Day 364 - Don't Stop Believin'!

Berry has a new meme for us - The Blogging Journey Challenge! So I got Journey stuck in my head, of course.

Just a small town girl...


Which electronic devices do you use to blog with? Just my old desktop that really badly needs replacing. I don't have a lot of stuff anyway, just my phone and 2 Kindles [Paperwhite and Fire], so there's really no other thing for me to blog on. *laughs*

Do you have a mission statement for your blog, if so, what is it? No... On this blog, I just share my SLife, boring, happy, sad, or whatever. If someone finds something I said interesting or helpful, all the better. But mostly I just want to talk about my SLife. On my fashion blog, I just want to share about things I like from designers I want to support.

How do you feel about blogs that use their platforms to spread negativity? I guess I don't pay attention because I haven't seen one like that in a while, unless you count SL secrets.

Are you a grammar junkie? Do you thoroughly check your blog for errors before posting and/or do you judge other people’s posts if they contain errors? I usually type the way I'd speak - kinda casual and maybe slangy. I mean, I never claimed to be a professional journalist. :) But I do try to make sure that I spell everything correctly. In a venue where your words ARE how people know you, it would be wise to at least attempt to not sound too much like an idiot. LOL!

If you could switch blogs with another blogger who would it be? Probably Berry. :-p Just to see what it would be like to have such a huge readership and have people really pay attention to what I write.

Has your blog/blogging style evolved over the year(s)? How? In some ways, yes. It would be hard to NOT change over several years, you know? But one thing that hasn't changed, and I hope never changes, is how much I'm willing to share with the people who are kind enough to read my blog. I think my pictures are better now, thankfully. And of course, the topics have changed being that I'm not the little club girl any more and I'm now a mom in SL.




What is the most extraordinary thing that has happened to you because of blogging? Honestly, without blogging, I don't think ANYTHING that I have done in the past 6 years would have happened. I never would have met the people who became my friends, who encouraged me to keep blogging, to build, to learn, to grow. I'm a better person because one night I decided to open this blog.

When it comes to Second Life blogs, there are different styles: Fashion bloggers, Lifestyle & Travel bloggers, Informative bloggers, and more. Which style do you prefer and where do you feel your blog fits in? Obviously this one is more of a lifestyle blog. I just talk about my life. You guys know almost everything that I do and think about SL, and even some of my RL as well. If I do have a tip or trick or something to share, I definitely will, but mostly I just enjoy talking about my SL. My style blog is just that. It's stuff I like, in the style I like. It's not the best, I don't take the best pics and I don't really have the best style, but I like what I like, and I like to show it.

What has blogging taught you? Blogging has taught me that it's okay to just be me. I spent a long time thinking that I *had* to be a certain way, do certain things, and give more of myself than was necessary. But through blogging, I've learned that it's okay to be just kind of silly, or be in a bad mood, or vent about things that aren't even that bad but in that moment, they are important to me. It's really the best thing I could have learned.

Share your top 3 tips for new bloggers.

1. Write. Write. It's so easy to just show a picture and some credits and be done with it. Your words are your voice, use them. Don't ever be afraid to share. Sharing of yourself makes you more than just a plain blogger.

2. You're not owed anything because you have a blog, so don't expect your SLife to be paid for because you happen to have a blog. Blogging can be an expensive hobby. Be prepared to pay for it.

3. Love what you do. If it's not fun, if you don't love it, it'll show. Never treat blogging as an obligation unless someone is putting cash money in your hand.


Thanks for another awesome meme, Berry!!

It goes on and on and on and on...

Day 363 - Getting My Strongs!

Abby has been helping Brianna out with more of the "kid" stuff that she didn't already have, including the Yuus/Nuuu hud that pretty much all the kids have these days. I like the hud a lot because I can pick Abby up, or hold her hand to drag her along if we're out somewhere, or tp her if she's AFK, or sit her down on something. But the one thing I've never done with the hud is pick up 2 kids at once. Tonight we were hanging out and I just felt like picking up my girls.




