Advent Calendar Ideas For Adults

Advent Calendars are popular with children. Do you use advent calendars to countdown to Christmas in your home? Traditionally these calendars have numbered pockets 1 through 25. The idea is that you hide a small gift in each pocket.

Many advent calendar pockets are quite small, so you can only hide one piece of candy like a hershey kiss or life saver. But some calendars are larger. I found these perfect advent calendars at Target for $10 each and had an idea.

Merry Christmas Wall Hanging Advent Calendar – Wondershop™

Add to your seasonal decor while counting down to the holiday with the Merry Christmas Wall Hanging Advent Calendar from Wondershop™. This felt Advent calendar is adorned with a pocket for each day from December 1 through December 25, with an attached Christmas tree that you move from one pocket to the next each day to keep track of where you are on the countdown.

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We don’t have any children, but who says kids get to have all the fun? It’s been a rough year for a lot of people. Let’s give each other something to look forward to every day. My idea was simple. To fill an advent calendar with small inexpensive gifts that even adults will love. No candy or toys here! Except who am I to judge how you fill your calendar because I love toys and sometimes candy too lol.

I filled my fiance’s calendar with a variety of small cash dollar bills ranging from $1, $5, $10, I even hid a few $20 and even a $50 because I had the cash on me at the time. But honestly, a lot of the days only have $1. It’s not the amounts that matter; it’s the thought that counts and excitement each day brings.

Pocket Advent Calendar – Wondershop™

Introduce a time-honored Christmas tradition into your home with the Pocket Advent Calendar from Wondershop™. Kids will love checking in every day, and you’ll appreciate its timelessness and sturdiness. Its fabric materials are soft to the touch, making for lightweight hanging and fuss-free storage so you can look forward to hanging up this festive Advent calendar every December 1.

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I had another idea to add lottery scratch off tickets to some of the spaces on my calendar. They are always cheap little stocking stuffers that we enjoy anyways.

I also purchased small gift cards, it can be hard to find $5 gift cards, but some places like Starbucks offer “packs” of like 3 or 4 $5 cards in a bundle, perfect because you can fill more days on the calendar with smaller amounts. I did add a few big gift cards to a few days on the calendar, as an extra surprise. I think the most I spent on a single day’s gift card was $25. But for most of the days I went with smaller items, as we’re also doing traditional wrapped gifts under the tree too. These aren’t meant to replace traditional Christmas gifts, but just add a little something fun to each day. Most of the gift cards I bought were in the $5-10 range.

Target also gives you 5% off gift cards if you have their Target Red Card. They offer all of the best gift cards, from Nintendo to Subway, to Fandango, and everything in between.

Specialty Gift Cards : Target

There’s a gift card for every special occasion. Shop Target for a great selection of specialty gift cards. Free shipping on orders $35+ or free same-day pickup in store

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The pockets of my $10 advent calendars from Target perfectly fit one gift card in each pocket. Just barely, and a little snuggly, but they do fit.

My fiance can be like a child at times. He has been asking me for a month already if he can open his wrapped Christmas presents beneath our tree. So I thought the advent calendar was a great idea!

The larger pockets allow me to place things in it that even adults will love. I’ll be 40 next year, and my fiance is 37. We still love exchanging gifts.

Even if you’re stone cold broke, don’t worry I have a perfect idea for an adult advent calendar. Just fill each day with a love letter or note of positivity and affirmation. You have no idea how important it can be to someone just to know they are loved and appreciated. My fiance and I have always written notes to eachother and hung them on our fridge. It’s a cute idea and means a lot. We have saved all of our love letters over the years too. Many precious memories.

The dollar bills and lottery scratch off tickets, I had to fold to fit into the pockets of the calendar. And we wrapped each dollar or each ticket or each gift card in christmas wrapping paper so it looks fun and festive.

Why not give this a try in your own house? What a fun craft idea and inexpensive gift ideas. Instead of stockings, we’re doing advent calendar this year.

This post is not sponsored by Target. It’s just Target is where I found my calendars. I was going to buy a much more expensive one on pottery barn kids, but when I went to check out it had sold right from my cart and was no longer available. You don’t need to spend $50+ on a “big pocket” advent calendar. Target has em for $10. I love Target lol. Etsy is another great place to look for handmade advent calendars, but you won’t find em for $10.

Let me know what you think of my new holiday tradition. I think it’s a unique adult twist on a Christmas classic. I never had an advent calendar growing up, and never prepared one for someone else, so I’m already excited to get to start unwrapping things and watching my fiance unwrap his too in a few days! haha.

Advent Calendar Ideas For Adults was originally published on

Cats 2019 Movie Review

I just watched the 2019 remake of Cats. I have watched the original on VHS when I was young, but didn’t remember much of anything. I do like some musicals, but I’m not a musical buff and I tend to prefer more modern musicals like Moulin Rouge. I went into this pretty blind, and afterwards, I looked up some information, and I see it has been called the worst movie of all time. The worst movie ever made. I disagree with that. And here’s why.

Ok I have a few complaints before I can get to telling you why I actually liked cats. Here are some things I really disliked about it.

