So, turns out a lot of stuff happened around here between Halloween and Christmas- stuff which I usually document here, but we were just way too busy. So rather than giving each a dedicated post, I'll just give you a little taste all in one. (If you follow me on Instagram, however, you did indeed see some of these life updates!)
Little Bean turned 18 months old, and in her aged wisdom she decided to leave behind her high chair and sit only in a booster seat in a regular chair, using utensils and eating from her own plate just like everybody else.
In November, Mr. Geek and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I had planned to write up this sweet list of marriage advice learned over ten years, but instead I'll leave you with this- we had our parents come and stay with the kids for the weekend and we spent two night in a sweet little historic inn half an hour up the road. That's it, that's the secret to ten happy years of marriage.
Miss Chief celebrated her 9th birthday on the same day as our wedding anniversary. The day after we got back from our little getaway, we had a big birthday party for her. She wore a dress that she designed and I made, and she invited all the girls in her class. It was the first big party we've had since the pandemic started and we all had a blast.
In December, Mr. Geek and I joined Miss Chief for 3 performances of The Nutcracker with her ballet school. Every year, they ask for parent volunteers to dance as the parents in the party scene, and since Miss Chief was cast as a child in the party scene, we decided to go for it and join her on stage. It was a LOT of work but honestly we haven't had that much fun in a long time!
So yeah, that was our fall! Hopefully I can get back into posting here on a semi-regular basis. I sewed a lot of awesome things in 2022 and I'd like to share them with you!
I know I haven't updated you lovely readers on any of the things that have happened since Halloween- I didn't post any costume tutorials, I didn't update you about Bean turning 18 months old, or Miss Chief turning 9 (!), or our 10th wedding anniversary (!!)- but here we are at Christmas, so enjoy this photo of this toddler in awe of the Christmas lights and her siblings in awe of her.
I hope that for you, this Christmas has been an opportunity to pause, if only for a moment, and take a deep breath, after a year of not being able to breathe. We're not at the end of this tunnel, but at least we can be more confident that there will be an end, eventually.
I hope your Christmas is spent snuggled up with your loved ones in matching jammies, too! It's been a wonderful year, and I'm really looking forward to 2020.
lulz, it looks like the star is growing out of Mr Geek's head // *personal photo*
Merry Christmas! (Because it still is Christmas, don't let social media fool you.)
As it's officially 2016 now, I figured it's a- time to break the accidental hiatus that always always always happens on this blog in December and b- time to look back at the past year!
So here, in no particular order, are my personal favorite Our Geeky Adventure posts from 2015:
My sister is getting married in May and has apparently also lost her mind, because she asked me to shoot her engagement photos. They actually turned out rather good!
We went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival in costume this year! I did a couple of posts explaining how I whipped up the outfits for two hobbits and Treebeard the Ent.
I shared with you my first foray into making clothes for this little goober (shown here talking to Daddy on the phone and explaining that we were in the middle of a photo shoot).
Mr. Geek and I proved that even though it's been 8 years since the last book was released, it's still possible to come up with new Harry Potter theories.
Aaaaaand we survived another week! Every year I say I'm going to buy Christmas presents before Advent even starts, and every year I fail miserably. I checked a few more off my list this week, but this weekend I plan to get the rest done- to include the ones I'm making myself. Wish me luck!
The internet was way more productive than me this week. Take a look!
Mary at Better Than Eden shared a free printable Catholic New Year's Resolutions guide that I'm definitely going to use! (Also- I can't believe it's almost 2016!!)
