I recently was awarded (by myself) the title of Executive Mouse in the Kanab Community Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Dave and I went down to help with production for three weeks because my favorite sister-in-law to be got the role of Cinderella! This is one of my favorite musicals and although I was hesitant to go, I'm very glad I decided to.
The reason I decided to go down was that Stacy (my mother-in-law to be) had a huge thorn in her side in the form of the transformation scene. Somehow, she had to make this
into this
on stage.
I won't tell you how she, as Back Stage Fairy Godmother did it, but I will tell you that it took more than one try and that my original design was WAY too complicated to work. With a little magic and a lot of sewing, she was able to make this happen
Since she and I were behind the scenes most of the time, I didn't have the chance to take many pictures. Most of the ones I did get were during the times that I was a rule-breaker and I snuck out to the back of the audience to get some pictures on my phone. Almost all of those are gratuitous twirly dress pictures.
But can you really blame me?
Ugh, it's so pretty I could just die!
The final night I managed to get this one of the first look at the ball.
A poetic dance. (If you've seen the movie, you'll get it)
The lovely stepsisters in the most blurry photo ever.
Midnight.
The shoe fits!
Happily Ever After! (Stacy's wedding dress with an added chapel length watteau train)
And a very glittery magical lady.
It was a great show to be a little part of and being down in awful, terrible, too-hot-to-be-alive Kanab was a great chance to get in some needed girl time with Kylie and Stacy. They're the best.
It was also great to see and meet a bunch of Dave's family and meet the lovely and delightful Kali, who is Kylie's platonic soulmate. All in all, it was a pretty great trip.
I just finished watching Funny Face, fully expecting to love it. I have now come out the other side very confused and a little grossed out. It has tons of things I love, Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Paris setting, fashion, dance numbers, an opening number about pink for goodness sake! The execution, however makes me very glad I wasn't born in the era in which this horror was written.
It starts with a girl working in a book shop being bombarded by orders from models and photographers she has never met before in her life. They throw the whole shop out of order for an unauthorized photo shoot, despite her frequent protests and threats of police intervention. They finish and leave so the photographer helps her clean up. Up until this point, the movie seems like a typical clever-girl-beats-the-odds-with-unlikely-friends comedy I was hoping for at five in the morning. While discussing philosophy and empathy, out of freaking nowhere, Fred Astaire (who has a good thirty years on Audrey) just kisses her! He then proceeds to tell her that he kissed her because empathy told him she would want it. That's right, he pulled a Robin Thicke. He leaves and she proceeds to sing about how great it was and how this lovey feeling is an unknown phenomenon to her.
Back at the magazine, the director (editor in chief? I don't remember her title) is looking for an "It Girl" for the magazine to exemplify all that it stands for. Here Fred Astaire's character (aptly named Dick) decides to suggest this girl for the job, despite the face that he knows it would go against her morals to take it and then when she objects he dangles her favorite philosopher and Paris in front of her. Here again her character (named Jo) is weak and sacrifices her morals to meet her idol.
The bulk of the part where they are in Paris actually isn't that bad so I was able to put away my skepticism for a while so I could enjoy the vintage cinematography and wonderfully cheesy songs. Then came the scene where the wedding dress photo shoot took place, and this cradle-robbing Dick proceeds to put the moves on exceptionally clever but surprisingly naive Jo, and again she takes the bait. Then everything is love and sunshine and roses until she finally gets to meet her philosophical kindred spirit and unlike the long-bearded, bespectacled, cranky old coot she was expecting to meet, he's young and charismatic.
Dick finds Jo and the foxy professor in a cafe and instantly assumes the worst. He shows himself to be jealous and possessive and generally gross. Jo defends the professor, saying that he's only interested in her mind and that Dick(face) has no reason to be jealous and he retorts with the most sickening line in the whole movie. "He's as interested in your intellect as I am."
Jo goes back to a party at Professor Foxy's (that's not his name, I just can't be bothered to look it up) apartment. To the surprise of nobody, she's followed by jealous Dick and business-minded Maggie (the editor president queen whatever) who do a very jazzy number trying to get in to force a girl into a pretty gown. After they've failed, she finds out, again to nobody's surprise, that the philosophical professor who seemed a kindred spirit is actually a scuzzweasel trying to ferret his way in to her pants. He backs her into a corner, getting too friendly and she whacks him over the head with a pretentious statue. Go Jo! Except that the going that Jo does is straight back to her condescending old man love where, after a little confusion, they get married and float off down the river on a raft of questionable safety.
