For any regular readers I apologize for not writing more. I’ve literally gotten wrapped up in Minecraft to a rather unhealthy level. But I thought I’d take a minute to throw something out there I’ve been thinking of these last few weeks. Privacy. It’s completely relative.

When you’re a kid/teen still living with your guardians/parents/whoever you lived with, you were under their roof they set the rules and you follow them if you want any kind of a peaceful life. Things like having to keep the door open while you have friends over, checking in when you’re away from home, and asking permission for almost everything comes with the territory. Even though there are fights you still give into this stripping of your personal privacy.

When you’re just legal you start paying rent at home if you’ve moved out. With this you’re buying a part of your privacy back, at least from your family that is. But now you’re in the system. You have a driver’s license or an ID that can be accessed by the government you live under. You carry a phone that connects to almost all of your social networks. In these social networks you’ve given a large heaping pile of information that if someone asked you about on the street you would never tell them. But you are fairly undeterred by adding personal facts about your life for the world when it’s removed from the face to face aspect with strangers. But most teens to 20′s are happy to spill their every thought, impulse, and bad decisions to everyone.

When you’re in a marriage or long-term relationship your privacy gets pulled back again just like when you were young. Only this time it’s reversed, you can at least set some of the rules. But now there is not just your family but your partners family that will want to be involved in your life. And that’s not a bad thing. Big warning here, don’t cut yourself off from your partners family. That is of course assuming there are no extenuating circumstances like they haven’t even talked to them in 15 yrs because of past issues.

One of the worst strains you can put on your partner is not getting along with their family, their blood. My husband calls his mother almost every night. At first I thought this was excessive, but her husband is working away from home 90% of the year. She’s alone most of the time and I can see how important it is for her to get calls from her boys. I know her and I had issues with each other to begin with, stuff from my past and her rigid way of seeing what’s okay and what’s not. But we’ve found a happier medium and can actually talk on the phone now without any issues. How is this possible? I don’t air all of my contrary opinions down her throat. She doesn’t always have the same courtesy when I’m around but there is always a time and place to be the bigger person. It’s not that I’m suppressing or changing myself I just have learned that diarrhea of the mouth or social media is not something to be proud of.

I could go on with what happens when kids arrive but I think you get the point. Privacy comes in many levels from things like your bank codes, to what kind of hair products you use these days. What’s important for you to keep to yourself is your choice and one can’t be surprised when someone has contrary ideas. If you put it out there someone will have an opinion on it.

The one that I always say hands down is the love my life is Disney’s Gargoyles. This show blew my little mind when it came out. I remember the Disney Afternoon promoting the show before it started and I already had fallen hard. I religiously watched each new episode. I went as far as to write fan fiction between shows because I just couldn’t wait. To me it’s the best mix of Shakespeare, Beauty and the Beast, and Time Travelling. For those that don’t know that the series was I’ll give a small overview so you don’t have to spoil yourself by reading the Wikipedia entry.

Long ago in Scotland, 994 AD, there was a medium/large clan of gargoyles that lived in peace with the royalty of the castle they lived in. During the day the humans were to watch over them and then at night they would guard the humans. Well, with some deception the humans turned against their gargoyle guards which also went hand in hand with a siege of their own castle. Long story short, there are only 5 left in existence. So sad, four were turned to stone “forever” by the mage that lived in castle and the leader, Goliath decided to have himself turned to stone permanently with the same spell that was cast on his clan. Jump far to the future to our time and you’re in New York now. Turns out a billionaire “ally” David Xanatos, I use quotes because he goes back and forth a lot in the series when all is said and done I like him, finds the spell that turned them to stone and decides to find a way to bring them back to life. There also happens to be one hot strong female detective, Elisa Maza, that is the true ally to the gargoyles when they awaken for the first time to a whole new world.

The series is the genius of Greg Weisman who still today talks with his fans of the show at Ask Greg. It’s a wonderful source for those of us fans who are curious where Greg wanted the show to go before he was let go and they tried to continue onto a season 3 without him. I’d suggest you just don’t even watch “season 3″ it’s terribly animated and the story lines are so weak.

Greg masterfully fits in stories that contain Macbeth, the three weird sisters, Odin, Puck, Avalon, King Arthur Pendragon, Anubis, Queen Mab (Titania), Oberon, and more. These stories were coming out right around my budding love of Shakespeare and what kept that love going right through high school too. Even now Goliath remains one of my favorite characters. He takes what makes the Beast interesting in the Beauty & the Beast and also gives him a very complex back history. He is not just a being that is a beast in most human’s minds the stories aren’t just about speciesism, they are about love, pain, history, magic, and world I wish I lived in. I often found myself rooting for the “bad” guys as much as the good ones, to me that makes a show good. Too much black and white story lines ends up making a series flat and predictable.

