Well, that's not exactly accurate, since most of you made me smile with all your thousands of emoji hearts and support. Thank you, thank you. If you saw the update on my Sad Announcement then you know John and I've been through the emotional wringer and back again, but already things are better. I'll fill you in on some of that later, but right now I want to show you everything that made me smile, guffaw, and believe in Goodness again these last few days.
First up, the thing that made John and I laugh WAY too long.
Allow me to present... the Incognito Avengers:
The longer you look, the funnier this gets. The shield! And Hawkeye in the background! Bahahahaha!
Credit: Captain America and Black Widow by Ben Campbell and Stephanie Campbell at C2E2 2018.
Photo by Jen Greeley for Over 30 Cosplay, and found via the always delightful RPF FB page.
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We don't really have gnats around Orlando (or am I just inside too much to notice?) but I still found this hysterical:
The power-washing, omigosh.
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I actually found this next video a few weeks ago, but I could watch it every day for the rest of the month. Here's almost everything I love about conventions, encapsulated in 3.5 hysterical minutes.
Turn on your sound and promise you'll watch the whole thing.
(It's not the whole vid; just that one short montage.)
(It's not the whole vid; just that one short montage.)
Who caught the MC Hammer Dance around 1:40? CAN'T TOUCH THIS. Yaaaas!
Someday I want to figure out a funny interactive cosplay like this. There's nothing better than getting to play with fellow fans - look how much fun they're all having! - and talk about making some memories.
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Tammie was one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. military, and the very first to fly an F/A-18 Hornet for the Navy. While there was still a tragic loss of life during the South West emergency, hearing Tammie's calm, controlled voice as she landed the damaged plane made me believe in real heroes. Obviously there were a lot of heroes at work that day, but it's especially inspiring to know little girls everywhere have a new role model this week - and as a result, may someday even follow in Tammie's footsteps.
You can read more about Tammie and the incident here on NBC News. You can also listen to the full cockpit recording, which is shockingly serene. If it weren't for what they were saying, you'd never know it was such an extreme emergency.
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Oh! Speaking of great role models, Sarah shared something on my Epbot FB post that makes my heart happy:
Words cannot express how much I love this. Can we make this a thing? A 'daughter's first tool kit' thing? Talk about an awesome tradition to start!
(One of my happiest memories is the Christmas my grandfather set me and my brother loose in his woodworking shed behind the house. I made an abstract sculpture of 2X4s randomly nailed together - and to this day the smell of sawdust makes me smile.)
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More inspiration: Anthony Caero is an "anti-poaching pilot" in Africa, and his Instagram is pretty incredible. This video of him flying an orphaned chimp to its new home will make your heart melt:
Go follow Anthony on IG for lots more - including a sobering look at the dangers he and his fellow workers face in their fight against poaching. Again, true heroes - the kind of people who make you remember there is good in the world, and brave souls willing to fight for it.
[Note: Anthony's latest post on his account is a bit graphic, showing his own injuries from a plane crash a year ago.]
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Right, to end on a SUPER high/silly note - and a scandalized guffaw - here's another great comment from my Facebook post asking for happy things:
ENHANCE!
And the best comment, which of course I forgot to screen-cap and now can't find again, so forgive
me, anonymous snarky genius:
"Well, they're definitely horny."
Thanks for having my back, gang. High-fives all 'round.
Now, go have an awesome weekend.
I'm so glad we've been able to lift your days! We will keep feeding in the happiness and laughter as long as it's needed.
ReplyDeletePhallic unicorn horns will never not be funny :p
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved out of my parents house, my dad got me my own tool box and tools. I happily engraved my name on each one. Now I own a set of pink tools so no one borrows them and keeps them.
ReplyDeleteAnd another time I let my then 3-yr old daughter pick out any toy at the store and she choose the play tool set. I was pretty proud. Now I need to get both my daughters their own real tools and they can go to town in their grandpa's workshop.
And on another note, that baby chimpanzee was so adorable!!!
Every Christmas, my husband got BOTH my daughter and son a tool for Christmas. Still does, even though they're 24 and 20. Any my daughter has a more well equipped tool box than her husband does!
ReplyDeleteWhen I went off to college, my dad sent me with a full tool kit. I was the envy of the guys in every drop I lived in for the next 4 years
DeleteI love Kiddo's First Tool Set. Especially making it a special trip with their handy parent -- what a memory!
ReplyDeleteMy dad got me a Craftsman toolbox for Christmas when I was 9. I still have it.
ReplyDeleteIn college, my mom gave me and my sister (both young women) a “Do It Herself “ toolkit. I found it surprisingly useful. My sister thought it degrading. To each her own. 20 years later, this engineer still likes knowing that I can find my baby blue wrench in its case where it belongs. Even if we have plenty of other wrenches available.
ReplyDeleteI know Ben, Stephanie (Incognito Avengers) and Jen. They're all great people and I got such a kick out of seeing them at C2E2!
ReplyDeleteMy mom did most of the family Christmas shopping when I was growing up, but the year I moved out into my first apartment, I received a Christmas present with just "Dad" listed as the giver. It was a shoebox labeled "Karen's toolbox" in black magic marker, and it contained all the basics. That was over 20 years ago, and I still have them (although the shoebox is sadly long gone) and it is still one of my favourite and most treasured gifts of all time.
