Girl Scout Zoom Scavenger Hunt

Pre-Covid Girl Scout

Several years ago, I was one of the leaders of my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I had taken a lot on that year - I had also been a Sunday School teacher and a Girls on the Run Coach. It was a lot and I ended up quitting all of my volunteer positions because I was just run down.

But my daughter's Girl Scout troop needed a leader for the Brownies and no-one else was coming forward so I volunteered. I'm not going to take on anything else, especially since things like Sunday School aren't happening right now anyway.

In pre-Covid times, we met at a local church in their youth room. It had lots of space, which was good because our troop has different ages groups so we could all spread out. But because of the pandemic, the church isn't comfortable with us using their indoor space. They do have a covered pavilion with picnic tables outside and we have been meeting there

Since we are in NC, the weather has been warm enough for us to do that. But for this week's meeting, it was suppose to be 45 degrees out so we decided to move the meeting online to Zoom.

Over the summer, we had a few Zoom meetings that I ran because I was asked to set up the meeting. It went pretty well, but we were only doing it with the older girls. Today was the first time we were doing it with the whole troop.

Now our troop has gotten a lot smaller. We have some girls who just lost interest and some parents who didn't feel comfortable with meeting in person at all even though we are outside and require everyone to wear masks. Even though we are smaller, we still have three different age groups from 2nd grade to 6th grade so we had to do something that all of them would enjoy.

I found the idea to do a scavenger hunt and started to look up things for the girls to find around their houses. I found a lot of vague lists but nothing that was Girl Scout related so I made up my own.

As the weather gets colder and while the pandemic still rages, I thought I'd share my Girl Scout themed scavenger hunt so any troop can use them. All our girls had a lot of fun finding their items and showing them off!

1) Find something Daisy blue

2) Find something that would be useful on a hike

3) Your favorite patch or Girl Scout shirt

4) Find something that is Brownie brown

5) Find something that would be useful at a cookie booth

6) Something you made

7) A pet or stuffed animal

8) Find something Junior green

9) Find something Cadette beige

The only one that isn't really Girl Scout related is the pet / stuffed animal one. I have found that nearly every Zoom meeting has the girls wanting to show off their pets. Something you made I said could be something at Girl Scouts or elsewhere. 

As we continue to use Zoom as we go into winter, hopefully we can think of more fun things to do!

Ableism

Image - https://rehabpub.com

 Life has been hard and I haven't been blogging at all. I'm going to try and remedy that and try to write at least one post a week. Mostly so I can get in the habit of writing more and to keep my brain on its toes.

My post today is kind of all about my brain. My poor broken brain. I have a lot of health issues. My foot, that I sprained back in April, thinks that it is very hurt. Or my brain thinks my foot should hurt when there isn't really much physically wrong with it. I've been diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in my foot and have to have a chair for work because I can't be on my feet for eight hours anymore.

I still suffer from my chronic migraines and I have short term memory issues thanks to the brain mass I had back in 2014. This comes up often at work. I work in the deli of a local grocery store. We have a hot bar that we serve breakfast food and then lunch/dinner options. We also have an asian food bar and a sub bar. These bars are were I work - it's my job to serve people and keep things stocked and clean.

We can be short handed sometimes, especially when people go on their lunch breaks. Sometimes I find myself alone to handle all three bars. Usually it's not a big deal and I can holler for help if I need to. This is the situation I found myself in last week.

A trio of young men came up to the sub bar and started to order. Just after a woman came up to the asian bar. I was trying to take the mens' order and holler for help. This caused my brain to do a little bit of a meltdown and I couldn't remember what meat and cheese they wanted for their subs. This happens a lot but these young men thought it would be fun to mock me for my memory issues.

I honestly don't remember exactly what they said but it was snide and ablest. I still did my job and got their subs made. After they left, the lady was still at the asian bar though someone had come up to help her. She was very, very upset though - she was upset for me, that they had treated me so bad.

At the time, I told her it was ok, that I didn't mind. But honestly, it's been in the back of my mind ever since then. Those young men didn't know who I was or that I am technically a disabled person. But they didn't need to mock me for my memory issues. Similar interactions where I forget what meat or cheese for a sub happens everyday, but most customers are gracious and just repeat what they want.

As my health gets worse, I get more annoyed with people being ablest. I honestly wish that people would treat everyone with dignity and respect, but that's not going to happen sadly. I'm sure the young men who mocked me haven't given it a second thought. 

Please be kind, you don't know what issues people might be dealing with. And I can make a great sub, I just might need some help remembering what you want on it. 

Online Friends are Real Friends

 

Today a notification came up that it was a friend's birthday. A friend who passed away last year. She was part of a group that I talk with everyday. A few met her in person, but for others, like me, our friendship was completely online.

I grew up in a world without the internet and I first got online in my 2nd year of college. I was a huge geek and didn't have too many real life friends who shared my interests. But all of a sudden I could speak to people all over the world who had similar interests.

It's been 24 years since I first dove headfirst into the internet and things have changed a lot. But some of my best and most enduring friendships are ones I've made online. I'm still friends with a few people from my early days online. 

But my main friend group came about because we had a love for a specific perfume. A friend of mine gave me a sample of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at the Michigan Ren Faire in 2004. I loved it and I've never been a perfume person before. But these were (and are) magical. When I looked them up on the internet, I found that they had a forum which I joined.

I don't post on the forum as much as I used to, but I try to check it every few days. There are also several groups on Facebook and one is where I spend a lot of my online time. We talk about everything and the friend we lost told the best stories.