If you’ve not had the pleasure of watching this series seasons 1 and 2 are on DVD and there might be other ways to watch it online. But do go out of your way, you won’t be sorry. Everyone I sit down to watch it ends up loving it.

Past Posts:
28th Birthday Here & Gone
Another Nail In The Coffin

This year I had a special free pass to go to Disneyland Paris which I had signed up for. It let me go for free up to 6 days after my birthday so Thomas and I didn’t let it go to waste. I had a great time even though it’s a very small park. I’ve been to Disneyland in California when I was 9 yrs old on a family vacation. I also went to Disney World in Florida when I was 18 for my high school senior class trip. I’m a fan of most Disney stuff as most girls my age who grew up with the renaissance of Disney films which came out during our formative years.

Since my birthday is close to Halloween I’m used to seeing those decorations everywhere and they were out in force at Disney. It’s crazy how they can make anything cute no matter how scary it’s supposed to be. For those of you who have been to the other parks this one does feel small in comparison even figuring in the Disney Studios park right next door. Overall, it was a beautiful day and a great way to spend my birthday. Since going I did receive a one year passport membership to the parks so I can go back as much as I’d like. It was very unexpected and I will be using it for sure! Expect more images to the Disney album like below.

disneyland-paris

87 Photos

Strangely, this was the only year I wasn’t really looking forward to my birthday the same was as I used to. I’m not sure if it’s the age thing or what but it for sure didn’t feel the same. Maybe I’m at that turning point where birthdays don’t really mark life in the same way anymore? How do you guys feel when your birthday comes around now?

So my first red flag really should have been that this was an offer through Groupon. I’d say 9 out of 10 times anything I’ve gotten through them has been a flop or have had lots of hidden rules that end up making it more of a bother than anything. The second flag was that when we got there it was quite bare of people and that didn’t get better when the people in charge of seating asked everyone to scoot into the center of the theater. Not bad when you bought cheap tickets, but bad for those that paid full price. Third flag, the show started about 20 minutes late, there were numerous costume malfunctions, microphone issues, and general confusion on stage. I however have forgiven all that because it wasn’t until I came home that I saw that this show was only for one night.

As for the story line by Stéphane Anière was not well executed. It was represented as a play/martial arts/audio visual play. The audio was so loud, and the tone was so EPIC all the time it was almost impossible to tell what was supposed to be important for the story. If everything is epic then nothing is special it all just becomes blah sadly. The video’s were meh to bad mostly being unimportant, and could have been more meaningful if they had acted them in front of us rather then roll the film. The martial arts were not the worst I’ve seen. One scene where it was at cavemen times the dancers were quite good, but it honestly didn’t make any sense to the whole of the play. Dead air was filled by all of the gods yelling really loud and the main character talking through his auto-tune microphone. At the 20 minute intermission it seemed like the second half was gonna pick up and bring all the randomness together. Sadly, it just kept getting worse and more confusing.

Overall, it seemed to have some ideas that if presented correctly and thoroughly thought through would have made an interesting production. Hopefully, if they do something in the future they will have learned from this experience and present a clearer story and characters that you actually want to fall to the “end”. At least, Thomas and I have something we can laugh about and say, “Remember that one that time we saw Deus Ex Machina, man that was crazy.”

Sept. 18th – After this article was written I received an email from the music composer for this play. His name is Romain Paillot and he seems like a great guy. I really expected to get my ass handed to me but it wasn’t like that. I must saw his music was good in the play it just was on full blast so even the soft parts of the music sounded very forceful. But please feel free to check out his work on Sound Cloud. Listening to it now I really think he did the best job of anything associated with this play.

A lot of time when people realize that my husband is from a different country than I am they instantly think one of us did it for the infamous “green card”. Well, that actually gets me rather frustrated. So I’ll say what I tell them every time I see that look in their eye. I moved to France to be with Thomas. He could have been in any other country or been female as well, which I thought he was when we first started talking over the internet, and I would have still found a way to be with him. It was the person, plain and simple.

I was no Francophile before moving here. I didn’t lay awake at night thinking of ways to move here. Yes I wanted to travel and go to different countries, but this marriage was certainly not the easiest way to do that. As mentioned in my last post they were going to send me back to the US even after having been legally married here in France. At many times during our first years apart it could have been easy to throw in the towel. Easy to just say it’s too hard to keep holding onto something that might never end up in a way we could live day to day together. But we didn’t.

