In Vino Veritas

I'm becoming a YouTube Whore.

When mom and I saw this preview before the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix it didn't have the little scene in the begining that compares The Golden Compass to The Lord of the Rings. But the second we saw the alethiometer we gasped and grabbed each others arm.

I didn't even know they were making this into a movie!

And Nicole Kidman will be an awesome Ms. Coulter.

I loved this routine!

The judges said that they didn't understand it, but they didn't feel like they had to. I loved it. I thought they were piano keys, and the dance was about pauses.

I am so my mother's daughter.

Things that are making me well up right now...

It's so romantic...

Just the thought of it. It's the last one, and in a little while all the fun speculation will be over. I don't want Harry to die. Or Ron. Or Hermione. Or Neville. Or Ginny. Or anyone, except Voldemort.

I can't really explain why. This song brings up layers and layers of emotions in me.

Because the 5th one always does.

Mrs. Marlaire and her Gaggle

My friend Heather got married in San Diego last weekend. She is the first out of all my close friends to get married, and I am very happy for her. She's wanted this since I first met her my sophmore year of college, but she wouldn't settle for anything less than true love that would last a lifetime, and I think she's found it. I only just met Colin this weekend, and only for a few minutes, but I liked him immediately. He laughed at all us gaggle being crackheads when we introduced ourselves, and he seemed happy to meet us.

Speaking of being crackheads, we should call ourselves the gaggle of crackheads. We were one of the loudest groups at the reception, and everyone was perfectly aware ofhow much fun we were having. We were the only people who threw someone in the pool. We made fishy faces in our pictures for no reason at all, and I took pictures of Christine "with the flowers." Most pictures are too rediculous to post for outside viewing, but here are some of my favorites.

Honorary Welsh Girl Hears the Mothership

I found this pen in my notebook yesterday, and I have no idea how it got there. I have never seen it before in my life.

The other side of the pen reads: www.studyintheuk.org. I have already done that. And it may be pure coincidince, but my time in Wales was such an important time in my life, that I feel like the sudden and inexplicalbe presence of this pen in my life means something.

Maybe it's trying to give me direction. When I was in Wales I was completely confused about myself and my place in the world. I was lost and lonely, but I was accomplishing a goal that I had my entire life. I was living abroad. I was studying abroad. I was traveling to Italy. I was falling in love in a foregin country. So while I was a little lost hobbit on a crazy adventure most of the time, there was such importance and purpose behind my life that in a strange way I felt romantically fulfilled. I could have given Wordsworth a run for his money.

Maybe I'm just supposed to focus on saving for and planning my next trip abroad. Maybe I am supposed to focus on my writing. Maybe I am supposed to work harder at making a career out of my writing.

I have no idea where I am going with this post other than this: a symbol of a very important part of my life has surfaced lately, and I think it is trying to tell me something.

*** "Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkein ***

It's going to be a hat.

Hopefully I'll finish it on the journey down I-5 for Heather's San Diego wedding this weekend. If I do, I will have sucessfully fullfilled my one and only New Years Resolution: to learn how to knit a hat.

I love this yarn. Pink, purple, and sparkle, why wouldn't I? It's right up my alley. The colors remind me of the color of Aurora's dresses in Sleeping Beauty as the fairies take turns changing the color of her dress. "Make it pink! Make it blue!" When my aunt and I watched that movie when I was a kid, I would make it pink and she would make it blue. The word Aurora runs through my mind as these beautiful bright jewel tones slide over my needles and loop into this hat. I am also making a flower to attach to the side. This is definitely going to be a bold hat, but I think at least I will like it.

I have a similar yarn in green tones and I plan to make another hat with that yarn. The colors remind me of a mermaid tale. Maybe like Ariel's.

I think I have a weird Disney theme haunting my knitting right now.

Oh, and the words scrawled across my hat represent my forage into the world of Adobe Photoshop. I think I need to take a class to learn to use it properly.

Daphne, I adore you!

As promised, here are pics of Niles and Daphne, Marissa's cats. They are named after characters on Fraiser, so I like to play around with quotes from the show while I am playing with/ talking to them.

I proclaim "Daphne, I adore you!" as Niles did to Daphne in the infamous red dress episode.

It's also fun to shout "Niiiiles!" in a booming, urgent voice the way Fraiser does during an episode around the time Niles and Daphne start dating.

