Letting My Inner Nerd Style Free!

 I've spent way too long in jeans and a T-shirt. So, I'm letting the Nerd shine loud and proud! And just how am I doing that? By wearing the clothing that shows it off best. 

I've been putting a lot of effort into creating a style board on Pinterest lately. I want to climb out of the wardrobe rut and return to consciously deciding on matching looks that express who I am. I used to style myself after Trinity from the Matrix movies with a long duster, knee high boots and black knee-length skirts. I wore cargo pants and corset tops. I'd have worn boots all year around, except I learned that was considered a no-no in the fashion world. I felt amazing! I didn't care what people thought of my look. I was me. Even more so, as I look back, it was when I was coming to the realization that I was a nerd. Not your broken glasses-fixed with tape, pocket protector-wearing, kind either. My style was eccentric. And I like to think that some part of me, still is that way. Just more refined...

(Zyia Havana tank, over blue tank, blue cardigan shirt, Evenstar necklace)

Fast forward many, many, MANY years. I have had 4 kids. I'm happily married to a guy who thinks I'm beautiful no matter what I look like. I have lived quite the seasoned life. I'm no longer flat-abs, but my hips and rear are definitely far more curvaceous. These are things that I'm taking into consideration as I plot out the types of clothes I want to wear. 

Creating my first favorite outfit!

I had asked for this long vest piece and received it for Christmas. It goes perfectly with my long sleeve, blue Superman shirt. Though, for the summer months, I will be looking to get a short sleeved Wonder Woman shirt. Wonder Woman is definitely my hero and I want to be able to show that off all year long. This red cardigan vest is like wearing a red cape, but in a classier form for everyday wear! Over the winter months, I paired them with jeans and my black boots. I felt like I could easily be Super Woman. 

But like I said, this outfit only works for the winter time. I needed a summer version too. So I found these shirt pieces at the local Goodwill. I can wear it with my jeans and ballet flats. I also wear the leather wrist band my mom sent me. Sadly, the Wonder Woman shirt you see here is a little on the tighter side. Downside to not being able to try things on before buying these days. So I mostly wear it around the house now.

My most recent additions are these Nerd+faith shirts that my husband and I got. I usually don't like matching him. Feels weird. But we saw these, and couldn't resist! I also like wearing mine with the red cardigan vest. After all, what Vader girl doesn't like her cape?? 

My next project was inspired by this elegant necklace that I got from Ms. Kara, who is a Paparazzi Consultant.

I immediately fell in love with it. Red is my color (can't you tell?) and this one screams HARLEY QUINN! So I have decided to try to create an outfit that goes with the necklace. Want to see more jewelry that will inspire you? Check out her Facebook page HERE. She truly is the Princess of Bling.

These outfits are me! These are my style beginning to shine forth. They raise my self confidence and make me feel beautiful. I can't wait to put together more looks like this. What is your go-to look?

Easter Without Too Many Sweets

  

Easter can be a fun time. Our family doesn't celebrate it for the egg hunts and treats, however. It is when we remember that Christ came, died, and rose again from the grave. But that doesn't mean we don't enjoy the fun events as well. If we are with family, we will do an egg hunt. These can be amazingly fun for kids. As long as you count the eggs so you know if they found all of them! Nothing like finding an old hidden egg weeks later... Personally, I also think that color coding the eggs so that kids can only pick up their colors makes for less pushing and shoving. That's just me though.

However, for us, having them full of candy can be a bit, how should I say it.... Undesirable. Dentists make bank off kids who are constantly consuming sugar. While we don't allow sodas in our home, except as a treat or for an event, we do allow them to have sweets 3 days of the week. After holidays like Easter and Halloween, our candy bowl can get pretty full. 

So I got to thinking! 

This is dangerous for me. You never know where I'm gonna go with the thought train. The thought of alternatives for Easter got me excited though. There are so many things out there that are tiny enough to put into Easter eggs that aren't edible. Or things to just give as treats as well. You just have to know where to look. 

Covid restrictions are still in progress for our area.

Easter baskets are a great way to make the holiday fun. Especially if you are under restrictions in your area. Our family still has restrictions for hanging out with some of my in laws. So Easter is looking like a no for us. While we can't be with most others, we can still enjoy the holiday. 

