Alice

Speaking of fairy tales…. It’s about time Tim Burton took on Alice in Wonderland! It’s absolutely perfect for his medium in every single way. Dark and twisted? Check! All star cast? Check! 3-D? Check!!! What more could you ask for? I mean seriously people, I’m stoked!!!!

I know it’s a different twist on the story. It’s a few years after Alice’s visit and she ends up following the rabbit down the hole again, except she doesn’t remember. I think Burton is also combining both Alice books (Alice’s adventures in wonderland and what she found there and Alice through the looking glass) so that various characters will show up. Traditionally the first book has a “playing card” theme, whereas the second dealt with chess. Since characters like Tweedle dee & Tweedle dum, the mad hatter, the white queen, the queen of hearts, the talking flowers etc are all showing up, it should make for a great Burton twist!

Here’s the official website with more concept art, pictures and other fun stuff!


Here's the trailer to get you all excited!!!!

Playing around with a new look

My blog might change appearences in the next few weeks. I'm looking for a happier lighter look; something natural and pretty. Please bare with me!

Fairy Tale

OMG!!!!! I’m so excited Disney is finally going back to traditional fairy tales. No offense to generation X, but I want pretty, romantic and sweet stories. The kind I grew up with. I’m also sick of CGI (computer generated images) and long for the beautiful, lush back drops and portrayal of hand drawn. Who says today's kids don't like classic fairy tales? I remember when Swan Lake came out and even though it wasn't a Disney flick I still loved the story and the pretty princess.

I was stoked when they finally announced The Princess and the Frog, but am saddened it has a New Orleans’s twist to it. I wanted something even more traditional like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to finally see hand drawn art again (the first feature length since Home on the Range), but am so pissed at all the drama surrounding this movie. It has been so delayed in coming by the black community who wanted everything to be so damn politically correct. I really don’t want to get into it here, but the main thing was that Disney had to bend over backwards to quell the disputes over the movie. Originally the character’s name was Maddy (short for the French Madeline), but I guess it sounded too much like “mammy”. She was supposed to be a handmaid in the house (like Snow White or Cinderella), but that was considered racist. There was tons of other out cries like the prince not being black (I guess he’s Latin) and why isn’t a black princess good enough to have a black prince…..blah, blah, blah.

Needless to say, it really turned me off to the movie. I just wanted to see something new and beautiful with hand drawn art and a loving fairytale that pulls on your hear with out the fear of ogres ruining the moment with belches. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to see it, but I’m a little let down by the PC patrol.

All in all, I'm excited for movie; new songs, a new pretty princess and old fashioned art work. I'm sort of hopping we'll finally get to see a princess roaming around New Orleans's square in Disneyland. Fat chance I'm sure, as they shove all the princesses behind a partition in the back of Fantasy Land where you have to wait an hour to see them. Gone are the days when characters roamed the park where you would randomly encounter them. I wonder if they'll revamp "Splash mountain". Right now the theme is about Brier Rabbit from the Movie Songs of the South. Doesn't sound familiar? That's because Disney avoided VHS release in the USA because (once again) the black community thought it too racist. ANYWAYS..... I know Splash Mountain is a classic, but no one knows the story (unless you've seen the movie or read the book) and I just wonder if they'll change out some of the characters for the upcoming movie. Yeah, I'm doubtful too....but you just know they'll have something there to promote the new movie in New Orleans's square.....and they should! The only recent changes have been the seasonal "Nightmare before Christmas" at the Haunted Mansion during the holidays.

Also coming out (scheduled for the holidays in 2010) is Rapunzel!!!!!! Although it’s not hand drawn like the Princess and the frog, the art director is working hard to bring the warmth and romance into the art work. They are also taking a traditional approach (see the castle & forest pics) to the tale keeping with the original story line. I heard they wanted to modernize it, but am excited they’re focusing on tradition. I’m stoked and cannot wait!!!!

I'm a little surprised that she looks just like Enchanted's Giselle (which started out as a traditional fairy tale, but turned modern). I know Rapunzel has blonde hair and perhaps a more deversified wardrobe (I'm hoping for soft blues and sage greens like The Princess and the Frog), but If you look at the concept art of Rapunzel on the left vs. Giselle on the right both with chipmunks, you can see where I'm coming from, but hey I'll take what I can get. Hooray for Princesses!!!!!!

If you want some more concept art, cruise to Walt Disney’s Animated Studios website. They don’t have a whole lot, but they do give you a taste of their latest works in progress when you click through the tabs. You can also google image search the movie titles too. Just make sure you include "Disney" somewhere in there or you might get a "Barbie" rendition.

