Ravenclaw Common Room

Not much to report. I planned to work from home yesterday, but still had to go in to the office because the clever IT department changed the software policy requirements for remote access this weekend. I had to go in to get the updates installed on my computer so I could work remotely. Bah!

*Progress towards week of 9/4 OWLS -9/6 update*
House Spirit (post ) - +2
Food (64 oz water) - +2 (NSV for water! 12 glasses of water and I didn't have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee!)
Exercise (Move) - +2 (walked, used WorkRave for breaks)

*September exercise minutes*
Month to date total = 110
9/6 exercise minutes - Walking - 30

So today was the first day of school (no kids just staff). So new routine starts. I got up at 5:00am (yes that reads 5am!!!!) nursed Ava, changed, went out and ran 4.5 miles in the pouring rain!!! It was early, cold, dark, and wet!!!!! Not my favorite-the rain was fine I actually like running in the rain, but I get freaked out in the dark. I always think someone's going to jump out from behind the bushes, grab me, and rape me. So it begins . . .

Today's Stats:
Exercise: 1 OWL
Food: 1 OWL
Spirit: 1 Owl

Weekly Stats:15 Owls and House points =235

Morning Ravenclaws! Busy day for me. Class, then I'm leading a Bible Study (don't judge), dinner date with some friends, and homework. Hoping I can fit in some exercise somewhere!

hey your among friends were all ravenclaws. we would never judge.

Good to know. Too many judgmental people on here I've found. Glad to know we are one.

got stuck at work late then after groceries and picking up daughter, it's now 8:40pm and dinner is just now cooking!! my plan was to go to the gym after work-guess that's out since they are closed now!! hopefully better day tomorrow. that chicken better cook fast-starving and feeling like grabbing the fastest thing that will fit into my mouth!!!

I decided I despise treadmills - they are NO FUN! I got on one today - while my son was in his class at my local gym thinking I'd burn more calories than I do in the pool. Wrong - BIG WRONG!!!! I was miserable - and burned a quarter of what I normally do in the pool.

So I am going back to swimming - they can shove their hamster wheels!

Worked out for 26 minutes with 30DS. Also, I downloaded a C25K podcast. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to use it, because I hate running, but I don't know, maybe a nice English woman telling me I can do it with fun music in the background will help. Has anyone done that? Does it work? Is it super dooper hard?

SPOILER ALERT !!!

Welcome Letter from Pottermore follows:

Ravenclaw

I’m Prefect Robert Hilliard, and I’m delighted to welcome you to RAVENCLAW HOUSE. Our emblem is the eagle, which soars where others cannot climb; our house colors are blue and bronze, and our common room is found at the top of Ravenclaw Tower, behind a door with an enchanted knocker. The arched windows set into the walls of our circular common room look down at the school grounds: the lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch and the Herbology gardens. No other house in the school has such stunning views.

Without wishing to boast, this is the house where the cleverest witches and wizards live. Our founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, prized learning above all else – and so do we. Unlike the other houses, who all have concealed entrances to their common rooms, we don’t need one. The door to our common room lies at the top of a tall, winding staircase. It has no handle, but an enchanted bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. When you rap on the door, this knocker will ask you a question, and if you can answer it correctly, you are allowed in. This simple barrier has kept out everyone but Ravenclaws for nearly a thousand years.

Some first-years are scared by having to answer the eagle’s questions, but don’t worry. Ravenclaws learn quickly, and you’ll soon enjoy the challenges the door sets. It’s not unusual to find twenty people standing outside the common room door, all trying to work out the answer to the day’s question together. This is a great way to meet fellow Ravenclaws from other years, and to learn from them – although it is a bit annoying if you’ve forgotten your Quidditch robes and need to get in and out in a hurry. In fact, I’d advise you to triple-check your bag for everything you need before leaving Ravenclaw Tower.

Another cool thing about Ravenclaw is that our people are the most individual – some might even call them eccentrics. But geniuses are often out of step with ordinary folk, and unlike some other houses we could mention, we think you’ve got the right to wear what you like, believe what you want, and say what you feel. We aren’t put off by people who march to a different tune; on the contrary, we value them!

Speaking of eccentrics, you’ll like our Head of house, Professor Filius Flitwick. People often underestimate him, because he’s really tiny (we think he’s part elf, but we’ve never been rude enough to ask) and he’s got a squeaky voice, but he’s the best and most knowledgeable Charms master alive in the world today. His office door is always open to any Ravenclaw with a problem, and if you’re in a real state he’ll get out these delicious little cupcakes he keeps in a tin in his desk drawer and make them do a little dance for you. In fact, it’s worth pretending you’re in a real state just to see them jive.

