We Went, We Saw, We Bought Stuff!

Hello Lovelies!

I hope your Easter weekend was as good as mine was because Fan Expo was were I was! You know this already because my countdown started about 3 weeks before.

There was a constant buzz of energy on the way downtown. Me and the girls B, Sese and Blondunicorn hopped on the bus and took off to the city for a day of fun. The ride was almost torture getting there though, it's a ride I take everyday to work so I'm used to it. Lo on the other hand hasn't been on public transit for hmmm...I don't know over 20 years and she asked for a barf bag at one point. We get off the bus and I show them the Trump Tower that is causing all the problems they see in the news and really because there is no way to not see the looming building, it's massive! We split off from Sese and hit the first Starbucks we see because the wind coming off of the water is freezing.

After Latte's and a White Chocolate Mocha are in hand we brave the wind and head to the Convention Center. We get our tickets and on the way to the coat check we see Captain Jack and Loki having a wonderful conversation that made absolutely no sense because they were both in character. I have to say it definitely felt bigger than it was last year. So many more people to push yourself through and that brings me to ways to prepare for that kind of an outing.

First...take your 19 year old daughter with you.

Second...feed that kid while she has a meltdown about a $9 hot dog and swear to take snacks next year.

Third...follow said 19 yr old as she gets your pedestrian rage about 10x worse than you do.

Fourth...take your time as she elbows people out of the way creating a path for you and the newbie ( Blondunicorn ) to wade through.

Fifth...let that girl find all the shortcuts to get back into the convention so she doesn't have to walk all the way around the building to get back in after she's had enough people and wants to go outside in the first place.

She was funny to watch because she was so excited the whole time but needed to keep moving. We took in many sights and sounds, checked out celebrity panels I SAW WILLIAM SHATNER! Tyrese, Lori and Hershel from The Walking Dead, Stephen Amell and JOHN BARROWMAN and Carrie Fisher! Just to be that close to them was amazing for me!

There was a trio dressed as Loki, Thor and Heimdall as as they progressed around the room and they got separated all you would hear was "Loki! My brother!" and you would see 2 set of horns move with great speed through the crowd for a photo op like this!

And with that, this year I asked people to pose for pics and that wasn't something I would normally do. It's expected here though and highly encouraged.

I've wanted a Wonder Woman t-shirt since I was 9 and now I have one plus a Batman T along with a few prints from artists that I'll follow the progress of like Hugh Rookwood from Chozen Studios and Mervyn Mckoy from Paper Lab Studios.

You can check the Scenic tab above for more pics! Overall I had a great day and although I'm still learning about the Convention workings I have another goal next year to see more Q&A's and workshops. This was only the fourth year for Fan Expo and every year it should get bigger and bigger with help from those of us that have now committed to the yearly event.

Until next year FEV!

Have a great week!
S

Zombies, Pirates and Smut OH My!

Hello Lovelies!

As the countdown begins to Fan Expo I start this week with excitement at our family excursion! As I'm sure we will meet and separate throughout the day I'm excited to hopefully meet the new mysterious boyfriend of my oldest daughter there and we're going to pop Blondunicorns Convention Cherry. All I do know for sure is that every Steampunk kiosk will be paid a visit from me!

Oh the Corsets, oh the Jackets, oh the gears and gadgetry!!!!!

Ok I will not Monopolize this post with Fan expo stuff because next Monday will be full of it.

So! How was your weekend? Full of excitement, intrigue or a Walking Dead Finale that had me SCREAMING at my TV! That was insane! I don't want to spoil it for those who PVR it but WHY DID YOU PVR IT!!? You need to watch that shit LIVE! With the masses! Then you have to painfully stay off of all Social Media for fear of getting spoiled!

There was so much going on at every given point from Kick Ass Carol all the way down to Rick the Dominator as I call him. Every time Glen comes anywhere near death I lose my mind and Daryl is always the person you want with you when you're surrounded by a large horde of  Walkers that want to eat your face and every other square inch of you. Um and Morgan...the sight of him had me standing on my couch, arms up cheering!

Ya I know...I get excited about things...I can't help it!

You know that feeling you get when you know there is a trap about to be sprung but it still scares the shit out of you when it happens? I'd say if that happens you are fully and completely engaged in what your watching.

If you did watch last night then you saw the trailer for the companion series Fear The Walking Dead which is a prequel to our beloved series but I love the fact that it's going on as the virus breaks. It kind of had that Dawn of the Dead feeling in the trailer and it hits this Summer which is good because it will bridge the gap until Se 6 of TWD.