It's the first time that I've held Birdy since she came into our lives, and the first time Abby has really shared me with someone. That probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most people, but it was for us. Of course, after I picked them up, I thought "Oh. Should I have asked Brianna before picking her up? Nah. She's just gonna have to get used to it!" Luckily, she didn't mind. :) We laughed that I must have great muscles to be able to hold the girls for as long as I did! I'm gettin' my strongs! But I don't know, what do you guys think? Do I look like I belong on an episode of Teen Mom? I might need to stop looking QUITE so young. LOL!

We have to find a good pose so we can take a new family picture this week with Daddy Z. Our last "formal" family picture was at Christmas! For being a blogger, I sure am horrible at getting pictures of the family sometimes. *laughs* But it's late and I have tons to do tomorrow before getting in any SL time, so it's off to bed!

Day 362 - Sisterly Bonding

Today was the first day that the girls have really been able to go out and do things together. There was LOTS of shopping done! Brianna recently moved to the Toddleedoo mesh body so naturally she needs a whole new wardrobe. And Abby is a big shopper, so she got to take her to some of her favorite places for new clothes!

Definitely my favorite part about their sister bonding day was just listening to their conversations as they hung out in Abby's room and opened packages and traded gacha items. They're really super adorable.




I'm really loving having another kid in the house. You know, when Abby brought up the question of having a sibling, I wasn't 100% behind it. I mean, I wasn't against it, but I was iffy on it. I was worried about how it would change our family dynamic, I wondered if I could care about someone else, I was terrified we'd end up with someone who would hurt the family. But I don't worry so much any more. :) Brianna is a polite, nice girl with a great sense of humor and we all like her more and more by the day. She seems to like us, too, so who knows how much longer the trial will go. No one is rushing because there's no need, and that's pretty cool.

I have a monster headache right now, so it's time for meds and sleep!

Day 361 - Coming Together

Tonight was scouts night! Our little Bumblebees got to hear the story of Robin Hood, and then did archery! I really adore our scout meetings. We always do something fun, and just being around the kids is a real delight. Most of the kids that are in scouts with us are dedicated kids, so their little emotes and gestures are just too too adorable for words! I wasn't able to get any pictures tonight because I was lagging like crazy, but Brianna did, so I'm stealing one of her pics.




Things are really starting to come together with our trial with her. I feel like once we completed the "official" Heritage trial, we all got a lot more relaxed. I know I did, anyway. Not just because a week is not REALLY enough of a trial time, but also the constant messages saying a child [or a parent] has registered and is at the facility RIGHT NOW were very grating. I don't know how many kids are in SL, but in just a few hours overnight, I'd get on average 10 offlines like that. Then there is the whole "You have X days left in your trial!" messages. I understand why they do it, but it can be a little nervewracking.

But now that we've decided to extend our trial on our own, things are definitely calmer. We can get to know each other at our own pace. Tonight was just fun because we got to be with the scouts, then with the family. Of course, we did have one hysterical moment that had everyone laughing until we were gasping when Lolita was trying to pick up some of the things in the archery area and accidentally picked up the dome we were in. Everyone just went falling down to the ground from 3500m up! We were all laughing so dang hard, no one even hit Fly. We just kept falling! Even now just writing about it, I'm cracking up! The kids were doing their "Ahhh!" gestures and my sis and I were laughing like crazy and Takeo said, "Well...is scouts over?" It was awesome!

After our crash landing, the Oleanders came over to see our new house. Riley was a sweetheart and dropped off a kitchen for me, so after we chatted with them for a while, and after people fell out of the window a few times [I dunno], I set about to making it work in our kitchen area. Abby had to go to bed so Bri, Aldwyn, and I stayed on skype for the rest of the night while I moved stuff around. We haven't been just the three of us on skype, so it was nice to get that time together.




