Day 1: Book 1.

Alright, so a few alterations need to be made to yesterday's post. Instead of just picking five moments from all of the books, I've decided to pick one moment from each book, so seven moments. One for every day until the premier of Deathly Hallows part II!!

So, Sorcerer's Stone.

I already told you my first encounter with this film: Chelsea McClellan's house, sleepless nights, addictive reading, yadda yadda yadda. But my favorite part...

"'It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible...

After all, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Chapter 12

Ooh... chills. It kills me how applicable quotes can be to my life. Seriously, how many of us get so caught up in what we wish to be and forget who we actually are? I know I do. I spend so much of my life daydreaming, and then I get frustrated with myself for not actually putting my dreams into action.

I could've used an Albus Dumbledore as my headmaster in high school. Coach Yancey just didn't cut it for me.

Joyful Harry.

RIP Hedwig.

Hermione Granger: To know her is to love her.

The thriving three themselves.

Stick around for Chamber O' Secrets!

Clumsy Kim.

A blog post in which I whine about the conclusion of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Ahhhh, Harry Potter love stories. We've all got one. We can all remember the first time we read Sorcerer's Stone, saw Daniel Radcliffe, cried for Harry's sake. We all can.

I can distinctly remember my love affair with Harry Potter. I'm not going to try and compete with you over who loves Harry Potter more or who would score the highest on a trivia quiz. I am, however, going to give you a brief synopsis of what Harry has meant to me.

So. From the beginning. I actually saw Sorcerer's Stone before I read the book. I was in third grade, and I was spending the night at Chelsea McClellan's house. She fell asleep during the movie, but I stayed awake, enthralled by this magical land of "witchcraft and wizardry." I remember that I couldn't sleep that night; I was terrified by Voldemort's bodiless spirit and tortured by what would become of Harry. I've loved Daniel Radcliffe from the start, and I've wanted to be Emma Watson ever since.

I started reading soon after that. It didn't take long for me to become immersed in the wizarding world. I've read every book at least twice, and I know I've read the final two and Goblet of Fire at least three times. The final two books came out in mid-July, smack dab in the middle of my time at camp. I remember sneakily giving my counselors cash (like some sort of sick drug deal) so that they would buy me a copy of the book on their night off.

Harry Potter is so much more than just a "series" to me. I have never read anything that is so enthralling, so intricately developed, as the Harry Potter series. Anyone who says that the series isn't pure literature is lying. It's so much more than just a story. There is so much MEAT in those books. Themes of death, politics, and, my personal favorite, power struggle. Seriously, study that. Make a Venn Diagram comparing Voldemort to Hitler. Message me. We'll talk.

And it's not just the themes that make these books fantastic. These novels are works of art. They are so intricate. If you have followed the books since the beginning, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, there are things that JK Rowling references in her first few books that are seemingly insignificant, and, although they don't really play a major part in the later books, it is so cool to me to think that Rowling was thinking about little details like that from the very beginning. Example: The deluminator that Dumbledore gives to Ron? Yeah, he whips that little baby out in Sorcerer's Stone, first scene in the entire movie. See what I'm talkin about? SO COOL.

So, in honor of the conclusion of Harry Potter, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite HP moments. Five to be exact. Five days, five scenes or quotes.

One of my favorite quotes from the sixth book that didn't make it into the movie:

"I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."

And, since it's the first day, a quick clippy clip:

Come on, you know it's funny every time.

See you tomorrow with some more HP obsession.

Clumsy.

Hey, baby, I think I wanna marry you.

I know I've been MIA. I know you were wondering if I was still alive. But here I am now, so fret no more.

It's been a while, but that's not because I haven't had any blog worthy events or opinions or news to share. Because I have. It's because I. have. been. so. so. busy.

I can't remember a summer where my time hasn't been held hostage to countless camps and activities, a summer where I could actually "sleep all day and stay up all night" (anybody catch that Ocean Avenue allusion??). But I wouldn't spend my summers any other way than working with my very best friends at a place called Summer Show-Offs.

My best friends and co-workers. I could write a post on every single one of these amazing people. 

SSO is a camp founded by my mom that "teaches confidence and character through song and dance" (yes, that quote did come directly off the website). It's a show choir camp where every child gets a solo, and it has grown to be one of the biggest summer camps of its kind (also from the website). If you know me, you know that you can't count on me during the summer because, odds are, I'll be with the SSO staff.

When you work at a camp with 200 kids per week, you create ways to keep them entertained and kill time. So this year, my fellow counselors and I took up the art of storytelling. And trust me, it is an art.

