team harry.

i just got back from seeing hp 7.2 again, but this time in 3D.  and i can now say i've enjoyed a 3D movie!  i wasn't such a fan after i saw the jonas brothers movie in 3D (yes, i saw it ... and yes i would've seen it even if i hadn't been babysitting at the time), but hp in 3D was so cool.

papa gill, who hasn't read any of the books but enjoys the movies, accompanied me to this 3D hp experience and enjoyed it as well.  i think my only real hang up is the idea that they collect the glasses at the end ... and i can only imagine reuse them?  i hope whoever had them on before me didn't have a nose fungus or lice or something.  gross.

but anyways, hp 7.2 2D and hp 7.2 3D both get 5 magical stars.  long live hp.

the adventures of harry, ron, hermione, and megan. coming soon.

the end of an era: harry potter edition

as you may or may not know, harry potter and the deathly hallows (part 2) came out in the theatres this past friday.  or thursday night at midnight if you're hardcore (like me) and not scheduled to work friday morning (like me).

for those of us that are roughly 24ish years old, the harry potter era began when we were harry potter's age when he got his lovely little letter from hogwarts.  i remember reading the first book in 6th grade (more details on that in a sec) and being immediately drawn into this world that i wanted so.very.badly to be real.  i remember asking my dad if there was any chance that it could be real. humoring me he always said sure, but  part of me most have known it wasn't possible.  i guess the part of me that still believes disney world is the happiest place on earth believed in muggles, hogwarts, and quidditch (and that part of me still believes in them just a smidge).

i didn't really think about the fact that this movie being released marked the end of the harry potter era until i saw a friend's tweets (shout out to tan!) about being ready for the movie but not ready for the end of childhood (or to see a weasley die).  and just for the record, everyone's been saying that as of late, but i read her tweet forever ago.  so she's my source.

and maybe, just maybe, now that i'm 24 it really is time for the end of childhood.  i mean, i'll graduate (again) in december and apparently get a job (although if we're being honest i'm not so sure about that anymore).  most of my friends already have big girl and big boy jobs and do other adult things. ex: see harry potter 7.2 on the weekend because they work friday morning.  the jury's still out on whether i'm going to be good at this "adulthood" thing, but at least i have a few more months to figure out what the heck that means.

in the meantime, i wanted to pay tribute to the magical world of harry potter with a few of my hp memories, one from each of the seven books.

ron, harry, and me. no big deal or anything.

1.  it took me forever to read the first book.  and not because i'm a slow reader.  but because i was terrified (like get the sweats and sleep with the lights on kind of terrified) of that darned cat in the first chapter of the book.  oh, you don't remember that cat?  that's because it's really insignificant to the rest of the story.  but it freaked me out in the worst way.  i mean, it sat on privet drive and watched the houses all day.  how freaky is that?  no thanks.  i actually hid the book and didn't get past that first chapter until other kids in my class used the book for a project.

2.  i have had two harry potter and the chamber of secrets books.  i left the first one in a closet on a trip in 10th grade (i was rereading them, don't judge) and never saw it again.  my set was actually incomplete until the past year when i asked for new copies for christmas of the ones i had lost.

3.  the prisoner of azkaban is one of my least favorite books.  and that's a hard choice because i really love them all.  but that one still gives me the willies because of those dementors.  yikes.  i'm pretty sure i've met a few dementors in real life.  seriously, those people that always seem to suck your energy out?  those are dementors.

4.  i read the goblet of fire at the beach on vacation and [spoiler alert!] i don't think i've ever cried as hard as i did when cedric diggory died.  like gasping for breath, blotchy face, bloodshot eyes kind of distraught.  also, because my family was at the beach, i was super bummed i wasn't going to be able to get the book at midnight.  but surprise!  my mom found the closest walmart to the beach house and staked it out to snag me a copy and surprise me the next morning.  best mom ever.

