Twenty-Three

1.) My homemade dress from my 21st Birthday.


2.) Red lipstick.
3.) Girls night with Elise & J. Gibbs.
4.) Delicious blood orange cocktails.


5.) Silly photo shoots with retro filters.






6.) The perfect gift from a dear friend.


7.) Breakfast at Snooze with the family.


8.) Pineapple upside down pancake & Bella-Bella-Benny (best eggs benedict in the world.)


9.) No work!
10.) Doctor Who.
11.) Losing myself for (literally) hours in my favorite bookstore...and treating myself to a few birthday gifts.


12.) The sentiment on the tiny notebook:
"She woke up and realized she had forgotten the definition of the word 'impossible'. She decided it must not have been that important."
13.) Finding an old favorite from my time in Austria with my beloved girls...and buying it to "delight and terrorize" my future children.


{This is Struwwelpeter, a children's book written in Germany in 1844. It does actually claim to be a book that has "delighted and terrorized" children for generations. It's famous and my friends and I spent a long time reading and laughing our heads off over it in Austria and now I have my own copy. Also, listen carefully next time you watch the take your kid to work episode of "The Office", and you'll hear this referenced.}
14.) A mid-afternoon picnic complete with Sarsaparillas (gifted by the sister), Phase 10 & the nephew.





15.) A slew of delightful well-wishes from friends and loved ones via twitter, facebook, text, phone, mail, etc.
16.) A Sprinkles cupcake delivered to me in person all the way from Arizona by dear friend Megan.


17.) Phone calls from Abbi and Tina.
18.) A surprise strawberry cake that my Mom fixed despite our broken oven!
19.) A luxurious bath complete with a minty bath tea bag (gifted by lovely cousin Anna & her fiancee Kevin), candels and a glass of wine.
20.)Some quiet time to journal and read.
21.) Wonderful gifts from my sister, including a french press, a milk frother (you have no idea how excited I am over that one), and this beautiful apron:


22.) Bidding a fond farewell to 22--and realizing what a bittersweet, challenging and growth-filled year it was.
23.) Day-dreaming about what the next year of life will bring and who I'll be this time next year.


And those are 23 things that made me happy on my 23rd birthday. :)

The Doctor

As you know, recently I've been spending time with Abbi because she's kind of ok and stuff. I guess. Well, I've also been spending a lot of time with a certain gentleman they call the Doctor.


I've long had friends who were rabid Doctor Who fans, but I never felt the urge to watch myself. Sci-fi hasn't really been my thing. But this summer I had a rash of friends start watching it/talking about it all around the same time and for the first time, I felt intrigued. The promise of David Tennant didn't hurt.

It took me maybe two weeks to watch the first six episodes of series (to be British) one. I'm not saying that to brag--normally, I can watch a series of a good show in 24 hours. But the Doctor was hard for me. I was so not into it. But dear Abbi, and my other wonderful Whovians (see: Elyse, Lauren, Jess, Tina, Janie...) urged me on, promising better if I stuck it out.

Then I hit "Father's Day", and for the first time Doctor Who moved me to tears. And quotations. (You know I love something if I want to quote it.)

Me: "You two...street corner...2 in the morning. I've never had a life like that." I LOVE IT. DEAD.
Abbi: I'M SO HAPPY. I'M SO HAPPY. THIS IS WHY SEASON ONE IS SO IMPORTANT.

Then I met Captain Jack Harkness.

Me: Um who is this man and why is he so hot?
Abbi: CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS. AND HE IS TOO WONDERFUL FOR WORDS.
Me: He is sooo dreamy.

Basically, to sum up, I finally got to this point:

Me: I just clapped my hands and said I LOVE THIS SHOW. I think I'm there.

Ever since I got past the rough start to series one, I've been watching like crazy. To help me out, Abbi and I had a marathon on Tuesday. The goal: To get to the Tenth Doctor. If you know anything about Doctor Who, you know why. (Because Tenth Doctor is superior and amazing in every way.)


