Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I was fortunate that Jason is on vacation this week so that I was able to go see this movie on opening day. I have been excited for weeks!

There will be spoilers here so if you have only ever watched the movies (and don't already know whats coming) you may wanna stop here!!

My only real disappointment with the film is that it's just impossible to fit the entire book into 2 1/2 hours. So much happened before Harry ever got to school this year and that was briefly skimmed thru. I feel like if I hadn't read the book I'd be clueless as to what was going on but that's probably not the case, I am just sensing what's missing.

I think that given time constraints they did everything they could to get the important parts in but I MUST say.. I am thrilled Book 7 will be two movies so that hopefully more of the last book will be able to be shown on screen.

As for the movie itself? I thought it was great. Casting never ceases to amaze me.
Luna, one of my favorite characters, was wonderfully cast by Evanna Lynch and played to a T. She got a considerable amount of screen time this movie which I was pleased with (moreso than poor Neville).

Another big casting favorite of mine was Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange.



She is brilliant as the slightly deranged follower of Voldemort and nails the performance.

Casting I didn't see coming? Jessie Cave as Lavendar Brown.

She wasn't who I pictured at ALL the the love struck admirer of Ron but seeing it in action I felt alot better with the choice. She's a very pretty girl and did the ditzy affectionate role justice.

The camaraderie between the trio was there as always.



You wanted to cry with Hermione as Ron runs off with Lavendar and you cheered when he said Hermione's name is his sleep.

You clapped with the crowd as Ron got every catch in the Quidditch game. You felt your heart melt a little as Ginny kissed Harry in the Room of Requirement. Here's what I didn't understand though (and another casting win). How did Hermione NOT think Cormac Mclaggen (potrayed by Freddie Stroma) was a complete and total BABE??



Are you kidding me?? He's flat out yummy.

Anyways all in all my only complaint again is how much had to be cut out. The scenes were done well, graphics were great, all the actors did their roles wonderfully. I could have done with less of the Burrows burning down and more shirtless Mclaggen but hey, I am not the director.

The scene that sent chills up my spine and goosebumps all over was after Dumbledore died.. and Harry ran back to be at his side. And one by one... well.. you'll see. I wont ruin that one for you. Just remember I told you about it here first.

Autism Friendly Showing of HP6!!!!

Seriously, you have NO idea how happy this makes me.

Autism Friendly Showing of Half Blood Prince at AMC Theaters

Now, this is not a movie I'd take Mikey too anyhow. Its much too harsh for him, and he doesn't separate reality from fantasy well at all yet.

But it's the point. The fact they are doing this is amazing. I am SO thrilled because it opens up the doors for similar showings with different movies. There's just really not words to express how much hope this gives me for kids with autism everywhere. Look... people are changing for you.. instead of making you change for them. Rock on.

And in other news, Mikey got two cavities filled Thursday. Some of you may remember the traumatic experience earlier this year that left us both in tears when a dentist attempted to do this with Mikey and was IMO way to harsh on him. I decided to go the sedation route because it just seemed way too much for Mikey to handle and I was not going to put him in a strait jacket like the dentist suggested (you're freaking kidding me right? Do parents DO that???)

So we finally got him in Thursday and it went wonderful. They had him drink some loopy medicine and we hung out in the waiting room for 30 mins then I took him back. They sealed up his four permanent teeth first, got a nitrous oxide supply going in his nose, numbed, shot up and filled first the big cavity then a small one.

Mikey did great. They let me stay the whole time and most of it I was at the head of his chair so he could always see me. I did not think they would let me do that so I was very grateful. They were wonderful with him, so attentive, praising him, patient.. it was worth the arm and a leg we are paying for it. I just pray we can keep his teeth clean enough to NOT need to do this again (well except for the 3rd we have to fill in August).

And in even BETTER news, a few weeks back I found out my stepsister Amber is pregnant. She'll be having a little girl due in November. And just yesterday at the family summer birthday party, I found out my SIL (stepbrother's wife) is also pregnant, due in February. So TWO cousins for my kiddoes in a matter of months. Wendy says shes having a boy based on the Chinese Birth Calendar. I guess we'll see!

So.. Aunt AnnMarie? Aunt Annie? Auntie Ann? I cant decide...

4th of July

We had a pretty decent 4th of July. Up until the very last minute I hadn't decided whether we would go to an event they hold every year at out local park or not. Finally I decided to go, even if just for a few hours. It was hot and supposed to rain but I figured it's 5 minutes up the road if we needed to leave.

