madameblogalot

In raising teenagers, it often seems as if we are speaking different languages. I’m not talking about the slang they use (I often think that is a different language!) But in daily communication, I have found that my teens, especially the younger they are, find that the words we say to communicate what we want and expect from them often are lost in translation between our mouths and their ears (brains.) A couple of examples from our house are:

If I say “Drive safe/be careful”, it has been heard as “You’re a bad driver.” When asking “Where are you going-who is going to be there” they have heard “I don’t trust you.” And if I tell one “You can’t see that movie yet”, it is easily translated as “You’re a baby.”

One thing I have learned in parenting is that it’s a learning process. And it takes lots of communication. Sometimes it’s not healthy communication, but there is eventually a breakthrough if we keep talking. I am lucky to have articulate kids who will tell me that I’ve made them feel stupid (I guess that’s lucky!) I am glad they tell me what they are hearing. It gives me the chance to reword what I mean-”I care about you and want you to be safe”, “I care about where you go and who you are with and I want the best for you”, and “You are growing up and there is a time and place to take in certain things.”

It’s exhausting, but now with an older teen on the cusp of adulthood, we seem to be understanding each other a little better. That gives me hope that one day we will speak the same language!

The Red Baron: This movie seemed a bit disjointed. Even my son said after a few minutes that the movie was poorly made. It was so-so. I did enjoy the brief bios at the end of the movie. I think this movie was mostly a MISS with us.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: It took me nearly three months to get through this book. I wanted to finish it as it is apparently the inspiration behind the writing of the Phantom of the Opera. The story was gruesome and not “enjoyable”. All I kept wondering is how Disney made this into a movie for children. This was a MISS for me.

Death of a Salesman: An easy to read script I read in one day. While it is more of a MISS in the sense of “enjoying” the story, in the sense of the depressing accuracy of life it is HIT on the head.

Be Kind Rewind: While not a great show, it had just enough silly/stupid humor and enough “goodness” to make it pretty much a HIT with us. (My son did wish they had done more “remakes”; I wished they had done Star Wars.)

Ivanhoe: I enjoyed the story of Ivanhoe (though I thought he was no more the hero of the story than several others.) I was able to figure out the identity of the Black Knight only a few pages before he was revealed. I also enjoyed Robin Hood being a part of the story (I’m not sure if his identity was supposed to be a surprise or not.) I do wish I had read a version of the story that was not so “King James”; it would have been a little easier to read then! I also don’t like how the author kept referring to the reader. This really detracts from the story for me. I want to get lost in the story, not be reminded that I am outside the story reading it! (I guess this must have something to do w/ the time period or style as I noticed it a bit in Hunchback and my daughter said it is also like that in Jane Eyre.) Even so, I will still call this book a HIT.

Jane Eyre: I only read this book because my daughter wanted me to. Not because she enjoyed it, but something more akin to “misery loves company” (it was required reading for her.) While I did not share her hatred of the book, I did not love it either. While I found some good messages (be true to yourself, avoid temptation) I don’t really find this a book for kids, especially not Freshmen. The one thing I especially did not like is how the author addresses the reader-that drove me crazy! I was surprised by a few things in the story, others found to be too similar to other stories (say Oliver Twist for example.) I would rate this book as neither a HIT or MISS.

Remember back when your kids were small and you would take them to the drugstore to pick up pictures? Back when a disposable camera was the only way to go, and when you had to come back the next day because you had to wait for the pictures to be developed? Those days are long gone, much to the chagrin of some people. But the new age has brought some exciting things. I think that this is one example of how, and how fast, times are changing. Almost no one uses throw away cameras any longer. Everyone has digital cameras, able to take a picture, see it instantly, upload it to all numbers of social networking sites as soon as they get home. Well, the latest and greatest in time changing technology is here. The digital camera camcorders . Not only is it “up to date”, but it is surprisingly easy to use and simple, yet sophisticated at the same time. Everyone should get their hands on one as soon as possible. The new possibilities seem endless for technology, and being able to experience those firsthand is truly amazing. I love things that push the cutting edge of technology, and it is even better when they are cheap and simple. That is why digital camcorders fit the bill perfectly.

