Happy #GeekPrideDay!

Let those GEEKY flags fly! 

I found an article, a few fun images & infographics for this momentous day! In celebration, Sean & I will be attending FanimeCon (an Anime-centric Convention) & possibly seeing the latest Star Trek movie. :D

GEEK PRIDE!
XOXO



Geek Pride Day Is May 25: Here's How To Celebrate

Source: Modis – IT Staffing Agency

Becoming a Geeky Mom...

Without That Whole Pregnancy Thing

Little Sean made me gifts for Mother's Day in school. :)

"Being a 'Mom' isn't about giving birth. It's about giving."

- Lani

Now that Mother's Day has passed...and I was celebrated yet again...I have come to the conclusion that I must be a "Mom."

Let's take a look at how I became a MOM:

It is interesting to think about how people from different generations viewed & perceived my early relationship with Sean, who is now my fiance. 

People from older generations had always warned me - OK they basically said NO to me dating anyone with kids. 

Then there were my friends & family (closer to my generation) who after learning about Sean, would first ASK me, "Well is he a good guy?" 

I found this gap of generational thought baffling & intriguing. Here were friends & family of mine (single or not) who SUPPORTED the idea of dating a guy who had a child VS the older generation who (with experience & reason) told me to NEVER date or get involved with someone with kids. The one thing both sides had in common, was that everyone wanted me to be happy. :)

* Mind you, if someone had multiple children & multiple baby mamas that is where I was not only going to draw the line - but I was going to build a Giant wall of NO.

So after hearing out both sides I took another good look at the situation called, "Sean."

Sean hanging with the Wonder Twins at Comic Con

Here was this guy who had a 2 yr old kid. OK. When he had his son, he was to be married to the Mom & unfortunately (or rather fortunately for me) that relationship did not work out. OK. He was sharing custody (at the time) with the Mom. OK. He was caring for his son financially & emotionally. OK. He loves his son. 

Huh. The stereotype label never mentioned anything about "love?"

After beginning to really look at the FACTS & not just placing the situation of "Sean" into a simple label of "Single Male with Kid" I began to realize that I was judging him (and my possible relationship with him) for literally wanting to have a family. Who was I to judge him? 

After looking at it logically I began to assess things emotionally. 

- Sean shared with me regularly that he cared & loved me. 

- We enjoyed each other's company tremendously.

- The things he loved, I loved.

- He made me smile, and brought the best out in me (and vice versa). 

- And when I was honest with myself - I too felt a strong connection of love between us. :) 

- There's a whole lot more I could say, but I don't think there's enough room for that list. :)


So here we are - now editing and reading my "Geeky Wedding Blog." 

Which brings us to the topic of becoming a "Mom" without having to give birth. :) 

I won't give you a bunch of fluff and tell you all that it's been a cake walk. 

But, I will tell you that this journey has been rewarding!

Many of you know that I taught theater & public speaking to young children early in my career. And I'm here to tell you...

TEACHING IS NOT THE SAME AS PARENTING. 

Being a parent is hard! I had no bloody idea how hard till I suddenly had a child (age 3) move in with Sean and I full time. I didn't realize that I was on the fast track path to becoming the scary 3 letter word... M-O-M.

At first it was terrifying to be labeled a "Mom", but as time went by and I began to see Little Sean change, grow, and even adopt some of my better habits (and even some of my not so great habits - lol) my fear started to dissapate. 

Here was a little person that not only was I teaching, but I was helping to GROW. And he was HAPPY to have me! 

Now that I think about it, I wasn't afraid of BEING a "Mom," I was afraid that I wasn't going to be a good enough "Mom." 

Well guess what world (and myself)?! I AM.

I'm not perfect. Sean's not perfect. Little Sean's not perfect. But when we're walking to the car and Lil Sean talks about how excited he is that "Daddy and I are getting married and that he can't wait to be the ring bearer", or when Little Sean proudly tells his friends that his "whole room & house is covered in superheroes", or when Little Sean describes to people how he, "his Daddy, & his Lani dressed as pirates for the pirate festival" - I realize that maybe being a MOM isn't such a bad idea. 

* Especially since there is a holiday that celebrates how awesome I am - I intend to accept all gifts, cards, flowers, meals, etc that come with each and every Mother's Day.

Besides, so what if I got a little early practice with becoming the ultimate Geeky Mom? That just means that I can grow, learn, & level-up my parenting skills and become even better...for the next time... ;)

This Geeky Family is 1 happy family!

