So as the title says, I’m a Geek and damn proud of it!
This week I had the chance to go to my first ever Fan Expo. For those that aren’t sure what that means, think Star Trek convention but not just Star Trek. Comic Books, Anime, Sci-Fi, Horror, etc…Its a bit of everything.
A couple of days before hand 2 of our close friends, B and A decided to come with us to Fan Ex, so we met at their place before heading downtown on the Subway. Mike was already there since he was judging and MTG even in the city the day before, so stayed at their place rather then drive home at 1am, just to turn around and head back at 7.
While waiting for him to get out of the shower and have some breakfast I took this pic…just because.
A’s classroom frogs that she is watching for the summer.
Not to long after we left to catch the subway downtown.
B and A on the Train
Mike and I on the train
When we finally got downtown, and walked the short distance from the subway to the convention centre, it was off to wait in the long, long line to get our tickets. They had us heading down a very long spiral ramp down under the building. Along the way we caught our first glimpses of the dedicated costumed fans, and a few random messages written on the walls.
Treasure eh?
No treasure?
Finally after an undetermined amount of time we made it through the line, paid for our tickets and we were in!
After a bit of walking around trying to acclimate to the floorplan, we found the autograph area. Mike split away for a bit to do some trading that he had planned to do. While B and A went off to meet with Chris Sarandan (the voice of Jack Skellington in Nightmare Before Christmas as well as Prince Humperdink in The Princess Bride) as well as Nana Visitor (from DS9), I hopped into the line to meet Levar Burton!!
After waiting about 20 minutes, it was finally my turn! I know it sounds silly, but I was as giddy as a 6 year old at Disneyworld.
Me and Mr Levar Burton
Next B and A went to meet with Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown fro Back to the Future) and have their DVD’s signed, while I took the opportunity to meet Nelson Ellis (Lafayette from True Blood). I love that show!!
Me and Nelson Ellis
B and A with Christopher Lloyd
After that we joined back up with Mike and had another look around. Bathroom break, quick visit to the ATM and picked up tickets for the John Rhys-Davis line.
B and A met with another actor that I didn’t really know (from Battlestar Galactica I think) and then we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the food court area.
After lunch we made our way back to the John Rhys-Davies line which was a crazy odyssey of a line to pay, then another very long curvy line to actual meet him.
I took A’s phone to get picture for them, while they chatted and had their picture signed, but he saw Mike and I hovering and taking pics, and offered us a handshake and a few quick words. He was a very nice man, who had a kind word for everyone through his line. I didn’t get his autograph, but grabbed this backwards shot with A’s iPhone.
Me and John Rhys-Davies
After that we walked through all the vendors and saw a lot of really interesting looking things, and people. For example…
Really dedicated fan
Guy in a “Gingy” costume from Shrek
Big green Head
Costume girls sitting in the middle of a hallway
Random man with Cabbages doing Photo Ops
Slash Wannabe
Really not sure why one Storm Trooper has a flaming skull
Found you! That really wasn’t to hard after all!
Apparently you can even get a tattoo at Fan Ex
There must have been at least 100 of these girls standing in one big group. It was almost scary.
There were a few more, but I think that those pictures give you the basic idea of the wonderful wackiness that is Fan Expo.
It was a really great day!
One of my new treasures, autographed by Levar Burton
Nellis Ellis autographed photo of his character “Lafayette Reynolds” on True Blood
Me and the Delorean from “Back to the Future”
Backwards shot taken on the escalator on the way out. Bye bye Fan Expo!
After that we walked back to the subway to drop off our stuff and B and A’s apartment before heading to “Earth“, the awesome Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away. It was delicious as always.
Indian appetizers. Spicy paneer, Pankora, and Veggie Samosa served with 2 kinds of chutney.
Little bit of everything. Lamb Vindaloo, Butter Chicken, Beef Jhalfrezy, Mushroom Peas and Paneer, Paneer Tikka Marsala, served with Rice and Naan
It was all so delicious that a single helping was not an option. B and Mike also enjoyed their “Cheetah” beer, and A her Lechee martini.
After that it was time to head home.
We all had a great time, and I can’t wait until my next Fan event experience!! I have a jar all ready to start saving up.
While our shopping with my mother for an upcoming family wedding, we made a final stop at a shoestore and came across these insulated rubber boots.
Mom: Oh! Those would be good. But I don’t know how waterproof they would be with a zipper there.
Me: Well, the zipper is a good 6 inches from the ground. I don’t think it would be a problem.
Mom: Unless I was standing in really deep puddles.