Plus.. getting Mikey out of the house and away from his computer is always a good thing.

So I told my Mom and she met us up there. They had lots of games for kids, bounce houses, coloring tents, water balloon tosses and more. There was music and tons of food.

It was hot but very breezy so not too bad. The kids played soccer with a ball Heather brought, we bought them a slice of pizza and some juice and we walked around, checking things out and getting freebies.

Finally we decided to go as Mikey was lamenting the fact that it was past 7 and he had not yet had his 7 o'clock snack and Heather wore herself out with sheer brattiness.

Once home we turned on the TV and PBS was airing their annual 4th of July concert near the state capital. When we turned it on they had Sesame street characters singing patriotic songs and the kids and I danced and sang along with them.

Then, they brought out the Jersey Boys. I was very interested in this seeing as how my Dad recently saw and reviewed Jersey Boys in his blog and it sounded wonderful.

They did a number of songs including "Walk Like a Man", "Sherry", "Oh What a Night" and more. The best part? The kids were dancing and singing along with me here too. Mikey kept asking me about them and I told him everything I knew. I told him he should ask Granddad about them too :P.

Once this was over we took the kids outside and let them watch both the fireworks from the park and ones our neighbors across the street were doing in their driveway. Mikey did very well with them but reached his capacity for stimulation in about 20 minutes and went inside. Heather stayed the whole time, laughing and jumping up and down yelling about how much she LOVED fireworks.

I got both kids to bed sometime after 9 and then spent a quiet night (ok, not so quiet with fireworks still going off) reading Forever Odd, the second in a series of "odd" books by Dean Koontz. I finished that today and am looking for the 3rd, hopefully the library has it (or Dad?).

In any case, had a very good holiday, hope you all did as well.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

It was a pretty unexpected shock yesterday to find out Michael Jackson had died. Jason called me from work telling me a coworker had told him he'd heard a few reports and wanted me to look and see what I could find on the computer.

The CNN front page reported a cardiac arrest and coma. When I clicked on the actual link however, it had changed to death.

I myself was never a huge fan of MJ but you have to admit he was an amazing performer who will be long remembered. Personally I never really believed all the bad things that were spread about him, but I guess you never know.

This is probably my favorite Jackson 5 song. My Dad played it alot as I was growing up and the first few notes already had you tapping your feet and bobbing your head.

Mikey's Birthday and More

First things first, I know I should have posted this sooner but I have been having problems with my video card. It used to only manifest itself playing WoW (bad frame rate drops here and there) and got progressively worse till I couldnt raid anymore (you cant do anything at 1-2 fps.. you just cant).

Then there were the frequent times my monitor just went out. That sucked.

Turns out it had gotten so hot the fan on my card had melted off.. well the two pieces securing it in place had. I zip tied it back on (no laughing.. just dont). But it still had problems. I found out it was barely running. And sometimes flat out stopped.

I ended up buying a small personal fan and pretty much setting it right ON my video card. Amazingly that has done the trick so far. I have been able to raid again but I have been careful being on during the day. See this is pretty gheto and I can't afford a new video card right now so I am hoping this holds out until I can.

THAT'S why it has taken so long to post this.

Moving on..

Mikey's birthday was pretty low key. Since Mikey is such a stickler for celebrating ON the actual birthday, we took him to Chuck E Cheese. We hadnt been in forever and Jason's Mom had sent Mikey some birthday money So away we went. Mom met us there with some cupcakes and we had a very good time. Mikey got some new clothes from Grandma, and we had a good time playing games and eating pizza.

Afterwards we took Mikey to Toys R Us and let him pick out some toys. He got two new light sabers and a new Bionicle. Of course we had to buy Heather something too so we got her a new ball she wanted.

Then we battled traffic back home so Jason could get to work.

Here's some pictures both of CeC and Mikey's awards from a few weeks ago

And in other news. I hate my bank. They just took $100 from us because of that stupid rule about holds and authorizations. Let me lay this out for you and you tell me what you think.

Thursdays we had two things go on hold, for CEC and for gas. They considered that money gone even though TODAY they still have not actually hit my bank.

Thursday 3 things actually did hit my bank. Which we had the money to cover. But since those OTHER two things were on hold they bounced all three of them. Two small things, one big, of course they took the big one first.

So I got charged $100 for things that had they money to be covered if they werent considering my 'on hold' items already gone. ANd like I said, those still have not actually hit my bank (and since Jason got paid Friday, there's money for them now too).