cranberry sauce from last Thanksgiving // *personal photo*
If you wish me a "happy holidays" today, I won't be offended. It's the day before Thanksgiving today, but Thanksgiving is really only celebrated on the one day, not an entire liturgical season, so I can see why you wouldn't want to wish me a "happy Thanksgiving" today. Advent starts on Sunday, but there's not really a common joyful greeting for the Advent season. I guess you could say "blessed Advent," though it doesn't quite roll off the tongue, and that would be an appropriate, specific greeting starting on Sunday, but not today, so I can see why you wouldn't want to wish me a "blessed Advent" today. The Christmas season starts on December 25 and lasts clear on through the end of January, during which I will greet everyone I meet with a "Merry Christmas!" I don't say this to try to force my religion on you or because I'm making an assumption about which deity you do or do not worship, but rather because for me, it's the Christmas season, and I'm feeling merry, and I want you to feel merry, too. I could say "Merry Wednesday" to you today because it's Wednesday, whether you recognize it as such or not, and I'd like you to have a merry day. If you're Jewish, and you choose to wish me a "Happy Hannukah!" during that season, I won't assume you're trying to force your Jewishness on me or suggest that Judaism is the only acceptable holiday. Rather, I'll take the greeting for what it is- an expression of the joy you feel at that time and your wish for me to feel that joy, too. But regardless of what the department stores and radio stations want us to think, today, the day before Thanksgiving, is not Christmas. Christmas doesn't start until, well, Christmas, so I can see why you wouldn't want to wish me a "Merry Christmas" today. The end of the calendar year- from the beginning of November through early January- is generally recognized as "the holiday season" in America because there are an awful lot of holidays that fall during that time. Rather than worry about what specific holiday falls on any given day, it's become common to greet each other wish "happy holidays" to convey the general joyfulness felt when the weather starts to get cold and families get back together again to eat ridiculously large meals. And yes, there are some people who do not celebrate any of the religious holidays this time of year, but they still recognize that this is a season of holidays that gives even their cold little atheist hearts a warm feeling, so they default to "happy holidays" as a way of wishing others well. It's not meant to be offensive, it's not meant to suggest that whatever specific holiday you are celebrating is less important than any of the others- on the contrary, this greeting recognizes that there are holy days even if they themselves don't feel that way. So here's the deal- if you're happy today, and if today happens to fall during a specific season, and you want to offer me that seasonally appropriate greeting- I won't be offended! And I'll respond in kind with my seasonally appropriate greeting (which, today, would probably just be "happy holidays" if we're being honest here.). And if you're happy today and you do not greet me with "Merry Christmas," I will not assume that you are trying to offend me or subvert my religious beliefs- because you know what? It's not even Christmas yet. And if it's December 23rd I probably won't say Merry Christmas to you quite yet- because it's not Christmas yet then, either. But even if, on December 25th, you choose to say "happy holidays" to me, I will smile and be thankful for the greeting, because that is indeed a happy day, and a holy day, too, so you've gotten it right, whether you meant to or not, and I'll respond with "Merry Christmas" because it's Christmas, even if you don't celebrate it, and I want to spread some merriment back to you in return. Is there a real threat to religious liberty in this country at this time? Yes, there is. But red cups and department store cashier greetings are not the battlegrounds worth dying on, because the people offering them to you are not the ones fighting you. So let's all do our part to spread joy this Christmas season- when the season actually starts- by not pitching fits about things that don't matter.
No, it's not too late for me to greet you that way. Yesterday was the Epiphany- the 12th day of the Twelve Days of Christmas everyone sings about in November (although in the US, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on the first Sunday after New Year's Day, which was this past weekend). But the Christmas season- which, for the record, starts on Christmas Day, not ends- is actually celebrated through the observance of the Baptism of the Lord, which we will celebrate this Sunday. So in our house, the tree won't come down until this weekend!
All of this is to say- I'm going to give you a (little) recap of our Advent and Christmas, and it's not technically too late to do so ;)
We put up decorations on the 4th weekend of Advent, though we had the plain, un-decorated tree in the living room for a week before that. In our efforts to live the liturgical year, it was important for us to really separate our observance of Advent from our celebration of Christmas. Originally, we discussed decorating the tree on Christmas Eve, but we both had to work, and then we went to the early Mass, so there was just no time. Maybe when Christmas Eve falls on a weekend, or when our little family is able to attend Midnight Mass again without the fear of toddler meltdowns, we'll celebrate that way. I also want to invest in some Advent decorations- lots of plain evergreen wreaths and a purple tablecloth, perhaps- because each liturgical season deserves its own trappings, even the solemn ones.
the ornament that Daddy and Chief made at the daycare Christmas party
We went to an early Mass on Christmas Eve- a Mass which started riiiiiiiiiight around bedtime. And we didn't sit in the cry room, because the church was packed, and there were plenty of tiny babies that needed the space in there. Believe it or not, we made it through the whole Mass with no meltdowns! There were a few close calls- Daddy had to hurry her out to the back of the sanctuary when she started getting loud, but she didn't like being taken away from all the interesting people, so she quieted down and got to come back to our pew. It's just so hard for her to sit still, or even just to keep her activity to our pew, so we normally default to the cry room so she can roam free without needing to be chased down. (I have literally chased her as she crawled under pews on a beeline for the altar.) But she likes talking to and waving at the people who sit around us in the congregation, and so long as she's not actually screaming, I think a little noise is acceptable from a 1-year-old during Mass. The people sitting near us on Christmas Eve certainly appreciated the constant "Hi!"s and kisses blown in their direction!