My advice on becoming a geeky M-O-M: Learn to take things in stride, always be willing to level-up your parenting skills, & just know you will never be a perfect "parent." It is tough becoming a "Mom" figure (especially when you didn't give birth to your future child) but understand that the child will see you for YOU - and wants YOU around. Being a parent isn't about giving birth (if that were true Dads would not count) but it is about GIVING to the child. So go out, MOMS of all kinds, & wear your MOM badges with honor & pride! I SALUTE YOU!

- Lani

The Quest for the ULTIMATE Rings...

Our Engagement Rings to Be Exact!

The search for the ULTIMATE Engagement Rings has been an interesting quest, to say the least! 

We've met with an alchemist, who could wield great metallic powers and teach us how to bring our own pair of rings into being through magic, fire and metal. 

We've wandered and scoured the vast lands of Internetia in hopes of finding the perfect design & stones.

But the most we could do (once we announced our engagement) was find a ring for me that made us smile for a while...until my awesome powers could no longer be contained by the ring - which I almost destroyed... 
(ON ACCIDENT OF COURSE)

The stone is mother of pearl, & I unfortunately KNOCKED the pearl out of it's setting...yeah...
LANI HULK SMASH

So we continued our quest for the RINGS. 

The goal was to find a pair that could be linked together in a fire of eternity, be artistic representations of ourselves, AND not be destroyed by our immense super powers. But as we sailed the Western Sea for treasured jewels and craftsman - we were coming up empty handed...

Until we stumbled upon a bazaar filled with gemstones, wares, and artisans called The International Gem & Jewelry Show. As we entered the fair we were unsure of what we may find & were overwhelmed by the booths, sellers, colors, and shoppers.

We happened to meet a German 3rd Generation jeweler who's mythical designs were stunning and most certainly could create a set of rings worthy of our union. But somewhere within the bazaar we heard an ethereal song calling to us...

Towards the back of the bazaar...almost hidden from our sight and ears...we found where the song was coming from and our eyes widened at... b.tiff . The sellers were originally from the Big Apple City and all we could do was stare! The designs and styles of their jewelry was exactly what we wanted without us even knowing it! And then we saw them...

We fell in love with the clean geometric shapes!

This ring is 2 sided!

And we knew our search was coming to an end. We'd found the perfect styles and settings with a metal we hadn't thought of using - stainless steel! Then we asked about the gems and found that they were of the Swarovski mines. Not the magical stones we were truly looking for, but that just meant that our quest had only just reached it's halfway point. 

The tension settings have 400 LBS of force holding the stone in place!

Will we settle for stones that are clear as rays of light? Or forge forward to find crystals of color? All we know, is that whatever gems we choose will sparkle brilliantly and help us to manage our stores of inner power!

So wish us luck as we continue on our epic journey to find the perfect stones to match our new found
 RINGS of POWER & UNITY. 

Yep. This is how we want to feel about our rings. 

Love, Lani

Hoppy Easter Geeky Giggles!

I love Easter for a few reasons, but the hilarious images definitely take the cake - or better yet the whole Chocolate Bunny! Enjoy some EGG-celently geeky giggles that really get me laughing!

XOXO - Lani

Happy St Patty's Day & My 3 Yr Anniversary!

I Am LUCKY!

3 years ago on this day of GREEN, I went on a date with the man who is now my fiancé. (Luck of the Irish I guess!) I love you Sean Bassett, and look forward to spending many more geeky dates/events with you! 

Xoxo

Lani

Happy Geeky Valentine's Day

Spread the Geeky Love <3

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Regardless of whether you're in a relationship or not, today is a day to celebrate LOVE! So don't forget to send a text, give a call, post a pic, shoot an email, embrace a hug, plant a kiss, or best of all share a smile with anyone & everyone around you! 

The simplest of gestures can mean the world to someone today, but gifts are always nice! ;D Here's a pic of the goodies my honey surprised me with at work today! 

My honey showed up with this fabulous growing plant (which I've wanted for my cubicle), some candy, AND the Monster High doll "Clawdeen" that I've been eyeballing at the store since FOREVER!

And for my love, I gave him The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2. That officially completes his Walking Dead graphic novel collection. :)

The compendiums are HUGE

As much as I'd like to shower all of you with gifts, please enjoy some of the awesome V-day pics I've found around the interweb & SMILE! 

XOXOXOXO,

Lani

Oh Gollum!

