"Bouncing" Makes for a Long Night

My sugar bounced after work last night. So, thanks to Dexcom I slept in 45 minute intervals (it kept alerting me that my sugar was above 180).

For those of you who don't know what bouncing is, it is when your blood sugar drops so low that the liver spits out sugar to keep you alive.

It is infinitely hard to come back down after a bounce. 

I got insulin about every two hours to make it come down, but it was a very, VERY slow decent. It still never went below 180, but I did come down from almost 300.

Finally, at about 6:30 AM I decided I'd had enough of the highness. So I got out of bed and did the only other thing I know to do to get my sugar to come down.

What do you do when your blood sugar is high for an excessive amount of time? Beach body!

When I got out of bed I (very quietly, so not to disturb my sleeping family) did what I could remember of Autumn Calabrese's "Dirty 30" workout program. Then I went for about a mile-long walk. It's only 9am, and I feel accomplished. My sugar is finally 113 and I think I could probably pass out and sleep now. The only problem with that is now I feel energized.

Momma always said "Diabetes first." I know she's right. Even when I'm exhausted and all I want to do is complain or sleep, I have to take care of diabetes first. I can complain and sleep later. My priority has to be my health. So, even when I haven't slept all night, and I am ready to throw my Dexcom across the bedroom, and I am not in the mood for anything really, I know I have to take care of myself. That includes getting out of bed to do a workout after a long night of no sleep. Thanks for the lesson, Mom!


**Side Note**
I am also thankful for Autumn--my sister Autumn--because she introduced us to the workout stuff I did this morning. She's been my "personal trainer" since like November. And because of her making me take care of myself in that way, I've lost like 15 pounds and I am a lot stronger now than I used to be. She's meaner than Jillian when she wants to be... But I love her and am thankful for her always!

Launching "Diabetically Speaking" from "Finding Me"

Okay, so starting immediately (tomorrow) this blog will be more about my everyday life and lessons with diabetes. I have realized that I have a lot to say about that, and I want to continue raising awareness through this blog!

I wanted to let anyone who is a consistent follower know that I am re-working some things, but I'm not completely tearing down "Finding Me." It's just getting a make-over and a new perspective.

See What I Did Here?

I have one more poem for the last day of February! :)

See if you can find the hidden message in this one!

There are no rhymy words in this poem. It's more like a riddle I think...

He gave me something to die For                         

                                             God gave me her. 

And I loved her So!      

                                                       Loved her from day one.

She shows me The 

                                                          World in totally new way.

What a blessing He     

                                        Gave me in her!

I know that she is His      

                                                                                      Only He could make something so special.

She's not the same kind of gift as his Son                                 

                                                           That was a gift for my soul.

Same goes for Whoever 

                                                                        Believes. But Autumn was just for me! 

She restores my faith In              

                                                         Him daily, and in humanity.

Fight for me, she Will!         

                                                          Not usually with me though.

Our bond won't Parish.      

                                                             But because He's blessed it so.

I'm so grateful for all I Have               

                                                 Eternal-ly blessed with

My crazy, beautiful Life     

Did you see what I did there? 

No? 

Wanna read it again? 

It isn't as clean as it is on paper, but the center words all the way down are a paraphrase of John 3:16.

I literally wrote those out before I filled in anything about my sister. I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I wrote those words. I had to play with it just a little to get it to fit, and not be too obvious. Share if you got it right away. If not, share and see if your friends get it! :) 

A Poem For Momma

I wrote this poem for my Mom for Mother's Day in 2011. I thought about selling it to Hallmark, but I never went after that goal. Feel free to use it in your Mother's Day cards this year!! I won't even charge you $11 for the card :) 

Thank you

for the food I eat

And for

the shoes on my feet.

Thank you Mom,

For the roof over my head.

And for my warm,

Cozy bed.

Thanks for all

The clothes I wear.

Thanks for giving me

Your beautiful hair.

I love having

Your almond eyes,

And sharing Faith

That never dies.

You gave to me

Your “momma-bear-ness,”

You loved me when

I couldn’t care less.

I’ll never forget

The time we’ve spent together.

