I really love this song a lot. 

thoughts on HP5: written while listening to the book

"Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know." - Moody

I would want Dumbledore for my lawyer.

Moody has a spare invisibility cloak?

I love that the punishment Fred and George are 

most afraid of is that Hermione will tell 

Mrs. Weasley :)

I love that Professor Grubblyplank smokes a pipe.

Why would Malfoy think his Quidditch team 

being reinstated would have anything to do 

with influence at the ministry?

I've never thought potions sounded 

that hard. Just like trying a new recipe.

I HATE PROFESSOR UMBRIDGE!

"Harry allowed him 30 seconds of reminiscence 

before clearing his throat." (referring to Hagrid 

talking about Mdme Maxim)

I find it hard to believe that they snap your 

wand when you get expelled from Hogwarts but 

not when you're sent to Azkaban. (as in, how 

does Bellatrix still have her wand?)

"Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood."

- Hermione to Harry

Harry is such an idiot. (when he looks into 

Snape's pensieve)

"The girl sitting behind [Sirius] was eyeing 

him hopefully, though he didn't seem to have

noticed." Of course he didn't notice - she was 

sitting behind him.

Harry, don't break into Umbridge's office! 

Just use the mirror!  I don't understand how he 

could've forgotten about that. I would've 

used that thing like, everyday. 

It's so sad when Harry thinks he'll be able 

to talk to Sirius again in the mirror :(

Luna makes me so happy :)

the age-old Christmas question -

Who tells scary ghost stories on Christmas?

Dear Santa,

Please push play on this video and scroll down while listening to see pictures of what I want for Christmas. 

a really cute pygmy hippo

another really cute pygmy hippo - the size of a puppy!

"Most sincerely yours - especially on this holiday season - 

Your Pal, who's been very, very, very, very, very good all this whole year long, 

Alison 'I'm not kidding about how good I've been' MJ

P.S.  I really have been good.  Please believe me, Santa, please!  Please and thank you.  I've practically been an angel." 

P.P.S. Name that movie! and Merry Christmas!

Christmas songs

I love Christmas songs!  I have been listening to them almost exclusively since before Thanksgiving.  I like pretty much every Christmas song.  Some exceptions: Santa Baby (I always think of when Hope was singing it in show choir in high school and the choir teacher told them to sing it to their dads.... WEIRD); Baby, It's Cold Outside; the weird version of Deck the Halls that I have that Carrie and Joel hate.  I love the Carpenter Christmas album. It's so Christmas-y!  And Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a must-play.  "Joy to the World" from The Preacher's Wife makes me wish I were black.  Bing Crosby, Faith Hill, Polar Express, David Archuleta, and Darlene Love ("It's a Marshmallow World") also have some great ones.  This is the one, besides "Marshmallow World," that I really love right now, introduced to me by Nick Walter.  Enjoy!

And just for fun...

what I look like when it's cold outside

I was at school when I took this picture, so I was trying to look natural... so this is what I look like when I stare at a computer screen :) And wearing the best hat EVER.  I always feel really cool when I wear it to school.  Also, it is so comfortable and warm. So comfortable and warm, in fact, that sometimes it makes me take a nap.  Probably the best $1 I have ever spent.

stockings

here

One of the current topics of discussion on blogs I read right now is new stocking styles.  I think it's more fun when everyone has their own stocking that never changes than to make/buy new stockings every year to match the decorations in your house.

tears

As you know, I read quite a few crafting/sewing blogs.  Since it's the Christmas season, there have been a lot of posts lately about fun homemade presents to give, homemade Christmas tree ornaments, and fun ways to wrap presents.  In the past two days, I have seen several ways to decorate your house (wrapping presents, making wreaths...) using pages from old books.

That makes me want to cry.

I can hardly imagine tearing pages even out of some of my textbooks, let alone old and pretty books, to do something as worthless as wrap a present with them.

About me: Books are special and not to have their pages torn out, especially on purpose.

twins

Katy Perry & Zooey Deschanel

Have you ever noticed how much these two look alike?

Free Christmas Music!

You all know I'm a sucker for free stuff - well, here's a link for free Christmas music! from People.com.

https://www.peoplecmg.com/countryplaylist/

Enjoy! 

