I don’t go shopping often, however, when I do, I try to thrift or go to a Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. I like saving money and I find enjoyment in finding something on sale. For my birthday, my mom bought me a Marshall’s gift card and it is spooky season, so it was a great time to go shopping. I found a lot of Halloween decorations to add to my growing collection and I figured I’d share them.

Besides the Halloween decorations, I did buy normal things. I bought a new work blouse. It’s a plain black long sleeve except the sleeves are floral and fluttery. I’m doing a terrible job describing it, but it’s flattering and professional. I also bought a long-sleeved black sweater. I wear a lot of black, but I can’t help it, black is a flattering color. I don’t think it’s possible to have too many black sweaters.

Now for the Halloween decorations. The first thing I bought was a decorative throw blanket for our white chair upstairs. Upon first glance, I thought it was a Frankenstein holding a Halloween basket, but oh no. It was avocados which made the blanket ten times better. I’m a stereotypical millennial who loves Avocado toast. This blanket was made for me. I bought two new decorations upstairs. The first one is a snow globe with a skeleton astronaut with a raven on its left shoulder. When you shake the globe, black glitter falls around it. I didn’t realize Halloween snow globes existed, but here we are. I bought another decorative item for the upstairs nightstand. It’s a stack of books labeled potions and curses with a gold spider resting on them. Finally, I bought a new water bottle. It’s a black thermos with a gold snake in the center and gold moons and flowers surrounding it. Having a new water bottle to drink from makes me want to drink more water and I like rotating out my water bottles per the season. It’s the little things that sometimes bring me the most joy.

One of the running jokes I have with our friend group is whether or not I can convince my husband to buy the 12-foot-tall skeleton from Home Depot. I don’t think this will be the year for that, but I am hoping with time, this skeleton will eventually become a haunting presence in our yard.

One of my favorite traditions I have with one of my friends is attending the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We have been going since our college days. As we were reminiscing, we realized we had been going to the Renaissance Festival for ten years. That’s such a long time! There were years I had to miss including the year when me and my husband were planning our wedding and last year because we were in Europe. With that said, I always look forward to our trips to Ren Fest and many more trips in the future.

The last time I went to Ren Fest, me and my friends took a bus which helped immensely! I have addressed this before, but parking at Ren Fest was a nightmare. There were times we had to wait in extremely long lines to park a car. After Ren Fest’s event in 2022, Scott County threatened to pull Ren Fest’s event license if they couldn’t figure out their parking situation. I couldn’t agree more because it was becoming a safety issue. I didn’t go last year, so I wasn’t aware of the changes Ren Fest made to parking. When we were planning our day, she preferred driving versus taking the bus. In recent years, Ren Fest started charging to park a car. Before, parking onsite had been free. I don’t mind paying to park if it means a better experience with more staff to direct us on where to park our vehicles. Paying in advance, I paid $15 which I felt was reasonable. For those who didn’t pre-pay, it was $30 on sight with cash or card. As we approached, I was expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the festival, showed our pre-paid parking pass, and parked within fifteen minutes. It was a huge improvement compared to other years we went. Additionally, it seems Ren Fest added way more park and rides. The only caveat is that most of the park and rides were in the south half of the metro. I’d love to see more park and rides in the northern or western suburbs because that would also help with decreasing car traffic.

While every Ren Fest trip is fun, this year felt extra special. This was the first year that both me and my friend dressed up. I have dressed up in the past and my friend always mentioned how she wanted to, but it didn’t work out. She made it a priority this year and her whole blue outfit was beautiful. She clearly had a fun time with it and it was great to see her having a blast. Her boyfriend took pictures of us which we would have forgotten about had he not said anything. I think we both agreed that dressing for Ren Fest is something we are going to commit to in years to come.

For my outfit, I went for a green, druidic look. I ordered this green dress as a backup to my Keyleth cosplay. I rummaged through my costume accessories and pulled out this black, faux leather belt I use in my Kylo Ren cosplay which cinched the look together. Finally, I had an autumn leaves and butterflies headband that I also ordered for my Keyleth cosplay and didn’t need. It all came together and I already had all the pieces in my closet. It helps to be a cosplayer sometimes!

