Plus, I'm not usually a fan of the musical guests. So, I tend to watch the skits on Youtube or Hulu. I love to just watch these on my phone while I put on my makeup or when I'm cooking. Plus, I'm loving all the female comedians on there. They are hilarious!!! Check it out if you haven't seen it. I was one of those who checked out after Tina, Amy, and Jimmy left, but I'm so glad I got back into it.


What are you guys up to? Do you have any suggestions for what I should read, watch, or play next? Let's chat!


Always, Raineedayze

New Year's Eve Recap: Goodbye 2016

Hey ya'll! 


Today, I decided to make a short post to show off our New Year's Eve bash we had at the house. I'm not a huge partier so it was just me and Jonathan at home but I must say we kicked off the night in the most perfect way. 

Nearing the end of the night with a Cosmo

We are lucky enough to live in a city that goes all out for New Year's, so we went outside at midnight to watch the fireworks light up the sky! Unfortunately, I was a little too celebratory and forgot to take photos :( but it was magical to feel all the energy in the air. New Year's Eve is one of my favorite holidays because the excitement and happiness radiates throughout the universe. It truly feels breathtaking for one moment and for one moment, we all come together.


That's not to say we didn't take full advantage of the traditional drunk antics though.

Fully stocked. Not pictured: Wine, Champagne, and mixed drinks in fridge

I am a lover of booze and a lover of celebrations (safely, of course) and so we had a blast with our drinks. We toasted champagne, drank fancy Cosmos (which are not as fabulous as they seem, I found) and I took on a bottle of coconut rum. It was so fun!


Jonathan had to work until 11:30 last night, so he was rushing to get home before midnight. Luckily, I made us a lovely meal of ribs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and black-eyed peas. We ate a bit and just enjoyed the wonderful night together.

I was super happy that I got to use my new makeup from Geek Chic Cosmetics for my NYE look. I have my full review of them scheduled for later this week, as well, so stay tuned!

All in all, I'm extremely blessed to share a wonderful life with a wonderful human. I'm so excited to see what I can accomplish in 2017. I finished off 2016 by officially driving in the city (on the highway!!!), finding out I love scotch (I can feel Ron Swanson vibes), and becoming more independent overall. 

And also doing things like this

How was your celebrations? Let's chat in the comments!


Always, Raineedayze

Resolutions, Revolutions, and Doing Something

Happy New Year ya'll!


Now that we've began a new year, I decided there was no better time to make some adjustments in my life. But, the idea of resolutions always seemed a bit odd to me.I'm not sure I have much to resolve as much as I have to create. So instead of resolutions, I think it's time to make revolutions.


                                 
                                 
This kind of goes along with the #OneWord365 goals you may have seen popping up on other blogs. For these revolutions, I think there is one word they all surround. 

Do.

I want to do something, whether that means creating, being present, or simply just doing the things I love. I want to be a doer, not something that lets the world pass me by. What does this mean? 

In 2017 I want to...







Do Something and Do it Well

As a full-time student, part-time worker, I have a lot of duties that pull me in every direction. Sometimes, though I hate to admit it, I do put my school a little behind due to frustration, exhaustion, and general laziness. Sometimes I spend my Saturdays playing Overwatch instead of reviewing for an exam by telling myself "I deserve this". This year I want to create the kind of academic profile that matches the person I want to be. The kind of academic record of a person that would make Leslie Knope proud.



                                        





Do something active



                                          


I'm 21 years old. I love booze, junk food, and video games. I tend to not really pay attention to the long-term effects that my lifestyle will take on if I continue. This isn't a "lose weight" type of thing though. This is a more, "put real food in your mouth instead of a 5 dollar burger" and "see the outside world a little more" type of thing. Contrary to popular belief, I won't be Forever 21 and even now, I should be able to do some physical activity without dying. Also, it'd be pretty great to not have my doctor yell at me. 



Do things for and with others


                                          


I was blessed with the most amazing people in my life. Yet, sometimes I feel myself taking them for granted. I catch myself checking my phone while in conversations, playing games instead of watching movies with Jonathan, or just avoiding plans because I'm too lazy/stressed/anxious/etc. to actually go out. I want to change how I see the people in my life, show more appreciation for them, and put more effort in them than my selfishness.