Me: Where on earth are you going to be standing in puddles deeper then 6 inches?
Mom: Oh you know. Maybe in the Pancake forest.
Me: ……the what?
Mom: You know, the pancake forest.
Me: Um…no.
Mom: Yes you do, with all the maple stuff.
Me: You mean, the Maple Sugar bush?
Mom: Ya, the pancake forest.
(and just so that you don’t think my Mom is crazy…we live in Ontario and have dedicated Maple sugar forest areas. When they start the harvest every winter they open the “Sugar Bush” to the public, giving guided tours, demonstrations and yes, pancake breakfasts all day long. Its quite a treat around here actually.)
Todays post is in honour of “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”. Why? Because pirates are freaking awesome! Swashbuckling, sword fighting, rum drinking…what’s not to like?
The Jolly Roger flag, with its black background and white skull and crossbones, was designed to be scary. This flag was not used by all pirates, usually it was only flown by those sailing in the Spanish Main.
Pirates believed that wearing pierced earrings would improve their eyesight
Pirates believed that having women on board their ship was bad luck. They also believed that whistling on a ship would cause the weather to turn stormy (as in ‘to whistle up a storm’).
Pirates would take over island ports and make them a safe haven for pirates.
Almost all pirates stole their ships because they couldn’t buy ships incase they got caught and sent to jail. Once they had taken over a ship they had to convert it for pirate life, this usually meant making more room for sailors to live on board and strengthening the decks to hold the weight of the heavy cannons.
Ships sailing on their own often sailed close to warships or joined other convoys of ships to protect themselves from pirates. Pirates could only attack one ship at a time, so if the sailors traveled in groups there was less chance of their boat being the one that was attacked.
Pirate Captain’s would change out of their expensive, flashy clothes if there was a chance they might be captured. This way they could pretend they where only one of the crew, and not somebody important and hopefully escape.
Pirates probably didn’t have talking parrots.
Although pirates have been around since the 15th century, most pirating happened between 1690 and 1720.
On the Caribbean island of St Thomas you will find a place called ‘Black Beard’s Castle’. It is believed that this is where the famous pirate spent many hours looking out for approaching ships.
And for all you feminists out there, yes there were famous female pirates who I’m pretty sure would cut your throat if you called them a “wench”.
If you have any interest in reading about them you can find a bit about them on each of the following links:
So today we had a party to celebrate Mike’s upcoming 30th birthday. We had an interesting mix of our family and friends make the trip out here to celebrate with us. Thank you to everyone who came, and I hope to see you all again soon.
I didn’t take many pictures like I had planned, but I thought I’d post a few that I did.
Happy (almost) birthday Mike! I love you!
The Cake. Haylee helped to decorate it. =)
Notice how it matches her PJ's?
Awww!
Mike said he didn't want candles...so I guess he has to wish on the star.
Anti-Monopoly - Voted best party game of 2011?
It really is called "Anti-Monopoly". (refer all questions to Mike.)
Happy birthday Mike!
Yes, I let him cop a feel...it is his party after all! LOL
Me in my pretty new top, that I somehow managed to keep clean even though I did the BBQing.
I splurged on some special Goat cheese. Cranberry (left) and Dill (right). Delicious!
This started as a joke...Mike loves Bran muffins, so I told him the other day I would make him a cake made of bran muffin mix. I had meant for his actual birthday since I didn't think it would go over well with our guests, but Mike decided to make it anyway...so Bran Cake for all! (PS the cake in the first picture is a French Vanilla cake, and is what was actually served to our guests...the bran is just for Mike.)
And a quick note to Mike…I would really like “something” done for my birthday next year. So I’m giving you lots of notice and time to plan…Chop chop!
Many of us have a favourite movie. Even more of us have more than one favourite.
Some movies make us happy, others make us sad, and for some of us it’s not just the content of those movies that evokes an emotion, but often the time and events surrounding the first time we saw that particular film. Like a smell or a picture, it will forever be a reminder of times gone by.
When I was a child it was Disney movies with their happy endings. I dreamed of being a real life princess. Dancing with my prince, or flying on a magic carpet…anything was possible and that is an important thing to know and feel at that age. When I watch those movies with my kids now I remember that feeling of wonder and amazement. I honestly feel again that anything is possible.
A I got to my teens, I fell for musicals, again with happy endings, and full of what is meant to be spontaneous song and dance. Grease, Dirty Dancing, and Footloose were among my favourites. When I see these movies now, I remember how they gave me a sense of “romance” and dreaming that real life heroes existed for us “normal” girls. Someone would always come along, no matter what you wore, or what group you belonged to, and ask you to dance. Someone would always come and rescue you from being the outcast or the last one left without a partner.
