Minecrafting LvL 9000

To date, my most ambitious endeavor in Minecraft has to be, the House. Simply put, it's tedious and detailed and gigantic in proportions. This house is around 150 blocks tall, probably 10 times that in area.

It's a two story house. I'm sure you're thinking, a house? on minecraft? pfft, big deal.

Well, get ready to have your genitals blown clean off from excitement!

This is no mere Minecraft house. This is THE Minecraft house.

Observe:

This is the front of the house. Please bear in mind that this is all still under construction but we are nearing the last stretch of work. Also the interior is quite dark in these pictures. In the game your gamma has to be at 100% to be able to see clearly and the pictures were taken at 50% gamma (default) and then brightened considerably.

The living room is the first room on the right when you come in the door. 

Here's another view of the living room. That's SpongeBob on the Big Screen TV.

This is the brightest room in the house because of its nearly all glass ceiling. It's got a comfy bay window seat and an aquarium. 

The dining room and the kitchen are directly below the major part of the 2nd floor and are therefore, the darkest rooms in the house. Please forgive the crudeness of the pictures.

Most of the appliances, carpet, and wall decorations are retro inspired. I just love the rounded edges and bright colors. Quite a challenge to replicate with blocks, I should add.

First up, on the second floor is the spare bedroom. I went for cool bright colors and ended up with what some may think is a child's bedroom. Lol, maybe I did it subconsciously.

Here's the bathroom. It's got a toilet, giant fat bottom tub, and walk in shower. Every sink in the house works properly with some red stone technology. ;) The dark thing on the bottom right hand in the sectioned off toilet area.

This is the master bedroom. The furniture is french inspired, a vanity, and a chaise lounge chair. I went with darker colors and simpler patterns for what I think is a sexy grown up room. :) It also has a walk in closet, not pictured, and plenty of skylight.

Among the things not pictured are the car port, game room, backyard, river, and soon to be built fire pit and BBQ areas. 

I have lined up a video session with a good friend and video editor who will be posting this to youtube once it is complete in the coming weeks. Until then, my world is always open when I'm online and building. I will be accepting temporary friend requests to anyone who wants to see my world but you have to tell me that is why you want me to accept your request, otherwise it will be denied. I usually delete the temporary requests after 24 hours. 

That is all for now fellow Minecraft addicts.

Thanks for reading.
Love,
LaLadyPanda

Period Preparation and Survival Manual

Once a month, like shapeshifting monsters from fiction novels, most of female kind spawn tortured versions of themselves in the midst of a horrible, pain filled transformation also known as the Menstruation Cycle.

Lol.

I know some girls like me have short, 3 day periods. Other's deal with cycle's that last as long as a week and other poor souls last for 10 to 14 days. The pain can vary from bothersome to crippling and it all sucks! Every symptom, every feeling and emotion is heightened and suck suck sucky! 

As with everything I do, I approach it logically and analytically. As a result, I've developed a PPSM or Period Preparation and Survival Manual. 

PPSM: 

The Period Preparation and Survival Manual

aka Shark Week Prep

Here are some things that might help:

-Heating pads (duh right?)

 It sounds stupid but essentially a period cramp is just a muscle cramp and heat does wonders to make you feel better. Store bought heating pads don't last very long and can be quite expensive when you're running through 1-2 per hour for those extra painful first, middle, or last days of your period.

Solution: Using a clean sock or sweater sleeve, fill it with rice and tie or sew the ends. If you happen to have lavender oil around, put some in there! The smell will aromatically help you relax too. The great thing about homemade heating pads is that you can make them any size you want. I have two for hiding in my extra comfy granny panties (front and back) and a long sweater sleeve one for my neck/shoulders.

pic courtesy of http://balkanstyle.blogspot.com/2010/02/rice-sock.html

-Vitamins

 During your menstrual cycle, women lose from .5 ro 2.5 oz. of blood per day. That means you're essentially losing a lot or iron and calcium. This is called anemia. To combat anemia you need to take in more iron.

Try eating some red meat (cooked obviously) or dark greens. Some women take iron supplements but please consult your doctor first as taking iron supplements means you need to monitor and possibly change your diet. Certain things like wheat do not go well with iron supplements. Making sure that you're taking in vitamins to supplement your loss will help with fatigue, head and body aches.