A particularly believable story that some of my co-workers told was that I was seriously dating one of the other counselors, John, and that a marriage proposal was not far behind. Of course we took the idea too far just like we always do. We played up our "relationship" the entire week, and the tall tale ended with a proposal in front of the entire camp.

Y'all, kids are so gullible.

We had girls crying, we had kids begging to see my ring (which was really my promise ring... silver with aquamarines that could totes pass as diamonds), we had parents congratulating us... at the rate at which this news is spreading, I'm expecting wedding gifts to begin arriving in the mail next week.

It was a pretty amazing joke, if I do say so myself. I am honestly very proud that we pulled it off because I am generally pretty horrible at jokes. I must be a better actress than I thought, because I have had actual friends that actually know me look to me for reassurance that I am still single. Apparently our "engagement photos" from Facebook are extremely believable.

My "fiancee" and me. Note the strategic placement of my ring finger.

Being "engaged" has gotten me thinking, though. I've caught the bug. It's kind of fun to imagine being with the same person for your entire life. It's fun to think about having children, starting another life with someone that you love unconditionally. Which is something that has always been terrifying to me.

But honestly, I don't really want to be engaged. Right now, at least. That is sooooo far away for me. I've got about ten years worth of things to accomplish before I settle down and get married. As nice as it would be to know who the person that I'll spend the better part of my life with is... As nice as it would be to know what I want to be "when I grow up." To know who I am. To feel secure.

But what about my life is ever planned? What about my life is ever certain? What about anybody's life, for that matter? Because just when we think we've got it figured out, just when we become comfortable is when God pulls the rug out from under our feet and says, "No, no, no, you are not in control here. This is my turf."

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil." Proverbs 1:33

My plans will just have to wait. This agenda is all God's.

Clumz.

The sons of Mumford and the songs of Brandi (cont.)

Alright, since I got a little bit carried away yesterday on my music blog, I decided to carry over (like in addition). Heaven forbid a single blog post would be too long to hold your attention; I wish to be everything but boring.

So. Brandi.

I've loved Brandi Carlile for a while now. There's just something about her music that really hits home for me. At first I only listened to her for her lyrics (and because of my somewhat obsessive affinity for female singer-songwriters). I didn't really like her voice that much, because every time I listened, it kind of hurt me inside. I thought, "There is no way that singing like that is actually good for her." She's an excellent musician and song-writer, but as a vocalist... it just didn't do it for me.

My opinion has changed. Quite a bit.

First of all, her vibrato. At first, I thought it was over the top. It's a little bit on the shaky side, but now, as improper as it may be, I kinda sorta love it. It's something that's different from every other singer out there, and it's absolutely beautiful.

Second of all, her range. It's not an obnoxious belty range, but she has immaculate control over her voice. She can belt without making it sound like belting. It's loud, but it's not simply noise.

Third, and most importantly of all, her lyrics. I am still trying to figure out Brandi's writing style. One minute it's deep and philosophical ("I don't think you ever learned a thing from me/but I'm sure that you want me to learn from you/and you've drawn heavy handed lines around morality/about yourself and I don't share your point of view"-I Will), and the next it's raw and simple ("And nothing you could do could make me turn my back on you/when you're lookin for a friend/I'm your man/when you need a friend/you got my hand"-If There Was No You).

Oh, and about the album. It's AWESOME. As if acoustic Brandi wasn't good enough. Add a full symphony, and you've got a folk singer-songwriter concert gone Broadway play. It's like nothing I've ever heard before. On a lot of songs, the orchestra bows out and lets Brandi do her thing on the guitar, but those violins and trumpets and all that jazz just add so much to the album.

Check out these tracks from the album:

I just really love her. She's deep, she's raw, she sings about things that are relatable. Not just love, but friendship, life, her dreams. You can tell that her music is really personal to her, and that "for her, love is the axis around which everything else turns, whether coming or going, long-lost or firmly rooted" (paste magazine's review). (I have no idea how to cite things via blog, I just didn't want to attempt to pass off that well-written sentence as my own. It doesn't even flow well.)

OH! And totally off subject, but the bloggerson has a new feature! If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, you'll see a little box inside which there is a place where you can subscribe to my blog via EMAIL!! How great is that?? Cause google accounts are lame, and I know that very few of the people that read my blog actually have them, and EVERYBODY has an email address (despite how little they check it). I hope that this new feature will encourage you to check your email more often. Hey, maybe I'm even doing you a favor. I know that you hate to get on your aol account and see
5 billion emails from facebook and random stores on whose lists you never even wanted to be. Maybe now you'll check it often enough to actually delete those emails. So, subscribe. It brightens my day to see new followers. It really does. Especially if you're from Europe. That's super cool.

Good night, internet.

