In Lieu of a Tattoo

Anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite thing is Harry Potter. And one of my favorite things within the world of Harry Potter is the golden snitch. I love the snitch because, to me, it's a symbol of Harry building an identity based on his own skills and abilities. He was famous as The Boy Who Lived, but that was something that happened to him as a baby, not something that he accomplished through any will of his own. But when he flies and becomes a seeker, he finds the first thing that he's ever felt exceptionally good at. The snitch not only helps Harry create a new identity for himself, but it also connects him to his parents: figuratively in that his dad was also a seeker, and literally at the close. 


Ok, I know that was just incredibly nerdy. I wish I could take a Harry Potter class and write whole papers on things like this. The point is, I just really love snitches. I was a snitch for Halloween once, I mean twice, with Ashley, and it will forever remain my best costume ever. And I've always said that if I was a person who got tattoos, I would get a tattoo of a snitch. In the last couple of years, in fact, I've been seriously wanting one. I would go for it, but I'm afraid that I'd regret it someday, like when I'm a grown-up or something. So, this summer, when Harry Potter mania was at its height in the country and in my heart, I decided to satiate my desire for a snitch tattoo with a less permanent substitute - a necklace.


I found my snitch necklace on etsy.com, fulfilling goal #84: Buy something on Etsy. The lady who made it sent it in a very cute little box, and I love it. To be perfectly honest, I haven't worn it yet. The chain it came on is too short, and so I need to get a longer chain for it before I can wear it. And to be even more honest, I still want the tattoo. 

Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls.
Wearing this. Wearing only this.

And if you also love Harry, you should most definitely watch this. It makes me cry like a baby. 

Scavenging

For the last 10 months, my favorite thing about my life has been being a Club leader. Club is a youth group that was an integral part of my own high school experience, and now I get to spend quality time getting to know some really awesome teenagers. My own small group of girls are seniors at Fairview, and they're some of my favorite people ever. I'm not sure what it says about me that I get along with and connect to high schoolers so well, but I sure do love them. This summer I got to go The Bahamas with my babies, as well as to their summer camp - The Week.

On the second night of The Week, we were all under a pavilion by Lake Dillon, when a torrential downpour started. It was one of the most intense thunder storms I've ever been in, and it poured rain for four or five hours. Since it was impossible to go out and play our planned night game, we decided to drive everyone over to the local Walmart for some warmth, hot chocolate, and a scavenger hunt. I was super excited, not only to get warm and dry, but also because then I could accomplish goal #45: Go on a scavenger hunt.

This was our list. We weren't able to complete it because Walmart doesn't carry Risk and there is no demo make-up. But we did win. Mostly because everyone else gave up after about 5 minutes, and did this: 

I was pretty set on getting as much as we could, perhaps more than anyone else, and we were definitely proud of ourselves for a few of them. Such as the Statue of Mary (which we found in the garden section). Either way, it was a fun break from the rain and cold.

Statue of Mary

I love my senior ladies.

They did it!!