Lack of posts, part 2

I had no idea what a stir my "Lack of posts" part 1 would cause!  On the one hand, most of you over-reacted, and when you did, it was a week or two after I had posted it (maybe it should have been called "lack of loyal readers")!  On the other hand, it caused quite a stir, which means you are reading it!  Better late than never, right? So this post is just to thank you for checking me out once in a while. =)

And to enlighten you as to what I was referring to in my previous post.  Ryan and I have been thinking about moving.  Most likely, we would be staying in the same area, but we are interested in buying a house.  This is a big step for us (as I'm sure any of you who have bought a house know)!  The other idea that had briefly tempted us was a move to India.  The latter is rather unlikely, but both options are as scary as they are exciting!

Hope the news wasn't too disappointing!  I had to keep you coming back for more somehow, right?

Lack of posts

I haven't wanted to write recently because I feel like I'm in a transitional period.  Ryan and I are looking into some things that are going to affect the very near future, and it's somewhat scary.  I find that when I write on this site, even if the majority of what is said is silly, I feel like I have to get real and become introspective.  That is something that is even scarier when you're unsure of your future.  So bear with me, and I'll give more details later. Oh yeah, and I've been really busy.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

To those I love (in no particular order): Mom-best momma ever! Daddy-always supportive of me Ryan-the love of my life Amy-encourager, understanding, entertains me at work! Liz-my favorite roomie Steven-always reads my blog Joe-sometimes reads my blog Renee-my sweet cousin Shani-I think of you often. I miss you. The rest of my family-I truly love you all

There are tons more of you that I love, but I know you don't read my blog, so you don't get a shout out!

Too bad you won't even know you didn't get a shout out cuz you don't read my blog.

I'm an adult and can do as I want! (Not really)

February is a special time of the year for me.  I'll give you a couple seconds to guess why. Did you guess?  Well, you're wrong!  February is the month when grocery stores and drug stores all over America begin selling Cadbury Cream Eggs.  These lucious cream-filled chocolage eggs are only sold in this country several months out of the year, and unless your boyfriend is visiting London and sends you a huge box full of them in mid-summer (true story!), then you're out of luck if you try to find them.

 Before college, my intake of these devilish delights was exteremely limited (ironically this should have been when I was gorging on them, as my metabolism was still fast enough to burn them off!).  However, when I got to college, and February came along, and I discovered a close friend had a similar taste for the eggs, we were buying them every chance we had. 

One year, however, I discovered that it was much better to wait until after Easter to purchase the heavenly things.  So that Monday, off I went to Target, and found them costing around 5 cents per egg!  This was a 400% mark down!  Well, I didn't want to leave a one behind, so I grabbed the entire carton and trotted to the cashier.  As I walked, I found that children were staring at me, lust in their eyes.  One little boy in particular was almost drooling with desire.  I stopped and said, "Yes, I can do this because I'm an adult, and I can do what I want."

OK, I didn't actually say that, but it's what I was thinking.  But unfortunately, I was only half true.  Because I'm an adult, I do have the ability and the power to go and purchase as many Cadbury Cream Eggs as I want.  But sadly, also because I'm an adult, I have to severely restrict my daily consumption of them.

But make no mistake, the Monday after Easter, I will be there again, with a carton full of my favorite sweet treat, inviting all the young eyes to stare and be jealous of the joys of adulthood.

Another Purpose for a Useful Machine

"Where am I?" I thought to myself.  Something was wrong, the room was familiar and yet not.  And suddenly it came to me in a panic: I was in the men's room!  How had I come in here?  I've worked in this building for nearly three years, and yet somehow, when lost in thought, I had gone into the wrong bathroom!  And were those large, men's feet I saw in the first stall?  Spinning around, I grabbed for the door and peeked outside.  Empty.  I tried to look non-chalant as I exited the men's room and walked towards the bathroom I thought I knew so well.    After all this time, going to the ladies' room should be nearly instinctive.  Apparently not.   Now I find myself wondering, every time I'm seated on the toilet, if I'm in the right place.   I peek through the crack in the door, looking for anything that indicates where I am, but the two rooms look exactly the same!  And then I see it and know I'm in the right place.  Smiling to myself , I gaze fondly on the tampon machine. 