I also watched the Finale of Black Sails and for those who haven't heard of it, it's all about Pirates and Nassau but mostly pirates...I love pirates well you know not the really bad ones just the ones on the show because well...you need to see these pirates, but they use real historical Pirates and I'm hoping in the case of Anne Bonny that they do introduce Mary Read because that would only make sense in the realm of female pirates and the association with Calico Jack.

Oh what else?

I accidentally started a smutty book series...yes... it was an accident.

You know how you finish a book series and you look for a new author? The search leads you to a couple of authors that have written with one you're familiar with so you decide "Hey! I'll check that out."? I love the Fantasy/Horror genre and didn't realize until I moved on to the second book in this particular series that it's classified as a romance novel...um...I don't know where the romance is but what they are doing most of the time is not so much romantic as it is being bunnies anywhere, anytime.

I have to say that these women are MACHINES! They don't sleep, barely have time to eat and all the while are being kidnapped and tortured repeatedly but not at the same time.
Long ago were the days of Harlequin Romances that as as a kid I thought they were too cheesy and not real enough.
Ya that's changed...A LOT more on THAT later.

Ok guys, have a great week!

See Ya
S.

Too Excited For Words!

Hello Lovelies!

It's Monday and the first post since I've been back actually on a Monday!
Yay me!
No really how was your weekend?

Mine was good and mildly creative as I try to get back on the horse that is my Social Media outlet. Since it pounded rain on the first official day of Spring here in the Lower Mainland I concentrated on other things like babysitting the monster boy! That kid is so smart he blows my mind but for the life of me he always calls Smokey our Pit bull, Shadow instead. Shadow was a Rottweiler that belonged to his Nana but Shadow has passed away now. They look nothing alike except for maybe his size and PK will name everything accordingly except Smokey and he's only 2 and he argues about it.

I love that kid!

Fan Expo Van is only a couple of weeks away and I'm getting very excited and who will we see?

CELEBRITY GUESTS

CARRIE FISHER

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
STAR WARS

CHAD COLEMAN

THE WALKING DEAD
THE WIRE

SCOTT WILSON

THE WALKING DEAD

SARAH WAYNE CALLIES

THE WALKING DEAD

WILLIAM SHATNER

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
STAR TREK

KAREN GILLAN

DOCTOR WHO

STEPHEN AMELL

*APPEARING: SATURDAY ONLY
ARROW

JOHN BARROWMAN

ARROW
DOCTOR WHO / TORCHWOOD

BRENT SPINER

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

SHANNEN DOHERTY

BEVERLY HILLS 90210
CHARMED

LANCE HENRIKSEN

ALIENS
MILLENNIUM
I'm not quite sure why Shannon Doherty will be there but hey I watched Charmed!

Not to mention the Comic book guests and the After party and the Panels!

Ok calm down...breathe Steph breathe.

Have a great week!

See Ya
S

Random & Not So Random

Happy...Tuesday?

Oy! Well at least I'm here and it's St. Patrick's Day!



I'm kind of tired today, slept like CRAP but it's not Monday and that's a bonus so this blog post will be a combination of many things oh so random and mostly related to each other because Spring is almost here and that brings my attention to a varied combination of things like last night and the insane Monday programming block that I had to wade through.

Bates Motel is back and getting so very disturbing not only because of Norman's character but because Ryan Hurst (SOA) has hit the show and he's pretty creepy. Almost as creepy as Brat Pitt's character in Kalifornia but not quite as murderous...that I know of anyway. Norma Bates is always my favourite to watch though.

The Following has caught me and even without Joe, the show still has me hooked if not for the story it's the music that draws me in and thanks to Blondunicorn showing me the Shazam music app, I can find out who sings what very quickly. In this episode A Drowning by  Whoever thought up that put them in the box story line had my disturbed meter piqued!

Gotham...is repeating...so...you suck.

The Returned this one I tried to watch previously and as the trailer for the show never told you it was in French and subtitled and I didn't want to have to read my show every week, but now there is an English version and that has me caught very well. It's also disturbing...it should be called Disturbing TV Monday because everyone is crazy.

I also heard this morning that The Walking Dead Companion series is going to be filmed in Vancouver!!!! There might be stalking in order. It comes out in the summer to bridge the gap between the end of TWD season 5 and 6. Now spin offs don't always do well but we have seen many that have as long as they don't go too far but I'm very interested to see where this goes. I wonder if Chris Hardwick will have an after show for this one too?

