Mad Monster Party 2018

Originally we weren't planning on going to Mad Monster Party at all. The guest list was ok, but we had met a lot of the people there. But then a few weeks before the con, they added a guest we had to meet. Mick Foley!

Mick Foley is a former WWE wrestler and one of Todd and I's favorites. Todd grew up watching him wrestle and he's quite the character from what we've seen.

So we decided to go for a day on Sunday. We got up, I donned my American McGee's Alice costume and Emily was in her new Pikachu costume. The hotel that Mad Monster Party was in this year is the same one as ConCarolinas.

We got there, got parked and headed inside. Got our wristbands and headed downstairs where the con would be happening. We were herded into a line and noticed that it was unusually dark. Since there were some lights (emergency ones) it took us a few minutes to realize that the power was out. Going to the bathroom by the light of my cell phone was interesting!

Apparently something had caused the substation to go down and we were standing in the dark for about an hour because there were no lights in the rooms. But finally the lights came on and we were let in.

Mad Monster Party is set up kind of weird - there are a couple of big rooms with guests on the walls and dealers in the middle. This isn't a great way to control crowds so I'm not sure why they do it this way. But we went through both rooms to try and find where Mick Foley would be. He wasn't down yet so we did some looking.

Emily bought a cat purse she saw right away because she is unable to save her money at all. It was cute though. We got some pocky and other japanese snacks from a vendor who was doing deals because he wanted to get rid of his stuff. Todd got a couple of autographs from people in horror movies - one played Jason, I think, and he was really tall. The other, I'm not sure who he was exactly.

Finally we saw Mick Foley and we hurried over to his table so we were first in line! We actually got to chat with him and his assistant while they were setting things up so we got extra time. He thought Em was pretty cute!

We got an autograph with him and then a picture. He let Todd hold his championship belt, which Todd said was quite heavy! It was really a great experience to meet him because he was super nice and well worth the drive.

After that, we did another circle around the rooms and then headed out. We went to lunch at PF Chang's and then went home! Thankfully our next convention won't be so fast - we are heading to Kentucky this weekend to spend three days at the Lexington Comic Con!

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!

Birthdays and Wrestling

A couple of weeks ago, my dearest husband got another year older. Generally he doesn't care for his birthday but since he shares a birthday with my dearly departed mom, I make him celebrate. Earlier in July, I had heard a commercial on the radio that the WWE was going to have a show on his birthday in Asheville.

I had to buy tickets for his birthday. They weren't very expensive and I knew he would enjoy it. Plus Emily is old enough now that she could come with us. Todd and I's 2nd date was at a WWE house show, and that was also the date where Todd asked me to move in with him. So wrestling has been a big part of our love story.

The show took place on the campus of UNCA. Todd and Emily got in first because I ended up having to go back to the car to take my purse back. Their security was tight to the point that it was a little ridiculous, especially since I wasn't the only one who had to walk back to their car to put their purse back.

But finally I got in and found our seats which contained a Todd and an Emily. Our seats were very good considering how cheap the tickets were. We had some time before the show started but they were showing clips on the big screen from previous shows. Plus Emily and Todd went to get some snacks.

Finally it was time, and the show started. I wasn't sure how Emily would react. She's seen some wrestling on TV with us, but live shows can be quite loud sometimes. But she got really into it! She would pick a favorite wrestler or tag team and she would root loudly for them. Sadly for the first view matches she picked the heels so her people didn't win.

Todd and I have been watching WWE for long enough that we know the wrestlers and have our favorites. But Emily didn't find a favorite until the middle of the show. She really, really wanted to see some women wrestle. And finally she got her chance. She loved watching the women wrestlers, and she loved the Women's Champion, Sasha Banks, right off the bat. She kept talking about her for the rest of the show.

There was an intermission, and a few more matches before we got to the main event. We luckily got to see Dean Ambrose, who is currently the World Heavyweight Champ, wrestle against Chris Jericho. It was a great match!

Emily stayed awake and entertained the whole time. She cheered and yelled a lot! She also fell asleep on the way home because it was way past her bedtime.

We had a good time though. It was a great way to celebrate the birth of my husband!

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.