Happy birthday, Ben!

Normally, Corey and I see a lot of movies together. It’s one of our favorite things to do. However, for the past month, he has been dealing with some health problems.  So, we haven’t been able to go see as many movies as we’d like to. We did have a chance to see Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End before Corey’s health problems started.  I liked both of them, especially Pirates.  If I have the chance, I’d like to see:

• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  
• Live Free or Die Hard
  
• Ocean’s Thirteen
• Ratatouille
• Spider-Man 3
  
• Surf’s Up
• Transformers
  

If I only have the chance to see one in the theater, I choose Ocean’s Thirteen. I loved Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve, so I’m sure Ocean’s Thirteen will be just as good.

Happy birthday, Cami!

I’m reading Chamber of Secrets right now and I forgot how much I enjoy this book. A lot of people don’t like this one as much as the others, and I’m not sure why. I think the story has a lot of important aspects to it, aspects that come up in later books, such as the Chamber of Secrets itself, the introduction of the Whomping Willow, Aragog (even though I hate spiders), Fawkes the phoenix, and Tom Riddle’s diary. Also, Ron’s character really starts to shine in this book.  I absolutely love his character because of the hilarity of all his off-handed comments.

I remember being on the edge of my seat when I first read the story almost seven years ago. I couldn’t believe the students at the school were blaming Harry for turning the Muggle-born students into stone.  I was also so frustrated I knew Moaning Myrtle was killed by the basilisk a few chapters before Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew. I kept telling them to go talk to Myrtle.  But, of course, they never did until the very last minute.

I don’t really have a favorite Harry Potter book because I like them all way too much. They all bring so much to the Harry Potter world. My only beef is the mix up with who came out of Harry’s wand first in Goblet of Fire during the Priori Incantatem spell. Whenever I get to that part, I like to read the paperback version of the book because it has been fixed. (I’m a little anal. )

If you have a favorite Harry Potter book, which one is it and why? I’d love to know.

I finished Sorcerer’s Stone last night and started Chamber of Secrets this evening. I’m on chapter three and should be done with the book Thursday or Friday.

As I read Sorcerer’s Stone, I decided to make a list of questions that haven’t been answered in any of the books yet. I don’t know if they’re important, but I thought I’d ask them anyway. (The questions are answered now.)

PS–I have a feeling most of my blog posts are going to be about Harry Potter for the next 25 days.

Happy birthday, Mom! Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I have been thinking about Snape a lot lately. There are a lot of theories surrounding whether Snape is good or evil. After I read Half-Blood Prince, I wanted to think Snape was bad because I was so angry with him for killing Dumbledore. I didn’t even want to entertain the thought he and Dumbledore had planned Dumbledore’s death. But, as I read Sorcerer’s Stone and remembered some of the things I had forgotten, I now wonder if Snape is, in fact, good.

There’s no doubt Snape hates Harry. That was evident from their first encounter and was confirmed in Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix. However, why did Snape save Harry from Professor Quirrell’s broom jinx in Sorcerer’s Stone if Snape is bad? Wouldn’t he have wanted Harry dead and out of the way, so Voldemort could get the Sorcerer’s Stone and come back? If Snape was truly on Voldemort’s side, then he wouldn’t have done all he did to stop Professor Quirrell.

It’s hard for me to think Snape is good, but after reading Sorcerer’s Stone again, it’s even harder to think he is bad. I don’t know if I’ll ever like Snape or be able to forgive him for killing Dumbledore, but for now, my vote is Snape is good.

I know I already posted something today, but I couldn’t wait to talk about these books.

Becky and Erin, a couple of my co-workers, told me that I needed to read Twilight. They told me about the book around two months ago. At the time, I was reading the second Artemis Fowl book. (It took a little while to read because it didn’t hold my interest as much as I would’ve hoped.)

Anyway, on the night of Sunday, June 10, I started to read Twilight. By the time I went to bed around midnight, I had read the first six chapters. I was completely hooked, but I had no idea how much of a hold the book would have on me until after I finished it.

When I got home from work on Monday, I wasn’t feeling well, so I decided to finish reading Twilight. Once I read the eighth chapter, “Port Angeles”, I had to continue reading. I couldn’t stop. I wanted to find out what happened between the two main characters, Bella and Edward.

I wanted to finish the book before I went to bed that night, but I started to fall asleep around 1:00 am. So, I stopped at chapter 17, which was a good thing. Otherwise, I would’ve had to force myself to stay awake and finish the book. (For anyone who wants to read Twilight, “Port Angeles” and “The Game” are the two pivotal chapters. Once you read “Port Angeles”, you won’t be able to stop until you reach “The Game.” And, once you read “The Game”, you won’t be able to stop until you’re finished.)