If you are doing a basket, what to stuff into it? I recently did a review on Bakugan. Once removed from the packaging, they can actually be tucked into larger eggs.

Otherwise, they are something different for the basket ideas. Pokemon and Yugioh cards are popular. My kids have been collecting them lately and their friends do too. The Dollar Tree stores usually have packs of 3 Pokemon cards each that the kids like me getting. Or I get a mixed bunch super cheap on Amazon to divide among them all. Another cheap find that I like to include is glow sticks. My kids love them. I keep some on hand for weekend fun.  

A neighbor friend of ours sells Paparazzi jewelry. You can get a necklace and earrings set for $5. Bracelets - $5. Little girls earrings - $1.

                                              I believe little girls bracelets are also $1 each.

Hmm... Little ladies like dressing up and looking nice. Why not use something like that instead? My friend Kara loves to help, so be sure to ask what she has new in stock. It is boutique style. Once she sells out, she can't guarantee that she can get them again.

I plan on having books included. I've come to know that too much iPad time in school has led to issues with my kids. From worsening eye sight in one son, to my younger son having issues using a mouse with his Dad's desktop. Everything has been on a touch screen, including reading books. So in our home, they read printed books. With real paper. Not gonna have a scene from WALL-E play out with my kids. If I have only done 1 thing right in raising them, it is raising them to be avid readers.

Thinking outside the box.

Another idea I have for my kids is a scavenger hunt. The same items suggested for baskets would work as prizes for this. It gives them a fun activity to do that rivals an egg hunt. This can be made even better by doing it in the dark! Just some suggestions if you are planning to celebrate with just your household. Leave me a comment below of any ideas you might have!

Family Fun in Waxahachie With the Scarborough Renaissance Festival!

If you are near Waxahachie, Texas and looking for some good family fun, then this post is for you! US Family Guide and their bloggers (including me) are teaming up with the Scarborough Renaissance Festival that is presented by T-Mobile, to introduce you to some family-friendly weekends that will get you outdoors. All in time for this spring time weather we are starting to get! Check out their information below for the deals and safety protocols they have in place. A review will be coming later, once my family has had a chance to check it out. Hope to see some of you readers there! 

*This post is in partnership with US Family Guide and Scarborough Renaissance Festival. All opinions expressed above are my own. And information presented below belongs to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. I was not paid to present it to you.*

Scarborough Renaissance Festival presented by T-Mobile is coming back better than ever and ready to celebrate its 40th season starting April 10, 2021! The season will run eight consecutive weekends beginning April 10 - May 31, 2021, with a variety of exciting new shows and extraordinary new artisans along with long-time Festival favorites. The health and safety of their employees, participants and visitors is Scarborough Renaissance Festival's number one priority. They have worked closely with local authorities to ensure that all protocols and CDC guidelines will be followed so that they can conduct a safe and fun event for everyone. They have developed comprehensive guidelines and protocols that will be in place for the 2021 season for visitors and participants alike. These include temperature checks, a mask requirement, social distancing and more. These guidelines and protocols can be found on their website at https://www.srfestival.com/covid-19-guidelines/.
Opening weekend (April 10 & 11) is Kids Free weekend - up to 3 kids 12 & under get in free with each paid adult ticket.

Kids 4 & Under are ALWAYS free
https://www.srfestival.com/ticket-information/

What would you be most likely to want to see? I'm thinking the Fire Whip Show, The London Broil Show and Birds of Prey!  But those are just scheduled things you can see. They also have jousting matches! And shows that are geared towards entertaining the children. My daughters are going to want to meet the mermaids of Mermaid Lagoon for sure! The children can participate in a knighting ceremony, ride an elephant, camel or pony and then watch the daily parade. Check out the list of fun HERE.

New Year, New Goals!

This year is really speeding through its gears. March is already at the halfway point! I had decided that I was going to set goals and make them happen. So many things have been vying for my attention thus far. So focus was the first trait I needed to work on to get these goals accomplished. More often than I care to admit, I find myself being a bit scatterbrained. I have my mind set on a future trip. First, Israel, then I want to see Colorado. And then to go back to the Tennessee mountains. They are on my Bucket List. Mountains! I'm thinking I don't really want to play in the snow. After the storm we had here, I'm satisfied with my snow experiences already.

