the words "I Love You"

Last night as I stood with some of my family in the ICU waiting room and listened to our voices reaching out to God for healing I was filled with happiness and love.  Despite everything around me--not one dark thought was able to enter my mind.

Afterward while we talked about how my uncle has a family filled with fierce love for one another, my uncle Glenn said something that has stuck with me:
(for reference purposes, my uncle Glenn is married into the family.  As is my uncle Mike.)

"This family loves one another.  It's shocking.  When I first met this family I was shocked by the amount of people who said 'I love you' to another and how many hugs were exchanged.  It took time for me to get used to it.  My family didn't do that.  This family says it every chance they get.  And that's special."

I tell people I love them as often as possible, including my close friends.  It's natural.  It's normal.  I need them to know.  I want them to know.  But as I've gotten older I have noticed that it throws people for a shock.  I dated someone once whose family hardly ever exchanging hugs, compliments, or much less "I love you."  They just didn't do it.

I don't know how many families and friends exchange these words on a daily basis.  Of course, just saying them isn't enough--you have to mean it.  I know that my family loves me without pause.  I have floods of memories with my family that are entrenched with love.  And when I speak to my family and see them, I am 100% happier than I was the moment before.

In that room last night, I felt God's spirit as well as the weight of a family's love in the room.  And it's because of that feeling, because of the knowledge that my family's love is true that I know these present circumstances will not stop us.  We will continue fighting.  My uncle Mike will continue fighting.  For his family.  For Kelley. For Katie. For Lauren. And for his wife, my aunt Sandra.  We don't know why things are what they are--but I pray that we can show the hospital and others that our love for one another is unwavering.  And that our love derives from our relationship with Christ.  And that it is because of Him that we will survive this.

Accountability

Hey! Guess what is a great motivator?  Accountability.  So in my effort to get in shape mentally and physically I've decided to post my efforts---good and bad---here on my blog.

Goals:

Weight Loss:  Loose 20 pounds by May 1 (Just in time for Hong Kong!)

Book:  Have early character profiles done by the end of this week

Ok.  Now let's get this thing on the road.


And to my dear and beloved AJ:  I have goal for you....post something by this Sunday.  I believe in you and know that you can do it.

And because no blog post is complete without a picture:

Bam.

The Mixer

For Christmas my papa gave me my late Mama Lou's stand mixer.  It's fantastic.  So I thought I'd share.

My grandpa and my mom were able to find most of the attachments my grandma had and I spent the better part of a night playing with all of them.

The classic.

So Sweeney Todd

mini baseball bat. just kidding.

Dough hook

or a hook hand.  You decide.

New Obsession-Breaking Bad

A few months ago a coworker recommended a show called Breaking Bad to me.  He described it as a show about this middle aged chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and ends up cooking meth so his family will have money once he has passed away.  Interesting--maybe I might watch it--if I have time...it didn't really sound all that gripping.

I had no idea how gripping it really was.

Bored one night, I flipped on Netflix and found Breaking Bad and watched the pilot.  It was unlike any other show on television.  I sped through all four seasons that are out as quick as I could and the plot consumed many of my waking hours.

Walter White

It tells the story of Walter White--a boring, middle aged, chemistry teacher who leads a painfully dull life.  Until he's told that he is dying.  Then he becomes highly sought after meth cook, and slowly the power, the money, and the ever present hectic and life threatening state being a drug lord can be gets to him--but not in a negative way.  If you look closely, and look past his moments of fear, you'll see it.  He likes it.  No he loves it.  He was born for it.  The perfect character that you hate but really want to win at the same time.

Jesse Pinkman

And then you have Jesse.  He starts out as your typical junkie-but you slowly see his character deepen and through it all you'll find yourself rooting for him--much more than Walter.

But besides all that, the show is fantastic for other reasons.  The cinematography is incredibly stunning and the music fits and flows perfectly in every scene.  There are so many times that the camera becomes a character of it's own.  The use of point of view shots and time lases is beautiful.

Check out this POV montage (no spoilers)

I wish I could fully describe how groundbreaking this show is, but I can't so you'll have to watch it. I also searched for a good clip to share but most them have spoilers--so again, you'll have to watch it :)

Happy New Year

Yeah, I've been a little MIA the month of December but here I am :)  To celebrate the new year I think a slight 2011 recap is in order.

Kelley and Cameron

Ringing in 2011 the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a wonderful way to end the dreadful year of 2010 and welcome wonderful 2011.  This trip also introduced Cameron and I to the Rockin Roller Coaster and we now have an unforgettable DVD of the experience.






Then came my first taste of a baking craze.  Which eventually led to my teeny tiny cupcake business: The Cupcake Pub.  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Paige for giving me the push I needed.  Right in time for her gorgeous wedding.

Paige and Brian

And of course, weddings come with really fun bacherlorette parties.

 Let's not forget that the final Harry Potter move came out this summer.  Ahh what a night of fun, tears, and excitement.

