We have made the trek to Atlanta, we had
minimal drama on the road, and have our badges in hand, and have checked into
our A-MAZ-ING room, which happens to be within view of last year’s Dragon Con
hotel, awkward. What this means for you dear reader is that DRAGON CON IS IN
EFFECT. This is not a drill people, we have trained for this, we are
ready….well after a nap. Once the nap is done we will be ready to roll.
On the way here we were immediately halted by
a tractor driving down a 2-lane roadway in front of us. We couldn’t get around
him so being the awesome person she is Golden yelled out the window for him to
pull over which he did the first chance he got. So mad props to you sir. Then
we were stuck behind some jerkoff in a Dodge, I have some previous PTSD trauma
from a Dodge which I won’t bore you with here … I’m on vacay and don’t want to
think about it. Once we got out from behind him it was smooth sailing until
about an hour out of ATL when I-20 ground to a halt. Mad props to the CRV with DRAGON
CON OR BUST written on their windows. I hope you got here safely.
First stop once we hit Atlanta was the parking
garage near the Sheraton to stash the Hyundai while we went to get our badges.
The line for the badges was smooth and awesome as always. For the last 4 years
that’s been the easiest part of the Con. I can’t even imagine the amount of
time and effort the volunteers put in for this event and I appreciate every
single one of them. Give them a high five this weekend and remember most of the
time they only hear the negative so throw some positivity their way too!
Our hotel is stupid big. Like for reals. The last member of our crew will be here this weekend and once she does she can bring like 40 people and we’d still have room for all the things. OK 40 might be a stretch but at least 3 or 4.
We are getting ready to head down to the
Marriot for the Dragon Con countdown for those of you already here, come join
us, it’s quite exciting when the countdown stars. If you are still traveling
may you be safe.
It’s officially two weeks away from Dragon Con
which starts Friday Sep. 1st and runs through Monday Sep. 4th (AKA Labor Day Weekend).
Two weeks from now I’ll be wandering around downtown Atlanta looking for a
place to put my awesome chair that Golden got me for Christmas/Birthday and
people watch that is in the shade or better yet downwind from a very powerful
air conditioner after watching the DragonCon parade lead Stan Lee, the 2017
Grand Marshall, through the hot and humid streets of well…downtown Atlanta.
Those of you not new to this Blog know of
Golden and I traveling to Atlanta for the last few years to people watch, cosplay, and see all the
pretty things and people that Dragon Con has to offer. Actually Dragon Con was the first thing featured after we started this blog so long ago. This is year 4 for us,
tho I honestly don’t remember when we were not going. Golden is better at
Cosplay than me, I like to blend into the wall and look at all the pretty. I
can’t imagine people wanting to take my picture and also the aforementioned
humid/hot weather makes a costume feel … well …… like a lot of freaking effort.
See we are never lucky enough to be in a host hotel, no matter how hard we try,
which means we either rely on Uber or the Dragon Con Shuttle buses and costumes
just aren’t practical. That’s not to say Golden hasn’t made a good show of it
over the years, but yeah I’ll just wear my jeans and nerdy shirts instead.
This year the forecast is showing 40% chance
of rain but here in the south that could mean that it’s raining at the front of
the hotel but not the back, or that it will not rain at all … really it’s a
guessing game so put your jacket in your backpack and be prepared for anything.
That’s the best advice I have for DragonCon. The first year we went, Golden had
a plan, and written out schedules of things to do and we quickly became
overwhelmed and did very little on the list. Do all the things, quickly changed
to … well we can do that next year I guess. If you come with a plan it will
quickly be destroyed, have a vague idea of what you’d like to do but remain flexible.
That’s the best way to enjoy the Con with minimal stress … well except for in the
tunnels between host hotels on a Saturday. On that day take extra anxiety meds and
be prepared to be claustrophic, but know it will only be temporary. That’s not
to say Panic Attacks aren’t a thing, and I’ve had more than my share at Dragon
Con but find a corner, find a chair, get some water, breathe it out and then …
get back out there. You only live once right?
So many fun things to do …. Just a few options
are listed below:
·Dragon Con Blood Drive: I
encourage all my fellow Dragon Con members to give blood this year. I myself
won’t be giving after passing out last year and face planting on the sidewalk
(due in part to high blood pressure which hopefully is now in check after several doctor appointments and the insane heat that is Atlanta in late Aug/Sep) resulting in new glasses, a busted and bloody face, and a massive headache that
lasted for days. Golden has insisted that I not give this year, as has my boss,
the rest of our Con group, and well my family. I guess I’ll listen, but only
cause I know others will step up in my absence … right?! Please and thank you.
Give Blood… Save a life.