When I woke up on Tuesday, I was still sick, so I stayed home from work. I finished Twilight around 11:00 am. I wanted to read the sequel, New Moon, right away, but I didn’t have the book. In fact, I had borrowed Twilight from Erin. I was bummed at the prospect of having to wait until Wednesday after work to start reading New Moon. But, around 11:30 am, I called my friend Vanessa and asked her if I could borrow her New Moon because I couldn’t wait until the next day. I read New Moon all day and finished it late that night.

All I have told you is how addicting these books are; I haven’t told you anything about the actual stories. I’m still a little leery of telling you about the stories because I don’t want to give anything away. So, the only thing you need to know is if you like vampires, romance, and suspense, then these are the books for you.  However, keep in mind that if you don’t like vampires, you’ll probably still like these books because Stephenie Meyer deviates from traditional vampire lore.

Eclipse, the third book in the series, is scheduled to be released on August 7. Only 43 days away! I think I’m more anxious for Eclipse to come out than I am for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’m still very excited and full of anticipation for Deathly Hallows, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious, scared, or worried for the release of a book before. You won’t understand how I feel until you read Twilight and New Moon.

For the past two weeks, I haven’t been able to think about anything but Twilight and New Moon. That’s why I didn’t start reading Sorcerer’s Stone until Friday. I actually joined the Twilight Lexicon because I wanted to talk to others as obsessed as I am. Hopefully, by reading the six Harry Potter books before Deathly Hallows is released, I’ll be able to forget about Twilight and New Moon until Eclipse is released.

Happy birthday, Brett!

Since it’s Sunday, I have been thinking about whether I want to talk about the religious aspects of my life on my blog, other than mentioning I’m Mormon. I don’t want anyone to feel like I’m “pushing” my religion on them. But, with that being said, my religion’s a huge part of my life and I feel like the purpose of my blog is to share my life with others.  So, it’s only natural to include the religious aspects of my life as well.

At church today, one of the things we talked about was the importance of the Savior washing the apostles’ feet. When the Savior came to Peter, Peter said, “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (John 13:8). Peter didn’t want the Savior to stoop to the level of a servant.  (During the Savior’s time, it was customary for servants to wash their master’s feet.) Peter thought that  it should be him washing the Savior’s feet, not the other way around.

The Savior answered Peter by saying, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8), illustrating to Peter His divine purpose. In that single sentence, the Savior teaches us so much. He teaches us no man is better than another and He is “willing” to stoop, if you will, to a lower level to fulfill the Lord’s purpose. Washing the apostles’ feet was insignificant compared to the Atonement, yet it was necessary so He could teach the apostles by example.

As I sat in class pondering what the Savior did, I realized how grateful we should be for His example and His willingness to lower Himself to our level. If He wasn’t, the Atonement would’ve never occurred and we wouldn’t be able to return to our Heavenly Father.

Happy birthday, Christian!

Judging by the title, you can probably guess that this is the first blog post I’ve ever written. I’m a little nervous because what’s fun, exciting, or important to me may not be to you. But, I guess this is my blog so I can post what I want to.

For my first blog post, I thought I’d tell you what I’m excited about right now. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the series, is going to be released on July 21. Only 28 days away! If you’re a Harry Potter fan, I know you share my excitement. It’ll be nice to finally see how everything works out and ends.

I have bittersweet feelings about the release of the final book. I do want to know how everything turns out in the end.  But, at the same time, I don’t want the anticipation of future releases of Harry Potter books to be gone. JK Rowling has created an amazing world and I think a lot of people, including me, will be sad when it comes to an end.

A lot of fans have theories about what’s going to happen in the final book. Honestly, I didn’t really come up with any theories after I read Half-Blood Prince because I don’t want to be disappointed if things don’t turn out the way I want them to or imagine they will. But, with that being said, I do think Harry’s going to die. (I hope I’m wrong as long as JK doesn’t kill Ron or Hermione in lieu of Harry.) I have thought Harry was going to die ever since the prophecy was revealed in Order of the Phoenix. And, as the release date to Deathly Hallows comes closer, I’m also starting to wonder if Harry’s one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. If he is, it supports my theory of him dying.

I’m currently re-reading all six books. I started Sorcerer’s Stone yesterday. I know I’m going to be doing a lot of reading in the next month, but it’s all worth it. I don’t want to miss anything and I want everything to be fresh in my mind before I settle in for the final adventure. As I read each book, I may develop some more theories.  If I do, I’ll be sure to post them on my blog.