Tuesday, August 26, 2014

30 Days of Lists Blog Hop


I am very excited to share this 30 Days of Lists blog hop with all of you today! If you read my Monday Mix Up yesterday, you know that I signed up for the latest round of 30 Days of Lists, which starts September 1st. I have done almost every round of this, but never finished one, so I'm hoping that this round will be my first completed one :)

Today we were asked by Amy and Kam to go back to a past listing challenge, choose one of the prompts, and make a list. Its a nice little warm up to September, don't you think? I chose the prompt, Today's Playlist, and this is what my list looks like:

Pika wanted in on the listing action too :) 

My playlist is pretty small- I don't listen to too much radio if I'm not in my car. Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX round out the songs I heard this morning, plus the Simpsons theme song. I have been watching the marathon on FXX for the past few days when I get the chance, and I love it. 

I hope you've enjoyed my list and little peak into what 30 Days of Lists is like. I hope to post my lists weekly once the challenge gets started, so hopefully I can keep up with it. I look forward to seeing what all the other ladies are going to do as well. Just by checking out the other posts from today's blog hop (you can check them out here), I can tell I am in some very talented company :)

Mage Food- Meatloaf

Its been a while since I've posted a recipe. I have been trying to cook more, so I suspect more recipes will be making an appearance around here :) Today's recipe is for meatloaf, and I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a meatloaf fan. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But my husband is, so I thought I'd try my hand at making one for the first time ever the other day. I combined a couple of different recipes to make it my own, and I have to say, this is a meatloaf I would actually eat again. I apologize for the lack of photos, but I'm sure you all know what a meatloaf looks like :)

Ingredients:

For the loaf:
*1lb lean ground beef
*1/2 cup of bread crumbs (I used plain bread crumbs, but you can use the flavored kind)
*1/4 cup ketchup
*1/2 teaspoon onion powder
*1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon pepper
*1 egg

For the glaze:
*1/3 cup ketchup
*2 tablespoons mustard (I used just a basic yellow, but again, its your choice)
*2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your baking pan. I put aluminum foil in mine and it made clean up a breeze. Pan type is your preference, but I used a small glass loaf pan to cook mine. If you have talent (which I don't), you can use a regular cookie sheet and shape your loaf right on it.

Combine all your loaf ingredients in a medium or large bowl. Make sure its all mixed together really well. Then put your mixture onto your tray or into your pan.

Mix your glaze ingredients in a small bowl, making sure the sugar gets really well blended. Then spread your glaze over the top of your loaf.

Bake your meatloaf for about an hour, or until you can see that your meat is firm and cooked all the way (I put a lot of sauce on mine, so I cooked mine for a little longer, just to  make sure).

Pull it out of the oven and enjoy :)

If you try this recipe, let me know!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Monday Mix Up #22

Where have these been?!? Its been months since a Monday Mix Up has been done. I have been slacking.....there is just no other reason.

I've been in a bit of a midyear slump, I suppose. Most of the New Year's goals I've set for myself are more than likely not going to happen, plus some other personal things have been taking their toll. So keeping in line with some changes that I'm looking to make to get out of my slump- here is a little list to help procrastinate your Monday and maybe jump start any changes you've been wanting to make :)


*Spicy Tuna Melts from A Beautiful Mess.
I made these the other day and they were delicious!

 
I have signed up to do the September 30 Days of Lists
Sign up before Sept. 1st and you receive an awesome digital listing kit. 
Amy and Kam always do a great job with these projects- I can't wait for this one to start!

If you're like me, and need a little nudge when it comes to cleaning, 
Clean Mama can help you out! Her free printable gives you a schedule
that helps you stay on track. 

If you ever feel lost at the grocery store, this list from 
The Every Girl is a pretty good start. Adjust as needed to fit your family size.


This shirt from Mulberry Press Co is awesome.
Sometimes its easy to give up on your dreams. 
You shouldn't.


Shake It Off- Taylor Swift
Its just so catchy! Its great for motivating you to keep going.

And this isn't goal oriented, but sometimes you need a little fun too! This is a Cards Against Humanity inspired game based on John and Hank Green. Super fun for the Nerdfighters out there! Visit this site to print your copy of the cards.


