Wandering through a magical forest

Wandering through a magical forest

by | Dec 12, 2024 | Real Life, Travel

Take me back to the weekend in the most magical forest. This summer I had the opportunity to mark something off my bucket list. I managed to get VIP tickets to Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan. In all of my adult life I have never experienced something so unique and magical. I honestly felt the same way I did when I was a teenager and went to Disney. I personally love the outdoors. And anyone that knows me or have seen my stream know I love lights, things that glitter and  I will always side quest when I see shiny lol.

 The 4 hour drive around Lake Michigan was an easy drive (I say that knowing I don’t drive and we had to go around Chicago haha) upon pulling up to the gates a storm was brewing so they checked our car and told us to shelter in place. Once the storm passed we set up our tent got dressed and headed into the festival. From the moment we entered into the gate I was mesmerized by Lights EVERYWHERE. People dressed up with a freedom to dress however they felt. Nobody judging anyone and just an overall feeling of safety. We got there early on Saturday Morning and had an agenda of who we wanted to see. We had time when the gates opened before the shows would start so we mapped out which stages were where. Checked out food and shops. I found these amazing robes at a shop called Ground Score. I love them so much and I wear them all the time.

 That first night we walked around in the light rain looking at all the art work that is scattered all over the forest. From large moving light art pieces to tiny little forest fairy boxes that everyone gives a gift and takes a gift. filled with kandies, trinkets and collectables. People so happy to share the items they brought to the forest. I brought tiny little frogs that glowed in the dark. The fairy boxes were my favorite. We got to see a couple djs as they started opening for the main shows. We headed to the stage that we had on our list of DJ’s to see. We set up our bean chair and waited for Subtonics. As we sat there I looked around so happy to see all the different outfits or costumes. All the lights bouncing off the trees. It just felt so magical.

Once the main shows started the forest really lite up. lasers scanning across the tree lines. stages lit up so bright and colorful. I was having the time of my life. sitting there watching the lights bounce around. people dancing. Flow artists doing their flow art. Then the rain came… Half way through the first main show we were told to go back to our tents to shelter in place. Floods of people filtering through gates trying to get back to their tents. The winds did get a bit crazy for a little bit. We sheltered in our vehicle. Once the storm passed the reopened the gates and were able to catch one more show. We headed back to our tent for the night and got some sleep because we had one more day of fun ahead of us.

The next day we jumped over mud puddles. Many people now saying Happy Rainforest to people as they pass by instead of happy forest. I didn’t see many people complaining about it but instead watched a massive community embrace the day and make the best of it. Again we spent our afternoon walking through the forest looking at the art work that we didn’t get to see the day before. Opening more fairy boxes and excited for the upcoming shows for the night. We were enjoying the openers and were going to leave a bit early to get to the other stage in time. fireworks started and we all stopped to watch. As soon as they firework show stopped we once again got the shelter in place alert. We headed back to our vehicle and waited for an update. The weather was not going to let up that night so they decided to cancel the rest of the event and we packed up and headed home. Regardless of the weather and shows being canceled I still had the best time wondering through the most magical forest. I hope one day I will be able to go back and wander through this magical forest.

Amazing Adventures from Streamer mom to esports mom

by | Feb 16, 2024 | eSports, Gaming, Parenting, Real Life, Uncategorized

esports

 Gaming has been in my blood since my grandmother said I was old enough to hold an Atari Joystick in my hand. That being said I also raised my boys to love video games. My grandmother loved gaming and she would be so proud today. I have gamed my whole life and in late 2018 I had some friends that suggested I stream on twitch so they could watch me play a game they were interested in. That is how it all started.

Smalltown dreamz was a name I created and started branding over a decade ago. I had created it for a crafting blog/business/shop. However when I started streaming that is when I really started to learn about branding and social media. This is where I learned how to brand Me as a person and not as a thing. This has been a constant learning curve as social media changes constantly.

A few years ago my oldest started showing some serious interest in what it was that I was doing and the industry as a whole. We have slowly built him a pc and we have many deep conversations on a weekly basis about things going on within the industry. Teaching him the ins and outs of how to approach the industry as a whole. It is no secret that times have changed over the last 5 years in the industry and it is important to know how to maneuver with the curve.

Last year he started Esports within his high school. I have honestly never seen him more excited, and that gets me excited for him. He helps out with setting stuff up before and after. He is captain of his team and has played for varsity since his freshman year. Now I am finding myself helping him find a name to brand himself with and to start teaching him the ins and outs of social media. He is helping with my extralife stuff to be able to work on charity stuff to be able to put on his transcripts. I am really excited to work with him over the next few years. It should be an interesting process as I go from streamer mom to Esports Mom.

A wrap up to my year in Games

by | Jan 6, 2024 | Gaming

What can I say about my year in games… This is the first year in many years I felt a lul in games for me to play.  Perhaps I missed the ball on a couple however I just wasn’t really excited about any games this year. However hitting the Fortnite OG season was definitely a great way to swing into the end of the year.

