Harry Potter Mania!

 

    The trip of my life has come and gone, the last Harry Potter movie has been released and seen no less than three times, and now I am (rather impatiently) awaiting my access letter for Pottermore. Sigh.

LeakyCon was awesome. Just being with all those crazy people who love the Harry Potter books as much as me, and to be able to experience the final movie with those comrades, just awesome. We had our picture taken with some of the cast and both ended up picking up our complete Gryffindor uniform/costume from a great shop called Whimsic Alley who are based in Los Angeles, California. http://www.whimsicalley.com/

My BFF and I also spent two days at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For those who don't know, it is one of the new attractions at The Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando. The attention to detail was remarkable. My only complaint really was that there was so much opportunity to utilize the store fronts for varying skits or magical elements that were not taken advantage of. Every shop that was open was just that, a shop. Don't get me wrong, they were beautifully done, and I spent *ahem* a great deal of money, but the only place you could go in and experience something was Ollivanders, and we waited closed to an hour for that. It would have been nice to go into a robe shop and just see some robes being magically hemmed or something.

The rides were all very well done. The Dragon Challenge I did by myself because my best friend is a chicken (sorry :)) and I did open my eyes once and then closed them immediately as we came within inches of the twin roller coaster going the other way. Yikes! The Forbidden Journey is incredible. We did this twice, waiting about 45 minutes each time. Totally worth it. The line itself takes you through the greenhouses, through the halls of Hogwarts castle which sport moving and talking portraits throughout, Dumbledore's office, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, what appears to be part of the Gryffindor common room, and then just as you are about to get onto the ride, the Sorting Hat sings you a little song which gives the rider a few of the safety points for the ride. The ride itself is a simulation of flying through the grounds and castle, not for the weak stomach! I have to say that I was a little queasy by the end, but as I said, I went back for more :)

Shortly before I left on the above trip, there was new excitement buzzing in he HP fandom. An announcement from JK Rowling about Pottermore: an online reading experience. This announcement has given us crazies (Potterheads, if you will) something more to look forward to. Perfect timing really. Potter fans were given the opportunity to enter early and act as Betas (testers, helping to shape the experience for others) by answering a question posted at random times and trying to find a quill. Luckily for me, I was able to get in on day 2, BUT I am still waiting for the email that will tell me when I can access the site. I have received an email telling me that it will be between mid August and end of September. WHOA. That's a pretty big time frame SO, I spend my days refreshing my inbox as I am sure everyone else is. Sigh. And now I wait...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Hmmmm.... maybe not :)
Appologies to those who are reading, I have no real excuse except I have had writers block, HUGE.
Since I wrote last, my trip (THE TRIP OF MY LIFE) has been booked and confirmed. So in less than 48 days I will be on a plane to Orlando to LeakyCon 2011 to watch the final installment of the Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, surrounded by thousands of other Harry Potter fans WITH my best friend AND spending two days at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. CANNOT get any more exciting for me, seriously. I can't really think about it, because I am in danger of dying from excitement, or combusting. Seriously. I will do a special post on that trip when I return, because I will have many pictures to share!
In addition to this crazy-exciting trip, I have been getting requests to do some cakes for various friends' various functions, and am loving it, BUT, it is leading me to think thay I may have to incorporate this side business for my own sanity. I have to be organized and giving my little cake decorating business a name is a great starting point.

Any suggestions?

Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes...

I just read the most amazing story and thought I would share it with you. You can find it here:
http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/
The follow up blog post to this one is almost more disturbing if you can imagine it. You can read it here:
http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2011/02/03/epilogue/

We need to work together to stop bullying. We need to be accepting. We need to respect people for who they are. Our children need to live in a world where they are not afraid to be themselves. MY children need to, do yours?
Chelsea

Possible - Most Exciting Trip Of My Life - in July

Okay, so I am really not the best at keeping up with a blog. Appologies to my 3 readers :)
So the most exciting thing happening with me right now (besides enrolling my 3 1/2 year old into kindergarten!!!) is the possiblity that I will be attending LeakyCon 2011, at Universal Studios, during the weekend of July 14-18!! For those of you who are wondering why on earth this is at all important, let me enlighten you.