Even though I never met her in person, I loved her. She was my friend and I miss her so much. I love my other friends too. Some I've met in person, some live on the other side of the world, but thanks to the internet we can talk and connect.

So chat with your friends, enjoy their virtual company because you will be sad when they are gone.

The Pandemic Diaries - The Mask Slackers

Months. It's been months since COVID-19 has completely upended our lives. Here in the United States of America, we haven't done a great job of dealing with this pandemic. Ineffective leaders and conspiracy theories seem to be at the root of our being number 1 at cases and deaths in the world.

When everything started going to hell in March, I was hesitant to wear a mask. Scientists thought back then (which seems like a million years ago now) that masks didn't really help. But as they learned more about the disease, science proved that masks can greatly reduce the spread of the virus.

So I got some masks and started wearing them anytime I left the house. I have cloth masks so I can wash them. I even used my glue gun and some crafting wire to add to the mask to make it more snug around my nose. It's not perfect but it definitely keeps my glasses from fogging up less.

I hurt my foot in April and then hurt it worse about three weeks after the original injury. I ended up being off work for over a month because of it so I had a lot of time on my hands. I was reading a lot and I read an article about the parallels of the current pandemic and the Spanish Flu in the early 1900's. One thing that stuck with me was that people who refused to wear masks back then were called "mask slackers".

Ever since then, I've referred to those who refuse to wear a mask as mask slackers. It's such a simple thing to do to protect others, but a lot of people are just so against it. I am a glutton for punishment and I often read the comments on Facebook. The crazy on some of the comments is astounding.

Apparently some people think that masks are going to cause you to collapse because they think carbon dioxide won't be able to escape the mask and thus poison the wearer. Others think that wearing a mask is a sign that you are a sheep and being controlled (by whom, I'm not sure). Others claim they don't work at all so it's pointless to wear them, especially if you are 'healthy'.

All of these arguments have either been proven wrong by science or are just so ludicrous that I want to roll my eyes. Masks aren't perfect, but it does help slow the spread of this disease. Wearing a mask keeps my germs in my mask so it can't spread. Now you still have to wash your hands, resist touching your face, and wash or replace your mask after every use.

But because the mask slackers are selfish and won't mask up for the good of everyone, the virus rages on. I wear a mask for 8 hours during work and yeah, it's hot and annoying. But I don't want my coworkers getting this or my customers. Also my store requires us to wear it, which is something I'm glad of. I just wish they would enforce wearing of masks for the customers.

Anyway, please, please, please wear your mask. I really want it to be safe for my kid to go back to school and for life to return to some form of normalcy where I don't have to have panic attacks about being exposed to the virus before my work shifts. 

The Pandemic Diaries - Dragon Con

Me at Dragon Con 2019

Everything is canceled this year. From school to concerts to conventions. And just today Dragon Con announced that there would be no Dragon Con this year. Now, they did say that there will be some virtual con things going on, but obviously it's just not the same.

I love Dragon Con - I've blogged about it quite a lot over the years, though I didn't ever get around to blogging about last year's con. Maybe I'll do that come Labor Day weekend as a tribute to the best con that isn't happening.

Honestly I'm not surprised by the news that Dragon Con isn't happening. Because of contracts, they just couldn't cancel before now though it has felt like it was inevitable to quite a few people, myself included, that there was no way that it could happen safely.

Ironically, someone started a new group this morning before the announcement for people who were still planning on going despite the pandemic. Even if a quarter of the normal 80,000+ people showed, that would be a heck of a lot of people.

I am a little bummed that we didn't purchase memberships for this year earlier in the year like we normally do. This year has been such a shitshow for me and my family, outside of the pandemic, that we just didn't get around to it. Those of who did they will get a 2020 badge and some sort of swag. And their membership will be rolled to next  year.  They are also issuing refunds to those who would prefer that.

So the coronavirus has taken the best weekend of the year away and it makes me sad. When I go into work, I'll cross off the days I had requested off for Dragon Con. Hopefully the virus can be stopped / handled / something so we can con again next year.

Summer Movies - ET

Image: fanart.tv

One of the things I miss most right now is going to the movies. I've always loved going to see movies on the big screen. I was lucky enough to even work at a movie theater for a while in college. I don't know what the first movie my parents took me to see, but I do have some memories of going to see
ET when I was four years old.

On the surface, it looked like it was going to be a cute kid's movie, but it ended up freaking preschool me out. The beginning was dark and kinda scary for a four year old. Though this is probably the first time that I had even heard of D&D since that's what they we playing at the start of the movie.

The ET character was a little freaky too - though I do have memories have having and loving a plush ET doll. But it was a scene near the end that was scariest for me.

It was the scene where ET and Elliott are in the sterile room. It was partly because Elliott was sick and ET was dying but it was also the visuals of scientists in white, PPE suits. It was just terrifying if you are four.

I've rewatched ET several times, and I remember feeling vaguely anxious watching that part of the movie even when I was older. It had quite an effect on me!

I honestly think I would have loved it if I was a little older. It's all fantasy and science and the alien can be pretty cute too! But not really appropriate for a four year old.

Do you have any movies that scared you as a child?

The Pandemic Diaries - The ER Visit

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while but kept forgetting. But I hope to start blogging more.

On April 19th, I fell off my carport. It wasn't a huge drop but I watched my right foot bend upwards in a way it shouldn't have.

The pain was immediate and very high. My husband and kid had to help me inside and onto bed. I iced it and elavated it, but it was still very painful the next day so I had my husband take me to the ER.

We pulled up to the entrance of the ER and they had a tent set up. They had several people stationed there in full PPE gear. After I told them why I was there, they asked me the standard COVID questions and took my temperature.

