Happy Thanksgiving!!! From Me, To You.

Dear readers, bliggity bloggers, and anybody else reading this,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! I cannot believe we are already in the Turkey Day-Buy $50 Laptops Day-Shiny Lights & Hot Cocoa triangle....most of the time when Turkey Day comes 'round, my thoughts are on the food. My signature mac & cheese. Mom's onion and carrot stuffing (and homemade crescent rolls. and dumplings). Dad's lobster. My sister's heavenly Tilapia. The Turkey. Oh my gosh, tomorrow night can't come soon enough....!!!

A-hem. Anyway. I'd like to dedicate this post to everything that I'm thankful for.

In no particular order...

1) Smartfood popcorn. Because of you, my life is better.

2) My boyfriend. Thanks for everything, you mean a lot to me.

3) Luna Lovegood. I appreciate how you aren't afraid to be yourself and how you prove to the world that everyone has a quirky side to them and should be proud of who they are! In your honor, I am currently writing a piece of fanfiction about you. :)

4) Smallville. I've literally grown up with this show and it has definitely helped me get back up when I've always felt down. Sounds silly, I know...but if you've seen Smallville, you'll most likely know what I mean. :)

5) My best friends and family. You're the most special-ist things in my whole entire life. :D Thanks for always being there.

6) Pavi the amazing, super dupery laptop. Thank you for not breaking down yet and for giving me access to everything digital and for allowing me to participate in one of my favorite things to do - BLOGGING!!! *hugs lappytop*

7) NaNoWriMo. You are one of the best things about the literary world! Because of you, I self-published my first novel and fell in love with the rush of novel-writing [under pressure]. You brought out the best in me and my writing and made me discover dimensions of my creative side that I'd never known before. THANK YOU.

8) My beloved turtles. You two have definitely always been the best of pals to me no matter what! Thanks for the sleepless nights (of when you wouldn't go to bed and I had to sing a lullaby to you) and the hibernation periods (when you refused to eat and freaked me out). Our bond shall never be broken!!!

9) The "backspace" button on Pavi and white-out. Without the magical wand of white-out and the special touch of Mr. Backspace, I would have wasted a lot of paper when it came to my college applications. It took me about 8 hours total to complete my entire app to the college that I'm attending now. So worth it. :3

10) You. Thank you so much for commenting, reading, following, stopping by. Because of you, I've kept this blog running and maintained my passion of writing and personal expression. Thanks for believing in me!

In honor of Thanksgiving, I've made a little thank-you card for you all!! =) Please enjoy.

~TRA

**Turkey photo is from Google.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! From Me, To You.

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"How Dumbledore REALLY Died" Mad Lib Contest + Winner Announced!!!

Question of the Day: Share a website that's in your Favorites folder and why you like/follow that particular site.

For those of you who have already seen HP & Deathly Hallows, I am deeply jealous of you. All I've been hearing are good things about it....actually, that's an understatement. It sounds REALLY awesome! I cannot WAIT to watch it on Friday with one of my dearest friends, *Miss Redhead, whom I have not seen since August.

Aaaaaand now, time for the winner of our Potter Parade Mad Lib Contest: Just Another Sarah! Her blog, The Wit & Wisdom of Another Sarah talks about a variety of topics, but ultimately focuses on writing and literature. She has been blogging since 2007, woohoo! =)

Just a reminder, a mad lib is a word game in which certain words are picked to fill in a paragraph template to produce coherent sentences. In my previous post, I asked you all to make a list of 10 words in these categories:

1) Present tense verb

2) A type of food (either Muggle or magical)

3) An adjective starting with D

4) The name of a body part

5) A Harry Potter character

6) A magical creature

7) Something you love

8) A Number

9) A spell or charm

10) Noun

After tossing the names in a hat, Sarah's was randomly chosen, and this is what was come up with after I filled in the blanks.

"How Dumbledore REALLY Died" Mad Lib

One fine day, Dumbledore was defenestrating along when suddenly a gum drop was thrown at him. "Galloping gargoyles, what was that?" Dumbledore the Desirous cried. A tuchus stuck out and there was Luna Lovegood, standing next to a ridiculously large pixie.

"Luna, did YOU throw that gum drop at me?"

"Why yes, yes I did, Dumbledore," said Luna. "I've decided that I don't like you anymore, and that going to the Dark Side seems more interesting to me than being all good or whatever."

Luna raised her wand and said, "Accio!" A dance came out of nowhere, and Luna lunged it at Dumbledore. In fact, 300 more dances came hurling towards Dumbledore, who had left his wand at his office back at Hogwarts. Needless to say, he hadn't planned on gum drops and dances being thrown at me during his daily morning walk.