**I downloaded them but haven't actually listened to any of them, so I don't actually know if they're any good.... but hey, they're Christmas! :)

Livejournal

So, besides this blog, I also have an account on a website called Livejournal that I use as my journal when I'm not at home and also as a backup for my on-the-computer journal.  There's always a "stuck on ideas?" question on the log-in page.  I always read it, but I don't think I've ever answered it before.  Well, today I decided to.

Q:

What is your favorite Beatles song and why?

A:

Although some of their songs are more fun to dance to or sing to, etc., for as long as I can remember, I have always loved "Eleanor Rigby."  Every time it comes on the radio or on my computer when my songs are on shuffle, I get excited, more so than with any other Beatles song that I can think of right now.  It's kind of like "Brandy," by Looking Glass in that respect. Why do I love it? Honestly, I'm not really sure.  I like imagining situations songs might be written about when I listen to them, and what I imagine for that song is very... poignant.  That's not usually why I love songs, but I think that might be why I love "Eleanor Rigby."  It's definitely a winner.

I don't know why, but I get them all the time here!

I currently have the hiccups for the third time today.

Books to read...

Well, this little list is going around the blag-o-blag lately and I have been challenged to post it.  Apparently, the BBC made this list and said that most people had only read ten of the books on it.  I have bolded the ones that I've read... They add up to 17.  

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald 

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky (and Brothers K)

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens 

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom 

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery 

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo



c'mon people.

All I want to know is, WHO decided it was okay for us to start tucking our scarves into our belts?!

And I thought the current fads couldn't get any more ridiculous.

alisonism #11: burglar!

Sometimes I get scared that someone's in my house when the heater turns on and moves pieces of paper that we have in the trash can.  And even though I know no one's there, sometimes I'm afraid to look over there and make sure. (like just now)

alisonism #10: necks

If my scarf (or hoody or anything) touches the sides of my neck too much, I feel like all the blood is getting trapped and that I'm going to die of strangulation.  My neck area is super sensitive, I guess; I don't know why it happens.  But it does.

free stuff

I got a free razor in the mail this week!

out of a movie

I just saw one of the most awkward encounters I've ever seen not on a movie.
So I'm sitting in the library.  There's a girl who I saw earlier in here with a boy at his computer - I think they came in here together.  Later... She's walking down the aisle, a different boy is walking up it.  They meet right by my computer.  They both say hi and stare at each other for like, 20 seconds.  Then the girl walked around him to go back to her computer and he stayed there for a minute, fiddling with his wallet wearing a confused/hurt look on his face and then walked away.  If that's not straight out of a movie, I don't know what is.

Thankful

I had a paper due this morning.  BYU's internet has been down all morning.  I've been really nervous about getting in trouble and trying to find out where the internet was working.  Finally, at 3:30, I was able to go to my brother's house to use his internet and turn in my paper.  Today, I am thankful for...

internet that works

a clean fridge (I cleaned ours today)

my brother for picking me up

Carrie O'Dell (Happy Birthday!!!!!)

It's today!!

pretty

Sometimes I go to my blog just to look at the background because it's just so pretty :)

Happy 100th Post, Blog!

I heard some songs on the radio today that I really liked, so I came home and looked them up.  This phrase from "If I Die Young," by The Band Perry, stuck out to me while I was listening to it in the car:

"There's a boy here in town says he'll love me forever.

Who would've thought forever could be severed by 

the sharp knife of a short life"

I'm thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings and truth I have in my life because of it.  A couple months ago, Joel and I celebrated our first anniversary.  I'm thankful for him - that boy that said he'd love me forever :) - and I'm thankful that our forever will not be severed by the sharp knife of a short life.  I have faith that we will be together forever, even after we die.  I know that the rest of my family is forever, too.  There were times when I was younger that I feared death because I feared not having my whole family together at home - but I know that even if something happens, I will be able to be with all of them again.  I am thankful that Heavenly Father cares about us, knows we care about our families, and that He and Jesus Christ have provided a plan and a way for us to be together forever.

Also, Happy Anniversary a couple months ago, Joel :)

stats

So I decided to check the statistics on my blog today, just for fun.  This week I had 37 views from the U.S. and... 31 from Italy.  I'll be honest - that made me feel pretty cool.  I told Joel and he said, "It might be wrong. Or it might've just been bots." (referring to programs people make to go to websites over and over)  I'm going to pretend it's people, though.  That's more fun :)

yuck-ola

I want to be a high school Spanish teacher when I grow up.

My application to the program is due today.

I have been working hard, but some unforeseen circumstances have made it a longer and scarier process than I planned for.