Organization is key.

But back to my goals. I really wanted to get better organized this year. We have had books scattered everywhere. My daughters were the only ones with shelves for theirs. And it drove me nuts, especially in 2020. But this year, my husband got me something I'm truly in love with. Shelves! Christmas gift cards were put to good use in getting another DVD shelf - to finally separate the kids' movies from ours and give us more room.

Since we do not subscribe to streaming services or have cable, a lot of what we watch is movies we own or borrow from the library. So we have a lot of them. 

And then the book shelf he got me was perfect! I was able to put the boys' books and my own on it, while still having room to spare. So I pulled things from bins to display for a change.

I still have 2 bins more of books that I know I won't be able to fit all, but it is a great start. Since taking this photo, I have been sent more books from my mom and the shelves are nearly full.

Girl, look at that body!

I wanted to lose 45 pounds. Be healthier. My husband and I laid out the ground plans for this year and the changes we wanted to see. However, we haven't fully kept to our workout goals. Sickness and storms have interfered in one way or another. We started strong and then my body revolted. I liked working out because it gave me more energy. Sadly, the pain has been killing me. I tried for as long as I could. Now I'm going to switch tactics and work on those meals, smoothies and sleeping better. I really love skipping a meal and having a smoothie for it instead. I am also loving making skillet meals that incorporate cauliflower rice and veggies. Just wish they weren't so expensive!

Cutting back on sweets - Only 3 days a week are we planning to let the kids have treats. As for us, we are only having them on truly special occasions. But in addition to that, we are making sweets a little more on the health-conscious side. More fruit, less sugar. Got any recipes - I'm all ears! Leave me a comment below.

Reading more.

Once upon a time, I was such a heavy reader. I let it go for a while, but I'm back at it. I'm setting goals. I have lots of books to read. The local library had a contest that the kids and I were participating in. It was so much fun to log how many we read! Goodreads also has a Reading Goal function. You set how many books you want to read this year and it keeps track based on the book reviews you leave. I love being a part of Goodreads! So far, I finished 10 books for that goal. For the library contest, I've read more, but mostly for reading to my daughter. As of the time I'm writing this - I've finished reading Ensnared in the Wolf's Lair by Ann Bausum about the 1944 plot to kill Hitler and the children who paid the price for that coup. This was followed by Tales of the Peculiar, the first book in a series my mom sent me that is by Ransom Riggs.

I plan to continue that series as well as The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore. If you loved the movies Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children or I Am Number Four, then these series may be of interest to you. With how I read lately, I'm flying through them.

Starting up date nights...

On my Bucket List, I decided I wanted to make a once a month date night happen. When you are in a relationship, especially with children involved, you need that time to reconnect. To be child-free and focusing on each other. No interruptions. January's date night was awesome! We went out to try Vietnamese food for the first time. February didn't have a date night because of the snow storm that disrupted life here for so long. And that is okay. We have had to get everything back on track since then. March isn't looking like we will have one either. My husband rarely gets Friday or Saturday nights off. And one of those is already booked for a camping trip. Hopefully in April we can pick it back up!

And finally...

I have decided to get a cane. I need something for days when it gets too hard. The pain has me struggling with just walking sometimes. And I have decided that I need to accept the help that a walking stick provides. However! With that being said, it won't be your standard walking stick. Oh no! See, I'm a cool nerd. Which means this stick of mine is going to be retrofitted to my personal style. I have been researching steampunk styled canes. Usually, these are for cosplay. Mine is going to be fully functional. I've been researching making one or buying one. I like something simple like this one. Would get through airport security easier!
 

Or I could buy one from Etsy. I found a couple styles that are pretty. And I could potentially add more to it. Check out this one. I'm stuck on whether it is going to be comfortable to hold. Probably not this one. But it is cool, don't you think?

 

What about you? What goals do you have? Any skills you want to learn? We are already a day away from March. No time like the present to begin!