I don't think the kitchen is actually that BIG, but when you're shorter like me, sometimes you need a stepstool!! It probably fits Aldwyn just fine. Maybe I should make him do the cooking from now on?

And I just noticed that after this post, I only have 4 more to finally complete my 365 day project. It's only taken me over 2 years. *laughs*

Day 360 - It's Cutthroat!

One of the bad things about mesh houses is that it can be super super hard to mod them. The low land impact is awesome, of course, but I do so miss being able to move walls and beams and retexture properly and all of that. We're using this big beautiful home from Barnesworth Anubis, but the downstairs was VERY open. It's gorgeous, of course, but I do like having more defined rooms. So I set about making some walls. I think I did pretty well, if I do say so myself! Now we have a kitchen AND an enclosed porch! Mudhoney had some great furniture at The Home Show so it was awesome getting to finally use it.






Abby and I had some time to ourselves tonight, which was nice. We've both been so busy lately, we haven't been able to just sit together and talk like we usually do. I missed my girl! But she's really going to have to start decorating her room soon because her room being empty is making me itch. *laughs*

Since both Abby and Brianna went to bed early tonight, and Aldwyn was not online, I went with my Oleander family to play U-Know!




It was really super fun! And man, do we play a cutthroat game! There was alllll kinds of trash talking going on, let me tell you. Even threats of going to Heritage to find new siblings!! We're competitive! But Lolita and I both won once, and Takeo won twice. The girls played a hard game but sometimes it was just the luck of the draw.

Time for bed!

Day 359 - Quick

Quick blogpost today because I have RL stuff to get to, although I'd almost rather just go back to sleep. :) I stayed up later than I should have last night because we switched to a bigger house and I have this thing about empty rooms. Especially empty rooms where people will be. If a bedroom is empty or something, at least we can close the door. But the downstairs of our new home needed stuff.




Today is the last day of our Heritage trial with Brianna. But we're not the type to just go into an adoption quickly, so last night I asked if she would be interested in extending her trial with us. We feel that a week long trial is often not enough time, especially when they happen over a holiday weekend. We were all busy with this and that and while we do like Bri a lot, we want to get to know her better. [And we didn't want what happened to Lolita & Takeo back in December to happen to us!] But of course I told her that if she wasn't into long trials or if she didn't feel like we were the family for her, to just let me know. We wouldn't want her to feel obligated to stick around if she didn't feel like Aldwyn and I could be her parents. We would all definitely still be her friend. The longer trial period is for her benefit as well as ours. Maybe even more for her benefit than ours in the big picture.

You guys might remember that we had Abby living with us for months before we officially adopted her. We were pretty sure how we felt about her very early on but waited until she was ready again to be adopted. Of course, the circumstances are a bit different in that Abby came to us directly from a family, and Bri has been on her own, but still. I want her to be sure and I want us to be sure.

Of course, being that this has obviously been on my mind for the past week, it has me thinking a lot about family. When do you feel like family with someone? To me it's not something that can be forced, although I have seen it forced in SL families a lot. The too early "I love yous" and the over familiarity and the quest to be the number one kid in someones' life. But then again, should you slow your roll when you honestly feel something even if it's early on in the game?

So much for a "quick" blogpost, right? :)

Day 358 - Let's Bunny It Up!

After Abby asked us about the possibility of adopting another kid, she and I headed to Heritage just to check out some of the cards. We were both very surprised when we both found a girl that seemed pretty cool. She wrote without baby talk, she was the right age, her time zone and times she can be in world mesh well with ours, and she's more of a "girly tomboy" like Abby. So I went ahead and made us a card and put up a panel so we could "like" her panel. I kind of didn't expect anything to come of it. After all, we're kind of picky and I put everything we expect and want in our notecard. I had to give it to Abby to look over before setting up the panel because I wanted to know if I made us sound like jerks in the card. *laughs*

Surprisingly, last night Brianna, the girl that we liked, liked us too!! Abby had been up at Heritage hanging out and they had actually been chatting before Brianna liked our panel. So she brought her home. :) Abby wasn't able to stay up too long, so I got to sit and chat with Brianna for a while, and then Lolita and Takeo came over and got to meet her. She's kind of shy, but I think that is good. If she came in all loud and getting too familiar too fast, I think I'd be like "K...maybe not." LOL! But she's sweet and by the end of the night, we decided that we wanted to go ahead with the trial period.

