I Solemnly Swear That I'm Up To No Good.

In honour of the Boy Who Lived's birthday, I must tell you the story of one of the best Christmas presents I ever received. This present was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from my Grandma. I quickly devoured the book. Harry Potter was one of my first fictional loves, followed shortly by Ron Weasley...I'm a Weasley girl, through and through. When I heard Universal was opening up a Harry Potter theme park, I flipped my lid. So what did I do? I did what ever good Muggleborn witch does...I grabbed my Firebolt and flew straight to Hogsmeade. Brace yourself for the amount of pictures that follows...

My first stop was in Hogsmeade...






I did some shopping at Ollivander's,



Zonko's, Honeydukes,



and sent some owl post at the Owlery.



I also had some lovely Butterbeer. It's this nonalcholic concoction that tastes like cream soda and butterscotch. It was yummy, but I definitely wouldn't be downing that stuff everyday. On the other hand, there was some nice cold pumpkin juice that I could not get enough of. Seriously, they could have set me up on an IV drip with that stuff and I'd be a happy camper.

Then it was straight to Hogwarts to start my wizard's training.



I was greeted by the wonderful Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. He made me feel more than welcome as a First Year.



I also met Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who took me on a tour of the castle and grounds. Seriously, if you go on one ride, go on the Forbidden Journey. It gives you a complete tour and you even get to play quidditch (even if the Dementors interfered and tried to kiss me).



Those who sent me their address, let me know when you get your postcard :)

Happy Birthday Harry Potter...and Mischief Managed.

Harry Potter!!!!

So, later this month I'm heading over the Magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter, or as I call it Harry Potter World. I'm so stinkin' excited to go and I want to share my good fortune with ya'll. So here's the deal. If ya'll send me your address to elysiepiecie{at}gmail{.}com, I'll send you a postcard from here...



I promise I'll not send creeper stuff to you, but you may get a random birthday or Christmas card :)

One Day...

So I've been doing some pretty deep thinking these past couple of days. It seems that I have some profound thoughts when I'm standing in the ocean getting pummeled by waves. I've got some growing up to do and I have made a list of goals that one day I hope to accomplish. Hopefully I'll get these things sussed out before I'm all old and gray. Please love me through this.

*One day I will love me for me. I won't be worried about my body image or worry whether people like me or not. I'll be happy with who I am. I think I'm doing okay with this one, at least personality wise. I'm learning not to be afraid to let people know that I'm a humongous goober...it's just the way I see myself physically that needs a bit help.

*I will see the beauty in everything. I will be able to take a horrible day and find something meaningful from that day and grow from it. I won't be wearing rose colored glasses, because I don't think it's healthy. However, I don't want to be the type of person who dwells on the negative aspects of life.

*I will learn to put more faith in my faith. I saw a sign a couple months ago driving home from work (I pass at least 7 churches in a 15-20 minute trip...welcome to the South), it said "Prayer should be your first resort, not your last." It's stuck with me and is something that I'm trying to work on.

*I will learn not to worry so much. Especially when I have no control over the situation. I have been a serial worrier my entire life. I had stomach ulcers in the 2nd grade because I worried so much. I don't want to prematurely go gray, nor do I want worry lines all over my forehead. Although, I am a bit worried because I see a faint line in the middle of my forehead at the moment.

That's about it right now. I'm sure as the month progresses I'll think of more, but I'm thinking I've set some pretty hefty goals fore myself to accomplish. Who else has "one day" goals?

23 Random Things

Why 23? Because that's how old I am now. Yep, today is my birthday and I'm officially an old fart. So to celebrate my being old, I figured I'd tell ya'll 23 random things about myself.