I was rolled into the building in a wheelchair and my husband had to stay outside in the car. It was more than a little bizarre because the waiting room was empty.

After waiting only a few minutes in the waiting room, I was rolled back to a room. I didn't have to wait very long before someone came to check me out.

They brought an x-ray machine to my room and got the x-rays done. The doctor was very attentive, coming in to check on me several times.

In the end, it was one of the fastest ER visits I've had. The x-rays showed I just had a sprain though it was a pretty bad one. They gave me prescriptions for pain medicine and a referral to the orthopedist.

I only saw one other patient - they had been moving her in a bed when I was being rolled back to a room.

Though I was anxious about going because of the virus, I'm glad I went. They were very professional and I felt safe. I'm glad they were taking extra precautions. I do have to wonder how different it would be now, nearly two months later.

The Pandemic Diaries - On Being Essential

Me, an essential 

I work at a grocery store in the deli. I serve food and make subs. It's not hard not is it glamorous. But it allowed me to quit a job that was sucking my soul away and I've made a lot of great friends.

But in this time of Covid-19, it's less great. For the most part my job is the same. We are just washing our hands and changing our gloves a ton more. And cleaning as often as we can. 

Today everyone was given papers to put in our cars deeming us "essential". In light of so many people being laid off or just plain losing their jobs, essential might seem great. But it's not.

Every time I go to work, it feels like I'm playing Russian roulette. Chances are if (when?) I get the coronavirus, I'll survive. I do have health issues but none are breathing related. But it sounds horrible to have so I don't want to get it. And I certainly don't want to spread it.

I worry about me, my family, my friends and coworkers. It also worries me how busy we continue to be. Lunch rush today was insane with crowds of people coming to the deli for food. So much for social distancing.

But as a grocery store, we are essential. People need food throughout this so I will continue to go to work and do the best job I can. 

The anxiety about going into work today made me physically sick last night. My pain levels have been much higher. Though I am thankful that, for the most part, our customers have been kind.

If you know someone who is an essential worker, please keep us in your thoughts. Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers are on the front lines, caring for those who are ill. The rest of us are trying to keep people fed and supplied. We are open, we have things and we'll continue on throughout this ordeal.

Dragon Con is Coming - Some Helpful Advice Before the Con!

Dragon Con is about a month away and since I'm in 10+ Dragon Con groups on Facebook, my feed has been all Dragon Con, all the time.

This is my 12th Dragon Con so I'm definitely a veteran congoer. So I thought I'd address some of the topics that keep coming up.

1) Sheraton and Legionnaire's Disease

The big news this year is that the Sheraton, one of Dragon Con's host hotels - the one everyone has to go to at least once because that's where badge pickup is - had confirmed cases of Legionnaire's disease. This is understandably freaking people out - especially people with hotel reservations there and disabled folks, since Sheraton is where Disability Services is usually located. 

I've seen the same news posts shared over a dozen times, and even in the last few days people are posting like it's new. This has been going on for a few weeks - if anyone scrolled in just about any of the Dragon Con groups they'd see a post about it.

Unfortunately all any of us can do is wait and see. Supposedly, they are cleaning it up as we speak and say that it should only be closed until August 11th. Freaking out isn't going to help anyone and posting the same information over and over is annoying.

2) Dragon Con Parade

I love the Dragon Con Parade! It's one of my all-time favorite things to do at Dragon Con. I sadly had to miss marching in the parade last year since I was recovering from kidney stone surgery. I was at the con, just not up to the parade.

Lots of newbies are apparently discovering the parade and wanting to join in. In years past, this was totally possible. Sadly this is no longer the case.

Parade signups opened on February 15th and the parade was completely full a few hours within signups being open. If you didn't make it in, you went on the wait list. Several months ago, the folks in charge closed the wait list because it was so darn long.

Lots of groups will sign up for spots, and if you miss out, finding a group that will work with your costume that has open spots is the only way to go right now. But as we get closer to the con, those groups will be giving their empty spots back to the parade officials so they can try to get more people off the wait list.

When I realized that I couldn't march last year, I made sure to let the head of the parade know so she could give someone my spot. 

But if you are new to Dragon Con, I highly recommend that you watch the parade at least once. I think it gives you a unique perspective before walking in it yourself. I watched the parade the first couple of years I went to Dragon Con and then I've walked in the parade for many years. I'll be in the Disney section this year cosplaying as Snow White.

3) Selling Badges

Like I said above, I've been going to Dragon Con a long time. In the olden days, you could sell and transfer your badge if there was a reason you couldn't come. But that policy was ended many years ago - I did a quick google search and it looks like 2012 was when they became nontransferable.

But in the last week or so, I've seen several posts in Dragon Con groups asking how to sell a badge because said person could no longer attend for whatever reason. Most of the reasons seem to be because said person couldn't afford it.

I've heard there are some extreme circumstances where Dragon Con let a person move their membership to the next year, but that's like natural disaster stuff. Not "I can't afford it" stuff.

There was one tonight who really didn't like the "you can't" answer that people were giving her. She even brought up the fact that Dragon Con will let you have someone else pick up your badge if they have a note and copy of your id. But that's for like people who have a late flight and can't get to badge pickup while they are open. If you did that and the person just kept the badge, it's a clear violation of Dragon Con's rules.

Dragon Con has made it very clear that anyone caught buying or selling badges will get a lifetime ban to the con. Yeah, it sucks being out of that money, but I certainly wouldn't want to risk being banned for life. This was also why I went to Dragon Con last year a week and a half after I had surgery. 