Our marathon was perfection. We had Chinese food (after a ridiculous two hour wait! what?!?!), candy, cheez-its and Shirley Temples in fancy cocktail glasses. Most importantly, we had David Tennant.

{Awesome immitation of Tenth's face.}

I appreciate that series one built up a good foundation for the Doctor/Rose, but for me, series two makes their relationship perfection. Please don't ask me about "Doomsday"...I can't even go there.

[See:
Me: It's doomsday time for me. Abbi: Godspeed, my dear friend. Me: I just yelled NO so loudly my own ears hurt. Me: I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I'M SAD OR ANGRY. Abbi: BOTH.

Lauren: Have you cried yet?? AHHHH. Seriously,my heart. Me: Sobbing.]

Where was I? Oh yes, series one was good, but series two was wonderous to me. There is nothing better than Tenth Doctor and Rose. (I'm struggling through 3 right now...if you've watched, you know why. Ugh, Marth. Go away.)

I love my fellow Whovians. Someday I'd like to marathon it with all of you.

To sum up:

A week in my life

This past week has been...wonderful is too weak of a word. It has been blissful and blessed and fun and rejuvenating and hopeful and chock-full of the Doctor.

About a week ago, I met Abbi. You remember. I sort of *pulled a Ted with Abbi. We'd only been on our first friend date when I proclaimed "let's be best friends." Luckily, she agreed.


{Abbi has adorable new glasses! I want them.}

Then I left for a refreshing four day mountain getaway with my family (and we lamented our distance and texted a lot.)

{The most peaceful spot for a mountain picnic.}

{Could baby G be any cuter? That little sweatshirt gets me every time.}



{I had a very specific idea in mind for this photo--I wanted my hands to be pointing to directly where sis & dad were across the lake. My mom couldn't understand the concept and we had a good laugh over all her failed attempts. The next photo is what I wanted it to look like.}


Once we were back in the same city, Abbi and I re-commenced hanging out and chattering as though we'd known each other since we were 10, which is truly what it feels like.


Since I met Abbi, my blessings seem to have multiplied. This summer has been a trying time for me as I felt far from friends, spent months searching fruitlessly for a job, and looked for more of a sense of purpose in my life. Everything has been building slowly, but this week things seemed to click. Meeting and finding such a good friend in Abbi was a breath of fresh air. We literally spent three hours chatting at Noodles & Co on Monday night, followed by fro-yo and front-porch chatting and we never ran out of things to relate and talk about. To be blunt: It was just so so much fun.

Meeting Abbi also led me to learn about a job opportunity. I interviewed for the position on Wednesday, came back in for a follow-up today, and I had only just made it back home when I got the call offering me the job. And I took it. I'm employed!

Ok, so I can't assign all the credit for my happy week to Abbi, but it's been so lovely the way quite a few things I've looked for have come together this week. Timing is everything and I knew that if I kept asking God for what I needed, he would provide when the time was right.

Also this week: I cut my hair off and I love it; I fell in love with Doctor Who (post to come); I did a volunteer orientation to start working with children's literacy through my local library; I ate a lot of icecream; I loved on my nephew.


I hope all of you find yourselves blessed with what you need. If you aren't there yet, don't give up. Keep asking. And most importantly...don't stop believing. (I had to.)

Abbi: Thank you for becoming my instant friend and not being scared away by my enthusiasm. I can't wait for many more Doctor Who texts and hang out sessions to come.


*Ted is a character on "How I Met Your Mother" who is infamous for falling hard for girls after only one date, even going so far as to say "I love you" on a first date.

Brunch

"We're here, we're hungry, get used to it, Brunch!"
-Marshall, How I Met Your Mother

I really should've included photos of the delicious brunch spread at Brickhouse 40, but by the time I thought to pull out the camera we had polished off 2 plates each. I love a good brunch.

Grand Lake

"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines who you will be when you can't help it." -Oscar Wilde

For me? It's never the wrong time to re-read Harry (for the umpteenth time.)

Peace

"This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you."

