July 2018 J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World by LootCrate subscription box review

This is the July, 2018, J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World by LootCrate.  It's delivered every other month, priced at $44.99 with shipping.  This box is a few weeks late.  It shipped a couple days ago, wasn't supposed to be here till Saturday, so I was shocked it arrived today!

The box picture looks a little sparse due to there being no shirt.  Later in this post there's an image of the note LootCrate included apologizing over the fact that there was manufacture issues with the shirts, they're delayed, but will be sent soon.  I do appreciate the fact that they went ahead and sent the rest of the items.  It's disappointing that the shirt isn't in the box, but as least we're getting one.  Whenever there isn't a shirt in an HP LootCrate box I feel something is missing, even when there's other wearables.  At the bottom of the blog there's a pic of the shirt.

July's box theme is Magical Creatures: "Feathers, fur, scales, wings, fangs-the Magical Creatures of the Wizarding World take many wondrous forms.  This collection celebrates the many creatures and beasts that have captures our imaginations, from Dragons to Nifflers!"

 Niffler Coin Bank

"Nifflers are attracted to shiny things, which makes them the perfect treasure finders (and keepers).  Save your loose Galleons for a rainy day inside your own personal Niffler coin bank."

It's a bank!  At first when I saw this Niffler I thought, "not another Niffler," as we received a Niffler Funko Pop figure in an early box, but it's a bank, which suddenly made this figure cool.  I have an overflowing coin purse full of loose change, so this will by handy.

This is also the only non-exclusive item in the box.

 Fantastic Beasts Cookie Cutter Set

"Bake some sweet treats worthy of Kowalski's Bakery with these creature cookie cutters, which imprint a Bowtruckle, Niffler, Swooping Evil, or Erumpent onto your favorite cookie dough recipe."

I'm a little "Meh" about this.  The cookie cutters are cute.  They seem like they're made well.  I wonder how well the imprint will show up when the cookie is baked.  It's nice that LootCrate is thinking outside the box with this item, and not sending something we've received in a different variation.

 Magical Creatures Sticky Notes

"Remember to care for your Magical creatures with these adorable sticky notes featuring Hagrid, Buckbeak, Hedwig, Fang, and a Thestral."

These sticky notes are pretty cute.  Like the chibi design.

 Nagini Horcrux Pin

"During the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom killed Voldemort's serpent Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor--destroying the final Horcrux.  Celebrating this victory with the last pin in our Horcrux series."

This is the last pin in the Horcrux series, and a lot of subscribers must be happy now that they have the entire set, and that this is such a good design.  I love that Gryffindor's Sword is detailed on both sides and is removable.

Creature Sihouette T-Shirt

"The perfect attire for an aspiring Magizoologist, this enchanting tee depicts the silhouettes of some of the Wizarding World's most well-known Magical Creatures.  How many can you identify?"

Alas, the shirt we did not get.  I really like the design.  It will be nice to see in person.

So there you have it, Magical Creatures.

Next box is a repeat of last years theme, "Back-to-school."

A Soft Breath of Courage

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

~ Winston S. Churchill

What does this seagull have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing.

That aside, I've been thinking about courage a lot lately.  What does it mean to have courage?   To be courageous and brave?

Recently I listened to a Hidden Brain podcast entitled: "What Can a Personality Test Tell Us About Who We Are?"  Very fascinating listen.  It starts out talking about Hogwart houses and sorting, then goes into Myers Briggs, Chinese Zodiac, and other types of personality profiles.

I still stand by the fact that at age 11 I would no doubt be sorted a Gryffindor, for reasons and stories I'll never get into.  But lately I've been wondering about my bravery. I don't feel as brave as I use to be.  Far from it.  And, side note, in terms of Myers Briggs, MBTI, it's greatly flawed.  Lots of fun and a little amusing, but far from perfect.  It's sad how much stock people put into it.  In terms of that I'm a "core" INFJ, but I have INTJ and INFP in me as well depending on my mood, circumstance, etc, and will go between the three.  It doesn't mean I'm shifty, just a complex human being.

Got off track.  Back to thinking about courage and bravery.