1.) The 2019 rendition of Memory is awful – I mean no offense. But compared to the original… It’s garbage. Here’s why. The 2019 actress – Hudson I believe right? Whoever, anyways she overacts. Her voice breaks to the point of being too shaky. She’s crying too strongly to the point that she honestly just can’t sing well. Compared to the original. The original is STILL powerful and emotional, but yet, it’s STRONG, her voice is smooth and beautiful and wonderful. I love the original song Memory SO much, and the 2019 version just, it’s bad. I’m sorry there, I said it. It’s bad. Yes, it is sad and emotional. I cried, shed a few tears. But it’s unbearably bad. I wouldn’t put this in my playlist, while the original, heck yeah, I’d listen to that outside of just this movie, anytime.

2.) I can’t really remember the original film well enough to compare the other songs, but damn, in the 2019 version, a lot of them are BAD!!!! My ears, man my EARRRRSSS, ah. So bad…. In fact the first 30-40 minutes of music is really bad!!!! I’m sorry.

Here’s some things I did like

3.) I like Tswift’s version of beautiful ghosts. I can’t remember the original version to compare it to. But I assume it’s equally beautiful.

4.) I like almost all of the songs after the first 30-40 minutes – but that’s TOO LONG to wait for a movie to get GOOD, a movie where music is telling the story, and is the most important part of the movie. Once the selection process begins to pick the cat to be reborn, it does get better, with many nice songs.

5.) I disagree with the bad reviews on two points. Here’s the first. I actually really like the graphics. I like the fur. I don’t find it weird. I don’t find their facial features weird, nor their body proportions. I am not a furrie, but I do like some furrie stuff. I grew up with furrie PC games of the 90s such as Inherit the Earth and Furcadia. So to me, I like seeing furrie culture. I don’t identify as a furrie myself, and I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was not put off by it in the least. And compared to the VHS original, this one was much better. The set designs are very nice, and like I said, I like the computer generated fur. That’s my take. I liked the lighting and special effects and cinematography overall. I have no problems here.

6.) The second thing I STRONGLY disagree with the negative reviews is they all say the story doesn’t make sense. How? How does it not make sense? Are we watching the same movie? Are we living in a different planet? Come on. Just listen to the lyrics of the songs and you will understand the story. Here let me break it all down for you.

The story is about “the secret life of cats” where they go, what they do, at night when all the humans are asleep. Some cats in the film are house cats, but many are strays and abandoned or abused.

We have a saying in English that a cat has 9 lives. This is a very common saying and if you’re a native English speaker surely you have heard this expression.

So it makes perfect sense, that those cats who are abused or abandoned would want to move on to their next life. They want a chance to be reborn to have a better life because life is hard sometimes, for people, and animals alike. Just take a look at the feral cats on the streets or those in shelters awaiting homes and you can see this clearly in real life too. Not that hard to imagine that these animals are miserable and dream of a better life. Tswift’s song even says “all I wanted was to be wanted”.

So the story is about one day every year, one cat will be chosen by the eldest cat to be reborn and move onto the next life to hopefully find happiness. In order to be chosen, the cats all gather and tell a story about their own life through song and dance that pleases the elder cat. The elder cat then looks into their soul and selects the most deserving cat to reincarnate.

Almost every musical number is about one unique cat telling his life story. There’s some that love to eat, some that love to sleep. Some work hard helping humans, some are loved housecats, some like to get into mischief and break things, others are sneaky and like to play tricks. If you think about it, these traits are typically how we humans view our feline companions.

So everything still makes sense.

In the end there are a few key plot moments that move the story. Warning SPOILERS below:

1.) At the beginning of the film, Tswift’s character is abandoned on the street by a human. A group of cats rescue her and take her in.

2.) Old Deutronomy arrives to select the cat to be reborn

3.) Old Deuteronomy is kidnapped by a magical cat who is the main villain of the story. He wants to be reborn for greedy and selfish reasons and Old Deuteronomy says she will never choose him to be reborn.

4.) The other cats are trying to find a way to save Old Deuteronomy – for she is highly respected because she has been reborn already 99 times and given birth to most of the other cats.

5.) One cat amongst the remaining good cats is also a magician, but he doesn’t believe in himself. With the help of the other cats, he learns to believe in himself and is able to use his magic to rescue Old Deuteronomy.

6.) An old cat has been cast out of the pack for siding with the main villain but she tricked and wishes to rejoin the pack. She realizes she was happier with her pack and misses them. She’s been hiding in the shadows watching everything this whole time. Tswift sees her and drags her into the light and asks her to sing.

7.) Her song is so moving and reveals that she has a pure soul. Old Deuteronomy grants her wish to be reborn. As her spirit goes up to heaven, the other cats join together for one last song.

8.) After their final song, Old Deuteronomy passes on her wisdom to you, the one watching the film. She reminds you that cats are not that different from humans. You have seen them play, fight, struggle, and love one another. She gives you advice on how to gain the trust of a cat and encourages you to respect and be kind to cats.

9.) At the very end of the film, Tswift’s character is accepted into the pack and appears to have fallen in love with the good magician Mistofflees (however its spelled). Speculating they will probably give birth to the reborn cat through their love.

