Meeting Stan Lee in San Francisco #StanLee

When we had the chance last Fall to meet Stan Lee in person at a charity event at a San Francisco CA  I took off of work and we drove there just in time to get in the growing line of people waiting outside. My heart panicked a bit when a guy with a clip board was checking if people in line had prepaid for the event! Thankfully they still had a few spots left to meet him for that day purchases. My son was dressed in his Spider-man costume and we grabbed one of our classic Spider-man comic books from our collection to have signed. This was a first time meeting with Stan Lee for our family, we were elated to meet the comic legend!! My son has started writing his own comic books but would not let me post them here in case he's famous one day as he says, he did offer to sell me one though!

Amazing Fantasy Comic store held the event at their tiny store in San Francisco. It created an intimate atmosphere as each person took turns going inside the store to take a photo and get an autograph. The buzz outside the store was awesome as people passing by tried to get a peek at Stan Lee and the people who just met him were comparing and showing off the items they brought for him to sign. We all shared stories of Stan Lee, the Marvel Universe, comics in general and all the nerdy geekness of being a fan, it was epic!

Being in San Francisco is always a day trip for us and we made the most of it by visiting the beach where I may have possibly let my son swim in the ocean while wearing his Spider-man costume. My son told me Spider-man defends New York and he could defend California!!

No trip to S.F. is complete without a clam chowder in a bread bowl for dinner. We stopped by Boudin bakery for ours and had to go say "hi" to the seals on Pier 39. It was a perfect day meeting a legend with the people I love!!

Discount Tickets to Fandemic Tour Coming to Sacramento June 22-24 #ad #FademicTour

I have been looking forward to the Fandemic Tour since it was announced!!! My family and I are huge Geek, Nerds, Fan Boys/Girls, whatever you wanna call the cool people that like Comics, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Super Heroes, we are them. I recently started watching The Walking Dead, I know I am so behind the awesomeness of the show. I did catch up to the current season since we plan on meeting Norman Reedus aka Daryl Dixon and Jeffery Dean Morgan aka Neegan. I never thought I would like a show about zombies but I realized it is so much more than that, it is the moral decisions, the love stories, the vengeance, the mercy, it has amazing writers that tell great stories through the characters that the talented actors portray so well. If your a Walking Dead fan even more characters such as "Carl", "Glenn" and "Hershel" will be attending the event as well.

PROMO CODES

Promo Code valid now to Memorial Day! Memorial Day special - 20% off general admission (MEMORIAL20) - kids 10 and under are always free with adult ticket - and $10 off VIPs (MEMORIAL10) - CODES

Special family highlights:

-Teen Titans Go! WB will have a presence for photo ops on the show floor 

-Jason David Frank is an original Mighty Morphin Power Ranger 

-Michael Rooker - Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy

Sunday - kids FREE craft handed out, while supplies last!

FANDEMIC TOUR BRINGS CELEBS LIKE NORMAN REEDUS, JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, MILO VENTIMIGLIA, MICHAEL ROOKER, DAVE BAUTISTA AND MORE TO SACRAMENTO JUNE 22-24 AT SACRAMENTO CONVENTION CENTER

Tickets on sale now for a weekend of fun with major celebrities, artists and cosplayers

Fandemic Tour, a new type of comic con, will bring their new tour to Sacramento this June. Brought to you by the same people who originally created Wizard World Comic Con, Sacramento will be their very first official city stop, followed up by Houston, Sept. 14-16, 2018 as a make-up due to Hurricane Harvey. Fandemic Tour will feature celebrities including: Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”, “The Boondock Saints”), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Walking Dead”, “Magic City”), Michael Rooker (“Guardians of the Galaxy”, “The Walking Dead”, “Tombstone”, “Cliffhanger”, “Days of Thunder”), Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Gilmore Girls”), Milo Ventimiglia(“This is Us”, “Heroes”, “Gilmore Girls”), Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”, “WWE Raw”, Sean Patrick Flanery (“The Boondock Saints”, “Powder”) and Jason David Frank(“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”). 