For you fellow Whovians

Pew! Pew!

Geeky Gamer love <3 

Pokemon will always hold a place in my heart 

HELLO

Love this EPIC Kiss

LOL Star Wars

HAHAHAHAHA! Patrick Star, you're hilarious!

SMASHING

No...I DO!

LOL

Adorably cute/geeky

Mario <3 Princess Peach

...brainnnnssssss...

LOTR love

And this is what I gave/created to my honey via facebook :)

How this Geek Met the "Soon to Be" Family

And No, it was Nothing Like "Meet the Parents" 

* First off, my apologies for this very late blog post. Between the holidays, getting insanely sick, going back to work, conventions, & lil Sean's Bday this month has been CRAZY. I hope to get back on track with 2 posts per month. Besides this is the ONE YEAR mark till my wedding!*

Many of my coworkers giggled at my expense, when I shared with them that I'd be meeting my "soon to be" family over the holiday break. Some regaled me with tales/nightmares of their own meetings with their in-laws, while some offered up advice. Most of the advice & stories I had heard were about meeting a significant other's parents, but lucky for me Sean's Mom & I already have a great relationship! 

FACT: She began introducing me as her future daughter in-law when Sean & I LITERALLY 1st started dating - yeah my eyes popped outta my head & hit the floor when that 1st happened! LOL! 

This post is actually about me meeting Sean's extended family over the holiday season. :) Even with all of the support, advice, etc I was still nervous that I was going to get this wonderfully judging look from the family. 

After hyperventilating in a quiet corner somewhere in my mind, I came to my senses and told myself, "Hey! They are going to love you!" Fortunately the event of meeting the in-laws/extended family was nothing like the movie "Meet the Parents." (If you haven't seen this movie YOU MUST!)

Seriously, RENT THIS!

Instead it was all very exciting and positive! I got to meet a few of Sean's Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins over the Christmas holiday. I didn't get to spend a ton of time with all of them (as I had gotten pretty sick over the holidays), but I am happy to have met them all. 

Now, you may ask, how did you do it? How did you win them over & get over your fears?

I cooked. I laughed. I smiled.

Once I got over my ridiculous worries and fears, I settled back into reality and showed them who Lani is - in a nutshell. 

As my parents always taught me, "1st impressions MATTER!" So I made sure that every time I met the family, I put on the ultimate piece of makeup - A SMILE. 

FACT: Smiling helps to alleviate your stress and is contagious, making those around you smile too.

(I used to teach kids in Public Speaking this fact)

Once I did the initial meet & greet with everyone it was time to plan for the Xmas dinner day. I decided to do what I do best, I cooked some of my fav dishes - a roast chicken (which I flavored with a ton of spices, so no recipe to share, just know that it was YUMMY), salmon lasagne (Sean & I once again semi followed a recipe...but in the end we created our own dish that unfortuantely can't truly be replicated), and - my holiday staple - a double layer pumpkin cheesecake. 

Sean was very proud of the spread we were bringing to the family Xmas dinner (always a good sign when the future hubby is proud of food), but then I was reminded that I'd actually have to TALK! OH NO!

And once again...my silly fears and imaginiation had taken flight...for NO REASON.

I was asked about "what I did," my background, and other non terrifying questions to help them learn more about me - the future addition to their family. Instead of getting interrogated, I got CONVERSATION. Oh the insanity! 

Once the shock wore off that I was not going to be water boarded or hooked up to a lie detector (PLEASE watch "Meet the Parents") I dove right into the holiday festivities, I even got to play a round of UNO (which I won & after that the family members stopped playing...so...as far as I can tell I am "undefeated"... )! :D

------

After this whole experience I came to an understanding. As much as we (significant others) are nervous about meeting the "soon to be" family, they too are a touch nervous. They only want their son, daughter, nephew, niece, grandson, granddaughter etc to be happy! And if you do just that, they are ecstatic!

It truly was wonderful to realize that my "soon to be" family would just be...my family. Or as "Lilo & Stitch" would say, Ohana. :)  

Thank you to all of my "soon to be" family members for being fun, hysterical, & welcoming. 

My advice on meeting the "soon to be" family: DO try to put your best foot forward, but DON'T hide who you are! Sometimes words aren't always enough, so let your "actions" share more about you - whether it's cooking, a geeky crafty gift, a sport, etc. Be immensely proud of yourself, so let that shine through your SMILE! Good luck! 

Love, 

Lani