I'm super nervous (in part due to those unforeseen circumstances pushing back a giant assignment I have due this afternoon).  I have been sick since yesterday morning about it all.

I can't wait for 5:00 to be over.

pizza, or just a box? alisonism #9

here

For as long as I can remember, I have thought that cardboard boxes smelled like pizza.

All kinds of cardboard boxes, not just pizza boxes.

For example, there is a doughnut box sitting next to me right now and it totally has me craving cold pizza because that's what it smells like.

You should all try reading at least a couple posts from my uncle's blog.  He's a very good writer. :)

(a quote about porcupines)

This last weekend we went up to Joel's parents' cabin to help get it all ready for the winter.  It was mostly work, but also some fun playing. They have four-wheelers and stuff, so that's fun.  But guess what!  On the way home, we saw one of these guys!

here

 

 

 

A little black porcupine!  It was so cute.  It looked like a little black puffball, until we realized they were spike things and not puffy.  Have you ever seen a porcupine?

Chili Cook-off

I love Chili Cook-offs.  Our ward is having one and I'm really excited.  I totally know what I'm going to make - I read the recipe probably a month ago and decided if we ever had a Chili Cook-off, I was going to make it.  And now we are! So I found the recipe last night and I'm looking forward to making it this week!  But I haven't even told you the best part yet.....

Joel and I get to be chili judges!

I'm so excited!  I've never gotten to be a judge at one of these things before!  On one hand: I can't win.  But, on the other hand: I get to taste all the chilis and decide which one is the best!  It's going to be so fun :)

LRC

Sometimes I feel like people in the LRC don't know it's part of the library.  

Gotta love "All That." :)

alisonism #8: blogs. Watch out - it's long!

I like to read blogs, but not just any blogs.  I don't usually read blogs about people's lives, like Pioneer Woman, unless they're my friends.  I don't usually read funny blogs unless it's for just a few minutes; I rarely return to the same one twice. (exceptions: cakewrecks and the g-rated page of failblog)  I definitely don't read boring professional or technical blogs, even Joel's (although I do think the website address is fun:).  I don't read blogs about losing weight or spiritual blogs or school-related blogs or company's blogs.  

So. What kinds of blogs do I read?

I read a couple of blogs with coupons and other good deals, but I try to spend as little time as possible on those.  I mostly use them for the heads-up on free samples.

I like some cooking blogs, but so many of them use a billion ingredients that I don't have and will probably never pay for, or use recipes that take longer than an hour, which is about my limit on how long I want to take making just one thing. 

I sometimes look at crafty blogs, but many of those just turn out very homemade-looking stuff that I will never use in my house.  Not that I mind homemade-looking - I just don't want my house to look like it's only decorated in cardboard boxes and popsicle sticks in disguise.  There will be plenty of room for those when I have children. :)

But.  I really love sewing blogs.  They are my absolute favorite.  I love reading what people can make for themselves and their children, and I have a few projects I cannot wait to try.  I can - and have - spend hours perusing my favorite sewing blogs, seeing things I want to try, wishing I had money and a room just for my sewing stuff.  See, I have this weird confidence towards sewing - for some reason, I really feel like I can make just about anything that I would want to make, as long as I have some kind of pattern.  And actually, with many things, I don't even feel like I need a pattern - just an idea of what I want.  That's not to say I want to make everything.  I will probably never make another button-up shirt in my life, and I think that something incredibly fancy like a wedding dress would probably be more stress than it was worth.  But I still think I could do them if I wanted to.  And there are so many things I want to try.  The only reasons I haven't are time and space.  (schoolwork + tiny house = not much time or space for sewing!)


I could keep going, but instead I'll stop.  And just for fun, I'll leave you with links to some of my favorite blogs, in case you want to check them out.



Although not an extensive list of pretty blogs I read, here are some of my most favorite not-family-or-friends blogs.  :)

365 Days of Slow Cooking

annilygreen

Bakerella

Bedzine - a blog about cool furniture

Dare to be Remarkable - interested in beautiful stuff?

Let Me Plan Dinner!

MADE - LOVE LOVE LOVE.  If you only look at one of these, please look at this one.

Money Saving Mom

New Dress A Day

no big dill

Saltwater Kids - still deciding if it's favorite or not.

say YES! to hoboken

smitten kitchen - sometimes expensive or gross-looking recipes.  Otherwise, fun.