Tonight she kind of got a "trial by fire" with the whole family [minus Aldywn, who had an unexpected obligation pop up] with our family Easter party! The kids got dinner [where we learned that like Riley, Bri also doesn't eat anything with a face] and then they got Easter baskets! Lolita, Takeo, and I dressed as little bunnies and danced for the kids while they ate, so it was dinner and a show! The egg hunt was loads of fun because it was a nighttime hunt and they had to run around with their flashlights to find their eggs.




It was so much fun!! Of course, my sister and I knew where the eggs were because we had hidden them, but the kids had a blast running around and finding eggs. Payton is super good at egg hunting and found them in no time flat! It was so so cute to watch them running around.

After the hunt, we all posed together to take a family picture. I'm the bunny in pink and Abby and Brianna are behind me. Takeo is holding Riley and Payton, and Lolita and Raven are on the end.




Once the pictures were done, we went to Easter Town and there was Peeps racing, egg floating, and another egg hunt! We had so much fun! I'm not sure why some people would choose to go there dressed in skanky clothes with dirty AOs, or feel the need to be cursing like maniacs on voice, in a place that is obviously designed to be more family friendly in nature, but well... I guess it is what it is. :)

All in all, it was a terrific night. Brianna seemed to keep up with us well, and everyone likes her. The next big step is for her to meet Aldwyn so I can see how they get along. I think he'll like her, and people can't help but like Aldwyn, so there shouldn't be any problems. After that, then I guess we'll start looking for a bigger house so the girls can have their own bedrooms. They're sharing right now but if everything goes well and Brianna officially becomes part of our family, I'll want them both to have their own spaces and our current house only has two bedrooms.

Lots to do, but for now, sleep. :)

Day 357 - But not to sell!!

So one day about a week or so ago, Abby told me, "Did you know we don't have a fridge?" She went to look for food and there was none! Oops!! What can I say? We eat dinner at the Oleanders' house sometimes and we sneak food home that way. :) But I'm trying to be a good mom, so today we got a new fridge. Abby was so happy, she immediately grabbed a glass of orange juice.




We were in the backyard when Daddy Z came home and then she hit us with a question. Would we consider adopting a sibling for her?

o.O

We're not against the idea, of course. But we are extremely picky! Any kid we adopt would have to meet certain criteria, like being more of a dedicated child [we have noooooo desire at all to be SL grandparents] which I know can sometimes be harder to find. We lucked out with Abby because while she does have a Big, she very very rarely uses that account. They have to understand that pretty much everything we do as a whole family takes place after 7pm SLT. If they have to be in bed by 8pm SLT, that'll never work. We'd want them to be between 6 and 10 years old. Abby doesn't mind being a big sister, but we would rather have someone closer to her age.

But, in the middle of our talk, both she and Daddy Z suggested we try it the old fashioned way.

*facepalm*




Yeah. That's NEVER gonna happen.

Also, she isn't allowed to sell her sibling. Yes. We did have to make that a rule.

Day 356 - Only Eight??

Eight months ago, I woke up to what I figured would just be an ordinary day. I logged in and had an offline with a landmark. The landmark took me to a question, and that question led to me taking a huge leap, and that huge leap has led into the best eight months of my SLife.




Can you believe that it's only been eight months since I have been part of the most awesome family ever?? It feels like I've always been with them! Our family has changed over the past eight months, and I'm sure it'll change again in the future because change is inevitable, but I am still so happy with how everything worked out!

Sometimes saying yes is the best thing ever. ♥

Day 355 - Oh Myyy!