·The
Dragon Con Parade is a MUST view .. it’s a great way to see all the pretty in
one place. It will take place Saturday Sep. 2nd and start rolling at
10am. So either be in place by then or just stay your respective hotel and
watch on TV (that’s what our lazy bones did last year – it wasn’t too bad). I
had to admit being out there with everyone watching it all walk by just gives
you a feeling of community like nothing else.
The parade begins at the intersection of Peachtree
Street and Linden Avenue, then heads south on Peachtree, east (left) on Andrew
Young International Boulevard and north (left) on Peachtree Center Avenue. It
will end on Peachtree Center Avenue between John Portman Boulevard and Baker
Street, in front of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Then everyone heads to
the food court, like for reals the food court becomes as crowded as the
crosswalk between hotels so be prepared to stand in line. There’s a lot of line
standing but it’s typically worth it.
·Fan Tracks: Check
out the Dragon Con website for a list of fan tracks because they most definitely
leave no one out. There’s a track for everyone. The Britttrack is celebrating
20 years of fun which includes a ton of “British” themed panels (Dr. Who,
Sherlock, Harry Potter, music etc.,) each year we have attended the Yule Ball,
which is always a good time. The first year of DragonCon we stumbled upon a Dr.
Who panel discussion which was really interesting. Their schedule is
tentatively posted here, cause everything is subject to change even as you
start the last day of the Con. Another panel about cussing the British way is
happening this year. It always makes for a fun time.
·The
Hall of Fame is a great place to people watch. It’s located in the Marriott hotel
in a bank of ballrooms and is the place for meet and greets (tho note that
often they will have you line up else where and then march through the con with
a guide to get your meet and greet on). That keeps the lines from blocking
walkways and makes for interesting conversation as you wait in line. Ask Golden
about the overzealous Pop Art guy we met while waiting to meet Felicia Day. The
end result was that I’m not allowed to talk to people anymore. Ha! The times
for the Hall of Fame are crazy weird …. And by that I mean the first year we
went to Dragon Con it always seemed to be closed. Typically it’s open from
about 10am – 5pm, sometimes later, sometimes earlier. It’s posted people look
it up it’s definitely a must walk through area. Plus air condition. I tell you
that air condition and chairs will become your new best friend at the Con.
Trust me on that. For the entire list of featured guest click here.
People that I’m interested in seeing this year include (in no real order) Melanie
Scrofano, Zachary Levi, Nathan Fillion, John Barrowman, Julie Benz, Jewel Staite, Matt Smith,
Frank Conniff, William Shatner, Bill Corbett, Alton Brown, Don
Rosa, Sean Gunn, Wallace Shawn, Tad Stones, John Cusack, Ming-Na Wen, Brett
Dalton, Nick Blood, Elizabeth Henstridge, Casper Van Dien. That’s just to name
a few and Dragon Con is still announcing guests. My favorite part of the walk
of fame is how artist, actors, actresses, writers, gamers, Puppetters just
hanging out and they are all in one room just being awesome!!! I really love
when voice actors are sitting there and bust into the characters on the poster
behind them and I’m instantly 9 years old again in front of my TV reliving my
childhood. It’s a fun feeling one I can’t wait to feel again. Also if any of the above have Social Media -- let's be real they all do -- follow them cause it's fun to see the Con through their eyes.
·Good
Eats Panel - This year … for some reason … Alton Brown is coming, which is
totally cool and I’m thrilled about it but confused as well. I mean ok … he is
a culinary geek and so he’ll fit in, plus he used to (may still) live in
Atlanta so it makes sense but yeah weird too (which might be the very
definition of Dragon Con now that I think about it). He’s doing a Panel in the
Marriott Atrium Ballroom on Sunday at 4 (which means Golden and I might have to
split off as she heads to the Wynonna Earp panel also happening Sunday
afternoon). Alton is getting ready to do a Good Eats Reboot which makes this
culinary fan so excited. I do hope he gets “W” to join him but Itchy or Twitchy,
or his “neighbor chuck” would be fun too. Wonder what Elton is up too … and of
course his mom (ABs sister whose name escapes me at the moment .. MARSHA! … so many possibilities I just hope the more recent version of
Mr. Brown (Angry Alton from Cutthroat Kitchen) stays away tho BA might be fun.
·The
Dragon Con Comics and Pop Art Alley is always fun and located near the Vendor
Hall. Among the Con goers there are artist of plenty that show up to display
their illustrations, sculptures, paintings and it’s fun to see these artist and
their points of view on the world around us. Look for it it’s worth the effort
to find.
·If
all that were not enough there’s a freaking arcade guys ….. like old school
arcade games we all grew up with wishing we had one more quarter, as well as
board games and other gaming rooms to enjoy!!!!