 I’ll always say

“Couldn’t have been better!”

You, Momma,

I truly adore.

So, to end this poem:

I love you more.

Mom and Dad on their wedding day. They are such a beautiful couple!

A Little Bit of Poetry

February's theme is supposed to be poetry, so I'll start it off with one of my favorite poems. However, I do have to say that the "theme" will definitely be changing by the end of the month!!

The following poem is written by yours truly. I wrote it about a year ago, and it came out of nowhere. I felt it and then had to pen it before I forgot. I hadn't written any poetry in years at this point, so I am not really sure where it came from. Please enjoy "Happenings In The Heart"! 

Electricity,

That’s what it’s like for me.

It makes my heart beat,

It makes me move my feet.

I’m excited to see

God’s will for me.

I am so ready

For what it may bring.

A river flowing,

My heart is glowing!

My happiness is showing,

It is not going.

My soul is soaring,

I feel it roaring,

Yet I’m knowing,

I’m unafraid.

Treetops dance,

I’m in a trance!

Strong in my stance,

As the spell enhances.

I can’t miss my chance.

Can I have just one glance?

Of Your omniscient plan.

Let me move for You.

I’m walking in the clouds,

Oh, can I be allowed?

To take a step out,

And start my future now?

Will you change my rout?

Should I have a doubt?

I won’t scream and shout.

I trust You with my life.

I feel like I could fly!

My arms are opened wide,

I will not run and hide.

I’m dancing in the sky!

I’m following Your light,

Trusting in Your might,

Fighting the good fight,

You have my heart.

My Theme Song For 2016

I've decided on my theme song for this year! 

Since my biggest goal is to maintain focus, I've decided that the best way to describe my aspirations for this year (and the rest of my life) go along nicely with "First."

"I want to seek You, I want to seek You
First.
I want to keep You, I want to keep You
First. 

More than anything I want
I want You
First."
-Lauren Daigle (First)

I figured that sums up my desires and goals pretty well! 

I want God to come first, regardless of whatever He sends my way in years to come.

Big Goals

As an aspiring author, one of my goals for this year is to actually finish the story I have been working on (continuously) for the past three or four years. I am a major perfectionist and I want to make sure it is just right before I attempt to publish it.

The problem is, I am no longer sure if I even want to publish my trilogy. It might just become a family story rather than something I decide to share with the world. Also, my plan was to self-publish a collection of stories and poems to send to different publishers. That way they would have an idea of what I write. But only if I decide I want to actually publish my stories. It's an internal struggle I've been having lately.

I feel like my writing is not good enough to compete with the other amazing authors in the world. But at the same time, I feel like that is all I want to do for the rest of my life. So getting published is something I'm still considering doing.

However, regardless of whether my story is publishable or not, I am determined to finish it this year! It is time that I finished what I started, and I'm sure I'll feel better after accomplishing that goal.

Maybe my goal is to keep finishing things I've started. Be persistent and persevere. 

Random Note

I found this and I wanted to share with my readers, because it is accurate. This is why I write.

I couldn't have put it any better myself! 

Therapeutic/Medical Animals

Something I have done a lot of research on is the possibility of a diabetic alert dog. Actually, it is possible to have a therapeutic/medical animal of pretty much any kind. I've learned several things about these animals, so I'd like to share what I've learned.

