Shine the Spotlight on The Fold

When people think of theme music for an animated cartoon, most probably don't think too much about the artists making the music. If it's catchy, it may get you singing it under your breath at weird moments of the day.  And if other people are around you, they may ask, "What song is that?" And then you have to mutter, "oh...it's from...um...Lego Ninjago". "The what?", they'll probably say. Here, let me show you....
My kids & AFOL husband are huge fans of the Cartoon Network series Lego Ninjago. So naturally, I see and hear about all the aspects of the show whether I'm asking about it or not. Fortunately for me, it's a great show so I love watching it with the guys and seeing & hearing their enthusiasm. And an added bonus? The show has a great theme song performed by a solid music group!  Let me just say, I'm thankful for The Fold.  They are a super talented group who put together great music for a cute little cartoon show. Throughout the years the show has been on air, they've revised the theme song to fit into the season's theme. They are no-doubt, the musical voice of the show. And I listen to them. On my own. Because I like them!  And yes, I'll belt out this song every once in a while...sorry if you're within earshot. Check out their YouTube channel to see & hear more of their work.

Thanks to the husband, there's now some buzz about getting The Fold to perform at next year's Lego Ninjago panel at Comic-Con/SDCC. I'm joining the unofficial campaign! I think it would be awesome to see them rock it out live!  Are the Powers that Be listening? Because here we go...we want The Fold! We want The Fold! We want The Fold! **Pumping hands in the air**.

Go to The Fold/Cartel to buy stupendous The Fold/Ninjago merchandise! I have to say the t-shirts are quite stylish.

The Fold....check them out!

And just for fun...here's something random to hopefully make you laugh...

Enjoy life! XO 

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Geek Family Comic-Con Adventures 2016: Days 3 & 4

Our Comic-con adventures continue...
Day 3: I really wanted to take some awesome cosplay pics.  But I learned something about myself...I'm super picky when it comes to cosplay! Who knew?  In order for me to WANT to take a picture I had to like the costume and feel that it was as close to the original as possible. No disrespect to all the amazing cosplay participants.  They were all wonderful for making the effort! Comic-con would not be the same without all the amazing characters walking around!

Blade! Loved this guy! He had a place for his sword right in the middle slot of his leather jacket!

So then I head on over to the DC Booth & it's completely bumpin'! The crowds are gathering, & I'm like, "What's happening?" I look up & there's the cast of Suicide Squad! They're so beautiful!!  And yes, I was squealing & jumping up & down. Stop judging!!

So, in their honor, I went behind bars for a second....just for a pic. 

And then there's this worthy cosplay to round out the day...

This 1960's Joker was completely in character the whole time! If it wasn't Comic-con, I'd be creeped out.

Day 4 (final day): Our last day here will be embedded in our memories forever.  We attended three panels and each one was very special. But first, we squeezed in some last-minute sightseeing.

The businesses around the event, knew their audience. Why not cater, right?

It's the Batmobile! Very cool!

This is a statue from the Batman Vs. Superman movie. The boys were excited to see it!

The first panel we attended was the Lego Dimensions panel. This is where we were able to see some sneak peaks of upcoming characters and hear some detailed information on Year 2 of the game.  Some great revelations were made and the guys enjoyed getting a first-look at the graphics and themes that will be coming out soon. This is a great game that the whole family can enjoy.  As a Mom, I don't have to worry that my kids are being bombarded by inappropriate content that is often the prevailing theme in video games.

Crowded Lego Dimensions panel. But we're good to go!

The next panel was the Lego Ninjago panel. This was super fun consisting of the creative directors, writers, one voice actor, model creators and marketing representatives.  Hearing about all the behind-the-scenes that take place to put a show like this together is extremely fascinating. They leave a bit of room at the end open for questions and what's awesome is that it feels like they really value what the fans think.  They've changed story directions because of majority opinions and polls & over the years have taken great pains to make sure they close the gaps in the overall story arcs as well as provide some semblance of continuity.  These fans are smart.  They notice things that don't belong.  My youngest son asked a question that got a huge reaction from the room & because of it, we might see his name mentioned on a future episode.  How exciting!

