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Posts Tagged ‘Miss Jesikah’

Mar
27

Episode 2: “Revenge of the Geeks”

Posted in Family, Product reviews, Things to do, Things We Love

In a neighborhood far far away, on the planet Google Earth, lived a family of Geeks (see Episode 1) belonging to the Nerd Class (we’ll get to that in a minute). It was a time of rebellion where the Geeks waged war on all that the Nerds had presented as entertainment declaring an upgrade of family values. Their anti-app battle cries filled Google Sky, catching the attention of the Toy and Game industry. Plastic toys with batteries were soon replaced by wooden toys that required imagination and fine/gross motor manipulation. An appreciation for the arts emerged inspiring a bard rising from the days of old, creating true artists, musicians, and writers.

Clusters of Geeks began meeting in homes to celebrate an age-old practice that humans for thousands of years have enjoyed – games. The type any techie neophyte or old school Nerd would applaud.

If you feel your inner-Geek resonating with the power of the not-so-dark side, here are a few recommendations from the Austrian game industry, a must for any who pride themselves in Geekdom. To be acknowledged by any in the Gamer Brotherhood (where you get a +5 speech craft for bragging rights), your game closet should include a game with an Austrian Game of the Year Award noted from the official Wiener Spiele Akademie (Austrian Game Academy), which is similar to our Academy Awards (no joke).

Here are a few academy winners from Wiener Spiele Akademie (you might be surprised by a few that are familiar):

Spiele des Jahres (“Game of the Year”)

1995 – Settlers of Catan

2001 – Carcassonne

2004 – Ticket to Ride

2009 – Dominion

The Academy also has winners for family games, children’s games, multi-player games, two-player games…games for wizards, games for elves, games for space cowboys, games for those who like to wear capes simply because capes are cool (hey, don’t knock LARPers, where would Renaissance Fairs and Highland Games be without them!…Nerds, you’ll have to use your apps to find out what a LARPer is, teehee!). There are also games awarded by the Golden Geek Award and other various academy spin-offs which you can search and review at Board Game Geeks.

Most “Game of the Year” award winners are great for elementary age children as well. The family of Geeks who live in a neighborhood far far away, have 7 and 9 year old boys who are Padawan gamers one day hoping to belong to the Jedi Knights of the Gamer Brotherhood, like their mommy and daddy. Their favorite right now is Carcassonne followed closely by Dominion.

Other note worthy games celebrated in the Gamer Brotherhood include:

“Munchkin”, a fabulous game poking fun at Dungeon and Dragon based RPG’s (and the only way you’ll get to wear Boots of Kick-Ass and get away with it); “Forbidden Island”, where players work together to retrieve artifacts before an island sinks into the abyss (go Indiana Jones style Team Spirit!); “Citidels” a layered game where each round players are secretively a thief, assassin, the king, architect and other characters all using their skills to build the biggest city (get the expansion and play the king and your friends will have to say “Your Excellency” when addressing you or forfeit their turn); and “Pandemic”, another cooperative style game where players try to eradicate disease from claiming all of mankind (hmmm….was this inspired by Stephen King’s “The Stand”?).

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who would like to thank The Academy for bringing the Glory Days of Geek Gaming back to her home. Do you have Spiele des Jahres games in your closet?

 

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Feb
7

Episode 1: A New Hope

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family

In a neighborhood far far away, on the planet Google Earth, lived a family of Nerds who later became Geeks (we’ll get to that in a minute). It was a time of much celebration as Nerds had risen among the classes to rule and reign, bringing their overactive imaginations, battle glory, competitive spirits, and advanced technology to the masses. Children no longer played with typical toys of generations past, instead preferring AI technology for playmates. The most common were Angry Birds, Swampy, Zombies, Spartans and Master Chiefs. Many learned to read sounding out words like, A..A..Android, and N…N…Netflix. Small self-lighting devices replaced books and family libraries.

The Nerds saw this and although they did not want to remove technology from Google Earth, decided to gift the cheerful citizens with interactive face-to-face play once again. Going back to their roots of hero feats, battle strategy and role playing, they created a realm of board games sure to bring eye contact and non-abbreviated conversations back to the dinner table. This created a faction within the Nerd classes. New Wave Nerds prefer technology where they can instantly +1 their friends or do status updates in all they do each day; but the Geeks remembered Friday nights with pizza and board games and cherished the laughter and original human interfacing….with no technology whatsoever.