5.  i went to books-a-million at concord mills to get this book at midnight.  there were all kinds of people dressed in crazy costumes and the energy was so electric you could feel it.  and i thought it was all awesome.  some worker even came around and let you get sorted into your hogwarts house by picking a pin that was one of the four houses.  unfortunately i got ravenclaw which couldn't be farther from the truth.  anyone that knows me knows that i am such a hufflepuff.  i'm not gryffindor brave, ravenclaw smart, or slytherin evil (no, mom, i'm not evil enough to be in slytherin regardless of what you're thinking right now).  so by default i'm a hufflepuff.  the one good thing?  i would've gotten to hang out with cedric diggory in our common room...prior to his death and all.  another thing about this book?  my parents took it away from me as soon as i got home from the midnight release.  they didn't let me have it again until after i had taken the SATs.  thanks 'rents.  real cool.

6.  i can't re-read the half-blood prince because it's too much for me.  but apparently i was really into it when i read it the first time because the spine is busted and the pages fall out when i open it.

7.  i refused to read the 7th book until just last december (2010).  even though it was published in july 2007, it wasn't over for me until the day where i finally caved and read it.  hp7.1 had finally come out in theatres and i refused to see it without reading the book first so i gave in and cracked it open.  i read it straight through and stayed up all night because a) i was seeing the movie the next afternoon and b) i couldn't stop crying and who can sleep through tears like that?  maybe that's when my childhood really ended.  i mean, i extended mine three and a half years longer than most of my friends, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

now that the books are done, the movies are out, and pottermore is a bust, i can set my sights on finally visiting the wizarding world of hp.  that, and looking out for my hogwarts letter come november.  i hear 25 is the year adult wizards get their letters.  keep your fingers crossed and watch for my owl!

beware of the sewing saw

five facts that are necessary for you to read before i begin:

1. i'm learning to sew! (in case you didn't know that already).

2. to date i've sewn a skirt (for me) and a quilt (for mom).

3. i'm currently working on another (more intricate) quilt (for me ... what can i say? i'm selfish).

4. sewing tools are SHARP.

5. typing with 9 fingers is no easy task.

so here's the quick and dirty summary of those five facts.  i was working on cutting more of my quilting squares this afternoon because i was gloriously given the afternoon off work and i decided to use the time semi-productively.  in hindsight, studying for the praxis would have been more productive and less painful, but you live and learn, right?

anyways, i was patiently lining up my squares on my cutting board with my clear sewing ruler and using the sewing saw to trim the pieces down to size.  what a mouthful!  but for real, that's what i was doing.

(side note: yes, the tools have official sewing names.  no, i don't know what they are so i refer to them as cutting board, clear ruler, and saw.  glad we cleared that up.)

i was getting a pretty good system down and i was messing up my squares less and less, but if the blog ended here that'd be a lame post, right?  don't worry.  here's where it gets good.

karma quickly realized it made a wrong turn into my life this morning and did a super speedy u-turn way out of here.  and i mean way.  if we're being honest, i knew the good karma wouldn't last all day, but i had no idea it would be so bloody.

so what did karma's u-turn involve?

beware of the sewing saw

oh you know, just sawing the tip of my right pointer finger off.  just gushing blood all over my cutting board and the kitchen (once i ran in there).  just making me scream and howl on the phone to my mother for what felt like years (i'm sure it felt even longer to her).  no big deal, right?

but you know what i've learned from this little adventure into the land of gushing blood?

-i really should wear thimbles on all of my fingers regardless of the activities.
-my mother is not only a teacher, counselor, money manager, clothing maker, etc. etc. etc. (she wears a lot of hats in our family!), she's also one heck of a phone nurse.
-sewing saws are SHARP and they should probably only be used by professionals or people with robot hands.  if your fingers are flesh, good luck.

always clean your apartment before you leave for the weekend

it has been no secret (unless you don't know me that well) that i've been kind of a mess since i was a small child.  i mean, i don't mean to be and i actually really enjoy things being clean, but there's something about starting a bazillion projects at once and going 100 mph at all times that sometimes leads to small hurricanes of crap everywhere in my apartment.  of course i clean them all up and don't stop until everything's beautiful again, but then the crap builds up and out of no where i'm living in a pile of mess once more.  how does that always happen?!