Happy Monday! I hope you all have an incredible week :)



Friday, August 22, 2014

Poppin' Off- Let's Be Cops

As always, there may or may not be spoilers, so if you're not into that kind of thing, you may want to skip this post until after you've seen the movie.


Let's Be Cops stars Damon Wayans Jr and Jake Johnson as two dudes living in LA, feeling pretty down on themselves. They go to a college alumni masquerade dressed as cops as a misunderstanding to the invitation. As they're walking around after that party and they see how people respond to them in uniform, the idea is born for them to pretend to be cops. Hilarious hijinks ensue, then things get a little crazy and yes, one of them does end up being a cop for real. It has a very 21 Jump Street vibe, complete with Rob Riggle! My sister-in-law felt like the movie was a long episode of The New Girl, but I stopped watching that show after season one, so I don't know. I think the movie is worth spending theater prices on, especially if you're in need of a good laugh.

Have you seen it? Did you enjoy it?

Friday, August 15, 2014

Poppin' Off- Summer Movies Vol. 2

Happy Friday! I've had the opportunity to go to the movies a few more times this summer, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on these summer movies. There will probably be spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Lucy-



Lucy stars Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman and some other guys you probably don't care about. The premise is an interesting one- a drug that can open the human mind to its full potential. What wasn't interesting? Pretty much the entire movie. It was a lot of Scarlett Johansson regurgitating her role as Black Widow, minus the rest of the Avengers and with the facial expressions of Kristen Stewart in any Twilight movie. Morgan Freeman seemed to make the movie lag on more than it did already, someone probably should have played his role as a professor (who is coincidentally giving a lecture about what could happen if humans had the capacity to use their whole brain. hmm....). To me, the movie wasn't worth the movie theater expense, its much more a Redbox rental.

Guardians of the Galaxy-



This movie was amazing!!!! (More exclamation points!!!) There wasn't really a dull moment in the film, and while most Marvel films focus on a lot of action, and a little bit of comedy, this had both. Groot and Rocket stole the show for my kids, but as an ensemble I thought they were amazing all around. The soundtrack was also very good. The music wasn't overly modern, but it was modern enough that every age group could get a kick out of it. And I have a soft spot for mix tapes, they're virtually nonexistent now, so it was cool to see one in a movie today. I'm ready for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 :) I would recommend this movie to everyone, its a must see. I know some people compared it to Star Wars, but I didn't really catch that vibe.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-



Okay, so I wasn't too sure I wanted to see this. I love the old Ninja Turtles cartoon. I love the old Ninja Turtles live action movies. I love the old Ninja Turtles rap done by Vanilla Ice. But I have kids that like the new Ninja Turtles cartoon and who now like the new Ninja Turtle movie. *sigh* The only super positive thing I have to say about this movie is that Michael Bay used the turtles' full  names. He didn't abbreviate them like the cartoon does, you know, because kids today are too stupid to say Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. Anyway, this movie is a huge love letter to Megan Fox, made Shredder look like something the Power Rangers would fight and didn't utilize Will Arnett like at all. He kind of just stood there, one more admirer for Megan Fox. Yuck. Also, you could tell that they were hoping you would see the movie in 3D, because it was obviously shot for 3D (if that makes sense). Like with any remake though, there were changes (a lot of them, in this case), and fans of the original will probably not be receptive to them. I will say, that for all the product placement and change, it wasn't quite the travesty I thought it was going to be. And, it provided my husband and I the perfect opportunity to show our children the original TMNT movies, which they also enjoyed (even though they said the turtles looked weird lol).


I'm still hoping to see the new Transformers and The Purge: Anarchy (I think they've made their way to the dollar theaters by now). My husband is my movie-going companion, but he saw those movies with other people, so now I need to find my way to the theater alone *eek*. Or maybe just wait until I can rent them, I don't know. What are your thoughts? Theater or wait to rent?

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Warlords of Draenor Stuff and Some More Child Neglect

Its Wednesday! Halfway through our week and guess what? Tomorrow is the cinematic reveal for Warlords of Draenor! Who's excited? I wanted to haul myself to Los Angeles to see it in person, but I'm sure the line will be out of this world long (everyone who is there, regardless of getting into the theater or not, will receive a beta key for WOD), so I guess I will be watching online instead.