These are the Brothers Hageman, the writers for Lego Ninjago & a huge inspiration for the boys.

The last panel was for a relatively new show called Lego Nexo Knights.  The format was similar to the previous panel and even brought over some of the same main players. It's especially cool to hear about how vehicle models are created and the evolution it takes til it finally reaches the end product.  I can't help but admire the enormous creativity of the team.  The biggest stand-out was meeting voice actor Vincent Tong who voices Kai in Lego Ninjago and the quirky villain, Jestro, in Nexo Knights. This guy was truly a class act: charming, funny and accommodating to all the genre's crazy fans--of all ages. He graciously took a picture with my son and spoke to him as well.  I'm officially a fan.

With Vincent Tong! Thanks for the picture, man!

And finally, some additional favorite cosplay pictures:

Hagrid!

Game of Thrones!

All things must come to an end...but the precious unforgettable memories we made over these past 4 days will be with us for a lifetime. Thank you, San Diego Comic-con!

Geek Family Comic-Con Adventures 2016: Days 1 & 2

We were fortunate to be able to attend this year's San Diego Comic-Con International for all four days this year! If you're familiar with the lottery system of the Comic-Con ticketing, you can appreciate that being thankful is the only way we should be.  And we are!!

Day 1:  First day at Comic-con is quite the unique experience when you're a novice at the whole fanatic Pop Arts Culture scene. Technically, we're not exactly novices, having gone to Comic-con before, but it's still an overwhelming sight to behold.  The crowds are endless! And it's amazing & awesome.  And being the person that I am, I just want to take it all in and appreciate everything! We started off going to a Lego line in order to get a ticket for a daily exclusive offering.  That's a big buzz word at Comic-con: exclusive.  Basically, get it here or find it on Ebay for triple (or more) of what it cost. And since I have 3 guys who are collectors, just having toys that are "exclusive" to add to their collection is golden.

If you look closely, these Teen Titans have been mashed with Game of Thrones. Funny!

We attended the Teen Titans Go! panel.  Right in front of us were the producers: Aaron Horvath and Pete Michall as well as the actors who voice the beloved characters: Greg Cipes as Beastboy, Scott Menvile as Robin, Khary Payton as Cyborg and Tara Strong as Raven.  Unfortunately the actress who voices Starfire wasn't there (she's one of my favorites).  But the panel itself was so much fun to be a part of! They were very animated (no pun intended...or do I?) Again, it's such a joy seeing people do what they love to do while entertaining masses of people. It was certainly a highlight of my day.  They showed us a never-before-seen episode (schedule to air in August) and they talked about some of the many behind-the-scene happenings.  There were many comedic revelations from the actors and it was weird to hear their voices NOT coming out of an animated character.

The two on the end are the game directors for Lego Dimensions...a favorite of my guys! They were ecstatic to meet and talk to them!

The Exhibit Hall for Comic-Con is a sight to behold and is something difficult to fully comprehend without witnessing it & being a part of the action yourself.  There are a multitude of vendors from all walks of the pop arts.  Naturally, my guys gravitate towards the Lego area which is one of the most popular booths in the enormous Hall. But they also took part in the gaming area and various other genres including DC, Marvel, & so much more!

The boys love Batman and Lego...so Batman Lego is Boss!

Yeah...so we took a felfie with Lego Batman!

Day 2:  The excitement continues but we've now got our sea legs and have some semblance of a plan to maneuver throughout our day.  We've got goals, people! 

But first, I have to take a moment and take a picture with my partner-in-life and love. ♥ San Diego is beautiful!

Then it's time to get our tickets for Lego exclusives and Minifigure giveaways.  The only caveat is that there are huge lines for a CHANCE to get these things. It all sounds completely insane to people who are not into this scene, but "normal" is relative to who surrounds you, & believe me, this was NORMAL. LOL! ☺ What's entertaining is sometimes hearing strange conversations all around you of people geeking out about whatever they like. I love being surrounded by happy & joyous people and hearing & seeing enthusiasm all around me was super fun!