I want to be brave, and for me, right now, my bravery seems small, not loud and boisterous.  It's me facing my fears, doing things I'm afraid I can't do.  My brothers want me to try composing an 8-bit style song for a game, and my first thought is, "I can't do it!"  My goodness, not that I don't want to do it, I do, but a fear that it can't be done.  My bravery is ignoring that voice in the back of my mind telling me I can't, proving the silent criticism wrong.

And in regards to that Seagull:

Seagulls can be courageous, too, when they're facing death to get a fry.

In Which My Brother 3D Prints For Me the Gryffindor Logo

My brother Michael has been on a 3D printing kick.

He's kinda obsessed.

I still find it amazing that 3D printing is a thing.  Just one step closer to getting a Star Trek replicator?  Still, the technology is getting really impressive.  We're on the cusp of 3D printing being used in the medical industry for saving lives, using patients own cells to print organs and so forth.  Crazy stuff.  So many possibilities.

Lately Michael has been printing fidget spinners, which I was thinking I would be getting, but secretly hoping for something else.  Yesterday afternoon Krista asked me if I wanted to look up things that can be 3D printed.  Mentally I said Gryffindor, but I've been annoying the family with my Hogwarts obsession, so I said a castle instead, and Krista pulled up this video of a large castle this guy 3D printed.  Really cool stuff.  When I opened my gift I didn't get the fidget spinner I was expecting, but the Gryffindor logo!  Yay :D

Sometimes I wonder what our ancestors would think if they saw our day.  Would they be impressed or frightened by the possibilities of technology?  I'm both.

Oh, and Michael finally took the Pottermore sorting test and he got Gryffindor!  Yay!  My Mom and I aren't the only ones!  Though my Dad still hasn't taken the test, and he said he would, just hasn't gotten around to it.  He self-sorted himself into Hufflepuff, though he could easily land in Ravenclaw or Gryfindor.  My other two brothers got sorted into Hufflepuff, and my two sister-in-laws were sorted into Ravenclaw.

And, yes, according to a blog post I wrote many years ago, I was originally sorted into Hufflepuff, had an identity crises over it, and retook the test and got Gryffindor.  Since the Pottermore site update I've taken the updated test 7 times (I know I have issues, but scientific study, you know, and I'm not even a Ravenclaw or a Horned Serpent, I'm a Pukwudgie if you're wondering), and I got Gryffindor 5 times, Ravenclaw once and Hufflepuff once.  My brother Steven likes to joke with me that I'm really a Hufflepuff in denial.  But I'm not!  But as my Dad would say, "None of this is real."  And as I always respond to him, "But it's real to me."  Which means it's real enough.

The Gryffs & The Hares: A Quidditch Story, or, in other words, How A Virtual Running Club Got Me to Walk 59 Miles in a Week

I've talked about the Hogwarts Running Club a few times on this blog.  Last week we started a Quidditch match between the four houses.  Three groups of 75 people each in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw.  Though we were all racing at the same time, each of the 12 teams was in a race against just one of the teams in another house.

I was put in the GryffinRoar team against Luna's Hare Raisers.

Each of the individual races amounted to a single win.  If two houses got the same amount of wins, the house with the fastest combined time won the tie.

 GryffinRoar and Luna Hare Raisers were very evenly matched.  Through all of last week we were constantly switching places.  It was pretty exciting, actually.

(Okay, a momentary interlude.  I'm listening to a Spotify station, Discovery Weekly, and this song entitled "3000 Miles" by Emblem3 is playing, and it seriously made me laugh because the distance each team had to travel was 3,343 something miles or so.)

The Eagles won their match against the Snakes.  The Badgers won their match against the Eagles.  It looked like the Snakes would win against our Gryffindor team.  A lot of these matches ended late last week.

Still, back and forth us Gryffs and Hares went.  There was serious hope, and a good chance, that we could win, but it was a nail biter, major time.

Twice, close to midnight, I was walking to get in miles.