Hot blog posts from 2007!

My title is a bit misleading, as this is only going to be a listing of my favorite of my own blog posts of 2007, in case you missed them!  Plus, it's just another excuse for me to make a list... 1. Short story - Title pretty much sums it up, but I thought the story was sweet.  If I do say so myself!

2. Help! My Roommate's a Werewolf! - I just find this funny... 

3. My Fear List - Also, funny... is it bad that I crack myself up?

4. Squeaking, Squealing, Yelling - This just proves that once in a while in my marriage, I'm right!

5. True Beauty - About my beautiful mother...

6. Grace, A Children's Story - Still hoping to get this in book form someday.  Still working on the illustrations to go along with it... maybe someday I will actually finish.

short story

Once upon a time there was a young woman who was beautiful, but very shy.  She lived in a small house outside of a very small town.  She lived there alone, but never felt lonely because she had many pretend friends and even a pretend brother.  The house had belonged to her parents, who had left it to her in their will.  For you see, her family had died several years earlier in a car crash, leaving her the house and a rather large fortune.  She did not have knowledge of this, however.  She simply came and went as she pleased, spending money where she needed to, never thinking of where it came from, or how much was left.Some of the people in the town knew of the girl and her predicament.  They knew her not only for her beauty and her simplicity, but the sadness in her eyes and on her face.  She didn't come into town often, but when she did, the people who came in contact with her were left heartbroken.  There were some people who tried to help her at first, but it never seemed to do any good.  She would not open the door to any visitors, nor speak to anyone in town who approached her.  Eventually, she was left alone, even though her sadness continued, and spread through the hearts of the people in the town. One day, a young man was passing through the small town.  He was very fair and pleasing to see and had laughter in his eyes.  He had no money, but was such a flatterer that he could talk his way into anything.  And he knew he had that talent and took full advantage.  People loved to be around him and women longed to be close to him, but he never opened up to them.  He entertained, laughed, played, and teased, but no one ever knew more about him.  He stayed in that town for a while, on everyone else's dime, but eventually took his leave.  He said goodbye to no one as he drove away. As luck (or some higher power) would have it, he hit a nail in the road and his tire deflated on the spot.  He knew if he walked back to town, he could convince someone there to change it for him.  But before he headed back, he noticed a small house that he hadn't seen before.  Something about it beckoned to him and he could not refuse to obey.  As he approached he heard laughter and singing and then someone calling to him.  It was a beautiful voice and his heart lifted to hear it call his name, but he did not dare answer for fear of breaking the spell it had on him. Suddenly an angel, no, it appeared to be an angel at first, but then he realized it was a young woman, looked through the side window.  When she saw him, her face changed and he was afraid he had startled her.  But then she smiled and called to him again.  With that, he knew he was welcome and he soon found himself in her kitchen.  She was talking to him as if she knew him and had been waiting for him.  And when he looked in her eyes, he did not see sadness, but saw laughter and cheer. She knew he was out there and had indeed been waiting for him, and when she looked in his eyes, she saw depth and a very familiar sadness. And at that moment, he knew.

Help! My roommate's a werewolf!

Have you ever thought your roommate was a werewolf?  Well, I have.  And not because she was particularly hairy at certain points, although that may have added to my suspicions.  No, it was because one night, my junior year of college, she crept out of bed (I know, because I was sleeping beneath her) and quietly left the apartment.  Now, this may not sound like unusual behavior for many students, but it was for her!  And for me, that was enough to conclude that she was, in fact, a werewolf.  As I lay there, it began to occur to me that she probably knew the moon was coming out from behind a cloud.  She would have had to get out of there or after her transformation, she would have bitten and even killed the rest of us in the room.  My poor friend, I thought, having to live with this all her life.  Worrying that she'd do harm to those around her, never breathing a word of her terrible secret. 