Fan Expo is coming in a few weeks and I'm very excited for that! I'm not eve sure who's going to be there yet but I'm going and if I see a guy dressed as Renly Baratheon then I know it's the SHAW cable guy that I talked to on the phone about Fan Expo last year in a random conversation while he waited for his screen to load and help me with whatever it was I called for.

I do have to  mention that on Friday night I had to try the Crown Royal Apple Whiskey and it was very good. Smells like Green Apple Jolly Ranchers but tastes like apple pie not unlike the CR Maple Syrup flavoured whiskey that smells like maple goodness but tastes like pancakes in your mouth. You know if they can bacon infuse vodka can they bacon infuse the Maple Whiskey? that would be the breakfast of whiskey champions!

It's time to get out and about people! I see people already taking pictures of cherry blossoms and planning weekend camping trips. Spring cleaning and purging begins! Tourists have already started to arrive in the city, with rolling luggage...ugh, and a Husky that was found with gravel in it's stomach and so thin that it was all bones found a home and is fatter...much, much fatter. makes me smile.

Tomorrow is Weird News Wednesday and of all of the weird stuff I see there will be something even weirder that someone will send me. I'm a little scared because it's been awhile since I could focus on the weird shit so be prepared!

Ok guys go have a wonderful day and a great week!

See ya
S

A Good Monday? Parish The Thought!

Happy Monday Lovelies!

I know...what about Monday is Happy? For me...the sun is shining and it's supposed to be 14 degrees! 14 degrees in January! That is crazy just as the East Coast gets ready for what they are calling the worst winter storm by far. My thoughts are with you over there.

I hope your weekend was fabulously relaxing as mine was entertaining. Anyone who saw my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr posts this weekend would have seen that Touring Tony is in town.

For those of you that don't know the story behind him it goes like this...

Last Fall my brother from Atlanta asked me if I would do my niece a favour because she wanted to conduct a social experiment. He told me I would be receiving something (Tony...) and that I should keep him for a bit take pictures of him to post on Instagram and Facebook where he has pages and if you would like him to come see you then add Tony as a friend, leave your name and contact info in the inbox and someone will get back to you, just search for Touring Tony and see where he's been. After that he gets sent off  to someone else that will do the same. It took him a bit to get to me since he went from Atlanta - New Jersey-Arizona - Vancouver (Port Coquitlam) so the weekend was spent showing Tony in various situations with more to come. I'm having a ton of fun with it I have to say and hopefully in the end he ends up back in his home where my niece can read about his adventures in the journal that he has with him.

I seem to be the project helper of late because one of my pups Megan had a project for a course she's taking in Social Services work (hmmm Social Project...Social Services I'm sensing a pattern) that she asked a few of us to help with but when she comes in and tells you that you have a couple hours to pretty yourself up because she is going to Interview you and then take you picture I was left shocked and a bit dismayed as my kitchen was full of cookie and cake batter because I was on a baking mission. I did it though and in 20 mins becoming photo ready for the 3 1/2 mins of picture taking and interview questions that made me think about...how I think and why I think the way that I do. Let's see, what else have I got for you?

 I have a lot of irons in the fire right now with Fan Expo coming in a few months and trying to get my costume in order and starting the fabrication process, 2 Steampunk art projects, battling my inner demons and as well as trying to make sure I write and post CF every week and hopefully growing as I go along with that one...I hope...a true test of my resolve I guess eh?

It was also Peanuts 2nd birthday last Friday and the fact that 2 years has gone by already is crazy but I found out something really interesting and for a 2 year old he's scared of spiders! It must be because T is DEATHLY afraid of them and he's seen that she is because I have a big Halloween spider that hangs out all year long that he just noticed it this weekend and doesn't like it at all! With the explicit permission of his father who asked me to toss it in his direction and seeing the poor boy jump so fast and mimic squashing it we have definitely determined that he is scared of spiders and that made me laugh as he would have me save him from the fake spider repeatedly and smile but wouldn't get any closer than 2 feet away from it. I love that kid... I guess showing him the 2 tarantulas his Auntie B has would be bad right?

Ok with all of that going on I have a busy road ahead and need to remember how to sew! Not even that but adjusting the tension on my machine...which never works...and makes me want to throw it out the window.

Have a great week!
See Ya,
S

I Am A Fan of Fan Expo!

Hello Lovlies!

The title of this one says it all for me. I had so much fun! Keep in mind that Fan Expo Vancouver is smaller than any of the other Conventions and at the same time it was great to go to something at the start that will turn into something much bigger over time.