Saturday was a hard day.  I hit a MAJOR wall.  With some of the teams finishing it looked like we lost our chance at an overall first.  The snakes were rooting for us to win our match against the Hares, but the snarky/cynical side of me concluded that it was because if we won our match, it would guarantee the Snakes winning the Quidditch cup.  Someone mentioned on the GryffinRoar forum that, whether or not there's self interest involved in them cheering us on, they're showing us true spirit, #OneHRC spirit, or something like that.  Then, in the back of my mind, I was all like, "Well, if it's in the spirit of #OneHRC the snakes would equally be cheering for the Hares, which from my knowledge isn't happening."  Could be wrong.  Suddenly I was feeling a little used and contemplated the idea that losing and pushing the Claws to an overall win wouldn't be a bad thing.  Dark moment this was.  Thankfully I snapped out of it, after a couple hours . . .

I realized, no matter who won overall, I needed to give it my all regardless, no regrets.  If we lost it wasn't because we didn't try.

We did try.

And we pushed hard.

Saturday night I went to bed, having walked 10 miles that day, with our Gryff team 30 miles ahead of the Hares.  Sunday morning I woke up and the Hares were 150 or so miles ahead of us.  Then 200 miles ahead.  Then 300 miles.  And so on.  It didn't matter how much we worked we just couldn't make up the distance.  And while I was at church the Hares crossed the finish line in Orlando.

We were crushed.  I was crushed.

Then we pushed just to finish.

When I signed up I promised 7 miles a week, a mile a day.  Last Monday morning was when we crossed the finish line, 7 days from starting, and I did a total of 59.4 miles, just short of 60 miles, walking on the treadmill and around the house, showing proof by using the Nike+ Running Club app by posting screen shots after each walk to my personal thread.

I'm still amazed I walked that far.

 Throughout the race it was fun seeing where my walks brought the team.

 Sometimes I wrote a little something when posting to Racery.

 The final stretch!

 Where I ranked, out of 900, after posting my final miles.

Now I'm sitting at #200.

The overall rankings, though there's a Hufflepuff team still working to finish, and we're all cheering them on, helping them not give up.

In the last few hours today the last two Gryffindor teams, Godric's Pride and Mane Attraction, crossed the finish line.  These last few days our house adopted the hashtag #OnePride.  Pretty much for most of the race our three teams stayed close together, showing how evenly balanced we made the teams, but also a symbol of our solidarity.

It is disappointing our team lost, but in a way we didn't lose because we pushed ourselves and didn't give up.  I didn't think I could get so many miles.  I was unsure about signing up, not wanting to let the team down.  For health reasons I've never talked about I can't run, so I walked all my miles, averaging 20 minutes a mile.  A lot of time!  Pretty much this was all my free time last week.

And I'm sore allover.  A good sore.

And, for the record, Epsom salt baths are pretty awesome.

Trying Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer

 Last Sunday, July 31st, was Harry Potter's birthday, and to celebrate I tried Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer.  I honestly stumbled upon it last Saturday when I was visiting Provo Riverwoods, after seeing the movie Cafe Society at Wynnsong, catching Pokemon, and looking at art in Zion's Mercantile.  Before leaving the outdoor mall I walked into Blickenstaff's, a fun toy store filled with toys new and vintage, board games, candy from around the World, and old fashioned sodas.

In the soda fridge I spotted the Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer, non-alcoholic, naturally, and got quite excited.  Quite a few members of the Hogwarts Running Club have posted photographs of the drink, excited that they've found it locally.  I've never been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Shameful, right?  When I went to Disney World last June I calculated how much tickets and taxi would cost to make it possible for my Mom and I to visit.  Considering we would want to visit both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade it would cost $400+ to make that happen for just one day, and my Mom and I were trying to keep the trip affordable.  Someday I'll make it there to try real Butterbeer, but for now there are home recipes and Flying Cauldron.

I really liked the drink.  There was a slight aftertaste due to the stevia, but other than that it was quite tasty, the butterscotch strong.  My sister-in-law Lindsay loved it.  She drank it right down.

There's a recommended Giggle Potion recipe where you can add ice-cream to get that creamy foaming affect, like a root beer float.  That would have been really good!