Although her wardrobe is plenty big enough, I really wanted to start the tradition of buying Chief a new Christmas dress every year, so we popped into Babies-R-Us at the last minute and snagged this beautiful champagne-colored floofy number with golden sequins on sale (and I had a gift card!) so I don't feel too guilty about it. Mr. Geek wore the navy suit he got for his birthday waaaaaay back in August- with no tie, because we never could agree on the right color. And my dress is from Anthropologie, bought with a gift card I've been saving until I lost the baby weight and no longer had a need to wear nursing-accessible clothing during the day. It's beautiful, comfortable, and it has pockets- so I'm going to be getting a lot of wear out of this one! All in all, I say we clean up pretty good :)
Right now, our family tradition is to open one present when we get home from Mass, and the rest the next day before having a big breakfast (and then a big dinner). This tradition might change, but for now it works- because someone was so sleepy by the time we got home that she fell asleep before we baked cookies for Santa!
Speaking of Santa- growing up, we always got candy in our stockings. As we were dropping chocolates into our own stockings, Mr. Geek grabbed a bottle of Chief's rice puff snacks and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if we put these in her stocking instead of candy?" So, jokingly, we put the new container of puffs in her stocking...and the next morning, it was her favorite present. Her eyes locked on those puffs the moment she saw her stocking, and all she wanted to do all morning was eat puffs. She enjoyed tearing wrapping paper and playing with some of her presents, but she kept going back to those puffs.
"Yeah, this baby doll is okay, but what I really want are these puffs!!!!"
"Santa" brought us an XBOX ONE- which is to say that we saved up credit card points and Amazon gift cards to buy it at a greatly reduced price. And then Mr. Geek surprised me with Disney Infinity, and I have never had so much fun with a video game! Now I know what Mr. Geek's childhood was like- anxiously watching the clock until the time comes when I can sit down, controller in hand, and tap those buttons to control my little character on screen. Of course, I have to wait until Chief goes to bed or takes a nap on weekends, but for those few precious hours, I'm completely absorbed. I highly recommend it!
So that was our Christmas. How does your family celebrate? What are your traditions? Did you travel this year, or have a quiet weekend at home, like we did?
Hey folks! I've found another link-up to join over at the wonderful Catholic All Year. Each week, she posts some random questions and gets people to link up their answers! This should be fun :)
1. What did you and your family wear to Mass on Easter Sunday?
I am apparently incapable of capturing a good family photo, but here's the best one of yesterday's photo shoot:
*personal photo*
Saturday I took Chief to Reston Town Center, armed with a hefty Anthropologie gift card, in the hopes of snagging a super-last-minute Easter dress for me. And then I remembered- I can't wear dresses right now. There are very few nursing-friendly silhouettes out there- fewer still that are flattering to my short, chubby post-partum body- so I had to go the skirt-and-top route. It's a cute outfit, but I just couldn't help but feel like I was late for a meeting or something all day, or that I was about to go give a briefing.
2. Easter Bunny: thumbs up or thumbs down?
Thumbs up. I know it's popular right now for Christian parents to take all the fun out of childhood, but I figure it's nice to have a scapegoat for when you want to buy your kids presents that are either expensive or exactly what they've been asking for (or otherwise things they don't strictly *need*). By the time they're old enough to figure out that these magical gift-bearing beings are not real, they're not spoiled and don't expect Mommy and Daddy to buy the super awesome toy that they just have to have right now. We're not going to teach Chief and her future siblings that the point of Easter is to wake up and find baskets full of candy and toys, but we are going to teach them that Easter is a celebration. And Mommy celebrates with Reese's eggs. 3. Do you prefer to celebrate holidays at your own house or at someone else's house?
Since Chief arrived, we've celebrated every holiday here in our little home. (That's because we haven't traveled at all since she got here, period.) Everyone converged on our house for Thanksgiving (and we went to Ruby Tuesday, which was weird, but at least there were no dirty dishes!), and we spent Christmas and Easter here by ourselves, just the three of us. Since we're still figuring out how to be a family, it's been really nice to come up with our own traditions all by ourselves without the need to play host and have a clean house and cook a fancy meal. It was really weird spending Christmas without my parents, though, for the first time ever.
4. What is your favorite kind of candy?
Reese's eggs. 'Nuff said. 5. Do you like video games?