 I also was introduced to the Very Potter Musical and the Hunger Games this year.  Wonderful :)

At the end of a summer filled with Sanford and the beach I bid farewell and good luck to Sage as she made the big move to Kansas. I myself moved back to Raleigh with Ashley and Anna. 

Anna

 And bought my dream car.

Phoenix

2011 was the year of several road trips, including a couple of trips to Busch Gardens.  Trips that filled with roller coasters, scarecrows, hotels, and freezing our butts off.

Ashley, Emily, Kelley

Busch Gardens hit Ashley and I just right.  I'm slowly pushing her towards roller coasters--even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming on every ride.  She'll learn to love it.  I also got to spend a lot of time with Kelley on these trips which I think was wonderful. In fact, this year in general led to many opportunities to grow closer with Kelley and Cameron on road trips.

Cameron

All in all it was a great year.  And I look forward to the upcoming year :)

Potter Post 3 1/3--Book 5 Predictions

Warning: This post contains spoilers

I stumbled across an old article from 2003 this morning: Harry Potter Plot: Your Predictions.  It's from right before the fifth book of Harry Potter was released--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and it's a magical treasure--so today I'm going to post some of the predictions that readersmade for this book.  But first, a look back:

In 2003 I was still in high school.

Whoa.

And Harry Potter  was getting ready to enter his fifth year of school after having participated in the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year. 

 

Edward Cullen was a Hufflepuff.

Remember?  The Triwizard Tournament brought three schools together for the competition but Harry's name was mysteriously entered into the tournament under a fourth, fake school in order to fool the Goblet of Fire thus forcing him to compete in notoriously deadly competition.  Things seemed to be going well into he and Cedric touched the Triwizard Cup---remember Cedric Diggory---The Hogwarts champion--from Hufflepuff--?  Well they touched the Triwizard Cup together and-gasp!-it was a portkey that transported them to a graveyard where Cedric was killed.
 

Who killed Cedric? Peter Pettigrew.  But who told him to? VOLDEMORT.  We then witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort.  And learned that Voldemort's wand and Harry's wand don't work properly against each other--who knew how big of a deal that would end up being?  Harry escaped-barely-and returned to Hogwarts just in time to almost be killed by...Mad Eye Moody? GASP! But it was actually Barty Crouch Jr. all hopped up on polyjuice potion. 

The point being that this was a huge moment in the series.  This was the moment that Voldemort returned to power.  This was the moment that forced Harry Potter to grow up.  This was the moment that told the readers--anyone can and will die.  So naturally everyone was on edge waiting for fifth book.  Waiting and guessing about what would happen.  So below are some predictions from 2003:

Who will die?

       Ironically it seems that Sirius dying was the farthest from anyone's mind.  In fact he wasn't even on the poll this site did.  They asked readers who would die in The Order of the Phoenix--below are the choices, results, and I added when they actually died.

--Professor McGonagal...5.15% (Survived--eventually became headmistress)

--Professor Snape... 9.94%  (Died in the last book)

--Hermione...5.08% (Survived--married Ron)

--Rom...7.99% (Survived--married Hermione)

--Hagrid...36.44% (Survived)

--Professor Dumbledore...30.65% (Died in the sixth book)

--Draco...4.74% (Survived)

So it seems that Hagrid and Dumbledore were the most favored to die...Dumbledore dying was always on my least likely to die least while reading the series.  

It was also predicted that Dumbledore would die and Snape would become the new headmaster and lead the fight against Voldemort.  This was a great prediction because it holds a ton of truth, just a little early and only slightly off.

Voldemort is Harry's father

This was a very common predication for several years until JKR finally put and end to it decalring that Voldemort is NOT Harry's father.  Come on guys...Harry has a nose and Voldemort doesn't.

Dumbledore is a Death Eater

Cool predication. Untrue.  But cool.  This prediction got it's ground from the line in the fourth book where Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort can touch him now and then there is flash of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes.  This was a huge line in the book.  I personally obsessed over what it could mean and we didn't find out until the end of the series.  But it did not mean that Dumbledore is a death eater.  

Ron and Hermione get together

Oh...that was always a constant prediction.  Except for the Hermine/Harry people (I'm talking to you Emily!)

Ginny becomes important

Well I guess so.

Something is up with Neville. Not sure what.  But something.

Great prediction and we did learn about Neville in the fifth book.

I hope you enjoy this look back into the past brought to you by my friend Google!

 

 

Potter Post 3 1/8

How awesome is this?  Hogwarts Toms.


Sorry for the short post.  It's the holidays and I'm currently in a muppet frame of mind.  Oh wait! Muppets!  Puppets!  Perfect Potter Post!  See below.

Always awesome.  
  

Thanksgiving Movie: The Muppets

Oh. My. Gosh.  What a wonderful movie.  It's time to meet the Muppets. 

After accidentally walking into the wrong movie theater I narrowly escaped watching Breaking Dawn again and found my way safely to The Muppets.