"Say what?? I forgot I'm wearing demo pants? Oh myyyy!"




It's been quiet ever since we got back from our vacation. Abby has been working hard on understanding UV maps, Aldwyn has been doing RL boring stuff, and I've been fighting with my computer and SL so that I can do little things in world without crashing constantly. Doesn't that sound like fun?? :-p

I've also been thinking about Bluebonnet. I love this sim. It's been my SL home for over 5 years. We've had loads of parties here, got married here, started our family here, and Renee's garden is here. But I'm about to have a very large parcel opening up and I can't compete with the prices/discounts that other people can offer. Plus it looks like I'm starting to be one of the few sims that doesn't offer already terraformed parcels and neighborhoods. That's just never been my thing, you know? I LOVE seeing what my renters create on their parcels. The only thing I have been able to offer is a quiet home and a sim that usually changes with the seasons. The people who live here are quiet and we don't really get in each others' way.

So, if anyone is interested in a large residential parcel that supports just over 3100 prims on a family friendly, quiet sim, IM me! We'll talk price. Just remember that we're basically talking retail price and not discounts like the big land owners can offer. :)

Day 354 - Living Our Dream

And so ends our lovely vacation to the Bahamas. Do you think if I just stand out there with this sign, they'll let me stay?




Probably not, huh?

So, this was my first big "immersive" family RP this week. Although we do little things here and there, most of the time Abby and I are just hanging out at home in a room or on a platform and chatting about random stuff, and when Aldwyn logs in he stands with us. Or just with me because he logs in after Abby has to go to bed. I really have to thank my Lolita and Takeo for getting us more immersed into it this week because well...they're just really really good at it! Plus, my sister is incredible at planning things and getting everyone involved. Way, way better than me, so I definitely learned from her this week.

Last night as I was getting ready to sleep, I was thinking about everything that I've done that has led me to this point in my SLife. As you guys have learned by now, this is not my first avatar, although it is the one that I've been on for wayyyy longer than I was on my first. I've done the club scene, and the fetish thing, and I've been a runway model, and I've been a super snarky blogger. I've just done all these random things that I've usually enjoyed, but most of it never truly fit me.

At our dance last night, Takeo played the song "Everything Is Awesome" and one of the lyrics is "Everything is awesome when we're living our dream!" I made the offhand comment, "I didn't even know this WAS my dream!" But thinking more about it, maybe this has been my dream all along. Maybe this is exactly what I was searching for in SL from the beginning. I can't remember ever being so happy in SL before. I've been happy, of course, but not like this. Not at all like this.

But, I guess it's time to get back to Bluebonnet. Vacations have to end some time, right? I want to make some springy Easter type nail polishes, and I know Abby is excited to get back to building to release some things in her store. And Aldwyn seriously needs to change his Bob Marley shorts. *laughs* Huge thank you and much much love to our Oleander family for putting together the vacation plans and just for being them. They are truly the best family anyone could ask for on this crazy grid!

Day 353 - The Last Night

We're having a family dance to celebrate the last night of our Bahamas vacation. We're already planning on sitting tomorrow with signs that say "HELL NO, WE WON'T GO." This has just been the most beautiful, magical week. I have loved every single moment of it and I think it totally strengthened our bond as a family. ♥

Day 352 - Almost The End

It's our second to last night here on our wonderful beach vacation. Tonight, we hunted seashells and ran all up and down the beach!




There are some better pictures of us all on the beach, but I wasn't able to get too many because I was ridiculously crashy tonight. :(

After putting Abby to bed, Aldwyn and I headed to one of our favorite little spots on the island to relax and spend some time together. As you can see, I've gotten a little color since we have been on the beach this week!




Tomorrow night, we have our family formal dance to celebrate our last night on the island, and then Thursday we pack up and head back home. I have thoughts and observations from the past few days, but I'll save that for my final vacation post this week. :) Right now, I just want to listen to the waves and go to sleep. ♥