And they all lived crappily ever after!
The moral of the story seems to be, if you're pretty, don't expect people to care if you're clever! Not even the person you marry!
So when I decided to stay up all night to fix my sleep schedule, I figured starting a new show would give me a reason to stay awake. I turned to Tumblr for inspiration because being on that website as often as I am, I know way more about shows I've never seen than I know the names of some of my relatives. Informed choices rarely disappoint, and finding Gravity Falls was no different. It has been suggested to me that my sleepy explanations should be documented and read to me after I have slept, so I'm giving it a shot.
Gravity Falls is like a weird, foresty mash-up of Welcome to Night Vale and Regular Show. This could be spoilery, but I doubt I'll reveal anything big because I haven't seen anything that big. So these twins, Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony (Mabel Pines) and Dib from Invader Zim (Dipper Pines) get sent from their presumably screen-filled lives in the city to Gravity Falls, Oregon. I've never been to Oregon, but from the forests I've seen, the animation of the place is pretty authent-ish. They go to live with their Grunkle (great uncle) Stan who runs a touristy cryptozoology shop full of clever lies and funny fakes. Dipper feels unsettled in the forest and with good reason! While his Grunkle sells fakes, the forest has real paranormal beings and hilarity and hijinks ensue. His Grunkle Stan never believes his tall tales, but he's like the only one who doesn't in the group. Mabel believes him after an encounter of her own almost becoming Gnome Queen. There's Wendy who works in the shop and is lumberjacky and sarcastic and Dipper is super in love with her. There's Gideon (is ANYONE nice ever named Gideon? Ever? It's like authors just say, hey I have a snobby, pretentious, power-hungry character, got any good names? Oh Gideon! Of course!) who is in love with Mabel and is basically a short, fat, Southern Draco Malfoy. There is Soos, who is a big helpful giant humanized beaver. Gopher? Mole?
You tell me.
And at some point Mabel gets a pig sidekick. Is that everyone? Who knows? I'm tired.
By recently, I mean in the last couple years, but I didn't feel the full force of my poor choices until recently. I decided to not cut my hair until 2016. Up until recently, it was no big deal. I've had long hair before and long hair gives you more choices for hair style so it seemed like a situation I could handle without much trouble.
That was until this started to happen.
Having your hair pulled is crappy enough when someone is leaning on your hair without realizing it, but this?!?! It makes it so you not only can't move your head, but when you try, it yanks at your scalp as well as having a weird foreign tickly nonsense in your armpit!
Other than little momentary annoyances like that, having long hair is actually pretty nice. You can put it up and it looks great, or leave it down and look like a god damn fairy princess. When it's bugging you you can get it out of your way with just a clip instead of a million pins that stab you in the head and then get lost forever.
Long hair leaves more worry about damaging hair. If you plan to keep it longer, that means every curling iron, every straightener, and every blow dryer is the enemy. My issue with this is that while my hair is naturally curly, when it's long, it's too heavy for my curls to be pretty and defined like I like them without my curling iron. Some Pinteresting around showed me the ways of the headband curls, but I couldn't find a detailed tutorial anywhere so I put off trying it for a long time.
Now that I've tried it and been replacing my curling iron with it for a few months, I have stronger, softer hair and no split ends and I wish I'd tried it sooner. Now that I've got it down to a science, who better to do a detailed tutorial than me? Probably someone who bothers to have photo editing software and the foresight to plan a post in advance rather than posting on a whim, but still I press on!
First, section damp hair off into two parts at the natural part (or usual part you use when styling your hair) and put them over your shoulders.
Next, take a tight-ish stretchy headband and put it around your head over your hair from the start of your hairline to the base of your skull.
Starting with the smaller side, section out a piece of hair (small or large depending on how large you want your curls to be) and then place your finger and thumb under the headband behind the hair. Put the piece of hair through your finger and thumb and then pull it through and under the headband.
It should look something like this. Then taking the same section of hair, add another piece of hair and repeat the process until you finish the first side.
Halfway done!
Then the other side
Remember to keep the two groups apart in the back so that they don't get tangled into one big horrible loop of hair
If you start with almost-dry damp hair, you can take it out in the morning and have perfect curls. It's not pokey like curlers so it's comfy to sleep in, it keeps your hair from looping around your arm in your sleep, and it won't damage your hair like a curling iron.