You can log on to www.WorldofWarcraft.com to watch it or if you're feeling adventureous, go to the Theatre at Ace Hotel, 929 South Broadway in LA (doors open at 8:30am). For all the info (and to see a million comments from people who are butthurt about the screening's location) you can click here.

Also in WOD news, this article popped up on my Yahoo front page the other day, and I thought I'd share it with you. Its just some things to get done before the expansion, as they will be disappearing. Items include: green warlock fire (you can still get the fire, the title and feat of strength is what's vanishing) and the phoenix mounts from Pandaria challenge modes. 

Another World of Warcraft article came into my Yahoo front page just after the WOD one did, and this one is about child neglect (here is a link to what the DA released on the case....its nasty). I have written about WoW and child abuse/neglect before (you can read it here, if you feel so inclined), and my stance on the subject hasn't changed. What gets me about this one is that the parents are unemployed (so how are they paying for it? Welfare probably- your tax dollars at work if you live in CA), they locked the children in the mobile home for three years so nobody could see the squalor and deplorable conditions they were being subjected to and that the focus of the story was still that the parents were playing WoW while all this abuse and neglect was happening. I would bet almost anything that they would still be shitty parents living off the government even if they weren't glued to their computers. Its sad that people still blame video games for the actions of people, when they should really be blaming the people who are performing said actions. 


Sunday, August 10, 2014

SDCC- The Final Recap (a little photo heavy)

In my previous posts about SDCC, I basically ran down what I did each day I was in San Diego, but there were a few things I wanted to touch on a little more, so I figured I'd do a final recap and add a few pictures that I took with my phone (I really didn't take that many this year. I felt too awful). Also, I didn't get to do any of the off site stuff that's around the convention center this year (except Nerd HQ) and that sucked. There was a lot of cool stuff out there to do and see. But I did get to go to panels and the podcasts, which I haven't been able to do in the past. So while I felt like I wasted a lot of time this year, I don't think I did. It was just a different experience.

The first thing I wanted to write about was House of Blues (like that first post wasn't enough, right?). This wasn't a SDCC sanctioned event, but it happened during that time and I am still sorely disappointed with how they handled, or really didn't handle, the harassment my husband and I dealt with at the podcast. I have been to concerts at other HOB venues and at even the first inkling of trouble, the security guards have stepped in to intervene. So why it didn't happen this time, I don't know. Maybe they figured concerts get violent and podcasts don't? Or maybe they figured geek harassment is not as bad as concert-goer harassment? I mean, the security was lacking, not only in caring, but in numbers too. I think the venue should have known better. Anyone who had been to SD during Comic Con knows what the crowds are like, and they sold a certain amount of tickets, so they had exact numbers. I really enjoyed the podcast, but I don't know if I would see it again if they continue to do it there. 

Next up is Nerd HQ. This was my first year going to Nerd HQ and I was really impressed with it. Located in Petco Park, it was a free event that didn't require a SDCC badge. It had photo booths, panels that didn't cost money, video game demos, couches for relaxing and more. My husband and I were there mostly for the two Conversations for a Cause panels that we purchased tickets to. I really enjoyed my experiences there, although I saw online that some people didn't (mostly angry people wondering what the money raised during Zach's Indiegogo campaign went to since every station at Nerd HQ was sponsored, also some people were upset about not being able to get into the parties there). The only thing that was a little off-putting to me as a first timer was when someone would ask for an autograph or something in a panel, a price would be thrown at them. I get that the majority of what they're doing at Nerd HQ is for charity, but it was still a bit of a surprise. But I will say, that I can imagine running something like Nerd HQ must be stressful, and Zach never looked stressed, which I thought was amazing. He was always smiling, very friendly and polite to everyone. Even the staff and volunteers that were there were all very personable and cheerful, which is an amazing feat at a convention of that magnitude, not to mention a refreshing change of pace from some of the less than friendly vendors inside the convention. I don't regret purchasing panel tickets or photo ops, and I definitely hope that I get to spend more time at Nerd HQ next year. 