-BANANAS!

 Yes, bananas! Among other things, banana's have potassium, iron, tryptopham, vitamin B, and fiber.

Potassium helps with easing cramps. Iron helps with anemia. Tryptopham helps combat sadness. Vitamin B gives you energy. Fiber keeps your intestinal tract relaxed and constant.

These are Banana Pancakes:

1 ripe banana

2 large eggs

dash of cinnamon

Tsp. of Vanilla

Mix until you have a batter like blend and then pour into pan to make flour-less Banana-cakes!

What's not to love about bananas? Here's more info on how helpful banana's are:

http://pmsfactor.com/blog/50/banana/

-Water

 Drinking water is highly important all the time but even more so during your cycle. Women tend to lose that glowing factor because of our loss of valuable vitamins and minerals during the cycle.

That makes your hair look dull, your nails feeble, your body bloat and even your skin pale. Drinking more water can help combat these problems.

-NTD: NO TO DAIRY

 Cheese and milk in particular. Whole milk especially. This will reduce bloating.

-YTC: YES TO CHOCOLATE

This isn't a medical recommendation. I just always crave chocolate. It's mostly because chocolate triggers endorphins and serotonin which are your brains natural happy drugs!

When you eat too much chocolate though you feel sleepy and groggy and you get tummy aches which is no good. So here's what I do:

Take a banana and a strawberry, cut them into small bits, put them in a cup with nutella or melted chocolate. Freeze the cup with a stick in the middle. I normally don't exceed 1-2 ounces. Try your hardest not to eat too many of these. Hopefully yours is more fruit than chocolate, unlike mine. :)

Also some people use ice trays like this cool person on Pinterest.

-Scheduling

 This may seem silly but when I was younger, I never kept track of my period. I was all too happy to forget all about it the minute it stopped until it surprised me again the next month.

BE ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOUR FOE!

By keeping track of it, you'll know when to expect it (hopefully). For those of you who are more regular than others try these preparation tips one week before your scheduled cycle. Stay ahead of the curve and curve those symptoms!

For those of you who never know when it's going to happen, try keeping this list and the water, vitamins, heating bags/pads, tampons, and sanitary napkins in a box labeled PPSM.

It can be like an emergency kit for your womanhood!


These may seem more like logic than magic but being prepared goes a long way when you're feeling crappy and need relief. I hope this helps and good luck my friends!

Thanks for reading!
Love, 
Mery Ann

Mrs. Parker reporting for duty!

***Calvin's Hats Donation Update! The $28.20 that we raised last month has been donated today! Thank you so much to all of you for your support. You guys make my heart soar!***


Welp, I did it! I got married to my soulmate and I have to tell you, I've never been happier in my whole life. It seems surreal and at the same time, not a lot has changed. :)

We're not having a honeymoon but it feels like we've fallen in love all over again like it was the first time. I'm just thrilled to the bone to be with my husband and share the rest of my life with him. This week has been eventful to say the least.

First and foremost, the wedding was just great. It was really small and quiet but with my anxiety being what it is, that was pretty much ideal. I was hanging onto walls and shaking like a leaf walking through the crowd of people at the security stop in the courthouse entrance. The ceremony waiting room was small and mostly empty so I had time to calm down. My guests were my sister, mother, niece, the best man, and the best man's mom. The colors were ivory and dark purple and my dress was a pretty lace vintage style dress from Sealed With A Kiss. I only have one picture from the ceremony so far but I wanted to share it with you guys.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker <3

In the beginning of November, George and I went through a serious hardship when I miscarried. That was the first confirmed pregnancy I've ever had and I want a baby more than anything in this world. It was really hard on both of us but in true form, we carried on loving and supporting each other through it. Hopefully this time next year we will be ready to try again.

George has decided to join the Army National Guard and we are waiting on one more test and physical to find out when he can go to boot camp. I'm nervous about him being gone for so long because I am insanely co-dependent on him. I don't feel like me without him around but I know I can cope and he'll only be gone a few months. I'm ready for him to be able to start his career and I know he is too so that's a good thing. 