I don't think this picture accurately captures the excitement these three had when they got their Minifigures.

We attended the How It Should Have Ended panel located inside the San Diego Public Library right within the Gaslamp District. Fun panel including some never-before-seen videos. The best part though, is hearing these creative & brilliant people speak about their journey and feeling inspired by them.

My son was so excited to take a picture with this very creative HISHE team!

And to add to our already amazing day...

We were walking around and the Ecto1 just stops right in front of us! WHAT??!!  Well, thank you very much!!

So thankful for these two days...cherishing every precious memory!

A Few Liquid Refreshments to Review

Coincidentally, I was sent three products for review from PinchMe and Premier Protein arriving on the same day. I thought, perfect, I'll review them all in one post. ☺ All three products are drinkable but very different from one another. The products are: V8® Veggie Blends, V8® + Energy Orange Pineapple Lightly Carbonated, and Premier Protein Shake. Once again, these products were sent to me free of charge, but my thoughts are entirely my own. Here are my honest reviews of each product.

V8® Veggie Blends: Carrot Mango

When I saw "Carrot Mango" as the flavor for review, I was admittedly very apprehensive about it.  I'm not a stranger to juicing and even own a juicer but my visceral instinct is to find the combination of veggie and fruit strange.  But since I'm ever the optimist, I just went for it & gulped it down. This particular flavor did not speak to my taste buds.  I found the after taste a little strange.  There's a "hint" of mango, but I found myself wanting to chase that flavor. You know, that feeling of, "I want more of that...just that.." It didn't give me enough of a reaction to want to seek it out in the future.  It's not awful though & overall it was refreshing.  But with so many choices & options out there for quenching juices, I prefer to keep searching. My boys would drink this.  Did they find it amazing and would they seek it out independently? No.

V8® + Energy Orange Pineapple Lightly Carbonated

There are so many options out there for "energy" drinks.  Most have huge amounts of caffeine and have questionable effects on one's health.  This product claims to come from green tea, provide a serving of vegetables & fruit, B Vitamins and no artificial colors & flavors. Knowing all this, I feel more comfortable drinking this than the drinks that have loads of caffeine in them.  How about the taste? The best way I can describe it is that it has a "fruity kick".  I could taste the hints of orange & pineapple and the carbonation gives it that "soda" feel. I actually enjoyed it.  Mixed reviews from my boys.  My 10-year-old took a sip & immediately liked it. He would take this drink over the previous one.  My 13-year-old didn't enjoy it.  His response was, "nah". He would choose the previous drink over this one.  To each his own.

Premier Protein Chocolate Shake

This is a fun drink to review because my guys outnumber me on this one.  I personally thought the drink was too thick, too sweet. Meanwhile, all three guys kept saying, "YUM!"  My 13-year-old said this was his favorite of the three drinks. Again, it's worth a try if you're looking for a protein packed drink shake with lots of flavor.  The shake has other flavors including vanilla, strawberries & cream, and caramel. I can only imagine how sweet those flavors would be--and I can imagine how my guys would enjoy them if their affinity for the chocolate flavor was any indication. So, it was a miss for me and a hit for my 3 guys.

Let me know what you guys thought of these drinks, if you have the chance to try them.
#ProductReview

Aim to Make Not Wasting Your Way of Life

Living in a first-world industrialized nation makes it easy to over indulge, over consume & easily squander our resources. But what's great about living in this type of society is that we are given the all-important choice to NOT do any of these things. I feel Blessed to be living in this great nation--The United States of America.  I would never want those choices taken away from me, but what I'd rather do is spread awareness and increase knowledge of alternative ways of living. And this post's message is about #NotWasting. Help out the cause and tweet out your positive thoughts and experiences of not wasting).

Make #NotWasting a way of life:

• 'Best Before Date' doesn't mean 'Thow Away After', although the product quality may be inferior.
• Whenever possible, shop local! 
• Compost

For more information go to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

And then there's this...