In my later teen years I was drawn to movies with no real substance. I have always been a fan of classic movies, starring classic actors like Cary Grant, and Katherine Hepburn, but in my late teens I turned aside from those cinema pioneers, and embraced movies starring Adam Sandler, or Brendan Fraser. Movies like Billy Madison or American Pie (with its sequels of course) that had no real point other then to give comedic relief and sexual hilarity.
Even in these movies I can find a useful purpose. They were popular at a time when we were supposed to be becoming responsible adults. I think they help you to remember to have fun in a world that can sometimes be to serious.
Even as I entered my 20’s, I still clung to these old favourites and their happy memories, but found new favourites. Movies based on history, hardship and still the theme of love. People growing up and having families seemed more prominent in these movies. Romantic comedies, and more serious dramas.
I came to appreciate movies like “The Painted Veil” and “The Man who Cried”. Both rather dramatic movies taking place in the early 1900’s. Bits of history thrown in around romantic story lines showing hardship, but love still conquering all. Showing the reality of war, but still that people continue to love and live even with all that horror around them.
Not all of my favourites have a point though. I love Hellraiser, and can’t get enough of Lord of the Rings. I cried watching “Reign over Me” and I still enjoy the ridiculous cowboy antics of Indiana Jones.
But even those movies still evoke a memory or two of my feelings the first time I watched. I remember watching Indiana Jones with my dad (who passed away almost 10 years ago now) and I remember Mike taking me for our first date to the drive-in and seeing “A Knights Tale”.
And let me tell you…watching movies with zombie babies in them when you are 5 months pregnant with your first child will forever turn you off Zombie thrillers.
So as the title of this post says…a movie can be like an old friend. It was there for you when you needed it, it never changes, and will always be there for you again when you need or want it there.
And who doesn’t love just channel surfing on a boring afternoon and finding that amazing old friend unexpectedly again.
Today my beautiful Canada is 144 years old. I am a first generation Canadian and am proud to have been born here.
Sure Canada has it’s fair share of problems (like Stephen Harper and HST taxes) but there is a lot to be happy and grateful for.
I won’t go into the crazy pro/con list of what makes Canada great but I will say this…
My name is Sara! And I am Canadian! (btw, whatever happened to Joe anyway?)
I wanted to post a link to a stand up routine starring William Shatner but due to issues with our internet i only have my cell phone, and i am unable to post video from my phone…so I will update when I have real Internet again.
If interested go to Google and type “William Shatner I am Canadian” as your search and watch the video that comes up.
Happy Canada day to all my Canuck Peeps! Enjoy a poutine for me!
So as a continuation of my holiday song posting that I started on Valentines Day this year, I decided to post another holiday song.
Problem is that I’m not religious and other than the “Coming down the Bunny Trail” song, I can’t think of very many Easter songs that aren’t about Jesus.
So I’m going to be a little loose with my rules on this holiday and post my favourite song “Accidentally in Love” by the Counting Crows. How is this an Easter song you ask? Well, the video which I have posted below features a rabbit, so I’m making it an Easter song!
Well….as if there was room for doubt, our first family Vacation was a 100% success!
We started out last Thursday (March 10). Mike, the Kids, Me, Brian and Sue (Mike’s parents) all piled into our mini-van at 5:30 and headed off to the Peace Bridge.
We drove for about 5 1/2 hours and stopped for the night in Morgantown, West Virginia. We were up early again Friday morning, and with a couple of stops for gas and food, we hit Savannah, Georgia around 6pm where we stopped for dinner at a mall (and also to check out a BABW for Mike). Made it back on the road about 7:30 and headed to Orlando, Florida. We ended up spending the night in another hotel since our reservations at our Disney resort weren’t to start until Saturday.
Up early again on Saturday, and drove the last 20-30 minutes to our hotel. We couldn’t check in until 3pm, but since our Disney passes were good for Saturday, we were able to register, get our passes, and head off on the shuttle bus to the Magic Kingdom!
It was such an amazing day! Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Aladdin Carpet ride, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Teacup Ride, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White ride, shopping, dinner, and a few character autographs…..very busy day!
