EHGTEHGBTE: July 2007

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Packing Pause

Hello All. Don't worry . . . I won't spoil Harry Potter for you if you are STILL reading!!! I just have to say, I loved it. LOVED it. It is my favorite book of the series. Yay! :)

Packing is my current life activity. I'm taking a blog break right now (duh) so you guys don't feel TOO neglected . . . but I have LESS THAN A WEEK (4 days to be exact) before we load the truck, so I have got to get cracking! My beloved sister Annette came over with PJ this morning and helped me out a ton (THANK YOU!!!) so I now have a great head start. She even gave me a mandate (and I mean MANDATE) to pack 10 boxes after she left. I have done 2 so far, so I'm getting there.

Well, I'd better get back to packing before I feel like a slacker. I can't believe we're leaving so soon . . . and the hardest thing is knowing we are leaving so many friends and family members in Utah! It is super hard to say goodbye to all of these people I have grown to love. For me, it's not hard to leave Utah. I am not really committed to one place over another. Robert seems to feel pretty much the same; we both don't know where we'll end up in the future, and we don't really care. We'll go where the Lord takes us. But it IS hard to leave people we love. We will miss all of you! Please DO visit! (-JoJo)

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Who's Going to Bite the HP Bullet?

Take the poll (look to the left)! Only one and a half days of pure speculation left!!! WAHOO!!! (-JoJo)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The Boy Who Lived

It seems like everything in the Universe is rushing toward midnight of July 21, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released.

In these last few days, as the excitement builds, here a few blurbs to keep you guessing.

WOMBATS

I took a test on J.K. Rowling's site a month ago and I just checked to find my results are in! I received an Acceptable, which means I am, in the words of my certification, in good stead to "join any of our more prestigious wizarding firms" (and Flourish & Blotts, the Nimbus Broom Company, and Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes are all currently recruiting).

My WOMBAT certificate. I passed.

The test is no longer available, sadly, but believe me when I say it was hard. The questions were like "Select one or more of the following twelve events for which the infamous wizard Garfinok Bagglegor was not responsible."

And according to Rowling's rumor book, passing the test is not a shue-in. It's a hard test, and a lot of people failed. (Of course, others got outstandings and higher honors than myself, but I'll take what I can get, Harry-Potter style).

Surprise Ending?

I'm aware that actual spoilers are starting to creep out on the Internet; I'm doing my very best to avoid those. This is not related to those.

Jim Dale, narrator of all seven Harry Potter books.

Jim Dale, head villain of Pete's Dragon and narrator of all seven Harry Potter audio books, would not (thankfully) give away any details of the final book, but did state that the book has a surprise ending.

This really doesn't say much, because all of the books have had twists of one sort or another. I think Book 3 had the biggest surprise ending, with Sirius turning out to be a good guy (although Book 1 had a similar twist), and Book 4 was quite surprising as well, in my opinion. Will Book 7 have an ending comparable to those, or will it be a surprise twist on the entire series? For example, will Harry wake up to discover it was all a dream? (No) Will Voldemort turn out to be a good guy? (No) Will Harry end up ditching Ginny at the last moment to go after his seven-year secret crush, Hermione? (Yes).

The Movie Before the Storm

Jocelyn and I both agree that Movie 5 was the best yet. We've talked with others who disagree, but we've decided that people who appreciate film as much as they do literature (as Jocelyn and I seem to) will likely enjoy the film more than those who only see it because they're fans of the books.

Movie 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is very cinematical. They took cinematical liberties in its scripting and in its artistic direction. The result is a good movie. It's not the same experience as reading the book, but it's not supposed to be. If it were the same experience, then "BORING" is all I can say. That's sort of how movies 1 and 2 were for me. They were too much like the book, only not as entertaining.

Last Words

I've been spreading this theory around for a while. I want to get it on record before the book actually comes out.

I think Harry will live. He was called "The Boy Who Lived" continually in Book 1, and I think that phrase will be applicable to him again toward the end of this book.

I think Harry will be willing and ready to sacrifice himself in order to rid the world of Voldemort (If Harry is a horcrux, then he'll have a good excuse to do so), but will be able to escape death at the last moment while still vanquishing Voldemort. I heard on a mugglenet.com podcast recently that since Dementors can suck out souls, a Dementor could suck the Voldemort horcrux (essentially part of a soul) out of Harry. Pretty ingenious if you ask me.

But in all honesty, I still have no clue exactly what will happen, and am thereby waiting in intense anticipation for the release of Book 7. We'll be in Bear Lake at the time, so we're planning on driving to Logan to pick up a copy at WalMart.

