What happened before the Hunger Games

I won't lie, I did enjoy the Twilight books (in high school). But I can't help but gag at the movies. But seriously. The Host was amazing. It's such a good novel. The story fascinates me. So at about 00:40 in this trailer, when I realized what this movie was, I pretty much started screaming. Half of the theater was right there with me.

I'll have to re-read the book before next year. (We have to wait a whole year??!) Funnily enough, I had the book at one point. But I gave it away because I was embarrassed to have a Stephanie Meyer book in my possession. How silly. Obviously, you should watch the trailer if you haven't already.

Hunger Games

met my expectations...and then some!

The book nerds. Erika & I

The camera was a little too shaky for me in the beginning.

The violence was more bloody than needed.

Peeta was more of a man than he was in the book.

And where was Gale the whole time?
I feel like they really downplayed their relationship/friendship. Lame.

But...for the most part, they stayed pretty close to the book.

Katniss is exactly as I pictured her.

She's such a beast!

And I think I teared up during Rue's death scene.

District 12 was basically how I imagined.

You know I pictured Haymitch really fat?

But I liked his character more than the one in my head!

And I liked the behind-the-scenes games-orchestrating in the Capitol.

I thought the costuming for the Capitol citizens was spot-on.

I always had a hard time having a good picture of what Cinna looked like.

The movie Cinna was really good, I think.

There were a few people dressed up as characters in the theater...how can you do that if you haven't seen the movie yet? Weird.

I don't think Nate was really happy about waiting for so long at the theater with a bunch of book nerds ;)

But for me, it was well worth the 3 hour wait in the theater for the midnight showing!

In honor of...

the Hunger Games premiere tonight, here are some of my favorite Hunger Games inspired things floating around the web:

Source: Uploaded by user via Lulu on Pinterest

source

Source: tumblr.com via Lacey on Pinterest

 (on etsy here)

And if you haven't heard Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars' song from the soundtrack, watch the video here. (Don't you love her dress?!) Also, a great wedding inspiration shoot based on the books.

***

While I haven't made a cool shirt or outfit for tonight, I am super excited! Let's hope it's as good as all the hype! And if it's not, we still have the books, right? :)

Happy Hunger Games!

Books Reviews: Harry Potter

Based on their worldwide fame, I don't think I need to recommend Harry Potter to anyone. But I recently completed a fun little goal that I figured should not go unblogged. Thanks to my friend Holly and her collection of books and movies, I re-read every Harry Potter book and after completing each book, I watched the corresponding movie.

I haven't read the first 3 or 4 books in years. I really enjoyed reading and watching them all again. Watching the characters grow up was really fun. Rowling did such an amazing job at depicting true friendship. I can't wait to read them with our children!

image

Is the snake from the Sorcerer's Stone actually Nagini?

Several months ago, I was quite interested in the image that was floating around that characterized the Royal Wedding paralleling Cinderella. I did some research and busted that myth. See the full post here.

Something I have learned in college and from the legacy of Harry Potter is that "I must not tell lies." So I was intrigued when I saw the following image floating around the web recently:

(Nerd alert!) I did some research and found that....IT'S NOT TRUE! First of all, Nagini is female and the snake at the zoo was male.  This snake was not interested in biting anyone, it was just happy to be free. In chapter 2, The Vanishing Glass, it states that this snake was a boa constrictor, which is not a venomous type of snake. Nagini was venomous and enjoyed biting people. There. Myth busted.

Helpful sources: 1, 2 
Watch a clip of this scene here.


**Update: I should have stated earlier that I was unable to find the source of this image and could not find a direct quote from J.K Rowling. My guess is that she did not actually say this. My rule of thumb is that if there is no source stated, it's false.

Disney Princesses: Good or Evil?

Source: freedisneyclipartsite.com via Monica on Pinterest

Warning: Long and opinionated post!

Recently in my Socialization Across Childhood class, we had a big discussion on Disney Princesses. Our reading for that day was a great chapter from the book, "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" by Peggy Orenstein. For full disclosure, she is a raging feminist, so I did not agree with her for the most part. She basically is saying that Disney is creating a culture of materialism and extravagant dependance on our male counterparts. See what I mean by feminist? My first reaction was defense, because I grew up with Disney Princesses more than any other type of media. But, I read the chapter and tried to appreciate/understand her point of view.

I understand and agree that this is part of a grand marketing scheme on Disney's part. And for good reason, they pull in $4 BILLION a year with this stuff. But more than that, she is trying to paint Disney Princesses as this terrible thing that is corrupting our daughters into thinking they have to depend on a man and that being admired is THE characteristic to have.