I haven’t started packing yet, well mentally I’m
making the list of the things I’ll need, chargers for all the electronic
things, hotel reservation printouts, my Dragon Con post card, a jacket, a hat,
the lap top, headphones, MP3 player (for night time when I NEED sleep but can’t
shut off the Con goers in the hallways) bathroom stuff, geek t-shirts, my
Dragon Con post card, my camera, cards for the camera, flash drives, my dragon
con post card, power strips for the hotel, comfortable shoes, money, and of
course my Dragon Con post card, but haven't put a single thing in a bag yet. Seriously don’t forget the post card, I can’t
STRESS that enough.
I should start napping now to prepare
my body for the Con, tho every year long about Sunday the Dragon Con Coma hits
me and hits me hard, it never fails. I am ok with that as long as the Con Crud
stays well away from my crew this year, but it never does. Ha!
How about a Dragon Con roll call ... if you will be in Atlanta hit us up so if we should see you we can give you a high five. I might even let you borrow my chair ... insert your laugh here ... get your own chair!
Stay safe out there and let’s have fun and not add to the death toll tally that GDOT seems to think needs to be across the interstate - no that's not stressful at all GDOT ... really it's not ... totes is.
So I noticed a few weeks ago that our
Blogaversary was coming up, and then like a husband whose been married for
years promptly forgot about it until today. Our “TEST” post was on Aug. 2nd,
2014 … our first real post was on Aug. 3rd a day later. I say it was
the first real one because it had content the other was me playing around to
see how this crazy thing was going to work before posting the first one. Kind
of a trial drive to the hospital before the wife looks across the room to say,
um dear it’s time.
It’s insane to me that we have been blogging
for 3 years, yeah ok there was that time frame where we “took a break” so it
hasn’t been constant blogging all the time but we showed up when we felt we had
something to say. We didn’t want to have a blog that constantly hit you with
nonsense but one that provided content worth your time as well as ours. Well
that sounds better than we got busy/lazy and forgot this thing existed for a
while…. Right?!
Truth be told like any deadbeat dad we only
had one really bad year. In 2014, we had 83 posts spread out over 5 months; in 2015,
we had 42 posts with at least one post a month for the entire year; in 2016
that’s where we really earned our deadbeat dad status. We had 13 posts in 2016,
and missed 4 months in all which is when we were called in front of the Judge
and given an ultimatum. Use it or lose it. Stop wasting the internet. So, this
year we have made an effort to get back into blogging even if lately I feel
like I’m using it more as a diary than a blog. We have only missed one month
this year which frankly surprised me when I realized it was May which as you
all know is the month of Golden. Upon reflection, I did post about Golden’s
Birth Month but it was posted on the last day of April so technically we did
post about May but technically we also didn’t if you want to get technical
about it.
Our audience for this blog has been a little
weird like our President we have a lot of people from the US have viewed our
blog but the next largest audience has come from Russia. We also have people
from France, Germany, Poland, and of course Canada and the United Kingdom.
I tweeted the blog post to Haley and
Michaels and they retweeted it to their followers and now it’s got 180 page
views, the most of any of them that we have posted. 2nd is Golden
explaining her Birthmonth that first year 3rd and 4th are
also about Golden. What I’m saying is Golden is a huge part of this blog even
if she only posts every once and a while. She’s much better at this than I am I
just have a better internet connection.
During the life of this blog we have had 152
posts total, with over 11,530 page views which is really cool. We did have a
single commenter “Grumybozo” who no longer seems to exist. I did find it ironic
tho that the post about giving up social media started a conversation making me
feel a little social. Well I did post a comment to one of the blog posts but
I’m not counting that which is completely in my rights as I celebrate my
Blogaversary … it is too a word Golden if you can make words up I can too! Why would anyone spell it Blogiversary …. No .. that’s just dumb. Blogaversary … that
makes more sense and since we are making it up well that’s what we’ll use.
Returning to Golden she says “3 years is a
pretty long time, even though I don’t do anything remotely like I should to
keep it going. 3 years still going even little by little means you haven’t
given up, so I’m happy with that. Congratulations!” I say to her thank you for
bringing this project to me and starting it up cause we both know I wouldn’t
have done it on my own.
Here’s to the next 3 years …… or more…. Oh who
are we kidding let’s concentrate on just getting to the end of this year.
So it’s been a while since I posted and it’s
not that I haven’t been thinking of you guys or wanting to post but it’s just
…. I have so many things I want to write about that all of it ends up a jumbled
mess in my head … this happens on occasion and I have decided it’s time for
another random thought’s post so that I can think like a normal human being
again.
Adulting
I’ve talked a few times on this blog about
being an adult and how I try so very hard to not be an adult however I am one.