Wuthering Heights has been controversial from its very beginning. It is two parts romance, six parts mental dysfunction, one part ghost story, and engaging from beginning to end in any adaptation. People love it because the characters are batshit crazy and extreme in ways most of us never even dream of being, yet they confront very common issues.
Heathcliff : Everyone thinks they are above me. I'll show them.
Catherine : I love the dark brooding handsome bad boy, but I love the sensitive, sweet guy who can give me a better future too.
Edgar : I like this girl, but damn, she is crazy!
Isabella : Heathcliff is so attractive and dark. I bet I could change him. He'd never hurt me. He loves me. Right?
Wuthering Heights also does something pretty unique that internet fandoms do all the time. It continues on and shows you the children of the pairings you know and love and how they interact beyond the watchful eyes of their parents. Where the first half of Wuthering Heights is damaging and harsh, passionate and brutal, the second half offers redemption. Little Catherine is sheltered and naive, but because of her father's love she is never afraid of loving after she's been hurt. Hareton is raised as a savage but his independence from being neglected allows him to think for himself and resist when he thinks something is wrong. Linton, being the product of a one-sided love and an over protective mother never learns to be anything but spoiled and selfish, and in being selfish he brings everyone together and promptly dies. Thank goodness, because he was an annoying little monster. But, this rant has gone on far too long. On to fangirling!
When I really enjoy a story or a set of characters, I usually make things and then hide them away so nobody will ever see my secret shame. I have recently been informed that this is silly and I should share the things I make, even if I don't like what I make because my passion could inspire someone else to get into the things I like.
My first creations are always fashion.
I would have made the boys too, but I only use Modcloth clothes, and they don't have a great selection for men.
Rome is one of those major cities that everyone fantasizes about seeing at least once in their lives. It's been glorified in our imaginations by movies as old and glamorous as Roman Holiday and as new and quirky as The Lizzie McGuire Movie. We fantasize about seeing the Coliseum and imagining its former splendor and tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain and having some fantastical wish come true. But what would I do in Rome if I had the chance to go?
1) The Vatican City
The Vatican is the world's smallest country, fitting snugly within the city limits of Rome. Even before Christianity, it was considered a sacred place. It's name is derived from a Latin word meaning seer or prophesy, making it a hub of activity. Once chosen as the center of the Christian world, it attracted artists who painted, sculpted, and built it up to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
2)The Pantheon
One of the best preserved Roman buildings in existence, the Pantheon is a temple built in honor of all gods. That's what "Pantheon" literally translates to. The Oculus at the top is a topic of debate. Some people say it's main function is light, some say it was seen as a link to the gods themselves, and others say it was used as a sun dial. In any case, it's something I would love to see for myself.
3)The Roman Forum
This is by far my favorite and the one I would be the most excited to see. It was the first inhabited part of Rome and one of the most active areas once all of Rome was built. Due to debris build up over the years, the forum is now a full 25 feet lower than the street level of Rome. The best part of all this is that the public is allowed in! One day I hope to walk where the Romans walked and see what they built.
June 15th
The Best Part of Travel
Solveig and Stevie wanted to go see a castle, and Tammy and I weren't feeling it, so the group split two ways for the day. They saw the castle (which they assured me was gorgeous) and Tammy and I decided to got explore Old Town on our own. As is usually the way with travel, things did not go as we had planned.We got off the train in the morning and set out for Old Town, using the lions along the street to guide our way. What we didn't realize was that, while the lions could have guided us to our destination, we were heading in the opposite direction of the right way. When the street stopped looking familiar, we found a themed spa with a lush garden in front. We wandered down the garden path until we found a bench. We rested and laid out our plan for getting back to where we thought we wanted to be. Well rested and ready to find our way, we proceeded to get even more lost. We happened across a shop that had gorgeous masks and silk and lace in the window, so we went inside. This turned out to be a sneaky sex shop. As mature ladies, the obvious course of action was to giggle our way through the shop. The shopkeepers thought we were funny and watched as we figured out what the shop really was. Not far from there, we found a hill that rose suddenly in the middle of the street with a park on top We stopped there a while and watched as some people barbecued, some people walked dogs, and a large statue of a naked man sat there, judging us for getting lost. We were starting to get hungry. We set out for food and happened upon a cute (touristy) cafe where we got wine and cake because on vacation we eat what we want! .
This was the best cake ever.
Then we decided to move to the tables outside to enjoy the weather. I (in Solveig's jacket that she got a few days before that she hadn't even worn yet) stole Tammy's hipster glasses so I could be Hipster Ariel
And then Tammy took them back.