Fandemic Tour is a brand new experiential convention weekend that will bring together celebrities, well-known and emerging comic artists, cosplayers of all shapes and sizes, and exhibitors with merchandise designed to offer something for every type of pop culture fan. All confirmed talent will make appearances on at least two days of the weekend, and many will appear on all three days. All guest appearance dates are listed at www.FandemicTour.com.

Fandemic Tour will offer attendees the opportunity to purchase autographs and photo opportunities with their favorite celebrity talent and artists. Photos come in the form of 8x10” printouts.

Phil Ortiz

In addition to celebrity acting talent, Fandemic Tour will boast a host of exciting guest artists such as Neal Adams (Batman, X-Men), Phil Ortiz, animator from The Simpsons and Muppet Babies, Michael Golden of Marvel and DC Studios fame, Rob Prior, amazingly talented two-handed live pop artist with notable credits (Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), and Arthur Suydam (Deadpool, The Walking Dead). Other notable artists including: Renee Witterstaetter, Mike DeCarlo, John Beatty, Rodney Ramos, Ric Meyers, Clinton Hobart, Rags Morales and Jim Salicrup.

“Fandemic Tour is something I’ve been thinking about for some time now, and it represents everything I think fans will want from a comic con event,” said Fandemic Tour CEO John Macaluso. Macaluso added, “We pledge to present an event that brings the highest tier celebrities, artists, and exhibitors and to create immersive programming that is both fun and educational. Our mission is simple: take care of the fans.”

Fandemic Tour is Macaluso’s first foray into the comic con space as an entrepreneur. Formerly the CEO of Wizard World, Macaluso is anxious to bring his unique brand of fan experience to Sacramento for the first time through Fandemic Tour. Macaluso noted, “Sacramento has a great comic con fan base and we are excited to share this new experiential event with them. Fandemic Tour is poised to bring the utmost in fan engagement to the Sacramento Convention Center for an interactive, fun-filled weekend.”

Fandemic Tour will continue to announce additional big-name guests in the coming weeks leading up to its inaugural event, June 22-24^th at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, Calif.

General Admission tickets are available at the following price points:

$35 — Friday Pass

$45 — Saturday Pass

$40 — Sunday Pass

$75 — Full Weekend Pass

$150 — Fandemic Fanatic VIP

Tickets, celebrity packages and Photo Ops are available now at www.FandemicTour.com for

each day of the weekend.

ABOUT FANDEMIC TOUR

Fandemic Tour is a three-day extravaganza of all things Geek! Fandemic will gather pop culture

celebrities, well known and emerging comic artists, professional and amateur

cosplayers, and exhibitors that sell socks, t-shirts, hats, and everything in-between. In

addition, Fandemic Tour will provide programming open to all who attend throughout the

weekend. Throughout the weekend, attendees have the opportunity to purchase autographs

and photo ops with Fandemic Tour guests. Photo opportunities come in the form of a photo of

you and the celebrity guest taken on a professional camera under ideal lighting conditions.

Photos are printed on 8×10” paper on dye-sublimation photo printers. Most guests are

available for at least two of the three days of the event, and all appearance dates are spelled

out on the Fandemic Tour website, www.FandemicTour.com.

Food at Universal Studios Hollywood #California #universalstudioshollywood

Butterbeer!!

It was a delicious meal and nice to have some salad among all the sweet and salty treats we had in the park. The stew was sooooo good! We sat right next to an old style fireplace with a black cauldron. So Harry Potter! My son of course being the kid he is ordered Chicken Nuggets, good grief lol!

Menu at Three Broomsticks. The inside of this place is beautiful and very Hogwarts style. I highly recommend eating here!!!

We had to eat at Krusty Burger being the Simpsons fans we are. My husband ate there two days in a row! I recommend getting a few patties on your burger to make it more filling. We sat upstairs inside the restaurant since Moe's Tavern was full. There was cool art and Simpsons memorabilia all over the place.