The thing I'm looking forward to now is getting this weight off. I've worked hard to be healthy for many years now and my doctor was beaming at my lab results. "You could not be any healthier than you are now," she said beaming at me. I beamed right back! :)

The amount of weight on my body does present some other health issues that I'm eager to get rid of like ovarian cysts and severe sleep apnea. I have decided to take a huge step in my road to a healthier body and my doctor has agreed with my decision whole heartedly. I don't want to say what steps I'm taking until I know for sure which road I'll be taking but I'll keep you guys posted. 

Firstly, I have to go in for another sleep study to get fitted for a sleep apnea mask and breathing machine tomorrow night. I'm beside myself thinking of what a good nights sleep is going to feel like. It's been years and lately I can't get more than a couple of hours in before I wake up choking and aching so I'm ready for this change to happen sooner rather than later. 

I hope that if you are reading this and you have medical issues that sometimes worry you, you take any necessary steps to get better. All my life I've been the kind of person to blow things out of proportion in my mind. A head ache turns into me thinking I have a tumor in my brain, a rash turns into me thinking I have lime disease and so on. You would think with all that worrying that I would be at the doctor's constantly checking that I'm going to be ok but instead I would avoid the doctors like the plague and just worry myself sick about my ailments. 

I'm very lucky that I never got seriously ill but I don't want you to wait until 30 to realize that its better to start taking care of yourself from as early on as possible. It's true that no one is going to take care of you but you, but it's also true that no one can take care of you better, so hop to it. :)

That's all I have for you this post but here are some pics of the things I DIY-ed for the wedding. :)

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Mery Ann 

And the winner is...

The November charity event to benefit Calvin's Hats was a great success friends!

If you didn't already know, for the entire month of November, I set up a scoodie giveaway in return for earning some charity money for one of my favorite organizations. Calvin's Hats donates tiny micro-preemie hats to babies born way to early to survive on their own.

We were able to raise $28.20 to be donated online to www. CalvinsHats.com. I'm hoping to be able to include a little more than that from my personal funds but I have to wait until the 12th to know if I can. I'll keep you guys posted. :)

The winner picked by random.org is NICHOLAS CATANESE!

Please email me at CoolBeansandThings@yahoo.com to claim your prize. You have until December 5th to claim your prize. 

***If this prize isn't claimed by the 5th, a new winner will be drawn***

Please let me know the style/color you want for the scoodie. Here is a look at the one I have already created:

Monday, December 10th is my wedding day. I've been so busy that I haven't been around to blog much. I'm doing a lot of things on my own, my nails, makeup, alterations to the dress and groom's suit, decorations, and organizing everything so its been hectic. Right now the wedding will have about 9 people present including the bride and groom. Afterwards we're taking pictures at Lake Eola park nearby and rounding the day off with an early dinner at Golden Corral. 

It's not the most high class, expensive wedding ever but that doesn't matter to me. If it weren't for my friend Luis who donated most of the money for the wedding, it wouldn't even be really happening, so I'm feeling lucky nonetheless. 

This is me and my fiance :)

He pretty much saved my life. I didn't have too much to look forward to until he came into my life. It may sound corny or crazy but I feel like his true love's kiss broke the curse of my bad luck life. <3

If you want to get us a wedding gift, we made a registry at target.com and most of the items are either on sale or already low priced. :)

Here's the link to it Mery Ann Medina and George Parker Wedding Registry

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Mery Ann

It's for a GREAT Cause!

Hello Friends and welcome to my very first Blog Giveaway! I wanted to make it extra special so I'm doing this one in honor of Calvin's Hats Charity!

Calvin's Hats is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide hand made hats for babies who are born too early to survive. My niece was born too soon and she was only 1 pound at birth. We were fortunate in that she continued her fight for survival and now, 11 years later, she is a happy and healthy little girl. I can never forget the anguish and fear we all went through as a family, praying that she would get better. I know every little bit of love and compassion counts in those times of need and seeing people come together to do something as small as providing a warm hat for a tiny baby can make a big difference. I normally crochet tiny hats and mail them in but I really wanted to do more and I know that the more people know about it, the more they will want to help. 

Here are the links to Calvin's Hats on facebook and their official website:

Facebook.com/Calvin's Hats
Calvin's Hats Official Website

With that in mind I am running this blog giveaway and also raising money on my online shop this entire month to benefit Calvin's Hats charity! Now let's get into the details!