I think the story is pretty clear and concise. I enjoyed the story very much. I’m a huge animal lover, with cats being my favorite animals (domestic at least). So to me, the story was the highlight of the film and makes perfect sense in a fantasy world where cats really can reincarnate.

Still I dislike most of the music, especially compared to the original, so I can’t give it the highest marks.

I see it has like a 16%, I would at least give it a 50%. But that’s just me. You can watch it for free now on HBOMax and similar streaming services, so watch it and decide for yourselves.

Cats 2019 Movie Review was originally published on

Guide to betting on esports

Esports have continued to thrive and surge in popularity amongst the gaming and the betting communities.

For those unaware of what esports are, they are the act of competitive sports action via the use of video games, rather than individuals having to exert their bodies in some form of physical action. Nonetheless, esports can take their toll on a player’s body in different ways, making it no less competitive than traditional sports.

In addition, esports can be played in a variety of ways as players can play in a solo effort – for example when playing games such as FIFA; whilst they can also be in part of a team and compete against other teams, such as in games like CS:GO and Fortnite.

So why are esports popular with bettors?

Due to the sheer popularity that esports have managed to generate over the years, sportsbooks and bookmakers have decided to take advantage of the growing market and have provided gamblers with the chance to bet on the action.

However, what should bettors be looking out for?

1. Shop around for the best options

Just as it is important when betting on more traditional markets, it is vitally important that some research is undertaken and completed prior to betting on the action. By using sites available, such as Bookies Reviews, bettors will be able to find the best deals available from a host of bookmakers and sportsbooks that could potentially further enhance the experience when betting on esports. By not doing this, bettors could miss out massively!

2. Focus on the games that bettors know about

Betting on esports should be no different to betting on more traditional betting markets. For example, sports bettors will generally know which teams or matches are worth taking a bet on and this should be no different for esports. Those that do not have any idea on what is taking place should look to avoid placing a bet on the action as it will only likely provide players with a loss.

3. Follow your favourite esports teams

Getting to know the best esports players and teams will certainly help to further enhance a player’s esports betting experience. Just like in other sports, there are going to be a number of teams that will be considered to be the ‘best’, thus working out who those teams/individuals are will help to provide gamblers with some of the knowledge they need to ensure they are best positioned to place a decent bet.

4. Don’t always bet on the favourite, though

Although this might go slightly against point three, it would be wise to consider all the options before placing a bet with the favourite. Just because someone is favoured by a bookmaker or sportsbook, it does not necessarily mean they will always perform and be the winner.

Just like in many physical sports, individuals or teams in esports may have a bad day or might not be in the form that they should be in; thus, looking around at statistics is always a good way to see if a trend can be exploited.

5. Types of bets and bonuses

When bettors are ready to place a bet, they will likely be greeted with a number of different markets that they can place a wager on. Choosing the right one to place a bet on can be challenging, but that is the fun of betting on the action.

Gamblers will likely have the choice to bet prior to the action, or they will have the chance to bet whilst the action is taking place – this is known as ‘live betting’. This particular method can be potentially lucrative compared to outright betting, as odds will continue to change as certain things happen within the gameplay.

Bonuses are also generally made available, thus checking out which bookmakers/sportsbooks provide the best ones prior to placing a bet could prove beneficial as they could provide some bigger rewards compared to when a bet is just placed.

However, it is important to pick the right time to use a bonus, though, as they will not always be available and may only be available for one use.

Guide to betting on esports was originally published on

Best Black Friday 2020 Deals For Girl Geeks and Gamers

I did a little online shopping today. I thought I’d write up a blog post to share some of the best deals I found. This might be updated later today or over the next several days.

Gamestop is having a sale on games of course. I picked up the Yakuza collection which features Yakuza 0 – 6. It was $29 regularly like $59. I also (finally) picked up the remake version of Final Fantasy 7 which was similarly discounted.

The Yakuza Remastered Collection | PlayStation 4 | GameStop

Buy The Yakuza Remastered Collection by SEGA of America, Inc. for PlayStation 4 at GameStop. Find release dates, customer reviews, previews, and more.

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FINAL FANTASY VII Remake | PlayStation 4 | GameStop

Buy FINAL FANTASY VII Remake by Square Enix, Inc. for PlayStation 4 at GameStop. Find release dates, customer reviews, previews, and more.

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Also, I already owned it, but for those who don’t yet, Story of Seasons for the Switch is on a big discount too:

STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town | Nintendo Switch | GameStop

Buy STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town by XSEED Games for Nintendo Switch at GameStop. Find release dates, customer reviews, previews, and more.

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Steam is having their fall sale and for the first time you can browse the sale by genres including a page for visual novel or female protagonist you can check it out here:

Steam Blog – The 2020 Steam Autumn Sale and Steam Awards are here! – Steam News

The 2020 Steam Autumn Sale is now live with great deals across the Steam catalog. Plus, join us in the Steam Awards to nominate your favorite games across all ten categories.

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Looking for a memory card for your nintendo switch? Best Buy is having a big sale. The bigger sized memory card you buy, the more you save. I got a 400gb one for $59 that had originally been $179. Here are some of the options:

SanDisk 400GB microSDXC UHS-I for Nintendo Switch SDSQXAO-400G-ANCZN – Best Buy

Shop SanDisk 400GB microSDXC UHS-I for Nintendo Switch at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.

