Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The minute the IMAX at midnight tickets went on sale I bought them.  Three tickets, almost $50 bucks....but oh so worth it.  HM, CY, and I navigated our way downtown to the theatre and took our place sitting in line with every other Harry Potter fan hopped up on butterbeer and chocolate frogs.
Several notes for future midnight line camping:

• Take your camera.  I didn't because I thought it wouldn't be allowed and I missed a ton of picture opportunities...one of which might haunt me for the rest of my life.  
• Bring something to do while in line.  This is important not because it's quiet, but because you're with me and all I plan to talk about is how freaking excited I am.
• Hagrid won a Norwegian Ridgeback at a poker game, as an egg. Don't question me on this.  If you do a hundred other Harry Potter fans will stand up to defend my honor.  

Now on to the movie.  I loved it and it is by far my favorite (I have a feeling the very last one will be even better).  It has taken them this long to really get it right, but it's better late than never.  I'm not saying the past ones were badly done, but they never really truly held the same magic the books did.  What's truly amazing is that the seventh Harry Potter book is strikingly different from the previous six and therefore incredibly easy to make into a horrible movie and yet they managed to make it the best one yet.

It is a slower movie than the rest, but so is the book.  This part of the Harry Potter series is not action driven, it is emotionally driven and the movie really focused on that.  You can see and feel the agony and uncertainness that the characters are feeling.  The dynamics between Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are beautiful and you can really see how much they have grown.

Of course they have split the last book into two movies, and I am beyond glad that they did.  Yes it could have been done in one movie but it would have fallen short of the emotion required.  HP and the Deathly Hallows has some truly haunting moments in it and they deserve to be well played out in the movie.  I was nervous about where and how would they split this movie, mainly because I couldn't imagine I really great way to do it.  Thankfully the end point of Part 1 was well done.  It ended on a sad note with an extra scene that really got your blood flowing for the next part.

As a Harry Potter fanatic I was very pleased with this movie, and I won a free t-shirt at the showing.  It was a great night.  I'm already counting down the days till the final installment.

balloons.

My room was filled with balloons.  After returning from kickboxing class (my newest endeavor on experimenting with my life) I opened my bedroom door to find that my dear AF had filled my room with balloons.  Instantly my heart was warmed and I had a case of uncontrollable giggles.  It's amazing what a hundred brightly colored balloons can do for your soul.  I went to sleep that night on a happy note, my soul seeming to dance around in a world of rainbow balls. When I awoke and saw the balloons again with the sun from the window illuminating them I felt I was living in a tiny fairy tale land as I got dressed for work.  Taking a look around my balloon filled room before I closed the door to leave, I smiled and looked forward to when I would return.


Balloons.  Balloons can look different in different lights.

When I did return, they seemed to heed a warning to me.  I ignored them.  And in a matter of minutes the light changed, the mood changed, a friendship changed....and the balloons changed.  They mocked me.  Every last balloon seemed to hold within the proof of my toxic touch on something beautiful.  They danced playfully in the light making fun of me. 

I spent the next few days popping them, positive that their destruction would alleviate the pressure in my mind.  If I could make my surroundings match my inside, then things would be better...my room would no longer be a fun house mocking my every emotion. 

My pastor reminded me of something.  With everything in life we should give thanksgiving to God.  Thanking God isn't something that should only occur when our life is going great, but it should occur no matter how your life is going.  So when your life is becoming increasingly similar to Job's; continue your praise.  Continue your thanksgiving.

After being reminded of this I returned home and looked at the few balloons that remained on my floor.  After praising and thanking God for every aspect of my life, the balloons were no longer symbols of my toxicity.  They were symbols of hope.  Each brightly colored balloon directly challenges my own insecurity and toxic touch and I greatly welcome the challenge.

I hope they win.