After 5 years it’s all gone by quite fast, but also rather slow. I guess most people say that though. We started talking in 2004, married in 2007. I’m 28 now and he’s 33, but we feel like we are still in our teens most of the time. Which I honestly don’t think that’s a bad thing. Yes, it’d be nice to be earning more money to have a nicer cushion of money to do more traveling, but it’s still worth it to actually be together. There isn’t a lot better in life than getting to snuggle on the couch watching some of our favorite stuff before bedtime.

Photo by: Rosie Hardy Photography
She’s based out of the UK and will work through Europe. She’s a great photographer and was very professional. She was on top of things the day of our good friends wedding, Chris & Daisy Swaffer, in June 2012 where the image was taken.

In early 2006, I filed for divorce from my then husband. Things were not good in that relationship, there were lots of issues I’d rather not go into on a blog post. But I’ll just say it was for the best as we married way, way to young. I left the country the day after I mailed the papers to my lawyer. I told a total of three people I was leaving the country and none of them were family. This was for fear of being trapped into a marriage that clearly wasn’t working and also because Mel/Tom had offered to pay for the trip. At this time we had become attracted to each other a lot. But still, I had been burned by online relationships that were not the same in person as they were online. So this was a time for us to get to know each other and decide where we stood. As it turned out, it was magical. It was even more intense, and natural than I could have imagined. He was exactly the same person he represented online. I stayed in France for 3 months and then had to go back to the states legally because I was on the visitors visa through my passport.

When I returned things were very difficult with my family, but I tried to keep my head down and finish my degree at Johnson County Community College. I did finish in May 2007 with a general Liberal Arts Degree and a Certificate in Desktop Publishing. That same year in 2006 between college semesters for the Christmas season I went to France again and stayed for a month. It was then we also went down to Nice to properly meet his family. Things didn’t go well. His mother was instantly against me for many reasons by simply put I was divorced, I was/am American, and I couldn’t speak French. Even with all the difficulties there we were still determined to make it work and signed a PACS that January 2007 before I left back to the states to take my last courses at JCCC. The PACS doesn’t give a person any rights to stay in the country but it was free and we had all the right paperwork so we decided to go for one anyways.

In July 2007 Thomas came to the states for the first time. He came to good old Kansas to meet my family. We took a small road trip from Kansas to Minnesota to visit my brother and his wife when they lived there. It was a good trip and the opportunity for my family to finally get to meet the man I was planning to marry the next month in August. Because my parents didn’t have the time off work, or passports there was no way they could make it to our wedding. During this time and much before I had started to get all my paperwork in order to be able to stay in France. After much discussion with the French consulate in Chicago they told me that being engaged was no reason for me to get a visa of any kind for France. They told me to just go over get married on a three month visitors visa and apply for the “carte de sejour” once we were married. It was our only option really as I didn’t had a job in France or a school I was taking courses from.

Once we both arrived back in France in August 2007 we spent most of that month getting all the last minute papers and things done for the wedding. His family which lives all over France was coming in for the event and a few of our friends. The ceremony was just at the town hall here in Epinay-sur-Seine where one of the two mayors preformed the rights. We had to have a translator there for me because by law they won’t marry anyone who can’t understand the words being said. We took the traditional pictures outside before heading into Paris a few hours later to go to dinner at, Macéo. They gave us a good deal and we used their upstairs private dining area. They even made up a croque-en-bouche. It was a great time but I wish we could have more time to plan the wedding and make it more unique to us and our geeky ways. I guess we can save that for our ten year anniversary party.

Our first year we didn’t have enough money and Thomas’ job was starting up again with the school year so we had to postpone a honeymoon. So we dived right into getting my papers to stay here in France legally. For anyone who hasn’t gone through this, it’s enough to separate any couple from two different countries because it’s so hard to do. In France they don’t want you to get the papers so they make it as confusing and opposite as they can. No joke. So when applying for my first year’s card they were gonna deport me right on the spot. They said even though we were legally married in France I still had no right to stay in France. I seriously felt like I had been hit in the stomach with that one. After much pleading we presented the small PACS paper we had signed more than 6 months prior. The woman who now was a bit lost for words called over her supervisor and got advice. What did they do? They gave me the paperwork I needed so I could start the process. That didn’t mean I was an automatic yes, but they did give me the information and appointments to start the process legally. If it hadn’t have been for that little PACS that we got just in case not knowing what it might do for us in the future I know I would have had to go back to the US just two months after having gotten married. Oh France.

