Hanging out in Hufflepuff

I don’t know if I’ve ever expressed just how in love I am with the Harry Potter series…

I keep trying to urge my sister to read the series and she says she’s not interested. In fact, Erica had the 6^th book (“The Half blood Prince”) home with her from the library a couple years ago, and she read the last 2 chapters just to “see how it ended” I told her I was appalled and that at first, I wasn’t interested either… but no one had really tried to “Sell” it to me. I grew up during the beginning of the creation of the movies. I saw the first movie (The Sorcerer's Stone) with the ARC guys at NeSoDak the summer I worked there on a 19 inch black and white TV – needless to say I didn’t pay much attention.

I vaguely knew that HP was a “big” deal but it wasn’t until the release of the 7^th book in July 2007 that I realized that HP was more than a “big” deal… it was an institution! Eric had read the entire series and was ecstatic to get started on the 7^th book the second it was released on the shelves for fear that if he did not someone else would spoil the ending for him. I didn’t get the hype, and finally he talked me into giving the first book a try.

I really wasn’t much of a reader, so I didn’t think I’d even make it through the first book let alone 7 WHOLE books; I made it through the first book, in fact I devoured it and every single book after that. I couldn’t read them fast enough, I started to get irritated when my bus was running late because I was standing on the sidewalk waiting for it, where if it was on time I could be on the bus reading it!

After I read each book, I would watch the movie (Eric owned them all). When I was finishing the 5^th book we were on our honeymoon, and I spent a portion of our travels reading “The Order of the Phoenix” out loud to Eric while he drove. Shortly after we returned home from our Honeymoon the movie came out, and Eric took me to see it in theater, I sat in awe of the world of Harry Potter before me.

I have been in love ever since the first chapter. So when I heard they were going to make a theme park at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida I flipped, I HAD to be first in line? Right? That was until I realized how HOT Florida is in August, and the fact that going on vacations to Florida cost major money… and After reading these reviews of “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” (Part One – Part Two) from one of my favorite bloggers I’ve decided to do without the theme park for a couple years… or Five. Sweaty crowds in Florida… Um no thank you.

I am giddy like a school girl that in November (19^th) I’ll be headed to the theaters for part 1 of the “Deathly Hallows” and I know I’ll be about ready to die of excitement come 2011 (July) for Part two!

But to satiate my need for the world of Potter, the traveling movie exhibit is coming to the Pacific Science Center in October!!! Neville Longbottom (actor: Matthew David Lewis, III) came to Seattle last week to announce that HP The traveling museum will be here October 23^rd – January 30^th! You better believe that I will be there! Probably not the FIRST in line, but maybe we’ll make a Potter weekend of it, and go to the movie and then to the museum.

Eric and I often have discussions about the HP series, and last week we talked about what “Houses” we would be in if we lived in the world of HP. Everyone truly wants to be a Gryffindor because Gryffindor is obviously the best … but we determined that Eric would be a Slytherin, because he thinks potions are totally cool, and I would be a Hufflepuff, because I’m kind of a weenie… and Hufflepuffs are for those soft(er) wizards.

Only dorks like us would have discussions like this.