I think it's so appropriate that Daphne is hiding in the back of this photo. She's very skittish and quite shy, but she's slowly warming up to me.

New Camera

While everyone else is busy buying fancy new models of expensive cameras, I seem to have regressed. I have a big old, clunky, stupidly heavy Nikon D1X that takes great pictures, but I decided that I wanted a little "throw in my purse" type camera that I can take on nights out on the town, to work, and anywhere else that I don't want to take "the monster." ANd since Heather's wedding is next weekend and the battery for my Nikon still isn't working, I figured now would be a good time to get one. So here it is. My silly little Kodak EasyShare that I am already having loads of fun with.

Fourth of July Ghost

Lots of people think that low light pictures with blurry light lines are dumb, but I love them. This one looks almost like a ghost playing with fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Sometimes Fish are HUGE!!! Like tuna...

Something Fishy in Monterey

With the windows down...

Tasteless Paris Hilton Jokes

Here I am, practicing my Paris Hilton pose on Alcatraz.

(Not-so) Yummy Coffee on Alcatraz

What happens when I get hungry...

Perhaps one of my greatest faults, or at least annoyances to other people, is my blood sugar level. It drops suddenly, with maybe a two second warning, and it is not pretty. I get cranky, mean, tired... and I take it out on the person closest to me.

My poor friends and family.

My new resolution is this: keep snacks with me at all times. Trail mix is the best idea. The nuts have protein for long term energy and the chocolate and dried fruits give instant sugar energy. At least the mix will give me enough energy to make it to the next deli or smoothie place.

My new roomie!

Meet Marissa, my new roomate. I also have two other new roomates named Daphne and Niles. Niles is grey and looks like he is wearing a suit all the time. Daphne is striped and hides under the bed all day. Niles and Daphne are cats, clearly, but Marissa is definitely human.

Living with Marissa is really fun. She always puts cups back in the cup cupboard, and she buys lots of magazines that she lets me read.

Pics of Daphne and Niles coming as soon as my battery is fixed!

I rock so hard.

There's nothing better than browsing a website that has published your work only to stumble across an article that the EDITOR wrote praising your story.

Check it out.

I rock so hard.

Momma and Baby Love

Sooo Seattle.

Me in My House.

This is the first house I ever lived in.

When Ashley and I visited Seattle recently, I took him to see it. My dad rents it out now, and we just happened to visit it while it was between tenants (new people were moving in a few days later), so I felt perfectly guilt-free taking invasive photos of one of the cutest little houses I have ever been in.

The structure of my house (I call it that, even though it's not really mine. But in all of Seattle, it's the house that feels closest to mine), is in awesome shape. They put new carpet and new applicances in recently, and all the things that are expensive/difficult to fix look like they are in good shape. However, the lawn needs some serious weeding and manicuring, and the outdoor paint could use a spicier coat of love. Over-all, though, I am pleased with the way the house is holding up.

There are a lot of windows in this house, a situation which offered lots of cool self portrait photo-ops. In this pic, I am looking through the back door and you can almost see through the front window of the house. The white building you see in the window is the renovated garage. It's a perfect little artists studio/office/whatever that really gives this teeny tiny house a little something extra.

I love this house, and I love that Ashley loved it too. I only hope that it makes it back to me one day.

I am afraid of hippos.

This may sound strange, but I used to be terrified of the hippos at the Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) when I was a little girl. Wierd, considering my favorite animals as a kid were lions. And really, which animal do you think would pose a greater threat if I were to run into the two out in the wild?

None-the-less, hippos used to terrify me. I think it was the way they would just sort of popup from underwater, with absolutely no notice. Or maybe I thought I would fall into their pond. Or maybe I realized, after seeing one yawn, that a hippo could easily swallow my three-foot tall, little girl body whole.

There was a collage of large, smooth rocks that I used to play on while we visited the hippo exhibit at the zoo. They were far enough from the pond where I knew I wouldn't have to worry about falling in, and they were a pleasant distractiont. Pleasant, that is, until someone pointed out to me that they kind of looked like giant hippos, rising out of the water.

This picture, with my mock-Macauly Culkin scream face, shows how I have overcome my fear of hippos. I think I've realized that they can't swallow my new, 5'3", womanly body whole.

It would take more like two gulps.

Hello, I'm a Monk Fish!

The Flying Fish Stand in Pike Place Market, Seattle.

Something Cool

I did a photo shoot for my friend Nicolette and her jazz trio. These were my two favorite shots.