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SanDisk 128GB microSDXC Memory Card for Nintendo Switch SDSQXBO-128G-ANCZA – Best Buy

SanDisk $19.99 Your price for this item is $19.99 The previous price was $67.99 If you change your selection, the current page will be refreshed. Save Reviews User rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars with 2700 reviews.(2,700) 4.9 Rating 4.9 out of 5 stars with 2700 reviews (2,700 Reviews) 98% would recommend to a friend.

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SanDisk 256GB microSDXC Memory Card for Nintendo Switch SDSQXAO-256G-ANCZN – Best Buy

Shop SanDisk 256GB microSDXC Memory Card for Nintendo Switch at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.

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SanDisk 64GB microSDXC Memory Card for Nintendo Switch SDSQXBO-064G-ANCZA – Best Buy

SanDisk $13.99 Your price for this item is $13.99 The previous price was $49.99 If you change your selection, the current page will be refreshed. Save Reviews User rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars with 998 reviews.(998) 4.8 Rating 4.8 out of 5 stars with 998 reviews (998 Reviews) 96% would recommend to a friend.

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SanDisk 512GB microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card SDSQXAO-512G-ANCZN – Best Buy

Shop SanDisk 512GB microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.

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Aksys is having a black friday sale too with up to 35% off some of their visual novels and otome games.

Game Guide – Nintendo Game Store

Browse and buy digital games on the Nintendo game store, and automatically download them to your Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS system or Wii U console.

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In the mood for some anime? Rightstuf is having a pretty good sale on all kinds of titles.

Sentai Filmworks is also having a sale.

Black Friday Sale | Sentai Filmworks

Save up to 95% OFF on hundreds of Anime with savings on select Blu-ray’s, Limited Editions & more. Free US shipping over $50, Free Canada shipping over $200.

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The best thing I found was the entire collection of Clannad and Clannad After Story Blu Ray for $17.99 that had been $159.00 However, they have stuff for even as little as $2! SUGOI!

CLANNAD / CLANNAD AFTER STORY Complete Collection | Sentai Filmworks

Ever since the death of his mother, Tomoya’s life has been in a downward spiral. Nagisa’s declining health has been so fragile that she’s been forced to repeat a year of school. But when he agrees …

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Did you get a new PS5? Want to play games online? You’re going to be required to subscribe to Playstation Plus – and right now is the best time to do so with 25% off the subscription price. I signed up for a year myself. 🙂

Join or renew PS Plus | Subscribe for 1, 3 or 12 months | PlayStation

Join PlayStation Plus for one, three or 12 months, add more time to an existing subscription, or find out how and where to renew your membership.

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Amazon has an anime sale and as part of that sale, Sailor Moon box sets are over 70% Off!

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Crystal-Limited-combo-Blu-ray/dp/B0186O8R1U?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_125&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Crystal-Limited-Blu-ray-Combo/dp/B01N7JCRB2?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_81&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Crystal-Season-Limited-Blu-ray/dp/B075459CSS?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_120&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Moon-Pt1-Ltd-Blu-ray/dp/B01M0YGY8N?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_133&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Moon-Season-Combo-Blu-ray/dp/B017NBOXIS?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_183&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Moon-Super-Combo-Blu-ray/dp/B077TMRV2W?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_186&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Moon-Season-combo-Blu-ray/dp/B06ZZ7G442?ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_93cfa266_137&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Stars-Season-Limited-Blu-ray/dp/B07QJJG9FG/ref=pd_bxgy_img_3/140-5873757-2685033?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07QJJG9FG&pd_rd_r=b643ad66-e153-4389-afc8-469f8f974121&pd_rd_w=2sqae&pd_rd_wg=qAeEX&pf_rd_p=f325d01c-4658-4593-be83-3e12ca663f0e&pf_rd_r=J0SA3F9BNH215795CCTM&psc=1&refRID=J0SA3F9BNH215795CCTM

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Pt. 2 (S5) (BD/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

Amazon.com: Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Pt. 2 (S5) (BD/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]: Various, Various: Movies & TV

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Another great deal is for those who do not yet own Kingdom Hearts 1-3. There’s an All In One Package that’s usually $100 on sale right now for $29.99. I already have all of the games, but I truly recommend all of the Kingdom Hearts games. It is one of the best series of all time.

KINGDOM HEARTS All-In-One Package

In an effort to stop another Keyblade war, Sora, Donald and Goofy set off on a new journey to fend off the encroaching darkness. The story of KINGDOM HEARTS unfolds across many Disney worlds, featuring many famous Disney characters. In the final instalment in the Xehanort saga, KINGDOM HEARTS III, all-new awe-inspiring Pixar worlds are added into the mix.

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Life is Strange 2 and several Final Fantasy games are also 50% off.

Square Enix – Red & Black Friday

Square Enix celebrates Black Friday with a variety of discounts on digital games, physical games, and merchandise!

