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Thursday, July 14, 2011

She's Off To See the Wizard!

Tonight is the big night. It is the night we have all been waiting for... well, not me, but the rest of America has. I say America because it has already happened in the UK. I am talking about the final Harry Potter movie. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about it. I got so so SO sick of Harry Potter.... and then Edward came along... then I had to apologize to Harry Potter because I enjoy his company so much more; although Jacob is quite the hottie... WHEW! TEAM JACOB!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHH.... ahem... sorry... where was I?


 Oh yes... Harry Potter.  For years Heidi has been a big fan. She's been a fan of the books and the movies. She has drug me to all of the Harry Potter movies and I admit I have enjoyed them. She's also got all the dvd's and most of the soundtracks. I have lost track of the number of times I have seen each movie.. oh, and don't get me started on the Scene it? dvd game. UGH! I totally suck at it! I can't remember the names of most of the characters so I get special rules... I'll say, "The guy who wrote a book and is totally full of himself" instead of... brb... Googling the name.... Professor Lockhart... I could not have gotten that if my life depended on it, let alone a dvd game. I have fun though, playing these games with Heidi, and watching the movies is something we always do together. As I watched part 1 of the Deathly Hallows with Heidi and her roommate, the roommate was quite impressed that I knew what was going on and that I understood the history. The reason for this is that I have a constant narrator when I watch a Harry Potter movie. Heidi will make sure I know what is going on, why, and fill in the spaces left out from the book. I get after her for talking during the movie but I like how excited she gets. Heidi will probably take me to see part 2 next weekend. It should be fun. I know I'll hear all about it either super late when she gets home at 3am or tomorrow when I get home from work. My baby is 19 1/2, which mean's she's almost a 20yr old woman. It's like the end of Harry Potter and the end of her childhood... shit, now I feel like crying. I guess I never thought about it until now.  Well, she's been standing in line for the last 1 1/2 hours and is having fun with her 2 Harry Potter friends J and S. In the past they have made t-shirts and have gone to the last few movies together.  I'm glad all three of them are together tonight, in addition to meeting a few other friends there.  I was given strict instructions to fix her dinner so she can reheat it when she gets home, and that is already done. I can't wait to hear about how much fun she had, the people she saw, and if she approved of the ending. She's very concerned about how they will end it. I hope she's not disappointed, she's been waiting for this for a very long time. The best part is that I am really happy about not being SHUSHHHHED every time the trailer comes on the TV.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

What are our kids reading?

I came across this amazing blog post written by Robin Weeks in response to an article that she felt very strongly about. This article is titled Darkness Too Visible against the darker themed young adult literature, of which my daughter enjoys so I have strong feelings about it too. Ms. Weeks then felt she was too harsh so she wrote a second post, YA Saves - Counterpoint. I found this entire topic to be very interesting and I even became a bit emotional as I was writing my comment to Ms. Weeks' first post. It got to be pretty long so I thought I would turn my comment into its own blog post. Before you go on,  you should read the 3 articles by clicking on the links. It's a bit of reading, but very interesting reading, especially if you are interested in YA fiction, censorship or just plain good writing.

I grew up in the 80's when parents were blaming music for our behavior. Even as a teenager I saw a flaw in this so called reasoning. I listened to Ozzy and Metallica and was a well adjusted smart kid who respected her elders. I felt that if a kid killed himself while listening to a certain kind of music there was something else going on. Was I the only one paying attention here?

Well, I would never be caught reading any books containing vampires, warewolves, or the like. Not my thing, but my daughter is a different story. I HONESTLY feel she would not be in college now if it weren't for RL Stine, JK Rowling, and Stephenie Meyer. 


My daughter would not read anything. School sucked. Friends sucked. She was losing her interest in dance. I didn't know what to do. One day I brought home a Goosebumps book... that's where it all started. SHE WAS READING! She was grades behind in her reading level and from reading these books she started to improve in school. 

She worked her way through these books through the years. Now at 19 she's got a bookshelf FULL of books from a variety of authors who write this dark type of YA literature. She now also enjoys the American classics and is a well rounded responsible young woman. She's dabbling at writing her own book, and she's an English major - in secondary education. I'm so proud of her. 

Not only did these books improve her reading skills and widen her interests in reading, but they were an emotional outlet. Being a teen gets harder and harder through the years and while kids were sitting in front of their computer games, or talking to weirdos on the internet mine had her head in a book. When things sucked at school she would read her books. 


I got emotional while writing this. I can't believe how far she has come and how much she has grown. Her interest in books thrills me. Right now we have Passion by Lauren Kate sitting on our table waiting for Heidi to come home from a short trip she is on. The second she walks through the door, she will sit down and start reading. I will forever be a defender in all things literary.


I think I owe my love for books and literature to my mom. She brought me up to treat books with the utmost respect. I could never damage one, destroy one, or throw one away. Books are valuable and we should cherish them. They have always been important to me and at times have sentimental value, especially if the book was a gift.


I haven't read anything outside of magazines or blogs in a while. I should follow in my daughter's footsteps and pick up a book, even if I only manage to read a few pages a day.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Monthly Milestones - June

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I would like to start out by saying that I did not tear my ACL. Woo Hoo! June 1st I finally got to see the orthopedic surgeon and all I did was dislocate my kneecap, ha ha , yeah, "that's it". I am now in physical therapy and it has been a difficult process but I am getting my strength back. I have bad days where even my good knee hurts, but my Dr. says that it's normal. On those days I take it easy and use ice. My back is better and I don't need a babysitter anymore. I can do the shopping as long as I am not on my feet for too long and I don't have a lot to carry in. I hope to be back to normal by the end of August as I have a very important trip to make.

I'm still up that 10 pounds, but I've managed not to gain any more than that until recently.

Heidi is off visiting her dad. I hate it when she is gone. She came down with a cold. She called me early in the morning last week and sounded terrible. My poor baby, so I sent her a care package of Ricolas, vaporizing shower tablets, Nyquil and Dayquil, popcorn, soup, fruit pops you freeze and eat, gum, her Netflix dvd's, a card with stickers and a candy filled car for her little brother.

My goals for July are to continue to progress with my physical therapy and get those stairs down. I'm supposed to be doing them already but I can't. My Dr. has been very understanding but forcing me to keep trying.

I'm also going to start logging my food again tomorrow. I want to get back on my weight loss plan. I was doing really well before I got hurt, there is no reason why I can't continue to do so. Especially now that I can mostly walk and I'm working out at physical therapy twice a week.

Heidi will be home next weekend and we can get back to hanging out and having fun. I miss her.
Big Brother 13 starts next week, and America's Got Talent is on. We watch those shows together and I enjoy them more with her.