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

Merry Xmas from this Geeky Family

Enjoy the holidays with those you love!

Xoxo - Lani

A geeky family surrounded by geekery! Nightmare Before Christmas characters I drew (WHEE), video games, LOTR movies (& other action geeky movies), board games, Skylanders, and of course SUPERHEROES! Awesome.

Infographic: A Brief History of Weddings

I Cost HOW MUCH?

Infographics are amazing, and this one certainly taught me a lot about "wedding history"!

What bit of information will shock you? :D

Here's the link to the infographic web page:  http://bit.ly/TPkoio