The sons of Mumford and the songs of Brandi.

Wow guys. There really is just so much good music out there. I have so much admiration for the people that write and sing their own songs. There's something that makes singer-songwriter music so much better than singers that simply perform music written by others. No matter how hard they try, singers that sing songs written by others can never fully express the emotion felt by the one who wrote the song. And that's what makes self-written and produced music so great... it comes directly from the heart of the performer.

Whoa. Major rabbit trail. But I just love music.

I really wanted to talk about two musicians/bands: Mumford and Sons and Brandi Carlile.

Every summer when my family goes to the beach, I beg them to make a special trip to Seaside for me so that I can spend some time at one of my favorite places in the world: Sundog Books and Central Square records. My two favorite things, reading and music, smushed into one cute, beachy, artsy, cabin-like shop at the heart of Seaside. AWESOME. I can literally spend hours in that one little house. And every year, I make it a point to go out on a limb and buy a cd (or tw) that I wouldn't normally buy so that I can look super cool and artsy to the people that work at Central Square (They love me. You should've seen the owner when I purchased the Fiona Apple album at 15. He was shocked that such a peppy, blonde child could have enough angst inside of her that she would be led to purchase a Fiona Apple cd. (I didn't have any angst at all. Whatsoever. I was just attempting to appear enlightened). But this summer, I went to Seaside TWICE so I bought TWO cds! Mumford and Sons' Sigh No More and Brandi Carlile's live album from Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony.

1. Mumforddddddd. Guys, I know I'm a little late on this craze, but just bear with me. The album was released in October of 2009, but to be fair, their music didn't hit the US til February 2010. And, in my defense, at the time of this release, I was a naive little high school sophomore. My maturity was that of a... well, a high school sophomore, and my music taste was still being formed.


Back to Mumford. I just love this album. Marcus Mumford is absolutely fantastic. I watched a few of their lie performances, and you can tell that he has so much passion for the songs that he sings he can hardly contain it. It's similar to the Avett Brothers, but less screamy. There are times when Mumford's voice sounds as if it's about to break into sobs, and there are times when his voice is nothing less than a growl of anger. The lyrics are strangely spiritual ("In these bodies we will live/in these bodies we will die/where you invest your love/you invest your life/Awake my soul/you were made to meet your maker" (Awake My Soul) and "Love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you/it will set you free/be more like the man you were made to be" ( Sigh No More)) and sensitive ("Tell me now where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart" (White Blank Page)). that I love about this album is the perfect blend of acoustic music and the sound of a full band. There is nothing hollow about this cd, it doesn't sound as if anything is missing. It's not just a simple combination of a guitar and a banjo, but it also includes a little keyboard and trumpet. And the tight, yet occasionally harsh harmonies just add to the blend. The final a capella chorus of "Little Lion Man" is out of this world.

Not to mention I'm a sucker for British men in winter clothes and canoes.

This is probably one of my favorite songs on the album.

Alright, Brandi will just have to wait til tomorrow. I got carried away on Mumford.

Where have you gone?

Where have you gone
with your confident
walk with
your crooked smile

why did you leave me
when you took your
laughter
and departed
are you aware that
with you
went the sun
all light
and what few stars
there were?

Where have you gone
with your confident
walk your
crooked smile the
rent money
in one pocket and
my heart
in another . . .


Mari Evans.


I know that I don't normally post poetry or lyrics or anything like that, but this is just so beautiful. Love this.

Vocabulary lesson.

Dwell:

1. To live or stay as a permanent resident, reside

2. To live or continue in a given condition or state

3. To linger on, emphasize, or ponder in thought, speech or writing (often followed by on or upon)

Let's focus on definition number 3.

Something that I've struggled with lately is regret. Well, not exactly regret; more like thinking about the past (because I have one now that I've graduated) and thinking about how it could have been different. What I could have said to salvage a friendship, what I could have done to prolong a relationship. Where I went wrong, or how in the world I was lucky enough to go right. You get the gist. 

But this regret, this dwelling, has recently caused me to become distracted from the present and, more importantly, the future. Because I am unable to let go of things that happened in the past, I am unable to focus on and become excited about my future. A chapter of my life has ended, but I'm physically unable to turn the page and begin the next.

God has so many incredible things planned for those of us who are in his will. I have faith that my future has just as much promise as did my past, and it is this hope that keeps me going. Because how terrible is the thought that the best days of my life have already passed me by? But I know that they have not, and I praise God for that assurance. 

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19

"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure." Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.


I know, I'm killing you with all this Jane Austen. But this quote is perfect for this post, and it seemed like too good of a closing statement to let it pass me by just because it's repetitive.


Clumzzz.