ReplyDeleteI still remember the Christmas (40+ years ago) my mom bought me an electric drill. I was in college, Dad was out of town on an extended assignment, and Mom was doing all the Christmas shopping. Mom had always been so disappointed that I didn't turn out stereotypically "girly." It was Dad who taught me carpentry and auto mechanics and other "boy" things. (Long time ago!) So it was a real turning point in our relationship when she picked out a gift that supported my grease-under-the-fingernails interests.
ReplyDeleteEven if your kids are older, it's not too late to buy them tools!
The shield with sunglasses and a mustache is my new aesthetic...
ReplyDelete*awkwardly looks that word up in the dictionary*
Yeah!
Pinkie Welborne, 17
Indiana
My sister and I got tool kits for Christmas one year from my parents. I still have it, as well as a number of the tools. The screwdrivers all disappeared though.
ReplyDeleteI remember my dad putting wood in a vise so I could hammer nails into it, in our garage, in the first house I lived in. We moved shortly after I started first grade, so the memory pre-dates that. That was just the beginning of my "how to be a self-sufficient woman" lessons.
ReplyDeleteIn my 20's, trying to put together a small kitchen cart with just a screwdriver, finally give in and call my male next door neighbor, who comes over with a DRILL. He then finishes in seconds what I had been struggling with for an hour. Guess what I got for Christmas? My husband is still impressed that I came into the relationship with my own Ryobi.
ReplyDeleteLOVED the gnat video! I was once jogging in the summer, not paying quite enough attention, accidentally ran into a swarm, breathing hard, mouth open...and SWALLOWED ONE! Why yes, it was quite horrifying.
When I first moved out on my own, my father gave me a full selection of tools from the many he had in his own workshop (and it didn't make a dent in his collection). I loved that gift. My older brother made me another set of tools that he described as "The Ultimate Girl's Tool Kit." It consisted of a shoe box that contained: a butter knife, a dime (to use as screwdrivers), a high-heeled shoe (hammer), some duct tape, and some WD-40. I've given similar girl's tool kits to many of my friends (along with another box of REAL tools).
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to let my sister and me "build" in his garage behind the house with scraps of wood. One of my earliest memories was hamering my thumb. Sawdust makes me happy too. When I went to collage my dad gave me a tool kit and it was hands down the most useful thing I received. I'm no mastercraftswoan, but I love that I can do all the basics.
ReplyDeleteWhen the kids are a little older (aka free time!) I hope to be able to take some woodworking classes.
Also the gnats...its also a Northern California thing...you haven't lived until you've inhaled a gnat.
Collage... sort of like college, but with more modge podge! :-P
DeleteOMG, the anti-poaching pilot! What an amazing thing to do. The little zoo I volunteer at raises a huge amount of money each year to help pay the salaries of the Virunga rangers and we've helped set up job education programs for the spouses that are all too often widowed. Just this month, 6 rangers were ambushed by militants and 5 were killed. It's such a dangerous job but these young men feel so strongly about saving the gorillas and other wildlife in the region that they take that risk every day. People like this pilot help the rangers continue to hold that line and continue to push it back.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago I fueled planes and did SWA solely for the last 3.5 years of that (egad, that was 14 years ago!) so if the new reports I've seen were correct, I fueled the plane involved, and twice that I know of fueled Milady Shultz's flights, having met her when I had some question for the situation.
ReplyDeleteI've also dealt with "Hoot" Gibson, the former astronaut.
Have a great week, y'all.
My dad also gave us the scraps, a handful of nails and a hammer when he was working outside. He was an auto mechanic so my go to smell is motor oil and gas.
ReplyDeleteMy niece made a coffee table in welding class but now is a budding costume designer. We are all crafty but she is going places: https://www.facebook.com/MacrameOwlCosplay/ I'm just disappointed that her latest isn't posted yet: Belle's huge gold ballgown. She even got the Winter Soldier to twirl her at the latest con in Toronto!
Asked my dad for a tool chest for my H.S. graduation. My grandmother was horrified that a girl would get such a gift. Until I showed her how much money I made renting out the tools at college. Back in those days, your stereo system needed a screw driver to assemble. Cost was $5/hr. I still have the chest and all the tools.
ReplyDeleteI own a woodworking company. I just went "official", taking my wood tinkering and vinyl decal making from a hobby to official. I love it. There's just something about sawdust and being out in the shop that is therapeutic. Now, I'm honestly still learning as I go. I didn't grow up in a DIY household- to this day neither of my parents can change a tire, know how to change oil or find a stud in the wall. Same for all 4 of my siblings. But, I'm remodeling my house and I do all my own work on my Jeep and my truck and I've got a woodworking business... it's funny what you throw yourself into to escape life when bad thins happen, but I wouldn't change where I ended up for anything in the world!! I just wish I had parents that would have started me on it a little sooner :)
ReplyDeleteI had a toolkit when I went off to college - the only one on my floor of the freshman dorm. I knew every single person on the floor because of that toolkit (and mini pharmacy - I was also the only one with cough syrup. My mom believes in "be prepared").
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Sarah! I went to high school with her! And her husband (and her brother...)! We were all in chorus together! She was one of my sister's best friends. So cool (and weird) to see you popping up on one of my favorite blogs, girl! Also, totally not surprised that you and Jason are awesome parents.
ReplyDelete