My Favorite Comic Con photos

My family full of awesomeness!

If I'm lucky someone is nice enough to share their photo on FB, imdb.com, EW, or by emailing me.  Sometimes, someone is nice enough to take our photo and then take it again using our camera.  Here are some of my favorite Comic Con photos taken by others (over the years, I've forgotten who has taken which photo, please let me know so I can credit you!).

Iron Man 3 set

Outlander premier

 

From the Frame Guy

Comic Con 2015

Vikings invade Comic Con 2015

I love going to Comic Con.  I love embracing more of my geeky side.  Each Comic Con has a different feel and offers different special moments.  This year was different because I did not get a badge for every day.  I had badges for Thursday and Sunday.  The good news is there is enough things to do and see outside of the Con that its still easy to enjoy the festivities.  I cosplay with my parents which is fun for group photos and making a bigger impression.  I've become quiet accostomed to having my photo taken that I crave my few moments of fame every year during the Con.  Its worth the hassle of the petticoats, wings, and corsets for the brief glory.  :)

Nyx, Goddess of the Night

Gods of Olympus - Poseidon, Gaea, Nyx

Harley Quinn, Blindspot, Hook

Delta Raptor and Harley Quinn

Vikings!

  

My Tack Room

This beat up little tough shed came our house.  I turned it into my tack room.  My love keeps putting yard tools and other stuff in my space and I make unhappy noises when he does.  But the core of it is my tack room.  Its my little temple to all things horse.  We did a lot of work to it.  We added electricity, nice lighting (indoor and out), saddle racks, paint, custom cabinet and wifi for a web cam.  Its a pretty awesome tack room. :)

We got a puppy!

So we got a puppy!  Back in February which I will use as my excuse to explain why I haven't made a post in almost a year...... Are you buying that?  :)

May I introduce Titan!  His cuteness should help excuse some of my tardiness.

First day home

After his day on the ski slopes.

His favorite spot to sleep (back when he could fit).

First time at the lake.

Getting bigger.

He wanted to go for a ride.

His favorite toy

My cute boy!

His last ride in the front seat.

Isn't he the most loveable?

His last hike with snow for the season.

I told you he is cute!

Halloween mice

Its been forever since I have posted and part of that is busyness and part of that is forgetfulness.

I have to post pictures of Comic Con because it was awesome but in a different way than from previous years.  Otherwise, small projects have been going on but not quiet completed so any picture would be rather uninspiring.

Horse: Faldur is doing well.  I wasn't able to ride him in July because I was gone and I wasn't able to ride in August do to some pretty big wildfires making lots of smoke.  Late Sept, I was able to get some rides in and its nice to be back out with my boy.  I also just got done prepping his pasture of winter.  I turned his salt bucket on its side so its sheltered from the rain and won't dissolve into salty mud.  I also moved a lot of dirt from the first half of the top pad.  My theory being with less dirt there will be less of a mud pit around the gate and his feeder.  Its a theory at least.  We also had a rain storm last week and the weeds/grass has been growing so I have had Faldur out grazing and using him like a weed whacker.  Its his favorite job.

Husband:  Last month, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary!!!  5 years dating + 5 years married = 10 years of loving the right man!  We went out to dinner and movie, which may not seem like a lot but we rarely do either so it was special to us.  The movie we saw was Austenland.  A total chick flick but with lots of good humor so even my man enjoyed the movie.  I totally recommend watching and I will have to get it when it comes out on DVD.

House: Lots of little things are in the works but not completed.  Fall things are getting done, like raking tons of pine needles and preparing burn piles for that glorious day when we can finally do burn piles.  We are prepping for a retaining wall and widening the pathway in the back yard.  A total pain and back breaking work so we working on that slowly.  My man is also finally able to turn the garage into a proper man cave so we are getting all the foundation projects done - running wire, putting in a housekeeping pad for the well water storage, etc...   I can't wait for these projects to actually finish so we can enjoy completed outcomes.

Halloween Mice!

Before this year, we moved a lot so all decorations had to be small and portable.     I had little mice outlines that I had cut out and would tape to the base boards.  But on a shopping trip with my mother to Micheals, we got sheets of black craft foam and I was suddenly inspired to make a longer lasting version of my little cutouts.
Steps:
Google for mice and pick out the ones you like.  I am pretty sure mine are from Martha Stewart but I don't remember.

Cut out your templates.

Trace onto the foam sheets.  Cut out with scissors or exacto knife.  I recommend the knife but I wasn't thinking about that when I cut mine out.  I used scissors and the rounded edges could be better.

Stick to your wall! (I used tape)

From Start to Finish

My templates traced onto the sheet of craft foam.

I had a spare space that was too small for a mouse so I made a mouse door!

    They are cute and much more durable.  Here are a few of them.  I did 2 sheets of craft and came out with about 20 mice.  They are now running around the hallway, entry, and living room.

With Family... So On Vacation?