Planning a move this summer? Whenever we have moved in the past, we always “moved ourselves.” We got the boxes and the truck and loaded and unpacked ourselves. This seems to be more economical than hiring a moving company. I do have to say that getting boxes these days seems to be rather a chore! Going to a retail store and asking for boxes just doesn’t seem to work very well, unless you can come in at the time they tell you they will give you the boxes.

That is why I was happy to see that moving box kits are actually available. I have to say that I am not sure I would have thought about ordering boxes. But it seems like it is more than that. These boxes are made just right for all your stuff. There are kitchen kits and assortments ranging from 1 bedroom to the deluxe package for large homes. These kits include bubble wrap, wardrobe boxes, dish protectors and tape. And instead of waiting for the right time to get boxes, you can order these and have them shipped right to your door. And there are several money saving moving packages going on right now.

I found this post that I had written over a year ago. Its sentiment still rings true with me…

I do not advocate lying. I don’t like lying to people to protect them, even kids. I don’t mean that we have to tell them everything in an effort to be honest, but I think if we lie, we end up making things worse when the truth does come out.

I have tried to live an honest life and to be up front in dealing with my children. As they age, I think they can handle more truth about how we live and feel as people. I wonder though in my honesty (I am not talking about brutal honesty) if I am hurting my children. Am I giving them too much information too soon? Am I hurting them by telling the truth about how certain actions make me feel? Is it unfair or will it help them to see how their actions affect the people around them.

It is such a delicate balance in rasing kids. As I strive for honesty, I ask for it from my family in return. I hope that I am not causing too much stress when I tell my kids the truth about their actions, whether that be good or bad.

High Fidelity: I watched this movie because my sister named one of her blogs after it. I watched the whole thing until about ten minutes before it was over. Then my daughter wanted to come in and tell me something, so I never found out the resolution of the show. The show was neither a HIT nor a MISS for me.

Ghost Whisperer: I’ve not seen the TV series before, but my daughter has watched with my husband. She wanted to watch it this week and I’ve had nothing else to do but sit and watch TV. It was a bit eerie/”scary” for me but the episode turned out to be ok. I did like the ending. I would give this episode a HIT but as of yet can not speak to the series. *After viewing the show for a couple of weeks, I would say that some of the episodes are hits,others near misses. It is definitely for older teens/adults. There has been some intense scenes showing drugs and lots of death including suicide/attempted suicide. I am not too keen though on some of the most recent episodes where the hero’s husband’s spirit is now in another man’s body. A little too out there for me*

Pioneer Woman: Again, laying around all day, I found an old TV movie (1973) starring William Shatner and introducing Helen Hunt. My daughter wanted to watch since it was reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. It was not that great of a show. And it was funny to see some of the “special effects”-basically a rubber snake dropped onto the table! This was a near MISS but I guess I’d say overall that it was neither.

Phantom of the Opera: My daughter, mother and I watched the film version and some of the special features as well. As usual, this one remains a HIT with me. I am hoping to read the book soon.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: I had never read nor seen this Sherlock Holmes mystery. So while I was laid up I caught it on TV. Again, I missed the very end of the show! However, I have to admit it was a MISS with me. Though I still don’t know what the real Hound was!

Field of Dreams: I was happy to see this old HIT come on television. I watched and enjoyed the show again. It has been a while since I’ve seen it. I still got teary eyed when Ray and Terrence pick up a young Archie. And cried when Archie stepped off the field to his destiny as Doc Graham. The show was again a HIT with me.

The Fugitive: Immediately following Field of Dreams, another old favorite of mine came on. I love Harrison Ford and this show is a pretty good one. I enjoyed watching two HITs in one day!

The Phantom of the Opera: I also read the book that started it all! I think the book explained some of the background and some of the details a bit better. Of course, it’s a bit of a different take than the stage play and film. I did enjoy it though and I think I like the epilogue and afterward as much as the main story! I would call the book a HIT, though I can’t decide if it’s better to read it before you see the film or read it after…

The House of the Scorpion: this book by Nancy Farmer is on the ninth grade required reading list. At first I thought a book about a clone in an opium empire was not going to be good reading. I am glad I gave it a chance. Though it is a young adult book, it had a good story line and was really pretty clean. I found it to be thought provoking too. I found myself thinking that a lot of the humans in the book were less human, or at least humane, than the clone. It brings up interesting thoughts about the “rightness” of cloning. And I like how it concludes with the ideas of power, greed, and eternal youth being shown as not being “right” or good for society. I would say this book is a HIT.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua: My oldest nephew asked me to read this short novel based on the movie. I tried to decline but when he described it as “an adventure about teamwork and friendship” I told him that I would read it. Plus, I like reading things with others in my life; it gives us something to share. I must say that I don’t really like the book but I am glad that he did and that he saw the teamwork and friendship in it. For me it was a MISS while for him it is a HIT.

