What is it about Doctor Who?

What is it about Doctor Who?  I’ve been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid and watched the animated series on Nickelodeon as a kid.  I used to tape ST:TOS on my parents’ VCR and painstakingly edit out the commercials.  I was 10 when ST:TNG premiered and had the biggest crush on Wesley Crusher (and I still think that Wil Wheaton is extremely handsome).  I was young enough when I first watched Star Wars that I don’t remember watching it for the first time, and I’ve always been a fan.  But last year I was introduced to an old, but new to me, science fiction series.  One episode of Doctor Who and I was hooked.

The popularity of Doctor Who has been steadily rising in the United States.  This is obvious from the amount of items for sale on sites like ThinkGeek and Amazon.  Heck, you can even find Doctor Who items at the mall.  And it’s not just popular with adults.  I know a lot of kids who are big Doctor Who fans – my own ten year old among them.

But really, what is it about this show?  The actors?  The directors?  The storyline?  I really don’t know.  All I know is that it seems to draw people in with an almost cult-like following.  Are you a Doctor Who fan?  If so, what are your thoughts about what makes it so irresistible?

For years, my daughter told me that she didn’t like to read.  I tried threatening her.  I tried rewarding her.  I bought her tons of different books only to be told they were “boring.”

And then one day last year she came home with a book she liked.   It was Captain Underpants.

A lot of parents would have been horrified.  They say that Captain Underpants is “gross” and “toilet humor.”

I was beyond thrilled.  My reluctant reader was reading.

I am a voracious reader.  I have over 200 Star Trek paperbacks alone, and I have read them all.  The fact that my daughter had proclaimed for years that she didn’t like to read was a constant thorn in my side.  I simply do not understand people who don’t like to read.

Since that day, I’ve become well-versed in books written in comic book style.  And to try to help my daughter explore her interests in that area, I took her to Free Comic Book Day.  And lo and behold, we found other women who like comics!  Yay!

Seriously though, finding women who like comics, science fiction, or anything else "geeky" can be a serious endeavor in our very rural, conservative area.  But they are out there.

And...I was conned into buying my daughter two Doctor Who comics and a poster.  

But if she reads them.....I will be thrilled.  And I will buy more.  And one of these days, my daughter may read a "real" book and enjoy it.  But I will be forever grateful to Captain Underpants for showing her that not all books are boring.  

New job

So, I got a new job.  Which for most people isn't a huge deal.  But when you have serious social anxiety like me...meeting new people can be a very daunting task.  I had recently hit a point in my life, however, where I was facing a choice.  I was either going to stay where I was and let my education and certifications go to waste or I was going to make a change.  I originally thought that change would be going back to school.  But when I got a message from a friend about a job opening and that they were looking for someone with exactly my background...it was time to make that decision.  So I did.  And I hope it was the right one to make. 

Girls can do karate too!!

We went to a karate tournament this weekend for my daughter.  She's taken karate for 3 years now.  I would say about half of the kids at the tournament were girls.  No one in the "karate world" thinks too much about it.  But apparently people who have never had children in karate think it's a big deal that a girl takes karate and, even more, does well at it. 

Some of the questions and comments that I get are very, let's say, interesting.

"Your daughter takes karate?"  Yeah, she also wears pants on occasion.

"She got first place in the girls' division?"  The look on their faces when I tell them that there is no girls' division is awesome.

"Aren't you afraid of her getting hurt?"  Because that wouldn't worry me if she was a boy?

There are more, but those are some of my favorites right now.  I'm sure they'll get even better as she gets older.  These questions always help to remind me of how far we still have to go until we stop stereotyping girls and boys.  And it makes me sad.

Today is my 13th wedding anniversary.

I just thought I'd put that out there.

:)

I have recently started crocheting and have discovered that I'm actually fairly good at it.  Here are some of my creations.

 A spiderman hat for my son

 A baby pom pom beanie

A football hat that was supposed to be for my son but he doesn't like.  Hence the spiderman hat!

If anyone is interested, here is a link to my Etsy store.

Hope to see you all there!!!

Things parents say

As I was cooking last night, my son was systematically removing my spatulas from the kitchen.  As I asking him, "Is there a reason you're taking all of my spatulas?" I realized that this phrase, along with at least thousands of others, are phrases that only a parent would say.  So I've decided to try to be conscious of the things I say that I would not say if I didn't have children.  For example, I later had to remind him that we do not touch our butt while we're pooping.  Seriously people - if I didn't have kids, I would (hopefully) never in my life have to say such a phrase.  So what weird phrases do you say to your kids that you would never say to another person?