This thing will kinda make sense, but I’ll explain why at the end.

So I found a bird in the yard of a local urgent care center. It took me approximately five full minutes of talking to my boyfriend to decide to go snatch this dead bird. I wanted it because it’s yellow and it’s a bird I’ve never seen before. It’s amazing and I freaked out the whole time I went to pick it up thinking someone was gonna come out and yell at me or call me crazy because I’m just hanging out at an urgent care clinic picking up dead birds. Anyway, I get it in my car, I get it home, and I call my mom to tell her about it. Then I send her a picture so she can Google what the hell it is. Turns out it’s a Western Meadowlark and it’s not even supposed to be native to Indiana. (Thanks global climate change.)

Look at it though. It’s glorious.

A very dead but GLORIOUS Western Meadowlark.

But then I have the realization that I’ve never actually preserved anything before, let alone an entire animal. So I start scouring the internet to try and find someone who can give me a little bit of instruction on how to keep this little dude always looking so beautiful. Luckily I did, and the very next day my buddy shows up with two canisters of iodized salt and a box of Borax. This little birdie is currently hanging out in a plastic baggie in my freezer so I can try and figure out how the hell you gut a bird without damaging the rest of the body. Hopefully, I’ll have this guy in a shadowbox on a lovely branch before the end of the month.

So this is no big deal. I have a dead bird I’m going to preserve for a project and to test my skills at small time taxidermy. BUT THEN. The next day I come home from work and my dad is gone, which is unusual for this time of year. Mom informs me that he’s out with his bff Jason doing coyote management on some family land. Also, no big deal. UNTIL. I get a text message from dad letting me know they got one and asking me if I wanted him to bring it home to me. I replied with an extremely enthusiastic yes, which Jason found hilarious. I get up the next morning, and we know we have to skin it out because it’s going to warm up and it’ll rot if we leave it outside and there’s no way in hell we’re getting a full size dog in the damn freezer. Neither of us had ever skinned out a coyote until now. I have never even touched any type of raw flesh (including things like hamburger) until now due to an anxiety issue.

So we get him all skinned out and get his head off of him. And now the hunt begins for a taxidermist who can help me make a headdress out of this beautiful creature. Right now everyone is booked solid with deer mounts from last season so I’m in a mad dash to find someone already, then my dad surprises me again saying that I should wait because he wants to go out a couple more times to see if he can get a better specimen and then I CAN TAN THE HIDE I HAVE RIGHT NOW ON MY OWN. I have literally zero experience with this crap, but I guess everything is a learning curve at some point. It’s looking more and more like I’m going to become a well-seasoned preservationist.

NOW, here’s how it kind of makes sense. I’m a wild Pagan, and as a Pagan I have a tendency to inadvertently collect oddities. I most recently received this raccoon skull in the mail from a friend in Texas. Just a few of my other curiosities include: a turkey pelvis, a juvenile deer jaw, puppy ribs, cat whiskers, a cat tooth, a jar of cicadas, and a collection of stones and minerals that would explode your brain.

The moral of this story is: when you start even a small adventure, be prepared for it to become a lot bigger than you ever expected.

Thanks for sharing this awesome post, Alyse! A totally unique way of owning it! 

Alyse Small

Alyse is really weird 23 year old kid living in southern Indiana. She makes all types of art and sometimes She’s lucky enough to get paid for it. She has five cats and a house full of dead people. Wanna hear a crazy story? Hit her up on Facebook (Alyse Dawn Small) and tell her to create a website. 

As a mother, I’ve always found it extremely valuable that my children get out into the world and have experiences. Each experience is eye opening and a teachable moment for me. We learn so much from our experiences and the value of adventure bringing about a sense of fulfillment.

With this philosophy in mind,  I try to plan something special for the kids during the year. Sort of like a “vacation” but I’m not a big “vacation” person. I’d rather create some small budget friendly adventures instead. These adventures can range from a Saturday afternoon trip to the library to a full blown “let’s get in the car and drive to a new landmark we’ve never been to.” It always depends on how much extra money we have because let’s be honest, we are ALL on a budget.

This now brings me to our adventure into the subculture world of Science Fiction. So before you go running back to your teenage pop culture, hear me out: what exactly happens when you give creative freedom to 60K People?

I’ve read about these Sci-Fi people who dress up once a year like Star Trek characters, Aliens, Dragons, Tim Burton creatures, etc. I’ve always kind of felt they were a little strange. I mean, do you really have to dress up in costumes to enjoy your sci-fi, geeky life? Then I started thinking about how they role-play, which just made everything even creepier. After much consideration I decided that research into this sub culture might actually help shed some light on what it’s about. And to do this investigative research I needed to leave my judgment at the door.

Over the summer I began my research project into Dragon*Con. What I found was a sub culture of pretty impressive people. The festival started in 1987 and has grown extensively over the last couple of decades with 2014 roughly bringing in 60K people.  In 1987 the inaugural Dragon*Con took place at the Piedmont Plaza Hotel Atlanta, drew 1400 fans and featured Guests of Honor Michael Moorcock, Lynn Abbey and Robert Asprin, Robert Adams, Ultima creator Richard “Lord British” Garriott, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons Gary Gygax and Toastmaster Brad Strickland.

Most of the people mentioned above I knew little about. However, what was so shocking was that most of the people participating do not get paid. It’s voluntary. Also impressive was how fast it grew and how much support came from the film industry. So, I continued my research.