We're Okay!

This is my favorite picture from the white water rafting trip I went on with Ashley and his friends Ali, Diyana, and Ali. We took this picture when we were back in Chico after an over night trip rafting down the Trinity River. One of the first things our guides taught us to do in the safety instructional they taught us before we started rafting was what to do if you fall out of the raft. First, obeviously, try to grab on to the raft. If you get seperated from the boat, look for your guide. He will pat his head to ask if you are ok. If you are ok, you're supposed to pat your head back. If you are not ok, you're supposed to make a cross with your arms.

We all made it back from the Trinity River Rafting Trip "ok," so we decided to document our state with a clever photo.

***For the record, I didn't fall out of the raft once in the entire trip. In fact, Ali is the only one who fell out during the entire trip. However, the first time we went down Hell Hole, everyone in my raft did fall into the center of the boat while a giant rapid washed over us.

She drinks a whiskey drink, she drinks a vodka drink. She drinks a lager drink, she drinks a cider drink.

She sings the songs that remind her of the good times, she sings the songs that remind her of the better times.
-Tubthumping, Chumbawumba

A little while ago I announced my plan to save money so I can go visit Wales next summer. Well, scratch that plan. Or rather, warp speed that plan. I'm going over Christmas instead.

I've developed a strategic economic plan (a.k.a., a budget). I'm saving money from my weekly columns with Potrero, my comission from the winery, and money from assistant photography work during wedding season. I'll also be throwing in tips I recieve along the way, but I don't have a particular savings plans for my tips.

I made $9 in tips today, and announced to everyone I was working with that I could officially buy two drinks at a pub in Wales (I'll take the vodka drink and the cider drink, please). The $9 are tucked safely in a tupperwear under my bed (no one rob me, please).

It's so much fun to let people know about my goal and keep them posted on the rate of my sucess. I feel like people are excited for me, which makes saving money so much fun. I love striving to reach a goal! I plan on making a little poster to help keep track of my savings volume.

There are a few road blocks in my way. I have to pay of my credit card and pay for my trip to San Diego for Heather's wedding before I can start throwing significant hunks of money in my savings account. So in other words, the saving process may start off slow, but it will snowball once my other financial commitments are taken care of.

In my next Welsh Savings Account Blog I will start brainstorming my travel plans.

Wish me luck!


The Plan

Total Savings Goal: $2,200

Total Savings So Far: $9

Amount Left To Save:$2,191

As Of Today:
One American Dollar = .50 British Pound



Photo from: http://www.d12world.com/board/showthread.php?p=3604052

Am I a total dork for thinking this is sooo cute?

Yes, I am.

I got bangs! My hair is so "now."

I got my hair cut and colored today! Linh from Teasing Ceasar does my hair and she always does a great job. I love the color of my hair (I'd say it's definitely auburn!) and I love how my hair looks with all the dead ends clipped off the bottom. And of course, there are the bangs to think of as well. I haven't had bangs since 6th grade and they looked horrid at that time. But bangs are "in" now, and I decided that if Rory from Gilmore GIrls looked cute with them, I probably would too. After all, it's just hair. Linh was glad I chose to cut them (I waited until the last minute to make my final decision).

It took three hours for 3 highlight/lowlight colors and a cut. Linh always forgets how much hair I have until she's about half way through my highlights and it seems like she should be done already.

I'm lovin' it. Linh said my hair went from hippie to hip today.

Bonus points for anyone who knows what movie I quoted for the title of this blog. Extra bonus points for those who can find another movie quote (from a different movie) within the text.

A Mush Mush Entry

There are so many things I love about this guy.

5. Um, hello, can we SAY Welsh accent? So hot!

4. His eyes are Clark Kent blue.

3. He has the greatest smile.

2. He has a wonderful sense of integrity.

1. He's the most honest person I have ever known, but he is not offensively honest. He expresses his opinion and examines his feelings truthfully, but he has a wonderful knack for being polite at the same time. He is uncompromisingly and kindly Ashley at all times.

(If he is reading this right now, he's thinking "Ok, what's wrong with you?" the way he does any time I get super mushy)

But the thing I have discovered about love recently is this. I can list off dozens of things I love about him; I can name things he does or has done, characteristics he has, the way he does things, and the way he looks, but I can't tell you why I love him. I think that's part of the magic of love. Maybe that's where the phrase "you can't choose who you love" comes in.