However, I did have some doubts.  Could I possibly have jumped to a conclusion without checking all the facts?  To ease my mind, I knew I had to confirm my suspicions.  I crawled out of bed and went to my computer.  I searched for moon phases; I needed to know if that night was a full moon!  Looking back, I realize I could have just as easily peered out the window, but I didn't seem to have much common sense that night.  Finally, I found what I was looking for and breathed a sigh of relief.  She couldn't possibly be a werewolf because it was only the quarter moon.  I went back to bed and peacefully fell asleep in the knowledge that I wouldn't be bitten and have to live out the rest of my own life as a werewolf.

(To be fair, I had just finished HP book three... Harry learns Remus Lupin is a werewolf.  Although, is that really enough reason to make me think that my friend was too?)

This is it, I promise

As promised, I'd like to share my thoughts on the final book in the Harry Potter series. Just to warn those of you who have not read/finished the book yet, there will be spoilers ahead, so (if you care) you should probably stop reading now. Again, there will be Harry Potter spoilers ahead, for those of you who have not read the book. Some of you reading this will be thinking, "Uhm, you already said that." But those of you who are true fans will understand how important it is to stay uncorrupted by the spoilers I am about to give.

Now for some general comments.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. This really came as no surprise. I picked it up around 1:30am on Saturday (after waiting in a surprisingly long line for my area) and read through the night, stopping only for a couple hours sleep. Some books could not keep me awake as long as this one did, so I think that should show how engrossing the book was. I found the ending to be very sweet and actually much happier than even I suspected (and I didn't expect Harry to die). Fred's death was sad, but I think he died how he would have wanted to. I felt bad that Tonks and Lupin died, especially leaving their new baby.

I appreciated the epilogue and felt that just enough information was given to keep me satisfied, and enough left out to keep me wondering. What does Harry end up doing with his life? He doesn't work at Hogwarts, or he would have either been on the train, or already there. Does he work at the ministry? I'm sure he could easily have been Ministry of Magic? At first I thought this was improbable, given his dislike of the Ministry. But then I realized that he could change things and make a good difference. Plus, Dumbledore implied that while he felt he could never have dealt with that kind of power, Harry was man enough for the job.

I also found the name "Albus Severus" very poignant. What a sweet uniting of Gryffindor and Slytherin names, as well as two very great men.

OK, on to my predictions. I could kick myself for not including my "Snape was in love with Lily" prediction. I really did think that, but for some reason forgot to include it.

As to my prediction from "HP Part I", I honestly think the book would have been better if that's how it had ended. Obviously, Pettigrew's debt came into play a little bit, but not to the extent I thought it would. I found the "deathly hallows" to be superfluous and, as my friend pointed out, the end came down to "Harry being rubber and He Who Must Not be Named (screw it, Voldemort...that's right, they'll never get me) being glue so that the spell Voldemort cast merely bounced off of Harry and stuck to himself." Basically, it came down to luck. What if Harry hadn't defeated Malfoy to get his wand?

So that's it. The book would have been better if my prediction had been right, and the deathly hallows had not even been a part of it, but overall an excellent book.

Whose house is this?

Last weekend I had the privilege of spending Saturday with one of my best friends.  But it wasn't just any Saturday.  It was the day before her wedding.  Besides the normal pre-marital jitters, she was doing quite well and seemed very on top of things.  We had a couple hours before the rehearsal and dinner, so we decided to check into the house her family had rented for that night.  We arrived at the Inn and they directed us to the house across the street.  It was not available yet, as the cleaning crew was still inside, but we were welcome to sit on the porch and wait.  While we waited, my friend finished up some last minute notes and her fiance, her sister, and I sat around chatting.  It was a beautiful day and we were content to just sit and wait for the house to be available.  I, being curious and just a tad nosy, pressed my face to the windows and peeked into the interior of the house and commented on the lovely furnishings and its size. 

Suddenly the phone rang and my friend jumped to get it.  "Where are you?" her mom questioned on the other end.  "We're waiting at the house!" my friend answered.  "But I'm at the house and I don't see you!"