Here is the Prize: 

One lucky winner will be the proud owner of a handmade Cool Beans and Things Bear Scoodie. A scoodie is a scarf with a hood attached! I crochet them with adorable bear ears and pockets for your handsies at the ends of the scarf!The colors of the Scoodie may vary. It is one size fits all.  :)

How to Enter: 

Each person can have a MAXIMUM of 16 entries into this contest!

1. You gain 1 entry for commenting below. 
2. If you share a status about this giveaway with a link to the Cool Beans and Things facebook page and/or blog, that is worth 2 entries!
3.  If you have a blog of your own and you post about this giveaway with a link back to it, that is worth 3 entries! 
4. Finally, if you make a donation to Calvin's Hats charity you will get a whopping 10 entries!! There are three ways to donate:

• -You can go to http://www.calvinshats.com/Ways-You-Can-Help.html and click to donate using paypal. You would need to email a screen shot of the donation confirmation page to CoolBeansandThings@yahoo.com to confirm this.
• 
  
• -Or, you can make and send one or more micro preemie hats. The instructions and patterns are on this page: http://www.calvinshats.com/Hat-Creators-Area.html. For proof, please share the picture of the hat(s) you made to facebook.com/CoolBeansandThings.
• 
  
• -Or you can make a purchase by clicking ---> Cool Beans and Things shop as 20% of every sale will be donated to Calvin's Hats.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTS BELOW, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AS I DO NOT WANT TO DISQUALIFY ANYONE.

Eligibility and Shipping: 

If you are under 18, please have your parents consent to enter this giveaway as the prize will be mailed to the winner and your address will be required. Please note that this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE but International winners may need to wait up to 6 weeks for shipping as each country has different customs rules on shipping. Continental U.S. shipping will be via U.S.P.S Ground. Shipping and Handling will be covered and this giveaway does not have any cost to the participants. No purchase is necessary to win. Please note that this prize is non-transferable.

Giveaway Dates and Details:

The last day to enter will be December 1st, 2012 and the winner will be chosen via Randomizer.com on Monday, December 3rd. 

The winner will be posted on this blog and it will be completely up to them to contact me via email to claim their prize. If by December 5th, the first chosen winner has not contacted me back, a new winner will be chosen. 

To make sure you don't miss out, be sure to subscribe to my blog via email so that you can get notified when the winner is chosen.

That's all for now folks, let's start the season of giving off with a BANG!

Thanks for reading.
Love,
Mery Ann/La Lady Panda

Makeupbee.com Halloween Competition!

I guess I never mentioned this to you guys before but I love love love make up!

I don't wear it on a daily basis because I try to treat my skin good since I do have issues with it from time to time but I dabble in creative make up. :)

I love bright colors and dramatic looks and so I came across makeupbee.com on Pinterest and decided to try my hand on a Halloween look for a competition they're having. I haven't really messed with my make ups in a while and I am in dire need of new colors and brushes but I did the best I could with what I have.

Here's my Babydoll look :)

The competition is based on how many votes you get and anyone can vote on the site so I was hoping, if you like my look, that you guys could go vote for me too. :) Here's the link:

Makeupbee.com Halloween Babydoll Entry - La Lady Panda

I might make this a more frequent thing I post about too, idk. I'm so random! Crochet, video games, and make up. HA! But that's me, and I'm not conforming to anyone's idea of who or how I should be, and neither should you. :) <3

Thanks for reading.

Geek Love,

La Lady Panda/Mery Ann

1.8.2 is FINALLY HERE!

So many new things are happening in my world lately, I can hardly keep up! I'm really sorry I haven't been blogging as much but I will definitely be making up for lost time. :)

I'm super proud and excited to tell you guys that I am now the Gaming Correspondent and newest cohost to the blog talk radio station, The Geek Supremacy!

Please click this link and like us on Facebook:

The Geek Supremacy Project

We cover all things Geek! from movies, comics, tv, to video games and music so definitely check us out. :) We've been discussing doing a vlog or video podcast as well and although I'm nervous as all hell about it, I'm leaning towards yes.