It's very clear on the terms and conditions that Dragon Con memberships are nontransferable and nonrefundable. If you can't go, I'd email Dragon Con to see if anything can be done. But be prepared to just eat the cost of the badge. Skirting the rules doesn't seem worth it to me.

Beyond these specific things, remember to shower at least once a day, eat a few real meals a day, get some sleep, shower and use deodorant! Drink lots of water because it's hot in Atlanta in August / September. Always follow Wheaton's Law (Don't Be A Dick!) and remember there is no earthly way to see everything Dragon Con has to offer. But have fun!

Dragon Con 2018 - Sunday!

This is the 3rd and final post of my Dragon Con 2018 recaps, to start at the beginning click here!

The Sunday of Dragon Con last year was a special one, because it was Emily's first full day at Dragon Con. She had been begging for several years to go, but because we tend to wait in line a lot at Dragon Con, Todd was hesitant to bring her. Since she was almost 10, we both felt it was time.

We started by getting me into the disability chairs for the Evangeline Lily autograph line. Then Todd and Emily made the trek to the Sheraton to get her badge. We had to wait a while for her to show up - thankfully we had the foresight to have Emily bring her tablet with her.

I was cosplaying as Anna from Frozen while Emily had her Pikachu costume on. She also had her Uma from Descendants shirt on because she wanted to wear it when she met the actress who played Uma.

Once Evangeline Lily arrived we were ushered back to meet her. We got to see Peter Capaldi (the 12th Doctor) since he was in the same area. Evangeline Lily was super sweet, especially to Emily. She had written a children's book and was giving the first one away with every autograph. We bought the 2nd one for Emily.

From there, we went up to the regular Walk of Fame so Emily and I could get our picture with Mandy to me. It was honestly the best celebrity interaction I've ever had!

Catherine Tate, who was awesome. She was super nice to Emily, gave her a free autograph and sang the song

After that, we went to the one place Emily had been dying to go to - the Dealer's Room! We stopped by the BPAL booth and Emily finally got to meet Beth and Ted's daughter, Lilith. Lilith is only a few months older than Emily is and they hit it off right away!

We wandered the dealer's room a while - I honestly don't remember what Emily bought but she got some things. Though the thing she still talks about is how another congoer actually gave her a Pokeball with a tiny stuffed Pikachu in it. She was amazed and very  happy about that!

We got in line for China Anne McClain, who plays Uma, and waited, and waited. After about 15 minutes, I was starting to fade so I asked a volunteer for a chair. They quickly got me one which helped a lot. In the end I think we waited over an hour for her because the time on her table was not correct.

We were about to leave when she finally showed up and we were so glad we stayed. Sadly she wasn't doing table pictures but we got her autograph. She loved Emily's Uma shirt and gave Em a hug and a fist bump. Emily was more than a little starstruck!

Emily and I went to wait in the disability corral for the Catherine Tate panel. She was again, hilarious! We were going to stay for Mikey Mason's concert but after the panel I was completely out of spoons so we headed back to my aunt and uncle's house.

I had a good time at Dragon Con 2018, and I was so grateful for disability services. I would not have made it without all the chairs. I wouldn't recommend having surgery right before con, but I'm glad it worked out in the end.

This year will be better. I'll be back in the parade and Emily will be coming with us on Sunday again!

Thoughts on Fat Thor (Avengers:Endgame Spoilers!)

I've seen Avengers: Endgame twice now - I loved it, and I'll probably go see it again. But I keep seeing posts about the direction that Endgame took Thor. Thor has never been my favorite Avengers but I had some thoughts I thought I'd share.

Spoilers for Endgame - don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled!!

I thought Thor was brilliant and not a joke. It was a bit of shock for sure to see him all fat and drunk, but honestly it made a lot of sense for me.

Thor has had it rough. Both of his parents died, his mother died violently. Seemingly Loki is dead for good this time. Heimdall was murdered in front of him by Thanos, right after Asgard was destroyed with more death, including two of his friends from the Warriors Three.

Thor was struggling in Infinity War, but trying to put a brave face on it. After the Snap, he just fell into the depths of some serious PTSD. And instead of seeking out help, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

Beyond the first scene in new Asgard, no jokes were really made about him. Yeah, Tony make the Big Lewbowski comment, but that was just Tony being Tony. Rocket was not very gentle with him, but Rocket was hyper focused on the mission because he lost everything too.

The scene with Thor and his mom was brilliant, even the "eat a salad" line, because that isn't a joke - it's such a mom thing to say. She was super concerned about him, both mentally and physically.

And then Thor begging to be the one to snap everyone back, just showed how bad his PTSD was. The guilt he had and his overwhelming need to fix it. It showed what a complex character Thor was, and let's be honest, he was a bit one-dimensional in the beginning.

In the end, Thor is still a bit lost. I think him going with the Guardians will be good for him, though may annoy Peter to no end. His fatness was just a symptom of his overwhelming conflicted mental state.

As someone who is fat and has mental illness, I thought he was well done. His teammates didn't mock him, but I'm sure where concerned. 

Scheduling and Children

Things are different now than when I grew up in the 1980's. I remember walking to school in elementary, and it was a bit of a walk. I remember playing outside all day in the summertime. I do remember a lot of days playing on the original NES too, but electronics weren't a prevalent back then. One thing that seems to be overdone these days is extracurricular activities.

Kids are often scheduled with scouts, and sports, and other things to the point that it can make both kids and parents crazy. Add in more kids, and the crazy goes up for the parents. Back in the day, I did play soccer and softball. It wasn't my choice to do those things, because I suck horribly at sports. I also was a Campfire Girl, but that was an activity I loved. But it wasn't too much that I didn't have any free time.

