Migraines, Toddlers, and Novels - Oh My!

There has been a lot of weird weather lately here in Western North Carolina. It's been very, very hot, for one, much hotter than the norm for this time of year. There have also been a lot of thunderstorms in the area - though in the last few days I've heard thunder in the distance but haven't gotten any of the rain.

When I woke up this morning, I had a very bad migraine. This was due, I'm sure, to all the storms in the area. Weather is one of my biggest migraine triggers, and the one I have no control over. Thankfully it's Friday so I just have my at-home work to do and no school. That makes things a little better.

Despite feeling pretty crappy, I'm really trying to work on my novel, as I really want it done by Christmas but the storms have Emily being really clingy. It's very hard to try and type, along with even thinking of good ideas while suffering from a migraine and having a toddler crawling over you.

But I'm working on it - hopefully I can get the first draft of my novel done by or before Dragon*Con - sooner if possible since this fall is going to be crazy busy for me. This means I have to suffer through the migraines and the clinginess of my child to get it done.

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Toy Story = For Boys

Image: Walmart.com

I was shopping at Walmart today, looking for some new pajamas for my little girl since she doesn't have a lot with short sleeves. When I was looking, the pj's were set up in boy's and girl's selections.

Apparently, Toy Story is for boys. Even on their website, these pj's (which I did buy for my toddler who is not a boy) are said to be for boys.

I really hate the whole girls/boys thing (which I've already discussed before) and this annoyed me a bit. My daughter adores Toy Story so it's just natural that I would get her some Toy Story pajamas.

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My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I know how Alexander felt  (Image: Wikipedia)

I'm having a terrible,  horrible, no good, very bad day.

My day started out badly when I was heading to school this morning. I was nearly to the highway when the car started running oddly.

I stopped in a parking lot and discovered I had a flat tire. I don't know how to change a flat so I had to call my husband who had to get himself and Emmy dressed before he could change my tire. As a result I was nearly a 1/2 hour late for my class.

Needless to say, I wasn't in the best mood when I got home. Todd made lunch and then I put Emmy down for a nap. I did some housework and was going to start on some other work, when the child woke up.

I think she had a nightmare, and she wanted some slushie that had been out before she napped. She did not like it when I said it was all gone and had a total meltdown. Finally, I had to put her in time out to get her to calm down.

Because my day had been pretty crappy thus far, I decided that I was going to go to the store to get a salad for supper. I got my phone and my wallet, got Emily into her car seat... and realized I didn't have my keys.

I managed to get the fraking door open with the use of a credit card, but it just proves that today is not my day. Thankfully, nothing else has gone wrong (knock on wood) and I'm laying low until it's tomorrow!

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Spoiler Free Review - X-Men: First Class

Image: Wikipedia

X-Men: First Class is a prequel / reboot of the very popular X-Men movie series. This movie didn't disappoint and could be the best movie of the series thus far.

This movie take place when Magneto and Professor X are young. It shows how they met, how they gathered up other mutants, and how their friendship dissolved in their rivalry.

It was an excellent movie - James McAvoy was a perfect Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender was also great in the role of Magneto. And as always, Kevin Bacon is a great evil villain, in the role of Sebastian Shaw.

I think anyone who is a fan of the X-Men movies should go see this one. It's one of those movies, also, that is better on the big screen. Lots of action, some humor, lots of interaction with these well known characters.

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ConCarolinas 2011 Review

Image: ConCarolinas.org

I've attended ConCarolinas the last few years, and I was able to attend without husband or child this year. I had a great time and this is my review of this year's con.

The thing I was looking most forward to this ConCarolinas was the Firefly/Serenity LARP. I adore both Firefly and LARPing, so I was really excited about it.

So the LARP was suppose to start at 10, so I left home in time to get there by 10. But the game didn't really get started until after 11 am. And by the time it really got going, it was time for me to leave for lunch with my best friend. It did seem like everyone else was probably going to break for lunch at that point too.

I was gone for over 2 hours, so I knew that I was going to miss some stuff. But I had a very hard time getting back into the game. My character ended up leaving the planet, and I left the game at that point.

I think it had to do with the fact that I was gone so long for lunch (which I still would have done since I'll take any opportunity to hang out with my best friend), but the whole thing seemed a little disorganized from the beginning. Of course, I've never LARPed at a con before, so that might have had something to do with it. If they run a Firefly LARP again next year, and I'm able to actually get a hotel room and stay the whole weekend, I'll probably try again.

After I was done with the LARP, I did some walking around. I checked out the dealer's room and then I went to a panel on the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire. I actually haven't read the books, but one of the GeekMom editors was on the panel. I got to talk to her a bit after the panel and that was shiny.

I headed by the Charlotte Browncoats table then, and helped man it for a little bit, which was easy because it was getting later in the afternoon, so there wasn't many people who passed by. I had thought about leaving around 6 pm to go home but I had my Bug which has no A/C so I decided to stick around for the Buffy / Dr. Horrible Sing-Along.

For me, this was the highlight of the con. It was great to be in a big room that was full singing to these great works by Joss Whedon. It ended at about 7:30 pm, and I headed back home at that point.

On a whole, I had a great time at ConCarolinas 2011 - great friends, great activities and just a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed by the Firefly LARP, but I do realize that may have been my own fault. I'll have to see if they have another one next year.

Life Happens When You Are Making Plans

Me at the Biltmore House when I was very pregnant

I was listening to the radio on my way into school this morning and there was a quick story about Kim Kardashian. It talked about how the rumors of her being pregnant are not true, but that she plans on being pregnant by next summer.

This statement got me thinking. I love making plans. I am a planner. If I could, I'd plan out the rest of my life right now. I especially love planning vacations, and I think one of the happiest times of my life was when I was planning my Disney World honeymoon.

But one thing I have learned, is that it is very hard to plan for babies. I think for most people, myself included, getting pregnant never happens when you plan it.

For us, we started trying to conceive after we got back from our honeymoon in October 2007. We thought it was going to take a long time because Todd and I were on different schedules and didn't even see each other during the week. Suffice to say, we were both surprised when I got pregnant 3 months later.

Once Emily was here, I realized that any plans I would make were subject to change at the last minute. That's just the way of babies and toddlers, and I don't really foresee it getting any better as she gets older.

Even though I can't plan my life out to the Nth degree, I'm very happy to be Emily's mom. She is a great kid and I look forward to watching her grow up. Though I am already half planning her first trip to Disney World... in the Fall or Winter of 2014!

Hot

It's been very hot the last few days here in the Asheville area. It's not even 8 am yet and it's already 67 degrees out there. The high for today is suppose to 93 degrees.

I hate the heat, which is why I abhor summer. Summer consists of being way too warm or being way too cold (thanks to the A/C). I have to wear t-shirts and tanks, but make sure to take a sweater in case where I'm going has their A/C on too high.

And over 90 degrees makes me want to hide in my house like a Hobbit since it's way too hot to even take Emily to the park or even outside to play. We could go to the pool, but since school is still in session the local pools are only open on the weekends.

I really hope this weather breaks and we get some cooler temperatures soon. I also hope this is not a sign of what is to come for this entire summer. I know I live in the South, but usually it's not this hot so early in the season.