We looked around to see her mom, and finally noticed her at the house next door!  I thought, she's at the wrong house!  But then I noticed the cleaning crew coming out of that house's doors, and the shoes and jackets hanging up inside the house whose porch we were lounging.  And then it dawned on us. 

HP Book Review... coming

I would like to comment on book 7, as it is probably the last time I will comment on Harry, except in passing reference.   (Did I just hear a cheer?)  But I am going to hold off, because I am sure there are still just a few people out there who have not yet read the book and I do not want to spoil it.  Plus, I am still digesting it myself.  Look for it in the next week or so!

HP Predictions, Part II

These are just some other random thoughts, because I probably won't have time between now and tomorrow night to get all this down into specific theories. Why all the phoenix imagery around Dumbledore? Like when his tomb bursting into flames? Does that mean he's coming back to life?  I doubt it because he always made a point to say that Voldemort's greatest flaw was that he didn't realize that there are things that are worse than death and it's not a horrible thing to be mortal.  My general thoughts on this: We will see Dumbledore coming back to life through Harry.  In other words, Harry will become the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, etc.  This is how Dumbledore will "rise from his ashes".

Why did D. finally gave Snape the defense against the dark arts job if he knew it was jinxed?  Perhaps, JKR simply overlooked this, or maybe it was a clue.  Did Dumbledore suspect Snape had gone bad and wanted him out?  Or did he know that things were drawing to a close?  And along those same lines, why did Snape want the job in the first place?  He must have known it was jinxed.

I kinda feel like Snape must be good, and Dumbledore had asked him to kill him to keep his unbreakable vow, if that's what it came down to.  (Remember the fight that was overheard between Dumbledore and Snape?)  I'm also thinking Draco might come around as well.  Often in the books we hear things like "once you are on the dark side, no one else matters to you." Well, Draco was trying to kill Dumbledore because Voldemort threatened to kill his parents.  Obviously he still has love in his heart.

My last thought is about Voldemort's end.  If my prediction in part I does not come true (and that's a big IF), I think that Voldemort will somehow have his soul sucked out by a dementor.  Remember that his greatest weakness is that he never realized there are things worse than death.  We are also told many times that living without a soul, due to a dementor's kiss, is worse than death.  Coincidence?

HP Predictions, Part I

In this week preceding the final book release, I am going to be posting some of my predictions for year 7.  I have purposely kept myself away from "rumors" and "leaks" of the book, so these predictions are 100% original to me.  That is not to say that other people have not come up with them, but I thought them through myself, and have not seen them anywhere else. Before I begin with my predictions, I want to warn you.  My first prediction that I am going to share is so good, I'm 99% sure it's actually going to happen.  So if you don't want to practically KNOW what's going to happen in the book, do not continue reading!  OK, so now that you all are assured of my brilliance (or maybe my prophetic power?), I will elaborate.

I do not think that Harry will die, and here's why.  Dumbledore has left Harry with one last protection that Harry doesn't even know about.  Keep in mind the magical transfer scenario that we have seen through the books (this is a term I use to help illustrate my point).  One example is when Harry's mom died for Harry, her sacrifice runs through him, which saved his life seconds later.  But once Voldemort gets Harry's blood to bring him back to life, Harry no longer has that protection, because now they have the same blood.

In book 3, Harry saves Pettigrew's life by having mercy on him instead of allowing Lupin and Sirius to kill him, therefore allowing Pettigrew to escape.  Dumbledore points out to Harry that Pettigrew now owes him and in his debt.  Harry says he can never imagine a time when he will want to have any sort of favor from Pettigrew.  Then, in book 4, yes, Voldemort gets Harry's blood, but he also receives Pettigrews FLESH.  The flesh that is only alive because of Harry's mercy.  Voldemort doesn't know that his faithful servant is in the debt of Harry Potter.  Pettigrew probably doesn't even realize it, but Dumbledore does.  Remember when he has a look of "triumph" when Harry is relating the events at the graveyard in book 4?  That always puzzled me, but I think it relates to this.  He saw the "magical transfer" that went from Harry's mom's blood sacrifice into Voldemort, so he must have realized that there would be another magical transfer: the debt that Pettigrew owes to Harry, Voldemort owes it now too.