I am only glad that I didn't choose to love someone so wonderful.


***Bonus reason***
I always feel like he loves me.

Top Five Things I Am Looking Forward to This Summer

My sweetheart is leaving me come mid-June. Well, not really leaving me, but flying back home to Wales. Whenever I get upset about that, I try to think of all the cool things that are happening this summer.

1. Ashley and I are going to Seattle in the end of May!
2. Marissa is moving in with me in June!
3. Heather's Wedding in July!
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release in July!
5. Lots and lots of money from busy season at work. Time to start saving for some travel adventures!

This is fun!

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Melodrama

I sincerely identify with the way Bridget Jones over reacts to and over analyzes every little bit of her life. I certainly have been lately, so I felt the need to show this appropriate melo-dramatic spoof trailer as an example of my current state.

My Lifetime Goals (preliminary draft)

Ashley and I have been having lenghty discussions about our individual life goals lately. In response to the confusion I have been about what I want to do with my life, he suggested that I make a list of my goals. From this list, I hope to gain focus, direction, and a faint clue as to what I should do next! : ) Some categories are very precise because I know exactly what I want from them, but others are less clear. Though I know I want each goal I have listed to be a part of my life, I don't know the details on how I want each of them to work out.

Here is my current list:

1.Get Married.
Have a loving, healthy, happy, and committed marriage with the love of my life.

2.Have Children.
Have 2-3 kids within my marriage (see above). Adoption is an option, but I would love to carry my children if possible.

3.Have a Career.
Enjoy and take pride in the work I do. Work in a creative profession. Enjoy my workplace envirnment.

4.Be financially Sound.
Practice good financial habits in order to provide for my family and help us do the thigs we want to do in life (buy a home, travel, pay for college, etc.).

5.Create A Home.
Buy a home. Create an environment that my kids want to invite their friends to. Express myself artistically and creatively in the house. Maintain a resonably well organized house.

6.Be Healthy.
Maintain a hppy, healthy, and attractive body.

7.Live Internationally.
At least one more time! : )

8.Travel.
Travel experiences I wish to take part in include, but certainly aren't limited to the following:
African Safari, Australia, Hawaii (snorkeling and coffee plantation), Washington D.C. (Holocaust Museum), Prince Edward Island, Prague, Amsterdam, Aushwitz, The Wall of China, Kyoto and Tokyo, The Northern Lights, Amish Country...

9.Write a Book.
The details are still fuzzy on this one.

Getting excited!

Fashion (turn to the left) Fashion (turn to the right)

"My rule of thumb is always wear what you want, when you want. That will create your own personal style and that is fashion to me"

-Betsy Johnson

I found this quote in blog-land today and it reminded me of how I used to view my relation to fashion in the pre-What not to Wear/The Girls Next Door/America's Next Top Model/The Search for the Next Pussy-Cat Doll days. Ah, simpler times.

I think I watch too much T.V.

Skinny

You know what's better that stepping on the scale and discovering that you have actually lost a few pounds?

Looking in the mirror and looking like you lost a few pounds, regardless of what the scale says.

We miss our Star Girl

I am sad to announce that my dog, Star, passed away late last Thursday night. She and one of her friends (another dog named Zara) got into a container of snail bait, and ended up poisoning themselves. Daisy, their other doggy friend, didn't eat any of the bait, so she's just fine. A little confused and lonely, but fine.

Star was a very sweet dog. She wagged her whole rear end when she wagged her tail. She had curly hair on her ears that resembled pigtails, and spots on her nose that reminded me of freckles. She was our Star Girl, our Dog Star constellation, and we will miss her loads.

Splash

AMC has been playing one of my childhood favorite movies a lot lately: Splash. Beth and I watched this movie ad-nosiem when we were little. Since I've been catching little bits of it on TV lately, I've begun to realize how this movie has seeped into my adult life, especially events that have happened within the last year.

Hair crimping. While everyone is busy stairghtening their hair, I am crimping mine, a'la Darryl Hannah.

Mermaid Costume. I was a mermaid for Halloween this year.

Tom Hanks. Ah, Tom Hanks. Ever the noble, goofy, cute (in his younger years) and awesomely talented actor. He's been my favorite actor ever since I was a kid. And he's totally the type of guy I fall for.

The Story. When you look at the story all symbolically and Jaime-like, this story is about discovering how far you would go for love. Though I doubt I will have to committ to living my life under water in the name of love, the possibility of leaving my home for love is there.

