November 19, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Pumpkin Patch

“I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” This should be my mantra with all of my posts. I still have to post about meeting Patrick Rothfuss at Comic Con. My post is written, it is just a matter of squeezing things in.

And, I went to a pumpkin patch! At the end of October. We buy all of our pumpkins at the local farm. Being a farmer’s daughter (bee farms count, right?), I think it is so important to do so.

First, look at my husband’s dope (yep, usin’ that word) pumpkins he carved after we visited the pumpkin patch. We are starting this post with the end at the beginning result.

Of course, I took the prerequisite blogger photos of me amongst a farm setting. ‘Cause that’s what you do. Or what I am thinking you do. So, I wore my bandana dress purchased on sale for $40 during the summer from Anthropologie with an old denim jacket and my vintage Frye cowboy boots. I had to dress the part… Of crazy country girl.

It was kind of hilarious, because almost all of the moms at the pumpkin patch were in some kind of get-up. I felt sort of ridiculous as we all trudged through the gravel in our cowboy boots and dresses. I would be willing to bet none of us had ever roped a calf or could even ride a horse.

Suburban Mom. In a pumpkin patch. This is what it looks like, just so you know.

I am allergic to pumpkins. And hay. Pumpkin patches = hives for me. But I was careful. I did not touch anything!

This particular pumpkin farm has pigs that they race. It is good, clean fun. I love taking the kids here.

There was the petting zoo that I photographed through the fence. They changed the prices this year. It used to be $4 or $5 for the whole family. This year it was $2 a person…Have fun kids!

I always appreciate their pretty farm trough to wash your hands in after touching the ~~dirty creatures~~ cute animals. They even use Method soap.

There you have it. I went to a pumpkin patch. I watched my kids go into a corn maze. I tried not to panic. And I definitely did not mutter a single, “Yee Haw!” whilst wearing this dress. Not a one. ~~I am lying.~~

Did you go to a pumpkin patch this year? Did you have fun? Did you get a pumpkin? Are you as behind as I am with these holidays?

September 5, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

A Minecraft Party

My son wanted a Minecraft party. They do not make Minecraft party supplies. You have to make them yourself. The very name “Minecraft” even has the word “craft” in it. Here is the problem: My name does not.

A dilemma was born. What is the lazy, uncrafty mom to do?

Attempt to make invitations. In bed. With ~~a glass~~ ~~glasses~~ a lot of wine. While watching the Food Network. Call it done. Send them out and hope the parents think your child made them. (This actually worked out exceptionally well, as several parents called me to tell me my son did a great job on the invitations. Cheers!)

Thankfully, there are many moms out there who are crafty. And they will sell you the things they have made… For a price. I purchased most of the items for my son’s party from Ebay. Unfortunately, most of the items have increased in price by more than 30% since I purchased mine. Bummer!

They are cute, though. And the kids loved the masks.

My good friend, Kellie, taught me how to make candy molds. If I can do this, anyone can. It has to be Merckens chocolate. The Wilson chocolate that you can buy at craft stores is… not my favorite. The Merckens brand is delicious. So good. I actually think it tastes very similar to Lindt’s white chocolate. We have a cake shop in town that sells it. Amazon also carries it. But it is much more expensive there. Check your local area first.

After I finished making the last mold, I licked the bowl. I stood there over my kitchen sink and licked that bowl clean. My family was clueless in the other room. I have good manners like that.

I just melt one small batch at a time in a bowl. I put it in the microwave for thirty second intervals. Stirring in between. Usually it takes one minute. Just stir the bits of chocolate around until they are all melted. Pour the chocolate in the candy mold. Gently tap it to get rid of air bubbles. Refrigerate the candy mold for about thirty minutes. Pop chocolate out. Bag it. Repeat. This is so much fun and the kids love this. I made big white chocolate video game controllers for each kid. In typical Jenni fashion, I made the wrong kind of controller. However, I bet they tasted good, all the same.

For the cake, I ordered a half sheet cake in green with writing on the corners. Then my husband broke up some hershey bars and made a creeper face (this was my idea in my head.) It was touch and go. It was definitely another Jenni DIY project. As in, the kids liked it. I hid it from the adults. We had twenty minutes to make it. It was actually fantastic for the time allotment. I was having a meltdown with the candy bars and the stickers while my sweet husband made the face.

And there you have it. We went to a trampoline park. The kids had fun. The facility cleaned up. Score! This mom went home and had pizza and wine. I thought I would do a post on this in case there were any other uncreative moms out there with kids who want a Minecraft party. In searching for ideas, I ran across so many awesome DIY moms who did amazing parties. I am not that mom. The parties these moms threw (I mean…Wow! Just google it. But then come back here for a dose of reality. And don’t cry.) had me in a panic. A cold sweat. Tears. I knew I was on my own. You are not alone! There is hope! Invest in some hershey bars and wine. Then call it a day! Your kid will love it! (The candy bars, not the wine.)

What have been some themes your kids or yourself have requested? Did you run into the same problem I did? What did you do?