The Good Report - Still figuring this one out.

GurglePot

I want to buy one of these pitchers so bad.  I wish they weren't $40.  But look how pretty it is!  I would feel so pretty and somehow sophisticated pouring water out of one of these into some guest at my house's cup. Go the website and click "Play Gurgle" and you'll get to hear what it sounds like every time you pour water out of it.  My favorites are the blue, green, coral, and red.  This green one would be so beautiful with my dishes.

So pretty!

Dakota

And, on that note, this song has me completely wanting to name a daughter Dakota :)

Brandy Alexander

This song completely has me wanting to name our daughter, if we ever have one, Brandy Alexander.  Something about it makes me feel like it would be perfectly acceptable, even though I know the name Alexander isn't a girl's name, even for a middle name.  Listen to it and then try telling me I'm not right.

Note:  I just looked up the lyrics for the first time and learned that the song is not, in fact, about a girl named Brandy Alexander, but a boy that's being compared to a Brandy Alexander, which is an alcoholic drink, another thing I didn't know.  Soo.... Pretend a Brandy Alexander isn't a drink and that the words are "Brandy Alexander is always getting into trouble," since I always thought that's what they were, and and then try telling me you don't agree with it being a cute name :)  

homework

 

This is what I feel like right now while I'm doing my homework.

Not tired, really.  More just bored like crazy.

mmm, crêpes

Fact: My husband is the best crêpe maker ever.

Last night was our Harry Potter 4 extravaganza.

To celebrate the French food that the house elves made the Beauxbatons students during

the Tri-Wizard Tournament, we decided to made crêpes as our HP4 food.

Now, add raspberries, chocolate chips, whipped cream, strawberries,

Nutella, powdered sugar, syrup, and a big cup of milk

to the fact that my husband is the best crêpe maker ever,

And you have one delicious crêpe-eating night.

Bonsoir!

alisonism #7: Q-tips

I would probably die without Q-tips.  Not cotton swab sticks.  Q-tips.  

I use them more often than just when I get out of the shower, but 

because it's an odd topic, we'll leave it at that.

And that I love them.

here

And yes, I have bought a double pack of those huge containers before.

sweet!

Check out my new template!  I like it. :)

alisonism #6: "All the world is waiting for you and the powers you possess..."

As you may have guessed from my last post, I love Wonder Woman.

She's my favorite superhero.

In fact, yesterday when we were at our neighbors' house trying out the wife's harp, I made a reference to Wonder Woman.  It couldn't be helped; the stuff I was playing just sounded like music you would hear while walking around on Paradise Island.
One of my favorite episodes is when Steve takes Wonder Woman to the place where they make money. I always thought that was so cool.
I also really like the one where the bad guy always rubs her hands together and then makes weird, supernatural things happen.
I think it's fun when she uses all of her sweet tools to fight the bad guys, even though some people have told me that they're actually lame tools.  I disagree.  Who wouldn't want to jump like that?
And chloroform - I think the writers must've been obsessed with that stuff.  That's like, the only way you can defeat Wonder Woman, is to use chloroform.  And believe me, they used that stuff a lot.

I have many memories of running home from school when we lived in Iowa so that we would get home in time to watch "Wonder Woman" on television at 3:00.  All my siblings loved it.  And then we got "too obsessed" with it and were banned, no longer allowed to watch "Wonder Woman."  Needless to say (that was for you, Carrie), we stopped running home after school.  We had one or two episodes that we had taped, but remembered every time we really wanted to watch one that someone had taped over them...  That mystery has yet to be solved.

But then, last Christmas (maybe the year before?) Brooke got the first season on DVD from Santa Clause!  We watched a lot of "Wonder Woman" that break.  It was awesome.

Get us out from under, Wonder Woman!

alisonism #5: Man, I feel like a .... not quite a woman, more just a girl.