A Promised Adventure

I ran into a trio of people a few days ago that lit an inspired fire within me.

Three people walked into a winery I was visiting: two guys and a girl. I could tell the guys were British the second they walked in the door. They had tousled, just slightly tousled hair, and were wearing polished looking sweaters. The kicker? One guy was wearing a scarf in typical British/European fashion: folded in half, then looped through it's self around the neck. The two guys spoke, and their posh English accents confirmed it.

I asked where they were from. They told me, but I was too excited to even really hear what they said. I found out that one of the guys was living in Seattle (the girl lived there too). I told them I spent a year in Swansea and they were actually excited about it. One guy laughed and said "how'd you end up there?" I also told them I was from Seattle, and I felt like we were all excited about our location connections. It was so fun to have them respond so enthusiastically; usually the British rest on their reserve sides when I talk about Swansea, but these guys were excited with me.

And we all liked the same wines we were tasting too. I joked that we could all share a bottle of wine together. I was kind of serious, though. I wanted to follow them home!

I’ve been looking for some sort of direction in my life lately. I’ve been waiting for something exciting and important to come my way. After my favorite little trio left, I realized what I want to do. I want to go back to the U.K.

I’ve been thinking about going back to the U.K. for awhile, but the moment I had a few days ago made the plan feel right in my soul. I’m implementing a savings plan and I am going to the U.K. for a month in the summer of ’08. From there, I will decide whether I want to move there, or whether I want to seek out a different adventure. It will be so good to see all my friends again, it will be lovely to see my honorary home land in the summer, and it also leaves possibilities for Ashley and my relationship.

More importantly, it's a plan. And it promises adventure.

photo taken at the Gower in Wales, June 2004

Like mother like daughter? Holy Moly.

Is this Robin in Seattle in the late 70's, or Jaime in Santa Rosa in 2006?
My mom moved to Seattle to be a dancer when she was in her early twenties. While she was out there, she dabbled a little bit in modeling. One of the pictures in her portfolio looks eerily like this one. She was way skinnier and taller than I am, but the look is still there.

• Same hat.
• Same urban chic look.
• Same expression.
• Same style.
• Same age.
• Same sideways glance.

It makes me wonder what other similarities are there between my mom and I at this early twenty-something age. Did we have the same insecurities? The same angst? The same goals? I feel like the early twenties are adverised as "the best time of your life" loaded with drunken nights, hip clothes, great jobs, hot sex, and zillions of opportunities. What have the twenties been for me so far? Hard. Hard but beneficial. I've been broke. I've worked through emotional baggage. I've had dozens of jobs. I have too many opportunities.

But I think things will only get better from here. Maybe the early twenties are "dues paying" times. I think everything will start to look better as I head into my mid-late twenties and thirties.

photo by kayleah worthy

Top Five Reasons Having a Roomate Rocks

1.) Your wardrobe is instantly doubled. Obviously, this number one great benefit of having a great roomate is the inspiration for this movie poster.

2.) Your CD/DVD collection is instantly doubled.

3.) Someone will always drive you to your car the morning after.

4.) You can share a bottle of wine instead of trying to drink it all yourself before it gets yucky.

5.) Someone will listen to your work/boyfriend/commute/weight/etc. gripes

Try this flicker tool. It's so fun!

At last...

I am no longer an "unemployed employee. ahhhh... For months now I have had held down a number of jobs, but I wasn't recieving substantial assignments from any of them. Now, I have officially been hired as part of the tasting room staff at Artesa Winery in Napa. It is a beautiful winery; the picture I've posted on the side doesn't do it justice. You can bet I'll be posting photos on my other blog soon.

I can't convey how relieved and greatful I am for this job. Money was tight and my self esteem was dropping as I moped about the house, doing nothing. I am looking forward to having a purpose when I get up in the morning and a paycheck at the end of every two weeks.

Growing Up

My oldest friend had her first baby on February 18th. This is the girl that knew me when I was a baby (she was about two), and now she has a baby of her own. We used to compare popsicle tongues, play on the swings in my backyard and build “a house of pillows” when it was raining. We were expert pillow house builders. We lived in Seattle, after all, so we had lots of rainy days to practice. His name is Cooper Bo Gordon Meek, but I’m planning on calling him friend baby, at least for a little while. That’s the nickname Beth gave me when we first met, so I think it’s appropriate.