I like video games...but I'm not very good at them. Growing up, we never had a game system because- I kid you not- my parents said that they were afraid they would spend all their time playing it. What? Apparently, when they were dating, they would often commandeer my uncle's Nintendo for hours on end. We had Game Boys eventually, but I never found the cramped fingers and the tiny screen that much fun. So by the time I started dating Mr. Geek in college and he wanted to teach me to play Halo, I had no video game skills to speak of; I made it through an entire match with 0 kills. We have a Wii (not a Wii U because that's stupid) and an XBOX 360 (with a dead optical drive, so it's basically our Netflix Machine) with Kinect currently in our house. Mr. Geek is what you might call a serious gamer; since the optical drive died on the XBOX, he's been stuck with XBOX Live games (he downloads each month's free game). He's always up for a round of Super Mario Bros, however, and after playing through the whole game several times, I'm finally pretty good at it! 6. Do you speak another language?
I got a 3 on the French AP exam senior year of high school. (Out of 5. A "passing" score is a 3, 4 or 5- that is, most colleges will offer you credit for those scores. Virginia Tech's College of Engineering just wanted you to take 3 years of a foreign language in high school in order to place out of language, so I didn't need the credit anyway.) If I get bored at work, I pull up French news sites to see how much I can read. (I'm talking really, really bored.) Does that count?
Go answer these questions on your blog and add yourself to the link up!
Every year, nerimon (aka Alex Day) posts a video on his channel with a few random questions- kind of like those old-school "20 random facts" posts you used to see on Xanga and LiveJournal and MySpace- along with his answers, and then he mentions who he'd like to see answer those questions next (though anybody can make a video with their responses without being "tagged"). These videos spread around YouTube rather rapidly every year and I don't think many people know where they originate, just that their favorite YouTubers always answer the survey.
This year, I've decided to participate in the survey here on the blog. I had even considered recording a video with my responses, vlog-style, but I've been battling a cold the past few days and my voice sounds all wonky (and sometimes non-existent), plus the congestion is not very camera-friendly. So you'll just have to settle for written answers!
What's your biggest fear?
I think I'll answer this the same way Alex did- in two parts.
Superficially, I'm afraid of burning myself. I don't like fire, and it wasn't until a Girl Scout camping trip and a lesson on campfire safety when I was actually forced to strike a match and use it to light something that I ever even touched matches. (That was middle school, if you'd like to mock me properly.) Even now, if I'm going to light a candle- and I don't have many candles around the house because I'm paranoid about setting the house on fire- I prefer to use a large lighter. (And I've never, ever used a cigarette lighter. I always forced my chemistry lab partner to light the Bunsen burner.) But it's not just fire that I'm afraid of- when I'm baking, I wear an oven mitt on each hand to pull pans out of the oven- and to put cold ones in. I like to avoid hot ovens entirely if I can- if Mr. Geek is baking with me, I'd rather his job be to deal with the oven, and I'll do all the rest. I don't even like particularly hot showers, for fear of being scalded.
On a more philosophical level, I'm afraid of failure. Not in the sense that I'll prevent myself from taking risks, just that, when starting a new chapter of my life, I often experience intense anxiety over whether or not I'll be able to do it right. This pregnancy has been magnifying those fears ten fold- I've been afraid that I'm not doing the whole pregnant thing correctly sometimes (especially when it comes to my diet). I'm afraid I won't be a good parent. I'm afraid I won't be able to nurse Chief for the whole first year of her life (or more) like I want to. I'm afraid my career will suffer too much as I try to make the demands of my job work with the demands of being a mom, and that I won't be able to provide our family with all of the opportunities that I'd previously hoped. (Heck, even before Chief came into our lives, I was starting to fear that I just plain wouldn't be good at my job as I move up in the organization.) I'm constantly receiving validation and encouragement from Mr. Geek, from my family and friends, from my co-workers, but no amount of "you'll be fine"s and "you can do it"s will ever be able to quiet that tiny voice that unceasingly questions whether I know what I'm doing.
How did you find out Santa wasn't real?
