Tales of a Fat Cosplayer - Curves and Hotness

 Last year, I wrote a post about how even though I'm overweight I enjoying wearing costumes and cosplaying. It was in response some comments made on Heroes of Cosplay. But I found that I have more to say on the subject.

Ever since Todd was diagnosed with MS, we changed our diet as a family. Todd lost a ton - he actually lost about as much weight as Emily weighs. I lost too but not as much thanks to being a women. But I have been noticing my clothes have been fitting a lot looser.

I have a Kaylee costume that has a light blue Asian jacket. The jacket always fit a bit snug, especially tight in the arms. I went to a Browncoat picnic a couple of weeks ago and I Kaylee-fied myself because we were going to film spots for the Browncoat Ball.

The jacket wasn't tight at all! It fit great! 

We don't have any long mirrors in our house so when I want to get a look of most of me, I have to stand on the toilet. This was a little dangerous when I was pregnant, and one of the reasons there are very few pictures of me during that time.

I was curious though so I got up there and my shape is changing for the better! I still have a pudgy belly, but looking at me front on I'm just all curves, with a killer hourglass shape going on. My thought was, "I'd be hot... if I lived in another time period."

Never in my life have I thought I was hot or gorgeous. I'm short and round, which isn't super attractive in this day and age. But in years past people have wore huge hoop skirts to try and emulate what God gave me. Too bad I live in a time period where thin and tall is in vogue.

But I'll be rocking a costume this weekend at Atlanta's first Wizard World. I may be a fat cosplayer but at least I have some awesome curves to go with the fat.

Bring Reading Rainbow To All Kids!

Image: Wikipedia

Levar Burton loomed large in my childhood. I watched him as Kunte Kinte in Roots and adored him as Geordi in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But it was Reading Rainbow that really shaped my young life.

I loved Reading Rainbow and it really helped foster my love of reading. Though I do have to give my parents, especially my dad, some credit because my dad had a half a dozen bookshelves in our house and was always reading.

But I have fond memories of watching and learning from Reading Rainbow. I was always excited when a book I owned was featured on the show and sometimes I asked for my parents to get other books that I saw there.

I've been trying to instill a love of reading in Emily. We read books every night and generally several times during the day. She's starting to learn to read herself which is great.

I have heard of the Reading Rainbow app, but never got it because Emily was pretty small when I heard about it the first time. We have watched a few of the old Reading Rainbow episodes on Amazon Prime. We started at the beginning and they were fun but really dated.

Emily, like the rest of her generation, is very tech savvy. She is able to use my phone, tablet and video games better than I can sometimes. And she is a very early reader at this point. But she loves the story apps we do have right now. Right now we don't have the Reading Rainbow app because I just got a tablet in the last week.

When I saw the Kickstarter to bring Reading Rainbow to all kids, I had to back it. A lot of people felt the same way because it reached it's goal in less than 24 hours. I think it's a great cause to back because so many kids aren't exposed to books and reading like they should be. And the best part is giving Reading Rainbow to schools in need for free!

I'm sure everyone has heard about this Kickstarter by now. But it makes my heart happy to think about having Reading Rainbow back. It was a big part of my childhood and hopefully it will do the same for Emily.

Pre-K Graduation!

Emily is a part of the class of 2014. No, she's not a wonder child. She just graduated from preschool!

When I was small, I remember donning a white cap and gown to graduate from Kindergarten. I figured Emily would graduate then, but she got to graduate this year since she completed preschool.

The ceremony wasn't focused so much on graduating but since Emily went to the preschool at our church, it was a blessing.

The kids came out and sang some songs. Then they all got to come up to a podium to get their diploma. They also each got to say what they liked best about preschool. Emily said she liked playing outside. She came to sit with us as we sang a hymn and then all the kids went up to the altar with their parents laying their hands on them as we prayed.

It was a short ceremony but it was nice. And I admit that I got a little teary-eyed because my baby is growing up!

Though we will get to do it again next year since she is still going to go to the school at our church since they go until Kindergarten.

First Time Camping

The weekend before Memorial Day weekend my in-laws came to town. They generally don't stay with us because my MIL is allergic to our cats. Last first they just got a hotel room but this time they decided to rent a cabin at a nearby rv park.

Both Todd and I camped quite a bit when we were younger and we have talked about getting tents and going camping. He thought Emily was too young though and that she'd pitch herself in the fire. So when my in-laws came down, Emily got to experience her first camping trip.

The weather was oddly cold for the end of May, but she had a good time anyway. She stayed over a couple of nights, which was nice since Todd and I got to have a date night. We went to see Godzilla. And of course, gave Emily time to spend with her grandparents.

One of the highlights for Emily was making s'mores. She also had a good time putting twigs in the fire - and she didn't pitch herself in. There was also a small playground she liked going to. The pool looked nice but it was much too cold to swim.

It was a nice introduction to camping for Emily. Hopefully we'll be able to get a tent (and maybe a pop-up in the future because I'm not a fan of tent camping) and be able to have our own camping adventures like Todd and I had as kids.