But my experience with adulthood among my friends doesn’t end there. I have another friend who is pregnant, a female friend who joined the army (I have three other male friends that did so also, but that was back in 2001-ish), another with a husband and three kids, and another that is getting married this summer. The thing is, we are all getting toward the age where making such adult decisions and facing such adult situations seems appropriate. We aren’t “engaged and underaged” or tragically pregnant sans high school diploma. Now, people get excited when we get engaged, and even if we are pregnant with no spouse it is not tragic. We can handle it now, as much as anyone ever can handle it anyway. We are allowed to feel joy in our adulthoods.

Which brings me to, well, me. I desperately want something adult to happen to me. Now don’t mistake this for a cry for a ring or a baby (or a bunk bed at boot camp for that matter!) because that is not what I am asking for. I just want something to happen, something to get my life going again. I know that I am going to have to bring this change about for myself, I can’t just sit around and wait for the world to do it for me, but I can’t decide what I want to do. I can’t even decide where I want to move this summer. In with mom and save oodles? Or live with Marissa, continue to take joy in tending to my own house, and have lots of fun living with her? Then after that? Save, pray for a stroke of luck, and figure out how to move to England? Or is there really only one reason I want to move there (anyone remember Felicity?)? Or do I continue looking and trust that a new opportunity will present itself here?

I Love Chico!

The first time I went to Chico back in the fall I realized that there was a lot more to Chico that the drunk frat boy stereotype. But when I visited again this February, I fell in love. I love Chico. It's a beautiful, has a downtown full of unique little independent shops, a good bus system, a strip of real life frat houses on Ivy Street, an older University right in the middle of downtown, plus a little bit of suburban sprawl beyond. The following is a list of some of my favorite spots in Chico, CA

My Top Ten Favorite Places in Chico:

1.) Lulu's Fashion House


2.) Gigi's (shoestore)


3.) The Naked Lounge (coffee shop)


4.) The Banshee (cool loungy bar with loud, cool music)


5.) Madison Bear Garden (it's a bar that serves food. yum.)


6.) Ashley's Room


7.) The Bear Hole at Bidwell Park


8.) The Diamond Hotel (Room 309)


9.) The Pizza Place in town (I don't remember what it is called)


10.) yet to be determined...





Some photos of the Diamond Hotel and Bidwell:

Happy Hour

"I'm not really fussy, I just look it."


Marissa and I went on our traditional happy hour excursion on Friday: wine tasting at Oliver's. She goes more frequently than I do and her mom goes too, so she knows more people there, but I still like it. I even like being around people who are regulars and know each other, even if I am not one of those regulars. It's still fun. The first time I went with her, it was one of the pourer's last day AND his birthday. He got three rounds of "happy birthday" over the two hour tasting session because everyone wanted a chance to sing. You could hear them through out the store.

The wine tastings can get to be very crowded. Marissa and I have compared them to mosh pits before. Sophisticated most pits, of course. We can't bump into each other while we're sipping the mother devil of all staining devices: red wine. Friday was no exception; it was way crowded. The pourer was so cool, though. She looked typical Napa valley wine snob. She had perfect skin, perfect hair, and a great but not too trendy outfit. Though she looked snobby, she totally wasn't. First of all, she didn't want to see my I.D., she said I was cute, she poured huge portions, and kept stuffing cheeses and pate's down our throats. Then, someone was reluctant to give her a tissue to throw away, but she was all for it. She said, "I'm not really fussy, I just look it."

Hehehe. Marissa and I loved it.

One Left, Two to Go

Book #7. July 21. Thirty-five dollars per book. 325 million Potter books sold worldwide. 10 years since Potter first appeared in print. Forty percent off if you reserve your book at Borders Books and Music. There are dozens of numbers surrounding the release date announcement of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. The most important number announced on February 1? Two.

J.K. Rowling has announced that two characters will die in the final installment of the Harry Potter series. She also has said that the two characters that die in the final Potter book were not originally slated to have such grim endings, a fact which makes it difficult to predict which characters won’t make it to the last pages of the series. But if Rowling continues on her path of killing progressively more important and beloved characters as the story goes on (first Cedric, the Sirius and Dumbledore), the final two to go could be doozies.