1. I've never been kissed.
2. I've never had a boyfriend. Sure, I've been on dates, but nothing that turned
into a relationship. Sometimes I think there may be something wrong with me.
3. I consider myself a Coke Icee connoisseur. I even have a ranking system. The top
three are from Racetrac, WaWa, and 7-11. Only one which is in the state of
Georgia.
4. Bombpops are my favorite thing to get from the icecream man. I will
consistently choose them every time.
5. I have a teddy bear, Cherry, that I've had since I was four. She's a survivor
since she's still intact after an encounter of being run over by a train in
Colorado.
6. I've been to Forks twice, and I'm planning to go out there again with Lauren
either this winter or for Spring Break. I love Washington!
7. I'm double jointed in my toes and I constantly creep people out with them.
8. I cannot pronounce the word cement correctly. Apparently I sound like Ellie Mae saying "cement pond."
9. I also can't pronounce the word pancake...it always comes out pan-a-cake. I really have to think about it when I'm Ihop.
10. My southern accent comes out when I'm stressed, upset, or really excited. My i's and y's are embarrassingly hickish sounding.
11. My favorite bbq joint in the world is Beachcombers on St. Simons Island. I swear I have dreamed about their pulled pork sandwiches.
12. My Paw-Paw taught me how to operate a tractor at the age of three, even though I couldn't reach the peddles.
13. If I were stranded on an island and only allowed one beauty product (outside of soap), it would have to be mascara.
14. I'm still bitter that the tv show American Dreams was cancelled.
15. I think the relationship between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore was based after my Mama's and mine.
16. I like my sweet tea so sweet that it could put me in a diabetic coma. Sad, I know.
17. My favorite city ever is Seattle.
18. I'm proud to be a Georgia Peach and I'm going to be extremely sad when I have to leave Georgia for grad school.
19. My Daddy O and Mumsie Dearest are the role models I base my life upon. If I can grow up to be as half as cool as them, then I'll be happy.
20. My Paw-Paw is one of my favorite people on this planet. He is a retired mechanic and professional drag racer and tells the coolest stories.
21. I love making nicknames up for people.
22. I want to get married in Christ Church on St. Simon's Island...have to find a boy first though.
23. I seriously thought about moving to Savannah and doing historic home renovation by day and being a ghost hunter by night.

So, since I've divulged 23 random things about myself...tell me something random about you :)

Surf's Up Moondoggie!

I wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy. Okay, maybe not...I feel something more akin to Gidget.


Or at least I like to pretend I'm Gidget. Where are my two surfer dudes to fight over me?

My parents were wonderful enough to rent a beach front condo for the entire month of July. I wake up every morning to hearing the wonderful sound of the waves in my bedroom. I don't wake up to an alarm clock, I just let the morning sun wake me up.

I usually eat a quick breakfast and head down to my chair to get my sun kissed tan...hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be so golden that I'll be able to pass off as the half-Italian, half-Cherokee that I am.

What is one to do with a whole month at the beach? Well...



I bring down a book from this pile and read.

However, this is only when I'm not having a staring contest with crabbies.



I tried to get closer to take his picture, but where did he go?



Crabby went down the hole!

After a long day of playing on the beach, I end the day with watching the gorgeous sunset off our balcony.



Boy, is it hard work being a beach bum! Hope ya'll are having a great summer!

Eclipse Review!

So the time has come for the third installment of Twilight Saga…ECLIPSE! It’s my favorite book of the entire saga, and I could not wait for the movie to come out. After seeing it twice (once at midnight, then again the same day at 9:30 pm), here’s my take of what they got wrong and got right. Warning, if you haven’t seen it yet, don’t continue…I don’t want to accidentally give any spoilers. This is also a pretty long post without pictures...I'll be adding those at a later date when I can find some good ones.

What bugs me about the film:

They smashed up certain scenes together from the book, and switched around the characters doing/saying certain things. I understand that this is necessary to make a film adaptation, but the thing that gets me is the fact they continue to change minute details. What’s the point in that?

There was also something that was irking me after the first time I saw the movie that I couldn’t figure out until about half way during the second viewing…there was no mention of Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is one of my all time favorite books; I read it every year. So, I’m a bit biased towards those parts mentioning Wuthering Heights in the book.

What I loved:

Hello Jackson Rathbone. You are gorgeous, I have always thought so. I’m so glad that David Slade showcased your gorgeousness and talent in this movie. I am Team Switzerland, but I am also Team Jasper. The Jasper scenes with Alice were always spot on, and that accent combined with the smirk ::drops dead::

Nikki Reed…Yet again, she’s gorgeous. I like Ashley Greene, she’s beautiful, but I think people often overlook how beautiful Nikki is. Yet again, David Slade highlighted another character beautifully. Nikki looks amazing as Rosalie (I think I have a bit of a girl crush on her), and I love her hair (not eyebrows) and wardrobe throughout the entire movie.

The small details that weren’t in the book, but made all the difference to me. Did anyone notice that painting at the foot of Jacob’s bed? That’s really a painting of La Push. It shows Akalat (James Island) and the sea stacks. Anyone want to make me one of them?

I won’t give too many details about specific scenes, but I loved the whole “sex talk” between Charlie and Bella. “I’m a virgin” :)

The proposal…the song, the general feel, everything was perfect. I was complete mush and my heart is still hurting thinking about it. When is it my turn?

How much The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner made added so much to Eclipse. I don’t want to give away anything, but seriously, loved it.

Generally, I must say that I absolutely loved the movie. Cinematically it’s the best film out of the three. The acting was so much better and it made me excited about the movies all over again. What did ya’ll think?