1. Diabetic alert dogs do not necessarily need a certain kind of certification. If they are trained, then they are considered medical equipment. 
2. Diabetic alert dogs are not required to wear any kind of specific vest, collar or anything distinguishing them as medical equipment. However, it is recommended that they wear a vest to store some kind of snack in (just in case). 
3. If you have the dog with you, regardless of what kind of dog it is (i.e., pit bull or corgi), the only two questions that anyone can ask you about the animals is if it is a service animal and what kind of service the animal gives you. Other questions are prohibited by HIPPA, and your privacy is protected. 
4. The only place that can "kick you out" because of your animal is a restaurant. The hair can be a violation of the health codes, so the animal may not be allowed inside (which is fine because most places have outdoor/patio seating). 
5. The animal is NOT a family pet, and it should not be treated like one. While the dog may belong to a family and love everyone in the family, it has to be understood that the dog is working. It should be more concerned about its partner than about being "loved on" by its family. It will feel a mixture of loyalty if it is not trained to belong to its partner. 
6. As I have mentioned above, the dog is working. That means that when the dog and its partner are out and about, it shouldn't necessarily be available to be pet by every passer by. This can distract the animal and its partner, so it makes it harder for the dog to do its job properly. The dog shouldn't be irritable with the community, but it shouldn't be used to the attention either. Try not to let the dog to be distracted. 
7. These animals are very easy to train, but they must be trained with their partner. If the animal is not trained with their partner, then the animal may or may not "work" properly. 
8. These dogs can be very expensive, but despite popular belief, a handler doesn't have to purchase his/her partner from a training company. The handler can train the dog themselves. I have trained two different animals (a pit bull and a cat) to be tuned into my diabetes. It isn't difficult if the dog is loyal and eager to please. Fun fact: cats are very easy to train! 
9. As an extension of #8, therapeutic/medical animals do not have to be dogs. Dogs are more common, but it is possible to have a cat or even a rabbit as a medical animal. (Disclaimer: Probably. I've never experimented with training rabbits, but I have read that it is possible.)
10. It is actually better to get and train an adult dog than it is to get and train a puppy. Puppies require a lot of work themselves, and they are still adored by everyone so they will be distracted. Also, dogs go through adolescence too. The puppy might turn into the teenage nightmare. It is better to get and train an adult dog/animal so that the dog understands its "job" and so that it will have already gone through adolescence. 

So, because of what I have learned from my research on the topic, I have made another goal for my life. Probably not to be accomplished this year, but eventually I would like to help people train their own therapeutic/medical animals. I know it can be expensive, so I want to help people out by offering a cheaper, more accessible service. Most people cannot afford a $29,000 dog which may or may not "work properly." I also want to get my own animal and train it, although convincing my parents may be harder than I want it to be. Mostly because of that whole "not a family pet" thing. But anyway, that is my goal! I want to help people. 

Embrace the Fandom!

Okay... so here's my weirdom showing again. But this is a goal of mine for this year:

Attend as many anime conventions as possible, and COSPLAY at all of them.

I know I can thank Yama-Con 2015 for that. But I have to admit that I love the odd-beauty that comes from acting completely ridiculous with my fandoms. 

No judgement.

New experiences.

Adventures. 

New friends.

Good times.  

I mean, everywhere else in the world I have to act the way that society dictates. Like... no blue hair if you want a job that actually means something. (I understand that, but I happen to love my blue hair!) But when I'm at the convention with my sister, I feel pretty free to be organized-crazy like I want to be. 

Probably most of that comes down to being with my sister. She makes me feel completely free to be who I am, because I know that she loves me regardless of my weirdoms. (Actually, she's weirder than I am. If I can say that. In fact, she is the cause for my anime weirdoms. Which she is pretty proud of.) Autumn is literally my best friend and my better half, and I'm so glad that God blessed me with her. I'd either be dead or insane right now if I didn't have her to balance me out. She takes very good care of me and I try to take care of her. 

I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for her and I, and our weirdoms! 

God Bless America

There are a lot of things happening in America right now that I am certain my God is not proud of. There are definitely a lot of things going on that I am not proud of! It saddens me to see the state that my country is in and the blinders that people wear. I wish that I could show them, but they refuse to listen and it turns into a debate rather than a discussion. When I get too frustrated, I turn to my God and my Bible for comfort and guidance in my situation. I find peace in one particular verse, which I would love to share with you all.

 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

There are a few things I would like to point out with this verse. First, 2 Chronicles was written in the Old Testament, but that does not make it obsolete. Just as God is timeless, so is His Word and it applies to every day and age. Second, I believe that "My people" has become Christians, rather than just the Jews, but the verse still applies to God's people. Third, regardless of how sinful or wicked people are, God is eternally merciful if we truly seek forgiveness. It gives me hope for America, because I know that if we will humble ourselves and pray (and truly seek His forgiveness) then He will heal our land.