People say the first year is the hardest. For me it’s not the being married part that was hard. I think living and being with the one you love is very natural. There weren’t big hurtles we had to learn about each other as if we were strangers. It was hard because of all the outside forces that were trying to tear us apart. But I’ll be writing a post just about what marriage is next month as a five year anniversary post. But for those who didn’t know how we met that’s the skinny, with a little more detail than was necessary.

P.S. I made our wedding bands as well. They were carved in wax then poured with 14k White Gold. They were made during my silversmithing course at JCCC. They are supposed to look like old tattered paper that has been wrapped around the finger and sealed with a wax seal. On mine the seal is a star because Thomas a (now three) stars tattooed on his left forearm. And it says, “Vous et nul autre”, which means “You and no other”. On his it is written that, the English version, and his seal is a crescent moon which means new beginnings.

There was a special of the first 100 people getting a free vanilla or chocolate cupcake. The case was also full of other great flavors for customers to buy and they did! We sold out around 5pm which was a full hour early of closing time. That means we sold a little over 250 cupcakes and then gave away an extra 100. I think that is a very good sign for the shop. I’ll be working in the afternoons from Tuesday-Saturday (which are the only days we are open right now) and anyone in the Paris area should definitely drop by. If you’re a commenter or tweeter from here or my account @Rvaya just let me know your name, I’ll probably remember you.

As for how the first day, I think it went well. I haven’t had a traditional job since 2007 when I moved in France. I’ve only been working freelance from my apartment which honestly doesn’t pay well. I’ve had experience with being a cashier when I worked at Michael’s craft Store for about three years while in high school. This cash register isn’t exactly like using barcodes, but I don’t think it will take long to master. It seems that having the right amount of change will be the most difficult part of the job. The cupcakes really speak for themselves when customers walk in and see what’s been made that day. Yes, that’s right Cat intends to make cupcakes the day of selling them as well. So these are the freshest cakes you’ll get for sure. I do look forward to Tuesday which is a great thing to feel for a job. I had vowed to myself I would only take a job if it was in an environment that I would look forward to going to, and that I felt I was important to the “company/boss”. I think I found that here for sure, and it does feel nice. I hope to see you there soon, and don’t hesitate to check all the links in the post to find more amazing photos and Cat’s journey to finally opening a shop.

This is Cat Beurnier the face behind Sugar Daze and my boss.

All images copyright to Sugar Daze and can be found here: Flickr
The shop is located at 20 rue Henry Monnier, 75009 Paris, France
We are open:
Tuesday-Friday 12:00-7pm
Saturdays 12:00-6:00pm
(For now these are the hours if they change I’ll update this.)

Something that I never realized before moving to France is that I say, I’m sorry, a lot. Now to me this was always just common courtesy. I was always taught to say I’m sorry in situations where I might have slighted someone, forgotten something, or where I might possibly have hurt someone else emotionally or physically. Once I came to France I realized that it’s not the way they do things over here.

My husband would ask me a lot during my first years here why I was saying it so much. To him every time I said, I’m sorry, he thought I was pretty much just flogging myself asking for mercy. To him it was bizarre. To me it was strange for him to react that way. Of course I wasn’t flogging myself just because I dropped the spatula, forgot something was happening during the weekend, or did something by accident. It was just normal. What else would a person say in a situation like this?
Even now after almost five years of marriage it still surprises him. I always thought that it was because I’m American and we are just taught to do this. What has your experience been with saying, I’m sorry? Do you think it’s lost it’s meaning? Do you say instead?

I think for the most part it’s a bad translation. In French “I’m sorry” is “Je suis désolé”. Désolé seems to carry a much harsher meaning than the word sorry in english. If you’ve taken French or lived in a French speaking country for a while I’d love your input.

Lorelai has a very self destructive tendency more than almost any other character that’s been on tv before. Every man she’s with in the series even Luke she runs away from and can’t face herself being in a relationship that lasts more than a couple months. It’s literally a writing miracle that her and Sookie (chef best friend) and Lore ever got their Inn off the planning phase. Poor thing I end up just feel sad for her more than anything. Rory (daughter) doesn’t learn to cope much better than her mom but at least has a more solid head on her shoulders. All and all I still love the show and at every rewatch I see a famous person who wasn’t famous at the time, the biggest ones that stand out in my mind is Billy Burke, he plays father to Bella Swan in the Twilight series. In the show he plays Lex Lessman and dates Lorelai for three episodes. And the best for last, actor Nick Offerman, who plays Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, is Jackson’s brother who comes early to be there for Sookie’s birth in season 4.

What I learned NOT to do:

- Treat men as maids to do your bidding. Through almost all of their relationships they expect the men to cater to their every whim and whimsy. Yes, their personalities are over the top but the way they treat their boyfriends are cringe worthy a lot of the time.