The Stories.
But do they really do that? Well let's think about the stories. President Uchtdorf's talk "Your Happily Ever After" is a great resource for this conversation. He points out that they all have one thing "in common: they must overcome adversity." By watching Cinderella endure her wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters, perhaps you learned that humility, hard work and kindness will lead you to your happily ever after. Perhaps you learned from Beauty and the Beast that sacrifice, patience, and smarts will lead you to that golden sunset.

Source: grincha.deviantart.com via Andy on Pinterest

To be fair, not all Disney princesses are super-duper awesome. What did Snow White do? Sing? I guess she was nice to the dwarves. But that doesn't make her a great role model. And how about Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty? She was a good singer too. (And one of my favorites). But again, she didn't do much else. And to play a little on Orenstein's side, both of them had to be saved by their prince. Ariel could also fall into this category, but at least she saved the prince first! (But then there's the whole going to an evil witch and changing into another species thing, but we won't go into that). And have you noticed that none of the princesses look at each other in the logos? And that none of them have any close friends other than animals and tea cups? Orenstein argues that this teaches girls that having girlfriends is a negative thing.


Personal application.
How has Disney influenced me? Well first off, it gave me unrealistic expectations about hair. ;) More recently, I've had to deal with the idea that "happily ever after" is just getting married. What about the rest of life?

Source: calisays.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I have a wonderful marriage and I am an (overly) positive person, so living my "happily ever after" everyday has not been that difficult. But there are days that just do not belong in my happily ever after. But overall, I've had a good head on my shoulders that realizes these are just movies. Just good entertainment that allows us to escape reality and live under the sea, in a faraway kingdom, long long ago in a magical castle. And the story-lines are resolved at the end of each movie. Good overcomes evil. Tiana gets her restaurant career and her man.

Main Ideas.
Wow, I  was really starting to sound like Orenstein for a little bit up there. I wish I could back up some of this with research, but none has been done on the affect Disney princesses on behavior. My professor is starting some next semester, which is super exciting! Too bad I will be graduated. :(

Back to our discussion: we came to the conclusion that the best thing to do as parents and caregivers is to talk about the movies as we watch them with our children. And this takes real effort. Often we pop in a movie so we can get some housework done or just to calm them down. But taking the time to really talk to our kids about what is going on in any movie or media that they see is super important.

Image credit

So, if you read that whole thing, I commend you! What do you think about all this? Did Disney mess you up? Did it teach you about living a good life? Who is your favorite? (Mine is Belle!)

Adios to Netflix + Friday Links

Source: doodleflix.tumblr.com via Cassie on Pinterest

After finishing our X-Men marathon this week, we said good-bye to Netflix. Even their online streaming and quick shipment of DVDs is not worth their new higher price. And now, two sites instead of one? Do they have any customers left?

An outdoor school in Midway. Sweet! This is exactly what we want for our kids. (And...it's a public school!)

I made this monster smoothie (fruit + spinach) for breakfast and I actually liked it! Couldn't even taste the spinach. (I actually just used about 1.5 cups of frozen strawberries, one banana, a little milk and a heaping cup of spinach.)

Have you been watching Project Runway? This is my favorite look by far! 

Is anyone going to this Soel Swap on Saturday? Looks fun! Maybe I'll find some boots!

Can't wait for General Conference next weekend! These ideas for kids during Conference look fun!

More Potter for Ye

This gives me the chills. I can't wait to read these books to my children.

 

Troop Beverly Hills!

"Beverly Hills, what a thrill!"

Reminisced a little last night about my childhood and watched Troop Beverly Hills.

Forgot about the cheesy goodness of this movie :)

My favorite moment in the movie :)

The Three Brothers

Warning: For those of you that have not read Harry Potter 7 or seen the movie, this is a total spoiler:

Source: community.thenest.com via Natalia on Pinterest

How did I not think of this?! Total revelation!!

P.S. The Three Brothers animation that appears in the film.

Dumbledore's Wisdom

How can anyone not let their children read these books when they have such obviously good themes?

And this one just made me laugh....

Image credit: 1 and 2

Not the End

Why is everyone crying about the end of Harry Potter? Are your book and DVD collections disapparating? Probably not. So cry mourn over a loss that isn't there? The books and movies that altered our childhood will always be there for another re-read or re-viewing. They will be here when we have kids! And we can pass on the legacy of Harry, Ron and Hermoine to generations to come! I loved the Viewpoint in today's paper:

"We don’t need more books to remind us what Harry Potter tried to teach us all along.