Knowing this, I have made it a personal goal of mine to pray for America everyday this year. I am humbling myself and asking Him to take control of my country and save it. I am doing what I can to help restore and revive America. At this point, I believe that all I am capable of doing is praying. I would, however, like to take it a step further and challenge my friends, family and readers to pray with me. The bible also says that:

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."Matthew 18:20 (KJV)

I know that without God, it is impossible for my country to be healed. I also know that Jesus said where two or more gather in His name, He is there with us. So I would like to ask for your participation in prayer! I want to challenge American Christians to make time at about noon to pray for this country. Pray for Christian leaders, who will allow God to be the true ruler of our nation. Pray for the blinders to be removed from our friends and family. Pray for the restoration of our former Christian nation. Pray that God will heal, inspire and revive America (to borrow words from Ben Carson). Just pray for America. 

I say noon because I figure that is lunch time, and most people will have a momentary break from school or work. This provides the perfect opportunity for a talk with God. But, if you do not usually have a break at noon, feel free to pray whenever you are given the opportunity. Please do join me and my family in prayer for our nation. 

May God bless America, as He did when we served Him! 

Maintaining Focus

I promised to share with you all my aspirations for this year. So here is one of them!

I want to maintain focus on what is truly important. 

Let me tell you what I mean by that: 

• What is truly most important is God. He comes before all else--family, friends, relationships, church school, job, self, etc. He deserves my affection and attention, and this year I will remember that He is first. That is not to say that the other things are not good things, it is just that God does not want competition in my life, and I will refuse to allow any of those things to be competition. (The people in the examples ought to want me to put God first, and they ought to understand why I do that. If they do not, then they should have a talk with Him about it--not me.) 
• Maintaining focus on God means totally surrendering my life to Him. (I am a saved Christian, but I am beginning to see total surrender in a different way.) For me, total surrender is realizing that He owns my life, so I am doing with it as He pleases rather than as I desire. Literally speaking, wherever He wants me to go and whatever He wants me to do, I will obey. That is what I want to give Him, because that is all I can give Him. He knows what is best for me, so I don't ever want to be somewhere that He is not. 
• In order to totally surrender my life to God, I must listen to what He tells me. That means a lot of time spent with Him, so I can recognize His voice when He calls me. Bible time daily, and a lot of prayer. Both of those ought to be important in the life of a Christian, because that is how He speaks to us and also how we speak to Him. I don't want to do this out of duty, but rather out of devotion. My faith is more about a relationship with God than about anything else. In order to have that relationship, I have to spend time with Him. It's that simple. (Something I would like to add: knowing the Bible is quite different than knowing it's Author. I don't want to just know the Bible--I want to have a close relationship with it's Author.)
• Knowing God and knowing what He wants me to do is one thing. But being a Christian and putting Him first means that I actually have to do what He is calling me to do! That isn't always easy, but I trust that He can handle everything we go through. I will follow His lead without question or debate, (to borrow some words from a friend of mine) because I have read Jonah and I don't want to be swallowed by a big fish. I know He has pretty big plans for me, so I intend to allow Him to work in my life. 

It is important to maintain focus, and I had recently forgotten how important that was. It was a painful reminder. This year, I am living in total surrender and I am going to focus on Him. That doesn't mean that I can't have fun or that I can't enjoy life, but I will remember Who I have to thank for that. I intend to follow wherever He leads me, happily and without question. 

My Little Hero

There are two ways I can look at this. I am going to give you the bad before I give you the good.

Bad: My annoying little sister wakes me up at 4:30 every morning so that I can check my sugar! That is her way of telling me that I cannot take care of myself and she refuses to let me sleep! Ugh!

Good (and how I actually look at this): I am so THANKFUL to have a little sister who is selfless enough to set an alarm for 4:30 every morning to make sure my sugar doesn't drop and I live to see morning. In so many ways, she is my little hero.

To be honest, I've never looked at it the bad way. Maybe once or twice when I had not slept very well, but never to that extent.

