I love rain, and Harry Potter

Last night I got to go to Harry Potter and the deathly hallows pt2 for the second time with my new friend Dan. We have a crazy lot in common, and he's super fun. We went to the movie and it was awesome, although I didn't cry nearly half as hard or as much as I did the first time, which is a very good thing. I was seriously sobbing the first time, although it probably had something to do with the incredibly late hour and my caffein consumption that day. ( I know, naughty, naughty Dana. How dare I drink a vanilla coke. Shame on me.)

When the movie was done we went to the door and it was POURING. Plus there was lightning every 5 to 10 seconds so that made it even cooler. I pulled out my umbrella like a boringly responsible adult but Dan just ran right out into the rain. pretty soon I closed my umbrella and followed suit. I love playing in the rain J It was pretty bad driving weather, and I'm glad that he drove instead of me because when it rains that hard my windshield leaks on the passenger seat, not to mention rear wheel drive is never good on slippery roads.

I was really excited that it was raining because we haven't had a proper storm in weeks and the grass is all sad looking. Plus, as previously mentioned, I love rain, and lightning, and thunder. Lightning is so cool at night. I don't particularly care for it when I'm trying to fall asleep, but I do like watching it light everything up for a split second.

Speaking in Church, and other chenanigans

Today I had the great opportunity to speak in church. Most people wouldn't claim to love this, and despite the rush I get from performing, public speaking is still not something I particularly enjoy. I do, however, love preparing to give a talk.

For my friends who are not LDS, the main service where everyone sits in pews and we take the sacrament is only the first hour of church. Instead of having one sermon by our bishop, we generally have two or three members of the congregation speak on the same topic, like "coming to know the Savior by diligently learning of him," which is what I spoke on today.

I love preparing a talk because I am more enthusiastic about my scripture study, and have a particular focus in mind besides simply reading. I always feel and increase of the spirit in my life as I strive even harder to live the principles I am going to convey, and a greater understanding of the doctrine of our Lord. My testimony is stronger, and so is my love for the Savior and all of his children.

I had a lot of really fun stuff happen this week. First off, I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter! It was fantastic :) I'm really glad that I didn't read the book over again before I saw it, so the little differences didn't bother me so much, and I just tried to think of it as separate from the book. (SPOILER ALLERT) I was kind of sad that it was ending, and I totally cried for pretty much the rest of the movie after Harry showed up at Hogwarts and stood up to Snape. They also did a really great job of making Snape look like a good guy, which I needed. I still had trouble reconciling the Snape I hated when I was little, with the hero of the last book. I've decided that Snape is a Byronic Hero, but don't ask me what that means, I can't quite remember the definition. :P

I also got a mini package from my friend who is on his mission. Inside there were 51 pictures. and that's it. I loved it :)

Lastly, I got to spend an afternoon with my wonderful friend Michael, who I've known for seven years. We don't agree on everything, but we really get each other and I just love spending time with him :) He's always there for me whenever I'm going through a rough time, sometimes with flowers and chocolate :)