At the Magic Kingdom
Haylee and Jack meeting Tigger and Pooh
Day 2 we headed to Hollywood Studios. Saw the Beauty and the Beast show, while waiting for our Fast pass time for Tower of Terror. Haylee got pretty freaked out on that one. She was ok until they started showing all the weird “twilight zone” effects before the drop. Then we checked out the Muppet ride, the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground, and tried to get on the Toy Story ride, but the wait for that was always ridiculous! So we waited for another day. Then it was back to Magic Kingdom for the Peter Pan ride, the Monsters Inc. Interactive show, The Buzz Lightyear ride, the Stitch Ride, and a little more shopping. Then as we were trying to leave the park, we got stuck on a bridge and had the good fortune to see the laser light show on the castle. I’ll post the video of that. I can’t zoom in on my phone, but you still get the idea, it was really awesome! And then again as we tried to exit after that, the streets were blocked off and we got to see the nightly fireworks show.
Day 3 we went to Animal Kingdom. Haylee and I got the soaker seats on the Kali River rafting ride, and she totally freaked on the Kilimanjaro coaster (scary thing about a yeti). We went through the Tree of Life to get to the Bugs Life show (which Jack covered his eyes for the entire thing) Then we got to meet Mickey, and Minnie Mouse! Then we went back to the hotel for a rest, and dinner. and since the kids were just tuckered out, Brian and Sue offered to stay back with them to rest and so that Mike and I could go to Downtown Disney which is a huge shopping and nightclub area.
All of us with Mickey (Mickey is the one with the big ears)
Haylee with her pretty painted face (she didn't like the lip gloss)
In Downtown Disney there is a TRex restaurant (think Rainforest Cafe, but Dino themed) and in the lobby is a Build-a-Dino store. It’s a franchise of Build-a-Bear, but obviously with Dino’s, so needless to say, Mike went a little loco about it. He was so excited! and I managed to get myself a little Wooly Mammoth stuffy too. We walked and walked, and saw the most amazing performing musician….a one man show playing an Electric guitar, and …..wait for it…………..a DIDGEREDOO! I got a video of most of it, I just thought it was pretty amazing! How often do you see a Didgeredoo being used in a practical way?
My Mammoth! (I think I'm going to call her Molly)
Mike and I in front of the colour changing fountain
Day 4 started out with us getting up at 6am, eating breakfast as fast as we could and rushing off to get the first bus to the Magic Kingdom. Why you ask? Because if you want to meet a certain character you need to be in line EARLY! So far we had had NO luck on meeting Buzz Lightyear, who is Jacks favourite….and Mike managed to find out when and where ahead of time that Buzz would be on Tuesday morning. So basically Mike RAN from the shuttle bus to get right in, and into the Buzz Lightyear line. It was perfect! Brian, Sue, the Kids, and I went as fast as we could through the bag check and the Entry gates, and hightailed it over to Tomorrowland, where Mike was 2nd in line as we got there! Jack was so very happy!
Buzz Lightyear...at long last! To Infinity...and Beyond!
Then it was off to wait in the 50 minute line to meet the Princesses. Luckily Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Cinderella, and Belle were all in the same place, so it was one line for the 3 of them. Then I can’t remember what we did in between, but we ended up in line to meet Ariel and Prince Eric, and while waiting in line I enjoyed a really awesome cup of Fresh Pineapple soft serve ice cream.
Princess Aurora (aka: Sleeping Beauty, and also Haylee's (middle) name sake)
Jack getting fresh with Cinderella...Mike's son to the core!
Princess Belle
Haylee with Ariel and Prince Eric
We enjoyed some more good times in Magic Kingdom which included seeing one of the Magic Castle stage show, and part of the mid afternoon parade, before heading back to the hotel mid-afternoon for a rest, and then after dinner, we went to Epcot in the hopes of meeting Tinkerbell, since that is the only place to see her, but she was gone for the day. So it was back to Hollywood Studios for another attempt to get the Toy Story ride (140 minute wait and no more fast passes for the day) but skipped it, did a little shopping ( I got an awesome Jack Skellington hoodie!) and then back to the hotel for an earlier night than we had been having.
Our last day started out early again to get the early bus to Hollywood Studios again because we were determined to get that darned Toy Story ride. Again Mike made a run for it on our behalf and we got in near the front of the line. The ride is set up like a 3D laser arcade. You ride around in a Toy Box car with a little toy cannon mounted in front of you, and when the car stops at each of the “booths” which are like old fashioned shooting gallery games, you go nuts to get points. I rode with Jack who did pretty good for a 2 yr old. He loved it! And frankly so did I! LoL
Then on the way out by the Giant Magic Mickey Hat we happened to run into Chip and Dale, and then Goofy and Pluto…so stopped for some more autographs and photo ops. I’m amazed at how well Jack did with them all! He just charged up to all the characters (except Mike Wasowski) and gave huge smiles and hugs! No nervous nelly kids for me! (Woo Hoo!)