 Americans throw away almost as much food as they eat because of a “cult of perfection”, deepening hunger and poverty, and inflicting a heavy toll on the environment...“It’s all about blemish-free produce,” says Jay Johnson, who ships fresh fruit and vegetables from North Carolina and central Florida. “What happens in our business today is that it is either perfect, or it gets rejected. It is perfect to them, or they turn it down. And then you are stuck.”

For more on information on this "cult of perfection" wasting, please head on over to The Guardian.

Here's a beginning guide to composting (a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil--Dictionary): 

Source: Mind Body Green

Try to shop at your local Farmer's Markets as much as you can.  You not only help the #NotWasting culture but you help contribute to the "Shop Local" movement and support farmers and small business.

We're blessed to have several Farmers' Market options in our area.

I'm not sure if it's a culture thing or my mom thing, but I've always been taught to "waste not". We eat what's on our plate & if we can't finish it, we box it up & save it for later.  I'm mindful of the perishables I buy during the week so that we consume it all & not waste it.  Since I've been at it for many number of years, I'm in tune to what my family consumes every week so I'm proud to say that our food waste is minimal to none.  I've passed on these habits/virtues to my boys.  They still surprise me sometimes, as to how diligent they are about not wasting.  I remember how upset my boys were one day when they complained that adult lunch monitors at their previous school insisted that kids throw away uneaten food.  They were proud to report to me that at their current school, they see very little waste from their fellow students.  Well, this pleases me. ☺

As often as possible, I'd like to close with some humor....

I have two growing boys. Yeah...this is real stuff.

I'm not sure I can ever NOT say it this way ever again.

Have a great life & remember, aim to make NOT WASTING your way of life!


 

To Read or Not to Read, Not Even a Question

There will always be more books on my reading list than time for me to get through them.  But that will never stop me from trying.  You know that person who always has their nose in a book/Kindle? That's me.  Well, at least most of the time, when I'm not checking off my "To Do" list, and raising good boys.  Okay, let me rephrase: I'd LIKE to be that person who always has their nose in a book/Kindle.  Meanwhile, here's three books I have read recently I'd like to pass on to YOUR reading lists.  Enjoy, & don't forget, send me your recommendations too! And before I go on, just a reminder, I mostly read Contemporary Romance Novels which are geared for adults 18+, so if you don't fit into this category, you'll most likely not enjoy these selections. Okay? Okay.

Resisting the Bad Boy: Sullivan Brothers Nice Girl Serial Trilogy (Book 1) by Violet Duke

Abby is a nice girl: kind, generous, understanding.  She’s been best friends with Brian since college & helped him through some pretty rough times.  And Brian’s brother Conner finally notices her—really notices her & starts pursuing her.  She responds & they build a relationship of sorts that both know can’t last, maybe, sort of….there’s a LOT of story to tell.  Book 2 is called “Falling for the Good Guy” and Book 3 is called “Choosing the Right Man”.  

Silent Love: The Love Series- Book 1 by Casey Clipper

Sean and Beth have many personal hurdles to overcome to make their love solid.  Beth especially is holding back because she feels that what she considers disabilities and other securities contribute to her not being good enough for Sean.  But Sean is a very committed and persistent guy.  He is absolutely secure about his love for Beth. Also, be ready to be introduced and get a glimpsed of Ryan, Sean’s brother. He’s quite the character. And Sean and Ryan are inseparable…a package deal.  Read this very entertaining selection & series.  Book 2 is called “Unexpected Love”. Book 3 is called “Dangerous Love”. And the final installment, Book 4, is called “Taken Love”. 

Micah by Jo Raven

Micah is a survivor of the foster care system; once homeless and living on the streets but now finding his place in the world with a solid job & friends that he considers family.  Evangeline comes from a family of privilege but has always had a soft heart for those in need; making friends with the homeless and always stopping to lend a hand.  Are they meant to be together? The story alternates from each other’s point of view so the reader is made fully aware of how they feel about each other.  Passionate is just one word to describe it.  This selection is the beginning of The Damage Control Series.

Don't ask the impossible of me. I read!

I pride myself on always looking on the bright side of life, now I know why! ☺

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