From their website: "Since 1374, the Flying Cauldron has been making this magical brew for under aged wizards and wizards who are young at heart at their brew pub in Hogsbreath England . The recipe has changed little over the centuries. It has the perfect combination of spells and quality natural ingredients. It continues to be prized for its creamy vanilla and butterscotch flavors."

The bottle is super cute.

If you can't find it locally you can buy Flying Cauldron on the REED'S website.

The Pottermore Sorting Hat Quiz Fallacy, or why Tom Felton may not be a Gryffindor

Pottermore!

The site that launched the sorting hat identity crises.

In truth, since Pottermore opened to the public a few years ago, I've taken this test many times.  (I've lost track!  Simply you open an account, take the test, and then delete the account.  It's per rules that you must delete your account and open a new one if you wish to retest and re-sort.)

Maybe this is sneaky of me, but when I first took the test and was sorted into Hufflepuff, I felt deflated.  Unsure.  Not right.  So I did what any sensible human being would do, I deleted my account, singed up again, took the test (answering truthfully with each random question I received), and was sorted into Gryffindor.  Same test, different questions, I was just as honest, and yet I was sorted into another house.

On January 21, 2015 Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, a character known for his Slytherin ways, joined Pottermore.  He promptly tweeted "Today was the day. I finally did it. I joined Pottermore and was sorted into........Gryffindor. Heart broken x #slytherinforlife"  

There's 27 different questions created for this test randomization, in which you are only tested on 7 questions during sorting.  On the "Random Bits and Pieces of Nothing" tumblr page, the authoress, Julie, worked out that there are 9730 possible combinations (did she figure this out while taking into account that you only answer 7 at a time?  I don't know . . . and frankly I'm too lazy to found out.  And honestly I've forgotten how to do that sort of math.)  But still, if that number is correct, 9730 combinations is quite a lot.  You can take the test over and over again and not get the exact sorting each time, regardless of how Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff you may be.

There are times when I've taken the test 10 times in a row and was pretty much sorted equally between the 4 houses.  So what does that make me?  A GryffinSlytherRavenPuff.  Honestly, we may all be this.  It's impossible to have the traits of just one house 100% and 0% the other houses.  So I guess that makes us all Divergent . . . which is a different franchise, but the principle remains.

In truth if you analyze the sorting hat questions and what house each one skews, you may start to find imbalances or a differing opinion of which house that answer lands.  Thankfully there are true Ravenclaws out there to do the reasoning for us.  "Pottermore Sorting: Sorting Hat Analysis and Meta" is a very thorough article breaking down each question, and which house each answer skews.

Fun fact, all water and Merlin questions skew Slytherin.

(Though I must note that I just took the sorting hat quiz three times, choosing water and Merlin if those questions were generated for my random test, and answering honestly for all other questions, and I was sorted 1st Ravenclaw, 2nd and 3rd Gryffindor.  So taking the test and simply answering water and Merlin may not sort you into Slytherin, because your random test may not give you those particular questions, or you highly favor another house with the other questions).

Also, there are questions I have problems with, such as the instrument question.  Trumpet skews Hufflepuff (this makes no sense to me, Puffs are neither boisterous nor loud), Violin skews Slytherin (1st or 2nd violin? 1st chair principle?), Piano skews Ravenclaw (the only skewing I truly agree), and Drums skew Gryffindor (the symbolism of marching to your own drum?).

With the "either or" questions at the end of the sorting test, there's a question where you choose between Dawn or Dusk.  Dawn favors Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, while Dusk favors Hufflepuff and Slytherin.  Simply being a "night" person vs a "morning" person can skew you towards one house or another, regardless or personality, but simply because of your internal clock, and that you must work the night shift.

Ultimately, for personal TMI worthy reasons that will not be discussed on this blog, I know I would be sorted into Gryffindor, especially at age 11.  I still maintain the sentiment that we should all embrace our inner Hufflepuff, because Hufflepuff is the noblest of houses, they just keep getting a bum rap, which will hopefully change with the new movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."  The main character, and author of the book, is Newt Scamander, a Hufflepuff . . . 

"I have visited lairs, burrows and nests across five continents, observed the curious habits of magical beasts in a hundred countries, witnessed their powers, gained their trust and, on occasion, beaten them off with my travelling kettle."