No words for how delicious this Krusty Burger tasted!

Homer Simpson style and size Donuts! It was amazing! You seriously have to buy this! It lasted a few nights as a dessert in our hotel room. We of course had to say "DOH!" as we ate it!

From The Garden, Making Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

I've really never been a huge fan of zucchini. I do love eating many kinds of veggies, but zucchini just never appealed to me. But that recently changed, and now I'm finding lots of different ways to cook with it.

These Zucchini Parmesan Crisps make a delicious snack or appetizer. We ate them with low calorie Ranch dressing with peppercorns, and there were requests for seconds. Next time I'll make a double batch.

The reason that I have begun to enjoy eating zucchini is because it is from our own garden. Having the garden this year, has opened my eyes to eating new foods, and ones I thought I wasn't very fond of. The zucchini will all be gone in a couple of weeks and I really will miss it.
Of course I can buy it at the grocery store, but it just isn't the same as growing it yourself.

The only thing I had to buy for the crisps was the freshly grated parmesan cheese. I like buying it in small batches from a little grocery store nearby. I used Panko breadcrumbs, but you can use regular, too. And I'm a bit addicted to Johnny's Seasoning Salt right now, but you can also use regular seasoning salt if you want.

Making the crisps is a great way to use up zucchini that you have grown, or friends have given you from their gardens.

I do recommend baking them on a wire baking rack if you have one. I think it makes them taste better.

Recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

Ingredients:

cooking spray
2 medium zucchini, about 1 pound total
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs, Panko or regular
1/2 teaspoon Johnny's seasoning salt, or regular seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or wire rack with baking sheet underneath, with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the olive oil.
In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, seasoning salt, and pepper.

Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating evenly on both sides. Press mixture onto round if needed.
Place on prepared baking sheet/rack in a single layer. Bake zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, about 25 minutes.
 Remove with spatula, and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.

Eat and enjoy!!

Usborne Books Astronaut Academy Review and Giveaway

*I received books for free to review for this post.

Books are a very important part of my life! I was raised with a love a books and the library. I now encourage my own son to love reading and I am always buying him new books. As a homeschooling family we try to find educational books that make learning about a topic more fun. My friend Waiyee has introduced me to Usborne Books as a resource for schooling and fun reading.

We recently reviewed Astronaut Academy as a part of learning about space and the planets for school. My son and I both loved the interactive aspects of the book with being able to write in the book and some parts being punch out to make things with. With each page there is a new task that your little astronaut in training learns. As you make your way through the tasks you add an official sticker to the page, once you complete all the tasks you earn a certificate.

Here is some information about the book from Usborne Books website:

"An activity book like no other! Through a series of fun and challenging tasks, kids will begin to understand the skills and training required to become an astronaut on a mission to Mars. There are “classes” for kids to attend as part of their training. These include Space Pilot, Space Living, Space Engineer, Space Scientist, and Space Gym. Each topic is explored in detail and accompanied by astronaut missions, including physical and mental challenges, as well as drawing and craft activities designed to mimic the skills involved in real-life training. Kids will tackle hand-eye coordination exercises and obstacle courses and learn how to build a balloon rocket, as well as first aid skills. There are also stickers, a poster, and a model space shuttle."

My son really loved this book and wanted to keep going with the tasks. Our favorite one was making the Balloon Rocket! We still have it up in his room for times when we want to launch it. There is a board game style game that you can take out of the book to play called "Mission to Mars". We enjoyed playing it and my son made a box for the game to add to his other board games he owns.

Waiyee hosts Online Book Parties to share the love of reading and books with your friends. We are offering a special of free and half priced books when you use the code "Frugal Family Tree" when you contact her  to host an online party at waiyee.usbornebooks@gmail.com


GIVEAWAY

We are hosting a giveaway for one of the Academy series books. The winner can select from Architect, Engineer, Vet, Coder, Doctor, Pilot or Scientist. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 6, 2018 and ends on April 20, 2018 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.