My All Night Encounter with Mr. Potter

Last night, I decided that I needed to reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (That's book seven, in case you weren't positive.) I'd only read it once before -- the day after it was released -- and that was in a hurry because I wanted to know how it all ended. I read it in less than 10 hours that day and didn't remember much of the story, so of course I wanted to take it nice and slow this time as to let the meaning and events sink in. So at about eight o'clock I sunk into my cozy armchair, clad in warm pajamas and wrapped enchilada-style in a fleece blanket, intent on going to bed at a decent hour. Yeah. Little red lights and sirens should have been going off in my head about then, but apparently my family has been correct in assuming that the wiring in my brain is a little off.

You'd think after nineteen years of reading I would have recognized the pattern. So here's a rule I'm writing for myself, which I'm sure I will break in the future, but it's worth a try: DO NOT BEGIN BOOKS LATE AT NIGHT IF YOU PLAN TO GET ANY REST WHATSOEVER.

So there I am, absentmindedly munching on dry cereal, chewing ferociously at the intense parts, when my alarm clock buzzed annoyingly. Confused, I glanced over at the dresser to see neon numbers garishly glaring at me with the clear message that either my brothers were playing a sick joke on me, or that I had been sucked into this wizarding world once again. 6:30.

Not seeing any point in relinquishing the book for my bed, I quickly finished and hopped into the shower, only now realizing that I hadn't shifted positions once the entire night. My neck groaned in stiff, sharp pain as I tilted my head toward the shampoo. Ouch.

Well I'm off to bed now. No books or anything of the like for me tonight. Just a niiiiice, waaaaarm, relaaaaaxing.... zzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZ.....

Ode to Kristen and Calvin

Hmmmm.

I was going to try to write a poem here, but sorry... I'm not feeling the vibe. But anyway, this post is dedicated to Kristen and Calvin in the hopes that they will not feel it necessary to get after me for my anti-cyber-social ways.

Today my mom, Becca, Kate, Nate and I went to the Springville Museum of Art. (Jake didn't want to come... he wanted to work in the yard. Of course. Who wouldn't?) As we walked through the rooms filled with Utah-born artist's work I became aware that I have learned to appreciate things in different ways. When I was younger I would have looked at most of the paintings/sculptures/etc. and yawned as I ambled on over to the gift shop, (I suppose that would be because I considered myself a great artist at that age) but taking a closer look at all of the details and colors I realized that visual art is one of the talents I'm definitely lacking in. I mean, I can draw a stick figure just as well as the next guy, but let's be honest, I'm no di Vinci.

Anyway, it made me remember a lesson we had in Sunday school a few weeks ago about having different abilities, and that every talent and trait that we have make up the whole. I don't think they were necessarily talking about talents like visual art, music or sports, but I feel like it can apply to most things. One of my favorite quotes is one from Elder Joseph B. Worthlin's talk from general conference. "The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world." I love that. (Which might be because I'm a sucker for musical references... but who knows.) It's nice to be able to appreciate the talents of others and hopefully someday I'll be able to contribute to the "vibrant orchestra" of talents as well.

Well, that's enough about that. I also wanted to show everybody this new website that my cousin Rachel introduced me to. (Angie, you might especially appreciate this!!) It's called 43things.com, and basically you can make a list of up to 43 things that you want to do, either before you die, or just whatever. A bucket list, so to speak. If/when you end up doing them, you can cross them off the list. I've made my own, and the link is on the right of the screen beneath all of my pictures under "43 things" if any of you want to check it out. (It's kind of an extension of my "To Do Before I Die" post below...)

I guess I'm done for today then. I'll try to be better at keeping this thing up to date. I hope you have a wonderful week!