Delusions of... Everything

Tower of Books

I'm behind on my reading.

Maybe I should just stop shopping at my favorite used book store.  Or better yet, maybe I should just start reading again!

Preparing for the Final Harry Potter Movie

At our house the countdown is on to the final movie installment of the Harry Potter series.  The movie comes out July 14.  We have all been anticipating this movie since we saw part one last summer.

We started reading Harry Potter out loud to our kids when they were very young, Star Wars Son was in the first grade and Dancing Daughter was around 4 years old.  They grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione.  They feel like a part of our family.  SWS and DD fantasized about going to a school like Hogwarts, where the Headmaster (principal) cared so much for his students.  And honestly so did I.  SWS and DD learned about good over coming evil and that not everything in life is easy.  I liked how the books pushed the boundaries of being good students while also questioning authority.  I like to think my kids learned that some things are worth fighting for, especially when it comes to friendships. 

In honor of the final movie, I've been reading all the books again.  It is truly amazing that they still hold my attention and still make me cheer even though I already know what's going to happen.  It's hard to believe that the last book came out almost 4 years ago.  It's sad that there has not been another Harry Potter book to look forward to.  I hope JK Rowling writes more books, she is a gifted writer who's characters are so easy to fall in love with.

Our family has had plans to watch all the movies before going to see the final movie, but with four different schedules to work around I'll be shocked if that happens.

In case you're wondering, my favorite character is Professor Severus Snape! 

(photo stolen from Wikipedia)

 

He did not become my favorite until I saw how Alan Rickman portrayed this complex character in the movies.

Are you a Harry Potter fan?  If so who is your favorite character?  Are you looking forward to the final movie?

Staying Positive

Yesterday I wrote a ranting post about job hunting, I decided not to post it, in fact I deleted it.  Instead, for the sake of staying positive, I'm posting some pictures I took over a month ago.  A month ago, that's how long it's been since I've used my camera...

In the theme of staying positive and hopeful I give you Spring!

 

Speaking of Spring, I did something yesterday I haven't done in months.  I sat outside in the sun and read.  It was heavenly!  So much better than sitting in front of the computer.  Today is supposed to be another nice day and I think I'll do it again!

What are your plans for this hump day?

Hello... Anybody Home?!

I feel like I've been absent from my blog lately.  Oh, I've been making posts, mostly close up nature photography posts.  I feel like I've been having an affair with my new lover lens that I seriously can't get over!

I haven't posted anything new at my exercise blog since, well, sometime last week.  My good intentions are there, I'm just not following through.  I've even lost weight, but haven't taken the time to figure out how much... Somewhere around 3 pounds in 2 weeks.  I've been working out everyday and I joined Curves yesterday; I've started 2 a day workouts.  (That makes me sound like an NFL player!)  I'm baffled as to why I haven't blogged about all of this over at Truckin'.

What I've been doing instead of mindful blogging is reading.  Since the beginning of May I've read 8 books.  Here's a list with a very quick evaluation:

• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling - A+
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling - A++
• Innocent in Death by JD Robb (otherwise known as Nora Roberts) - A    The In Death series are my go to books.  I always read one after I read something epic that I have a hard time letting go of.  I always have trouble getting Harry Potter out of my system.  I think I'm defective that way.
• Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates - C   This book was a strange one for me.  I didn't really enjoy it, but I couldn't stop reading it.  I had to know what happened with the characters.
• Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult - B   I enjoyed this book.  There were interesting twists and turns that kept me guessing.  I will definitely read more of her stuff.
• Revenge of a Middle Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan - C  I can barely remember what this book was about, but I do remember that I finished it.
• The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards - A  This was mostly a heartbreaking story, but I enjoyed it very much.
• Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen - A+  I just finished this book (hence the blog post with actual writing!) and loved it so much.  It was one of those books where I didn't want to sit down and read unless I knew I was going to get at least an hour of uninterrupted time.  I'm recommending this for a summer must read! 
  

I don't usually read so many books in such a short time, but I've been craving the books lately so I've been going with it.

There has been a butt load of stuff going on that would have been fun to blog about if I hadn't been reading so much.  Here is just a sample:

Handy Man has been refinishing the kitchen cabinets and they look beautiful.  No I haven't taken pictures.

As of yesterday school is over for the summer.  There was a BBQ at Dancing Daughter's school.  It was really hard for me for many reasons.  I organized the BBQ and had to get everything set up, that kind of thing always stresses me out.  It was time for DD and I to say good bye to the school, students, teachers and parents we've come to really like.  I've been involved with that school for 5 years being a major volunteer, 3 with SWS and 2 with DD.  It was an ending for me and I don't do well with those.  No I didn't take pictures at the BBQ.

SWS had a ceremony at school where the Juniors become Seniors at a special assembly.  He said it was very emotional saying good bye to the Seniors, but totally awesome to get to "take over" the Senior bleachers.

Our friends Chrissy and Mark purchased airline tickets and are coming to visit us from Boston at the end of July.  I am so excited about this!

The grand opening of the new county library in our city was the weekend of DD Dance Show, so I wasn't able to attend, however I did go check it out the following weekend and loved it!  It's so new and shiny and fancy.  Even though I still had a pile of books to read at home I checked out a book.  *sigh*

We are doing something tonight that is causing both Handy Man and I to have to take time off work tomorrow....

We are all thrilled about this... The whole family is going, plus 3 other teens.  I know it's dinner time right now, but I'm going to go make some coffee...  It will be late tomorrow before I make contact with any of my bloggy friends!

Thank You George W. Bush

No, this is not one of those Bush bashing posts.  I am truly grateful to him.  He did something for my husband that I have not been able to do in over 26 years of marriage.  Handy Man has read three books since November and has started a fourth.  During our whole marriage I would guess the number of books he's read cover to cover could be counted on one hand, so this is huge.  How does someone go from not being a reader at all to reading three books in a couple months?  Passion about the subject matter!

He was so upset over the policies and practices of President Bush and his administration that he started researching political history and history in general.  At first his research started on the Internet and through news and radio programs.  From there he heard about authors who wrote on subjects he was interested in such as our founding fathers and the writings of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  He became fascinated about the way conservatives and progressives think and why they think so differently.  He made a list of all the books he was interested in reading.  He received the majority of them for Christmas. 

Can you see him reading in the bottom left corner?  That's all he ever does anymore and I LOVE it.  Well it's not really all he ever does, but it warms my heart every time I see him with his nose in a book.

Here are the books he has read so far:

Right now he's reading this one:

He reads aloud to me, passages that move him.  We have discussions about what he's reading.  Having us read side by side and share things from the book that interest us has always been a dream of mine, so thanks W for making one of my dreams come true.