Kelsey Toney

This weekend my mom came over to see all the cool things we’d updated at the house. I know it sounds stupid, but I love people coming to my house. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done to make this place our home. It really feels like ours. I don’t know any other way to say it… just that its ours, and its wonderful!

Anyway, when mom was here, I decided to christen the kitchen aid mixer, and made these delicious cupcakes by Chockylit over at the cupcakeblog.com… They were really good… I plan to make more…

It was really awesome to spend some time with mom… It is a very strange sensation to be away from her for so many weeks at a time… sometimes months. As a kid, its hard to imagine that the time will ACTUALLY come that you will really not be around every day. It makes me really miss my brother too. I feel like we were close until I turned about 14… and got so “cool”, and now that I want to see him, and spend more time with him, he’s the “cool” one. Perhaps we’ll sync up again soon…

Anyway, Yesterday and Today I went over to my Grams and Art’s house, and I SEWED! I hemmed a few pieces I’d left rough edges on for months, and actually created some window panels for our front room from scratch! I promise to pose pics soon. Anyway, it was pretty freaking awesome…

Sometimes I am glad for some space from the fam, but lately, I’ve missed them, and it was so nice to reconnect with them over the past few days.

PS: I think I got my RSS importing down so that my blog will be piped into my Virb.com page!

*waves at virbers!*

check out the night owl…

I’m so hardcore… seriously… could… stay… up… for………..

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

(The following blog post is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows SPOILER FREE)

I think that somehow, writing about my experience with Deathly Hallows makes it more final. Makes it more…over. But being that I can’t justify writing other entries to my blog, until I’ve done the obligatory HP one, I have to get it over with, because it’s been far too long since I’ve posted.

I considered going to a store, and picking up a midnight copy, but decided against it. I was too worried about getting spoiled, because jackasses were going to try and ruin it. And they did, by the way… I’m glad I ordered it through Amazon. I had been “offline” for about 3 days, and when Saturday morning came, it felt like Christmas. The post lady came, and dropped it off at 1:30pm. I almost peed my pants.

I actually decided that instead of treating it like a jaguar treats a gazelle, I would take my time… take some pictures, and relish every second of the experience. This would be the first (and last) Harry Potter story that I was going into COMPLETELY spoiler free. I kissed Daron goodbye, and proceeded to shut myself in the guest bedroom for “as long as it takes”. I’ve got to tell you. I laughed, I cried, I did the 80’s classic Fist in the Air with a “YEA!”.Did it live up to the hype?

Probably not, I mean, fanboys and girls are notorious for putting their fandoms so high up on the pedestal that they can’t avoid falling at some point. So, in effect, the fact that we, as fans, have been studying, hypothesizing, and analyzing for the past year, didn’t help things. But, if you are a fan, and love this story, then I can’t imagine that you weren’t satisfied. Sad… but satisfied.

There were moments when I was reading that I just had to stop, and bury my sobs in the pillow. I know it sounds silly, I do. It’s just that, these stories let me imagine! Let me step into a world of WONDER and bravery, magic and mistakes. Its about the reality of the world. I am able to completely suspend my disbelief, and become a fly on the shoulder of a boy who is able to be all the things we wish we were.

These stories are like our “Star Wars”… they are the universe, in which, we are able to wrap up in completely, and become greater than ourselves. Only when we look up, we realize that bravery can happen everyday! There are students in my class who are braver than the noblest children’s novel character. Harry Potter has let me see them.

I am truly thankful to J.K. Rowling for this wonderful world… Thankful that she let me see into it. But I am also sad, grieving, the end of what has been a huge part of my post 20 year old life.

Okay, so as I am clinging to the last weeks of summer,  (we go back Aug 21st I think) I can’t help but be a little put off. I mean, back to school stuff is one thing, but halloween stuff!? Seriously? I even heard a rumor that a craft mega store already had out the thanksgiving stuff. Come on, now. Surely you don’t mean that.

I mean, there is something to be said about living in the moment, right!? And I know that while it hardly seems of life threatening importance, that brand of forward mindedness is  scary! Think of the potential damage that could be had by rushing through life! If I’m buying turkey platters in July, what am I missing? The sunshine, heat, barbecue, music, parties, lemonade, sunburns!

I don’t want to look back, in November, and say, “where did the summer go?” I want to enjoy it while its here, and I surely don’t want to waste what I see as an entirely enjoyable time of year.

Summer, to me, is about life and vibrance! If spring is birth, then summer must be youthful exuberance! I’ll admit, here in Texas, it gets mighty hot…(though lately, its been monsoon season here… wtf?) but I can’t say I don’t love it.

So, I soak up this sun, and I assure you. you won’t see any pumpkins in my house till November… Well, maybe October.