- Drink so much coffee that it literally has no effect anymore. These girls will throw back a cup of coffee just before bed and be fine. What universe does that happen for most people.

- Always eat like it’s gonna be your last meal. As they tease in the show they eat as if they were 600lbs. The only reason to explain their tiny bodies and big appetites is that they talk so much that it literally melts the calories away.

- When in doubt, babble. In the series if you don’t know what to say just start babbling and eventually everything will work out with a witty punch line at the end. Keep in mind you don’t have a writer coming up with your dialogue.

- Talk only in obscure references. That way only those “in the know” will be able to catch up with. Of course, you risk turning off everyone around you who wish to just have a normal conversation with you.

- Have no physical exercise. Sadly, this is one I actually have a hard time with. I’ve never been introduced to an environment or sport that I enjoy. I know. It’s terrible but exercise is my downfall. Maybe I can blame that on the girls.

- When in doubt, blame your personality downfalls on your parents. It’s clear that things are rough between Lorelai and her parents but honestly! Sometimes she’s just cruel.

- Never cook for yourself or even attempt to learn. Why save money by cooking things for yourself when you of course have a professional chef and hunky dinner owner to feed you all the time. But for you this won’t work.

- Puppy eyes and talking in a high voice will get you everywhere. There are too many instances to say where this has gotten them where they want. “Safe” to assume it will for you too.

- Never admit your feelings. The whole Luke and Lorelai story line could have gone so much better and sooner if only Lore would have forced herself to wake up and no be scared.

If you can think of some others I’d love to hear them.

So sometimes I have no idea what to write about. It’s true. But then I think I should review a tv show I’m watching. But then I get lazy. So I thought I’d just do a list of what I’m watching these days. These are only shows that are currently running. If you watch’em too please let me know your thoughts, I could literally talk about shows all day every day.

Comedies (not just sitcoms):
- 30 Rock
- Happy Endings
- Community
- The Office (US)
- New Girl
- How I Met Your Mother
- Him & Her
- 2 Broke Girls
- Suburgatory
- Raising Hope
- Up All Night
- The Big Bang Theory
- Modern Family
- Parks and Recreation
- Unsupervised (cartoon)
- GCB (Good Christian Bitches)
- Ugly Americans
- Napoleon Dynamite (cartoon)
- Futurama (cartoon)
- Awkward
- Don’t Trust that Bitch in Apartment 23
- Girls
- Best Friends Forever
- Glee (Even though it’s not great now.)
- Saturday Night Live

Dramas:
- Doctor Who
- Misfits
- Touch
- Awake
- Game of Thrones
- True Blood
- Hung
- Downton Abbey
- Eureka
- Grimm
- The Secret Circle (Because it’s terrible.)
- Once Upon A Time
- Nurse Jackie
- Shameless
- Spartacus
- Sherlock
- The Vampire Diaries (Also, total crap.)
- Mad Men
- The Borgias

Reality Show:
- Mythbuster
- Unchained Reaction
- Project Runway (US)
- America’s Next Top Model
- The Apprentice (US & UK)
- Comic Book Men
- Who Do You Think You Are (US)
- Cupcake Wars
- Face Off
- Ink Master
- Best Ink
- Oddities
- Sister Wives
- Top Chef (US)
- Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
- Toddlers & Tiaras
- Tabatha Takes Over
- Monster Man
- Top Secret Recipes
- Fashion Star (Even though I hate the set up)
- Kitchen Nightmares

If you would like to keep track of how I’m doing you can check on my profile page on the official website: Rvaya

Here is last year’s finished comic. The previews are real screwed up and I don’t know why. But if you click on the images they come up as they should show up correct. Last year’s theme was using a flash back and also the them of September 11. Not really topics I’d have like to drawn on my own but oh well. This year I don’t have any remade characters. I guess if I really can’t think of anything I could fall back on those girls again but it really depends on what theme they choose come 1 o’clock.

In my time between this morning and the event I decided to use our built in roti in our oven and roast a chicken. It was the last day I could cook it so it only made sense. It’s actually in the open right now still. I took some pictures of what I used incase you wanted to try it as well.

Ingredients
• 1 whole chicken
• Some Butter
• Herbs de Provence
• Salt & Pepper
• Several Garlic Segments
• White Wine
• Water
• Half a chicken bouillon cube
• Water
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice

- First, wash off your bird and then dry it off and it’s best if it is room temperature before it cooks.