I knew when I had Emily that I wasn't going to over schedule her. She's ten and in the 4th grade. She's in Girl Scouts, chorus at school and involved with choir and youth group at church. All of these activities are things she really enjoys doing. I've asked her if she wants to do a sport, gymnastics or karate and she has said no every time.

With school chorus, I did make her join because she was on the fence. I knew she would love it and she does. Beyond that, I give her the option continue with all of them, and she wants to.

I suppose some would say that I'm not making her well-rounded by not making her do a sport, but I can understand why she doesn't want to. She's just not a sporty girl, and tends to be more interested in the arts - just like I was as a kid.

Even with this little amount of groups she is involved in, it seems like we are constantly on the go during the school year - especially in December and May. I can't imagine if we added more to it.

Last night at Girl Scouts, several other parents and I had a discussion about activities. One said that she is fine with her daughter joining activities but even if she doesn't like it, she has to stick it out for the season. I think this is a good rule to have, especially with sports. Yeah, rec leagues aren't super serious but you could still put your team at a disadvantage if you quit in the middle of the season.

And then another one was talking about being on traveling teams. Apparently there are some teams you can get your kid on and they travel all over. From what they said, it can eat up all of your weekends with traveling to meets. That sounds like a nightmare to me, and completely not doable for our family since both Todd and I work on the weekends.

For now, I think we have a good home-school-activity balance going on for Emily. This summer, she'll have VBS at church and then she'll be going to Girl Scout camp twice. Once for the week and one overnight with me that she earned selling cookies.

Do you think your kids are over-scheduled?

Momo and the Evils of the Internet

So, my Facebook feed has been filled with this really creepy picture of a creature called Momo the last few days. Supposedly, this creature had been spotted in YouTube videos, basically telling kids to self harm and even kill themselves.

To me, it had the feel of a hoax, but I asked Emily about it. She had heard about it but hadn't seen it in any videos she's watched. Though she tends to only watch verified YouTube accounts like DanTM. She mostly watches DanTM, which I don't mind him but Todd finds it annoying.

I asked her what she would do if someone on YouTube, like Momo, told her to commit suicide. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that, of course, she wouldn't listen. I showed her the picture of Momo and she was also unfazed by that. Honestly I was more creeped out by it than she was, to the point that she found a bunch of pictures of Momo on her tablet and kept trying to show them to me to freak me out.

In the midst of this uproar, I've seen posts from other parents that say they aren't going to let their kids watch YouTube anymore. Of course, it's up to them but I think it's an overreaction. I watch a lot of YouTube too, though for me it's mostly Disney World vlogs. There is a lot of great content on YouTube.

But this kind of goes back to the old adage that the internet is evil. Social media, too, is supposedly not a good thing either. I honestly get really tired of hearing both of those. Neither is evil, the internet and social media are really quite neutral. They can be used for good, they can be used for evil, though I do think that different sites and platforms try to keep the evil at bay as best they can.

The internet is an incredible tool. As someone with chronic pain, it allows me to have contact with people even when I'm not able to leave the house (or my bed in some cases). And I don't think there is any reason to keep kids off the internet.

It may be because I only have one kid, but I tend to know exactly what Emily is watching or playing. I've sat through god knows how many unboxing videos on YouTube and I do like watching some of the video game walkthroughs with her. I also let her have her own YouTube channel - I'm the one who puts up her videos. She doesn't have a lot of followers - it's pretty much a couple of my friends and a couple of hers. But she'll film her own walkthroughs and do unboxings. She enjoys it and loves to be able to call herself a YouTuber.

In the end, I think if we keep up with what our kids are watching and playing, and have honest communication with them, things will be ok. Though I'd be happy if I didn't have to see that Momo picture again! It is really creepy!

Disney and the Yearly Price Hikes

Mickey wants your money!

It's a new year so it's time for a price hike from Disney. Disney Parks, especially Disneyland and Walt Disney World are extremely popular vacation destinations for fans of all ages. If you've read this blog before, you'll know that I'm a huge Disney fan and love going to the parks.

The price hikes don't bother me. Yes, it may cause me longer to save for my next trip. It doesn't effect my trip in December since I'm already book at the old prices. But I'll pay more to have less crowds, and crowds are just going to go up.

I had planned on going to Disney World last month to experience the holidays, Disney-style. I wanted to go in 2018 because I knew the clusterf*** that is going to be Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge this year. But kidney stones made it that I had to reschedule for this year.

I am looking forward to going. If Galaxy's Edge is open, I look forward to trying to see that area. I told Emily today that if it is open, we are getting to the park before opening. She seemed indifferent. We'll see how it is when I wake her up at 5 am for our Hollywood Studios day!

But until Disney announces the open date for the Star Wars expansion at Hollywood Studios, it's just planning just in case. But, my point is, that Star Wars is coming and the rides look amazing.
This land is going to appeal to many a Star Wars fan who may come to see it without being a Disney fan.

I remember when Pandora: The World of Avatar opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom. For a movie that wasn't half as popular as Star Wars was, the crowds to see the new land were insane for a long time. With something as beloved as Star Wars, the crowds are going to be even worse.

So that goes back to the price hikes. While it's something that happens every year at this time, I think they have a few things in mind. Maybe this will price some people out and it might decrease the crowds. Though I don't have a whole lot of hope for that. But Disney could also probably use the money. They are putting in all kinds of new rides in the parks (in Disney World - and I'm sure in other parks, but Disney World is my park so I focus on their news). Disney World is gearing up for their 50th Anniversary in 2021, and it's going to be a big deal. And they want as many new attractions as they can by then.