Also! The app they had for Nerd HQ was amazing! It is available for Apple and Android phones and was so helpful- in announcing when you could buy tickets to panels, when photo ops were happening....I hope they continue to use it next year. That app made my experience at Nerd HQ possible, not even joking.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the line situation inside the convention center. If you attended the convention this year, you probably noticed the increased presence of actual police officers walking the convention floor, not just security guards. You may not have noticed the increase of fire marshals walking the floor, but they were there, and constantly harassing the security guards to get the crowds in order. I wrote about my  first experience at the Blizzard booth where they had capped the line due to security and how frustrating that was. When we were walking the floor, I noticed they did that to a lot of the larger booths (think video games or comic book companies), but signings seemed to be exempt from it. There were many book signing lines that went right in the middle of the walkways and nothing was said to them about it. To me, the rules didn't make sense. On Sunday, I wanted to look at the We Love Fine booth that was way in a corner. I couldn't. Why? Because there was a security guard standing right next to the booth saying, "If you're not buying anything, you can't be here." I said,"How do I know if I want to buy anything if I can't stop to look at the shirts?" and he said, "That's not my problem. No standing around. No lingering. Fire marshal's rules." How that booth did any business is beyond me. The regulating of the booth lines and walkways just seemed to add more stress. There were more guards yelling, and I felt rushed in everything I did. I appreciate the fact that they seemed to care about how things were moving this year (I didn't hit too many huge traffic jams on the floor), but at the same time, I think there could've been other ways to handle it. Hopefully next year will be better, and I can actually look at things without being yelled at. 

I didn't get to hit the Hall H line, but I am interested in how that wristband system worked out. If any of you did it, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!


=====
And now for some pictures :)

Sanjay and Craig panel.

Alan Tudyk at Nerd HQ.

Norman Reedus, Robert Kirkman 
Skybound Panel.

Old fortune and Hearthstone token.

View from the bathrooms at
the Heroes Brewfest.

Those who arrive.....
(Did anyone else see Glenn hanging off the
 roof or was that just me?)

Felicia Day, Aisha Tyler, Wil Wheaton
at Nerd HQ.

Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton
<3

Saturday, August 9, 2014

SDCC- Sunday and Post-SDCC Monday

Sunday was a pretty good day. I actually felt well, it was our two year wedding anniversary (we've been together much longer though), I wore shorts so I didn't melt. Good day.

We started our day off at Nerd HQ. We had an early morning panel with Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day. I was so excited when I got tickets for this panel. Not to mention the fact that we managed to get pretty good seats for it too (third row, right in the middle!). Wil Wheaton was one of my earliest crushes in life, because I was a huge Star Trek TNG fan and I loved me some Wesley Crusher. And Felicia Day is a really good role model for girls I think, and I love The Guild, so I was glad to see her too (my husband was equally as glad, he thinks shes hot). They are the ultimate nerd couple to me. What is it that everyone says? I'd ship them so hard? Yeah. Anyway, the panel was amazing. Aisha Tyler moderated it because Zach had stuff to handle, and she is freaking hilarious. After the panel, we rushed to the photo booth area because we were told that they were doing a Smiles for Smiles photo op. Almost immediately, they said that Felicia Day wasn't going to, but Wil Wheaton would. This bummed my husband out, but the six year old in me was excited to be next to Wesley Crusher. So we stand in line some more and my Nerd HQ app goes off. It announces a photo op with Zachary Levi at the photo booth we are currently in line for. So everyone is like, WTF and the volunteers are like, yeah....Wil isn't going to do it after all. So that bummed me out, but we ended up taking a picture with Zach and he was just so nice. A lot of people started getting out of line after Zach was announced and waited for Nathan Fillion (who had a panel right after Wil and Felicia's), but there was never a Smiles for Smiles announced for him on Sunday, so I am curious if he came out and did one or not.



After the photo op, we ate at the taco stand they had in Nerd HQ. My husband had the nachos and he loved them, I had the Carne Asada tacos and they were alright. The meat was off, not true Carne Asada, and a little greasier than what I'm used to. It rained for a few minutes while we were there, then it cleared up like nothing had happened. When we finished eating, we went to the convention center and got in line for another panel in 6A. This time it was for Sanjay and Craig, the Nickelodeon cartoon.