One more title that is lurking around is Pixar's movie: "The bear and the bow" to be realeased some time in 2011. This will be Pixar's first attempt at a "fairy tale" with a female lead (as opposed to the female being a love interest or moral compass for a male lead). There really isn't a whole lot to be found on it other then a crappy concept piece. Even my secret place to find more concept art by artists in the know at DeviantArt didn't have anything good listed. Luckily I do know that Reese Witherspoon will be the main character's voice. I guess it's set in Scotland where a princess (?) disguises herself in order to become a great archer. This is speculation on my part, but it sounds awesome!!!!

A proper Irish tea....and sweets!

So what if it's 85 degrees out! I brewed me up some lovely Irish Tea; Tetley tea to be exact! Through a swap on swap-bot, I made a new friend named Claire who lives in Northern Ireland! The swap was to visit other people's blogs to get inspiration and to gain exposure. Claire's blog was one of the blogs on my list and I felt totally inspired! First of all, I "borrowed" her human calendar idea and struggled to make it work (thanks to Debbie I was able to make it work!!!!), then I scrolled down and found some other stuff that got the gears turning.

One of the things that really stuck out was Claire's completed "wreck this journal". I've heard of it before, but never really got the concept. After contacting her about a private swap, we struck up a little friendship. We decided to make our own altered journals using the "wreck this journal" as inspiration. Since the journals would take a while to create, craft, magically happen etc. we decided to swap sweets & munchies in the mean time!!! Claire apparently LOVES unique filled Oreo cookies, so I found a bunch to ship to her. Since Oreos have so many varieties ( I found at least 5, not including the oreo straws and handi-snacks) I picked out the 3 best ones to send to her. I would have sent more, but international shipping is OUTRAGEOUS (even using a flat rate box). She also mentioned that she would like some Lucky Charms as they are a wee bit pricey over in Northern Ireland. So I crammed the large flat rate box FULL to the brim with fun local treats!

In return I received this fantastic box full of yummy goodness!!!! It had: Jameson Irish Whisky fudge, Jameson Milk chocolate truffles, Bushmills whiskey dark chocolate truffle bar (OMG), Guiness dark chocolate Caramel bar, Guinness Fudge bar, O'Neills all butter shortbread cookies (is your mouth watering yet?), a bag of "proper" tea (Tetley), Irish flag colored candy stick, and 2 BEAUTIFUL postcards! I had no idea that booze companies made candies too?! What's a girl to do? Brew some tea!!

I know you all think I dove for the chocolate first, but the words "all butter shortbread" almost gave me a heart attack. I tore open the box immediately. Luckily the cookies were wrapped in 2's so it helped me to ration what I have (sorry mom, I'm not sharing). Since the cookies were so rich, I needed something to wash them down with and my eyes flew to the bag of tea. I opened the bag and was greeted with the most wonderful aroma. It just wafted out and made my mouth water even more. I don't know what kind of crap we have here in America, but it ain't tea! Granted I grew up on mint sweet tea (a southern thing), but this tea was different......it was just richer.

Per Claire's instructions, I made some tea with one sugar and milk. I wasn't sure what "one sugar" meant as I don't have cubes or packets, so I just used one spoon full. People, I cannot tell you how amazing this tea was. It was smooth, strong and yet subtle at the same time....a perfect compliment to my cookie (the last of which was just gobbled up as I type this).

All I have to say is: Thank you, thank you Claire! I love everything. I'm excited that I have tons of chocolate that will (hopefully) last a while, but I can assure you the tea and the rest of the cookies will be gone by the end of the week!

As for the journal, it's coming along great! I'm finding inspiration everywhere. I haven't devoted 100% to it as I have my Mermaid's Trousseau project being wrapped up, but when it's finished I'll post a bunch of pictures of it! It's going to be fabulous people!!!!

Mermiad inspiration

As you know I'm currently working on my latest & greatest swap: The Mermaid's Trousseau. Since a few others have posted a sneak peek of their mermaid creations, I thought I would post something as well. This is what I have out in my room to give me inspiration for my swap and I keep finding little treasures to add to it. Within the past few weeks this has turned into my Mermaid's Trousseau. I'm not posting any pictures of the final swap until it is mailed and my partner has received it! I don't want her seeing too much. I have a few large projects, in the works and so far everything is coming together so beautifully. I almost don't want to give it away (LOL). It may not look like much now, but just remember that this is my inspiration and only a hint at what there is to come!

I'm so hollow baby...