If you are a Geek (or perhaps a closet Geek, don’t worry we won’t reveal your secret to your savvy Nerd friends), be sure to check out this website for Board Game Geeks. Many games featured come with familiar hardware like dice, cards you hold in your hand or flip over (also called card drafting in Geek Speak); and boards with pieces that move as the game progresses…and moved by your own gross motor movement, too! You can join blogs, create an account posting the Geekiest games you own sharing your own reviews and even search for a new and exciting game sure to please the whole family.

Stay tuned for the next episode where the Geeks go the battle and declare victory over many new board games that have emerged from the Austrian Board Game Academy.

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who is an old school fantasy Nerd and has always stayed true to her inner-Geek. She still does not have a phone that has apps! Imagine that ;-)

Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Jan
11

The day a man leapt through a window for me.

Posted in Bits and Pieces

I frequent the drive-thru Starbucks by my house often and know the brew crew…and they know my name, my van, and even the drink I order the most. That Starbucks is like my “Cheers”, where everybody knows my name. One of the baristas, during our conversation, forgot to give my credit card back to me before I drove off. With a serious brain fog desperately in need of a good cup of Joe, I had not even thought about my card. As I rolled up the window and driving away I hear “Jesikah!”, so I stopped and looked in my mirror saw him waive my credit card out the window. I waved back to let him know I heard, then planned on parking and walking in.

The rest is a memory I will cherish forever: I look in my mirror one more time and I see him leaping through the drive thru window as another car is pulling up (the car saw it coming and crept in slowly, no Starbucks barista was harmed). He is at least 6’ 2”; a tall man! He comes bounding toward me waiving my credit card in the air. Then he leaps to my window, takes a formal stance, bows and then says, “Madame, your card”, gives me a boyish smile like he is oh so charming. The only stupid thing I can think of at that moment, “I could have walked in, but thanks, that was awesome”. I’m so very clever in chivalrous moments ;-) He replies (boyish smile still in place), “But that was so much more fun”, then turns, and runs back to the drive-thru window and climbs back in, not going back in through the front door.

My morning is complete. I can now say, I had the man who made my morning coffee leap through a window for me with a wink and a bow!

Although our teachers do not have drive-thru windows to leap through for you, I know they cherish each and every child that walks through their door. We want you to leave every class blessed and with a smile on your face with memories and stories to share with your friends and your loved ones!

Have a funny story to share? We would LOVE to hear it! We may even post it : ). Share a funny customer service story, a funny memory or even something hilarious your child did or said (children are great resources for humor); and we’ll give you a special $10 voucher toward tuition or merchandise. Share with your friends and when they register and we’ll make it $25 for each of you! Send all funny stories to jesikah@studio3music.com and stay tuned for more!

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who looks forward to sharing a laugh and a smile with you, so be sure to send a funny story her way!

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Oct
26

A Boy and His Fish

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, Things to do

With a tug on a line, a surprised fish leaps out of the water without the faintest idea of how his little sacrifice has given my 8 year old Myles one of the greatest days of his life. Since beginning school this year, Myles has been enamored with the idea of fishing for classic northwest fish like salmon and trout. He checked out a book from the local library all about salmon and trout, sharing nuggets of fish facts to any willing listener….even to the man cleaning his catch (but we’ll get to that in a minute).

My husband and I couldn’t resist turning our son’s knowledge into first hand experiences. We loaded up the van and headed out onto highway 2 toward Gold Bar to visit the Wallace Falls Salmon Hatchery. There are other famous hatcheries, too, such as the one in Issaquah, which even sports Salmon Days during the fall. But as we live in Monroe, we decided to visit one more in our backyard.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by fishermen who were loading up their truck with glistening Silvers (a nickname for Coho Salmon). My three children, Myles (age 8), Colin (age 7) and Violette (age 3), all stared in awe at the large fish. Then my oldest declared that those fish would make a great lunch! The fishermen laughed and heartily agreed. Inside the hatchery, a man busy at work separating salmon eggs greeted us. He let the boys hold tiny salmon eggs with little black dots, which are the “eyes” of the developing baby salmons. My boys were in awe and Violette declared they were cute babies.

