A Family that Games Together, Stays Together!
This tag has been floating around on a handful of blogs from Geek Girl x Bloggers. Most recently I saw it on Prima Geek, and could not resist the urge to do it.
I don’t talk a lot about my gaming habits, and that’s what this tag is for! So on with it!
It’s been a while since I wrote about a video game so I thought today would be a good day to talk about the one I’ve been obsessed with. And I do mean, obsessed. Stardew Valley is the majority of the reason I have been so terrible at blogging lately. (That and we’re starting to look into remodeling our house… more on that later!)
If you’ve never heard of this game, don’t feel bad. The husband started playing it a few months ago and on a day where I was at a loss of something to do (gee, Anna… you could of WRITTEN!), I decided to give it a shot. This game is pretty awesome in it’s simplicity. If you’ve ever played Harvest Moon, its VERY similar to that.
In 2015 I committed to running in four 5ks. While it was more difficult than I care to admit, I’m very glad I did. I ended the year with an 88 mile run (over the course of 2+ months), and felt like I was on top of the world. Of course then the holidays sank in and now I’m dreading my first race of the year.
I am not a runner. I am trying to be a runner (sort of), and Geek’d Out Events is one of the ways I’ve been doing so. They host nerd themed 5ks throughout the year all benefiting AMAZING causes.
In 2015 I participated in a Star Wars 5k benefiting Adoption Exchange, Harry Potter 5k benefiting The Children’s Justice Center, Doctor Who 5k benefiting American Childhood Cancer Association , a qualifying Video Game 5k, and then a Back to the Future 88-miler benefiting the Michael J. Fox foundation. I benefit greatly from living in the state where the 5ks are hosted. Those that don’t have that benefit, Geek’d Out still has your back. GOE does a great job of organizing virtual races for the 5ks, so that anyone who wants to participate can do so on their own time in their own town and still get the amazing medals.
In 2016, GOE is planning on doing SIX 5ks through out the year, but keeping the themes pretty under wraps. One of the races will be Harry Potter themed (this year is RAVENCLAW), but the rest are a mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, GOE just announced that the first race of the year:
The race is a virtual run as a 22.1 miler (as in 221 B Baker Street), called Baker Street Bound. In addition to getting a killer medal out of it, it benefits an amazing cause, Badges Supporting Fallen Officers Families (Fallen). Additonally, GOE has also organized a mystery to solve while running. Reaching certain milestones gives you clues to a mystery, anyone that participates and helps solve the case is entered to win a Blu-Ray gift set of the seasons of Sherlock.
Honestly, GOE has exceeded all of my expectations with every race. GOE is very well organized and chooses awesome groups to benefit. With every race, they get better and better. If you’re looking for a fun way to work out (a bit) and also benefit great causes look no further.
Sound like something you want to follow? Tune into Geek’d Out Events on the interwebs:
Geek’d Out Events on Facebook
Geek’d Out Running Club on Facebook
Geek’d Out Runners Group on Facebook
Geek’d Out Events on Twitter
♪ On the Second Day of Geekmas, my fandom gave to me… ♪
Since this is the only video game themed one on the 12 Days of Geekmas I decided to make this a kind of what video games have given to me kind of thing.
While I didn’t really play too much old school Mario growing up, I did spend quite a few nights at my aunt and uncle’s apartment playing video games with him. He introduced me to Crash Bandicoot, Cool Borders, and the Final Fantasy games (we mostly played Playstation). I quickly fell in love with the Final Fantasy games. While it would take me YEARS to complete them, I loved the storylines and the growing artwork of the games.
Playing these games is what actually brought my husband and I together. We would end up playing Mario Kart or Lemmings on our dates and it became something we bonded over. He introduced me to games like Chrono Cross, Tomb Raider, World of Warcraft, Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon games. The problem is that I have a soft spot for one player RPGs. How does a couple play RPGs together without it being an MMO? Two options: First, you take turns. The husband and I have tried this, but I get frustrated and he gets distracted, so it doesn’t work out too well. Except on games like Uncharted, because he’s good that the battle scenes and I excel at the puzzles and mazes. The second option (and the one we personally go with): Two TVs in one room. It sounds excessive, but really, it’s pretty great.
When it comes to Mario specifically I’m an avid Mario Party and Yoshi’s Island fan. Mario Party 3 for the N64 was one of the most played games between me and my best friend. Every time we had a sleepover we would play that game for HOURS! We’d try and make it last as long as we could. Those nights were full of cheating (making it so the computer wouldn’t take stars), giggling and inside jokes that still make us laugh. It was one of the main things she and I bonded over and what still makes us laugh to this day.
Video Games often get a bad rep especially for girls who have been told their whole lives not to play video games because they’re for boys. Being a part of the gamer girl fandom/community has made me realize that you’d be surprised at how many well written female characters there are in video games (of course, they are WELL exceeded by poorly written ones). Characters that fight for what they want, and stand up to people, and tell it like it is. Characters who don’t just get captured but do some rescuing themselves.
What has this fandom given to you?
and One Ring to Rule Them All!
If you don’t know what this is, check out the intro post here. Feel free to join any time for any of the posts.
I’m so excited for everyone to participate and I can’t wait to see what these fandoms have given you! If you’re participating in the link up, post the link to your post in the link below!
Be sure to follow #12DaysofGeekmas and me (@NerdyAlerty) I’ll be retweeting/reblogging any posts participating!
I’ve been waiting with bated breath for a long time for the new Kingdom Hearts game to come out.
Kingdom Hearts II was released in 2005, and while there have been several games released since that time (Coded, 358/2, Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance and the ReMixes) they’ve almost all been released on portable devices instead of standing consoles. Everyone has been waiting for the next console game to be released. For TEN years we have been waiting and waiting thinking about how the next game was going to be.
The past few years have resulted in little to no news about the upcoming game. It’s been disappointing and a bit unfair to the fandom. However this year, has released more news than we’ve seen in a long time.
This week had been a little crazy. After getting home from my much needed and disconnected (we only had Edge data… EDGE… do you remember what that was like?) vacation, I came home to crazy busyness at work and just utter exhaustion every day. Hence why there was no Flash Fic yesterday (I swear I tried but nothing was coming. I’m lucky this became as put together as it did). Alas, despite the insanity that is the week of Independance Day, I still have a few things that fit the Thursday and Thrilled criteria. Read More
Guys, E3 has been killing it this year. And I am super stoked for games coming out. I keep singing this song as I watch all the conferences. So it’s not surprise that this week’s Thursday and Thrilled features a lot of E3 announcements.
It’s Thursday and Thrilled time again, but guys, Thursdays are HARD!! However, tomorrow I’m going to go see Chris D’Elia with the husband and I am STOKED! I’m so excited to sit at a comedy club and just laugh! If you haven’t heard his comedy, you can watch his recent stand up show on Netflix now. Other than that, here is what I’ve been thrilled about lately.
For Christmas, my husband bought me Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMix. I have been so excited for this game having loved the originals for a long time and was eager to play through the game again.
For those who don’t know Kingdom Hearts is the story about a young boy named Sora, his best friends Riku and Kairi, and how their destinies swirl together while involving some of your favorite Disney characters and worlds. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMIX features three games: Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix, and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. I had already played and beaten the original Kingdom Hearts II. However, I had never played Birth by Sleep or Re:Coded. Shortly after Christmas I decided that I would give one of the games I hadn’t played before a try.