-Hafiz

August 10th

Recently, I pointed out the winning attributes of July 31st. But August 10th is growing on me as well.

Just look at the history...

On August 10, 2005 I wrote in my journal: "Today was amazing! Excellent! So much fun." (The details of the day are actually rather anticlimatic, but I'm glad I enjoyed it at the time.)

On August 10, 2010 I was cryptically happy but I can now admit it was because my sister called me with the secret news of her pregnancy. And how well that turned out:


And today was, how shall I put it? "Amazing! Excellent! So much fun." I went to see The Help this morning with my mother and sister. We've all read the book and were very pleased with the film translation. Sure there were differences, but the characters were pretty spot on and it was a moving film.

Then, this evening, I met up at my favorite book store with the absolutely sensational Abbi.


I like to think we were instant friends--I hope she agrees. Seriously, I could not imagine a more delightful few hours! We dished on our favorite books, movies, fan obsessions, etc. We already have a date set for a Doctor Who marathon (with food, natch.) I love this girl! She is so gorgeous and definitely a kindred spirit. (I wish Elyse, Lauren and Jess could come join us for our Who-athon.)

So August 10th? Yeah, a good date.

On the Potter Fandom

This article is the inspiration for and is quoted within this post.

"If you tell people on the street that you prefer Hermione with Harry, they look at you strangely and say, “Don’t you know she ends up with Ron at the end?” And if you tell people on the internet that you like Harry and Hermione, get ready for a storm of indignation, wrath and ridicule, the likes of which you have never seen before. Harry/Hermione fans are reviled on the internet. I’m not kidding—I once had someone accuse me of supporting incest (which…if I say that someone is like my sister THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM MY SISTER...)"

I could practically write a dissertation on why I grew up believing in Harry & Hermione, and someday I probably will. Actually, I have written quite lengthy arguments before--on the FictionAlley.org, a very renowned Harry Potter fansite of its day where the ship (relationship pairing) debates raged on and the fans proudly sailed. The nature of the fandom has changed drastically since I became a fan at age 11. It used to be that you could support Harry & Hermione and that was all fine and well because anything goes. In the "old days" it was openly acknowledged that the tide could move in either direction and fans were free to ship as they liked. Then after Book 6, when the ships became pretty set in stone, the fandom became more volatile and suddenly it was as thought you had Avada Kedavra-ed someone's kitten if you claimed you still, yes still, believed that Harry and Hermione were better for each other. Suddenly opinions that were long held made you enemy #1. The thing I don't think anyone will ever understand is that at age 11 I read the first three Harry Potter books and I saw a deep connection between Harry and Hermione that meant love to me. It was what I envied and would love to emmulate; not the bitter and cruel way Ron could treat Hermione.

I can accept that what I want didn't happen. But it doesn't mean I ever have to stop believing that a love between Harry and Hermione could've been possible or that it's what I would've preferred. It may not have been the obvious thing, but it's what I saw underneath the surface when I looked past the pretense of the Ron/Hermione spats and romantic tension. I will never understand how people expected a large portion of the fandom to just shut up and change their minds the day after Ron and Hermione became book fact. It's not fair to expect someone to just stop feeling what they feel because it didn't happen, especially not after 7 years of vested interest. It's like a break-up: If you liked a guy and saw a future but then he ended it, would you feel nothing the next day? Even if everyone said there were signs all along and you missed them? Would you just accept that what you'd believed wasn't "right" and move on, never looking back? That's not how human emotions work.

"But the beauty of being spat upon by the collective Harry Potter fandom is that you learn…not to give a crap! You learn that the people and things you love won’t always be popular, but you can still love them anyway. And you learn not to judge other people for the things that they love."

I'm sorry that people still feel angry at me when I say that I will sail HMS Pumpkin Pie (it's a fandom thing, guys) for life, but can't we live and let live? I am not pretending that they end up together in the books, I am not actually delusional, but I do wish they had ended up together. And that's ok. You still win, right? No harm, no foul.