And of course there is a big chunk of change they are spending on acquiring Fox. I'm only speculating, but that could have something to do with it as well.

Any of the Disney Parks are expensive, but people seem to think that Disney should be cheap because Disney should be a rite of childhood. And while it can be a rite of childhood - it certainly was for me - that doesn't mean that people are entitled to a Disney trip.

I know I'm lucky and Emily's lucky. I went to Disney World twice as a kid - once when I was 9 and once when I was 16. Emily will have three trips come December and she'll only be 11. I foresee at least a couple more while she is still a child. Todd also went a bunch when he was a kid - 3 trips, I think. He had a grandmother who lived in FL so his family would visit and go to Disney.

Disney isn't cheap though it's not too bad when it's just me and Emily going. But only having one kid is definitely a perk when it comes to travel. But if you really want it, there are a lot of ways to save. I'm a on Facebook group that's called Couponing to Disney that has lots of different ways to help you save for a Disney vacation.

Some people may never be able to afford a Disney vacation and that's sad. And says more about the state of our country, I think, than Disney. I feel very lucky that I can go to Disney every three years or so. It's my favorite place in the world. But I save, and I book my trip as soon as I can to lock in prices because lately the prices have been going up a couple times a year.

Yes, it probably will take your average American family a few years to save for a Disney vacation, but it's possible. Barring any apocalyptic / doomsday scenarios, Disney will still be there and if you can take your kids, I know it will be magical!

Dragon Con 2018 - Saturday

Me and Tom Cavanagh 

This is the 2nd post of my Dragon Con 2018 recaps, to start at the beginning click here! 

Even thought I wasn't going to be in the parade, we still headed down to the con pretty early. We were going to get some autographs and then leave the con to do some other things.

We got in line to meet Tom Cavanagh who plays Dr. Wells in The Flash tv series. We had to wait for a while, but finally he showed up. He was really nice, and I got my picture with him.

Next we met Mike Coulter who plays Luke Cage in the Netflix Marvel shows. He was also super nice. We got a picture with him and wow, he smelled good. He's a nice looking man and I was a little swoony after

Me and Mike Coulter

him. Thankfully Todd is not a jealous husband!

We met Catherine Tate who is Donna in Doctor Who and got our autograph. She was awesome! She is my Doctor Who companion so I was excited to meet her. We did tell her we'd be back with our daughter the next day for a picture. 

The last person we met was also a Doctor Who guest. It was Pearl Mackie who plays companion Bill Potts. She was in a separate room - same room as the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi. He had a long line but she didn't. We got to talk to her for several minutes and got our picture with her. She was super nice and very tall!

After that, the con was getting crowded so we headed off. We took the train to the Center for Puppetry Arts. The only issue was that the museum was several blocks away from the train and it took us about 15 minutes to walk there. I was feeling pretty tired, but we got our

tickets and went into the museum.

The first place we went was the new Dark Crystal exhibit. They had all kinds of puppets from that movie, and it was so cool. Dark Crystal is one of childhood favorites. So seeing those was really a blast from my childhood. Todd's too.

We went to the other exhibits afterwards. They had historical puppets and puppets from different areas of the world. They also had a whole section that was just Jim Henson's Muppets. It was really cool! We got to see Big Bird and Kermit and I nearly cried when I saw Emmett Otter and his Ma. I wasn't expecting that and I love that show. They also had a replica of Jim Henson's office. Just all the puppets I've ever loved in my life in one spot!

Todd and I agreed that we would need to take Emily there at some point too. It didn't take us long to tour the whole museum but it was beyond cool.

After that, we went to the mall. Hit up the Disney store and a few others before heading back. I was not feeling great so I need to rest up for our last day at the con!

Up Next - Sunday!

The Date Rape Christmas Song

image: www.misskatecuttables.com

It's Christmastime in 2018 and the Christmas song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is in the news again. A radio station in Cleveland has banned the song saying in this day and age of the #MeToo movement it's not appropriate.

Now, I don't really have any strong feeling about this song, though I have been internally calling it the Date Rape Christmas Song for a few years since if you listen to the lyrics, it's kind of rapey. At least, listening to it in 2018 it can be viewed that way.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" was written in 1944 - over 70 years ago! The world was a lot different back then. Women had a lot less freedom in general back then, and the woman in the song is seemingly making excuses in order to stay longer with her date.

Thankfully, things have gotten better for woman. We get to wear pants, and have a variety of jobs. We have a lot more freedom, though not as much as we ought to have. And we still need to worry about things like date rape. The #MeToo movement has highlighted the issues women still have today.

I don't mind listing to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" if it comes on the radio. But it's not a song I would put on the Christmas playlist I have on my phone. There is only Christmas song I hate, and it's that wretched "Christmas Shoes" song - hate that song so much!

Any radio station can do what they want. If someone really likes that song, there are a gazillion versions of it out there. And maybe before banning something, you should consider the time frame that the song was written. But, of course, if you dislike any song, don't make yourself listen to it!

Dragon Con 2018 - Friday

Because of my kidney stone surgery, Todd had to switch his days off so he had to work the Thursday before Dragon Con. We got up in the middle of the night on Friday, got our car loaded up and headed down to GA.

We got Emily dropped off at my aunt and uncle's house, I got changed into my Alice Angel costume and we were on our way down to the con by 9:30 am. I was a little worried about several things. Mostly my stamina and partly my costume. My character is from the video game "Bendy and the Ink Machine" and it's honestly the shortest, most cleavage bearing, sexiest costume I have ever worn.