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Best Black Friday 2020 Deals For Girl Geeks and Gamers was originally published on

Little One – Child Raising Simulation – Game Review

My first playthrough of Little One took 6 hours and I received a “pretty good ending” according to the game. I see the Achievement I got for this ending has only been found by 18% of the players on steam, so I feel pretty satisfied. I see some people giving it harsh reviews about the quality of the writing, but I disagree. It felt very natural and very heart felt and emotional to me. I enjoyed it very much. I do think every playthrough is different so your mileage may vary.

My little one ended up enjoying painting and writing stories and the stories he wrote were very beautiful and sad. I enjoyed that aspect a lot. He told several stories. For example one was about a star that fell to earth and took a girl to heaven. Another story was about a mushroom who could only watch children play but couldn’t play with them. And another story was about a horrible monster who could never die.

Of course, as is the case with these games, your character will develop uniquely and I am not sure if everyone’s little one will tell stories, but mine did and honestly, his stories were a bit more interesting than the main story.

Trying to describe the main story without giving too much away…. I see on the steam page the game creators say this game takes place in 1990. Uhm I would strongly disagree with that. LOL. All of the characters dress like medieval fantasy renaissance steam punk characters and the buildings and settings and surroundings also fantasy-ish. So disregard whatever the steam page says because it’s not really accurate. If the creators of this game wanted to make a game set in the 90s, that’s a HARD FAIL. I’m a 90s kid and nothing – NOTHING – about this game screams 90s. There’s no hints of 90s pop culture or fashion or references to anything – this is not like Stranger Things – which successfully pulled off that 80s/90s vibe. Nope. Not even ONE thing about this game has anything to do with the 90s.

I would say this is a fantasy game, could be set any time, any place, in a fantasy world. The little boy you’re raising has a dark secret. Is he a demon? What is he hiding? – I know what it is – but I won’t tell you – you should play for yourself to find out.

I will also say this game deals with mental health in a very interesting way, both as part of the story/mystery of the game and also as an actual stat in the game. You have to balance traditional stats like strength and wisdom, along with a unique fear stat, to get the best ending. You also have to reach timed events with certain stats by a certain time – I missed some early on. Buying items in the shop can also trigger different events and endings. Also, your decisions in story prompts can affect the ending and parts of the story. So yeah, this game is very interesting. I’ve only played it once so far. It is fairly short, taking a mere 6 hours for my first playthrough. I will probably play it again maybe, although I’m mostly happy with my ending. There are a few more mysteries to solve.

I enjoyed the game but had a few complaints:

Character art is reused a lot. There’s 3 triplets who only have a different color shirt and apron. Then there’s a woman with an eye patch, man with scar, and your little one. That’s it. There’s maybe 3 or 4 different backgrounds. And even fewer cg scenes – I encountered maybe 2 or 3 on my playthrough.

There’s no voice acting. Music was nice but also reused a lot.

But it was an interesting and quick story and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of stat raising simulations – of which there are not many games like this available in English – Princess Maker and Lucky Rabbit’s Foot come to mind.

If you like the idea of raising a child and unraveling a mystery, give this game a go. Otherwise, maybe wait for it to go on sale. There’s no action as is the case for most visual novels and add to that the fact that the story is pretty short for games of this genre.

Total Score: 55/80 69% D+ Average Game For Girls

Overview: 7/10 – I really enjoy these types of stat raising games, and I felt this one had a unique story with some fun gameplay elements.

Gameplay: 8/10 – It can be challenging to balance all your stats and reach certain benchmarks by set timed events. But that challenge makes it more fun in my opinion. Also things for sale in the shop and your decisions in the story also help shape your little one. I feel like there is a great deal of choice, or at least perhaps the illusion of choice. I felt like my little one was unique to my gaming experience and that helped me bond more with the characters in the game.

Story: 7/10 – I like the story and how it handles mental health in a fantasy setting. I also liked the side stories my little one created on his own. They were more interesting than the main story lol.

Characters: 6/10 – There’s only about 6 characters, 3 of which use the same graphics, no voice acting for anyone, and not much depth to the characters but yet, the bond you form with your little one, and learning his back story and the mystery in the game make it enjoyable.

Graphics: 6/10 – characters and backgrounds are beautiful but get reused too often which is extremely noticeable and the lack of enough event scenes really was a big downfall.

Music: 5/10 – again decent music but gets reused so much that it becomes bothersome

Voice Acting: None

Replay Value: 9/10 – I still want to learn some of the mysteries I missed, and I think it is quite challenging to get a good ending. So I would say the replay value is quite high.

Geeky: 4/5 – no combat but enough other stuff to keep you busy

Sweetie: 3/5 – Short and sweet little story about a cute but troubled young boy. I’d give more points if the story was a little more fleshed out.

Total Score: 55/80 69% D+ Average Game For Girls

Little One – Child Raising Simulation – Game Review was originally published on

Future of Electric Scooters Rules for Electric Scooter Users

Future of Electric Scooters: Rules for Electric Scooter Users

Have you recently invested in an electric scooter? These two-wheel vehicles are gradually getting to the top of urban transportation means. Riding an e-scooter is a fast, affordable, and environmentally friendly method of commuting or riding around the neighbourhood. 