I am one of the worlds biggest Harry Potter fans. Potterhead, Potter Geek, Harry Potter Nerd, one of those Harry Potter people, yes, that is me, call it what you will. (My oldest son's middle name is James, guess what Harry's middle name is? Just sayin'.)
LeakyCon is probably the biggest Harry Potter convention, and I have only ever attended one because they are mostly in the US, the one I did attend was luckily in Ottawa where I was fortunate to meet a whole bunch of great people, including Travis Prinzi author of "Harry Potter and Imagination" and the man behind the website The Hogs Head (http://thehogshead.org/) but I digress...
This convention will be held at Universal Studios, the home of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park AND will be held during the opening of the last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and thus then end of an era.
To be surrounded by HP fans, in Universal Studios, during one of the biggest HP conventions, watching the very last HP movie would be the best experience of my life, surpassed only by the birth of my children, and my wedding day. Exciting. Too much excitement really, for one person. I might burst.

My plans are just waiting for the OK from my BFF to get a few days off of work so he can come with me.
This is when I ask you to pray, or whatever it is you do. :)

Mother of the Year? I think not...

What can I say? I'm a yeller. My voice is one of those voices that gets progressively louder as I get more irritated/excited/frustrated, you name it. So it goes without saying that my kids hear a lot of yelling, maybe not a LOT of yelling, but certainly when I've reached my limit, and certainly when I am already tired, when it's a certain time of the month or when I haven't had my coffee yet (don't judge me, caffeine is an addiction!).
So this morning, I am scolding my 13 month old for removing the floor vent (for the millionth time) and I look at my 3 year old and he's standing there with his fingers in his ears looking at the floor. WOW. GUILT!!!! So I pull his fingers out of his ears, and pull him into my arms and appologize to him (for the millionth time) for yelling. And then of course to console the 13 month old who is now bawling at my feet for getting the firm (but loud) "Don't TOUCH!".
Not my proudest moment as a parent, but I am trying, and I am learning that I can't be perfect all the time, I will lose my temper, and I will still yell, but I have made the committment to my sons to TRY to yell less often, and to remember to appologize when I do.
"It's really easy to beat ourselves up when we suffer what we feel to be a "lapse" in our vision of parenting. The truth is that being a parent is HARD and sometimes we do or say things we're not proud of." A good friend of mine said this to me and it was just what I needed to hear. Being a parent IS hard, and it's nice to know that you aren't alone.

And then he was One.

It has been way too long between posts, but right now I have all of three readers, so I'm sure you don't care. My baby turned one on Sunday and party mayhem insued. My easygoing, happy little boy dug right into his cake, just the way you want them to on their first birthday. The internal "are we done?" struggle rages on, with my heart flip flopping back and forth between wanting just one more, to wanting the best life for the two happy, healthy boys I already have.

 I finished Eat, Pray, Love and have since purchased a japa mala, hoping that I will find the time somewhere to meditate. I have a few plans for the upcoming year, one of which includes becoming a Certified Fitness Trainer. I just have to try an allow myself one goal at a time, since there are SO many things I want to do, and only so much time in which to do them. I have started baking and decorating cakes, which I LOVE to do. This I think, will remain a hobby. But I will post the occassional picture for your viewing pleasure.
I returned to work last week, which I thoroughly enjoy. I applied for a casual job in the Mother/Baby unit and see where that takes me. This is the area that I have wanted to be in since I graduated, but has not quite happened yet, so I will have to wait and see.
Until next time!

So what now?

I started this blog to gripe about some common courtesies in life that I wish would happen more often. Possibly, I just wish that I didn't have to write about them at all. To be honest, I don't have the energy to harbor all the resentment that it takes to keep up with a blog like that, and so here we are.
I am about 3/4 of the way through "Eat, Pray, Love" and I have to say that I am getting more out of this book than I thought I would. I am not a religious person, possibly because I was born and raised a Roman Catholic and I have many, MANY issues with this particular religion's practices. That being said, I do have my own set of moral beliefs and I do believe in God, so reading this book has allowed me to become less uncomfortable with the idea of "finding God", "becoming enlightened" or whatever you want to call it (pretty amazing what books can do, isn't it?).
What is my point exactly? Where am I going with this blog entry? I really don't want to focus on the negative so I am changing direction a bit and blogging about life, choices, children, books I love, and maybe even God if I get that far. Please don't let that scare you away :)