#funwithfiction

I may have mentioned that the kids and I are working on a huge social media campaign. We are EXCITED to get started but a lot of prep work goes into these things and we don't want to rush it. However, we thought it would be fun to take a break from what we are doing to offer up some teasers.

Maddox as Starlord, Autumn as the 4th Doctor

Sox as the 10th Doctor

It's no secret that we LOVE to cosplay. From Thorin Oakenshield to the 10th Doctor, the Mad Hatter to Starlord, we love our fandoms. So what better way to leave our mark on the social media universe than #funwithfiction where we give fictional characters our family twist?

In light of the Yaya Han fabric line making its debut at JoAnn stores  and the subsequent frustration over the overpriced, disappointingly poor quality fabrics, we decided to put more effort into documenting our costumes and process. While I could dedicate an entire post to my issues with people like Yaya and their role in destroying the spirit of cosplay, I've decided to skip that negative road and focus on the joy it brings to our lives. 

First, I'm a single mom struggling to make ends meet so we don't have a load of money to put into our costumes. This simply means we need to get creative and use materials and items we CAN fit into our meager budget. Would we love to make incredible pieces with the perfect fabrics? Heck yes! I long to recreate the green velvet dress worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind but unfortunately, my mom does not have yards upon yards of lush green curtains for me to tear down and repurpose. Beyond that, I have designs for gowns and costumes requiring robotics and lights but at this point we just can't make those happen. Still, I do what I can with what I have and the kids have yet to complain. 

Maddox as Frodo Baggins

Autumn in her element

I think my munchkins are in direct competition with each other to select the costume that ultimately stumps me. Autumn almost did with Thorin but I got REALLY creative and used an old bridesmaids dress from my sister as well as the Bellatrix Lestrange costume I wore a few years back to build most of the costume. With a 60% off coupon I grabbed up some faux fur and hand painted the armor details onto the pieces rather than build them (though I do know how to). The end result pleased my kiddo and was lightweight enough for her to trick or treat in. We considered gender-bending Thorin but Autumn didn't want to and as time has passed, she has no problems cosplaying classically male characters because she sees it as a challenge. I will give away a little secret - Autumn has plans for a female Gepetto that will blow your mind if she can pull it off.

In the meantime, we are working on something a bit different.....can you guess what Autumn is creating?

Life as a Fat Mom

I haven’t always been like this. It didn’t happen overnight either. I didn’t even realize it at first. Still, people go out of their way to make me painfully aware now. Sometimes I wonder why nobody close to me took a moment to mention it. Nobody did.

Me at the Rock Hall of Fame....Love The Doors!!

Curvy, weighty, overweight, hefty, plus-sized, BBW….or….just plain fat. Yep, I’m fat. According to BMI charts, at 5’4” I should weigh between 108 and 145 pounds. When I was a senior in high school and a two sport athlete, I weighed 155 pounds. I did not feel good about myself because I was not tall and lean like my friends. I developed a chest very early and it was not small. I had hips and a healthy rear end. Looking back, I looked good. I looked healthy. I looked top heavy. But I was healthy. I must emphasize this. Despite constantly feeling fat, I was not.

In college I gained the freshman fifteen and then some. Again, it didn’t happen overnight. Taking a full (and sometimes overfull) course load, working part time, and trying to have some semblance of a social life took its toll. I didn’t weigh myself for a long time, it wasn’t on my to-do list. In fact, I didn’t really notice my ballooning figure until more than a year after I graduated college. At that point I was dealing with some serious life issues and used food and exercise as a means to begin reclaiming my life. In the spring of 2001 I weighed in at 172 pounds (give or take). I looked pretty good, I felt great.

Then, I got married in 2002. I had my first child in May 2005 and my second in June of 2006. My body betrayed me in so many ways. My already ample chest seemed to explode. I went from a 34DDD/E to a 36GG in that time. My weight fluctuated from 180 to 210 over the course of a few years. It was a tough time for me. By the time my marriage fell apart I was struggling just to stay afloat and look out for my kids. My weight was not in a good place.