- Second, get your oven preheated to about 200-215C (392-419F) start it cooking in that heat for about 20 minutes then turn it down to 180C (356F). It takes about an hour to an hour an a half to cook. Make sure you have a meat thermometer that you can stick into the thickest part of the bird while cooking it will let you know when it’s reached the heat it needs. These tend to stay in the bird the whole time but check what the directions are on your thermometer.

- Third, combine some butter. I didn’t measure it’s just an eye balling it kind of thing, maybe like 3 tablespoons. Then add a little lemon juice, some olive oil about a tablespoon, and several garlic segments that have been smashed and then chopped finely, and some herbs your choice. Mash all that together and stuff it inside the bird. Then cut a small onion in two and throw it inside as well.

- Fourth, put some white wine, water, half a bouillon cube and some more olive oil in a oven proof pan under the bird. The liquids will help keep the bird juicy and collect the drippings if you want to make gravy. While it’s cooking you will either need a baster or a cooking brush to bring some drippings onto the bird through the cooking when it starts to look dry.

Once cooked through let it rest about 15 minutes until you try to cut into it. And Enjoy!

So it’s been quite the Hunger Games whirlwind these days. Some of you might have never heard of the series before seeing previews for the film. If you are coming into this completely clueless it’s time to get up to speed, because this series but it’s worth it. The story takes place mostly in North America in the distant future. The book doesn’t go into the most detail of how the world has gotten this way because this is so far in the future. The capitol dictator has silenced a lot of real facts from the public. People have vague ideas of what happened, but I believe there is so much that could be written about what really went down. (Hint to Suzanne Collins, the writer, to do a series at the heart of the first uprising.)

Long ago in their history the people rebelled against the government, which is quite close to home these days in the states. The government regained power and divided most of North America into different districts. Each district has a specialty that each of the other districts need like grain, coal, etc. Each year since the government regained power there has been one event to tie the districts together. Keep in mind there are no television shows, no entertainment except for what the capitol decides to be broadcast. This main event is the Hunger Games.

One boy and girl from each district is chosen from a pile of names. Each year the child is alive from ages 12-18 their name goes in once. During that year between games they can take out extra food rations, but it will cost them more times their name goes into the pot thus making their chances of being picked even higher. Each tribute, as they call them, is taken to the capitol to be put into the games. They are there more for the entertainment of the capitol and district 1 who are the most rich of all the districts. District one has no real export like most districts. Think of them as the Hollywood of their time just without the making of films. The tributes go through tests and training for 4 days before being pitted against each other to the death where there is only one survivor from 24 kids. It’s gruesome don’t think it’s just some happy go lucky fight film. These are kids killing each other in a manor that scars them for life all for the entertainment, and to “remind” the other districts what they need to do to be in the good graces of the capitol.

This Hunger Games is the 74th edition, and we follow Katniss Everdeen from district 12, which specializes in coal. If you look at the most detailed map that’s been made so far you can see which area of our United States she’s from. She volunteers as tribute because her sister who had just turned 12, and got her name in the pot once, was somehow picked. To save her she volunteers to go the games knowing full well she might never come back. Peeta Mellark, played by a href=”http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1242688/” target=”_blank”>Josh Hutcherson, is the male tribute that was chosen, and we follow them to the capitol to see just what each child goes through each year since the games have started. Not to give too much away, but most of what I’ve just said above is what is told to you in the first sequence of the movie and the preview.

If you don’t like knowing things before the movie you might want to look away now but I’m going to try and not spoil a lot but compare and contrast some areas I think the movie got it right or vice versa.

Top 5 Moments of Hunger Games Movie

1. The moment before Katniss is put into the tube that takes her to the games. Jennifer Lawrence, the actress playing Katniss does an amazing job. You can litterally see her shaking with fear, trying to not lose it. I could feel myself in her shoes and my heart beating faster.

2. The beginning of the film showing district 12 and how the people there are so malnourished just trying to live, for them everyday must feel like the games. I had thought of it while reading the books, but there is something about seeing it that it finally hit home.

3. Rue, a young girl from district 11 who you will not help but fall in love with, asking Katniss if her and Peeta were a real couple or not. The whole audience was grinning ear to ear and laughing. It was a very good moment from all the death around them.

4. Haymitch, their mentor who had won his year of the Hunger Games from district 12, using social engineering on the rich and famous of the capitol to help out Katniss and Peeta. This guy knows what he’s doing, and how to play the games even outside of the arena.

5. There is a squence where Katniss has been stung by several Tracker Jackers. While in the hallucinations there is a moment she is yelling at her mother that bring chills.