Oh, and don't forget to check out this clip of Poor Man's Hogwarts. A little irreverent (and it might swear; I can't remember), but hilarious all the same.

(-Robert)

Friday, July 13, 2007

FLYing My Boys

Hey all y'all! Don't you just love Southern expressions like that? Seriously, I do. I just love the word "y'all" generally, and despite the fact that I have never set foot in a single one of the Southern states, I still find excuse to use "y'all" in my everyday vocabulary. (As a note: I did have several Southern roommates during my single years, so I did have that taste of Southernness.)

Anyway, as the title suggests, I have lately been FLYing. You may think my capitalization skills are slipping, but no, I meant to type FLYing, and if you have any idea why I capitalize "FLY," then you probably know what this paragraph is about. I am a cluttery person. Let's just get it out there and face the facts. I am! I don't intend to be, and I actually LOVE to have a perfectly organized, clean house, but my natural inclination is toward clutter. As such, lately I've been striving to get my home in more consistent, better order (not just clean for company, haha). I have discovered my secret: flylady.net. I love her! She teaches you how to build the habit of organization slowly, but effectively. It has really been working for me, and her motivational quotes make me smile everyday. My current favorite:

[Aim for] progress, NOT perfection!

I am a perfectionist (in all aspects of my life) so this is a great one for me. Don't get down on yourself if you're not perfect, because face it, you never will be in this life. (Could insert a whole doctrinal discussion here, but I'll spare you. Visit http://www.lds.org/ if you feel so inclined and search for "perfectionism.") You ARE however expected to (and thus quite able to) progress little by little every day. So work on PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION.

As far as "my boys" are concerned . . . they are just both too lovable for words. My little one is currently gurgling and cooing on the floor (happy sounds, I promise) while my big one (aka, the husband) is working hard. I am so blessed to have these two in my life and I feel so honored to be their main woman (at least for the next 21+ years for Peter). They are just so photogenic, too! To prove it . . . here are some shots I've taken over the past few days:

Peter (who loves sticking out his tongue lately, as shown) and Robert swinging.

Last night, while we were drying Peter's (peed on) sheets, Robert took a nap next to Peter . . . and I got it on film. SO sweet, huh?

I love MY boys! (-Jocelyn)

Monday, July 9, 2007

Sleeping Snuggle

Peter has started to take consistent naps! Hooray! I have read up on it a lot (me the research nerd . . . I actually love research, which is one of the reasons why I am such a geek) and have been following all the good advice I have accrued. Finally, something clicked and Peter has been napping wonderfully.

I put him down for his morning nap today as normal, with his Teddy. (Robert and I have been uber-careful to not put any blankets or stuffed animals in the crib up until now, but I read that by 5 months, it's pretty safe to give a stuffed animal that the baby can then associate with sleep.) I went in to check on him a few minutes ago . . . and this is what I found:

SO CUTE, huh? Peter rolled himself to his side (his favorite sleep position) and wrapped his entire body around Teddy. Can't you just feel the love? :) (-JoJo)

Saturday, July 7, 2007

We're Alive!

Hello All. Yes, I have been bad at blogging. Bad me! But I hope you enjoyed Robert's "no comment" Harry Potter post. We're both pretty pumped about the movie and OF COURSE the book.

I have lots of excuses why I haven't blogged lately, but the most fun is that I was busy at various family reunions!!! First was Robert's family's reunion, which was in Idaho, near Yellowstone. Next was my family's reunion, here in Happy Valley. We had so much fun at both and we loved hanging out with our families, even if Robert doesn't get vacation pay (his job is a "student" position still) so it took sacrifice to participate. It was worth it on both accounts and yes, Peter loved every minute (especially playing with his cousins!).

Speaking of Peter... the doctor recommended we supplement formula (in addition to nursing) to ensure he's getting enough calories everyday (since he's so skinny). We've been doing it now for a week and a half now and already he is starting to chub out! I wish I could post a picture, but alas, our camera is MIA. I really really really hope we find it soon... I think it's somewhere in our apartment... but in the meantime, you'll just have to imagine.

It's almost exactly a month until we move to D.C. and we are excited, if not a little scared still. It's such a huge change and there is a lot that needs to happen before the move (ahh! packing!!!), but I know it will be a fun adventure and a positive experience. We're excited to be near some of my extended family and to make new friends (while of course keeping our awesome and amazing old ones). That's the hard part -- leaving all the people we love, our family and friends. You'll just have to make it easier on us by VISITING! :) Hahaha... no, but seriously. Visit us... PLEASE?!? (-Jocelyn)