A few weeks ago I had a middle-of-the-night diabetes scare, where if I wouldn't have set an alarm randomly (I had no reason to, and I never do), I would not have woken up. My sugar was only 40 at 4am, but I didn't wake up like I usually do. I was in a very deep sleep. The next night at 4am, I was only 30. Every night since then my sweet little sister has come to check on me and make sure that I am okay. She makes me check my sugar and then we both go back to sleep. Until I was 18, my Mom did that for me. If I have been having a rough day with diabetes she will still check me throughout the night to make sure that I am okay.

Too often I read about diabetics who are "dead in bed." This basically means that their sugar drops too low while they are sleeping and they do not wake up. I never want this to be me, but it has come close quite a few times in the past year and it scares me a little more every time. I am so blessed to have a family that is willing to help me take care of my disease to ensure my safety! I am eternally thankful for that blessing. It is because of my family that I am still alive, and probably because of them that I do not have any complications from my disease.

I guess God just isn't done with me yet, so He decided to wake me up and let me stick around for a while. He never ceases to amaze me.

January Theme Change

So, I needed to change my theme for January but I wasn't entirely sure what to change it to (hence the reason I have not posted yet this month). Autumn helped me decide that I was going to write about my goals for the year! So that is the plan.

Except plenty of posts to come!

Also, I have a few things to share that do not really go with the theme. But I'm going to post them anyway. Please look forward to what I am thankful for.

More updates later, I apologize for the short post and the absence lately.

Forgiveness

One of the things that I have learned how to do this year is to forgive. I always knew how to forgive and forget I suppose, but I had to learn how to forgive with boundaries so I don't get hurt anymore. Through a lot of pain the experiences of this year have taught me to forgive while at the same time protecting myself. That is a concept I hadn't really considered before.

You don't have to completely block the person out of your life to put up boundaries. Especially not if that person is family, or unavoidable for another reason. But don't allow yourself to be alone with said person--always have a trusted friend or family member close by. Also, don't ever feel obligated to spend time with someone or do something for them. That can be a form of control, and people are rarely obligated to do those things. If it feels like an obligation then you probably shouldn't do it anyway.

Don't ever be afraid to say no. If someone has hurt you repeatedly and wants back into your life, saying no is not the same as being unforgiving. Make them prove that they can be trusted before you give them that. If they can't, then they have things to work on that you are not responsible for. In addition to being unafraid to say no, do not let people guilt trip you. If they are guilt-tripping you into doing things for them or spending time with them, then they are controlling you and that is unhealthy for you. You can forgive that person without allowing them to come back into your life and control you.

Forgiveness is important. It brings freedom and peace. But realizing that forgiveness can come with boundaries is important too, because it can save you from future pain. As a Christian, I know I am supposed to forgive if a person asks for forgiveness. However, I don't believe God would ever want me to be pushed around or hurt. So forgiveness with boundaries is sometimes necessary. 

Listening

One thing I have definitely improved upon this past year is listening when God is telling me to do something. Whether or not I think it is a good idea for me. This probably came from a very short period of time where I wanted to do things my way, but it didn't work out for me.  It never will if I am following my desires.

Although I don't want to share that time of my life, I wanted to share with you all my realization. It is probably something you've heard before. He always gives you what is best for you, and He can see every other option. Don't be afraid to listen and follow His will for you. Like Moses, even if you are afraid to speak He will give you words.

Since about August I've been listening in a different way than before. I've always tried to listen, but sometimes I didn't consider what He might be telling me about things that are extremely personal. Because of that, I had to experience some things that could have easily been avoided. I started listening about everything, and putting Him above anything I might have considered personal. It really does happen that when you put God first, everything else falls into place! Some things that I thought were unable to mend, He fixed. But that came from me giving Him all of me and letting Him work in my life. Without the listening, the blessings do not happen. If we don't follow what He wants, how can we expect the best for us to happen?

I realize this is a very short post, but it is intended as more of a note than a story. Thank you for reading.

A Theme of Change

People change at an incredible rate. In good ways and in bad ways. Personally, a job that I held for seven months made me do a complete turnaround in personality for a while. That change began at about two months in and it continued to spiral until I "woke up" and remembered who I was. If only a few months can cause a person to change that drastically, what do you think a year can do to a person?