Moment The Movie Missed

A critical point of the book is never knowing for sure if Peeta is in love with Katniss, or if it’s an act to get people on their side for sponsors during the games. At the end of book one there is something said by Peeta that leaves the reader thinking maybe he has been an incredible actor to get out of those games alive. In the movie there is no such moment. We are left feeling like Peeta is just completely helplessly devoted to her no matter what. This in my eyes is a mistake. It’s the questioning Peeta that makes us want to read the next book as soon as possible. It helps us understand why she is still torn between her long time friend Gale who has been left in district 12 during the games, and the bond she feels with Peeta after going through something so terrible.

There were several more things the movie changed like how she gets the mockingjay pin, the mayor of district 12, and other such small things were changed or left out. Also, by the end of the film we don’t see all the scars they take away from the games as we do in the book, but I think in the next film they will assess if they came through in good health or not. Things will flow much easier in the next films by just omitting tiny details. I don’t think there is anything else they majorly missed that hurt the film besides the one mentioned above. It’s honestly one of the best book to film adaptions I’ve ever seen. I want to rush out and see it again.

Credit for the Panem map to Badguys.livejournal.

Take a moment to read through if you’re an artist, maker, or just a passer through.

Q: When did the idea for Dou Loux first hit you both? And how did you settle on the name?

M: The idea for Dou Loux was an evolution that stemmed from a website for my hair work. We were creating a brand that I could operate under for freelance hair styling, which birthed the idea for hair accessories and an etsy store. That project had a completely different name and different focus, but we ran with it for about 2 months. After we got everything together, sat back and really looked at it, we had a better idea for the direction of an etsy store that combined both of our talents in one brand. We started brainstorming the name change with Japanese words because of our love for Japanese street fashion and anime. Nothing felt right though. Byron suggested french, which ended up with a much more whimsical sound. We were really just sitting around looking up words, writing them down, and mixing letters for a couple days. Dou Loux kind of just appeared to us.

B: I should probably say something profound but she summed it up perfectly.

Q: What have been the biggest hurtles in making your brand and products?

M: Well honestly the both of us have such big ideas for the brand that we’re never fine with just settling. Because of that we spent a lot of time sitting around plotting and plotting until we felt we had a complete idea of the brand and what it stood for. That continues to be something we spend a lot of time on. Other than that, we both have creative day jobs! Making time to put in as much effort as we do gets to be really exhausting. We spend a lot of nights watching anime and working into the wee morning hours!

B: I think the biggest hurtles in creating Dou Loux have been a mix between learning new techniques and skills and maintaining our relationship as a couple. Like Melanie said, both of us are never fine with just settling so when we do anything it has to be at the highest level we’re capable of. As you can imagine that creates quite a few hurtles when you’ve never done any of this before. We’ve had to teach ourselves everything at each step of the way. Product photography, screen printing, textile design, pattern drafting are just a few examples of the things we’ve had to teach ourselves. In the end, even though our list of things to learn is still longer than what we’ve already learned, its been a fun and exciting experience that we’ve both fallen in love with.

Q: What has been the best high since creating Dou Loux that encourages you to continue?

M: Watching everything come together from just an idea has been really rewarding. Probably the biggest high though was our recent booth at Katsucon in the Artist’s Alley. We got to see people’s reactions in real time and talk to people about the designs and what they liked about it. It was so different from just sitting online and checking traffic. It will definitely be something we continue to do because I don’t think there is any substitute for connecting with people in person.

B: The biggest high for us has been creating something that is truly our own and then seeing people fall in love with what we’ve made. Both of us have spent our whole lives working for others so this is really the first time we’ve been able to see our own ideas come to life.

Q: Which is your favorite item so far? And are there new designs coming?

M: It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite, because we put so much thought into every piece. Not to mention how long we stare at the same things over and over! Out of the items currently up on our website though, I would have to say boo rider is my favorite because it came from a sketch Byron did at an event when we first met. As for new designs, we rolled out a ton of new products, fabric, and artwork at the Katsucon booth we just did. Right now we are spending our nights working on the photography to get them up on the website!

B: Like Melanie I think its impossible to pick a favorite item. I think I’m most proud of some of the new items Melanie has come up with because she was able to do everything beginning to end with her own skills. It’s the first time I’ve ever watched her start with a strong idea that is all her own and turn it into a reality. As far as designs coming, lets say we’re just getting started.

Q: What are your hopes for Dou Loux in the next few years? Or even the next few months?

M: I think our first goal is to keep growing as artists. I know both of us love learning new skills and materials and we try to just challenge ourselves every time we come up with something new.

