Checking In & Catching Up

Hello gamers gals & guys! It's been quite sometime since I've posted here in my blog. When you're busy like I am and you're mostly on the computer for work, once you're done, you don't want to sit there any longer! Anywaaaaaaays...
So it's a busy time of year, and Christmas is seriously right around the corner. Where has this year gone? x_x I swear 2014 just started. It's true, time does go faster as you get older. Perhaps for me it's the combination of having kids, babysitting, catching up on crafts to sell, and work that makes my days just dwindle away so quickly. Like, I wake up around 6am, and before I know it, the sun is already setting. That being the case, my gaming time has become something scarce that I treasure oh so much. I've recently gotten back into Skyrim, and with that began a new blog branch entitled "Nightingale's Adventures in Skyrim", where I document my many travels on my second play-through of the game. It's a fun little project for me to focus on when regular life and work becomes a tad too much to bear.
I'm going to try to game on my Vita a bit more, as I just got some games all thanks to their holiday sale. I purchased Child of Light, Don't Starve: Giant Edition, and Flower all for under $25 - You can't beat that! I need to get more into my portable and PC gaming. When I have time to game, I just always reach for my PS3 or Wii U...sometimes even my Xbox 360 or Retron III. I have Steam on my PC, with a lot of games to play, but as I stated earlier, once you've sat at your desk working all this time, you don't want to sit at it longer (or maybe I just need a more comfy chair...). And I have both a Vita Slim and 3DS XL, both of which I love dearly, but pick up seldom. Oh man how I miss the good ol' days of being carefree and gaming all night long <3.
So how was your year? Was it all you hoped it'd be? Did it suck? Mine was meh...but you know what? It is what it is, and life would not be flowing the way it is if the past were any different. And let me tell you this: If you're feeling down (as I know most of us do during the holiday season), just be thankful you are here, alive and breathing. Life may not be what you want it to be, but remember that everything happens for a reason, and you may not see it now, but you will one day. You're a strong human being, who can endure more than you know. Just keep your chin up, eh? I will if you will ;)
And with that tidbit of inspirational speak, I leave you. Nightingale out!

~Peace, Love, & Video Games~

.::Nightingale Silva::.

Spreading Yourself Too Thin? Yeah...Me Too

 Do you ever feel like you're spreading yourself too thin? Wish you could be in two or more places at once? Yeah, I know all of those feelings and some. Being a mother of two little girls, one five and the other one, it's quite a chore. I am a stay-at-home mom, and I struggle to keep it that way. I feel it's my job to watch over, teach and take care of my children. Hell, I feel guilty just letting grandma take them for one measly hour. I like staying home with my babies, playing games with them and teaching them everything I know.
 But the time has come, and we need extra income. I work for my websites, and get some pay from there, but it just isn't enough. So to top that off, I make sculptures and jewelry, and I knit and crochet hats and scarfs. Oh, and on top of that, I now babysit four or so times a week. I like making money, and I like being able to do it from the comfort of my home, but it's beginning to feel as if I am doing too much. I even went yesterday, and talked to my apartment manager about possibly cleaning the property daily and doing other odds and ends here and there for yet another job. Granted, this one wouldn't put money in my pocket, but it will decrease my rent, so it works out either way.
 I'm the type of person that won't say no to a good opportunity, even if I have a ton of stuff on my plate already. In the future, I may even possibly be in charge of a couple websites. Awesome sauce, more money for my family and bills, but that results in a stressed and tired Nightingale. But you know what, one must do what they have to do. That's our duty in life. Especially me being a mother, I have that instinct to go and do everything I can to ensure my family is okay financially and so on, even though I know I'm doing too much, and spreading myself way too thin.
 How many of you out there feel this way? You know you're doing way too much, but you keep on at it with a smile on your face even though you're beyond stressed and slowly losing your mind?
 And yes, I know, this is a gamer mommy blog, but sometimes I just want to talk about the day to day struggles that I myself and so many others out there face on the daily. With everything I do, I try so hard to at least game daily. Gaming is my relaxation, my sanctuary, my 'me time'. But there are times when all I get a chance to do it switch on Animal Crossing: New Leaf and catch some fish, then it's off to bed I go here in the real world.
Why can't life be like the video games, and instead of me having all of these jobs to make money, I could just go and cut some patches of grass or break some pots or battle some monsters and BOOM! Money, money everywhere!
Hey...I can dream, right?

Random Rambles & Musings: Positivity Vs. Negativity

This blog won't have a ton of gaming in it. This is basically a "just-for-the-hell-of-it" type blog post. I really want & need to post a lot more, but with my life duties sometimes getting in the way, it's pretty difficult. Who knew I had set my life's difficulty level that high? Haha! 

Anyways... Just some random thoughts. I love my life, I do, but there are always things we can improve upon. For example, I tend to get really stressed out really easily for absolutely no valid reason. Being stressed leads to bouts of depression, & then that in turn leads to me over-thinking everything, & revisiting things of my past that are still pretty painful to look back on. I am learning to change all of that. Life is too short to be worried all the time. Everything happens for a reason, & in the end, it'll all work out how the Universe has so planned. I'm taking baby steps, but I'm getting there. Just keep your focus on the positive.
There are so many people nowadays that pity themselves too much. They in turn make their lives worse unknowingly. If they could just drop the b.s., & just be thankful they are alive & breathing, all would get better for them. If you put out negativity, than you shall receive negativity. Put out positivity, receive positivity in return. That's just how it works guys & gals. Seriously, think about it, uncloud your mind, open up and REALLY think about it. When you think negative thoughts, those will only lead to more negative thoughts. Same with positive thoughts. Plain & simple.

Another thing, positvity & negativity are contagious. If you're negative towards someone, or you act negatively in front of someone, they will react negatively as well. It's a vicious cycle, & I honestly think that's why this world we live in is so cruel & cold nowadays. I'm not a psychologist or therapist or anything of the sort, though I have played this part to many a friend & family member over the years. I am just thinking logically. 

Find the joys in the little things in life...make yourself happy. Life is what you make it to be. You want a good life, go out & make it so! You want happiness? Well, dammit, go out & find it! Sitting in a darkened room won't help you find a damn thing, trust me, I speak from experience. I'm not here to tell you what to do, but to let people out there know that you always have a choice in how your life is lived. The only person who can change it though, is you.

I want more happiness in this world, less sadness & depression. Less people thinking they are nothing, thus resorting to suicide as their last resort. It should not be a last resort, nor any resort! Suicide is not an answer. I've had suicidal thoughts in the past, I'm not going to lie. I've had thoughts when things were going bad, I would think "Perhaps if I were gone, everything would be better". No. Nope. Nuh-uh. Don't think that ever. Your death will never be an answer for anything, other than a cowardly way out of a messed-up situation, that could probably be easily fixed if looked at from a different perspective.

In the end, just know you are never alone if you are feeling this way, or have ever felt this way. Know that you can heal yourself, & make your life better. I'm working towards that goal of less worries, less anxiety, less depression...& if I can do it, I'm pretty sure you can do it too. If anyone out there is actually reading this, thank you. & know that if you need someone to help you sort through whatever it is you're going through in order to make your life better, comment below. I'll answer & help in any way I can. Because everybody needs someone to lean on from time to time. :)