Can't Stop the Serenity 2010!

This past Saturday I went to Charlotte, NC with my 20 month old toddler in tow for their Can't Stop the Serenity showing.

My daughter didn't want to sit still during the rough cut of Browncoats: Redemption, so we just circled around the room, talking to folks, eating cupcakes, and just having a shiny time.

There was a raffle and I actually managed to win something - that being a copy of the new book "Still Flying". I was excited to actually win something!

Mostly it was tiring but Emily had a great time. We left before Serenity actually started because she was sleepy and it's a little scary for a toddler.

Can't Stop the Serenity!

This Saturday is the Can't Stop the Serenity charity event in Charlotte. I didn't go last year, due to being in Michigan, so I'm really geeked to be able to get to go this year.

It's always a fun time to benefit a great charity (Equality Now, plus a local to Charlotte charity!). Though I am bringing Emily, so I'm not sure how late I'm going to be able to stay. I'm kind of hoping to be able to nurse her in the movie and have her fall asleep since Serenity is a bit scary for a 20 month old.

But I'm making her a Blue Sun shirt (via a white t-shirt and an iron-on transfer), so she will be decked out for the occasion!

Swimming

Yesterday, Emily and I went swimming at a local pool with some mommy and toddler friends.

Now I feel like I kind of dropped the ball with Emily somewhat - this was only the 2nd time she has ever been swimming. The first time was a year ago when we were in Michigan. Whereas, I know several kids Emily's age who have already had swimming lessons!

She had fun until her face got dunked in the water, then she had had enough and wanted to go home.

I enjoyed it because I had gotten her a little swimmy boat, and I was able to push her around, thus allowing me to swim some.

I'm sure we'll go back as the pool is less than 10 minutes from our house, and I'd like to get Emily more used to going swimming!

Talk Like a Browncoat Day!

Today is the 2nd annual 'Talk like a Browncoat Day'! This shouldn't be hard for me since I usually talk like a browncoat - you may have noticed that I use the word 'shiny' a lot!

It's going to be a Browncoat-filled week, since  on Saturday, Emily and I will be heading to Charlotte for their CSTS screening. I'm looking forward to it, and I hope that Emily doesn't get too cranky too earlier.

Asheville Browncoats 1st Shindig

The Asheville Browncoats has their very 1st shindig yesterday. We met at Carrier Park, and including me, there was 7 people.

It was great to meet some local Firefly fans, and we discussed things we could do in the future. Our next shindig will be a board game night at a local coffee shop! I'm really looking forward to that.

Nerves and Browncoats

Today is the first meeting of the Asheville Browncoats and I'm really nervous about it.

Though it's not easy to tell online, I'm a pretty shy person in real life. Meeting new people and doing new things tends to make me very, very nervous and uncomfortable.

Despite this, I can usually talk myself in to doing things, which is good since I would have never met the Greenville Browncoats or my Asheville mommy friends if I stayed at home.

But it doesn't change the fact that I'm a bundle of nerves. And my husband doesn't get it, since he isn't shy in the least.

So wish me luck!

Working for a Living

I was laid off from my job the day before I was suppose to return from materity leave, which I was really upset about at the time. It actually turned out to be ok, since I've been able to stay home all of this time with Miss Emily.

But I honestly hate not having my own money to play with, especially with all the expenses I have this year (ConCarolinas, CSTS, Dragon*Con and the Browncoat Ball!), so soon after I got used to being a SAHM, I searched the internet for ways to make money.

There are several ways to make money via the internet - there are little programs that you can click on links and sign up for sites that give you a little bit of money, there are programs that send you paid emails, and there are at home jobs.

I've done several of these and have a couple that I do often. My biggest moneymaker is my at-home job, ChaCha. ChaCha is an SMS service where you text in questions, and someone answers them. I'm one of the people who answers the questions, and I make 10 to 20 cents a question (usually I average 12 cents a question).

I'm pretty fast so I usually can make $5 to $10, which is nice since I can usually make $100 or more a month.

It's nice to be able to have options to make some extra money!

Migraine

Having a migraine is never fun, and I have quite a doozy of one today. I wish I could be in bed, snoozing, but since my husband works nights, that's impossible.

To make things worse, my child has been rather cranky today with her voice going up several octaves. I've tried to explain to her that mommy doesn't feel good, but she doesn't get it.

So, I'm just counting the hours until bedtime, and hoping I can get some sleep so I can get rid of this migraine.

Just one example of something that is made harder by having a child :(

Gaming

I love gaming, I have for years.

When I was little, I loved the D&D cartoon and always wanted to play the game. I finally learned to play D&D in college, from there I did White Wolf Larps, Star Wars D6, among others.

But after I graduated, I tried and tried to find a game to play in, in MI. I wasn't successful. But after Todd and I moved, we found another couple who loved gaming, who introduced me to Heroes System games, which I love.

A month before Emily was born, they moved out of state, so that was the end of weekly gaming, which was okay at first since I was adjusting to having a newborn.

Now that Emily is a toddler, I miss it even more. So, my goal for attending ConCarolinas was to game. I played in a Serenity game and a Hero Systems game, and it was so much fun.

But now I'm looking at not being able to game again until November at the soonest, which makes me sad. There is a local gaming group, but they meet on Tuesday nights which wouldn't work for me.

So, I'm feeling a bit bummed right now. I miss gaming so much more now that I've had a taste.