Book vs Movie

Attention...if you have not seen the Hunger Games movie yet, you may want to stop reading this post now....I will be giving stuff away.  The same goes for the people who have seen the movie and now are going to go back and read the book....dont say I didn't warn you.

That said...I went to the movies yesterday with my mom and step-dad to see Hunger Games.  I have to say I was pleased and disappointed all at the same time.  I often feel this way when I watch a movie after I have already read the book.  I alway feel like to movies are so rushed, things happen way to fast.  I felt the same way about Twilight (not to mention that the first Twilight book was horrid).  Especially when it comes to the relationships of the characters.  I am sure everyone understood that it was very sad when Rue dies because she was so young and she becomes friends with Katniss.  What you don't know is that they were allies for almost a week before she dies.  She reminds Katniss of her little sister, and that is why she takes her under her wing.

You also don't truly get to understand the relationship between Katniss and Peta either.  The spend a whole week in the capitol before they enter the games.  He truly loves her, and she is very confused about her feelings for him.  She hates him, she likes him, she's playing him, etc.

She's also confused about her feelings for Gale.  She loves him like a brother at first, but when she starts to have feelings for Peta, she starts questioning her feelings for Gale.

They also "toned down" a lot of the movie to make it PG-13.  The book was defiantly rated R.  The killing at the cornucopia was much more graphic and bloody.  The scene when Glimmer dies is a bit more disgusting (btw, Rue didn't give Katniss the idea to drop the bees nest, she came up with it in her own).  They cut out the day she almost died of dehydration, and she was burnt longer in the book, they kind of combined 3 days into one there.

Rue's death was very mild compared to how it was in the book...not to mention there is supposed to be these hovercrafts that remove the bodies, that's why she covered Rue in flowers.  Cloves death was down played as well.   But the most disappointing part was the end.  That is the coolest  and scariest part of the whole story, and they glossed over almost all of it, or skipped it all together!

The beasts are versions of the fallen tributes, they have their stature, eyes, and hair.  After Cato falls off the cornucopia the beasts drag him inside...he is stuck in there dying for a day.  Katniss and Peta have to listen to his cries of pain all night before she can finally reach him and shoot him in the head.

When they take the two back to the Capitol (after they win) Katniss goes a bit crazy, and Peta looses his leg (they skipped the part where he gets bitten and almost bleeds to death waiting for Cato to die)

I know they can't have the movies and the book be exactly the same, the movie would be too long, but I feel like they don't do a good job deciding what to cut out.  When I watched Harry Potter (after having read the books) I wasn't disappointed.  Sure they left parts out, and occasionally they were important parts, but I just didn't leave the theater feeling the least bit disappointed.  And those books were a hell of a lot longer than Hunger Games.  This is why I just skip the movies.  I haven't seen Water for Elephants, or The Help.  And I will never watch another Jodi Picult movie...they've screwed up every single one.  She is one of my favorite authors...she needs to stop allowing her books to be made into movies....they screw them up every time!

What are your feelings about turning books into movies?

Water Marble Nails

I did some heavy duty gardening today and so as a result, my nails got a wee bit chipped.  Since I am going to see "Hunger Games" tomorrow I thought I would paint my nails in honor of the most kick ass book series of all time.  Well....I am not creative enough to make flames on my nails, but I thought I would give water marbling a try....after all its been all over Pintrest...must be good :)

Now there are videos on YouTube that give really good instruction, thats where I "learned".  But to be honest I'm more of a "just do it" kinda girl.  I learned a few tricks tonight, and I can't wait to try again with a few different colors.

Here's what you will need...

- Any thing you normally use for a manicure....nail file, clippers, cuticle pusher-backer LOL, buffer (it has come to my attention that buffing your nails is very important if you want your polish to last)

- The polish you want to marble with (2-3 colors are probably best)

- Base and Top coat

- Cup of Water

- toothpicks

- tape

-Q-Tips

-Nail Polish Remover

 I've been using this as my base coat.  I got it at Sally's Beauty Supply.  It suggests two coats, I only use one.  Make sure you allow plenty of drying time in-between each coat, another tip to help your polish last longer.