Dumbledore put it perfectly (as he always did):

“Do not pity the dead, Harry,” he said while in the heavenly version of Kings Cross Station. “Pity the living and above all, those who live without love.”

Isn’t that the point of the series? Isn’t this what J.K. Rowling, David Yates and every other member of the Harry Potter Team wanted us to know?

We must live with love toward our family, even if they’re crazy.

We must live with love toward our friends, even if they’re know-it-alls.

We must live with love toward those we love, even if they’re our best friend’s kid sister.

We must live with love toward our enemies, especially when they’re about to be killed in a cursed fire.

Cheesy, I know, but still true.

Harry Potter will always be more than a movie to our generation.

I’m not saying it created who we are. We did that — we are the writers of our own destiny — but this series will always be a foot of parchment in our well-bound histories.

So, to all you Harry Potter fans with the now retired robes and magic wands, do not mourn for the end of Potter, instead look brightly on the world you have before you and make it as magical as you made Harry Potter.

So, Masters Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs:

Mischief Managed.

More Potter-inspired posts later this week!

Holiday Weekend Update

We had a little cook-out on the 4th with our friends Holly & Morgan and cousins Clay & Haley. We tried to make it all-American with bacon burgers cooked over charcoal! It was a little adventure since we've haven't grilled with charcoal in years...but they were goooood! Thanks Nate for manning the grill! We filled up with yummy watermelon and broccoli salad too!

I had a slight crisis that morning because I realized I only had half of the fruit trifle recipe. Luckily Mom and Nanny were available to coach me through the rest! I think this is one of those recipes that takes years of experience to make perfectly beautiful. But I think it tasted pretty good!

We ended the night with a truly American movie, The A-Team at Holly & Morgans'. And then we forgot about the sparklers. Oh well. We'll just have to have another party :)

The Help

I can't wait to see this! It's about time someone told this story. I plan to read the book before it hits the theaters.

On "finding yourself"

This week, I watched "Eat Pray Love". I found it to be interesting and entertaining. Julia Roberts is one of my favorites, she's just phenomenal. And the supporting cast was excellent as well. (Ketut, the Indonesian medicine man, had me laughing out loud). I've put off seeing it because I knew the basic story and wasn't really interested: bored rich woman leaves her husband to "find herself". But at a weak moment when Nate was out of town, Netflix suggested it to me. It was on Instantplay, (basically free)!

So I watched it. Despite myself, I found the story compelling and I didn't turn it off. But as the movie continued, I found myself feeling sorry for her. Didn't she know that happiness is not found by looking inward? Didn't she know that happiness is found in our relationships? You can love yourself and other simultaneously. You can "find yourself" when you are married or in a relationship. Like she learned almost too late, "losing balance for love is part of living a balanced life."

But maybe I'm being hypocritical. I left Nate a day after he proposed for two months last summer. For what? To serve? Or for one last bit of freedom and adventure? The fact is that I missed him and cut my two month internship down to one month. I did not want any more adventures without him. He was (and is) my life.

I've learned more about myself since being engaged and married to Nate than I have at any other time of my life. I've learned that I have a lot of flaws. I'm terrible at washing dishes, I steal the covers and forget to re-fill the ice trays. But because of our marriage , I have discovered my redeeming qualities as well. He has encouraged me to follow my dreams and do the things I love. Because of him, I have found an increased satisfaction in doing the things I love. Because he loves me, I have found more reasons to love myself.

But marriage is not about learning to love yourself. It's about trusting another person with your whole self. It's about making someone else the focus of your life and time. I think that is what may have been missing from the movie.

I hope I haven't offended anyone, that was not my intention. It's just that I have found a tremendous blessing in marriage and wish more people could feel the same.

TRADITION!!

Just finished watching "Fiddler on the Roof" for the first time.

Add it to your Netflix right now!

I don't know why I have deprived myself from this gem my whole life!

It has some amazing music and a beautiful story.

(And lots of lessons about family and marriage!)

Don't you love her veil?!

One of my favorite scenes!

This scene just melted my heart!

Even after three hours...I was wishing for more!

Continued Obsession

For FHE/Kacey's birthday we went to Pier Park and saw the Half-Blood Prince. The action scenes were great, the casting (once again) was phenomenal, it followed the movie in most aspects, the love stories were still a little awkward and I still love it! Good overcomes evil, light conquers darkness. Harry Potter is still my number one.