"Just because a relationship didn’t end in happily ever after doesn’t mean that it wasn’t meaningful and true. As Dumbledore says to Harry, “Of course it is happening inside your head…but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

And next time you want to tell me I'm totally off-base or insult my ability to read properly (all things that have happened), just remember, even Ms. Rowling herself admits that us Harry & Hermione fans aren't pulling ideas out of thin air:

"Now the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry…So I think it could have gone that way." -JK Rowling

One of my favorite scenes between Harry and Hermione is in The Deathly Hallows. It's the tender, emotional, quiet scene when the two of them visit Harry's parents graves:

"Hermione had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. He could not look at her, but he returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of the night air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. He should have brought something to give them, and he had not thought of it [...] But Hermione raised her wand, moved it in a circle through the air, and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed before them. Harry caught it and laid it on his parent' grave.
[...]
He put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, and they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, past Dumbledore's mother and sister, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate." -Deathly Hallows, pg 329.

This, among a multitude of reasons, is why I love them and always will. As Jill Slattery says in her article, I understand the firm argument that their relationship is meaningful, but only a friendship, not love. Sure, that's true for how the books ended. But while some people prefer the type of love that comes from passionate spats turned passionate love, others do prefer the intense love built from a solid friendship. I don't think we were wrong to see the potential for friendship to grow into romance between Harry and Hermione, even if it went unrealized.

I'm sorry if this makes you angry. I would be happy to agree to disagree with you and I am happy to hear your thoughts in the comments. But if you feel an urge to yell at me? Take it elsewhere. Because trust me, after 10 years in the fandom, I've heard it all. And if you're feeling mature and inclined, I urge you to read the article I've linked to. I think it puts forward my feelings and the reason some of us ship Harry & Hermione very very well. Better than this blog post, that's for sure.

...And seriously, in the end, how is Harry and Hermione actually worse than Harry and The Giant Squid? Or Hermione and Snape? Because yes, folks, those are actual ships supported on Harry Potter forums. My hand to God. (More popular but subversive ships include: Draco & Hermione, Draco & Ginny, Harry & Luna, etc.)

*Some Potter fandom lingo from the old days, just for fun:
Ship: Derived from relationship. On the forums, each couple had a ship name and so fans were said to "sail a ship." For example, Ron & Hermione are The Good Ship, Harry and Hermione are HMS Pumpkin Pie, Harry and Ginny are HMS Orange Crush, and so on. They are silly names, but they all have history's behind them and most ships have their own vernacular and inside-jokes/codes. Ship also becomes a verb when supporting a couple. IE: I ship H/Hr.
Initial/Initial: In Harry Potter fandom ships are called by their forum name, or initial/initial. Hermione is always Hr, Ron is R, Harry is H, etc. So you might ship R/Hr, H/Hr, H/G, N/L ...5 points to the house of your choice if you get that last one.
OTP: One True Pairing; the ship you love the most and believe to be the "right choice." Not exclusive to Potter. H/Hr is my Potter OTP, while Peeta/Katniss is my Hunger Games OTP. Do you follow?
OBHWF: One Big Happy Weasley Family. Those who supported R/Hr and H/G often did so because of the idea of how wonderful it would be if Harry and Hermione could be brought into the Weasley family. While I think this is indeed nice, I hardly think it's a reason to marry someone.

That's all for now. Wow, I really revealed my not-so-hidden dork side today, didn't I? Let's just say, if you spoke to me about Harry Potter between ages 11-15, you probably would've only understood every 6th word given the lingo we used, as exemplified above.

For a twist, here is some further reading that supports Ron as a romantic hero...also well-written with intelligent points to make. See? I can admit to two points of view! :)

Scenes from the beach

I spent a week with my extended family (Aunt, 2 cousins, Grandma, Mama, Jen and G-baby) at the beach in Florida. We've done this every year since us cousins were just wee ones and after a four year hiatus it was so nice to all be back together. Here are some happy snapshots, primarily featuring the sweetest water baby you ever saw.