last week, in my excitement to finish up a busy week at work and head up the mountain to work a weekend at cheerio, i pretty much left the apartment a disaster zone.  i rushed through laundry late thursday night and scurried around friday morning throwing random outfits in a suitcase before i dashed off to work (without so much as a short sleeve shirt in that suitcase ... epic packing fail).  anyways, upon my return this evening i was greeted be exactly what i had left behind: a hot mess.

laundry was EVERYWHERE (and still is because naturally i decided to blog about it instead of pick it up), a makeup store apparently exploded all over my sink and bathroom floor, and my latest sewing projects are strewn throughout the living room and kitchen.  because obviously that's where they belong.

and that's not even the worst of it.  the plants are wilting as they die from thirst/neglect, my praxis study materials lay scattered in the foyer (apparently that's where i last studied?), and there's a mysterious looking blueish bead-like item in the sink ... which may or may not be what happens to a blueberry if it's left sitting in the sink for quite a few days.  ew, right?

anyways, of course i'm too tired after my weekend away to do anything but blog and dive right into my bed (which luckily is made or i'd have to make it first ... it goes against all that's natural in the world to get in a bed that's unmade, right graham?)

so i've learned a very valuable lesson (arguably one i should have already known): always clean your apartment before you leave for the weekend.  your sunday night self will thank you.


also: 4 days until harry potter. YES!

i am such a wedding website hypocrite.

before i explain my wedding website hypocrisy, let's get three things out of the way:

1.  it's JULY!  holy cow how did that happen?  a lot of important things happen in july so don't worry, i'll be posting more regularly than i did during the second half of june.  the world didn't want me to learn much for the past week and a half-ish, but i'm pretty confident i'll learn a lot in july.  if i don't, i'll lie.

2.  the fourth of july is in TWO DAYS!  super pumped!

3.  when i originally said i had three things to get out of the way, i know there was a third ... but it's gone.  it flew right out of my brain and instead of changing my original sentence, i'm just leaving it to say three things and giving you guys a glimpse into the chaos that is my life.  it's all about transparency, people.

so now that our business is taken care of, let's move on to the beast that is the wedding website.

i've recently (or maybe not so recently ... but i'm just now admitting it) realized that i'm the poster child for wedding website hypocrisy.  now don't get me wrong, i've never actually made one due to my lack of boyfriend/fiancé/husband, but roughly a million people that i know have gotten engaged or married in the past two to three years.  you think i'm lying, but people are marriage happy these days and everyone and their mother is getting hitched.  

most of those people make wedding websites ... you know the type, right?  maybe they used the knot or wedding wire or even e-weddings, but somehow they put all their information into some kind of cutesy website so friends and family can read all about the event.  until just recently, i vehemently stood by my opinion that these were probably unnecessary considering that most everything you find on them is already news to everyone via the invitation or word of mouth.  and if it's not already known, it's probably not that important anyways.

i mean, come on ... if you don't know where someone is registered, you just buy whatever you want because they should really just be happy that you're spending the day celebrating their vows, but whatever.  when i get married in 1,000 years i'm going to ask that everyone take their money and buy themselves a gift and come ready to run crazy throughout the magic kingdom (talk about a baller reception venue).

anyways, as much as i hate to admit it, i've decided to change my tune about those pesky little websites.  i realized as i searched for the details regarding a friend's recent engagement that the only thing more annoying than a wedding website is not having a wedding website.  this revelation shocked me since i was so anti-website, but seriously.  i might not give two craps about where you're registered or how you met (both things i either already know or won't need to know ever), but i do care who's in the wedding party, where your event is, and maybe even where you're honeymooning.  because let's be honest, that's the cool part (unless of course you're receiving the gifts...then that part is cool for you) and people survive off of cool gossip.

so in conclusion, can all the newly engaged people do the world (or maybe just me?) a favor and make wedding websites?  i promise to stop thinking they're silly if you promise to give the world/megan what it wants: DETAILS.