{"id":14299,"date":"2017-01-09T00:19:30","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T08:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/?p=14299"},"modified":"2017-01-09T00:19:30","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T08:19:30","slug":"how-im-spending-my-winter-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/how-im-spending-my-winter-break\/","title":{"rendered":"How I’m spending my Winter Break…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Constant Readers,<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I begin, I feel I owe you guys an explanation for my absence. Real life has thrown a number of curveballs my way. I began my college career in August as a 40-year-old freshman. I learned that I hate Algebra and don\u2019t quite see the point of it in day-to-day life. I do not care what \u2018X\u2019 is, nor do I wonder where he went. (He could be in Calcutta for all I care.) Needless to say, I dropped that class. I also took Freshman Composition, where I really excelled and finished with an \u2018A\u2019. This pleased me to no end. I am already registered for Spring and am <\/span>mostly <\/span><\/i>ready to go, waiting on a few supplies to arrive in my mailbox.<\/span><\/p>\n

December was rough for personal reasons. Namely, we had to put our cat, Broham, to sleep due to serious health issues. I took it very hard. Anyone who has furbabies can relate. We plan to get another cat after we move. I hope it is nice and will cuddle in my lap. Bro was a jerkface, but he was <\/span>our<\/span><\/i> jerkface. I still miss him very much. RIP, A-hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Currently, I am also in the process of packing our home of five years to relocate somewhere else. (Boxes labeled Legos are not uncommon, nor are Funko Pop figures.)<\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019ve gotten that out of the way, onto the fun stuff!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christmas for us was lovely, as we spent it with my husband\u2019s family in San Jose, CA. I made lots of food, got close to sea otters, found Dory (and Nemo) and found time to read. (Currently reading Babylon\u2019s Ashes by James S.A. Corey. If you\u2019re not reading The Expanse series, you should.)<\/p>\n

But one of our dear friends had a surprise waiting for us upon our return home.<\/p>\n

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Our reaction was absolute shock. I even cried a little. No kidding.(I am a HUGE Ghosthead.) After the 2016 I\u2019d had, this was like getting the golden ticket. My husband and I vowed that we would build it together, because 4600+ pieces is a lot of sore fingers.<\/span><\/p>\n

After clearing off our dining room table, I armed myself with a glass of sweet tea and opened the box to get things started for building. Given the scope of this project, I didn\u2019t want to mess around. I dumped out the box, then began the process of flattening and sorting the bags into which number they belonged to. There are 14 sections to this beast. I opted to do the odd sections, hubby could do the evens. One of us would build our section, then the other would do theirs while the first rested their fingers. (This thing is detailed AF!) Then we\u2019d tag out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"I put the sections we weren\u2019t using in a bin. It was full when we started.<\/p>\n

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Here is the first floor completed. The ground floor contains the Ecto Containment Unit, Peter\u2019s office, Janine\u2019s desk and room to work on the Ecto-1. (I should note that the Ecto-1 model will not completely fit into the front. Small bummer, but we press on!)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hubby builds the second floor.<\/p>\n

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This is part of the second floor, with the bedroom, kitchen and beginnings of a bathroom. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Third floor has a pool table, Egon\u2019s lab and the start of the photo lab.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A completed Firehouse, complete with working pole! Ray likes the pole. We finished building it in three days. (This includes hubby being at work for one day.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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There were a lot of things we were impressed with this kit. I reiterate it is very detailed. There are a lot of Easter Eggs for the hardcore fans. We made this short video to show them off. (You are also going to be subjected to my Annie Potts impression. If it sucks a$$, I apologize.)<\/span><\/p>\n