But it ended up being comfortable, and my dress had deep pockets which was great. And someone knew who I was on the train down to the con! Several people during the day knew who I was, and one person even asked for my picture!

We made it to the con and walked to the Sheraton to get our badges. The walk isn't long but it involves a giant hill of doom. But we waited about a minute to get our badges, and I got to see my friend, Jessica because she was volunteering at badge pick up. We then went to disability services to get my sticker. I always get the 'seat in line, end of row' sticker and it always helps my con be better. But I could not have done Dragon Con this year without it and the many chairs that it let me sit in.

From there, we went to the Peachtree Center to get some food. They are renovating the Peachtree Center and it's a massive project, suppose to take 18 months. The seating was a lot less and the ceiling was completely open so you could see wires and tubes. Because of the ceiling it was much darker than usual. Every time we went in there, it was post apocalyptic food court, which kind of fits for Dragon Con.

After we ate, we headed to the dealer's room. I went right to the BPAL booth and talked to Beth (the owner of BPAL) mostly and got some hugs. Todd had wandered off because he knows that I tend to spend some time there just gabbing. None of my non-labbie friends were there, so I also wandered off.

When we were in the food court, I hadn't been able to eat much. The kidney stone had made me so sick before surgery that I hadn't eaten really anything for a week. My stomach was still recovering

Catherine Tate!

from that. But as I was walking around the dealer's room, I started feeling really light headed and felt a little freaked that Todd wasn't answering his phone.

But finally I got a hold of Todd, met up with him, and then headed over to the Walk of Fame, where you get to meet the celebrities and can get autographs and selfies. The Walk of Fame wasn't open up yet, but the line had formed to get in so we joined the line. As soon as it was 1 pm, the line started moving and we got in.

There wasn't a lot of people there yet, but Nick Frost was right by the entrance and had almost no line so we got his autograph. We took a lap around the room, seeing who was there and if there were signs on when other people were going to be there.

Gina Torres had a sign on her table and she was going to be there in a couple of hours. I had time to go upstairs for the Catherine Tate panel. I wanted to see the panel but I also really wanted to sit down too.

When I got to the handicap corral, I saw my friend Joey and her husband Matt. I talked her to her some, and got a badge ribbon from her. She had decked out her scooter with a unicorn and also had cosplay repair supplies. She had a giant D20 that I got to roll too!

I got to sit down and it was so nice. Once we got loaded into the room, I sat by Joey and her husband. When they let in the regular line, we saw more friends - Chris and Tina so they sat next to us too! It was fun! I generally don't see friends that much at Dragon Con, let along have anyone I know to sit next to.

Catherine Tate was a hoot! So funny and nice! While I had been waiting for her panel, Todd had gotten her autograph, but I would get to meet her on Sunday. I slipped out early and found Todd in line for Gina Torres.

We were in line for a while, but we were by someone I had kind of known online. Chuck, who is the mod for the unofficial Dragon Con Facebook, was in line right by Todd. I asked him if he had any of the over 40 badge ribbons (which is another Facebook group) and he did! We ended up talking him about quite a few things while we waited for Gina to arrive.

She did and we got the last autograph we needed for my Firefly poster! She was super sweet and I was super, duper geeked to meet her!

After that, Todd came with me to the con suite. He said he wasn't going to do it again because it involves climbing stairs, but I was happy to have some snacks and another chair to put my butt in.

We went back to the dealer's room, but I was shedding spoons like crazy at that point. I hadn't slept very well the night before and I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion. So we headed back to my aunt and uncle's house.

Despite the lack of stamina, I had a really good day. I basically took a shower and then passed out once. I slept for nearly 10 hours, and that helped a lot!

• Up Next - Saturday!

The Summer of the Kidney Stone

Image - dinodaloo.blogspot.com

Kidney stones kind of took over my summer, and admittedly the 2nd part of the saga was partly my own fault.

I've already written the beginning of the story in a couple of other post. The pain started when I was at Camp Thanks a Lot with Emily and then I ended up in the ER right before our Michigan trip.

When I was in the ER, they told me there was another stone just hanging out. I kind of forgot about it after the whirlwind Michigan trip, though I did go off soda and started drinking a lot of water and lemonade. I had read that sometimes lemonade can cause stones to reduce in size.

I made it about a month and a half before stone number #2 started its' journey. I had been working and all of a sudden, I had intense pain in my side again. I still had medicine from the ER, so I got logged out of work and took the medicine.

It didn't stay down, so I tried again, and again, I was unable to keep it down. It was a Saturday and Todd and Emily had been out shopping. Once they got home, we were off to the ER again. And it was the 2nd stone - they gave me medicine and another prescription and sent me home to call a urologist on Monday.

This stone was different and the pain didn't go away. I started a cycle of pain, take medicine, go to sleep once the pain was a little less, then wake up and start it again. It was wretched. I got an appointment for Tuesday, and the urologist gave me some options. The main option was to have a procedure done that would break up the stone so I could pass it, but the machine that did that was only available on Mondays.

So home I went again to go through the pain cycle. And it was only a day or two after that I got a call from the office that the break up procedure wasn't an option and I would have to have surgery to get the mega awful stone out. And I'd have to have a stent in for a couple of days.

While I was pretty upset by this news, I was also really ready to not be in horrible pain anymore. Thankfully, as the week went on, the stone moved some so the pain was much more bearable. Todd took the day off and he and Emily went with me to the hospital to have surgery. Surgery went fine, though I really hated the stent. Totally annoying and by the end, it was painful.