Since we have gone so often, we have a few staples or things we have to do while we are there. For the most part, we don’t see any shows. Instead, we wander around the fairgrounds and do a bit of shopping. I tend to purchase new earrings, lotions, or perfumes whenever I go. This year, I stuck to a budget and I didn’t buy anything except for food. Every year, the food I eat varies except for the Apple Cider Float. The Apple Cider Float is so good. It’s Apple Cider and I always get Cinnamon Ice Cream versus Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s the quintessential fall beverage. It’s become such a classic thing for us that my friend’s boyfriend reminded us that we had to get it before we left. He kept us on track, that’s for sure.

This was a Ren Fest trip for the books. I think both me and my friend will put more of an emphasis on dressing up as something every year. As a cosplayer, I always like having an excuse to create a new costume. Here’s to ten more years of Renaissance Festival trips.

My husband and I have been having many serious conversations about having kids. Choosing to become a parent is a big decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. In these ongoing conversations, my husband and I decided to undergo Genetic Testing. One of the main reasons I wanted to write about this is because I haven’t seen other people discuss this. I know Genetic Testing exists, but most of the time when I hear couples announcing their pregnancy, they skip over the decisions they made prior. If one person reads this and finds it helps them or even if someone does not want kids at all, but finds this interesting, then I think making this well known is worth it.

My husband is the main reason why we chose to get our genes tested. My husband’s aunt on his dad’s side died of Cystic Fibrosis before he was born. For those unfamiliar, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetically inherited disease meaning it’s not a disease that can be spread like the flu. CF impacts the amount of mucus the body generates. The mucus is thicker, blocking various passages, and can damage organs. There is no cure for CF and while treatments have steadily gotten better over time, some individuals with CF can have mild symptoms while others have severe symptoms.

My husband wanted a formal confirmation through gene testing if he was a carrier for CF. The first step was to contact a genetic counselor. They asked my husband a series of questions to determine the risk level and if genetic testing was needed. Based on little information my husband had about his family history, they ordered a genetic test to be delivered. To get genetic testing, you can either go into a medical facility and get blood drawn or they use an at-home testing kit. My husband chose the latter. His results took about 2 – 4 weeks. We found out my husband was indeed a carrier for CF.

It’s not surprising that my husband was a carrier for CF. However, it meant I now had to undergo genetic testing as well. I contacted the same genetic counselor who walked me through the process. She said they would test 613 of my genes. With my genetic test, they would be testing more of my genes than my husband’s because if we were to have a boy, I would pass everything on my X chromosome to my son. I was sent the same test and repeated the process. Now all we could do was wait.

Before I reveal my results, I wanted to share what would happen if I was or was not a carrier. If I were a carrier, this would mean that we would have a 25% chance of passing CF to our children. If I was not a carrier, we would have no chance. For someone to be positively diagnosed with CF, they need the carrier gene from mom and the carrier gene from dad. If I don’t have the gene, then our kid may be a carrier, like my husband, but would not have CF. I received my results shortly after Labor Day and am NOT a CF carrier. I let out a sigh of relief. There is nothing wrong with being a carrier, my husband is and he is a healthy person. CF will not be a reality for our kids and it’s one less thing for us to worry about.

There is a cost associated with getting genetic testing done. I hate when people discuss medical care and don’t share the cost. Each test (before insurance) costs $19,000. $19,000!?!?!?!?!?!?? That’s wild. After insurance, my husband (who has way better health insurance than I do) would pay $200 while I would be looking at anywhere between $500 – $600. I can use my HSA (Health Savings Account) to pay for the cost of genetic testing which helps make it more affordable.

I wish more people would be more open about genetic testing and the decisions that they make before having kids. Having kids is a big decision and with the power of the internet, having more resources available makes it easier to make the best decision for you. I want to be clear, not having kids is valid and I will defend anyone’s right to choose not to have children. Getting genetic testing is something I’m so glad I was able to do and it provides more reassurance if and when we decide to have kids.