July 2008

In all of my excitement over Twilight and this weekend's release of Breaking Dawn, I have been slightly distracted from my previous literary obsession: Harry Potter!

Half-Blood Prince movie trailer

I got a super reminder of why I'm such a Potterhead yesterday when I watched the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which comes to theaters November 21, 2008. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it here. It is thrilling! I loved getting a glimpse of Tom Riddle as a young boy. Here's a bit of trivia for you: Apparently, the boy playing young Tom Riddle is the real-life nephew of Ralph Fiennes, who plays the grown-up dark lord Voldemort.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie! When I finish Breaking Dawn, I think I'll re-read Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows to get ready for the HBP movie!

Birthdays

Also, today, July 31, is JK Rowling's birthday, which she also shares with Harry Potter! Happy, Happy, Happy Birthdays! I raise my butterbeer to you! Cheers!

New Book by JK Rowling! (pre-order now; available December 4, 2008)

Hooray! JK Rowling's book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, is a companion to the Harry Potter series. The book was referenced in the last volume of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It contains five original fairy tales, which have been compared to Aesop's fables and the stories of the Brothers Grimm.

The Collector's Edition (pictured) of Beedle has some sweet special features, such as extra illustrations, a reproduction of Rowling's handwritten introduction, metal and gemstone details on the cover, and extensive and insightful commentary and footnotes by Albus Dumbledore!

I can't resist stories with names like these:

• The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
• The Fountain of Fair Fortune
• The Warlock's Hairy Heart
• Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump
• The Tale of the Three Brothers

Any other Potterheads out there? Will you buy The Tales of Beedle the Bard? What do you think of the Half-Blood Prince trailer?

I haven't posted any photos or videos of my children in the past, but this one is so smile-inducing, I just had to share it. If you have a "case of the Mondays," this is the cure! My daughter (Sweet Pea) sings her "Be Happy" theme song, and big brother (Punkin) does his big brother thing in the background. Enjoy!

If you've been following me on Twitter (GeekMomMashup), you've already heard this story. But for the rest of you, I thought it would be worth repeating, because it is pretty funny! Well, funny in a dark, creepy way... muah-ha-haah!

Last week, my six year-old son woke me up in the middle of the night. It must have been about 2:30 AM. As long as I was up, I figured I'd make a pit stop. So I shuffled to the bathroom, where I debated with myself over turning on the light.

My internal dialogue went something like this:

"Its not pitch dark, and I know where the toilet is. The light will be too bright, and it will hurt my eyes, and make it harder to go back to sleep."

"But what if there's a spider in the toilet? You know how I always have that in the back of my mind."

"There's not going to be a spider in the toilet. You worry needlessly, and there's never a spider in the toilet!"

"Well, there's hardly ever a spider in the toilet, and there's probably not a spider in this toilet right now. Fine."

So I left the light off and walked to the toilet. Before taking a seat, I glanced down into the bowl. I noticed a dark spot on the inside of the bowl. Above the water line, below the rim. Hmmm. What could that be? Better turn on the light.

I flipped the switch, squinted, and walked back to the toilet. I peered into the bowl again, and saw a nickel-sized, black, slightly hairy, spider! I'd almost sat on the toilet with that spider in there! What if I hadn't noticed it, and it had jumped onto my bare bottom?! What if it had bitten me? What if it had gotten stuck in my underwear?

I quickly flushed it down and did my thing. Afterwards, I thought I should have taken a photo, but it was too late. The moral of this story: There's probably not a spider in the toilet, but there could be one... Remember this the next time you need to "go" in the dark!