This month I will focus on what I have learned this year. How I have changed and how I have recognized change in the people around me. That is the theme for the month of December: change, specifically change in people.

This is just an introduction to the rest of the month--and my apologies for it taking until mid-month for me to post this. Be looking for different lessons from the life of Taylor. If you have something you would like to share, please feel free to comment below!

**Random disclaimer**

If you have read my previous posts about Yama-Con, those related to the topic in a way. I have changed in my taste in entertainment, as I have grown to appreciate anime.

My Final Report On Yama-Con 2015

Overview

Yama-Con is a fan-owned and fan-operated not for profit anime and gaming convention. "Yama" is the Japanese word for "mountain," so Yama-Con was the natural name for the event. It is a family friendly convention with pretty "strict" rules as far as what is appropriate and what is not. The security and other staff is very good at enforcing those rules. It is held annually in the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains, and I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Pigeon Forge, TN this past weekend as press to this event. 

The convention has a room (about twice the size of my church gym or a school gym) filled with games of all kinds. Video games on wiis, xbox, computers and other gaming systems. Board games, card games, traditional family games (like twister) and everything in between. There were usually anywhere from 50-100 people in this room all weekend long.

Adjacent to the gaming room (separated by a black curtain) was the Dealer's Room (or, as Mom calls it, the "marketplace"). Every convention has one of these. There were so many different booths offering everything from information about cosplay groups to art or plushies. I spent a lot of time in this room, but mostly I was looking at the cosplayers--especially the Kirito cosplayers--and appreciating their talents.

There were also anime-viewing rooms that showed different animes. I didn't get a good chance to survey those rooms, but that would definitely be a good place to be! As much as I enjoy anime, I can't imagine being bored in that room. Unless they were playing yaoi or hentai, which based on the family friendly regulations I cannot see that being the case. 

The panels and events were some of the best parts of Yama-Con 2015! Some of the fan panels included "Doctor Who's Line Is It Anyway?," "Anime Feelstrip," "Black Butler: Book of Clues," and "Con Crash Course." The panels were usually fun and informative. Because of the scheduling of these panels, it is impossible to go to all of them. You have to select your favorites and fix your schedule accordingly. That being said, Autumn and I didn't exactly follow our planned schedule while we were at Yama-Con. We had so many different things we wanted to do that we kind of just went with the flow, and that is okay too. There is a difference between fan-panels and main event panels, though. The main event panels are usually concerts, Q&As with famous voice actors like Chuck Hubert (Ash from Black Butler) and Johnny Yong Bosch (all of the Power Rangers), cosplay contests and other things. 

Cosplayers of all kinds come to Comic/anime/gaming conventions like Yama-Con and I have to admit that is one of my favorite parts of the con! (For those of you who don't know what cosplay is, it is the art of creating/buying a costume of your favorite character and then being that character for any event. Kind of like Halloween, but cooler and not just on October 31st. The best/most impressive cosplayers are those who create their own cosplays.) Autumn spend months creating cosplay outfits for both of us (and our older sister, who only went to the con on Friday). She had prepared Riza (FMA) and Kiba (Naruto) for herself for the last two days, and Ino and Hinata (both from Naruto) for me. We ended up only wearing Kiba and Hinata the last two days for various reasons. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a photo of our cosplays (if you have one, feel free to post it in the comments!). 

Dealer's Room

There were several different artists at Yama-Con this year. Some of my personal favorites were Alex Ogle--I loved the silhouette style of his art-- and the Chalk Twins. All of the art was creative and elaborate, I just preferred some over others. I've included some photos of the art below and captioned them with the artists' names.

Alex Olge's Art

The Chalk Twins

Dealers had many different items! Anything from plushies to elaborate cosplay items. Some of my favorites were Cordy's Corner, K.O. Fashions, Daydream Crochet and Tokyo Toybox. Jenny Murray from Daydream Crochet was very talented and easy to get along with. It always helps when the dealers have a great personality! Some of the things at her booth were absolutely adorable and it's probably a good thing I didn't have any cash on me at the moment. Cordy's Corner and K.O. Fashions had some cool accessories of different sorts. Cordy's Corner had more everyday items while K.O. Fashions would be more for cosplay or fancy events. I was very tempted to buy some lace gloves and a Doctor Who backpack at both of those places. Once again, it is probably good that I didn't have any cash on me at the time. 

