Oh Harry!

I am one of the millions (billions?) of people who fell in love with the Harry Potter series of books. I found myself getting lost in them over and over. The characters that were impossible not to love. Impossible not to cheer on.The pages turning as fast as I could read them. I have all sorts of memories related to the books.

I remember watching the first movie, on the first night at a theater in Madison the night before my friend Liz Runquist's wedding (2002). Sitting next to me were Nick, my sister Katie and my now brother-in-law Matt. Matt and I were fans of the books and I can remember the first time we saw Hogwart's on the screen. We both leaned forward and looked at each other with a geeky "this is so awesome" look.

I remember being in Las Vegas for my friend Amy Woodward's bachelorette party when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Bennet. I stayed up for the release of the six book- Half Blood Prince- at midnight and bought the book in a casino :)

I remember waiting in line with my sister Megan outside the Barnes and Noble for the release of the 7th and final book- The Deathly Hallows. Last weekend we rented Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on Blu-Ray. We had seen it in the theater but I wanted to see it again before the last film. We watched it once on Saturday night and then again on Sunday. Then I grabbed the book off my shelf and re-read the 2nd half of the book. I was hooked all over again.

Nick and I have a day-date on Friday to see the final movie. It's a bittersweet end, but one that I'm looking forward to seeing all the same. Cheers!


Layout I made in July 2007. I am 7 months pregnant with Scout here. (Wow- is that vintage Rusty Pickle paper?)

HIDDEN JOURNALING: Steven King said it best- I'm having a day of mixed feelings: happy because I'm reading a novel that's full of magic, mystery, and monsters; sad because it will be finished tomorrow and on my shelf, with all its secrets told and its surviving characters set free to live their own lives. And I'm a grown-up, for God's sake — a damn Muggle!”


Words can hardly explain how much I enjoyed the final installment of the Harry Potter series. I got my cup of coffee, favorite blanket and settled into the couch for the book I’d been waiting 2 years for. It was simply wonderful. It was intense, quick paced, surprising and heartfelt. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. I laughed out loud and I cried even louder. I was more emotional about it than I thought I’d be. The book marked the end of something I cherished dearly. As I finished the book and gently shut the cover I just sighed. Just a happy, yet heavy sigh. Did it answer all my questions? No. Do I care? No. My imagination runs wild with scenarios of how these characters lives have continued on after the book was closed. That’s a gift J.K. Rowling left to her readers- while on paper the adventure may be over it continues in our hearts and minds.