Nevertheless, e-scooter riders are expected to follow multiple safety rules to ensure the safety of everyone on the streets. These scooters are best ridden in areas with low traffic, where the number of cars, pedestrians, and cyclists is optimal. There are numerous Electric Scooters Ireland reviews online, assisting potential buyers in choosing the safest e-scooter. 

These are the main safety rules e-scooter riders are expected to follow. 

Always ride alone

Although riders are often tempted to allow another person to hop on the scooter, this practice is considered hazardous for the safety of both individuals. Most models are designed to handle no more than a single person in order for users to maintain optimal balance. 

It’s vital for riders to impede potential accidents by preventing any person from riding both in the front and the back of the electric vehicle. In such scenarios, the user isn’t capable of operating the scooter properly due to the impaired steering and direction. Also, riders tend to react more slowly when having a passenger on board, as they keep worrying about his/her safety and comfort during the ride. 

Keep your eyes on the road and hands on the handlebars

E-scooter users are required to keep their eyes on the road ahead of them at all times to avoid potential injuries. Similarly to riding a bike, many individuals observe the surroundings while riding instead of keeping the focus on the traffic. Even the slightest distraction is enough for the user to sustain an injury and cause damage to the vehicle. Due to the poor suspension in most models, a minor hole is likely to throw one off the scooter. 

Another important safety tip is keeping your hands on the handlebars regardless of how many times your phone beeps in the pocket. Nobody should feel confident enough to ride an e-scooter and chat with their friends simultaneously. 

Both hands are necessary to keep a proper balance and manoeuvre such an electric vehicle safely. In case you have to take an important phone call, make sure you stop your e-scooter for as long as necessary before getting back on the road. Click here to learn some helpful tips about avoiding injuries while riding. 

Take notice of road safety

Riding an e-scooter means complying with the road safety rules in the area where you live. In most cities, electric scooter riders are required to obey road signs and traffic signals, as well as move in the direction of the other traffic participants. They’re generally prohibited from riding an e-scooter on pavements and crosswalks, where the number of pedestrians is substantial. In contrast, users are recommended to ride e-scooters on bike lanes and low-traffic streets. 

Moreover, don’t expect pedestrians to make way for you, as you’re supposed to yield. It’s riders’ responsibility to beware of every cyclist, child, pedestrian, or animal on the street in order to guarantee safety. Also, e-scooter users aren’t recommended to wear any type of headphones or earbuds, as these are believed to cause distraction. 

Don’t forget to wear a helmet

Even though countries differ in electric scooter regulations, riders are strongly advised to wear a helmet, particularly underage users. It’s important for every user to stay on top of these regulations in its country, as such laws are continuously subjected to alterations. In the event of collision helmets provide proper support to one’s neck and head. 

Furthermore, inexperienced riders are suggested to wear additional protective equipment in the form of knee and elbow pads, as well as sports shoes. No user is ever advised to ride an e-scooter wearing sandals, or even worse, barefoot. 

Make sure your shoelaces are tied correctly in order to prevent them from getting entangled with the drive system or the wheels. Visit this link, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/motorcycle-and-bicycle-he_b_786402, to learn why motorcycle and bicycle helmets should be mandatory.

Final thoughts

Learn to abide by the road safety rules and stay focused on the road!

Future of Electric Scooters Rules for Electric Scooter Users was originally published on

Wannabe Challenge Otome Game Review

Revision: 11/19/20: In this article I compared Wannabe Challenge’s story and character to those in the Korean Drama, My Love From Another Star, however, I originally was thinking of the Korean Drama, Goblin, and got my wires crossed somewhere. I thought about just coming in and editing it to change it to say Goblin instead of My Love From The Star, but I dunno, after thinking about it, it is rather similar to My Love From The Star too. The main character in Wannabe Challenge is a Model, the main character in My Love From The Star is an Actress/Model. The Male lead in My Love From The Star is a super natural being from hundreds of years ago who can live forever. He comes to rescue her and save her from various things. But obviously, Wannabe Challenge is still very similar to the Korean Drama Goblin, because both are about a love story between a Goblin and his bride who are tied together by a sad fate. That concept is true of both Wannabe Challenge and Goblin. Taehee even looks a little bit like Kim Shin. Anyways my original post is still here below in its unedited version.

Wannabe Challenge is a new free to play mobile Otome game. It has an interesting story that reminds me of My Love From The Star and fun simple gameplay along with beautiful music and art. I highly recommend checking out Wannabe Challenge. Below is my review sprinkled with some screenshots.

Title: Wannabe Challenge

Release Date: November 2020

Price: Free

Language: English

Genre: Otome Game

Where to Get: https://wannabe.com2us.com/main

[Wannabe Challenge] Pv 1

“Wannabe Challenge” Pre-Registration Google market Pre-Registration: 2020.08.28 ~ Game Launch Facebook fan page: https://bit.ly/3iSMVFZ

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Geeky: 3/5 – The voice acting, story, graphics, and music are all outstanding. The gameplay is simple but fun.

Sweetie: 5/5 – The wonderful story, cute boys and cute dialog make this one a big hit with female fans.

Overall: 70/80 88% B+ Very Good Game For Girls

Concept: 10/10 – I really like the modeling/social media concept behind the gameplay. The story is very good, music, voice acting, and art the best I’ve seen of any free games in 2020. This one is a must play.