I know I'll get a lot of flack from some viewers for being a big girl but I don't think I'll let it get to me. I recently came across a tv show and magazine about plus sized (actual plus sized not that 'real size' bullshit the mainstream media want us to swallow) models and I think if I weren't so short, or agoraphobic, I'd seriously consider trying out some modeling. Holy shit balls, just thinking about that makes me anxious. SHEESH! Moving on!

In crochet news, I have been designing some super geek chic apparel for our noggins. From Skyrim Iron Helm hats to super hero beanies! Get ready to gear up geek style soon! If you can't wait for me to stumble upon the hat you want, be sure to request a custom made hat for yourself on my etsy shop. It's easy! You click it, send me a note of what you want and I create it for you! Prices are discussed and paid for up front and the turn around time is usually 7-10 business days but I can usually do it in less time.

Click the link below and then Request Custom Item on the bottom left hand side menu:

Cool Beans and Things Etsy Shop

Most of us are eagerly awaiting the release of some huge games this year such as Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and Black Ops 2 and the wait is getting shorter folks. I want to give you guys a heads up on an all new FREE TO PLAY (yes, FREE!) game on Xbox Live.

The new and improved dashboard came with some impressive add ons such as Internet Explorer and all new Xbox Music, but a little known new program came along for the ride where free to play games will also be supported by Xbox Live. The first of many, Happy Wars is a super fun 15 on 15 multiplayer game where tiny little warriors battle it out to destroy the other teams castle. You can choose from a warrior, cleric, and mage class and level your character items with stars won in the game or tickets purchased with Microsoft points. 

If you haven't check it out yet my friends, give it a try. There are set times Bonus Time during the day where you get bonus XP and games can be harder to find but there is also a co-op and campaign mode. What better way could there be to 'kill' time then to play a new and free game? Go check it out! 

Now for some Minecraft news: First of all I wanted to showcase some of my newest Minecraft creations with you guys. Since the 1.8.2 update hit Xbox we now have CREATIVE MODE and UGH! Where have you been all my life? As if flying around and running super fast aren't awesome enough, the creative mode menu is a miracle and so easy to use!

My one and only gripe is that the water and lava buckets don't automatically refill and there's no shortcut to delete something from your hot bar. Some people opt to make a lava pit garbage disposal nearby or select the item in the menu then back out to make it disappear. There should be an easier way to do that though.

Now, everyone knows that Pandaland was a huge endeavor for my friends and I and there was a lot of compliments and criticism for it from the gaming community. This time around, I'm really spreading my creative juices allll over Minecraft's face!

I decided to do not one, but 4 parks in an all new, super huge PANDA WORLD! So far we've done the main entrance, a candy shop, a souvenir shop, the 4 park entrances, and 3 rides for the Water Park (still needs to be named). I am showing these pics to my blog readers EXCLUSIVELY!

 TAH DAH! The Main Entrance. It even has ticket booths!

 Here is the Candy Shop in a Cupcake Building! Those are sliding glass doors beside the cake display case!

The souvenir shop is a giant fish bowl! Inside you'll see nemo 'hangin' around :D Can you see some familiar faces? shhhhhhhh don't say anything! lol

Once you're inside the Water Park, You see this awesome Pirate Ship! Climb aboard with your friends to play a fun round of bumber boats. Break each other's boats and be the last one standing to win! The canon's are dispensers that launch chicken eggs!

Right next door is Winter Wonderland where you can practice your speed skating.

A little further into the Water Park you'll see a pyramid welcoming you to The Nile Lazy River where this gold toothed croc and his palm tree buddies show you a cool time. :)

I want to give a special thank you to my collaborators and awesome friends, Stacey/Sp0nG3BOoB, Josh/K1NG PWNAGE 98, SpartanMacky, Abel/BeastnessisLife, Az/PoP KoRN Xio, Luis/Sneaky Diablo, and Chynna/ DynamicWhisper3. If I missed someone, please forgive me...I'm on this map all day every day and it becomes quite transient. People come and go so often, it's hard to keep track.

In the same breath, I want to thank you all for putting up with my tyrant ways, lol. We all know, if its not perfect, Lady will tear it ALL down and either do it all myself or ask you to change it. I love you all for putting up with my OCD lol. <3

Welp, that's all for now (it was a LOT, I know lol). Tune in for my pre-release review later this week for the upcoming big game release season!

Thanks for reading.
Geek Love,
La Lady Panda