Well I couldn't very well let everyone else get wands and not get one myself.

Wood type: apple Length: 11 inches Core: Dragon Heartstring get your own wand!

I currently have Adam Sandler chanting "back to school" ala Billy Madison running through my head. I have a one night class tonight called "Getting Paid to Talk." I figure I do it so much I might as well get paid for it ;P Actually in the class we record our demos that are used to find work in radio, audiobooks, voiceovers, etc. I am so excited about this. I can't think of anything that I want to do more than get paid to do voices and accents. That's the big thing that I've come to realize doing gallerycast. So everyone, just cross your fingers and hope and pray that this leads somewhere. I'm hoping that between this class and the fact that my uncle who has over 50 years experience in radio and advertising has offered to put me in touch with his contacts will lead somewhere. Who knows, maybe one day I could be that annoying voice that pops up and tells you that you could win a laptop.  Actually, I don't want that, then everyone would mute me. But still, wish me luck.

That's the name of the latest edition of GalleryCast. We've had a lot of fun doing this and it feels like things are finally starting to take off for us. It just amazes me that we have really put something together that is actually  this good. It's a good mix of humour and intellect. Something I personally enjoy.  I know I'm bragging about something that I'm so involved in, but I'm proud of this and of the wonderful people working alongside me to put out a quality podcast every week. These wonderful Goddesses and Gurus are some of the best friends you could ask for and they make me laugh every single day. So please go to iTunes and subscribe if you haven't already. Happy listening!

GalleryCast  7: Death Eater Invasion (gallerycast) is up. I have to say that I am extremely proud of this one. A lot of hard work went into it. We had more than a few technical problems (I blame Peeves), but ended up with something that I'm proud to share. And let me just say, this week's filk is amazing! Thanks to our wonderful, amazing, stupendous, awesome, completely lovable editor elf Tricksy, a ragtag group of podcasters churned out a really amazing song. So be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes and where you can hear all of us, ginnyismyhero, hagiographer13, theyellowpepper, atschpe, birthday_twins, our announcer Chris Dotson (the TLC Video Galleries manager) and me present the Cell Block Tango. We even managed to have some intelligent discussion in our Guru chat. So subscribe, listen and tell your friends.

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and this of course brings about a time of introspection and reflection on the past year. And after this soul searching, I've come to this conclusion, I don't know if this year has completely sucked or been fantastic. 

There have certainly been elements of wonderfulness in this year. The past year has brought me amazing, wonderful, unbelievable friends. How could I not appreciate a year where I found my "Sister from another mister" ginnyismyhero(Miranda)? She and the other Goddesses have brought so much joy and laughter into my life this past year, but Miranda stands apart from them, because meeting her was like meeting the other half of my own soul (or brain, as has been stated many times). I've gained a stalker in kimmyblair. I've never enjoyed phone calls as much as the drunk dials I get from her. But the rest of you Goddesses out there, just because I'm not listing you right here, you are all in my heart and I thank God every day that you are my friends, sisters really. And just yesterday, I refound a friend that had been out of my life for years. I didn't realize exactly how much I missed him until I saw and talked to him like the intervening years had never happened.

I've refound 1forgottensoul (Heidi) this year. How do you describe a friendship that has lasted for 25 years and has weathered all kinds of storms and separations? She has been there for me on so many occasions and when I had Libby on her birthday, was there ever any other choice for godmother? You know there wasn't. So, Heid, I just want to say I love you and I'm glad to have you back. And I vow that I will not let this friendship slip away again.

I'm going to be an aunt and a great aunt again in October. My sister is expecting Daisy Blair and my niece is expecting Kaileyana (horrible name) Nicole. I'm so excited about these two beautiful new baby girls that are joining my family. I can't wait to hold them and kiss them and tell them that their Aunt Jujie loves them.

I accomplished a goal that I have had for almost 20 years by getting my certification in phlebotomy. I haven't found the job yet, but I can't believe that the opportunity to have school paid for was an accident. The doors were opened for me to pursue this and I'm just amazed that I have that certificate in hand and can look for jobs in the medical field.

And probably the most amazing thing for me this year is gallerycast. What started out as an excuse for Goddesses to be silly has turned into a real weekly podcast. I am gobsmacked at how quickly this happened and everything fell into place. And to be able to work with my fellow GalleryCasters is amazing. So really, much love goes out to aatschpe, ginnyismyhero, and theyellowpepper for their dedication, friendship, and unfailing support in making this thing happen. I hope that it really is the tribute to the Goddesses that I always meant it to be.

But there has been some really bad stuff this year as well. I have been out of work for over a year, just trying to make ends meet doing temporary assignments that don't last and don't pay enough. I've literally gone broke this year, selling off everything I can think of trying to provide a home and food for my child. And I'm now standing at a crossroads, trying to make decisions that will affect so many people.

I am also quite afraid that this year is going to bring the loss of both of my beloved grandmothers. My Gammy raised me and my siblings along with my mom. She is one of the best friends I have ever had. We've had to place her in hospice care and her health is so poor and her pain is so bad, that we have actually begun to pray that God will end her suffering and take her home. It just seems so wrong to pray for that, but when I look in those pain filled eyes and know the ravages of what 92 years of living has taken on her body, I can't help but want for her to be released from that pain. My Granny has dementia and suffered a bad fall a week ago. She really needs round the clock care, but my dad and his siblings aren't doing anything about it. Granny is amazing. She had six children, 24 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-granchildren and up until just a couple of years ago, she was able to keep everyone's (including spouses) birthday's straight. That's just mind-boggling to me. But now she doesn't even know who she is. I love both my grandmothers more than I can say, and to see this happening to them is probably the most gut-wrenching thing I've ever known. Even worse than when my Grandaddy died 13 years ago, because at least the cancer that took him from us was quick.