I went on vacation last week to the beach. On my way home from the office on my
last day of work before my trip I stopped at the local liquor store to buy
supplies. Upon getting home some 4 days later I was unpacking to realize I
NEVER OPENED MY SUPPLIES. However that didn’t bother me as much as it hit me
that I didn’t even think about opening my supplies. Like really? That bottle is
still in the brown paper sack I took it home from the store in. That’s messed
up on so many levels. If that weren’t enough, tomorrow we get a new employee
and my boss will be at another office so I get the job of showing her around
the office, getting her hooked up with HR, telling her what we do, and showing
her where she can find things. Like I’m the 2nd in command. Which I
guess I was aware of but now it seems more official. That sounds like a job for
a grown up …. Am I that person?! When did that happen? That sounds so …. Responsible.
DragonCon/Cosplay
So it is July …. You know what that means … it’s
time for that all important decision …. To Cosplay or not Cosplay and why is
that so hard for me? I always think of these ideas and then decide they are
dumb or no one would get them or I’d never be able to do them justice so I
decide not to do them. Then I get to DragonCon and boom there’s the costumes
that I thought about or I’m reminded that everything is fair game at DragonCon.
It is not uncommon to see amazing cosplay, as well as mediocre cosplay and blow
your mind cosplay and it’s all ok. Last year I saw several Quail Man costumes,
something I thought about then decided no one would remember or get it. This
year I’m thinking about Daria from MTV days when you know MTV showed music and
only a few other programs. I also thought about something that will allow me to
use my new awesome chair Golden got me for my birthday/Christmas. I also
thought about Jeanette Miller from the Chipmunks. I can totally pull that off
nerdy girl who loves books. However I
know me, I’ll make all these plans, get up there and chicken out. I like to
blend into the wall and in costume that’s not really what it’s about. Golden’s
better at this Cosplay thing than I am. She’s better at a lot of things than I am
but I don’t want to give her a big head. Maybe as DragonCon nears I can get
Golden back on this blog … what do you say @theonlygolden ?
Travel and fun
with Friends
As part of my New Year’s Resolutions at the end of 2016 I wanted to travel more, and spend more time with friends. So far I’m
making good on that promise. Earlier this year with my friend Christina and I
made the trip to Auburn for the weekend and traveling with her is always an
adventure and fun. Of course I went to Birmingham in May for Golden’s birthday
and got to hang with her and Marible. I just returned from a trip to nearby
Orange Beach to see Journey with my friend Katie, at the end of Aug/Sep we will
be going to DragonCon with Golden, in November I’m also going to Disney with
Golden, and today I added to my itinerary with a tip to Nashville in October
with my friend Christina to see Ed Sheeran for whom I've gone straight stupid for. I’m super excited about this trip. It’s
been a while since I went to a full on concert in an arena and we have awesome
seats. I am fighting my fear of the world by going out and about and putting myself
into situations that normally make me nervous and scared. I have decided we are
all going to die someday, I might as well be happy while I’m here and not have
regrets, well not have a lot of regrets anyway. Besides fear of the unknown is no fun ... right. Now I just need to work on the writing thing.
Prayers for this
nation and yes even this President
I’ve thought on several occasions about
writing an open letter to our current sitting President but know he’d never see
it, even if someone could read it to him, so I think it’s a giant waste of my
time. However, every time his orange ass is on my TV or in an article I’m
reading I am once again reminded of the point of letter. For full disclosure, I
didn’t vote for him, I don’t care for him, but he’s what I have ended up with.
That being said I need him to succeed and before you all grab the pitch forks and
for a riot let me explain. If he can pull this off then the idea that anyone
can be president lives on. Granted that person has to have money and there are
limitations on who can and can’t be president but if he tanks it, and it looks
like he’s going too, then for the rest of our lives anytime someone “outside of
the box” runs for office they will point to his big orange ass to explain why
that’s a bad idea. It’s not a Republican VS Democrat thing it’s a human vs
human thing. Let me also add that I trust Trump far more than Pence and if the
powers that be that are trying to impeach Trump win then we end up with Pence
and I’m not sure that’s a world I want to live in. So I need everyone to relax
and let’s see what this dumbass can accomplish before you know he nukes us all
into non-existence.