We left and suddenly found what appeared to be a major sporting event.
Somehow, we found our way back to Solveig's and passed out for the night.
June 16th
CHIBORI!
Today was the much anticipated day that we got to go to the fun park! I was so excited. You know how everyone is always saying that clowns are scary? All lies. There was a hilarious clown on a unicycle telling jokes as we got there. It was raining, but damn it, we were having fun at that fun park whether we liked it or not! We started on a roller coaster for little kids called The Lady Bug, which was a lot scarier than I expected.
Stevie, Solveig, and I getting psyched for the ride!
We rode lots of rides. Some spun us. Some bounced us. One shook us up and smashed us into each other. We went through the fun house.We even went on a haunted house roller coaster that was genuinely scary.
That night we went out to a club called Sommar to meet up with Lisa's friends. We met Oscar and Erik and we hung out with Axel again. After the people we went with left (Solveig and Stevie at 11-ish because Stevie wasn't well and Lisa and Trevor were tired at 12-ish) we kept saying we were going to stay just one more song, and then a better one would come on. Lisa left us in the capable hands of her friends, and when we wound up still out at 4 a.m. , Oscar just let us sleep at his place instead of us trying to find our way back to Solveig's.
June 17th
Waking up in Stockholm
We got up at noon- ish and Oscar brought us to the train and told us how to get to Lisa's. We stopped by Lisa's, grabbed our stuff, and then had a cozy day at Solveig's house. I finally took my heels off and saw that in dancing with them on all night, blood had pooled up under my toenails. It was SO painful, so the day of rest and games of Bullshit were a perfect fit.
June 18th
The Vasa/Skansen Debacle
Solvieg had work on this day, so we went vintage shopping in the morning and then we parted ways. Tammy and I wanted to see Skansen and Stevie wanted to see The Vasa, so we split up saying we would meet at Skansen after we were done. Well, when we arrived Skansen was closed. Stevie arrived at he Vasa with only half an hour to spare. We thought we would give her some time to explore, not knowing she was thinking the same thing. It was several hours until we met up, and when we found out that we had all spent the day just sort of waiting, we decided to go to the mall.
Later on in the night, Lisa and Trevor wanted to meet up for a movie. They took us to an awesome candy store, which unfortunately did not take cards without a chip in them. Then we saw Snow White and the Huntsman, which Trevor and I agreed was just Joan of Arc without the character development.
June 19th
The Summer House
Stevie left at early o'clock in the morning for America. She had been on a study abroad even before Sweden, so I'm sure she was quite ready to be back in her own bed. Solveig got up to do things before we got up, and wound up getting to the train a few hours before we did. We went to catch up with her so we could all take the same bus to Max's family's house in the woods. We made it, got to the little town, and got some stuff for the barbecue. We went to a second bus stop to wait before then long walk to the house.
Also, Tammy and I got pizza in the town. So yummy.
That night we barbecued, went swimming at the lake (where there was a stand off about who should jump in first.Max lost. Tammy and Lisa didn't go in at all.) and we played charades and bullshit. Solveig and I dominated everyone else at charades and Trevor was going to come out to hang out, but it was too late.
June 20th
To ze Subway!
Back at Solveig's this day. Solveig and I wanted to go out and explore and Tammy wanted more sleeps, so off we went! We hit up some more thrift shops, but I didn't find anything I wanted. We went through Old Town again and then it got cold so we decided to tour the coolest subway stations.
Then we went to the store to gather supplies and Max came over for dinner and another billion games of bullshit. We stayed up much too late.
June 21st
Fleeing the Country
We got up way too early after being up far too late. Groggy as hell, Max and Solveig kindly took us to the station where we caught Swebus back to the airport. We waited at the gate playing the puzzle game again until our flight arrived. Once we got to Germany, we realized how nice long layovers are. We were rushing from the moment we hit the ground, until we were stuck standing in the longest lines full of the crankiest people. It was like Disneyland, but with no upside. We stood in line until we got on the plane, where we were seated in the middle. It was long and uncomfortable and I was so happy when it was time to land. Unfortunately, the pilot apparently hadn't been paying very close attention and we weren't at the right altitude. We had to circle around way too many times to remember and it made me feel ill and cranky. Then we landed and had to go through security. I learned that I quite easily could (should) have brought alcohol back into the country, because apparently being small, white, and female, I was incapable of sneaking anything in to the country. They didn't even try to look through my bag. Then we made our way home where I promptly passed out.
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