I guess I am a slow learner when it comes to taking care of my own blogs! For example, I have had this blog on its own domain for two years. I never could get photos to post on it. So I kept loading them on to Flickr and then putting them in the blog from there. Well, today, I accidentally was able to insert an image into a post without loading it on to Flickr first! (Which is really good since I am nearly out of room on my Flickr account) So, as a note to myself:

I copied the image.
Then I clicked the “img” button.
Insert URL info and title.
Then the photo should be inserted.

Hopefully I can pull it off again next time I am ready!

I have been thinking of getting a new bike, of upgrading to one with curved handle bars as well as getting clip in pedals. While talking to a local bike store owner I asked when he would be putting something on sale. He showed me one that he could make a deal on. It was purple. I was not thrilled with the way it looked, but thought more about the deal.

When I went back in later this week, he told me if I trade my bike in he could get the new bike close to half the price. So then the purple didn’t look so bad. He let me take the purple bike out for a test ride. Then he set me up on the bike. This means he fit it to my body. He took measurements and did some kind of geometry measurement to align everything properly. Then he said I ought to go ahead and look at getting the shoes and pedals now. Of course, he made me a great deal.

So after trading in my bike, I got a new, better bike, pedals, shoes and cleats all for less than I paid for my previous bike.

It was a pretty good deal. I can live with purple.
*picture posted here*

One week til our Olympic distance triathlon! We had a really good training day today, the last long workout before tapering down in prep for race day.

We drove down to Galveston to try to swim in the bay at Moody Gardens. They really did not want us swimming there. So we swam just outside the fenced off area near the Colonel paddle wheel boat. It is the bay and pretty much open to the public. So with four of us swimming we thought it would be all right. My husband took off and swam the entire half mile across the bay, by himself! Our friend who has been in the Navy took off pretty much on his own too. My female friend and I tried to stay together. It was a pretty good swim and I am really glad we got to practice at the site where the race will take place. I was glad to get to try out my new wetsuit too.

After our swim we met up with the tri4Him group (a Christian triathlon group) for a cycle down the seawall. Since we are all competing in different distances next weekend, we rode out ten miles and then back ten miles. It was a pretty good ride. Great going out, with the wind. Harder against the wind coming back in. About 2 or less miles from our starting/finishing point, I got a flat tire! The group stopped and one of the guys talked me through changing my tire (it’s been a while since I’ve done it and I am glad it happened today so I could go back through it. Hopefully it won’t happen next week.)

To top it all off, we stopped for some hamburgers! On our way home, we dropped our bikes off at the bike shop for overall servicing to get them race-ready!

It’s almost tri time!

I was tagged on this blog meme, so thought I’d work it in about my recent trip:

I like getting to go visit my sister.
I like the chance to visit another country.
I like being able to “live” in another culture.
I like having “communal” meals.
I like that I was open to trying more dishes than ever before.
I like that I did not have jet lag as bad as previous trips.
I like that friends lent us their bikes.
I like that we got to stay at the church building.
I like that our hosts allowed me to wear my indoor shoes indoors.
I like celebrating Chinese New Year.
I like watching the kids learn new phrases.
I like shopping for souvenirs.

I love being all together.

Today was fun remembering parts of our trip.

I hate being away from my husband.
I hate worrying about my son.
I hate not having internet connection (no access to communication with husband.)
I hate when kids are cranky.
I hate whining.
I hate it when I don’t feel good at someone else’s house.
I hate it when I find out I have food poisoning-and so do my mom and daughter!

I (secretly) like that I lost four pounds while gone, without even trying (of course, this could have something to do with the food poisoning!)

I love coming home.