Gameplay: 8/10 – This game offers a lot to do!! Collect cute photos of the goblins, use the photos to boost your modeling career on the game’s fictitious social media “network”, Dressup, date the boys, read more about this fantasy love story as you progress through the chapters, etc. There is no action, but there is definitely plenty to do. Despite a wide variety of things to explore, it does get repetitive as most mobile games do. Gameplay-wise this game reminds me a lot of Mr Love Queen’s Choice which I reviewed awhile back on my blog here.

Story: 10/10 – Have you ever watched the hit Korean Drama “My Love From The Star?” I feel like this is a very similar story. A very unlucky girl meets supernatural creatures known as goblins and their fates are intertwined, a sad bittersweet romance.

Artwork: 8/10 – From the cute boys, pretty main character female lead, to beautiful background art, this game shines. Some of the backgrounds get overused a bit much, and even some of the event scenes. There are a few places I also think event scenes could have been added but they don’t use it.

Voice Acting: 8/10 – the soft romantic voices of the main characters make me feel calm. I am surprised though that it has not been translated giving the option for English voice acting as well. All of the voice actors though are very talented. A+!

Music: 8/10 – Music is nice but does get re-used and can be repetitive after awhile.

Replay Value: 10/10 – I want to keep playing to read the story! It’s very good! Also there are some limited time Evermores to collect during different events.

Overall: 70/80 88% B+ Very Good Game For Girls

Wannabe Challenge Otome Game Review was originally published on

NBA 2K21 Review

With the Los Angeles Lakers wrapping up the 2021 NBA Championship, and hoops fans already checking out the best NBA futures at a time when a potential new season is being talked about starting early in December, fans are left with the question of how to fill the remaining time between now and the start of next campaign.

The answer for many is the popular video game 2K21 – the 22nd installment from the NBA 2k franchise.

NBA 2K21 – Current Generation

This game hit the stores in September 2020. It comes with several familiar game modes, including MyCareer, MyTeam, MyLeague, and MyGM.

This latest edition has received a mixed reception from gamers and critics, alike. On a positive note, improvements have been made in the way the players move, particularly when dribbling. Also, shooting three-pointers – it’s more difficult, but many gamers seem to prefer this. Furthermore, the script and voice acting when playing in MyCareer mode is definitely an upgrade on previous editions. There are more layers to the MyTeam mode, too.

A few improvements have been made to some of the visual aspects of the game. A handful of renders, including the legend Abdul-Jabbar’s, have had a makeover. But, other than that, it looks the same as NBA 2k20.

Staying on a negative note; when playing defense, there is still too much charging into the opposing ball-handler instead of looking to cut them off in their progress to the basket. Sadly, 2K hasn’t quite managed (yet) to bring this more instinctive human reaction into its games. Additionally, in regards to the features, you cannot create tournaments or leagues in Pro-Am or Rec. Neither can you create female players in the MyPlayer mode. There are limitations in the creation suite, such as hairstyles and the inability to add tattoos to players in the offline game.

Game verdict

The new shooting concept is a leap forward for 2K21. The Neighborhood has a new look and feel about it, and the revamp to the MyTeam mode is positive. However, other than those relatively minor enhancements, the game is all too similar to its predecessor. 

When you are talking $59.99 for the standard edition and an eye-popping $99.99 for the Mamba Forever edition, it’s difficult to say buyers are getting their money’s worth.  

NBA 2K21 – Next Generation

Due to be launched in November – two months after the current-gen version – many gamers may simply decide to hang it out. 2K21 next gen will be available for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. While this version continues the NBA 2K story, it’s being built from scratch for these new consoles. There will be additional features and other upgrades that are only possible on the PS5 and Series X.

For ardent fans who simply can’t get enough of these games, if you pick up the current generation Mamba Forever edition, you’ll get a digital copy of the next-gen version added to your Xbox or PlayStation account. Furthermore, there’s a hefty 200,000 VC waiting for you – 100,000 VC in Mamba and another 100,000 VC when you first boot up the next-gen game.

NBA 2K21 Review was originally published on Geeky Sweetie

Retro Gaming House Retro Pie Emulation Station Raspberry Pi Review

This is not a sponsored post. I decided to purchase a Raspberry Pi with Retro Pi, Emulation Station, Kodi, and some other goodies pre-installed. I purchased mine from Retro Gaming House. https://www.retrogaminghouse.com/collections/retropie-emulators

The one I ordered came with 2 controllers that look a lot like PS4 controllers and a wireless keyboard. It had a small 32gb micro sd card with all the software pre-installed. They say they use their own skins and stuff too but I’m not sure if that claim is true or false.

It does have some surprisingly rare games. Lunar Walking School is on there, but not Lunar Eternal Blue or Silver Star Story. Lufia is on there, including an unfinished Sega Genesis version that I didn’t even know existed. Some of my old favorite cartridges and CDs are on there, like Final Fantasy, Tactics Ogre, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Breath of Fire, just to name a few. And fun childhood memories of games I grew up with like Sonic, Ecco, Mario, and more.