B: Both of us are very ambitious artists so we have some pretty big dreams for Dou Loux. I think the most realistic prediction I can give is that it will keep evolving at a a very fast pace. Over the next year we will be perfecting our designs and products, creating many brand new ones and also selling at some craft shows and conventions. When you look at how much we’re already planning to do this year you quickly see how its hard to say what our hopes are for the next few years other then we’re delving deeper into Japanese culture and fashion and creating lots of brand new artwork.

Q: Do you have any advice for other artists and makers who are thinking of starting a company?

M: The best I can say, is to start with something you know and also something you love. If you have at least that rock to stand on, you can build and grow from there into whatever you want. You also just have to really love doing it, whether the money is there or not. The amount of time and effort you will have to put in will never be worth the money you are making in the beginning. Loving what you are doing will keep you going, and even then it’s sure to be a huge challenge.

B: My advice to anyone starting their own company is a long and well thought out strategy known simply as “What She Said.” So yeah, what she said.

Thanks for taking the time to give a little insight you two. If you want to continue to get to know Dou Loux there are lots of ways you can connect with them. Either at their online shop, Dou Loux they have some great prices. Or if you’re a tumbler or a tweeter then give them a follow.

I know I do it to myself, but I cannot find a way out from under it. I can get positive for awhile and then it goes away. I’m not super depressed or anything, but there are times when it feels like everyone is let down by my work. I think I’ve taken on too many projects that aren’t my own, so that each morning when I start working I’m not motivated. As a freelance artist, I take commissions here and there. But I’ve accepted too many side projects, some I can’t even talk about, and I’m losing myself a bit. Each week I think I’m gonna push through and get this one done. But then something happens, and I don’t get far or I’m even pushed back having to redo some images because of miscommunication. Or worse my lack of motivation and connection with the projects has made me slack a bit in my quality.

I’m just curious what do any of you do when this happens either as an artist, or whatever job you do have. I’m sure it’s not just an artist problem.

Tip 1: Do not brush your hair

That’s right it sounds crazy but give it a try for a while. You’ll notice a bit improvement in your hair quality. When you brush curly hair you are damaging the actual curls. So, now you are wondering what you are supposed to do if you can’t brush it? When in the shower use your fingers or a very wide tooth comb it’s very easy when you have your conditioner in during a shower.

Tip 2: Use hair conditioners

I’ve tried the method of not shampooing my hair, but only using conditioner, that didn’t work. It was way too oily. I’d suggest either a 2 in 1 then using a separate conditioner at the end as well. When shampooing try to keep it just on your scalp and not the ends. Then when you use a conditioner do just the opposite, keep it on the ends and not so much on your scalp. This is important because curly hair can get super dry very fast. Try not to use the shampoos that strip out the oils in your hair. Once in a while when you have product build up, but not ever time you wash your hair. If you find a product for curly hair use it!

Tip 3: Let your hair air dry

Those difussers on blow dryers are a load of crap. I’ve never seen it work for anyone with naturally curly hair. If you’ve found the perfect way to do it then by all means you can continue when you are in a hurry. But if you plan your showers better you should let your hair air dry to prevent damage. And this does not mean going to sleep with wet hair. Your curls will not be uniform and it will be a rats nest. When getting out of the shower do not put your hair up in a warp above your head, if you want curls. This will ruin their natural curl and you’ll end up with strange spotty curls. Just gently scrunch your wet hair with your towel (or an old t-shirt they are less abrasive on hair) while at the same time bringing it closer up to your skull. This motion motivates the curls to take shape. Make a big claw with your hand and gently bring it up to your hair roots. After a few times you’ll see the difference it makes.

Tip 4: Use a hair frizz taming serum

The one I use is, Schwarzkopf’s Zero Frizz 100% Rescue. I’ve picked it because it gives your almost 3 times the amount for the same price or cheaper than John Frida’s. But use what you like. The whole point is a serum that will tame the areas of your curl that would go frizzy and try to get them into the hair to make the larger curls. This stuff works. Be sure to find products that work for you. After I put in one pump of John Frida’s Frizz-Ease Clearly Defined style-holding gel. It’s the miracle product for my hair, the spray works as well just not as well. These are the best for my hair and if you haven’t tried them I suggest you shop around a little and change products if you’re not happy with what you’ve been using. Remember to try and not use things with alcohol in them because they can dry our your hair.

Tip 5: Don’t touch your hair

Especially when it’s drying or much afterwards. This breaks the curls apart and causes more frizz and less solid spiral curls. I know it’s hard to stop yourself, but you’ll notice a big difference in the quality of your curls if you can keep your hands off it as much as possible.

If you have any tips that work for your hair please share. I’m always up for seeing if there is a better way.