Does that make ANY kind of stupid sense? Do we really have $100 to lose. No. Jason got some OT this week luckily and I thought "hey some extra money" for like.. maybe a video card (more than likely would have gone to the kids but I can dream). But now, no extra money.

Yeah, we got food, we got bills paid, we got gas... but shit $100 is a lot to us. However this has spurred me to find a new bank. One that doesn't consider the money out of your bank account till it's actually out of your bank account. Doesn't that not seem fair?

I got a postcard last week about getting $100 if you open a checking account and add direct deposit with Washington Mutual. I threw it away cause I wasn't expecting to hate my bank so soon. I am gonna call them tomorrow, see what THEIR policy is on holds and perhaps I can get in on that deal and make that $100 back.

But if you have one of those cards by any chance and wont be using it, I would love to have it just in case they need some code to make it happen.

So it's like.. my birthday and shit....

34 sucks...

Well I have only been 34 90 minutes but I dont like it. If I didn't still get carded for beer I might emo and kill myself.

Sorry, guildmates rubbing off on me.

Its not that bad. My Dad and stepmom asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I asked for printer cartridges so I can print coupons and save more money. They got what I wanted.. plus a gift certificate for Amazon that I used to buy two books I wanted.

Love you guys.

My Mom took Mikey yesterday and came back with him today. She had got me a GT Express 101 which I very excited about trying. In a surprise I wasn't expecting, she brought along a gift my brother had bought me before he left, a unicorn figure. It's beautiful.

Jason got me a new pair of sunglasses. It sounds dumb but I told him I didn't want him to get me anything and he did anyways... cause... if I don't lose sunglasses I break them. So... now I have a new pair lol.

My favorite gift so far... is from Mikey. My Mom had him write me a card about why he loves Mommmy. I laughed and cried... here lemme type it out. This is ALL HIM word for word.

The Things I like best about my Mommy are:

1) I love her very much
2) She is the best Mommy on the world wide web
3) She is the best Mommy in the whole wide world
4) She gives me chocolate milk whenever I need it
5) She always tries to answer my emails whenever I send her one. Sometimes she forgets
6) She helps me take my shower each night

And lots of other things...maybe..


How do you not love that?

Its not even 2 hours into my birthday... and I feel alot of love. It cant really go down from here can it??

Wel I *am* 34... ugh

I'm On YouTube!

Well sorta.. more on that later.

Our Memorial Day weekend was good. Mom came over Monday we grilled burgers, sausages and hot dogs. She also brought a pineapple cake that was delicious. We watched The Express which was a VERY good movie imo.

Mom brought a friend and while I was a tad bit anxious at first about having someone he'd never met in the house. But when the guy came in Mikey ran right up, stuck out his hand and said "Hi, I am Mikey, whats your name?". I think my jaw hit the floor.

I have started using a Coupon Clipping service rather than buy papers as much because sometimes there are REALLY good deals out there and I don't wanna get just ONE or Two. So Wednesday I went out and tried this. I got

22 Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfasts
12 Kraft BBQ sauce
4 Ragu Pasta sauce
2 A-1 Steak Sauce
2 Kraft Salad Dressing
1 Digiorno Flatbread
1 Powerade


Before sales and coupons my total was $100 and some change (of course I wouldn't have bought the stuff if it wasn't on sale, just making a point). After sales it was $53. After coupons? Right around $20. The kids love the breakfasts, I have BBQ out the ass and enough sauce and condiments to last me quite some time.

So yeah. My guild went into 10 man Ulduar Wednesday night with one goal. Take down XT in hard mode. You can do the dungeon on either 10 or 25 man and each has an easy mode and a hard mode. The hard mode adds more things to move from, kill, heal through etc etc. It also rewards one extra piece of loot and on 10 man, gives you the 25 man emblem (emblems are turned in for different gear).

We spent an hour and a half on it and when we got it down.. it was sweeeet. It was recorded by our shammy and posted on youtube. I don't expect you to watch the whole 8 minute fight but you can actually kinda see me.

Most of the video the raid is behind XT, the tank in front, where you cant see him. If you look up to the right hand side of the boss you can see me. I light up alot healing. I stand there so if I get bombed (which requires you to move away from the raid) I dont have to stop tank healing. I just heal myself through it.

(I am Kynsie in the list of names!)



Anyways, I was very proud of us. We are currently 10/14 10 man and 8/14 25 man but Thorim is going down tonight!