Shipping was fast, arrived in less than a week. I began doing research on Retro Pie prior to receiving my console and I was already confused. I sent an email to their customer service team about how to install my own copies of roms onto their systems.

Initially, their customer service team responded within a day or two with a tutorial on 3 ways in which to get my own roms onto the console. When the console first arrived I was so excited that I didn’t try right away any of these methods as there was plenty to play already installed – and still is plenty to play too.

But after a week or two, I did want a nice way to play my retro games, which I do own, but it’d be nice to have them all on one HDMI ready tiny console. This thing is so tiny it fits in one hand. In fact you could probably fit at least 3 or 4 of them in one hand lol.

So I became more determined to load my own games. And here is where the misery begins.

So according to the guide the store sent me, as well as everything I’ve read online, I’m doing everything right.

There are 3 ways.

  1. USB – the most straightforward way. I formatted my USB to Fat32 and created a folder called retropie and stuck it into my machine. It says to wait until it stops blinking, but mine never did stop blinking. I let it run an entire day and when I checked on it again it still had not created any of the rom folders.
  2. I tried to manually create some folders on my USB using the path of retropie/roms/short name where short name is the console such as gba, snes, megadrive, etc. But this too did not work.
  3. Moving away from USB I decided to try SSH. I enabled it under the RetroPie configuration settings as it is off by default.
  4. Next I plugged my Raspberry Pi into my cable modem which is supposed to automatically connect it to my network. I chose to do a wired connection because none of the wireless methods of connecting were working.
  5. I had tried Wifi, and it says that the keyboard will not show your password on screen but rest assured it is working, but when I pressed enter nothing happened.
  6. So back to the wired connection. I ensured that SSH was enabled and then told it to show my IP address. I made note of the console’s IP address and went back to my computer
  7. On my computer I installed WinSCP to access my raspberry pi via SSH connection on my windows machine.
  8. I used the default username pi and password raspberry.
  9. The connection timed out.
  10. I changed port numbers. I had read about using 20, 80, or 55555.
  11. I tried all port numbers. Depending on the port numbers I got various errors, such as connection refused or connection timeout when trying to connect with WinSCP
  12. I tried looking briefly into Samba-Share but that seemed even more technical and over my head and I’d been trying for over 9 hours just to add a handful of roms.
  13. In the end I could not add roms.
  14. I emailed the company and now, almost 48 hours later am still waiting on a response.
  15. I don’t think I’ll be able to add my own roms and I am disappointed.

I don’t think I’ll be able to add my own roms and I am disappointed as it is missing quite a few that I would really like to play.

The whole process is way more technical than I’m comfortable with.

STILL…. In the end…. for $150 for the console, the 3,000ish games that came pre-loaded, and the controls and wireless keyboard (controls work fine, wireless keyboard i dunno lol maybe not working). But still I feel it’s a good value.

If I’m having THIS much trouble trying to just transfer in some roms, I can’t imagine I could have ever loaded retro pie and emulation station and everything else on my own. No way.

So $150 for 3,000 games, yeah I’ll take it still… Even though it has some issues…

Aside from not being able to load my own roms, there’s other issues as well, edges of the screen in menus (not within games, but pretty much anywhere else) are ever so slightly clipped off making it hard to read certain things sometimes – it’s rare, it only happens in a few screens, which I wouldn’t have seen unless trying all these settings and config options to get my own roms loaded.

The other big issue is the controls can be reconfigured to your preferred layout, but it is really sensitive and buggy. I just left mine on default settings, which maybe in Asia and/or Europe, is backwards from the USA. I keep wanting to press the bottom left button (X) to confirm, and the bottom right button (O) to cancel, because that’s how it is on almost every console in USA. but on this console it’s reversed. X cancels and O confirms…. SOMETIMES…. and other times… in certain games/menus it’s reversed AGAIN – back to the American way. That drives me a bit batty. But is a minor inconvenience.

It came with little to no documentation. And everything needed batteries which was another minor inconvenience. I looked up documentation online and after some fumbling around was up and running in under 20 minutes. But this transferring in my own roms thing still not working. I’ve reached out to the seller, and also am asking around in online communities trying to get it sorted out.

I would say…. yes it’s worth buying…

If you are technical enough, save yourself some money and mod your own raspberry pi unit.

But if you’re lazy and/or not technical, go ahead and buy this.

I have read mixed reviews about controls not working or the console not working, but mine works fine, except for MAYBE the keyboard, or maybe I just dunno wtf I’m doing – and then also I can’t connect to Wifi or SSH even with a hard wired connection – is it a problem of the system or am I doing it wrong? I can’t say for sure.

There are flaws as mentioned above, but I’m still playing with and enjoying my unit.

If I get my own roms installed I’d give this 5 out of 5 stars. Without my own roms, I give it like 3 stars, “good but not great”. Transferring my own roms is not the only issue, but it is the biggest issue for me in my opinion. There’s lots of other little issues but it’s a neat little machine with some fun games already loaded. Check it out and let me know what you think. Also if anyone has any advice for me on how to load my own roms and what I’m doing wrong please tell me lol.

Retro Gaming House Retro Pie Emulation Station Raspberry Pi Review was originally published on Geeky Sweetie