Suddenly, Luna cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and Dumbledore crumpled into a sad heap on the floor like a pair of baby elephants.

~~~

Totally hilarious! Thanks to everyone who participated and entered the Mad Lib Contest... hope you guys had fun. :)

~TRA

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of my dear friend.

"How Dumbledore REALLY Died" Mad Lib Contest + Winner Announced!!!

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~*Potter Parade: Mad Lib Contest - How Dumbledore REALLY Died*~

What time is it? POTTER TIME! There is...

15 Hours Left Until Harry Potter #7 Comes Out


WOOHOO! SOOO EXCITED!

Okay...I have a confession. I won't be seeing HP&DH until next Friday. =( I know, it's a bummer. But it'll be during Thanksgiving break AAAND I'm seeing it with my best friend AAAND by then we will have a better chance of getting tickets. You can be sure that I'll be doing a review on the movie after I see it!

So basically...ALL over Facebook a good 40% of my social networking pals have Harry Potter-related statuses. Here are just a few really entertaining ones...

"All this hype about Harry Potter is pretty contagious..."

"Harry Friggin' Potter!"

"....getting my HP on"

"HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER"

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow"

My favorite is "Harry Friggin Potter!" It reminds me of the song "It's Harry Freaking Potter" in A Very Potter Musical. If you haven't see that, you totally should check it out on YouTube! Sooo funny and immediately catches your attention. :D (P.S. The new guy in Glee, Blaine, was Harry Potter in the musical!)

As promised, I propose a Mad Lib Contest! It's called: How Dumbledore REALLY Died. It's nothing big, just a little fun something as part of our Harry Potter celebration. No prizes or anything like that, unfortunately, because I am a poor college student with no job or money except her meal plan. =( Maybe once I get a job and approach 100 followers, I can have a humongous blogfest or something. :D

So...here are the instructions! In your comments, please include the following words in a list labeled 1 through 10 (this must be in order):

1) Present tense verb

2) A type of food (either Muggle or magical)

3) An adjective starting with D

4) The name of a body part

5) A Harry Potter character

6) A magical creature

7) Something you love

8) A Number

9) A spell or charm

10) Noun

I have already made up a paragraph with blanks. It's your job to fill them in with nothing but the title ("How Dumbledore REALLY Died") to give you a clue. So start commenting! On Sunday, I will choose the funniest and most random list from one of the comments and post the winner and the completed Mad Lib entry with blanks filled in.

Be funny, creative, and totally outrageous! =) ANYBODY CAN ENTER. Also...if you mention my "Mad Lib Contest: How Dumbledore REALLY Died" in a blog post I will love you for life. :3

HAPPY FREAKING HARRY POTTER DAY!!!!

~TRA

~*Potter Parade: Mad Lib Contest - How Dumbledore REALLY Died*~

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Retold Blogfest: "David Speaks, Melinda Doesn't"

*gasp* Yes. Yes, I am writing a post that does not involve Harry Potter. That's because it's November 16th, the day of Sarah's Retold Blogfest at The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah. Congratulations to Sarah for keeping up such a wonderful blog and reaching her 100th post.

For the Retold Blogfest, we are supposed to write a scene from another book/tale/novel from another character's point of view. I just finished reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I loved this book and really admire Anderson's way of writing and bringing readers into the mind of her main character. Therefore, I have decided to write my Blogfest entry on the "Stupid, Stupid" scene from Speak, in which David Petrakis asks Melinda to come over for "celebratory pizza". I have written this scene from David's point of view.

I hope you enjoy.

David Speaks, Melinda Doesn't

There were ten seconds left in the last basketball game of the season. The air was thick with screams and shouts as a Hornet dashed towards the basket, but I could hear none of it. The scoreboard read 50-50. My eyes were glued on #12, who was dribbling to ball towards the goal, the key to our school's pride. As though in slow motion, #12 dodged two Coatesville Cougars and reached towards the gym ceiling. In one swift movement, the ball fell through the basket.

There was silence, and then there was an immense uproar. My friends and Dad and I sprinted up from our seats and screamed, clapped, and cried along with the rest of the crowd. We had won. How was that for the Horny Hornets of Merryweather High School?

"WE WON! WE WON!!!"

"Damn, that was one amazing shot!"

"He did it in just one move..."

"Legendary, man."

"WE WON! WE WON!"

"Didn't even get pushed on the way to the basket!"

"Faked right, duh."

I loved basketball and always had since I was a kid. This was by far one of the best high school basketball games I'd ever seen. That #12...whoever he was, he was going places.

We pushed through the doors, still conversing excitedly about the game. Suddenly, I caught sight of that Melinda girl, the one from Social Studies class. The one with blistered lips and a dumb, blinky-blink look when people asked her questions. I couldn't believe she was here. I barely ever saw Melinda at any school events or activities except for the Art room. Knowing my friends wouldn't miss me if I disappeared for just a few moments, I walked towards my lab partner.

"Melinda! Where were you sitting?" Blink, blink.

"Did you see that last shot?! Unbelievable! Unfreakinglievable." I pretended for a moment that I was #12, and mimicked his movements with the ball. I dribbled, dodged imaginary obstacles, dribbled some more, and then swished. Melinda's eyes followed my motions, but she never said a word. Go figure.

"I mean, seriously, where did that guy learn to shoot like that? Even before the end, he was already getting us some serious points. I bet he's gonna win a scholarship some day." I rambled on, hoping to spark Melinda's interest somehow.

This was crazy...I was talking to myself. I mean, I'm not a total genius or anything, but usually I can figure most people out. But Melinda? Nothing. It was like...whenever I tried to talk to her and dig in deeper to find out who she was, what Melinda was like, there was nothing but a brick wall to block my way. What I feared most was that there was nothing to find out. That she was a dummy.

Ding! Light bulb. I had an idea.

"Say, why don't you come over and have some pizza with me? Dad's getting three boxes for us to chow down back at my place...you know, to celebrate the Hornets' success!"

Blink, blink.

"Come on, Mel. You gotta' come with us! My dad told me I could bring anyone I wanted. We can give you a ride home after if you want. It'll be fun. You do remember fun, don't you?"

I thought I saw Melinda twitch for a moment...her lips. They had made some sort of movement, but no sound came out. She gave me a twisted look, a cross between a half smile and a grimace, and made the teeniest motion with her left hand. It was obviously a no thanks.

I shrugged. "No? Okay then, no. Suit yourself. See you Monday." I walked away.

As far as I was concerned, Melinda wasn't going places like #12. In fact, she wasn't going anywhere unless she learned how to speak.