I can honestly say I haven’t felt this sad in about 6 years. Mostly though, I feel like a ghost wandering around just going through the motions. I guess it could be worse, I could go off on a crying jag and call into “work” (my current temping job), but being a ghost isn’t all that great either. Today I wore bright red and look super cute in attempts to fool the world (and hopefully myself) that everything is okay. In fact, I had a close encounter with a humming bird this morning who gave me some serious thought before returning to his hibiscus flower.

I’m sorry for being such a Debbie downer on a Friday; I know everyone is getting excited about the weekend, but I can’t help the way I feel. I suppose I could “fake it until I make it” and in some ways I am, but mostly I just feel hollow.

It all started 9 months ago when I met an amazing guy. He was a local bartender who was trying to get a permanent teaching position (if you read my older posts, he’s referred to as “Teach”). Anyways we started dating and from the start he said that he didn’t want anything serious as he might possibly move away depending on where he got a job. Fast forward 8 months, and that’s just what happened. He got a job in Northern California as a sophomore world history teacher. We had both discussed that neither of us wanted a long distance relationship (they are utterly impractical in every way) and so as the weeks kept counting down we both avoided the final goodbye.

Last night was the final goodbye. I told him how sick I was of people saying mean things about him. Surprisingly my friends aren’t as understanding about this amazing opportunity for Teach as I am. I guess I’ve always been a more realistic and rational person (and more like a guy in terms of my emotions) because all my female friends just talk trash: “I can’t believe he would just dump you like this” and “what do you mean he doesn’t want you to move up with him because you guys aren’t engaged?” the list goes on and on. Yeah, it’s shitty that I got left in the dust, but you know what? I’m proud of a guy who had a plan and stuck by it.

Teach told me how sick he was of everyone giving him shit for moving so far away or over congratulating him and telling him how awesome it will be. Of course he’s not looking forward to moving away from all his friends and family to a place he’s never lived before and not knowing anyone. Plus, as he is a recent addition to the staff and he doesn’t even get his own classroom; he has to share. He’s not moving because he loved the job, he’s moving because it was the only position he could get in this crappy economy. He doesn’t want to bar tend another year and hold off, he would rather move to BFE to get a year’s worth of experience and start a new job search next year to get his dream job. If I had the guts to do it, I would, wouldn’t you?

I call that hard work and ambition: doing what is necessary to reach your goals even if it’s not what you want now, it’ll help you reach your dream. I guess no one else sees it that way, or maybe I’m just uber supportive. I didn’t spend the last month moping around and being whiny, I was by his side picking out sheets and throw pillows. I helped him figure out what he needed to bring by sorting through all the crap in his room. I was there with a beer in my hand for him when he was stressed about having to move his life 500 miles away. If I felt emotional, I would save it for when he wasn’t around. I found it odd that while being sad that sometimes when I wanted to have a good cry, I couldn’t, but when I didn’t want to cry, I would. In the end I saved my tears for him in person the very last day at the very last hour with him.

Last night I met him for happy hour at our favorite place after work. Then, I went home to shower and drove over to his place. I spent a few hours cleaning out the rest of his room and organizing the crap he was leaving at his folk’s house. Then (because his mom was being a mom) we went back to my house. We cuddled for a while and then the tears started. They were slow tears at first and then trickled into a steady flow until I was bawling. He was sweet and held me and no he wasn’t made of stone because when I pulled away he had red rimmed eyes and tears too.

We talked about the things we would miss most and how it would be hard, but that we were doing the right thing and how on the 31st (today) we would both be single people again. I know that if we had fallen madly in love with each other things would be different and I would probably be on the open road just passing Fresno on our way up north. But I didn’t fall in love and neither did he as we kept our hearts well guarded in order to make this transition easier.

For the most part it did. I remember being more broken up about a guy, but this just feels different. Maybe because I’m more mature now and because it was a sad and mutual break up. Sure it will make seeing him when he comes down to visit around the holidays hard knowing I can’t walk up and pepper him with kisses, knowing that the only reason we broke up with distance and nothing else, but that’s life folks.

So now I sit here at work in my bright red shirt greeting people and phone calls with a smile. I get progress texts from him letting me know where he’s passing through on the road and even though it’s bitter sweet it’s nice to know he’s still thinking of me. I will be thinking of him too.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if I could add this on the sidebar of my blog? I have yet to find a way to do this as Blogger only allows you to use their gadgets. You can add your own but it doesn't allow you to enter in code for the gadget; it only allows you to paste in a URL. How the hell can you get something to work just based on a URL?! It needs code to function!!!

Can you tell that I'm frustrated with this?! If you know how to make this work on Blogger, please let me know how!

*Update: Thanks to Debbie, I was able to add this on!