So, all this to say that I think that Harry will live.  I think that once again he'll be face to face with Voldemort, having destroyed the other horcruxes.  Once again Voldemort will use the adavra kadvra curse, and once again it will reflect off Harry and onto him.  Only this time he will die because there are no more horcruxes.  I think JKR might let us believe Harry to be dead a couple chapters, but he won't be.

Crazy has kids

Since my work often does not require my mind, sometimes I let it wander off wherever it wants to go.  Well today it got me thinking about sperm banks.  This is not as random as it sounds.  I just recently learned that a co-worker had visited such a place and now had two sweet little girls as a result.  The mom, however, is better known as "Crazy" around the office.  So today, while I was mindlessly working and hearing her screaming, I started wondering about these banks.  I mean, is there any kind of screening process?  Can any crazy woman go in there and request a withdrawl and hence receive one?  These women are going to be mothers, so shouldn't they have to pass some sort of physical and psychological exam?  What about a criminal record?  Shouldn't all of these factors be checked beforehand?  For all I know, they are, but I got to thinking this would make an interesting undercover investigative story.  So for any would-be reporters out there, feel free to use this idea and find out for me how easy it is to get a baby this way.  And to my family: this is not a hint of anything that is going on in my life, so get that out of your head right now!  I just want to know how Crazy managed to get some kids!

Things I'm excited about this summer

So, news flash!  It's summer!  OK, I realize I'm a little late in realizing this, but better late than never, right?  And, because summer is my least favorite season, instead of listing my least favorite things about it, I've decided to be positive and list the best things about it.

1. I love how it stays light later. This is a new one for me, since I used to prefer earlier nights, but since I have to drive home on very narrow and winding roads, I prefer the daylight.

2. Vacation! We have a big family vacation planned in August and I can't wait! Plus, anytime I get time off work is good for me.

3. This weekend I get to see my bestest friend and she's getting married! I'm so happy for her!

4. HARRY POTTER!!! (Come on, you knew this was coming!) This is a big season for Harry! A movie and a book! And not just any book, it is THE book! (More on this later...)

5. Visiting friends in DC over the weekend. Fun!

That's all I can think of... my mind kept wandering to the humidity and heat, the thought of wearing shorts and bathing suits, the heat, excessive sweating...  oh right, I wasn't going to make that list!

11 Days and Counting...

Some of you will know what this means.  The rest of you, just ignore it... it doesn't concern you.

Sad

I let March and April go by with no new posts.  I can't make up for the past, but I will try to make amends in the future.  Look for new posts in the next couple days!

Squeaking, squealing, yelling

"Ryan, did you hear that?  Wake up!  I think there's a mouse in here!" "There's no mouse, go back to sleep."

"No, I hear squeaking."

"It's just the wind. Go to sleep."

A couple minutes later.  "There it was again!  Did you hear it, Ryan?  There's definitely something squeaking in here!"

"It's probably just the heater! Go to sleep!"

An hour or so later.  "Ryan, there's a mouse in here!  I can hear it squeaking right behind me."

"Amy, there is NO MOUSE!  They don't have mice here!"

Another hour, more squeaking.  I am curled in a little ball under the covers of the guest room bed.  I swear, if a mouse crawls into this bed with me, I will have a heart attack.

"OK, that was definitely a mouse!" I turned on the light.

"What are you doing??  Turn off the light!!  They do not have mice here!  It's a new house and they've never seen a mouse!  Go to sleep.  I promise, there is no mouse."

It was a long night - squeaking, me waking up Ryan, him assuring me there was no mouse, more squeaking...

But it was soon forgotten.... until a call from the owner of the house.  "Yeah, we finally got rid of the mouse problem we were having.  We had heard the squeaking in the basement, but eventually we found it in the guest room."