Also surgery took place a week and a half before Dragon Con. We still went to the con, and I'll get into how this effected my con when I write my recap posts.

Todd and Emily were great while I was dying of kidney stones. And they even got me a bear - they gave it to me after I woke up from surgery.

As of now, I'm trying to be as proactive as possible. My urologist is having me do some tests to figure out how to avoid the formation of stones in the future. My stone was strangely formed and chances are I'll have to go on medicine and cut down on my salt intake.

I'll do it, even though I love salt. I don't want to go through that again. Kidney stones are more painful than childbirth!

Michigan Trip 2018 - Part Two

To read the first post of this series, click here!

We got up bright and early, got the car loaded up and then went to Denny's with my dad for some breakfast before we made the trek across the state. We opted to not visit with my (Great) Aunt Jackie who lives in Bay City because I still wasn't feeling great.

We did stop in Mt. Pleasant / Central Michigan University but it was mostly just a potty break. We got to Todd's parents in the afternoon, and soon after we arrived, Emily's cousins came over. We gave them their birthday / Christmas presents and Emily got presents too from my brother and sister in law.

The kids played until it was time for dinner which was steaks and a variety of sides. The kids sat in the living room and the adults, including Todd's grandmother, ate in the dining room. Emily and her cousins get along really well, so they had a lot of fun.

After dinner, we went over to Todd's brother's house. The kids wanted to go swimming in their pool so they did that for a while. I got in for a bit too because it was really hot

out and I love swimming. It also gave Todd a chance to hang out with his brother for a while.

We went back to Todd's parent's house and watched some tv before heading to bed. I was pretty wiped because the drive across the state is long, especially after only have a couple of days without driving at my dad's house.

The next day, Emily's cousins (also my niece and nephew but it's easier to say Emily's cousins) spent the whole day at Todd's parent's house. They played with toys, worked on putting together the Pokemon lego-type set we had gotten Austin, and had a water fight.

The children had asked Todd and I to join in the water fight. We had these squirter things, and the kids took the long ones which held more water. Todd and I were stuck with shorter ones, and the kids, of course, targeted the adults. I got really soaked!

Todd and I quit after a while so the kids chased each other. They got bored of the squirter and switched to water balloons after a while. They all got wet but had a lot of fun.

We had another yummy dinner, and then went out to get ice cream. The Thumb of Michigan is an odd place. There can be fields for miles - all that you can see besides the many windmills that dot the landscape. And then all of a sudden there is a little church or store, with nothing else near it. It's weird to me.

The ice cream place was one of these and it was packed! Of course, it was the day before the 4th and very hot out. We got our ice cream and ate it up, then headed back to Todd's parent's house. Em's cousins went home and we watched some tv before turning in.

We got up early again, because it was the day that Todd and I were driving home. Emily stayed for another week and a half - she had a great time.

The drive was pretty uneventful, though we did stop at Red State BBQ in Lexington, KY. We had eaten there when we went to Lexington Comic Con in March and had discovered our route to and from Michigan took us right past there.

They were packed but we got a seat, and had yummy, yummy bbq nachos before we got back on our way. We did see some fireworks from the highway after it had gotten dark, which was a bit fun.

It was a whirlwind trip, like we normally have but it was good to see our family!

Michigan Trip 2018 - Part One

The story of our Michigan trip starts a few days before we left. I mentioned in my last blog post that I had been suffering from cramps that I thought was ovulation related. But two days before we left to drive up to Michigan, I got very sick. The pain in my right side was off the charts and I couldn't keep anything down.

I had sat in the bathroom for a while, and when Todd got home from work, I made the decision to go to the ER. Todd woke up Emily and off we went. We spent several hours in the ER - an actual emergency came in after they had put in a room so it took them a while to get me some drugs. And the stuff they gave me at first didn't touch the pain so it was morphine time.

They did a CAT scan and it was a kidney stone that I was close to passing. So they gave me all the drugs, told me I should pass it soon and sent me home. I spent the majority of the next day sleeping but once I woke up, the pain was gone. My arms were super sore though, from all the heaving I had done, so Emily had to help me pack.

But we got everything packed up and we left in the middle of the night on June 30th. Todd drove and I napped since I was still really wiped. We got to my dad's house, got our

stuff unloaded and then went to meet my friend Rebecca - we were good friends in high school and are still Facebook friends We ate at the Russ' that was near the house I grew up in, and it was exactly the same as it was when I grew up. It was nice to hang out with Rebecca!

Once we were done with dinner, we went back to my dad's house and he was home - he had been in Bay City for the day. We talked with him and just hung out watching a movie. I was getting really tired so I ended up going to bed.

The next day, we got up and got ready to go to the beach. We swam and Emily played in the sand. Todd ended up having to go stand in the shade because even with sunscreen, his poor ginger self was

getting burnt up. As we were leaving, Emily stepped on a stick and got a sliver / cut on her foot. She was very upset about this.

We went back to my dad's house, got showered, checked out Emily's foot and got a bandaid on it. Then we went to Captain Sundae for ice cream. I was starting not to feel very good, so I skipped the ice cream. We went back to my dad's house and I took one of my pain pills because I was having pain in my side again. I took a nap and I felt much better after I woke up.

Todd and I went to the movies at the theater I spent a lot of time at when I was younger. We went and saw Incredibles 2 since Todd hadn't seen it yet. We don't get a lot of time without Emily so it was nice to go on a date night.

We turned in early again because we had a long drive in the morning to go to Todd's parent's house.

Up Next - Michigan Trip 2018 - Part Two!