I have always hated using the word "woman."  My whole life.  I was thinking about it the other day because I was teasing my sister about eating beans and she said, "Mooom, I'm 26 years old.  I'm almost a full grown woman!"  I felt like, if that were a movie quote, I would never say it because I would feel weird every time.  So, after that, I acknowledged the fact that, really, I just don't like referring to myself as a woman.  In fact, I almost just barfed typing that sentence.  But referring to people who are actually women would be fine, right?  Wrong.  When I refer to old women, I usually call them "old ladies" to avoid using the W word.  I don't, by the way, have an aversion to "women." Just "woman."

here

With the exception of talking about Wonder Woman.

tomfoolery

Hooray!  Thanks to all who commented and/or emailed.  And now for the background story:

So this week, I was at work.  I guess some of the warehouse workers had made slingshots and paper airplanes or something (I think it sounds fun), but my boss (the main boss at work) didn't like it because he didn't want someone to get hurt.  He told them not to have stuff flying around in the warehouse and then came in and told their boss that he told them that.  I said, "Brent, you should've just said, 'No tomfoolery in the warehouse!' They would've thought that was awesome!"  And then I laughed for a while.  Marva also laughed.  Brent and Duane had no idea what I was talking about.  They'd never even heard the word tomfoolery!

Preposterous!

I explained the meaning and then made a comment about how I thought everyone knew what that meant.  What can I say?  My family uses that word.  Brent didn't believe everyone knew what it meant, so he called everyone who works at my work into the office to conduct a survey, similar to the one I conducted with you guys this week.  There was only one other person who had ever heard the word.  

Crazy!

Well, one other guy wasn't at work at the time, so when he came back, we asked him.  He'd heard of it but didn't know what it meant.  This was getting a little ridiculous.  Then yesterday, we hired a new secretary.  She also had never heard the word.  

Now, I'm not saying these people aren't as smart as we are..... I'm just saying, Congratulations to all who know what tomfoolery is.  You must be smart and awesome.

survey

We were having a discussion at work today that inspired this survey.  All of us have taken it... now it's your turn!

Have you ever heard the word "tomfoolery"?

If so, please use it in a sentence or define it.

HP4: Part 2

Chapter 15-16
I love that, when Karkaroff asks Dumbledore how he is, Dumbledore says he's "blooming."  Awesome.
I think it's funny that people don't know anything about the Tournament.  It seems a little weird to me that someone would say, This huge, historic event is coming to your school!, and that not even Hermione would've bothered to find out what it was - at least a little.  For example - the Goblet of Fire doesn't seem like it should've been a mystery to Hermione, of all people.  Oh well :)
I love that Hermione "unearthed a large talon" in Hagrid's beef casserole :)

summer

Dear Time,

Please stop.

Love, Alison

Berries & Cream: Part II

For those of you who liked my last post, perhaps you will also appreciate this awesome one that I found when I was searching for the last one.  My favorite parts are when he says "Ha ha" after the third step and when he says "Whee!" after the fourth step.  This is awesome :D

Berries & Cream

I saw a picture today that reminded me of this commercial that I love so much.  

Enjoy.

(Just know you won't enjoy it as much as I do.)

"Knock three times on the ceiling..."

Sometimes I get songs stuck in my head.

When that happens, I usually listen to them - satisfy the craving - and then

it's not stuck in my head anymore.

But other times, I listen to it to satisfy the craving, and then I still

have it stuck in my head.  And I want to keep listening to it.

I try not to do that at work, since other people can

hear what I'm listening to.

But sometimes I can't help it! And then I wonder if my boss ever hates

my music or thinks I'm crazy for listening to the same song 

a couple times in a row.

I love this song:

HP4: Part 1

Thoughts on Harry Potter 4:
Chapter 1-4
Why did Voldemort decide to live in the Riddles' old house instead of wherever he'd been before?
"Whispers followed him wherever he went."  - What are people STILL whispering about?
When Harry told the Dursleys that he had a convicted murderer as a godfather, why did they believe him?
"Dudley had reached roughly the size and weight of a young killer whale."
Why is Hermione always at the Weasleys' house?

Chapters 5-9
My question is, how tall is Stoneshead Hill?  Harry's legs were seizing up when they got to the top... And also, why were the tufts of grass black?
"I like a healthy breeze round my privates, thanks!" hahahahaa :D

Chapter 10-13
Stephen Fry (the narrator of this one that's on youtube) always sounds like he has a stuffy nose.
I always thought it was funny when Molly puts a piece of toast in Amos's head in the fire. :)
Ron slammed the door so hard that the glass shattered?  Either he slammed it super hard, or that glass is pretty thin...
Why did they leave Peeves out of the movies?  He's so awesome!
"Transfiguration is never to be used as a punishment!" "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..."

Chapter 14-15
I wonder what Moody did to the witch who said "Boo" behind him on April Fools' Day...
When I read about all the excitement that goes on during preparations for the Tournament, it totally makes me wish I could go to Hogwarts :)

Good Things to Come

I was reading someone's blog today and stumbled upon this video.  It's good for anyone, but I thought that it was good for me to see when I did.  I love Elder Holland. 