We made it to the line pretty early, so we got good seats. The lady next to us was there to see an actor that was in Arrested Development, I had no idea he was a voice in the cartoon. We were there because Chris Hardwick voices Craig, the snake. We also found out that Matt Jones (Badger in Breaking Bad) is another voice actor in the cartoon. My kids love to watch Sanjay and Craig, so it was a neat panel. We got to see them table read two episodes, and they performed a version of the theme song made just for SDCC. Plus, they showed us an upcoming episode of the cartoon. I sat next to a girl who's boyfriend works on the show, he'd put together all the stuff they were showing on the screen. I let her know how much I liked it, and how much my kids enjoy the show. I imagine working on something like that must be stressful, so it might be nice for her boyfriend to know that people do appreciate it. At the end of the panel, they mentioned that they were doing a signing at the Nickelodeon booth, so a lot of us went over there. We didn't know that it was a ticketed signing, but because they'd mentioned it in the panel and so many of us showed up, Nickelodeon let us go through the line, which I thought was really nice of them.

I was pretty bummed to find out that the Sons of Anarchy panel in Hall H that was going on the same time as the Sanjay and Craig panel had been begging people to fill its seats though. We wanted to go to that because we love SOA, but we figured that because it was a Hall H event and we hadn't camped for it, there wasn't a snowball's chance that we'd get in. Later on in the day I was checking my Facebook, and a girl I'd gone to school with who was also at SDCC with her finance' had posted that they attended the panel- only because they were approached by SDCC staff. She said that they were begging people to fill the room! What?! Maybe it has something to do with that new wristband thing they were doing, I'm not sure. But if its like that next year, maybe I will attempt a Hall H panel. I would love to see what a big panel is like, even though I am still very happy with the two panels we did get into in 6A.

After that, I think we went back to the Blizzard booth. My husband wanted to get some more of those pins, and that's when we found out that they were trading them. They had a board set up where you could trade, or you could trade with other people that were standing around. I traded my gold Nobu (I think thats how you spell it) for a gold Sylvanas, and I was good. But my husband got all into it, and he was a trading machine. There was this guy there that I hung around with (and I'm horrible socially, I didn't even get his name), and he was explaining to me how things were working, how the people were operating, things like that. He was there observing. He'd gotten all the pins he wanted on Saturday, and was there on Sunday I think to see what kind of deals he could make with his extras, something that could be profitable (if you check eBay, those pins are very profitable right now). He did direct a guy to my husband that had a really rare gold pin (they were sold in blind bags, and then there were regular pins, and then their rarer golden counterparts), which I thought was cool. There was a lady that was frantic trying to get that pin, but she had tried to do a dirty deal with me earlier, and that guy didn't think that was right. I managed to get a rare gold pin from their toy dispenser though, which was awesome. If you bought tokens (they look like Hearthstone coins) and put them in this machine (they look like those machines you put quarters in for bouncy balls or stale candy at the store), you had a chance of getting these little dolls or the gold pin that also came with loot codes. I ended up with a lot of those little dolls, but it was almost closing time on Sunday and I tried the machine again and got my gold pin.




***All photos are from eBay. Search Blizzard Pins SDCC and the listings should come up.*** 


We stayed at the Blizzard booth until it was time to shut SDCC down. That was a strange experience, I've never been there as it was closing. It was a mad house really, and vendors were still selling stuff even after they were told to stop. Aside from being sick, SDCC was good. We stayed an extra night since it was our anniversary (and we didn't want to deal with post-con traffic). We ate at this place called Bootlegger for dinner. It was very good, but the sickness kicked in after I ate, and kinda ruined the rest of the night :(  We had the Crispy Deviled Eggs as an appetizer, then my husband had a BYOBurger and I had the Chicken and Waffles (I'm a sucker for chicken and waffles). 

On Monday, we didn't really do anything in SD. We left the hotel right at checkout time (12pm), then headed to Los Angeles. We stopped at Universal CityWalk to catch a movie and to eat (I was feeling eh that day, and wanted to be close to home before I ate anything). We saw Lucy- I'll review it soon, but eh. After that, he ate at Tommy's (tons of chili on everything) and I ate at the Flame Broiler (something safe for my tummy).  The rest of the trip home was smooth sailing, and I felt relieved to be back in our smoggy, hot mess of a town. The weekend had been exhausting and I missed my children, and our cat. 

Did any of you attend SDCC?  What were your thoughts on the convention this year?