#YesAllWomen and My Assault

Over the weekend, my twitter has been filled with the #YesAllWomen hashtag. I read about the awful things that happened to other women and the precautions others took in order to keep themselves safe. It gave me a lot to think about, as a women and the mother of a daughter.

It was reading Twitter the other night that made me remember that I was assaulted in high school. All because I was a quiet, geeky girl.

Assault seems like a harsh word for what happened, but that's really what it was. I was in the hallway between classes and there was a whole group of guys harassing me. One actually grabbed me and forced me to kiss him. I got away after that, but I was shaken and embarrassed.

I had a lot of issues with being bullied, but I just tried to ignore the taunts. I had been physically bullied by a girl, but my parents ended up going to the principal. The physical bullying stopped but the emotional bullying went on until I graduated from high school.

I don't remember if I told my parents about the assault. I do remember being very, very embarrassed about it. Technically it was also my first kiss - what should have been a wonderful moment was taken away from me in an act of violence. All because I was a girl.

It has been years since I thought about it but it makes me angry thinking about it as an adult. I never did anything to anyone who bullied me but I was targeted because I was quiet, shy and a girl. I'm sure quiet, shy boys get bullied too, but in most cases an assault like this wouldn't have taken place.

I'm sure the guy who assaulted me didn't think he did anything wrong and that's a huge part of the problem. There are a ton of great guys out there, I know I married one. But while there is one guy out there who thinks of women as lesser, as property, as someone not a person but someone who should do as they want her to do, then we women will still have that fear in the back of our minds.

How To Deal With No Internet

Enjoy time away from the internet

I know it sucks not being connected to the internet. It has become such a part of our lives, but having no internet is going to happen sometimes.

While your first instinct is to scream at the person who answers the phone at your ISP (which may be me), think about all the things you can do while you are forced to be unplugged.

You can read a book, or work on a project around your house. If you have cable or Dish, you can watch tv. You could go to the park, go to the movies, spend time with  your family.

And if you really, really need to get online, take your laptop someplace where there is free wifi or visit a friend's house. If you don't have any friends, it might be a good time to make one.

No internet is not the end of the world, and this is coming from someone who uses the internet to make a living.

Just something to think about over this long holiday weekend - if your internet goes out, it might be a while before someone can fix it. So please refrain from yelling at your ISP and consider it a nice break from the internet

My Ghost Adventures - Cinema Ghosts

My previous encounters with what I thought might be ghostly spirits weren't very conclusive. My basement may or may not have been haunted and my dorm mates may have been pulling a prank on me. But my next encounter I'm sure was ghosts.

When I was in college I got an awesome job working at a movie theater. We had a four screen theater and two older one screen theaters downtown. The two downtown theaters were call the Ward and the Broadway, and they both were (are?) very haunted.

I worked mostly at the Ward which had the bathrooms down a level from the concession stand and the theater. Even though the bathrooms were on the same level, the women's bathroom was nearly always 10 degrees colder than the men's bathroom. I would hear noises sometimes when I was down there alone as well, but the Ward ghost wasn't scary. It was just there.

The Broadway theater's ghost on the other hand was scary. There was a feeling of gloom and the air was heavy in the Broadway. I always felt very uncomfortable there and was thankful that I only worked there a handful times. I did see Sleepy Hallow there and that movie is creepy on it's on, but the gloom and coldness got worse as the movie went on.

My boyfriend at the time was a manager at the theater and part of his job was to put the movie reels together. He'd have to watch the movie to make sure it was put together correctly. He and another manager were in the Broadway alone and they started hearing noises. They had a video camera with them because they were both Broadcasting majors at the college. They shot some video and when they reviewed it, there were voices on there that weren't theirs.

A big chain came in and built a 12 screen theater. They knocked the four screen theater down and sold the Ward and the Broadway. The Ward became a church and the Broadway ended up being a community theater.

After college, I went to visit my college best friend for the weekend. She was involved with the community theater and I helped her backstage with the current show. We started telling old stories about the Broadway to a friend of hers and as we did so the temperature got lower and lower. I felt very uneasy and I was very glad to get out of there. That was the last time I visited either theater.

I know without a shadow of a doubt those two old theaters were haunted. I didn't mind the Ward's ghost but there was something evil and menacing lurking at the Broadway.

Up Next - Office Hauntings!

Motherless Mother's Day

Mother's Day is quickly approaching so TV and internet are filled with ads with stuff to get your mom. Even though I am a mom, this holiday is always really depressing for me because my mom is passed away.

I really feel for everyone who has a hard time with Mother's Day. Those like me who have lost their mom, those who have lost kids of their own and those who struggle with infertility. This Sunday will be rough for a lot of people.

I am a mom, but I find it hard to focus on myself. This year seems to be worse for some reason. The commercialism on TV are making me weepy as is the Mother's Day stuff Emily keeps bringing home from school. At this point, I'll be glad when Sunday is over with.

My mom was a great mom and she would have been an excellent grandmother. She would have adored Emily to bits. Unfortunately, cancer cut her life way too short - she was only 51 when she passed away.

My life has been a good one but there is a big hole in it without my mom. I am thankful to have a great step-mom and mother in law, but I'll always miss my mom.

If you are hurting this Mother's Day, know you aren't alone. My heart is hurting too.