The most beautiful seatbelt advocacy commercial ever

I love this commercial.  Supposedly, it was just made by a guy, not by actual advertising people or anything.  Just a guy who was passionate about the importance of wearing seatbelts.  

Enjoy. :)

 

 

not twenty seconds later...

HA!  GOTCHA!

And not a minute too soon. 

here

That's not my hand, but it's the same idea.  

shoo fly - don't bother me.

Ho. Ly. Mackerel.  

AGH!  There are fruit flies in our house.  I don't know why.  I don't know where. I don't know anything about it, really, except here they are.  And every time I remain still for more than... five minutes, there they are.  Or shall I say, there IT is.  There's this one that is constantly flying around my face, whether I'm at the computer or on the couch or in the kitchen.  Perhaps it's more than one, but I've never seen more than one at a time, so who knows.  All I know is, as I'm sitting here at the computer - and pretty much every time I sit at the computer - I feel like I have little bugs all over my body.    I just keep thinking about my friends who had fruit flies lay eggs in that little hole in the back of their bathroom sink, the one that keeps it from overflowing if you leave the water on.  This is getting ridiculous. 

alisonism #4: Let them eat cake

I like cake.  I don't love cake, and I don't feel like I need to eat cake all the time.
I like cupcakes.  I don't love cupcakes, and I don't feel like I need to eat cupcakes all the time.

Here's the alisonism: I feel like cake and cupcakes each have their own place.  In my opinion, sometimes one is more appropriate than another.  But here's my main thing.  As pretty or as fun as cupcakes can be, I believe that wedding cakes...

here

and birthday cakes - especially for first birthdays - 

here

just need to be cakes and not cupcakes.

here

here

Babysitters Club

I was just reading a friend's blog and she said a place was like a storybook.  I thought she said Stonybrook. Yes, I read practically the whole Baby-sitters Club series.  But in the book, it's actually spelled Stoneybrook.

Confessions of a Shopaholic: Review

As per a recommendation by a guy at work, Joel and I 

decided to watch this movie tonight.  This is my review.

I thought it was really good!  Okay, granted, the plot was kind of weird.  I am not a shopaholic, and if that's how they really think, that was a new and kind of weird insight for me.  But I liked the plot anyway :)  But this is my favorite part and the real reason I'm writing this review:

It's kind of a romantic comedy...

and it's rated PG.

Yes, PG.  Not PG-13.  Not R.  Not anything but PG.  

Now let's talk about me and romantic comedies/chick flicks.  

I like them.  I think they're fun and funny and cute.  

But if it's PG-13 (which most are), you can count on there being at least one scene.

"Oh, it's such a good movie! but there's one scene..."

One of those scenes.

--> I never get to see the chick flicks I want to see because more than I want to see the movie, 

I don't want to see that scene.  It always ruins the rest of the movie for me.  

But when I get to see them, I do enjoy chick flicks.  

Now let's get back to the review.

The main character and her boss fall in love with each other, and there are two scenes where they kiss.  These scenes are 100% appropriate and last an appropriate amount of time.  They don't get super-excessive.  They don't keep those scenes on for more than like, 15 seconds.  And there are absolutely ZERO inappropriate jokes.  Also, as you may have deduced, there are no uncomfortable scenes.  And not only that, but there are absolutely ZERO implications of uncomfortable scenes.  None of this, "Well, they never show anything, but you know what happens."  I hate those, too.  Summary: The movie is kind of a romantic comedy - as in, it contains both of those elements, romance and comedy - but it definitely focuses more on the actual story than on the romance part, and I really liked that.

So although it was kind of a weird plot and I don't know if normally I would buy this movie, 

the fact that it can be fun and funny and cute AND clean makes me want to buy it.  

Just to give my couple dollars of support.  

Because even though I don't have a very big voice in terms of the media,

I still like to throw out my two cents every once in a while.

Harry Potter 3

It just kills me how close they get to finally being happy before Lupin transforms.  It could've been so happy! :(  Poor Sirius and Lupin and Harry and everybody.  Dumb Pettigrew.  Nobody likes you, Peter.  Or you, Fenrir.

And also, the description of the dementors' faces when they're trying to perform the kiss gives me chills and makes me want to throw up.  Putrid.