Why I cannot read Harry Potter

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a Harry Potter addict. And not the least bit ashamed. (It is even the wallpaper on my computer!) I have read all 6 books that are out at least 3 times each and have seen the four movies that are out at lease 20 times each (I've seen the 4th one about that many times in the past week alone!-I have Elisabeth hooked as well). I currently own all the books and movies. I plan on pre-ordering book #7 and will be seeing the midnight showing of movie #5 on July 13-opening day. I'll likely be wearing a Harry Potter T-shirt (go ahead and laugh, I'm still not ashamed!). If your interested in seeing the trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, check out the site...http://www2.warnerbros.com/orderofthephoenix/. Anyways...moving on to why I cannot read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Shortly after Christmas I was given the first 4 books on hardback. Shortly after that I decided to go back and read them all before the next movie and book come out (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-book #7 comes out July 21, 2007). I have made my way to #4. Well, tonight I was trying to find a stopping point and wanted to see how close page 300 was to the end of a chapter. And that's where my problem began. My copy does not have a page 300. In fact it does not have pages 275-306. It skips from the middle of chapter 17 to the middle of chapter 18. Looks like I have to find a new stopping point and wait for the publisher to get back to me on how to get a replacement with all the pages. I wonder if I could make any money selling the screwed up one.....hmmmm....So, that is why I cannot read Harry Potter. It's a shame too because I planned on getting it done by the end of next week so I can move onto #5. Looks like I'll just have to stick to the movies for now. even though I've got them all memorized and can recite them without it playing....sad, I know, but that's my life.

5 Year Plan

For those of you who really know me have heard all about 5 years plans....probably more than you've wanted to actually. You may skip this paragraph....the rest of you, here's a simple explanation. I am a firm believer that everyone needs to have some sort of goals and a plan on how to achieve these goals. I also think that you must still be able to be flexible about your goals and be realistic to the fact that very few will ever achieve everything they set out to do; and that is ok. I call my set of goals my "5 year plan" because it takes time to reach goals and I like to give myself some lee-way with them. It is also a long term plan for my life broken into short term objectives.
I first made a 5 year plan when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. Well guess what....that was 5 years ago. Hard to believe, but it was. I achieved some of the things on that plan, others I didn't come close to. Here's a brief rundown of my previous plan....ACHIEVED: get my bachelor's degree, find a full time well paying job with benefits, move out of my parent's house (pretty much to be self-sufficient). NOT ACHIEVED: get married, buy a house, lose the weight I knew I was bound to gain.
I feel like I achieved the most important things. Although, I wish the married one had been achieved. You'll notice that some of the unachieved items will making another appearance in my new 5 year plan-with some modifications.
So, here it is. The big 5 year plan. My goals for the next 5 (or so) years. I'm actually setting these goals until the end of the year 2012, which is a few weeks after I turn 30 (YIKES) and Elisabeth turns 10. Here it goes. (side note, I reserve the right to add, delete, and modify and and all parts of this within the next 5 years)

1. Get my Master's Degree-I am currently looking at Social Psychology with a strong look at victims.
2. Write a book. (I know, this seems so off the wall, but I love to write and have seriously thinking about a book. I don't even care if it gets published, I just want to write one!)
3. Be in at least one serious relationship ( I have realized my dreams of being married in the next 5 years are as unrealistic as my dreams of being married in the last 5 years, so I'm not even shooting for that anymore!)
4. Find a church that I love and become involved in it. (Harder than most people think-especially those who know how critical I am of things.)
5. Run a marathon. (Erin and Hanz, I'm gonna need your help here!)
6. Go to DisneyWorld with Elisabeth. (I went when I was 17 and loved it, I want Elisabeth to go when she is still young)
7. Take a pottery class-or any kind of make it with my hands type class, but I've always liked the things you can make with clay. (Delilah, this is where you come in!)
8. Re-learn my passion for playing music. (It's been a long time since I've really played and loved it...I play the flute by the way.)
9. Find a charity organization that i really believe in and become active in it.
10. Put together a collection of poetry book. Poems that I have written and that friends have written. (So start emailing me your poems everyone!)

For now, that is all. But like I said, I reserve the right to change it at any time in the next 5 years.
I challenge everyone to think about what they would like to accomplish in the next 5 year. Or even 2 or 3 years. It's best to write it down somewhere so you can look along the way and see how close you are to some and how much you really no longer even want to accomplish others. It's something you keep to yourself or share with others, either way, it's a starting point and a good way of looking deep into yourself and finding out what it is that you want to do.
Until next time......what's your 5 year plan?