July 28, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Comic Con 2013 Part II

So, I just left you with the visions of what Comic Con looks, feels and smells like.

Now, let’s move along to its heart.

The merchandise.

Shopping. My favorite.

First, my son bought himself some new Minecraft souvenirs. My daughter purchased t-shirts and art books. My husband purchased his comics and graphic novels.

We got so many awesome books for free. This is always my favorite part. Is there a more beautiful word in the English language, other than, “free”?

I also got to meet one of my favorite authors, Daniel Abraham.

Lines are long. Long. We wanted to make sure we got to the book signing by Daniel Abraham. We got there twenty minutes early. Just a bit later, he showed up. He is actually pretty good looking.

Since we were first in line and they were not starting yet, we were able to speak to him for a bit. He was so cool! They gave us the first book free. I have read his other series. I have not read this one. Yet. I just started it.

My husband, of course, has read them all.

He was saying to someone that his old assistant went to George R.R. Martin and if you needed to speak to her, she is the one who answers the phone.

So, I quipped, “and what would that number be?”

He chuckled and then told me that George R.R. Martin’s number used to be listed in the white pages. Can you believe it? I need to be a better stalker. It was a very cool experience.

After that, I went back to stalking:

Art.

We stopped by one of my favorite artist’s booths. Rhode Montijo. It is always a pleasure to see him and his lovely wife. For the past two years, I have purchased his original drawings (future post to come). This year, he did not bring any. He was focusing on his book The Halloween Kid. I was sad, but very happy for him that his book is doing so very well.

My husband found the neatest artist during one of my “time-outs.” His name is Martin Hsu. He purchased this really cool snake painting. My daughter purchased his art book. I later got to meet him. He was the sweetest. Lovely man. And I love the painting we purchased from him.

We stopped by Becky and Frank’s booth. They are the creator’s of a Comic, called Tiny Kitten Teeth. We purchased a little llama painted to look like a tree creature. Oh my gosh! I love it so much! I will do a post about some of their art in my home in the future.

They are the sweetest couple that has ever walked this Earth. I am not kidding. To meet them, is to smile.

I also stopped by Patara Vuduberi booth. She sell prints of her work on Etsy. I purchased two more originals from her. She was also so nice. I am so bummed I did not get a picture with her. Next time! I am very happy to have her art in our home. I love the fantasy pictures she creates.

I also picked up this cute mushroom from Wool Buddy. I just adore his felt creations.

It was so much fun. I am glad all of our artwork we purchased was small. I am running out of wall space here!

Tomorrow I will post about my best experience at Comic Con. Until then, have a great day!

You may view Part I here.

And what I wore to Comic Con here.

July 27, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Comic Con 2013 Part I

I love going to Comic Con. Scoring tickets to the event is always miraculous. Something always goes wrong with the ordering system. We have been very fortunate.

And getting to Comic Con is kind of scary. It is a task, in itself. Traffic is a nightmare. You have to buy your parking in March.

As we were about to get to our parking lot, we heard a loud “bang.” Metal on metal. We knew we had been hit. It was obviously not bad, but it was a bummer. The other car followed us, while we searched for somewhere to pull over.

Once we had, we got out to survey the damage.

There wasn’t any.

This is crazy. But his driver’s mirror hit my daughter’s side of the car’s door handle. There was not even a scratch.

Both cars were unharmed.

The driver’s wife started crying. She said, “It’s a Comic Con miracle.”

We left. Everyone wished each other a good convention and we were off.

But I cannot stop giggling. I thought you might appreciate this:

“A Comic Con miracle.”

I love it.

We made our way into the convention. And I stopped in my tracks. The regressed memories overtaking me.

You see…

Every year I look forward to Comic Con. And every year, I am brought back down to Earth by the reality that is Comic Con.

Because, whilst Comic Con is amazing. Awesome. Very, very cool.

It is also draining.

Hot.

Smelly.

And your soul feels crushed as you are packed body to body with other human beings as we are all herded to the next freebee. Body to body. And about 1/4 of the people are not wearing deodorant.

It is dizzying.

I have to give myself timeouts. So, I do not have a giant meltdown in the middle of the crowd.

I make myself leave the main convention for one hour breaks. Here, I can do my favorite thing to do at Comic Con. People watch. Because people watching at Comic Con is not like people watching at other events. It is interesting. You see more than your fair share of body parts. Body parts that are typically covered. And now they are not. Or they are covered in shiny lycra.

But finding a seat to people watch is impossible. There are no seats. Everyone piles onto the floor. Strangers next to strangers. And you look longingly for a place among them. Finding a seat on the floor is like scoring the lottery. I kid you not. It is a big deal.

It is amazing how human beings can adapt. Can change to their surroundings. Hunting for a spot on the floor becomes one’s main focus. A live or die survival instinct. Suddenly, what would have disgusted you the day before, is the most relevant and important thing today. You must sit next to the man in the Superman tights before that lady wearing the Wonder Woman outfit beats you to it.

And then…Victory! …That is Comic Con.

Here are some more photos of the costumes I snapped while enjoying my hard-won spot on the carpet: