Tough Mudder - Jacksonville 2013

It was tough. It was muddy. But we were ready for the challenge. Dave completed every obstacle. The only one I didn't do was the Funky Monkey.

Yeah. I can maybe do 1/4 of that...trust me, I've tried.

But thanks to my awesome teammates and my own stubborness, I made it over/under/through all the rest.

Not neccessarily all that gracefully, but I did it.

Seriously you guys, that mud was slippery.

Naturally, the obstacles I thought would be difficult were a piece of cake and the ones that I wasn't so much concerned with kicked my ass. For example, I thought this one was going to be pretty mentally taxing:

But as it turns out, it was quite relaxing. I float like a cork, so I just slowly pulled my way through. No joking, I wished that one was longer because it was nice to just pull myself along, chill as f***k in the cool water. 

I really hadn't given the Arctic Enema (ice cold, literally) and the Electric Shock obstacles much thought because they were just about pain. I've pushed another living thing out of my vagina, I've had major surgery...I'm a Crossfitter, damn it! I have learned to make friends with pain. It does not scare me. And it didn't. But I'm not going to lie to you. The electric shocks hurt like a sonuvabitch. You had to run through the last one, (you crawled through the first) and the shocks dropped both Dave and I to our knees. The Arctic Enema, once you were out for a minute or two, actually felt great. My muscles really enjoyed it. But for the moments that I was in it, my body was so shocked I started involuntarily breathing REALLY quickly as I was working my way out. But through all three of the painful obstacles, I did not lose my shit as I saw some folks do....just pushed through the pain and did what I needed to do to get myself out of there as soon as quickly as possible. 

Kinda felt like this in my head:

Our teammates all had varying levels of fitness, so we took lots of walking breaks. So between that and the waits at the obstacles it took us about 4 hours and 10 minutes to finish. Which was fine, as with our crew  I was thinking 4 hours would be our best case scenario. By the time we were done, I felt...well, fine. A little beat up and bruised from the obstacles, but in terms of muscles/cardio I could have done another 12 miles if required. My legs felt perfectly strong. I've felt worse after ten mile forest hikes in the past.

Why did I feel great? Finished super-strong and no muscle soreness, even today when so many I know who have done it are in pain afterwards? 

Yeah, you knew what the answer to that question was going to be didn't you?

I never did any long runs to prep for the Tough Mudder, just kept up my regular Crossfit schedule. And BAM! Killed it. Just like with the Adv Races. Quit doing the chronic-cardio type workouts, just stuck with the Crossfit and BAM! Times improved. Of course, if I was looking to put in faster times, and/or marathon type distances I would assume supplementary workouts would be in order. However, I continue to be amazed with the actual real-world-getting-shit-done results Crossfit provides me. So much result, with so little (time) investment, IMO. Not saying it'll work that way for everyone, just saying that it works for me.

Also, I learned a new trick at this race which I think contributed greatly to my recovery. One of our teammates is an ultra-runner and he suggested I add a pack of salt to my first of three cups of water I would drink at every stop. Which I did, two or three times throughout the race. I'll definitely be incorporating that into my Adv Races, especially when we try our first long one coming up in September.

After the race we decided to make the most of having the kid at grandma's all weekend and stayed the night in Orlando. To further prove (brag, whatever) how quick our recovery was, we went out dancing until 2:00am after the race. Not to say, Mr. Fuchs is without soreness, he definitely is feeling it a bit. But to be fair, he got a much harder workout than I did. Not only was he the only person on our team to complete those long-ass monkey bars, he (along with the ultra-runner) had to boost me and another female teammate over all the huge walls and stuff. They even hung out at the the top of Mt Everest for awhile after we got up there so that they could help some other folks get up. Very cool.

Which reminds me of something else I learned at TM. You know how in action movies you see someone danlging from a cliff or a bridge or something and they are holding on by fingertips and still manage to only sloooooowly slip away, or maybe not. Maybe the hero pulls them up by just a hand's grasp? Uh, no. The burns on my knees are proof that if you don't grab wrists, it ain't happening my friends. Just grab hands and you'll immediately lose your grip, if you're talking full grown human beings anyways.

My cellphone is still MIA so I can't take a pic of my skinned knees for you, nor can I find a gif that illustrates my point so here's one of stars orbiting around a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Because, Muse.

So what's next for this dirty, dirty girl? Beat the Gauntlet, a 6 mile mud-run with ropes course is on June 8th. Even thought it kind of alters our vacation plans a bit, it's a must do. It's local (as in 2-minutes-away-local) and we'll be able to finally get our hands on that ROTC ropes course. 

If you're in FL, check it out! 

The weekend after that is the Father's Day/SCAR Adventure Race, put on by Pangea. Holden did this race with us last year. He enjoyed it. And by enjoy I mean he liked spending time with us doing something we enjoy, but we totally had to bribe him with a new Lego set to keep him motivated and not whining when he got tired. When it was all said and done he committed to doing this race with us each year, but that's it. Which we found fair. And actually prefer since at the Adv Races (as opposed to the Mud-Runs) we are pretty competitive and are trying to go as fast as possible/place well. I have to admit I can't wait until he is old enough to do the Mud-Runs. I know he is going to love them, and a low pressure environment is much more conducive to family togetherness. 

That's it for now dear readers, I've got some snatches to prepare for this evening.

That doesn't mean what you think it does....or maybe it does. I'm not asking questions.

  

You can rob me, you can starve me...and you can beat me and you can kill me. Just don't bore me.

That was my husband's Senior Yearbook Quote. It's from the movie Heart Break Ridge. Mine was "I'd rather laugh with the Sinners, than cry with the Saints," from 'Only the Good Die Young' by Billy Joel. That explains a lot about us, doesn't it.?

I warned ya'll I'd be late with my next post...'course I didn't think I'd be this late. But whatevs. I'm here now, so quit fussing. That said, since it's been a busy few weeks and I am crazy-stupid-banana-pants busy at work and home right now, you get the highlight reel.

Dave and I took a few days off and rode up to the Concours Owners Group's Run with the Wolf Rally in Suches, GA. I just finished the first draft of the article I was asked to write for the COG magazine. I'll post it here as soon as it is done. But some pics that won't be in the article:

  So this happened:

We got there early and spent a night in Helen, GA, famous for being a faux German town with very real German food.

They have Fat Tire in GA. WHY DON'T THEY HAVE FAT TIRE IN FL??!!!

There was much merriment made with my Bear Hat.

And much silliness around the Campfire. The SE Coggers freaking ROCK!

It rained on Friday, but we goofed around the campground all day and still had fun. 

By the way, if you haven't noticed we are A-dorable.

On Saturday the weather cleared and we made the obligatory Deal's Gap run.

Oh right, like I wasn't going to buy the Killboy shots?

Does this bike make my butt look fast?

Why won't this guy get off my ass?

*******

The following weekend, my college buddy Kelly came to visit. We shopped, we ate,

We hiked.

And we beautified and went out and partied. 

Sara joined us at Hiram's one night too. There was also a sighting of the rarely seen Library IT guy that night as well. And by sighting I mean he drove our drunk asses home.

We had a blast and the weekend went far, far too quickly as it always does.

*******

Last week, several chapters of Women in the Wind got together for an overnighter at Destination Daytona. On the way there, Liza, Sabrina and I took our bikes swimming, but I think I'll save that story for another day. Once in Daytona, we shopped, ate, drank, ate and drank some more. It was one of those days.

What? We shared the bucket!

Good times.

*********

Which brings us to this weekend. We hadn't had a Shop party in awhile, so since Dave C and my bro just got new jobs this week, it was Lindsay's birthday AND it was the 2nd anniversary of Cantaloupe Day; a celebration was in order. 

Yes, it's a couch. And no, we could not be more redneck.

What you're looking at here is my awesome friend Jacqui, who I had not seen since elementary school (Yay, FB!) and the Vodka Watermelon that my brother made. Jacqui took her entire first Fellsmere/Shop Party experience in stride, and proved just how amazing she is by not being freaked out by a bunch of goofy, couch-burning, karaoke signing hi-tech rednecks.

Did someone say Karaoke? It ain't no Shop Party if there ain't Karaoke.

It was a great time, as usual...though unfortunately  it appears that my iPhone is the sole casualty of the evening. Holden had it all night, so he could play his music in the house for the other boys. Come morning it was no where to be found. 

I am now on Day 3 without my iPhone. Things are getting desperate. I had to call my IT guy/work-husband at the other branch to peak at my desk calendar to make sure I wasn't forgetting to do something today. And I had to listen to the radio on the way into work this morning...like some kind of Barbarian.

Happy Monday! (No, really)

My two weeks of spending far too much time on r/LadybonersGW and playing with my make-up/hair is coming to a close.

Co-worker: Why is your hair blue? 

Me: Why not?

Because Dave is coming home tonight! I realize the last several posts have been heavy on the Horn-Dog so I'll try to keep it in my pants for this one. There really is no good female equivalent for that cliche'.

 Though it does remind me of this:

But needless to say we are looking forward to uh...

seeing each other tonight. 'Nuff said.

Ahem.

In other news, I went to see a rockabilly band called the Sweet Chariots with some friends at the Kilted Mermaid Friday night. As usual, it was a rather hipster experience, but I'd  be lying if I said I didn't have a great time. The place has really good food and an amazing beer selection. They even have at least five different hard ciders and one of them is on tap! I know, right? I really do need to embrace my inner hipster and stop fighting it. 

The band was great. In fact, my only beef with the Kilted Mermaid is the fact that there is no room to dance. Don't get me wrong, we still danced. I don't ever NOT dance. But we were forced to do so in a way that really invaded my personal space and that of those around me. Just as well though, because I was really missing my numero uno dance partner, and had he been there it would have killed us not to be able dance to that music the way you're supposed. Ie: swing, as opposed to the white-boy-two-step everyone was doing, and I don't mean the cool Two-Step.

The eye-candy was good as well, particularly the band...especially in my company's opinion. They are both so shy and entirely too well-behaved so I decided to throw them under the bus. When my friend Dave was talking to the lead singer, I butted in and asked him to take a pic with them. And ordered him to stand in the middle, when he tried to stand off to the side. He seemed afraid. That was probably a legitimate and rational emotion given the circumstance.

 

This is not a flattering pic of any of us. But it's funny, so here ya go interwebs.

Incidentally, Dani turned into a giant that night.

What sorcery is this?

The rest of the weekend was quality time with Holden and preparations for our trip to the Run with the Wolf Rally this coming weekend in Suches, GA. The RWTW is an annual rally put on by the Kawasaki Concours Owner's Group. That's the kind of bike I own, for those new to the show. I'm really looking forward to ridin' it like I stole it and partying with the boys around the campfire. There should be around 100 people, so not a massive rally, but a pretty good group for a regional owner's-group get together. 

          While we are in the area we may run up to the Dragon so I can get a sticker for the new bike.  

See my old BMW in front of the orange and white thing? Awwww, old Blue.

It seems cliche' as there are so many other roads just as good and better than the Dragon, but it's such a thing. I've ridden every bike I've owned (plus a loaner) on it, so I feel like I just have to ride it on the Connie. We'll see where the roads take us. Plus, it's really fun to hang around and just watch the show. And did I mention all the hottie sport bike riders in their leather one-pieces?

It really does always come back around to that doesn't it? I'm sorry.

No, I'm not.

Anycougar, I'll be late with next week's post as we'll not be getting back until Monday. And then priority number one, writing-wise, is putting together the Rally Report for the COG's quarterly magazine. Supposedly there's to be at least a handful of us women-folk riding our own at the Rally. More than one or two is cause for celebration apparently, so I have been assigned to report from the CVOG (Concours and Vagina Owner's Group) perspective.

Till next time I shall do my best to keep the shiny side up. You do the same.

I got nothin'

I didn't want to let down my adoring readers (all two of you) by not doing my weekly post today. However, I don't feel like I have anything interesting to share, not that has ever stopped me, so here goes...

Dave's been away for a week and as I suspected I'm having a hard time not eating crap when he is away. I'm about eleven pounds heavier than I'd like to be, I've had a low grade cold a/o bad allergies for the past week and in general am not in the best of moods. I badly want to Crossfit tonight, but I really feel as if my body is more in need of quality food and rest more than a workout. We're leaving for a motorcycle trip to North Georgia in a little more than a week and I have to kick this before then.

Last night, I did get my act together enough to make a bunch of Primal Shepard's Pie. Enough, in fact, that I'll probably be sharing it with co-workers since I also left (Paleo) Enchilada Chicken in the crockpot this morning. So I got that going for me.

So in the interest of not whining my way through this entire post, let's talk about the things that are making me smile lately.

This guy.

Who I seriously miss. I mean, I've always missed him when he's gone away on a trip or something. But things have been so great lately, that I really miss him. And not just in the biblical sense. That too. But not just that. And I don't mean to imply we were having rough times previously either...it's just..well, store bought apple pie out of the fridge is great. But homemade apple pie straight out of the oven with real vanilla ice cream is even better. I'm not sure I know where I'm going with that analogy. But the point is: he rocks.

Also this guy.

Unnnf.
I'm on season two of Torchwood and I can't help but fall more in love with Capt Jack with each episode. And if I haven't made it clear already, I totally get now why guys think two hot girls kissing is hot. (Because, HOT) But guys....MEN. Like Captain Jack and uh, Captain Jack. And Captain Jack and Captain Hart. I haven't even gotten into the real Ianto episodes yet.  Not that I have anything against two girls kissing. Hell, I'll watch two good looking people of any sex (and combination there of) get busy...but I digress.

Barrowman, bless his sweet sexy soul, is the gift that just keeps giving. When it comes to making his fans happy, the dude gets it. His twitter @Team_Barrowman is a delightful peek into his life; with pics of his dogs, his co-workers, his husband and lots and lots of selfies. Most are goofy, self-deprecating shots, but God love him, he also posts the occasional pic of him in bed, or about to go out on the town, etc. He knows what we want, and he's not afraid to give it to us. Thank you, JB for being you.

Reddit.com
If you're here, you've probably been there. But in case you haven't, know that the front page of Reddit is all that is beautiful and horrible in this world. When they say NSFW, they mean it. Don't say I didn't warn you. But I learn new things all the time via it's links. I also get to goggle young men. Ladies, check out the LadybonersGW (stands for Gone Wild) subreddit. You won't be disappointed.

Most of the pics look like this..minus the sports bra and boobs. But also abs, and sometimes penis.

Pic in honor of the SEAK Foundation's Sport Bra Challenge.  Check out that "been eating sugar/grains" all weekend belly, my friends!

Lastly, Crossfit.

Yup, even recently when I feel like a big, fat, paleo phony for having too many cheats, doing a WOD still makes me feel like a badass and that I'm not a total failure. 'Nuff said.

Hey! Look at that! I managed to pull a post out of my ass after all. As my Daddy always says, "If you can't dazzle'em with knowledge, baffle'em with bullshit."

I know. We're a classy group.

The REALLY TMI Post

Warning: This post is about sex. If you are related to me in anyway or suffer from delicate sensibilities click away now.

Seriously. I warned you.

Still here? Good. I knew we were friends for a reason.

This is something I think I need to share. Not because I wanted to brag (ok fine, maybe a little). But because (and I hate how opposite-of-humble this sounds) I know there are friends who read this blog and sometimes get a wee bit of inspiration from it regarding their own health/fitness endeavors. As do I from countless other health/fitness bloggers. I think it's important to share all of the positive outcomes of our efforts, not just the aesthetic ones. So here goes...

Dave and I have been f%&$ing like rabbits lately.

And I am getting uhm...intrigued by uh...things and situations at a frequency on par with that of a thirteen year old boy. Not at the same kind of stimuli, mind you....but you get my drift.

Though if you are interested, this is what gave me a ladyboner when I was thirteen.

Why is this such a big deal, you ask? Because for years, and I mean years my libido has been crap. Like (I think) a lot of women, as I got older and of course being in a long-term relationship, I found myself wanting to want to. And if I made a conscious effort to uh, get into it, I could. But those spontaneous ladyboners thinking about your partner? Or the butterflies in the nether regions when he/she pulled you in for a quick kiss?

Nope. Nothing. Dead. Seriously, it had been so long since I'd gotten that flutter when we weren't already "into it" I figured it was just a permanent thing of the past. A part of getting older, if you will.

So why all of a sudden, am I hornier than brass band on Flag Day? Well, first off it's not been all of a sudden, but a gradual ramp up over the past few months. I can't say it's just the weight-loss and ensuing confidence building because I lost the bulk of the weight a year ago. Sure, I felt better and sexier, but there was no physical change, as there is now. Is it just the Paleo? I don't think so, as we started that back over the summer. However, we didn't start getting serious with the Crossfit until October. If I had to put money on one cause over another I think it's the Crossfit. I've done a little poking around the Googles, and I think perhaps the lifting involved with Crossfit may be affecting my hormone levels in a wonderful way.

Either way, I'm not on any new medications or changes in dosage, etc. I'm simply lifting heavier (as I can) and eating cleaner. As a result our sex life is literally what it was like when we first started dating. I'm not kidding. And I don't think I need to tell you how beneficial a great sex life is for a marriage or partnership. Let's just say the goodwill seems to bleed into every other facet of our relationship as well. It is a good great thing.

So why share that? Because  if you are woman like me who thought that that kind of passion was in your past, I really want you to know it might not be. Eat clean and lift and maybe you too can see sex, not as another chore you have to get done as a wife/partner, but the awesomely fun thing it truly is.

In other words, if feeling stronger, more energy, sleeping sounder, better skin, knowing you're making yourself better for the long term and looking sexier isn't enough....maybe knowing that you too could feel like a newlywed again might convince you to start taking better care of yourself.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go text my husband.

What? It's just a To-Do list.

Treasure Coast Adventure Race 2013

First off, what is up South Florida? Bunch of slackers! There should have been a LOT more Sport teams at the race this past Saturday! What do you people need? The races are super-well organized, they feed you lunch, they are in beautiful locations! And Ladies (and certain gentlemen) there's eye candy too! Look at these studs!

I helpfully suggested to Dave that perhaps we should do a Sport Class team-member-swap to liven things up. I humbly volunteered to join the Cow Tipping Dwarfs.

And (this is for you, Lindsay) don't tell me the sweetie on the right doesn't remind you of Hawkeye:

All Team pics courtesy of the adorable Kevin Newell, as usual. Who I am assuming would tell me by now if he had an issue with me using these pics on this blog.

And of course, I'm a little partial to this dude...

What more excuses do you need? I see people show up by the the thousands for the Mud Runs and Obstacle Races, and the entry fees are pretty similar. Is it that you have to have your own bike? Surely everyone has a friend they can borrow one from, no? Maybe too many people are intimidated by the navigation aspect. While it's true if I was the main navigator for the Out of Steam Punks we would not be finishing as well as we have been lately. But we'd survive, and we'd have fun. Not enough of an after party? Seriously people, show up and  I'll stay and have a beer or three with you. Team You're Dead To Me will vouch for that.  Greg will even leave the music on and I'll dance with you. 

Anygrumble, we had a really good time Saturday. Because the canoe/foot was being done on one punch card ('cause you had to canoe to get to the foot portion) they gave us our choice of which discipline to start. Rumor had it that we were going to get to ride some real-live MTB single track trails as part of the bike, so I suggested we do that first so I'd still have the energy to enjoy it. And oh my gawd what fun! Well, ya know except for busting my ass going down a hill. I actually got off the bike because I was afraid this particular downhill section on slats over sugar sand was a wee bit beyond my skill set. I probably would have been better off just staying on the bike. I start trotting down the hill because I knew there was another team coming up behind us. My foot got caught between two slats and down I went.

Obligatory boo-boo pic.

Still a wee bit swollen, but worth it. Greg, if you read this, please include the MTB trails again next year! Super fun! We definitely want to go back and ride those again at our leisure.

We picked up all 3 CPs on the MTB trails and the two that were on the way. We made it back to the Main TA in just under and hour, so we were happy campers.

The canoe was pleasant. Just a slight breeze, nothing to ruin your day and nothing at all like we were dealing with at the BOAR earlier in the month. We saw lots of pretty birds, and paddled just ten or fifteen feet away from a good-sized gator. I totally jumped as we went past it and Dave laughed at me. But probably only because he was behind me and I couldn't see that he probably jumped too. I swear one of these days I'm going to sit in the back. I could probably get away with all kinds of stuff back there. You do know that is why the ladies always ride in the back on bicycles-built-for-two, right? You can stop pedalling, he'll never know.

We found all the Canoe CPs on the way to Foot. When we arrived at the Foot TA a team was just leaving, and we were the only ones on the island if I'm not mistaken. We got all the Foot CPs pretty handily, but for once I actually felt useful! When we got to the culvert near CP 6, it took us a second or two until I spotted the Palms. I also was the one who knew what was intended by the Widowmaker Pine for CP 7, so we went straight for that one when we got in the general area. Of course, when it came to CP 8 and CP 9, that was mostly Dave. Though to be fair, both times I spotted the dry wetlands before he said anything. FYI, he ended up using the house just outside the Park as a reference point for finding 8, and then shot a bearing using a stump and then recalculated once we got to it to find the general area for CP 9. From overhearing other Teams talk at races, I think environmental awareness/education is something that a lot of folks new to the sport may be lacking. You'd be surprised how many people don't know their trees, or can't recognize the dry wetland by the grasses. 

By the time, we made it back to the canoe we knew we were home free in regards to time. But as usual, we had no idea where we were in relation to the other teams. We gave it all we had on the boat trip back to the Main TA. I''ll not lie, there was a small part of us that thought it might be possible that we were in first place. Though I didn't think it was very likely. Don't get me wrong, crash aside, I'm pretty happy with how I did through the single track. But I had overheard somebody on Legendary Awesomeness say something that implied he MTBs, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cow Tipping Dwarfs do too...soooo take a wild guess what two teams were waiting for us when we got there?

But hey, third place ain't nothing to shake a stick at it! And look! Medals!

Shiny.

And 50% off an Elite Race. This is the second time we've come in 3rd place and won a discount on an Elite Race. And we still haven't done one yet. The Pangea Team have been (good naturedly) encouraging us to do one and now I hear we're being called out by the Cayoneros now too. Fine! It's official. We'll do our first Elite at the Lighterknot. We'd do it sooner, but we're not racing again until June, and Holden joins us for that one. We can't do the night races, and I'm not sure about the September dates.Blah-blah, excuses, excuses. Plus, I am a pretty, pretty princess so what better place for my first Elite than Princess Place? Which also happens to be the 2nd anniversary of our doing Pangea races, so there ya go. Perfect.

I'm serious. We'll do it. And if I don't, you have my permission to toss me instead of a Weenie Bike at next year's BOAR.

Megacon 2013 Report (minus the drool)

Ok, maybe a little drool. 

Dave is now required to dress as Capt Jack everyday, from now on. Unnf.

Anyhotness, on to a proper recap of our Megacon 2013 experience. Holden, Dave and I arrived in our Doctor Who Cosplay-finest and were a bit surprised that despite getting the advanced tickets, we still had to wait a good 45 minutes to get our wrist bands. In fact at the time, the walk-ins were getting their wrist bands quicker than us. Not a huge deal, but the line was FOREVER and a bit anti-climatic for us. But we were in line with our friends Sarah and Daniel and their boys, so we had a good time just chatting and checking out the cosplay.

Holden was a Rock Star for the day once again. There were tons of Doctors of various regenerations running around, but he was definitely the cutest. I may be a bit biased.

Thank you to the sister of this adorable teen Doctor for sending me this and the following picture. You guys are the best!

If I had a dollar for every picture of Dave with his eyes closed I could build my own Tardis.

Since Friday is Holden's only day at Megacon he gets to choose the path and what we see/do. Which drives me a little batty as my inclination is to methodically walk up and down every row. While with Holden the path is more that of a deranged bumblebee. But he was happy and enjoying the attention. Naturally we spent a fair amount of time around the Lego booths, and the  501st and other Builder's Booths where:

We questioned the intentions of our fellow Con-goers.

Holden was attacked by a Rancor.

And we fought a Dalek. While 2-R2 units stood idly by, apparently. 

And took some proper family photos.

We heard several shouts of "Parenting, you're doing it right!" I know that's a bit of an Internet cliche' at this point, but it was still a very nice compliment. Who's to say how long Holden will want to do the family cosplay with us. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of it, but I'm a realist. I'm sure he's going to go through the 'my parents are awesome-my parents are lame- my parents are awesome' phases we all go through, and I'm as prepared for that as I can be, I think.

                                  In the meantime, we'll have as much fun with him as we can. 

Always with the running. The questions is, if you see Capt Jack and the Doctor running, do you run with them or in the opposite direction?

Speaking of running, after the Ken Spivey Band concert (Doctor Who themed-music) Saturday night, we literally ran in our Jack and Rose costumes all the way through the convention hall and back to the hotel because we were tight on time. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't really enjoy doing that and imagining we were running to/from something dangerous. Yes, I am 8 years old.

Any-immaturity, Friday evening the Daves took the boys home, while us wives hung out and pre-gamed. Ok, I pre-gamed. The other two were well-behaved.

"Gimmee a beer, let's play dress-up!" is not an uncommon thing to hear at our Shop parties.

When they got back, the Daves, Lindsay and I went to the bar/club in the Rosen Hotel where the Villian's Party was to happen the following night. Dave was still in his Capt Jack get-up but I wanted to try out my Cyberpunk. Unfortunately all the other Megacon folks must have been elsewhere, cause we were the only ones there in costume. And of course, as Jack, Dave can blend in a crowd. But staying true to our philosophy of "zero fucks to give" we danced liked idiots and had a great time regardless.

On Saturday we put on our Steampunk and hit the convention floor again. It was so wonderful to wear comfortable, flat boots. My Rose boots were surprisingly uncomfortable and have you seen the Cyberpunk boots? Oh right, hold on we're almost there. We had run into Jen from Cake Wrecks and Epbot the day before, but she was in plain clothes. On Saturday, Dave was buying our tickets for the Villian's party and I hear, "Patti!" and I turn around and there she is in her Lady Vadore finery!

This picture does it no justice. Go here to see it properly. 

And for the record, lest it sound like Jen and I are great friends (though I would love it if we were, I think she and her husband John are awesome)....we found them on Friday and reintroduced ourselves. We had met briefly last year at Megacon. But she or John did recognize me and remember my name on Saturday...so I don't think for a second I wasn't bragging about that all day.

Oh and what did Dave wear for Steampunk Saturday?

Fashionable Day Wear for the Casual, but Adventurous Steampunk.

The convention floor was crazy crowded on Saturday and made me feel a lot less bad for making Holden go home Friday night. If we had let him stay he would have just been looking at asses all day. We had to take several breaks, not because we were tired, but just because it was so packed we were getting mental.

Eventually we could take no more and we went back to the hotel to grab some dinner and a nap before we went back in our Doctor Who cosplay for the Ken Spivey Concert. I've already given you the main highlight of that in the previous post, but suffice it to say that it was a really fun time. I wasn't sure what to expect but the folks there were quite friendly and fun. Jack-I'm-Married-To and Rose (me) waltzed and then we were joined by Jack-I'm-Not-Married-To and the Tenth Doctor. Squeee.

You didn't think I wasn't going to include another picture of him did you?

After that it was a mad scramble back to the hotel to get in our Cyberpunk gear for the Villian's Party. 

Looking like extras from a 70s sci-fi movie.

But with LED lights. Fun for blinding other club-goers with.

The Villians' party was cool. Dave and Lindsay hadn't bought their tickets ahead of time and I guess they weren't letting anyone else in at the door so they couldn't join us which was a major bummer. But Sarah did. Which was awesome as apparently I popped her Club cherry. Seriously, the poor gal had NEVER been to a club before, but let me tell you girlfriend was rocking her Harley Quinn cosplay and turning the boys down left and right. AND held her liquor, which I so appreciate. We danced like idiots some more, Dave and I were asked to send in pics to be extras in some upcoming SyFy channel show, and I got white chocolate stuffed french toast at Denny's at 2:00 am. What more could a girl ask for? Except maybe for a hot husband who will dress up in crazy outfits and even wear eyeliner just cause you ask him too?

Oh wait, got that too.

Sunday we slept in a bit and then headed to the convention floor to do our shopping. After five costume changes in two days I was cosplayed-out. We both wore normal clothes and were glad for it. For breakfast I had a Nutella and Banana Crepe. Amazeballs. But it also helps explain why I felt like crap on Monday. Waaaaaay too much alcohol and non-paleo food. But still mostly worth it.

My Megacon 2013 loot.

The posters are the Exploding Tardis/Starry Night which is now hanging in our hallway because my house is too small for it to fit anywhere else, and the Walking Dead for my brother. After shopping we headed on home, to prepare to reenter polite society. Which is tough. I don't think Dave has as hard a time with it as I do, but you creative types out there probably know what I mean. You spend the whole weekend playing as someone else (or multiple someones) and it's kind of a let-down and/or odd to go back to being just you. Don't get me wrong, "just me" is still pretty freakin' awesome. But regular me does not have a hand cannon, nor gets to travel by Tardis.

But I think the fun of cosplaying is that, if you pick the right characters anyway, you take a little bit of them away with you each time you do it. Like in the case of Jack/Rose and the Cyberpunks, we walk away feeling a little more confident, a little sexier, and a little more bad-ass. Which is always a good thing. 

**maybe don't do this if you cosplay as a serial killer.