Hopefully, we can assume that one character to die in Deathly Hollows will be Lord Voldemort. Otherwise, seriously, what is the point of the series? Though Rowling has taunted her fans by dangling the possibility of killing Harry off in Hollows under their noses, it is doubtful that she will do it. I don’t doubt that she has the guts to do it (my mother still hasn’t forgiven her for killing off Dumbledore), but it wouldn’t be consistent with the magical rules she has spent six books introducing and explicating.

Harry has too many magical binds that will protect him from death. The Durselys, Wormtail, Dobby, Gwarp, most likely Snape, and almost any other creature he has treated with kindness or wizard whose life he has saved: all of these ties put together could be strong enough to save him. On top of that, he has many loyal followers who would sacrifice themselves in order to give Harry a better shot at killing Voldemort.

I hate to say it, but my prediction for the second person to die is Ron. There are many people in the series that Harry loves and is close too, but Ron is his closest friend, not even second to Ginny or Hermione. If Ron were to die, it would be consistent with the death pattern Rowling has established.

More importantly, Ron has a history of self sacrifice. In The Sorcerer’s Stone Ron guides the trio in a wicked game of wizard’s chess. He plays the Knight piece, and knowingly and willingly sacrifices himself so Harry can checkmate the King.

“Who cares about what Ron did in the first book?” you may wonder. “Facing a giant sized chess piece that may clobber you is scary, facing Lord Voldemort is by far scarier.” But Ron’s actions in the first book are important, just as Harry and Hermione’s were. Their actions establish their characters, and so far their characters have remained consistent in that respect. At the end of The Sorcerer’s Stone, Dumbledore commends Hermione, Harry, Neville, and Ron for the following characteristics:

Hermione: “the cool use of knowledge in the face of fire.” (SS, 305)
Harry: “pure nerve and outstanding courage.” (SS, 306).
Neville: “it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but even more to stand up to our friends.” (SS, 306).
Ron: “the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years.” (SS, 305).

Since then, we have seen Hermione make logical decisions, and we’ve seen Harry do extremely brave things. But we haven’t yet seen Ron do anything particularly chess-like. No calculated movements, no logic. In fact, Ron has done just the opposite. He’s usually ridiculously wrong about whatever problem they are trying to solve.

Of course, it’s impossible to say for sure what will happen in the last book until we actually get to read it. In fact, Cedric, Sirius, and Dumbledore have all died quite suddenly and with out much foreshadowing. All we can do is predict based on the themes and magical rules Rowling has already set before us.

For more predictions from the #1 Harry Potter Fan Site, check out Mugglenet's new book.

Ah, daffodils.

My daffodils are popping up! I was worried that they wouldn't pop up at all, an experience that would make me the absolute worst gardener ever, considering daffodils are so easy to grow. But a few days ago, one brave little bud broke his way through the dirt, and now his friends are following.

I never cared much for daffodils until my year abroad in Swansea. The Welsh winter was hanging heavily over my head and heart, and it seemed like everything was depressing. But sometime in March, my mood began to change course. For weeks I had noticed clumps of what looked like onion roots in grass patches along the bus root into town. One particularly gloomy day I was gazing out the window on my way into town and I realized what all those "onion roots" really were. Daffodils. Happy, yellow, bouncy daffodils all over town. No matter how gloomy the weather was, or how dismal my spirits were, those bubbly little flowers just wouldn't quit. Even when a violent storm was brewing that was sure to break their stalks and rip off their petals, the daffodils were happy. The winds blew, and they bounced about like they were dancing. It was like they were partying at their own funeral: bobbing around in the wind to the tune of music only they could hear. Some of the daffodils survived the storm, though they were a little worn from all their partying.

I think I love daffodils so much because they are brave flowers. They are like little messengers of spring, popping up before all the other flowers to make sure everything is all set for everyone else's arrival. They light up winter with their yellow and bouncy attitudes while they are there, then bravely fall shortly after.

My Vices: From most sophisticated to least

Vice #1: Wine
Red, White, Bubbles, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling, Viogner, I love them all! My goal as a wine lover is to be able to appreciate all varitals. Varital snobs suck!

Vice #2: Chocolate
Cadbury's chocolate is the best in the world. Much thanks to Ashley's parents and Clem for keeping me stocked!






Vice #3: Reality T.V.
I never used to watch reality T.V. In fact, I used to scoff people who did. But in the last year, the number of reality T.V. shows I watch has gone from zero to three! America's Next Top Model, The Girls Next Door, and Little People Big World: yep, I watch 'em.