These are the three colors I used for the marbling.  Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Amber Ruby (I don't think they make this kind anymore), OPI An Affair in Red Square, and Orly Luxe.  The Prism color didn't show up very much in the marble...just one of those things you'll learn as you go.

After you are finished marbling (make sure it is completely dry to avoid smearing) make sure you finish it off with a top coat.

Start with clean dry buffed nails...add your base coat, wait for it to dry. 

Choose a color as your "color base coat".  Most of the videos I watched they used white, but that seemed stupid to me...I'm not using any white in my marbling, so I chose the lightest marbling color I am using.  I only did one coat, its just supposed to help fill in any gaps the marbling leaves.

I cut my Solo cup in half so it wasn't so tall.  Next time I think I will invest in some Dixie cups.  It looks better if the color is darker.  You need less polish if the cup is a little bit smaller, but thats personal preference. 

When you drop a drop (hehe) of polish into the water it spreads out.  Just keep dropping in colors until you get the spiral you want.  You then use a tooth pick to swirl the paint as you want it.  This is the trickiest part in my opinion.  You have to use a very light touch, and the paint needs to be still wet (you'll see what I mean).

I tried it without the tape first...just to see if I really needed it....yes, you really need it LOL.  My first finger didn't turn out so good, but you learn as you go :)  My finger looks cool though!  You will have to use a tooth pick to remove the access nail polish from the top of the water while your finger is still in the water.  It just skims right off the top.

 Finger #2 turned out much better...in fact I think its the best one on my left hand.  The tape makes clean up very easy.

Left hand done...wait until it dries before removing the tape. (My middle finger got a bit messed up, I tried to fix it...oh well)  Make sure you lift your finger out of the cup nail top first (so you nail is facing up) so you don't get any unwanted bubbles.

Time for clean up...remove the tape, and use the Q-Tips and polish remover to get the polish off your skin. 

Lovely!!!  <3 

Now time for the right hand....I went ahead and taped all my fingers to start with....its hard to add tape when your nails are wet....live and learn :)

This is my favorite nail...perfect!!!

Right hand done...time for clean up :)

Project complete!!!  If you have any questions leave them in the comments section and I'll answer as best I can.  The YouTube video I watched is this one www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO3NO29L50U 

 I admit that I watched it with the sound turned off (I was watching a movie...what can I say)

Enjoy you water marbling!!!!  Good Luck!!!!

Bedtime

Holding true to my statement.....I am all ready for bed.....just got back from choir rehersal, and I'm doing some "Journey" reading before bed.

The bible I got this past Sunday is called "The Journey". It is the bible translated into a languge that is easier to read and understand. So far I am really enjoying it!

I am really looking forward to gaining a better understanding of God and his power, and through understanding, gain a greater relationship.

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Love God, Love People, Serve the World

The title of this entry is the title of the new sermon series at my new church.  It is also the theme of the entire church.  Up until recently I have attended the same church I was baptized in.  I grew up in that church, and my mom and I were a part of the church choir.

Through a lot of praying and soul searching I decided I needed to look for a new church to call home.  A wonderful co-worker of mine suggested the church that she is a part of.  I have been attending that church for a few months now, and I sang with the Halleluia Chorus at Christmas.  Today I decided to take the leap and join this new church.  I also made a commitment to join the choir as a regular member.

My husband and I (he is sooooo wonderful) attended a Welcome class today after the regular service.  They provided us with a new Bible, written in a more "friendly" language.  The bible I currently own has not been open very often (I am ashamed to say), it is very "pretty" if you know what I'm talking about.  This new bible is going to get read, and highlighted, and worn with use.

I am very excited for this new path I am on.  I think it is going to bring a lot of wonderful things to my life, and I hope to be a wonderful part of someone else's life through this new church.  I feel like God has been pushing me to make a change for a while now, and I was too afraid.  Now that I have made the leap I can see all the wonderful new adventures that are going to be a part of this new path.