Social Media/Elevation
of the current rhetoric As some of you may or may not know during Lent
this past year I gave up social media in general. No twitter, no facebook, no Instagram,
no notifications, all I kept going was e-mail. It was everything I dreamed that
it could be. It’s been about 4 months and part of me wants to go back. I purged
a lot of my “follow” list when I got back on all my social media platforms and
I definitely don’t use it like I did before the “break” but there are days
where it’s still too much bullshitting and this person bitching about this and
that person bitching about that and these guys over here wanting to bitch about
something else and the others complaining that no one gives a shit about what
they want to bitch about. Here’s the thing… it’s a giant world out there and we
are all allowed to have different opinions the issue is when we completely dismiss
the difference of opinion simply because it’s not mine. That being said the way
we dismiss one another also upsets me. While in college I took a Rhetoric class
and I remember telling the teacher that I thought people were being too
sensitive about it, sometimes a writer talking about a dog is just that a dog. I
want to go an apologize to that teacher now. I’m witnessing it first hand on a
daily basis. it’s not that we have intelligent arguments that could sway the person
being talked to, no that might make too much sense. Instead we use juvenile name
calling and hastags to belittle and attack one another and then those same
people bitch because our President is doing the same thing on a daily basis.
Our children are watching people, well not my children cause I don’t have any
but my nephews for sure. They see us acting like childish bullies on the
internet and then we wonder why they are doing the same. Let’s elevate the conversation
or not have it at all. It starts with us and Social Media is key to this
change.
I’m sure there are more but for now this is
enough …. Thank you for letting me have my brain back.
Last week was awesome, fun, tiring, and
uplifting. It ended with a 14 hour work day that lasted long into the night but
it was well worth it … at least that is what I keep telling my exhausted
mind/body.
See last week my church had Vacation Bible
School. It was not only my first time experiencing VBS at my new church but it
was also the first time I led something at my new church. Future Note to Self: don’t
dive in with both feet, sit back, help out but don’t lead that’s how the
pressure gets to you.
That’s not to say it wasn’t a GREAT week and the kids seemed to really enjoy it but the unknown of it almost did me in before we started. See this church uses a VBS kit which comes with ideas for Music, Crafts, Science, Bible Study, and themes for the week. We decided on Super Heroes for Christ which was right up my alley. Finally those DragonCon Tshirts were going to be put to use during the week not just on weekends as I run errands.
When flipping through the
pack I thought Science sounds cool. Another lady in the church said she’d help
me with it, I was like score let’s do it. Then life happened. Each group (3 varying
age groups for the kids, 1-5, 6-8, 8-10 or something like that – the piece of
paper is on the other side of the planet and I’m being lazy (AKA it’s it in the
other room) had a “leader” and 2 helpers in which one of the helpers was a
youth (aka too old for VBS but still wants to participate, but not quite old
enough to be a leader). We ended up being short 2 leaders so I lost my original
helper. I was assigned a new helper and she was …. Great … when she was there. Night 1 she brought her husband and a dice game that she was more interested in than helping (tho in her defense she didn't have a lot to help with (more on that in a minute), then night 2 when I really could have used her help she was sick, and night 3 she was very helpful, then night 4 she had bingo and didn't come, tho she had told me earlier in the week that would be the case. So at least there was that.
Our VBS was 4 days long, with the last day a “pizza
party” in which the parents got to see all that the kids did during the week. This
meant I needed 3 days of activities. This being my first time I decided on one
experiment a night that I could really practice and know how to do for all age
groups. This would be mistake #1. Future
Note to Self: Next year think about the age group you will be doing the
experiment with and then adjust accordingly.
Let’s start at the beginning shall we. I knew
VBS was coming, I had a plan, I checked in with the VBS leaders to make sure it
was a good plan and they all agreed that it was. I kept asking how many kids do
I need to plan for, they kept saying the year before they had over 30. I was
like um…ok….how does that work with each group, which is my largest one? How
long do I have to entertain them? What happens if they start to get on my
nerves? What happens if I ruin these kids for life? What if they hate me? What if they won't listen to me? What if they listen to closely and the adult in me says something only adults should hear? I worried that they wouldn’t be interested at all or that they would be too interested and ask questions I couldn't answer. My church had never done Science before as part of Bible School so really no one knew what to expect so not much advice for me. Could I deliver?
I was pretty sure I drove them all insane ... but I was scared ..... mostly of the unknown,
I kept telling myself I’d be fine after night one. Frankly, I was
doubting myself and part of me was hoping I’d break a leg, get in a wreck, and would
get out of it all together. I think I scared the preacher cause he kept
checking on me between groups, he could tell I was nervous, he could tell I was
freaked out, but he kept telling me I’d do great...relax.... which was oh so helpful. Don't tell someone having a panic attack to calm down that's not helpful at all and I was most definitely in panic attack mode on several occasions. To his credit he did spend a lot of time in my
room on day 1 but I think that was more moral support than fear I’d screw up
one of the kids. At least that’s my hope. I think he really likes me, I hope so
cause I think he and his family are fantastic. I’m really glad I found this
church, and I think they are glad I found them too, which is nice.
