Dragon Con 2017 - Thursday

Image: http://atlantafashionpolice.com

For the first time in several years, we opted to take Emily out of school for Thursday. Todd really wanted to go to Dragon Con Wrestling because they were having some big name wrestlers as guests. I was fine with that because going on Thursday gives me a chance to give blood without any other con stuff really going on.

We drove down that morning and spent a little bit at my aunt and uncle's house before I put on my American McGee Alice costume and we headed on down to the con. After a short MARTA trip and a shorter line to get our badges we had several hours to kill.

A couple of people stopped me to get my picture, including the Atlanta Fashion Police which was shiny. I love it when people want to take pictures of me cosplaying!

I decided that I wanted to give blood. This was right after the hurricane had hit Texas and right before Irma was going to storm on up. The blood drive was in the basement of the Hyatt and the line to even get registered was super long.

Todd left me to get blood and I waited and waited. It was moving from line to line. First to get registered, next to do the tests / forms with the nurses so see if I could give blood and then finally to a chair for the actual blood letting.

They were giving away 1st edition copies of Battlefield Earth to everyone who was in line to donate. I opted not to take one because they were massive and I didn't want to haul it around. I did take the snacky food they kept offering since I knew I needed it. I had eaten lunch before I went to give blood but extra snacks are good.

Finally after nearly 4 hours of waiting, I was in a chair and the nurse / blood collector person couldn't find a good vein. This is pretty typical for me because my veins suck. A supervisor had to come over and she found one, but ended up having another person come over and she got me hooked up really fast.

In total, it took me less than 10 minutes to actually give the blood. One of the fastest times for me, usually my blood doesn't flow as well as it did that day. I got more snacks after plus my t-shirt and pin.

Since it took so long, Dragon Con Wrestling had already started and the room was full. I tried to get Todd to answer his phone to come to the door and get me but in the end I just wanted until they let more people in.

We watched a little more of the wrestling and then decided to head back to my aunt and uncle's house.

Up Next - Dragon Con 2017 Friday!

A Girl and Her WWE Brawlin’ Buddy

Emily and her Rey-Rey

My husband and I are big wrestling fans. We spent our first Valentine’s Day at a WWE house show — after which he asked me to move in with him. We watch live WWE shows a couple times a year, and last year we went to WrestleMania. But we don’t usually watch the weekly WWE shows with our daughter because it can be a little violent. If my husband does watch, he usually fast forwards through most of the matches to get to the talking segments that move the storyline along.

WWE has a large line of toys, most of which are action figures geared towards older kids. My husband likes collecting them, so we have several still “mint in the box.” My daughter also has a few, although she doesn’t play with them very often. But we were in the toy aisle looking at action figures recently when my daughter first spotted the new WWE Brawlin’ Buddies.

WWE Brawlin’ Buddies are soft toys that are designed to look like the most popular WWE wrestlers. Each Brawlin’ Buddy will say the wrestler’s catchphrases when touched in the stomach. It is a great toy for a younger child because it is cuddly but can still be used to re-create wrestling moves. Even though it’s geared to appeal more to little boys, my little girl wanted one from the first time she saw one.

My daughter liked the Rey Mysterio Brawlin’ Buddy the best. I don’t know if she was drawn to that Buddy because it’s very colorful or because Rey Mysterio is one of my favorite wrestlers. He was trained as Luche Libre, which is a style of wrestling in Mexico. Luche Libres often wear colorful masks and part of this style involves a lot of high flying moves, which make Rey Mysterio a very entertaining wrestler to watch.

When the Rey Mysterio Brawlin’ Buddy arrived, he became one of my daughter’s favorite toys. She likes pushing in his stomach so he’ll talk, but she also treats him like her other stuffed animals. This means he has had to endure a few tea parties and dress up sessions in his time with us. But she has fun with him, which is the point.

I’m a firm believer that there shouldn’t be gender discrimination with toys. That’s why I am always happy to let my daughter pick what she wants even if it isn’t geared towards girls. And even though WWE Brawlin’ Buddies are advertised as a boy toy, my little girl loves her Rey Mysterio.

Note: I received this toy  for review purposes.