Love God, Love People, Serve the World!

Our Trip to Chopstix

This evening my husband and I broke our Chopstix cherries.  We are both a fan of chinese food, and sushi, but had never been to Chopstix.  I have been wanting to try it for sometime, I have heard loads off wonderful things about this place, and the reviews online are also awesome.

The hubby and I stayed in last night, and so we decided we would go out tonight instead.  It works in our favor that we are not football fans.  When we go out during the game, places that don't have a very big bar are usually not very busy.  And so we headed to Chopstix...I for one was very exited!

I got a lot of different recommendations and suggestions of food from different people.  The menu is very extensive.  Chris and I decided to go with the "big meal".  With this you get your choice of soup, two pieces of shrimp toast, two crap wontons, and an entree.  I have never had soup from a chinese place, so I decided to try the hot and sour soup, and Chris got the Chicken wonton soup.  My soup was only ok...I didn't even eat half of it...honestly I wasn't really sure what was in it, and so I wasn't really eager to scarf it down. 

The crab wontons were amazing!  And I know my wontons...they are a favorite of Chris and myself.  We get them almost every time we get chinese food.  I enjoyed the shrimp toast, Chris was not a fan.  Needless to say, the "big meal" idea was a good one, but we will not be doing that combo next time.

Next came our sushi (which did not come with our big meal...but we couldn't not try the sushi!)  The Baltimore Roll was recommended to me by my friend Ashley, so that's what I got.  Chris got the Ninja Roll.  The Baltimore Roll was good, but Chris's Ninja Roll was better.  It was quite tasty in fact.  It was topped with salmon...I love Salmon!

By the time our meals arrived, we already knew we would be needing two boxes.  I think I ate two bites of my sweat and sour shrimp (two very yummy bites btw).  Chris got Kung Pao Chicken....he likes his food very spicy.  He said the chicken had a good flavor, but it was a little more on the sweet side than the spicy.  He likes it more spicy than sweet.

We really enjoyed our dinner at Chopstix, we will be going back soon to try a few new things.  The service was amazing, the atmosphere comfortable, and all over a good experience.  

Plus, they had this really cool ship in the lobby!

Cookies and Pie

Now that I have my new computer, i am feeling more inclined to keep up with my blogs.  After all, it took my Dell about 5 whole minutes to turn on and the internet to start working.  How fast is my new Mac you ask....it takes about 30 seconds....that's a lot faster!!!  

Anyhoo, I am going to condense two blog posts into one here.  I made cookies, and I also made my famous pie.  I am not much of a cook, but I do enjoy baking.  There is an art to it, an art not involved with cooking.  Not to mention baking is a more take your time thing, and when I cook I feel like its a race-a-round until the food's on the table.

Making Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies...yummy!!!

 I got to use my new mixer for the first time!

Cookies!!!!

My next baking project (not in the same day) was my pie.  You can find this recipe on foodnetwork.com 

Spiced Apple Pear Pie. 

This pie is always a big hit with everyone.  Its not super easy to make, and its very time consuming, but its all worth it when you impress everyone with your baking skills.  And you take a big bit of pie and it tastes like heaven in your mouth.  Yummmy heaven :)

Finally got myself a new computer!!!

I have been wanting a MacBook Pro for ages now.  And today my wish finally came true...I got a gift card from my Dad and money from my Mom, and Chris gave me his gift card from my Dad, and I got myself a brand spanking new MacBook Pro!!!

I made sure to document this monumental event :) 

I have been spending this evening learning all the cool new things that my MacBook Pro can do, and my Dell only dreamed of doing :)  I made a slideshow of my dog...I have to say its pretty awesome, and it only took me about 10-15 minutes!!!

I also had some fun with photo booth. Seriously....once you go Mac, you will never go back :)

Looking forward to all the adventures that my Mac will be taking me on...together we can accomplish ANYTHING!!!