Ravenclaw house has an illustrious history. Most of the greatest wizarding inventors and innovators were in our house, including Perpetua Fancourt, the inventor of the lunascope, Laverne de Montmorency, a great pioneer of love potions, and Ignatia Wildsmith, the inventor of Floo powder. Famous Ravenclaw Ministers for Magic include Millicent Bagnold, who was in power on the night that Harry Potter survived the Dark Lord’s curse, and defended the wizarding celebrations all over Britain with the words, ‘I assert our inalienable right to party. There was also Minister Lorcan McLaird, who was a quite brilliant wizard, but preferred to communicate by puffing smoke out of the end of his wand. Well, I did say we produce eccentrics. In fact, we are also the house that gave the wizarding world Uric the Oddball, who used a jellyfish for a hat. He’s the punch line of a lot of wizarding jokes.

As for our relationship with the other three houses: well, you’ve probably heard about the Slytherins. They’re not all bad, but you’d do well to be on your guard until you know them well. They’ve got a long house tradition of doing whatever it takes to win – so watch out, especially in Quidditch matches and exams.

The Gryffindors are OK. If I had a criticism, I’d say Gryffindors tend to be show-offs. They’re also much less tolerant than we are of people who are different; in fact, they’ve been known to make jokes about Ravenclaws who have developed an interest in levitation, or the possible magical uses of troll bogies, or ovomancy, which (as you probably know) is a method of divination using eggs. Gryffindors haven’t got our intellectual curiosity, whereas we’ve got no problem if you want to spend your days and nights cracking eggs in a corner of the common room and writing down your predictions according to the way the yolks fall. In fact, you’ll probably find a few people to help you.

As for the Hufflepuffs, well, nobody could say they’re not nice people. In fact, they’re some of the nicest people in the school. Let’s just say you needn’t worry too much about them when it comes to competition at exam time.

I think that’s nearly everything. Oh yes, our house ghost is the Gray Lady. The rest of the school thinks she never speaks, but she’ll talk to Ravenclaws. She’s particularly useful if you’re lost, or you’ve mislaid something.

I’m sure you’ll have a good night. Our dormitories are in turrets off the main tower; our four-poster beds are covered in sky blue silk eiderdowns and the sound of the wind whistling around the windows is very relaxing.

And once again: well done on becoming a member of the cleverest, quirkiest and most interesting house at Hogwarts.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

So yesterday I decided as a bit of prep for my first boot camp class tomorrow I would do some push ups. I used to do around 70 push ups every second day, but haven't kept up with that for at least a month. I made it to 32, and was feeling pretty good about myself. I thought hey, my fitness hasn't slipped that much. WRONG! Lol. This morning I ached so much, and just hanging out my washing today I was like ouch ouch ouch.

So while I'm really excited to start boot camp, I'm also very worried now . I'm so unfit now. This is going to be really really hard. :sick:

While boot camp is going to be hard, think of how great you'll feel afterwards! We're here if you need to share stories of your pain though; OUCH!

I'm excited to be back at school after Labor Day weekend, it's much better for me to have a schedule and access to a gym than to be a lazy bum at home. Plus while I was back home, we had a family discussion about why it is really important for us (as a family) to work out. High cholesterol runs on both sides of my parents, so my sister and I really need to watch out to keep that low!

Haha thanks! It actually wasn't as bad as I feared. It was definitely tough, and my beep test score was pretty bad, but I'm looking forward to the next one

Got up at 5am this morning, stretched, nursed Ava, opened the door to go for my run and it was POURING!!! Like really pouring, so decided to opt out of the run and complete another day of Ripped in 30 (level 3 day 4). I would rather have run though. Its amazing to me how addicted my body and mind have become to running. I hope the rain stops tomorrow.

Today's Stats:
Food: 1 Owl
Exercise: 1 Owl
Spirit: 1 Owl

Weekly Stats:
Owls-18
House Points- 255

Lucky girl - how'd you manage to get in?

No, I haven't gotten in either. I know of a couple folks who have gotten in. You had to solve the 'Quill challenge' to get a beta invite. I've been following the discussions on the features, what's working, what's not. Sounds like they are really testing the site thoroughly. They need the testing though, it will be mobbed when it's finally open to the general public. I don't know what web services they are using, but I do know that huge jumps in usage wreak havoc on a data center. Any time Facebook launches a new app, Amazon Web Services is pounded. Facebook has about 750 million active users with about 50% of the active users logging in on any given day, If 0.5% percent of the active users try out a new service, that's around 375,000 new app users in a single day!