Friday, August 8, 2014

SDCC- Saturday (Our Longest Day)

Saturday, July 26th was my first official day at SDCC and let me just say- holy humidity San Diego! It was nasty. I woke up that morning feeling really, really sick. Maybe it was the lack of sleep (we didn't get back from the Hollywood Babble-On taping  until 2:30am), maybe it was undiagnosed issues, but I was feeling so terrible. I loaded up on all  my meds in the car, but the twenty minute drive to the Campus parking lot hadn't done me any favors, I was still feeling horrible. Stepping out into that humidity was a shock. I'd been hearing from other people how nice the weather in SD was, and that there was even a storm expected for the weekend. So smart girl that I am, I wore jeans. Double ugh. By the time my husband and I had made it off the Skywalk I felt like I was dying, and I don't use that term loosely. Once we made it upstairs in the convention center, I thought I was going to pass out. I was so shaky and could barely walk. Not the way I wanted to start off my convention experience.

My husband and I rushed to the Blizzard Entertainment booth because there were some exclusives and premieres that we wanted. Come to find out, the line had been capped, with no say in when it would be reopened. And we were pressed for time, because we were attending a panel at Nerd HQ not too long after we got the convention center. The Blizzard employee told us that the convention had put a bunch of new rules in place about vendor lines, that they couldn't obstruct the walkways, they couldn't have people lingering around. I will touch on this more in my final recap, but I think that while those rules were meant to be helpful, they also caused a lot of problems. So needless to say, we didn't get our loot before we had to haul buns to Petco Park and Nerd HQ.

By this time, I was still feeling pretty bad, but also feeling a little better. That quickly changed once we got seated for our Conversations for a Cause panel. It was hot in that little area, and heat does nothing for me. I think I spent the first ten or so minutes planning an escape route in case I had to vomit (yeah, it was that bad). Eventually that wore off and I got to enjoy our panel, which was Alan Tudyk with Zachary Levi moderating. It was very funny and it was definitely worth the stress of the ticket sales. I'll talk about Nerd HQ more in my final recap as well, but I was very impressed with what I saw.



I liked that Alan wasn't put out about talking about Firefly. I know some actors don't like to be remembered for just one role and sometimes hate talking about that said role, but he was so enthusiastic about it. And I loved that he answered a question in his King Candy voice. Wreck It Ralph is a favorite here in my house, so that was pretty great. After the panel, he did a Smiles for Smiles photo op, and my husband and I did that. If my scanner wasn't broken, I would share it with all of you :) They even let me hold a sign I made (very last minute, like while standing in line for the photo) that said "Hi Dad", because my dad is a huge Firefly fan.

After Nerd HQ, we went back to the convention center. We went back to the Blizzard booth, and this time we were able to get in line and get the stuff we wanted. I bought the Nether Faerie Dragon and my husband got the Heroes and Villains lanyard. We also got a Tyrael nightlight for our kids and the World of Warcraft Trivial Pursuit. We also bought these really cool pins that people were trading, it was crazy. Our adventures with that happened on Sunday though lol, so thats for another post.


We walked around, looked at a few more booths, then I remembered that there was a panel in 6A that we'd talked about going to see. It was a Skybound panel, with Robert Kirkman and some other guys. But the person we were most interested in seeing was Norman Reedus. Having no previous experience with panels at SDCC, I thought this was a smaller room and that it wouldn't be that hard to get into. So with thirty minutes until the panel started, my husband and I rushed over there to try to get a place in line. We managed to get a spot, but it was like, buildings away from 6A. We almost left the line, we didn't think we had a chance. But we stuck it out, and it paid off. We managed to get seats in the panel, and it was pretty awesome. They talked about some stuff they had going on with The Walking Dead, not the teevee show, but some of its other ventures, and they showed the trailer for their movie Air, which Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou star in. It looks pretty neat.



Once that panel was over, we headed to the Heroes Brewfest. I don't drink, especially beer (it doesn't even smell good), but my husband does, so this was more for him than me. He had a lot of fun tasting all the different beers (there were a ton). I sat under a tree and tried to feel better. It didn't help that a girl at the table near me had like, a mass exodus of everything she'd ingested that day. I can't deal with vomit, especially other people's. She did actually pass out though, which was sad. The EMT that was at the event took his sweet time getting to her, I'm sure just dismissing her as another girl who can't hold her liquor. The event staff didn't bother to clean up her mess (even though a maintenance man had volunteered to, the security guy told him not to), so plenty of people screamed when they saw it (and eventually the sea gulls came.....ugh....).