Sorry it's blurry! This was K.O. Fashions

K.O. Fashions

K.O. Fashions

K.O. Fashions

K.O. Fashions (Corsets)

Daydream Crochet (I dunno what this is, but it's adorable!)

The Anime Palace

The Anime Palace

The Anime Palace

Cordy's Corner

Cordy's Corner

Cordy's Corner (Grell!)

Cordy's Corner (Bassy and Ciel)

Cordy's Corner (The bag made this picture look weird, but you can still see what it is supposed to be.)

Cordy's Corner

Cordy's Corner

Cordy's Corner (Naruto!)

Cordy's Corner (I really wanted one of these!)

Cordy's Corner (authentic Naruto Ninja headbands)

I believe this was "Hell On Wheels Traveling Hobby Shop"

She had to go to great depths to get this necklace! (Get it?) This was right beside the beautiful bat mask above. 

The remaining booths were advertising events, radio stations or other such things. They weren't really selling anything in particular. I liked the SURGE CLUB booth, because they are a cosplay group and it was very interesting to see their cosplays. And there was a Kirito. There was also invitations to ShudderCon, Yama-Con's annual charity auction and AniBlaze Anime and Fan Convention (J. Michael Tatum will be there!! He is Sebastian Michaelis!). Shudder Con is a horror/sci-fi/anime convention in Chattanooga Tennessee. I'm not a big fan of horror. But I'll be more than happy to go see J. Michael Tatum at AniBlaze! 

Charity Auction

Chicka, an OC from FNAF who will be at ShudderCon

This guy was very nice and extremely helpful!!!

Another thing in the Dealer's Room was props. Like the TARDIS, the Jurassic Park car, the Mystery Machine and PIKA3. It would be easier to show you these props than it would be for me to describe them. 

The Mystery Machine

 Jurassic Park

 PIKA3

  The TARDIS

Cosplays (BE PREPARED FOR PICTURES)

Because Yama-Con is a family friendly convention, not too many of the cosplays were overly revealing or distasteful. There were a few, but those people usually didn't stay for long--or they were only there in the evenings for raves and/or concerts. I got some pictures of the cosplays, but I didn't get as many as Autumn did. (Check out Ani Maze Me for more of Autumn's pictures!) I'll post my pictures below, and caption them with my thoughts. 

We found Waldo!

My favorite cosplayer! Even though it is a little blurry. This is my little sister, Autumn, as Yami (the Yama-Con mascot)!

Yami (Autumn) in front of the Le Conte Center

It looks like a donkey parrot, but it is apparently an angel dragon. The cosplayer made this cosplay, she didn't purchase it. She is very sweet and I enjoyed talking with her!

Yami enjoying some peace and quiet ^_^

Autumn's favorite ever. Shizuo!

My favorite ever. Kirito! This guy was pretty great, too. He was there all weekend.

For #AnimeGeeks-- Where or where has our Luffy Gone? I have found him! Even though the picture was blurry.

The Black Butler group. These guys were absolutely adorable! And their cosplays were flawless! Acting included.

Sebastian and Ciel

I love this pose. Can't help it!

#PoolParty
Dead Pools. There is at least 1 at every con. The pools at Yama-Con were all fantastic! 

These guys placed in the Cosplay Contest

Robert (as Ash) and Haley (as Misty). These guys were some of my favorite cosplayers! Gotta love the classics.

The TARDIS. Very creative! I love love love this cosplay!

Pokemon group photo shoot. Only a few of them are actually paying attention.