So the Friday before VBS started on Monday I ran
around town in a downpour buying my supplies, horrible rain would be a theme of the week I would learn. At one point there was talk of cancelling VBS for fear no one would come in the monsoon that settled over the City that week but they came, Gosh love them they came every night. A lot of what I needed I already
had at the house, that was by design as Marcy’s funds are low and I didn’t want
to beg the church for money cause I wanted their money to go to the other
groups. This being their first time with Science I didn't want to take away from what they normally do for this new thing. On that particular Friday I was also assigned a submittal that would have to
completed in less than a week with a PM who is notorious for not completing
things in a timely manner. Add to that another submittal (that goes in this
Tuesday) which I hadn’t really started yet, because of a different submittal/PM not deciding what he wanted yet, and it was
shaping up to be a really stressful week that would start before 6am and end
after 9pm with no lunch break which has made for a zombiefied Marcy this past
weekend. That being said I did go to lunch one day, well actually my friend forced me to have hearing that I hadn't eaten anything but popcorn for 3 days.
So Monday came, and I was physically ready, mentally was another can of worms. I had
a plan I just had to execute it. I left work about 4 because they wanted everyone
there early for registration and to make last minute plans. I had told my boss
about this and he was A. shocked a science class was going to be taught at a
church function, he even asked if it was legal. I said I think so. B. when I actually
got up and left at 4 with no prompting from him he was shocked. He was pretty sure he was going
to have to kick me out of the office. He said he was proud of me. ha!
Monday – activity SINKING SODA - Did the can
sink or float? Why!?
Bible Study 1
Samuel 16:1-12
In our Bible Story, God told Samuel “Humans
see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart”
This experiment tackled the idea that while they
look exactly the same they reacted differently when put in the same situation. That
they would prejudge these soda cans and be shocked by how they acted in the
water because it didn’t do what they expected. Basically, don’t judge a book by
its cover. I liked this idea. The idea that they need to look into the persons
heart not solely base things on outward appearances. In this day and age and with these grade groups this can not be restated nearly enough.
Why I chose this ….. frankly I wanted
something I could control. I wanted something that if we were running out of
time I could just end, I wanted something that was easy for night one. This would
be mistake #2. Future Note to Self: Easy
is not always the best option.The biggest problem with this experiment
was that it just didn’t take up enough time. Not even a little. I mean come on Marcy
you are dropping cans in a big bucket what did you expect. My group ended early
which threw everyone else into a tail spin cause then kids were in the hallway
making noise distracting the kids who were still in class. I felt awful, I felt
I had let everyone down. (which may have been the other reason the Preacher
spent most of night one assuring me that everything was going great). I also didn’t buy the right cans. I had a good
variety, but I should have bought better. All floated except one, the coke. I should
have had a better variety which might have sparked more conversation. After a
while they all guessed that they would float cause ... well.... they all floated.. and these kids weren't stupid.......... argh....... Stupid…stupid…stupid (bangs head on wall in frustration).
Lastly most of the kids were more interested in if I would give them the sodas
or dropping the cans into the bucket, and splashing the water than they were in
why they floated or sunk. It got away from me really quick. I am not going to
lie, especially with the little kids who discovered early that If they dropped
all the cans in they could almost overflow the bucket. It was a tough night 1 yall.
I’m not going to lie.
Here’s the experiment if you are interested ….
Tuesday – activity Balancing Hex Nuts – the power
of magnets
Bible Study 1
Samuel 25
In our Bible Story, Abigail became a hero by
using her courage and inner strength
Why I chose this ….. cause I thought it was
cool. Basically you have to balance hex nuts on the edge of a cup. Something I showed
the kids the night before and none of them believed they would be able to do
it. I was determined they would all be able to do it. Group 1 realized they
could stack the hex nuts on the magnets then place the entire contraption on
the cans (which were reused from Night 1) and move them down to the cup. I
thought these kids are geniuses. It never dawned on me to flip it over. Then
they also flipped over the cup. So instead of balancing it on the edge of the
cup with a large margin of error they had a large flat surface to deal with.
Again brilliant. I’ll never forget when a kid who struggled with it was finally
able to do it and was jumping up and down so excited and I high fived him for a
job well done and for not giving up. Ironically the little kids did the best
with this but of course they required the most hand holding. The older kids
quickly turned the magnets into cars and could care less about balancing
anything. I just let them do their thing, they had a ball and I relaxed and talked with the other adults for a bit. Ironically the older kids did the exact same thing the preacher did when I first handed him the magnets. It was kind of funny.
Here’s the experiment if you are interested ….