—Newton Scamander

  Newt Scamander is also Luna Lovegood's Grandfather-in-law.  She marries Rolf Scamander.  Just some FYI when the movie comes out.

In the end we are what we choose.

The sorting hat is fun, none of this is real, unless you wish to believe, but if you took the sorting hat quiz and received a house different to what you feel is right, it could simply be the luck of the draw in terms of the 7 questions you received.

Be who you wish to be.

Embracing My Inner Hufflepuff

(Edit, 2017: It should be noted that I took the Pottermore test a second time and got Gryffindor, and since the site updated the test awhile back I've gotten Gryffindor the last several times I've taken the test.  Yes, I'm crazy like that.  So I've claimed Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff is my secondary house, making me a Gryffinpuff.  It's a thing.  Anywho, Hufflepuff is still an awesome house!)

When I received this Hufflepuff badge a few years ago I should have taken it as foreshadowing.

Last February I wrote about my Pottermore House Sorting Identity Crises.  It's a continuing saga in my life, never ending.  I'm split between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but deep down I'm a Hufflepuff.  I'm no longer in denial!

J.K. Rowling even admitted that Hufflepuff is, in many ways, her favorite house.  (Realize she didn't say it was her favorite . . . second favorite, then?)

And then there's the badger.

"Hufflepuff's are trustworthy and loyal.  We don't shoot our mouths off, but cross us at our peril; like our emblem, the badger, we will protect ourselves, our friends and our families against all-comers.  Nobody intimidates us." ~ From the welcome message on Pottermore.

The above picture is of a Honey Badger from Africa, which the Guinness Book of World records labels as the most Fearless animal in the world.  The most fearless!!!  Even more then a lion!

"In North America, coyotes sometimes eat badgers and vice versa, but the majority of their interactions seem to be mutual or neutral. American badgers and coyotes have been seen hunting together in a cooperative fashion." From Wikipedia.

How cool is that?

(Image Info)

And have you seen their fingers?  Oh, I mean claws.  You don't want to cross a badger, they can be pretty vicious.  Not so cute and cuddly, are they?

The badger did leave in the end, but according to a comment by Judy on YouTube this wasn't the end: "Yes the badger did kill the kits but not on the day of this fight. After this fight the badger went down in the den with one kit already down there. 15 or 20 minutes later the kit came out in fine condition. We figure the badger had been eating their cache of ground squirrels. That night the female fox dug a new den and the kits went to it. The next day both parents went hunting and the badger left the soriginal den and went to the new one. The kits were never seen again, except a few pieces." 

 Patient, True, Just, Loyal, Friendly, Sweet, Good, Hard-working.  Those aren't bad traits.  They're amazing traits! 

 Even J.K. Rowling stated that in the final battle against Voldemort in the last book, the only two houses where everyone fought was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff,  Only half of Ravenclaw got involved, and obviously no one from Slytherin.

But between Gryffidor and Hufflepuff, some of those in Gryffindor fought to showboat and boast, but everyone in Hufflepuff fought because they truly believed in the fight.  They were unselfish.  They didn't fight for self-gain, but because it was the right thing to do.  Honest, good, Integrity, and pure courage to fight and defend when the moment calls.  Fearless. 

The World would be a better place if there were more Hufflepuffs.

But regardless of how AWESOME Hufflepuffs are, we still get a bad rap!

My brother Steven kindly sent me these two Memes, though he's claimed for quite a while that he'd be in Hufflepuff, too.

 

The first Hufflepuff meme I saw a little while back.  Out of the Peanut characters, I've always identified most with Charlie Brown.

A bunch of Memes making fun of Hufflepuff's I found all over the net.  See the bad rap we get!!!!

This is super sad, but funny.

Heh, the below picture is so true!

This pie chart represents why we get the bad rap we do.  Poor representation.  (I'm sure it's exaggerated, but it sure feels right.)

And, anyways, with a last name like Stufflebeam, how can I not be a Hufflepuff?

(I don't know who the originators of the memes are, but if you want credit, and can prove you actually are the original author, please message me with proof, and I'll give you the credit you deserve.)