I love my family.   I love my in-laws.  However, my extended family is messy, complicated, and not always the most relaxing thing for me to deal with.  I suppose if I had grown up with a sibling and had to deal with daily stress, then my extended family would be a breeze to deal with.  But I was and am a single child.  I remember going to visit family in Germany and I had to go through customs or whatever its called when they check your passport and ask you that important question, "Business or Pleasure?"  My gut instinct was to say,"Family" but that wasn't one of the options given.  I then wanted to say, 'Both' but finally got the word 'pleasure' to come out of my mouth.  I could say that this all stems from my grandparents.  I have one set that disowned me, my family, and most of the other related children when I was young and my other set has never given my family a true compliment.  Charming people, they are.

Yet they managed to produce the best set of people I get to call my parents.  To use British slang, we get along smashing!  I love my folks and we have always been close.  We went camping monthly when I was a kid and traveled a lot, too.  We still get together to go places and do things.  Which leads me to the title of the post in a round about way.  I came down before the 4th of July with my husband to see my in-laws and hang out with their puppy.  I went shopping with my mother-in-law and picked up some cute in sunglasses.  Then I came down to my parents' house and went camping with them for the 4th of July.  I will stay down until Comic Con is over and then I fly home.  So the shopping, camping, and Comic Con is my vacation.  The weeding, cleaning, organizing overhaul, and working out is not.  After all, this is family so its not really vacation, its home.

This a stained glass painting of my family my grandparents had done.  Its my favorite thing in their home because its so personal.  

Husband:  I miss him.  We had a good time while we were both down but I am happy to report that he is back home safe and sound.

House:  Nothing new will be accomplished this month while I am gone.  Unless my husband decides to work on the garage or finish installing the home entertainment system.  However, I have been overhauling my mother's sewing room with great results.  I hope to take pictures and post them.

Horse:  Faldur is happy and healthy according to my husband and the daily reports I received from the neighbor taking care of him.  He handled the fireworks pretty easily and is doing fine in the heat.  He has actually been spoiled while I have been gone.  Faldur has been groomed and bathed daily.  He has been getting lots of Wheat Thins, which the neighbors bring over a new box each time they take care of him.  They write 'Faldur Cookies' on the box.  My boy is blessed.


  

Glass Stone Words for Landscaping (Fixing up my ugly hill)

You can, of course, use these in other places than the yard but I put mine in the yard.  My yard needs some major prettying up.  My yard is more of a hill.  A steep, ugly hill that refuses to really grow anything.  I must do more homework on plants for that hill..... 

Anyways, here is my ugly hill in my back yard.

Yup, steep and lacking all sorts of pretty.

So I started looking into my Pinterest board to get ideas.  Plenty of ideas for stepping stones, flat places, and pools.  Not many ideas for hills or whimsy.  I really wanted whimsy.  So I started thinking about how I could take what I had seen and make it mine.  There was this one pin that I really liked.  Someone on Etsy have taken stones and shaped them into dragonflies and flowers.  I like it and looked into using pavers and such from Home Depot.  But they didn't have the right shapes and I don't have the talent to shape them myself.  So I thought about making molds and making them that way.  I didn't have the patience to do that.  Then I came up with gluing glass pebbles together into words.  I don't remember how my brain made that leap so don't ask.  So I got the small flat glass stones and glued them into words and the big flat stones and glued them into flowers.  I used E6000 glue in clear.  I spent maybe $35 between the glue and the stones.  

Pretty

A couple more of my flowers.  I bout 3 bags and made about 10 flowers total.

Some more of the flowers. 

Laying out one of the words

Ready for gluing.  Don't skimp on the glue.

The size difference between the 2 stones

Finished product

Now there is some pretty in my garden.

Mullock - means dirt, rubbish, and tree stump.  My thoughts about my hill.

 Tips:  Don't skimp on the glue.  The stones are heavy and need the support. 

           Use short words if you are going to place them on a hill.  Mostly to help the glue hold it together.  This hill is very uneven and the bigger words had a tough time staying on the hill.
            Make it your own.
           Use wax paper, E6000 doesn't stick to wax paper and you can use the wax paper over and over again.
           Allow the letters to dry at least 12 hours before moving them.  This is a good time to trim up any glue spiderwebs and flip the letters over to air out.  E6000 is very stinky.
           This project should be done outside!!!  E6000 stinks!!

I used all sorts of words.  Fun words, silly words, meaningful words.  I was struck by the phrase "I am Loved" so I made it.  I also used words like: pure, fun, sun, read, grow, wild, wish, hero, date, wit, care, bliss.   I had many other words I wanted to due too (risk, tact, echo, delight, enchant, star, wine, lazy, allure) but I want to get the project done and I was running out of glass pebbles.  I will add more words at a later date, most likely. 


My other plans my hill include a retaining wall, fly repelling plants, plants on the hill, a rosemary bush fence on top of the hill.  At least, those are my plans currently.