Wednesday – activity making their own Silly
Putty
Bible Study James
1:5
Believer asks God for wisdom and understanding
about daily decisions. There is one requirement for this help however, the
request must be made with no wavering or doubt as a doubter isn’t sure whether
God hears him or if God even understands his problem. Such a man is double
minded; he attempts to divide his trust between God and himself.
Why I chose this ….. cause I thought it was
cool and I also wanted the kids to have something they could take home to
remember the week by. I spent the week hyping this up, on Tuesday night after
getting home from VBS I decided to try out my plan, thank GOD for this. My plan
sucked. It didn’t work at all it was beyond awful. I was super stressed. I had
6 hours to come up with plan B. I wanted something that would allow me to use
as much of what I already had so panic was really setting in. I felt unprepared
and angry with myself. Then I found a video online that saved me. See the original
plan called for Corn-starch and water. However I wasn’t aware there was this
thing called “liquid starch” which is apparently what I needed not powder
starch which is what I had. Powder starch and water creates a hard rock that when you are moving it around is fine the second you stop it immediately goes back to a liquid, incase
you are interested. I have a Walmart that opens at 6am. I was there when they
opened the doors buying the DAWN that was going to save my life. I bought two
giant bottles and another thing of corn starch just incase. I then went to work
and stressed about it all day long, I was like ok this is it...last night and I'm going to fail and make a fool of myself. I left the office at 4 went right to the church and
tried the new recipe. This one required faith on the part of the kids cause
there was no real recipe to follow. It depended on how much corn starch you
added vs how much soap was added and how fast the kid was stirring. So huge margin of error. This too went sideways very quickly, especially with the little kids. They made a HUGE
mess, there was cornstarch everywhere and of course we were in the middle of
the worse week of rain in our little city all year and the bathrooms started
overflowing so on a night when I really needed to get in there to wash little
hands we were unable to. I ended up having to take them into the men's room which prompted lots of "what's that" questions when they came face to face with a urnial filled with gross looking water. In the end it all worked out and every kid took some putty home
but the stress of this day will be with me for my entire life. I hate feeling
unprepared and I was definitely not prepared for this but it was fun and all
the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves.
Here’s the experiment we ended up doing, if
you are interested …. This girl saved my life !
The one thing all week that I kept forgetting
to do was the “bible study” part of everything, you know the REASON for VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL in the first place. I was so excited about getting
to the activity that I often blew past the reason those kids were there …
learning about Jesus and God. This would be mistake #3. Future Note to Self: Next time have the
Bible Study first then do the experiment, cause doing it after never
worked.It was hard to get their
attention back once we were in the activity, then before you know it the session is over and they are leaving. It was a disaster.
Mistake #4: Time management. The way the schedule worked out, I had a break between each group, which was nice. I wish I had used it better. To eat, to relax, to reset up for the next group, to clean but mostly to walk around to the other groups to see what they were doing. How they handled their classes, what they did to get the kids to pay attention, what they were doing in general etc., Future Note to Self: spend some time walking around to see what others are doing so you can do better for your group. Or so you can see if you were doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing. Peace of mind always results in relaxation moving forward.
At the end of the week they asked the kids
what their favorite activity was and I was told Music always comes out on top,
this year however they all yelled science. I wasn’t there to hear it as I was
trying to clean up the giant mess of cornstarch left in our room, but it made my heart swell that they all felt
that way. The man who runs the VBS program gave me a huge hug and thanked me
for all I did. He said I can never leave now. Which made me feel really good.
So while it was a long stressful week it was a
great week and I’m glad I helped out. I did end up having to work until 9:30 Friday
and will also be at work 7am Monday morning but after Tuesday I hope to get
back to a more normalized schedule. Zombiefied Marcy will have to last a few
more days, I miss sleep, I used to enjoy it. I hope to do so again one day.
Unlike Golden I am NOT a member of Team No Sleep. I am very much PRO-Sleep and if I were being honest I also like pants.
Anyway … that’s been my last week …. Hope you
all have a fantastic week ahead.
This time last week I had made the 4 hour
drive (that I can make in 3 …. Beating my GPS estimated time is my favorite
thing to do …. Just saying) to Golden’s house for the final part of the
#MonthLongCelebrationofGolden a hang in person with one of my favorite people
on this planet. One of the best parts of the trip was finally getting to meet
my new fur-niece Mighty, whom I’m not convinced knows her name but is still
pretty freaking adorable.
I mean really … look at her … how would you
yell at her? Golden and I haven’t figured it out yet cause you tell her
something and she looks at you like a little stuffed animal and suddenly you
forget why you are angry …. That’s her super power.