We stayed at the brewfest until it ended, then took one of those bikes that blasts rap music back to Petco Park so we could get ready to run The Walking Dead Escape. Now, I was still feeling like crap and I really didn't want to do it. But my husband got a little put out with me because he wanted us to do it together (and he also thinks I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, so I don't even think he really thought I was feeling shitty), so I decided to try it. Big mistake. I was still in my jeans, and just wearing Vans, and it was still super humid. So we start, and it doesn't take long before I almost crash into a wall because I feel like passing out and one of the workers called EMTs to wheel me off the course. That was embarrassing. Seeing all those zombie faces pity me was sad. The EMT that treated me was super nice though, and I appreciate that. He didn't make me feel stupid for being an out of shape heatstroke victim, even though thats probably all it was. I wouldn't mind doing the course again next year though, as a walker. That seemed like a lot of fun, and you don't have to run :)

After all that is over, our night still isn't complete! We then have to haul ass to Balboa Theater to see The Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick and crew. His special guest was CM Punk, and it was a really good podcast. I feel like I should mention that I've never listened to the Nerdist podcast before, but my husband and I are huge Chris Hardwick fans, and thats why we went. It was not disappointing. There was even a marriage proposal in the audience, it was the weekend of geeky love on podcasts I suppose. Click the link here to listen to the Nerdist podcast from July 26th.

And that concludes my Saturday at SDCC. Come back tomorrow for the Sunday run down!!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Pre SDCC- Friday

Whew! I feel like I have finally recovered from SDCC! Now, to be fair, I attended the convention sick. Not contagious sick, but more like organs failing sick. I had been having a lot of random pains and nausea in the weeks beforehand, and while my doctor tried to get me a diagnosis before my trip, it just didn't happen. So she sent me on my merry way with enough medications to make my trip not completely horrible, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. I figured I break my time in San Diego up by days, so you don't get bored :)

My husband and I left for San Diego earlyish Friday afternoon. We figured that traffic wouldn't be too horrible, and we would get into San Diego early enough to see some of the off site SDCC things before heading to the House of Blues for Kevin Smith's Hollywood Babble-On podcast. Wrong. So wrong. We hit L.A. traffic around 3pm, which didn't start out as anxiety inducing as it usually is, but quickly got that way. Our TomTom started alerting us to a traffic incident, and soon we were off the freeway and traveling through some very unsavory parts of various cities for about two hours. Come to find out, a tagger had been caught on an overpass and refused to come down, so the CHP shut the freeway down in both directions. Yeah. This standoff would end up lasting around three and a half hours, which was crazy. I mean, L.A. traffic. At getting off time. On a Friday. It was insanity (and thanks to KTLA, you can read about it here). Eventually we were able to get back on the freeway, and it was pretty smooth sailing from there, but the damage had been done to our timeline and we didn't get into Sad Diego until almost 8pm.

Since there wasn't too much time to do anything, we hung out in our hotel for about an hour then went to House of Blues to try to get something to eat before the podcast (the podcast taping started at midnight, way past my bedtime lol). I was feeling okay up until that point. Eating was a mistake. I couldn't finish my meal, but I took some of the meds I was prescribed and prayed I would make it through the podcast. I have been to other House of Blues locations, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the decor in the San Diego HOB. It was very cool. After dinner, we went outside and waited in line for the podcast. We weren't lucky enough to get seats, so we were part of the standing room only people, and at the time we thought our spots in line would mean something. It didn't. Anyway, we waited in the line for about an hour, then got inside. We were supposed to go to the ground level and stand behind the chairs down there, but they let some of us stay on the balcony, and my husband managed to get a pretty good spot there. I was standing a little behind him, because at that point I was feeling really sick and didn't want to be squished next to anybody. All of this is important because, I had a really shitty experience and I'd like to share it with all of you.