Giant Magic Hat (covering a gift shop LoL)
Then we made one last attempt to meet Tinkerbell at Epcot, but the line was HUGE, and we would have been waiting 4 hours until the next visiting time since they stopped letting people in line, and then she was leaving for something in the middle. So we went on the Imagination ride (starring Eric Idle and a cartoon dragon named Figment aka: Figment of Imagination) and then decided to take the kids on the Mono-rail to go back to Magic Kingdom. But little did we not know that the Monorail from Epcot goes to a spot across the lake from the Magic Kingdom so we then decided to take the Ferry boat across the lake instead of the connecting monorail transfer.
Once inside Mike went to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain since Haylee wanted to ride one more time, we got some lunch, and then split for a little while. Brian and Sue took Haylee to the hotel to swim, Mike went off on his own, and Jack and I did a little more souvenir shopping before heading back to the hotel ourselves.
Our fast passes for Splash Mountain were for 5:20, so we went back for that time. Brian and Sue then went off on their own, Mike the kids and I got dinner, and then we took the kids to Downtown Disney.
Now this is where I mention the Turkey Leg! Every single day, at all the parks, we would see people watching around muching on these giant roasted turkey legs! But do you think we could find the stand selling them? Nope! But Mike stopped a couple of people as we walked by to ask, so on our last day, I FINALLY GOT MY TURKEY LEG! It was so yummy!
Turkey Leg! Yum!
So after a crazy trip on route to Downtown Disney, we finally got there around 7pm, and had a nice night with the kids. We discovered that Jack loves Churros, but Haylee wouldn’t even try one….and Haylee got to build a Dino in that store I mentioned earlier. Then we headed off down the boardwalk from one end to the other. Both kids seemed interested in all the different things, but were ready to just head back to the Hotel, so we caught our shuttle back to the resort, finished our packing and called it an early night.
We were up before 8am and ready to leave by 9am on Thursday (march 17 “Happy St. Patricks Day!”). We stopped at the Mcdonalds down the street for Breakfast since we had used up all of our Meal Plan entitlements on the resort, and then got on the highway to head home. After about 15 minutes in some slow traffic because of an accident up ahead, Jack’s stomach decided to reject his breakfast. Luckily pulling off to the side of the road was easy enough, so we got him and his seat cleaned up, put him back in his jammies (which was all we could get at having packed the truck as best as we could) and off we went. After that though it was ok. We made several stops on the way. Lunch, Dinner, Bathroom breaks, Driver changes, and managed to pull in our driveway at a few minutes after 7am, this morning (March 18) We got our stuff in the house, put the kids back to bed, said our goodbyes to Brian and Sue, and hit the hay ourselves.
Mike had napped in the car, so only slept a few hours once we got home. He let me sleep until about 11am, since I had started to feel sick on the ride home. I think it’s just a combo or being tired, my body trying to fight the cough that Haylee may or may not have given me, and riding in the back of a packed Mini-van for so very long. It’s about 9pm now, and I’m finally starting to feel better.
The Kids and I took it easy today. They played some Wii and watched some movies, while Mike did the groceries, went running, and did some organizing in the house. I came downstairs when he woke me up before going to the store, and all wrapped up in Haylee’s fuzzy red blanket I get nodding off on the couch for most of the day. But I’ve been fully awake (but not energentic) since Mike left for work at 4:30. The kids were being really cuddly and relaxed for which I am grateful, and went to bed an hour ago with little fuss….ok, well to be honest Haylee tried to get her blanket back, but I bribed her to let me keep it for tonight (she has about 3 different ones), and Jack whined for about 2 minutes before passing out.
So that’s most of it in a nutshell! Good trip in so MANY ways. Now to start planning our next vacation…..any suggestions?
In 10 more days I will be in sunnier (and hopefully warmer!) Florida!
That’s right Northern bound friends, I’ll be enjoying some of that wonderful and forgotten thing called SUN with my family in the land where Dreams Come True…..We’re going to DisneyWorld Baby!
Mike has had his and the kids bags packed for weeks now.
8 days until we leave, and 10 days until we meet Mickey Mouse!
Jack is so excited and walks around saying “Mickey Mouse” and “Buzz Lightyear” all day long, and Haylee can’t wait to meet the princesses!
I have a feeling these next 8 days are going to be tough with all the waiting and excitement…..but so completely worth it!
Searching for my Dreams 