Me (as the TARDIS) stepping into a TARDIS

I think the heaviest I weighed in at was 216 and that broke my heart. I have been struggling with my body for more than a decade now. And I am made painfully aware of my failings all the time. I’ve had four doctors in the past fifteen years. Three of the four have treated me like a second class citizen because of my weight. I have actually been told that my chronic migraines would go away if I would just lose weight. Migraines have been a part of my life since 4^th grade so I find that hard to believe. They did not want to hear that. Interestingly, my blood work is all normal. The only chronic health problems I have are my migraines and sinus/allergy difficulties. I don’t eat terribly – I could do better and far worse – but the perception is that I must be unhealthy because of my weight. It’s simply untrue.

With plus-size women speaking out all over the world, it seems crazy that I would continue to encounter prejudices at my size. Yet it still happens. All the time. Unlike those women who appear confident and proud of their size, I am not so much. I remember the feeling of being curvy, voluptuous but not fat. Believe me, I notice when people ignore me for my size. I attend a lot of comic cons and I’m passed over in photo ops for the thinner, more scantily clad ladies. I was even edged out of a photo op I had paid for so that it was just the celeb and my son. It looked so awkward that I cut down the picture from an 8X10 to a 5X7 for my son. I’ll admit, it stung more than a little bit.

I ran a 5K with Autumn

Sharing a post run smoothie with Autumn

It happens in bars and restaurants, school and well, anywhere I go.

The kids and me at Notre Dame

Hell, it happens at the when I go shopping for clothes. I wear a size 14/16 pant, sizes that are generally available in most stores but I have been practically run out of more than one retail giant. One sales clerk actually told me I would probably be more comfortable at another store even though they carried my size. 
It’s not like I was looking at size 2s! Bra shopping is even worse. As noted before, I wear a 36G/GG. Do you know how hard that size is to come by? Nevermind the cost of one when you manage to find one. I try to make my bras last as long as possible for this reason.

My weight doesn't keep me from doing things with my kids and they never seem bothered by my size. I help coach their ball teams, take them to the park to play, and generally don't stop until hours after they do.

Still, I keep trying. I keep plugging away and altering my sleep patterns, my activity, my diet. I just keep searching for the right combination that will allow me to find my way back to a wiser version of the curvy girl I used to be. She’s still in here. Somewhere. But in the meantime, I’m going to plug away as the fat mom and remember how I was treated all these years so that when I find her she will be that much wiser.

From one sports Mom to another....

You know who you are. Last Saturday you sat four seats down from me, flanked by your kids and your "mom posse." I sat with the fathers of two of my daughter's teammates. I heard you talking about my daughter, mocking her, shunning her, degrading her. 

She is ten. 

First you mocked her size. 

Then you were offended by her socks. 

Oh, and you didn't stop there, let's not forget how much you hated her hair. 

Heaven forbid my child be different. How dare she attempt to stand out.

I sat there for half of the game listening to you insult my daughter to your children and to the other parents near you. I just cheered for my child and her team. Then you caught my eye and said something negative directly to me. Were you embarrassed because you realized it was MY daughter you were talking about AND that I heard you? Were you trying to cover your shame? I can't be sure. I do know that you only succeeded in showing your kids that it is okay for adults to behave in such a manner. You made it okay for them to be bullies in their own right, that it is appropriate to shun that which is different. 

Shame on you. 

Let me tell you about that child you could not tolerate having on the court. She is one of the younger girls out there as she won't turn eleven until the end of May. Yes, she's a tall girl but as you should be well aware, she has no control over her height. Damn those pesky genetics! How dare she favor her 6'4" father!

She chose to wear tall socks that say "Back Off" because she thinks they are funny. Do you know why? Because she's a kid and they show a little attitude in a sea of green and white uniforms. She also takes a beating every week because she's tall and apparently that means all of the shorter girls can do as they please to her. 

Do you know why she wears her hair in two buns on top of her head (we call them poofs)?? Because she is tired of girls pulling her hair when they "guard" her on the court. The style keeps her hair out of her face, is fun and spunky, and generally is quite functional for basketball.