This was only the 3rd convention in Vancouver so far and I loved every minute of the day. There were so many people in costume as it should be and I'm glad I started here. If I went to Comicon as my first one I think my inner Nerd would have had a heart attack as it was she was swooning from the second we went through the doors. My Social Media outlets were all a buzz with stuff. I haven't been able to upload all the pics.

I do wish I had been more comfortable with asking cosplayer or 30 for a photo though and next year as well as being one ( I'm really going to try and make that happen ) I'm going for broke. Some of their costumes were just amazing and inventive except the really bad plastic bag Batman.

Oh and the Steampunk! I almost went to Steampunk heaven, the clothes the jewlery all of the other stuff! I even bought a 50 calander that looks like a... I can't even explain it kind of like a clock but not really. I'll post it later and give kudos to The Attic who had a table there that I didn't want to leave.

The pics of it will be posted on my Instagram and Tumblr. Tabs are at the top.

I think I stalked Robert Englund for over an hour. He was one of the only celebs that sat in his booth regardless of whether he had autographs to sign or not and chatted away with fans. so I stood directly in front of him and stayed there! Paige got a picture with him and I thought she was going to die. Sese got a picture with her Cosplay idol Jessica Nigri and she is super cute.

There was so much going on and so much to see and all I kept thinking was Comicon is much bigger than this...I... have... to go.
For now though I'll focus on what's in front of me, making things better as well as worthwhile and making my dreams come true.

Everybody needs some of that right?

See Ya,
S

Growing Up Is Hard To Do.

Hello Lovlies,

I spent most of the weekend not feeling well and it's typical because the weather was amazing. You know, it was warm enough and so bright out that your eyes just couldn't adjust to it because they've been in the dark, grey and hooded due to rain and grey sky's for the past few months. I noticed alot of picture taking ( My Instagram exploded )and smiling happy faces. Ok...well...a few smiling happy faces and some faces that wished they hadn't gotten out of bed that day.

Watched Bean, Allan and Jeremiah make dinner and BBQ for about 6 hours. In their defence they had a lot of food and a tiny grill to work with but they made it work. Everyone seems to be geared up to get things done this Spring/Summer. I've been asked for Passport applications, the two youngest are getting their Official ID because they will both be turning 19 soon and legal ( That's trouble ), BlondUnicorn is getting ready to insure her Harley for the riding season and I have to do something that I've put off for almost 16yrs...get...my...license. This is the last time, if I don't do it this Summer I'll never drive.

No...I haven't done it yet.
Never really needed to. Transit was my friend and could never fit a car, and insurance, and gas into the budget.
Did take the road test once and failed only because I ran a yellow light...twice...I thought I was too close to the intersection to stop! The instructor said "stop anyway I'm a witness if you get rearended"

Ok then!

First though I get to re-write the learners exam, should be good I got 100% last time and when you've taken the test as many times as I have I think it would be questionable if I didn't get them all right. So back I go again and will book my road test as soon as I pass the learners exam. Drive the crap out of BU's car and pass.

Fan Expo is coming this weekend and I heard that we'll be having FREEZING rain!!! What a way to tease us Mother Nature! Hopefully Sunday will be Sunny Day because I'm going! Just confirmed by Sese and Steven! Sneaky Buggers.

They're lucky I'm not crazy into Cosplay.

We'll that's it for now.

See Ya
S.

To Go or Not To Go...To Fan Expo Vancouver!

Hello Lovlies!

So Easter Weekend is approaching soon on Apr 20 and at the same time that weekend is Vancouver's Fan Expo and on top of that 4/20 Day so I'm assuming there will be youngins ( well younger than me maybe some older ) filling the streets not only in their fav character costumes but also in a green hazy cloud that will blanket the city.

I have a question though! so if you a family that celebrates Easter on that Sunday and your kid is a pothead where do you foresee your child being that night? Dinner with the family or 420? How do they get out of it? How would that conversation go?

Back to Fan Expo so the lineup includes...so many Fav's!!!!!!

BRUCE CAMPBELL
ROBERT ENGLUND
LAUREN COHAN
MORENA BACCARIN
CHARISMA CARPENTER
ELIZA DUSHKU

That's only a few! Freddy in person though! EEEEEEEEE!


So much more!!! I haven't even touched on the video games, Anime so much more!

It may not be as big as Comic Con but it's out tiny piece of that world and every year it gets a bit bigger!

Wait why am I undecided about going?

If you want to check it out the web info is below,

Ok guys! It's been fun.

See Ya
S

http://www.fanexpovancouver.com