~~~~~~~

So what do you think? =)

~TRA

Retold Blogfest: "David Speaks, Melinda Doesn't"

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~*Potter Parade: Harry Potter News, Links + Extra Trinkets*~

Question of the Day: If you could be any Magical Creature (ex: thestral, unicorn, Doxy, hippogriff, etc.), what would you want to be and why?

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall. Want to come upstairs and practice?" --Dudley Dursley

"No thanks. The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it -- it might be sick." --Harry Potter, Book 1

3 Days Until Harry Potter #7 Part 1

Because I will be a hosting my Harry Potter contest tomorrow, I thought I'd make today's post rather "chill" and laid-back.

First, major news! The cast of Harry Potter got together in London last Thursday on November 11 for their premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. They look absolutely stunning! Emma Watson's pixie 'do still shocks me...I don't think I can ever get over it after all those years of seeing her "bush" Hermione-Grangery mane. Ohh, without a doubt, our beloved HP characters are truly growing up...

In addition, I don't know if some of you already know this or not, but Daniel Radcliffe's first post-Harry-Potter movie will be The Woman in Black, which is coming out (hopefully) in 2011. This film is apparently a ghost story, and Daniel stars as one of the main characters, a young lawyer named Arthur Kipps who encounters a woman in spirit form. Hmm, not exactly what I had imagined for Radcliffe, but this is definitely going to be interesting! Here's a sneak peek at what Daniel looks like in this upcoming film project...

Totally un-Harry-Potter-like, I know...

I have a confession. I like to bookmark pages...and half of my Bookmarks deal with Harry Potter, Hogwarts, and/or The Wizarding World. I'd like to share with you all some of the goodies that I have come across in the past:

• DanRadcliffe.com : A fan site dedicated to the legendary actor who played Harry Potter. Includes photos, quotes, fun facts, news in the media, and even Daniel's mailing address (ooh la la!).

• MuggleNet.com : Here, you'll find basically EVERYTHING Harry Potter related. Just a few things that it offers include: origin of names, song parodies, real recipes of magical foods, and fan art. This is totally THE go-to site for Harry Potter fans.

• The Harry Potter Lexicon : I have lost count as to how many times I have referred to this amazing encyclopedia while writing HP fanfiction. I don't even have anything to say except that It. Knows. Everything.

• J.K. Rowling's Official Site : If it weren't for Rowling, Harry Potter wouldn't exist. And if Harry Potter hadn't existed, we'd have nothing to live for, right? This is probably one of the coolest author websites I've ever visited. You can choose to amongst several different languages, which is really handy for international readers. You can read her biography, read up on the latest Rowling news, and, if you're curious and nosy enough, you'll find a load of handy links and secrets hidden about!

• Fire and Ice Archive : This website is dedicated to one of the most popular HP fanfiction couples...Draco and Ginny! You'll find countless one-shots, long stories, fluffy pieces, and epic adventures starring D&G.

• Hogwarts School : Love RPG (role-playing games)? This site is totally for you. Finally, you can not only read and write about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, you can BE A PART OF IT.

Last, but not least, Cheryl Clarke's Oh To Be a Muse blog is having a lovely holiday giveaway HERE. Two winners will be chosen by the deadline, which is December 7th. Hurry and enter today! You must be a follower to be eligible.

~TRA

~*Potter Parade: Harry Potter News, Links + Extra Trinkets*~

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