Events/Panels 

We were most active on Saturday, but we did some fun stuff on Friday and Sunday too. Friday we mainly cruised the gaming and dealer's rooms. We also went to Disney Karaoke, and Autumn almost got me to sing in front of the Fandom. There were a bunch of talented singers at the Con! My personal favorites were Aloise and Ciel (Black Butler characters, I didn't get the cosplayers names) who sang Meg's song (Hercules). They turned it into a comedy, which I won't explain because it will make no sense to anyone who is not in the fandom (if you want to hear the story, feel free to comment below or email me and I will share it with you). It was fun to see people comfortable enough to sing. I definitely enjoyed the karaoke (even though I do not sing in front of people)! Sunday we started at a corset fan-panel, but we had to leave early for breakfast because of diabetes-related issues. After breakfast we enjoyed going to The Slants food panel. I'd just like to say it was a good thing we had already eaten. The Slants were professional-fun, and we definitely enjoyed their "What the Pho" Asian Food discussion. It was very informative and interesting. I especially like how the band interacts with each other and with their audience. From watching them throughout our entire Yama-Con experience, I would say they are very easy to get along with and they are just friendly with everyone. That is probably part of the experience for them. 

Saturday was a very full day! We were at the Le Conte center at 11 am and enjoyed several different events that day! The cosplay contest and Iron Cosplay are annual events hosted by Yama-Con. A cosplay contest is self explanatory, but Iron Cosplay was something I found unique to Yama-Con. At this event, three groups of contestants were provided with a box of supplies and instructed to build a boat (the Con was pirate themed this year). After the boats were constructed, they had to race them across the stage. The winning team got "Dealer's Room Bucks" (money they could spend only in the Dealer's Room) and the two losing teams got Krispy Kreme. I think I would have thrown that competition for the donuts, just sayin'. 

*I don't actually remember if Iron Cosplay was on Friday or Saturday*

We also attended two concerts on Saturday night! Johnny Yong Bosch's band Eyeshine played earlier in the evening, and we were able to attend The Slants entire concert. (I've already posted about these events). I enjoyed The Slants much more than Eyeshine for the reasons I mentioned before. There was a rave late Saturday night (from 9pm-Midnight) which Autumn and I went to the first half of. We didn't do much dancing, but we did join a conga line. That conga line was more like a run-as-fast-as-you-can-and-try-to-keep-up-line. We left at about 10 pm. 

Highlights/Favorite Parts 

My last blog post talked about the conga-line lead by Dead Pool on Saturday (which I have decided was a #CongaCon #PoolParty, but I find that more humorous than anyone I've told does). The dead pool conga line was definitely my favorite part of the Con, possibly over The Slants concert. Those two main parts are tied for first. I enjoyed both because of the experiences, but it was pretty amazing to feel like my fandom was having its own Thanksgiving in the conga-line. That's the only way I know how to describe it. 

As a side note-- I had a major fangirl moment on Sunday. One of my favorite characters from Black Butler is Ash (the angel. I don't like their use of angels, but I like Ash!). He is voiced by Chuck Huber, whom happened to be in the Dealer's Room. Chuck talked to me in Ash's voice! And then he signed my Press Pass! (Is it bad that I was more excited about him talking to me in Ash's voice?) 

Autumn and I dressed as Hinata and Kiba for the last two days, and we had several people ask for our pictures. We had one photo opportunity with another group of Naruto Cosplayers, which was very special for Autumn. I thought it was great that people enjoyed our cosplays and wanted pictures of them. For me, that means that I did something right. Our cosplays weren't overly special, but they were special to us. So thanks to anyone who asked for a picture. You helped make my Yama-Con experience a great one! 

Analysis/Review 

If I had to give Yama-Con a grade, I would give them an A. There are several reasons for this grade, but the majority of it has to do with the staff and volunteers at the event. In addition, the "Senpai Central" location and activities helped to keep it a family friendly atmosphere. The panels were informative and fun, and the special quests were all very friendly and easy to talk to. I mean, if Chuck Huber was willing to talk to me in Ash's voice, then you have to believe the special guests were inviting. Altogether, it felt like a small-town Con misplaced in a decent-sized city or tourist town. That is my favorite kind of convention. Small town life is like a family in every aspect, including in the geek-ish world of comic cons. It felt comfortable and familiar, even though I had never been to a Yama-Con in my life. That is the kind of place that I want to be. Hoping to get to attend again next year!