I've lost an uncle and an aunt this year. They were married for close to 60 years and when my  Uncle Pal passed, we knew that Aunt Ruby wasn't long for this world. Less than two months after he died, she joined him.

I think, like most people, I have had a mixed bag. I've cried a lot. Sometimes from laughter, many times from heartbreak. And even though right now things seem bleak, I keep remembering something my  mom told me: "We'll know how God brought us through this when we get through this." And I know it's true. I look back at some really hard and horrible times and see He was there the whole way through, but I always see it in hindsight. 

Okay, I've gotten this off of my chest. Thank you for being my friends and listening to it. Sometimes you just need to let it out. The good and the bad. I look forward to my birthday; I share it with my sister-in-law, so that means it's always a big family occasion.  So I am thankful. Even for the bad things. Because everything that happens shapes us into who we are supposed to be. I'm hoping that as this year ends, I can say that I'm a better person than I was at the beginning of it.

Your Fortune Is

Man who scratch ass should not bite fingernails.

So I was just playing around and decided to do the Fortune Cookie Generator and got this. *snort* I just had to share it with the world. :P

I hope this is true about me. It sounds nice. If it's not, please don't tell me. :P

Which HP Kid Are You?

I did this for my MySpace page a while back and got Ginny (with some minor tweaking). Hilde swears that I am not Ginny and I am more like the Twins. I feel certain she is right, but even Harry acknowledges how much like the Twins Ginny is. So I have decided to consider myself a cross between my favorite Weasleys. ;)

I've always been told I'm going to hell in a handbasket. Now I have the date so I can plan. :P And since I'm going 12 days before Libby's bday, I won't have to buy her a present that year. See, there's an upside to everything.

Normally I am a shy and retiring sort of person. *snort* Anyway, my stalker, 

kimmyblair has nominated me for two LJ awards. Go to this link: http://hi-im-pooter.livejournal.com/180494.html?page=1#comments and vote for me in the Most Likely to Have a House Lovechild category, and for ginnyismyhero and me as Most Like the Weasley Twins. (Because, well, Miranda and I are the female versions of the Weasley twins.) So this is me shamelessly hustling votes. What are you waiting around for? Go vote already!

 

I've been trying to lay low and avoid this, but thanks to theyellowpepper, there is no more hiding.

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who got tagged need to write a blog entry of their own 6 weird things. They should as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.

1. I attract small children. I'm a toddler magnet, if you will. I walk into a room with small children and immediately they are hugging me and touching me with their little jam hands. (Must be a mental age thing.)
2. I can quote every line of The Breakfast Club from beginning to end because I have seen it 12981651357 times.
3. My absolute favorite food in the world is boiled eggs. (Don't ask, I don't know myself.)
4. I am complete addicted to the bowling game on my cell phone. I play it all day long at work. (What? There's nothing else to do.)
5. I am a total photo junkie. On my last trip to the Dominican Republic I shot 23 rolls of film and I was only there for 10 days.
6. I accidently started collecting cows. My best friend from high school worked at a pottery store and bought a bunch of cow glasses, canisters, plates, etc. with her discount and decided she didn't want them. So she gave them to me. Once people saw how much cow memorabilia I had, they started giving me more cow stuff. Now I am overrun with cows.

Hmm...all of my friends have already been tagged. All of you just dodged a bullet.

Okay, normally I hate those stupid Honey Nut Cheerios commercials where everything in a restaurant, grocery store, etc. is Honey Nut Cheerios. But I just saw one that made my little Harry/Ginny shipper's heart happy. It was a wedding where dinner, the cake, and bouquet were all Cheerios, but it was made so much better at the end when the groom with messy black hair spooned Cheerios into his redheaded bride's mouth. Even the ad execs know that Ginny and Harry are meant to be together. (I'm such a goof and I know it.)

This is proving to be a crazy time of year for me. In real life, this weekend, we will be celebrating Libby's 17th birthday on Saturday and my Gammy's 92 birthday on Sunday. Life is flying by so quickly, it seems just yesterday I was having to miss my grandmother's 75 birthday party because I was in the hospital giving birth. I'm not feeling old, just wondering how my baby grew up so fast.

Next weekend is the birthday party for my nieces Kailyn and Kaidy. Kailyn will be 3 and her little sister Kaidy will be 1. That's the age that Libby's still supposed to be. 

Life at the Leaky Cauldron has been more insane than usual this week with the new trailers that came out. I have now watched the international trailer so many times that I firmly believe I know it better than WB. Those trailers are fantastic!

The visit by  ginnyismyherois still in the planning stages, but we think we have the week pinned down. There's something to look forward to. Although, everyone who runs in to us (the American female version of the Weasley twins) may not agree. But you know what, I ain't bovvered.

I had to laugh the other night watching American Idol Gives Back, because as soon as Hugh Laurie showed up on the screen,  kimmyblairpopped up on YIM saying "YOUR BOYFRIEND!" Later on in a chat with the Gallery Goddesses, I had the other Goddesses referring to him the same way. I love the way they just go along with my craziness and just admit that House is my boyfriend.

I am feeling much better this week, so thanks for the hugs sent my way last week. They helped tremendously.