I wasn't super hyped about going to see The Muppets, but my mom really wanted to go see so Cameron and I went along.  I remember the muppets, I watched them a great deal growing up--including the muppet babies.  In fact, my favorite Christmas movie is The Muppet Christmas Carol--but I still would have chosen another movie to go see.  However, within 5 minutes I realized what a treasure of a movie this is.  It was cute, funny, and fresh.  And I'm not the only one who loved it.

The movie opened with a 98% critic review on Rotten Tomatoes---the highest this year (Breaking Dawn Part 2?  28%.  But that's a heck of a lot better than the new Adam Sandler movie-Jack and Jill-which got a 4%).  What I wasn't aware of was that Nicholas Stoller wrote the scrpit with Jason Segel---I already love Jason Segel, and now I love him even more.  His cuddly bear in a big body is always amazing and it continued to be in this movie.  And of course Amy Adams is as charming as ever and jaw droopingly better than most actresses out there these days.   If you  loved Enchanted then you really shouldn't miss this movie. 

The movie is bluntly honest and pokes fun of itself which really eases the audience in to fully enjoy it.   The plot is easy and--dare I say it--somewhat realistic?  The Muppets have been gone for awhile and when there is threat to tear down the Muppet's studio in order to drill for oil they attempt to reunite and reintroduce the world to the Muppets in order to save the studio.  It's realistic in the fact that is the Muppets were real--this is totally what would happen.  They have been gone awhile and Selena Gomez has no idea who they are (there are a TON of cameos in this movie-so brace yourself).  There are also tons of fun little lines like "Let's travel by map!" and "The was an expensive looking explosion.  I can't believe we had that in the budget."  and "It must have broke during the dance number I was just in."  And if you know me at all you'll know how much I love when characters reference the fact they are in a movie :) 

I laughed the entire time and thought it was incredibly heartwarming.  I recommend it to EVERYONE.  Even if you have no ties to the muppets or no idea who they are, go see it anyways because you'll still love it.  And remember that life's a happy song when there is someone by my side to sing along.

The Sidekick.

"No! No! No! Noooo-! This isn't about you.  Why does every conversation we have always have to turn into Potter talk?"
"It isn't Potter talk--"
"No! No! I'm miserable!  And all you can do is talk about yourself.  You're like the most self absorbed guy I know!  But if you were miserable I'd be there for you but you won't even listen to me and I'm sick of it.  So, so...good luck with whatever you were talking about and I hope that you and Voldemort live happily ever after.  Me?  I am never gonna be happy again.  So I'm just gonna go curl up in my sock drawer and sleep for days."  (from A Very Potter Musical)

Do you ever have moments where you feel like the sidekick in your own life?

Or do you know people who seem to stare at you blankly while you're talking, just waiting for their opportunity to talk again?  Or those people who seem to always wanna talk about what's going on with them and never ask about you?  Or when they do ask they always find a way to make it about them again--or just dismiss your response while they continue on about themselves?  I know several people like this--I'm sure everyone is like this sometimes but for some it just seems to be who they are. And it's fine.  It's just that after you spend so much time with someone like this you start to forget that you have a life to.  You aren't the sidekick in your own life despite how they constantly make you feel.

Take charge.  And remember that you are the star of your own life--not them.

Also remember that Frodo was awful and should have died. 

Breaking Dawn: Part 1. Review. If you loved the movie just don't read this.

To be completely honest--I didn't like the movie.  There were some good moments but mostly it was just bad.  To be fair, I didn't like the book either for many reasons.  But an hour and 45 minutes of watching the characters stare at each other left me feeling that the life was drained out them.  Any depth the characters had before is completely gone--except Jacob.

I did enjoy the wedding and honeymoon.  In all fairness those scenes were pretty good.

I was shocked to realize afterward that the move was under two hours because it felt incredibly long.  It felt like three hours.  There were so many moments where it felt like they were drawing out scenes to justify it being two movies....believe me I know what fluff looks like.  I've written many papers filled with fluff--I can see a fluff when I see it.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split in two movies-and yes it had a couple of fluff moments but the split was done to finish off all aspects of the plot and to deepen the characters so you're more emotionally in touch during the final battle--and it was beautiful.  The plot in Breaking Dawn is basically the exact same plot of the others.  Bella loves Edward.  Edward loves Bella.  Jacob loves Bella.  Bella really really likes Jacob.  Bella wants to be a vampire.  Edward doesn't want to turn her.  Jacob wants Bella to leave Edward.   There is more plot introduced in Breaking Dawn (the book) but it could have been introduced and finished in one movie.   Sure, you would have had to skip some parts in the book--like the Denali sisters--but I could have lived without that part in the movie.  It was thrown in there awkwardly and I guarantee you non-readers had no idea what that was all about. 

To those ready to stone me--I'm sorry.  I've read the books, and enjoyed them (despite the fact that they are badly written) but I felt that this movie seemed more like a bad SyFy channel movie at some parts.  HOWEVER the very last scene and the clip after the credits were great and my favorite part of the movie and with that in mind, I think the next movie should be much much better than this one.