The beginning of 2023  I spent most of my time farming in New World during the day and doing the dungeons in the evenings with some friends. When I wasn’t in New World I was busy building fun things in Valheim, while dipping my toes in the new update the Mist Lands. I really enjoy building in games and Valheim for me has been one of my favorite games to build in. It is one I seem to go back to here and there. I have a build video I did on Youtube a while back if you want to check it out  I have been seriously thinking about doing more of the build videos. I really enjoy building.

 

 I also dipped my toes into titles like My time at Sandrock, Core Keeper (that had a ton of great updates),  and Starfield During the spring and early summer months. I Have to say I love the updates that Core Keeper has brought in since launch. My favorite being the Paws and Claws Update. It was so easy to fall in love with space adventures in starfield. I usually don’t do space type games but I really enjoyed exploring and farming in Starfield.

 

 

During the summer I kept myself busy with Palia and Baulder’s Gate 3. Both these games are so good. I am sure unless you have been hiding under a rock you in some shape way or form have heard of BG3. There are not enough amazing things I can say about this game and as it just won game of the year, I think that says it all.  All I know is I now have the biggest lady crush on Karlach

 I would have to say Epic games…more specifically, Fortnite took up the last quarter of my year. Between the Fortnite OF season and the start of S5 ch1 , they also brought out more Modes. Such as Fortnite Lego, which is a adventure survival game mixing the best of both worlds.  I absolutely love the lego mode.They also rolled out Fortnite Rocket league which is Racing at a super hyped level.  Last but not least the very next day they dropped Fortnite Festival. Overall 2023 was a great year in games for me. I look forward to 2024.

Welcome to Wytchwood

by | Feb 2, 2022 | Gaming, Review

Wytchwood is a neat gothic style storybook type adventure RPG game developed by Alientrap Games and published by Whitethorn Games. You can play Wytchwood on PC, or any console. The artwork reminds me of a detailed popup story book. The gameplay is smooth for both keyboard, mouse, and it is also fully controller capable.

Upon starting the game you (the witch with a pot on her head) wake up in your cottage and from the get go it draws you in by looking at all the items just scattered around. Just like any good witch you need a grimoire. Your grimoire will help you learn new potions to use along your adventures. The evil goat in the yard will order you to collect souls to complete his contract. You will need to collect items through out the areas to make your tools to be able to collect other items.

There are several types of areas to adventure through and find different ingredients. Hack your way through the forest or stomp around the swamp. Make sure to talk to the interesting people you find along the way as each folk person you find has their own story and will help you along the way. Don’t forget to use your special “Witch’s Eye” to scan over items, By using the eye it will help you remember potions and be able to scan monsters to see their weakness.

With any crafting game it can become a bit grindy. However Wytchwood has so much character between the stories, puzzles and just over all scenery it is hard to get bored. I very much enjoyed this horrifyingly adorable game. Keep in mind the game does have blood, some violence, and an odd sense of humor!

Where can I play it?

You can grab Wytchwood on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, and Xbox.

LET’S BUILD THE MOST AMAZING ZOO

by | Nov 5, 2021 | Gaming

Always wanted to build a zoo? Don’t worry, you don’t need koalafications for this fun game. From the development team of Springloaded Games and published by No More Robots,Let’s Build a Zoo puts you in the reigns of your own animal-topia, Much like other sim type games you have the ability to create your own enclosures for your animals and build the park to the best of your liking.

However there is a plot twist… Unlike most zoo games, this game is equipped with its own state of the art DNA splicing mechanic. That is right. You can make your own elehawks… or maybe a liraffe. There are over 300,000 different types of animals you can breed or genetically mutate with another animal.

As you start the game it is like any other normal sim game that you would play. You build your staff buildings, hire your staff, build a couple enclosures (with animals) and start inviting guests to your zoo. There is a slight in game tutorial that will help you out as you are going when new stuff is unlocked. Those will help you from getting lost along with help to build your zoo up so that your guests and animals are happy.

The more you research along the way, the more you can unlock. There are tons of decor items, shops, and amenities to be placed after you have unlocked them. You can truly make a custom zoo to fulfill your animal imagination needs.

If you put all your animals in one area you could have otter panda-monium

This is the start to my Dreamz Zoo. It is important to make sure you have the proper enclosures with water and things to do for your animals so they keep happy. Each animal has several different types and if you plan on making some sort of super animal like a Crocoduck you will need all the DNA types from each species before you make your super animal.

I definitely look forward to playing more of this game and unlocking even more things to decorate my zoo with. I am also excited to see all the different animal types. If you could mix any two animals together what would they be? Give us your answer in the comments. We would love to see what you come up with.

You can pick up this game on Steam starting November 5th!!! You can also find more details atletsbuildazoo.com