The year we moved into our house in Botetourt County, I was eager to help my mom with the Christmas decorations. (Well, okay, what I really wanted was to climb the rickety ladder into the mysterious attic where the decorations were stored, because attics are a great setting for adventures and magical discoveries.) Mom was insistent that I not join her in the attic for various reasons- she didn't want me to fall off the ladder, the boxes were too heavy for me to carry back down anyway, and I could be more help to her if I would just take things that she brought down and carried them into the living room. This process was going well until she was taking a particularly long time with one box at what seemed to be the very back of the attic, so I started to climb the ladder to follow her in. And then, I saw it- the thing that had been the top of my list for Santa that year- Mall Madness, a board game which gives each player a credit card and the object of the game is to shop. My initial reaction was excitement- "When did you get that? Bring it down, I want to play it now!" My mom tried to brush it off quickly- "Oh, um, that must have been left behind by the people that lived here before us..."- but she refused to let me have it right then. "It's supposed to be a present," she finally told me. But I knew about her stash of Christmas presents- they were in her closet, under a pile of old ugly sweaters and handbags, and they were all already wrapped. Santa never delivered wrapped presents in our house, they were artfully arranged in front of the fireplace on Christmas morning so that we could immediately see what we'd been given. She saw the light bulb go off in my head and quickly tried the "It was left here by the former occupants" story once again, but to no avail. Later, she explained that traditions like Santa Claus were her and Dad's way of giving my sisters and I special treats without spoiling us, and that it was important that I not ruin the magic for my sisters. She told me not to think of it as them lyingto us, but rather that they were playing make-believe. It worked- I didn't tell my sisters. I'm not sure how they found out, actually...
What's the best idea you've ever had?
I think the best idea I've ever had was that Mr. Geek and I should get married. I know most people would refer to this as "making a decision" rather than "having an idea," but it was an idea, and it was very much my idea. Very early along in the "official" part of our relationship, when we decided we were a long-distance couple and not just long-distance friends, I realized that he would be someone worth fighting for- that this relationship would be something worth working for. I'm not sure when I said it, but the first time marriage was brought up, I turned to him and said, "We should get married." So yeah, it was my idea- and it was a damn good one at that.
What's the most embarrassing thing your parents have ever done? I can't believe I'm about to put this story on the internet, but here it goes. When I was in high school, my mom refused to allow me to own a thong. I don't know why I was so enamored with the things, but the cool girls at school wore them (and let everybody know about it). I tried every tactic, even arguing that they were the best form of underwear to be worn under dance costumes because they meant no lines- but she countered that with "well then don't wear underwear at all under your costumes." Touche, Mom, touche. I bought one myself one time without her knowing, wore it to school (and took it off before dance class because yeah...it was uncomfortable), and I even volunteered to do the laundry the next day "in an effort to chip in more around here," but apparently laundry couldn't wait until I got home from my after school job, and the offending garment was discovered and thrown away without any further discussion.
That's not the embarrassing bit. This next part is.
We were visiting extended family and playing a rousing game of Taboo with various aunts, uncles, and cousins (and second cousins, and cousins once-removed, and great aunts and great uncles...you get the picture. Everyone.). It was Mom's turn. She drew a card, saw all the words she wasn't allowed to say, and used the first clue that popped into her head- she pointed at me and said, "I won't let you have one of these." Without hesitation, I guessed, "A thong?" and she screamed "Yes!" before drawing another card, and then we both looked at each other dead in the eye, realizing what we had admitted in front of EVERYONE. I ran upstairs and refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the night. She finished the game (and won, I do believe). At first my sister pointed out that it was equally my fault for admitting it by making the guess, but the damage was done- she would have used another clue and somebody else would have guessed it, or she would have had to announce what the right answer was, and the statement would still have been made- "Miss Geek wants a thong and her mom won't let her buy one."
If you were only allowed to pick one career for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Imagineering. It's the reason I decided to get a mechanical engineering degree- I wanted to design roller coasters and other attractions for the Disney theme parks. As with all dream jobs, things happened, other opportunities arose, and I never managed to line myself up properly for that career, but if it were possible to drop everything and do so now, I would in a heart beat. (Especially if it meant free park tickets.)
What two people would you like to see complete this survey next?
Not that I'm saying they have to now, but I'd be interested to read answers to these questions from Shayla of Northern Exposure and Karisa of Karisa Tells All.
And of course you, lovely readers! What are your answers to any or all of these questions from this year's survey?
It's an awful short week :) That's okay by me though- I'm really excited to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple!
Thankfully, I don't have to work today- as it turns out, I don't, in fact, work for Mr. Scrooge. Mr. Geek does, though, so he's got a full day today :( I'm going to try to be productive today and spend the day cleaning and otherwise getting ready for the big Christmas lunch (for two) that I'll be making tomorrow! Tonight we're going to Mass at 11pm (not midnight...not that I'm complaining), so I expect Mr. Geek will want a nap when he gets home from work. We'll be establishing new traditions for our little family tonight and tomorrow and we are so, so excited.