We finished our time at the hatchery watching the adult salmon swimming and jumping around. My oldest thought it was fun, like watching “Air Jaws” on the Discovery Channel….I am sure watching great white sharks leap from the water would be far more exciting (and terrifying), but in his eight year old mind, watching these salmon leap around was just as good.

We packed back up into the van and then traveled to Woodinville to round out the day visiting Gold Creek Trout Ponds. We kept this part of the trip a surprise, and the look on the boys’ faces when they realized they got to go fishing was a moment I will never forget. The owners gave them bamboo poles, bait, and showed them the ponds where they could catch their dinner!

Each boy caught two fish (around 6-10 inches each). It was a proud moment. Myles brought the bucket to the owner, who cleaned the fish right in front of them…four beautiful rainbow trout. Upon leaving, the man cleaning the fish told us to enjoy our dinner to which Myles replied, “They’ll be extra tasty because they are rainbow!”. I’m sure that fact is not found his library book, but Colin and Violette both agreed that rainbows make everything tastier, even fish.

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who was raised by a professional Bass Fisherman belonging to BassMasters, and fondly remembers her youth fishing whenever she could, catching many dinners for her family from the nearby lake where she grew up in Northern California.

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Sep
13

Making Your own Frozen Breakfast Foods

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Recipes, Things to do

I am heartily convinced my oldest son was born addicted to frozen waffles. At 8 1/2 he could eat a toasted waffle for every meal and be a very happy young man. After each plate of waffles he rubs his tummy and says, “Thanks mom. That was delicious”. It is the same plate of waffles he has eaten since he was a little over one year old.

His favorite way to eat waffles is with peanut butter and syrup. My middle child loves french toast, with extra spices in the batter (just like his mama!). My youngest wants pancakes every morning, especially the cinnamon banana variety that I make. They, too, like their breakfast foods with peanut butter and syrup.

As you can imagine, any grocery store would love my business in their frozen food aisle. I make my own frozen breakfast foods, though. Every 2-4 weeks, I whip up a bunch of waffles, pancakes and French Toast that I freeze for a quick, easy and wholesome breakfast.

The great thing about making your own homemade frozen breakfast foods is that you can make them as healthy and as wild as you want. And your children can self-serve, as soon as they can work a toaster!

One of my favorite ingredients is bananas. They naturally sweeten any food and I always have some that have over ripened before they are eaten. They are also affordable, which is great for families on a budget.

Another favorite ingredient is pureed pumpkin. It blends into any breakfast food, even french toast. (It’s always nice to provide a hidden vegetable with breakfast!) You can also never go wrong with sweet spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove. As I like Chai blends, I sometimes add a little cardamom.

You can easily make a huge batch, let them cool completely, and then freeze using Ziploc baggies. If you want to get fancy, you can cut squares of parchment paper to line between each breakfast food prior to placing in the freezer. You can save and reuse the parchment squares, too.

My favorite waffle recipe:
3 ripe bananas
½ can of pureed pumpkin
2 tsp of vanilla
1 T of cinnamon (or my chai spice blend)
1/3 c of Canola Oil (or your favorite cooking oil for baking)
1 c of mini chocolate chips
3 servings worth of your favorite waffle mix (for me it is 6 cups of mix)
½ c of protein powder

Add up to 1 extra cup of water or liquid as needed to get desired consistency
Do not over stir (that makes the waffles gummy)

1)      Blend bananas, pumpkin, vanilla, spices and oil together until smooth. I used a hand masher.
2)      Add waffle mix, protein powder, chocolate chips and water. Stir until it is just mixed together. There may be clumps; that is ok.
3)      Let it rest for 10-20 minutes (helps the gluten to rest, gives fluffier waffles and pancakes).
4)      Pour into a waffle iron, cook until desired crispiness and enjoy!

- posted by Miss Jesikah, who also is addicted to waffles and remembers as a child timing visits to her friend’s house every Saturday morning just in time for waffles. It was such a common occurrence that my friend’s family gave a me waffle iron as a wedding gift with a sweet note to continue Saturday waffles in my family.

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