But more than that, my daughter is kind and considerate. She is aggressive when it comes to sports because, well, that's what sports are about. Off the court (or field), my daughter helps out with the younger kids at school. She takes gifted courses and participates in Girl Scouts. She helps me out around the house and looks out for her younger brother who can be a little forgetful. She loves zombies (especially The Walking Dead) and reads classics like Animal Farm and To Kill A Mockingbird. She is learning to knit and sew. She likes to write stories. She likes cosplay. 

This is the child you degraded on Saturday. My child. And then you tried to make me feel bad for calling you on it. What kind of parent degrades a child in such a manner?  

I am not proud of myself for responding to you, my daughter probably would not have. She may have looked you square in the eye and smiled. She might have said something witty but not rude because that is who she is. But...she would have handled it with grace that you clearly lack. What saddens me is that you are not the only one she has encountered and you certainly will not be the last. 

Book Review: Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning

Sadly, I've been losing interest in this series but I was really hopeful for Feverborn. Let me say - I really love some of these characters. I appreciate Ms. Moning continuing the series so that I can learn more about Mac and Barrons and the others, but it's starting to feel too drawn out. It seems that this is becoming far too common in this genre. Why are beloved characters and worlds being diluted into shadows of what the began as? I worry that the Fever series is going the way of the Sookie Stackhouse Series, Black Dagger Brotherhood, and the Dark Hunter Series. I hope it isn't so, but I fear it is.

First off, let me say how disappointed I was when Dani came back as Jada. Ugh. I will not give spoilers for this book with regard to Dani/Jada but I am not loving the direction her character is taking. I will say that it is interesting to get a better glimpse of her time in the Silvers but aside from that, her chapters just made me sad and honestly, kind of bored.

Mac, ah Mac. One of the more enjoyable characters in the genre. She clings to her girliness in spite of being a hardened killer. Barrons remains a guiding force in her life, more than a protector and more than a lover. Given the apocalypse, Mac is adjusting reasonably well especially with how terrible her luck seems to be. Sheesh.

The men of the Fever Series never seem to disappoint. That's one constant in this series that I'm more than pleased with. I just worry that in spite of them, the series is dwindling. Feverborn left me disappointed much like the last few Sookie books. Especially since a good chunk of the novel is reserved for a glossary - seriously shortening the actual story.

My verdict? Three out of five top hats. I am so glad I borrowed this book from the library instead of paying for it.

Book Review: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Let me start by saying that we intended for this to be a joint review. Autumn and I started reading Boneshaker together but she dropped out five chapters in. I don't blame her. It had such promise - steampunk and zombies!

Boneshaker takes up 16 years after a disaster has left the city of Seattle quarantined. Survivors live outside the remnants of the city scraping by, boiling down the water multiple times to rid it of the Blight that turned most of Seattle into rotters (zombies). The story is told from two perspectives, that of Briar (whose former husband brought about the disaster) and her son, Zeke. Of course, Zeke has questions about who his father was and what he really did but his mother has never answered him. To add fuel to this fire, Briar's father was a lawman who saved some criminals from lock up when the rotters took over the city. The family has many secrets as do all families at the root of great tragedy.

Zeke slips into the city through access tunnels but an earthquake renders the tunnel inaccessible to Briar who ends up boarding an airship (so cool!) captained by one of the men her father had saved from lock up (how convenient, right?). It quickly becomes apparent that the book is going to revolve around Zeke (pursuing his fool's errand to exonerate his father) and Briar's attempts to stay alive and reunite. Toss in a mad scientist hoping to take up the mantle of Zeke's father while running the remnants of downtown Seattle, an underground crew of Chinamen and random others trying to survive in the Blight infested city and scores of rotters who can climb (what?!) and you have all the components of a brilliant adventure. Or not.

The book starts out SLOW, so slow that Autumn just could not get hooked. I powered through and found a few parts interesting but in the end it just fell flat. There are zombie hoards that keep people running at times but they don't show up until half way through the book and other than one scene with Briar on the side of a building, their activity was rather underwhelming. Further, I was left with more questions than answer and while Ms. Priest did not tie everything up in a nice neat bow (a pet peeve of mine), I felt there could have been some more puzzle pieces put in place.

I would give this book three out of five top hats (like our new rating system???).