Fundraiser for American Cancer Society!

Come out and support PraiZ and the American Cancer Society! Refreshments will be availeble at the event for a small charge (hey, we're trying to raise money here, we have to charge for stuff!). Any questions, just ask! It's going to be a great time and I hope to see everyone there! Pass this along to everyone you know! Thanks.

Movie Review #1

The Village....

I know, this movie has been out for awhile. When it first came out, all I heard was that the twist at the end was horrible. But, I like horror movies and M. Night Shyamalan, so I wanted to give it a try.....BIG mistake. I wasted an hour and a half or so of my life for the biggest let down ever. It wasn't even scary. I wanted to turn it off because quite frankly, it sucked from the beginning, but I was too curious to know what the "big twist" was. Ok, that wasn't a twist, it was a poor plot change. I expected so much more from that movie. No one got ripped to pieces, tortured, or even came close. Considering they referred to the creatures as those they do not speak of; they sure did speak an awful lot about them . And they were a joke. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who wants to see it, so I'm not going to say what the twist is. I do want to hear what other people who have seen it (or who are now so curious that they are going to go get it from the library, because its not worth the $2 to rent it) have to say about it. But please, don't say what the ending was for those who haven't seen it. I rate this movie thumbs down; F-.....please don't ever remake it. If it didn't work the first time, there's no hope for it working in 20 years. Well, that all.
Say tuned for my Five year plan coming soon to this blog. For those who know me, you know exactly what I am talking about. The rest of you will soon find out mot only my five year plan, but what a five year plan is and why everyone should have one. Talk to you all soon!

I know me all too well

So, my daily projects aren't going as planned...But I honestly knew that to begin with! I still have half of my two bedrooms in my house set up and a stack of clothes folded and on my living room floor begging to be put in drawer! Or even in a basket. I even still have a load in the dryer. Nothing like walking all the way through the house after a shower to get some underwear. Oh the fun of it!
There is a reason for all of my projects not getting done. For one thing, I worked 12 1/2 hours yesterday on less than 3 hours of interrupted sleep. And it was a CRAZY day! I dealt with my first house fire. Luckily no one was hurt, but I'm not sure how bad the house ended up. I also stayed at my mom's one night. She really doesn't like staying there alone. Elisabeth stayed with her last night, and she tried to convince us to stay again tonight. Even thought I didn't get those projects done, I did find the perfect piece of artwork for my living room wall and some lamps that match my curtains. I'm finally starting to make this place feel more like a home. Decorating kinda sucks though sometimes. I don't always hang things straight the first time. And by the time I get around to punching holes in my walls, it's like midnight and I don't think the neighbors would like that all too much.
I did decide to take some time off work in a couple weeks. I have 5 days off in a row, starting April 14 and going through the 18th. I'm going to a BINGO event on the 16th for Relay for Life. I'm excited. Not that I ever win at BINGO, I just like the thrill of playing. And saying BINGO.....But you kinda have to win to say it or else people get mad. I also decided to take Elisabeth on a mini vacation. So, I booked us a room over night from the 17-18 at Cast Away Bay in Sandusky. It's that hotel with an indoor water park. It's run by Cedar Point, and it has an arcade, the Peanuts characters, and different daily attractions. I think we'll love it. The best part is that they have a child care area that you can put your kid in so you can go enjoy a massage or a facial or something. Yay! I can't wait. We're gonna go out and get Elisabeth a new bathing suit for the trip. She loves the water and it has so many different water areas and slides and stuff. I'm excited. I'll post pics after we get back! If you're interested, check it out at www.castawaybay.com. We're staying in a Dolphin room (the cheapest) and on a weekday, so it wasn't that bad. The hotel price includes entrance to the water park. It'll be nice to get away to someplace for a couple days. And this is perfect since we both love the water so much.
Well, for now that is all. Tomorrow I am giving a movie review. Something I think I'm gonna start doing weekly if possible. I joined Netflix, so I'll be watching a lot of movies that I've wanted to see and never got to see. So, I think I'll start reviewing them for people and hearing other people's thoughts and opinions on them. That'll be fun. Anyways...To bed for me. Talk to you later! Bye and GoodNight!