By 1989, it drew 2,400 (many to see Guest of Honor Anne McCaffrey), and the event had moved to the Omni Hotel and Convention Center. In 1990, the convention had doubled again, added a Comics Expo, hosted the Origins convention, this time with Guest of Honor Tom Clancy, and expanded to include the Atlanta Sheraton hotel. In 1991 the first “Robot Battles” robotic competition event was added to the list of events, making it the second oldest robotic competition event in the world.

By 1995, when Dragon*Con hosted the North American Science Fiction Convention, attendance had grown to over 14,000 fans, and Dragon*Con was also hosting the International Starfleet Conference. In 2002, Dragon*Con began hosting a parade through downtown Atlanta, which ran from Centennial Olympic Park to the Marriott Marquis, and featured thousands of costumed participants. In 2005, Dragon*Con raised USD $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. At the convention’s 20th anniversary in 2006, there were 22,000 attendees, and the convention continued to grow, drawing 27,000 attendees in 2007, 40,000 in 2010, and 57,000 in 2013.

The explosion of growth blew my mind. There has to be something to this event? I needed to know more, though. How do we attend? What do we do? Will the kids enjoy or barely survive the heat of a Hotlanta weekend?

So, it turns out Dragon Con is a 4-day event comprising approximately 3500 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops, with over 30 specialized programming tracks (forum discussions) Yes! There’s inside stuff going on so we don’t melt. The tracks included writing, alternate history, art, anime, gaming, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, comic books, costuming, space, science, online media, independent film, robotics, podcasting, ect. And you don’t have to attend all 4 days. And there’s a parade Saturday morning that is FREE. I also found out that my kids were FREE. Triple awesome!

I bought tickets and on August 29, 2014 I packed the car and we headed for Atlanta.

So what does happen when you give creative freedom to 60K people? WOW!!!

First off, it was a bit of sensory overload for my husband, two children and myself. I’ve been to Disney a handful of times and it’s overwhelming because of the parks and seeing everything but this is a different kind of overwhelming. Every time we turned around there was another character. “There’s Jack from Nightmare before Christmas!” “Omg – I want a picture.” “Greg, Who’s that one?” “Where’s that guy from?” “Dude, who’s that?” “Omg – Seriously, that costume is made of Ego Waffle boxes.” “Kids, Look it’s the Disney’s Brave, Queen Elsa, Anna, and Tinkerbell!” “GREG! – grab your daughter before she attacks them!” “Greg, where are his legs? What a clever costume.”

Gandalf and hobbits and elves … oh my!

Avatar folks.

Marvin and Sully

To say the least, we had a good time. Of course, with anything that overwhelming the kids had their ups and downs emotionally, but it was well worth the experience.

Dragon*con is a magical place where people come together in creative expression. A place where you can be anything you want to be, free of judgment or stereotypes. You don’t have to “make the cut” like Idina Menzel or Demi Lovato to be Queen Elsa from Frozen. You can be Queen Elsa because you want to be. Creative Expression in one of the powerful human gifts we have – It enriches lives in meaningful ways.

It was an eye opening adventure – and I’m grateful that my family was able to be a part of it.

So many kind and creative individuals.

Christina

Christina is a palm tree-loving, barefoot, beach bum wife and mother of 2 who is devoted to cultivating a family life where gratitude, self confidence, contribution and love rise above. She seeks alternative parenting methods where she can help to cultivate and guide the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of her children. In 2013, she resigned from a corporate job in the financial industry to pursue her greater role as a parent and artist.  Since then, she has begun to pursue a career as a parenting and wellness coach. 

So, I’ve been thinking about this lately, really, “What does the value of an Adventure mean to me?” I recently watched an interview with Chris Guillebeau regarding his new book, The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose To Your Life. From the interview I really felt compelled to explore this concept. And explore it with my kids. I have not read his book yet, but I certainly plan on it. The interview was filled with so much awesomeness I had to explore it immediately.

First, what is an Adventure? Wikipedia describes an Adventure as an exciting or unusual experience. In the interview Chris explains how smaller adventures/quests can have just as much impact as larger ones. This excited me because our travel budget has currently dropped into the red. I also learned that by giving this adventure or quest a number it gives more purpose and makes it fun. Just like a deadline for a project – it provides a purposeful container around it.

So, the kids and I decided that we would start something that would give purpose to our routine. We decided to start board game night. Pretty basic, right? But no, we’re going to have game night every Saturday for 22 weeks. 22 weeks because we have 22 games in the game closet and many have never been played. At the end of 22 weeks, we plan to purchase one new game to and donate one of our least favorites. The kids are so excited and it’s a challenge. Just by giving the board game night a “goal” of 22 weeks we are giving it structure and purpose. Coolness, right?

Want a life that’s more meaningful and exciting? A quest just may do the trick –
Check out Marie Forleo’s interview with Chris here.

London, our board games and Hudson = Game Night

Christina

Christina is a palm tree-loving, barefoot, beach bum wife and mother of 2 who is devoted to cultivating a family life where gratitude, self confidence, contribution and love rise above. She seeks alternative parenting methods where she can help to cultivate and guide the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of her children. In 2013, she resigned from a corporate job in the financial industry to pursue her greater role as a parent and artist.  Since then, she has begun to pursue a career as a parenting and wellness coach.