JUST DO IT


                                      



If you follow me on any form of social media, you know I love a lot of things. But I do catch myself "never getting around" to doing things. Movies go unseen, books go unread, crafts go unfinished, (blog posts go unposted....). This year I want to be a doer, a creator, an interesting person. I want to push myself to be the person I'd want to hang around. The type of person who has a story to tell and who has things they do instead of just waiting for life to happen to them.  


What are some of your goals for the new year? Do you have a word for 2017? Let's chat about it!



Always, Raineedayze 

Isn't This Where We Came In?

Hey guys! 

In case you haven't noticed, I've been gone for a bit. An extremely long bit, actually. I had a pretty hectic semester and the only time I got to see the computer was for typing up 50-page assignments. So, yeah...it's fabulous to be back, and I hope you accept my humble apologies!


As 2016 closes out, I'm looking back on this year with a full heart and a determined spirit. We can't say it hasn't been eventful. From the tragic, the scary, the fun, and the just plain bizarre moments, I can truly say I'm ready to put this year behind me. Of course, there were so many wonderful moments that made this year great. But I feel ready to release this year and create a fresh start.

Since I haven't been around much, I thought I'd update you all on the last few months of my life. Cue the photo montage!


                                          



Two of my best friends graduated! Congratulations to my Little, Miriam and to Karina, aka Shot #1. I'm so proud of you guys!

 
















 

Christmas came and we were spoiled with not only wonderful gifts but a trip to visit my family in Dallas! I even went ice skating! It was an absolute blast and I was so blessed to spend the holidays with the people I hold dear!













I lost my grandfather a bit before Thanksgiving. It was pretty hard on all of us. Unfortunately, I was unable to be with my family when it happened, so I had to take some time to deal with it. Luckily, our family is so supportive and close that we are slowly able to come to terms. 





I took on the hardest semester of my life. Aside from any personal issues, I also was putting in full days of nonstop school. Even though I took few classes, I worked in labs or on classwork from 6 a.m to past midnight most nights. Every break from school was filled with sleeping for 12 straight hours. I worked so hard and can proudly say I accomplished it strong.
I also took on new responsibilities on the Executive Board of my honor society as their Publicity and Social Media director. I felt so humbled at my opportunities to work towards building better leadership skills and gaining responsibility for something I'm passionate about.










I was blessed with the most wonderful support system in the world. From my hilarious and perfect friends, my loving and wacky family, and the most supportive boyfriend I could ever dream of, I was able to push through this year. I cannot imagine doing any of this without them.

 

So now it's your turn. How was your year? Now that you can review it as a whole, how would you describe it? Let's chat in the comments!!


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Always, Raineedayze

The World's Best Cookies - DIYDayze

So we've all heard of Pinterest, right?

I have a lovely habit of tending to pin things that I then promptly forget about doing. It's a sickness that leaves me feeling productive but yet I have nothing to show for it. 

So I decided to change that! 

I found this pin for "The World's Best Cookies" and decided I was going to surprise Jonathan and his coworkers with some of them. I love to bake and cook so I figured this would be easy-peasy.


via GIPHY

Welp. I was half-right!


The website and video tutorial were pretty simple. I've made cookies plenty of times as well so the actual creating of the cookies was easy.

 However the baking time on the website was weird. The website insisted to bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. Now, if you bake cookies from a prepackaged kit, they tend to take 11-15 minutes. Baking cookies from scratch usually will take slightly longer or in the range of that time frame. But, I decided to let the cookie recipe guide me.

This is how they looked.

She insisted they were supposed to be almost raw-looking and they would slowly drop and be yummy. I left mine for the 30 minutes she suggested and came back to them. 

THEY WERE SO RAW! 

SEE THE RAWNESS!

It was awful and sickeningly sweet from the raw dough. I finally just shut off the browser and went to work at rebaking the cookies. I ended up baking them for another 16 minutes and, what do ya know? They turned out fabulous!

Jonathan's coworkers loved them and begged me to make more soon so I felt so much better in my ability. I'm currently working on some Pumpkin bread for them (and us) to celebrate the Autumn season 

Moral of the story: Sometimes it is best to trust your gut. And raw cookie dough is not yummy!  

Let me know about your Pinterest fails or wins in the comments below! Also if you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can find me here! 


Always, Raineedayze