Last Friday we met up with Marible and got
some dinner, some adult beverages, and saw Guardian’s of the Galaxy Volume 2. I
admit I enjoyed the 2nd one better than the first but I don’t know
that either are movies I want to watch over and over again. My favorite part is
the beginning of the movie where Baby Groot (possibly a close 2nd to
the cutest thing on the planet – of course Mighty is #1 in that category)
dances around without any care in the world while everyone tries to keep him
from dying.
That’s actually in the first 10 minutes so there you go read into that
what you want. Then we came back to Golden’s where Marible left her phone in my
car which led to the stupidest moment of my life. I found Marible’s phone and
immediately said “You need to call her and tell her we have her phone!” Golden
looked at me and said… “Really?!” I was like, “yeah I don’t have her number!”
she looks at me and says “think about this for a second….” I will not disclose
how long it took me to understand why none of this made sense. It was funny
that Golden then tweeted Marible to tell her we had the phone and we also
called her dad. She eventually came back and we gave her the phone and the
problem was solved but I felt like a major idiot. It was not my best moment.
Then on Saturday at the crack of dawn we got
up for the Annual trip to the Birmingham Zoo. A Birthday tradition for Golden,
one that I’m happy to be a part of even if it was crazy hot. We got to ride the
train, see all the animals, spend time with the family, and have a nice
relaxing day getting some exercise. It was a fun day, a LONG day but a fun one.
I think we were both asleep by 9. We are not nearly as young as we used to be.
Sunday we did a whole lot of nothing and it was everything I’ve ever dreamed
that itcould be. We watched Dr.
Strange, a movie I hadn’t seen before but wanted to. Then watched several
episodes of Wynonna Earp which I liked by was really taken aback by how careless she was with her “peacemaker”
when it’s the one thing between her and well her being dead. I can see myself
watching the upcoming season, I’ll need to watch the rest of last season but I
think it’s one of those shows that I’d be ok if I didn’t get to watch the
episodes I’ve missed.
On Monday we had breakfast with Golden’s
parents before I headed south. Leaving is always hard not cause she and I don’t
talk throughout the week but because I don’t get up there nearly as much as I
should not to mention that drive home. While I can do it in 3 it’s still a
lllooonnnngggg drive which eats up a good part of the day. Again, I ask ... where the hell is my
portal to other places science … I mean seriously get on that … what are you even working
on!!!!!
So that was my Memorial Day weekend …. It was
a good weekend but this “short week” felt really long. Next on my agenda is
getting ready for the Church’s Vacation Bible School in which yours truly will
be leading the “science” section of the night. I’ll keep you posted as I start
to prep for the 4 day event … I’ll admit I’m really nervious about it. I’ve
participated in VBS before but never “led” a section of it. When we joined our
new church I decided I was going to get more involved and so far that’s what I have
done. I’m scared to death I’m going to make a fool out of myself. The theme
however is “Super Heroes” so at least it’s an area I’m familiar with.
The #MonthlongCelerationofGolden starts
tomorrow (May 1st). It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
I could explain to you why we do this but
Golden did it perfectly when we first started this blog so why recreate the
wheel …. Read her post here …
What I will tell you is why I celebrate it. I celebrate it because Golden
deserves it. She’s a hard working, fun loving, amazing woman who has battled
more demons than even she would admit to and is still fighting. When they told
her you’ll have to retire by 30 she was like "nah … fuck that" and proved them
wrong. Her body has fought her every step of the way, yet Golden just powers
through it, with minimal complaining, but frankly for what she's going through the little bit of complaining is justified.
She’s literally the strongest person I know. I am proud to call her
my friend, I am proud to be in her corner and I’m proud to spend a month
celebrating all the awesome that is Golden. I've said it before and will say it again, I'm so happy that the AU Housing Board made us suitemates our Freshman year, many random things came together to make that happen and I'm forever grateful for those random situations.
My mother and her mother constantly tell me
not to encourage her in this insanity but it’s not insane. It speaks to her
personality and for once allows the spotlight to be on her, something she
typically shy’s away from. I am making it my mission that this be the best
month long celebration yet, cause let’s face it each one has to be better than
the last right. Some of my friend’s get week long celebrations but Golden gets
an entire month. From May 1st through the 31st (her
actual B’day) it’s all about Golden !
Throughout the month I’m going to post some of
Golden’s “best” blog posts as well as a few new ones of my own as part of this
month long celebration cause if we aren’t going to use this blog to build one
another up then what we are using it for?! Who knows maybe I’ll get her to come
back to the keyboard for a post this month.
So join me won’t you as we celebrate this
month by sending her tweets of love and encouragement. It doesn’t take much, a
goofy picture that made you smile, which might make her smile; a note to just
say hi; any acknowledgement really is what we are looking for so let’s get it
going … and kick off Monday May 1st the right way as we start the #MonthlongcelebrationofGolden
(could we have used a longer hashtag?!)