I didn't mind standing behind my husband. He wanted to get some pictures, and I didn't want to be pressed against a railing. Plus, I had a perfect spot where I could see everything between him and the guy he was standing next to. And I didn't mind when this obnoxious group of college kids stood next to me. Ugh, I should have known better. Almost right away, one of the girls steps on my foot. Hard. But she wasn't a bitch about it, she apologized, and I thought that was the end of it. Wrong. From there, it got worse. She was constantly pushing me and hitting me. At first I let it go, chalking it up to her probably being one of those people that is an animated talker and also doesn't realize personal space. During this time, I should also note that two guys took this opportunity to hit on me. Not to bring it up to be vain, I was honestly flabbergasted (I do not get hit on. Ever.), but its important because the last guy that did it returns later in the story. It should be noted that once he found out I was there with my husband he flat out turned and walked away from me while I was mid sentence. But I digress. So I text my husband and tell him that this girl has pushed me out of  my spot. He turns around to assess the situation and a few minutes later he texts me with a way for me to come stand next to him. I follow his instructions and almost immediately the girl who had been pushing me all night gets in my face. She starts yelling at me that she was there first and I can't just shove in and blah blah blah. I told her that I had been there before she was, that she had been pushing and hitting me all night and she knew it because she had apologized for it. She tried to deny it and then one of her other friends tried to join in. At that point, I really wanted to punch someone, but I'm not a violent person. My husband then let her know that she was full of it and they kindly needed to back off. Which she did, for a minute.

It would be nice if that was the end of the story, but sadly it isn't. From there, she and her group of friends were screaming about how they had integrity and how cool they were and how they were tall and didn't really need to see the podcast but they could because they were tall and rambles for days. I had hoped that once Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman came onstage they would shut up, but they didn't. They talked and yelled through the whole thing. I felt them tugging at my shirt and my pants, and I heard their phones going off, so I'm sure there are some unflattering pictures of me somewhere online. The last guy to hit on me tried to hit on them, telling them he'd do anything to have sex with them. So they told him about what I had done and they wanted him to do something about it. That only marginally backfired as I had already told him what she had done to me (you know, before he walked away from me so rudely), and he told her that I was nice and wouldn't do it. So instead he tried to fight with my husband and the guy he was standing next to. It didn't work, and the guy looked like an asshole. They also spilled a drink on my husband, screamed and yelled constantly in my ears and spit on me repeatedly. I had high hopes that Kevin Smith's warning at the beginning of the show about people acting a fool would be thrown out would actually be enforced, but the security guys at the HOB didn't seem to give a shit, which was really disappointing. There was one standing about three people away from my husband, and I know he saw everything that was going on, he just didn't care.

All that aside though, the podcast was amazing. I had never heard an episode of Hollywood Babble-On, so I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty standard Kevin Smith though. Everyone was hoping that Ben Affleck would make a guest appearance, but he didn't. Instead, he had Kevin Conroy, which was pretty bad ass. Kevin Smith also married a couple dressed like Thor and Jane Foster and showed the trailer for his movie Tusk. Ralph Garman was just there for looks. Lol, just kidding, he was equally as awesome. Click this link to hear/see the podcast (yes, their podcast had a ton of visuals) from July 25th.


Did any of you attend the Hollywood Babble-On taping? Or were you doing something else equally as awesome on Friday night?

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Just a Little Note....

Hello everyone! Just a tiny update to let you know that I am alive lol. I kinda fell off the face of the earth these past few weeks. I was getting ready for SDCC and fighting off some nasty feelings. I'm still undergoing some testing for my ickies, but it looks like my gall bladder isn't functioning, which can make a person really sick if left untreated. Thats probably an overshare, but its also important because when I post about SDCC these next few days and I complain about being sick, you'll know it wasn't me that contributed to whatever contagious con crud was floating around. Mine was/is an organ failure type of illness.

A big congratulations goes to Kyla for winning the Con Survival Kit! Thank you to everyone that entered. I always appreciate it and love when I can do a giveaway that you guys dig. I hope to have two more giveaways in these next few weeks. One will be St Jude related, and one not. Its crunch time for me in the St Jude department. The fundraiser ends on September 1st, and I really want to make my $100 goal. I hope to be streaming again this week, if my laptop can handle it.

So I think thats it for the updates. I have a ton of posts planned and some already queued up, so I am back! And hopefully I will stay that way :)

Have a happy hump day!!