Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!!!

Hey guys!

Sorry for not posting a Week in Pics, I'll get one up this week, I promise!!!

But I wanted to take the time to wish you all a Merrry Christmas and Happy Holiday!!! Hope you have a great time and can spend it with the ones you love. For those of you who can't, I hope you can see them soon!!!

 




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Saturday, December 21, 2013

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Review *SPOILERS*

Okay, so ya'll should know that I'm a Hobbitfreak. I mean, my name's really Lorien, as in Lothlorien. I was raised on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as well as scripture. When my dad asked me and my brother to read The Fellowship of the Ring before the movie, we read all of them, including The Hobbit. I've read The Silmarillion, and looked at a lot of The Tolkien Companion.

So of COURSE I've seen all the movies.

And I love them all.

Know this before I talk about the most recent, The Desolation of Smaug, the second of The Hobbit Movies.

I

LOVE

it.

Absolutely love it. I'll explain why in a second.

But first, I want to rant a bit about the only thing in all five of Mr. Peter Jackson's movies that truely bugs me. Kili and Tauriel.

No, not Tauriel as a character, but Kili and Tauriel's relationship.

Now, in Tolkien's universe, in the First Age of Middle Earth, before Morgoth was imprisoned, the elves and dwarves had a falling out. Two kings were fighting like school children over a necklace. Sadly, this is totally realistic because people murder over lesser matters. *le sigh*

In particular, Thranduil's ancestor and Thorin's ancestor were the dudes who fought and ruined a long lasting relationship over jewelry. So I totally bought into Mr. Jackson's tale about Thror and Thranduil fighting again over jewels. Totally believable. And dwarves and elves just don't get along in the Fellowship, in both book and movie.

So WHY did they have Tauriel and Kili, Thorin's NEPHEW get crushes on each other???

It doesn't make sense, but whatever. Because as annoying as this is to the Tolkien nerd in me, there is something to shut her completely up.

*SPOILERS*

Gandalf vs. Sauron.

Oh yes.

GANDALF VERSUS FRICKIN SAURON!!!!

You want to know what my face looked like???


I couldn't BREATHE, I was so overjoyed and excited and just super super HAPPY!!!!

Want to know my fav LotR story EVER?

Filgolfin, High King of the Noldir (elves) vs. Morgoth.

And Mr. Jackson brought in it's equivalent in the Third Age. And for all you Tolkien purists who are like "that never happened," it actually did, before The Hobbit, and during. Although Gandalf faced him with the rest of Istari, the wizards. Which is coming in the third film. *insert fangirl squeals here*

And if that wasn't enough for you, what happened right after that?

Bilbo and Smaug. And then Bilbo and Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Bilfor, and Bombur vs Smaug.

That whole sequence had me trying to catch my breath. I never did until I reached the escalators to take me out of the theater. I was just blown away and kept forgetting to breathe. I was so excited.

And then there's the end. I was so sad when Smaug announced he was going to burn Laketown, and I knew he did and killed lots of people. So the dwarves fighting him to keep that from happening was AMAZING and SO MUCH BETTER than what Tolkien wrote. Seriously better.

But of course, Smaug survived (dang it), and flew out, leaving the glitter from the molten gold they tried to kill him with (so much better!!!). And then, my favorite sequence of lines.

"I am fire. I am...death!"

And Bilbo looking as sad as I felt. "What have we done?"

BOOM, BLACK!!!

OMG, Mr. Jackson, the problem isn't a problem. It's an annoyance that I got over very quickly. You know why? It works! Everything works together to make my fav movie of all time, my fav Tolkien movie ever, and made the fifteen-year-old who feel in love with the Silmarillion see it on the silver screen in the best way. Bravo Mr. Jackson, you are AMAZING!!!

4.9999 out of 5 stars!!!!

Friday, December 20, 2013

W.i.t.c.h. The Full Story: Part II Chapter 4 - Will

Hey guys!

I know, it seems like forever since I posted a chapter, especially for W.i.t.c.h The Full Story. But I'm been writing every day for the past week, trying to get a bunch of chaps ready for Ray, as fast as my carpal tunnel will allow.

But here's the latest installment for W.i.t.c.h. as an early Christmas gift for Ray!!!

Chapter 4
Will
Earth

Will felt like she was going to die.
The music throbbed through her body, making her head pound along in time with the bass. Strobe lights pulsed and flashed across the masked, dancing crowd, heating already heated bodies to the point of extreme stench. Everythingthe music, the crowd, the lights, the smellit all seemed to press in on the tiny teenager. Past and present seemed to collide, and Will tensed so bad, it hurt. How long before they would come up behind her, ready to whisper filth in her ear before hitting her so hard she saw stars? How many times would she have to play the guessing game with the principal, or even the cops? How many bruises would she wear under her pretty 80’s dress for the next week or so? How long would she be lying in her bed, crying her eyes out over the wounds that covered her skin and her heart?
Feeling nauseas, the thoroughly depressed redhead tugged absently at her black and pink, tulle dress with neon pink leggings underneath. She would have messed with her hairspray-glued hair, but Cornelia caught her eye and gave a silent warning not to touch it. Will obeyed, and silently followed her down into the transformed cafeteria.
Surprisingly enough, a lot of people smiled at her, waved at her, told her she looked awesome and pretty. Of course, the same compliments were given to the six other girls as well, but still…Will had never been to a school event without being insulted the moment she walked in, least of all complimented. She still felt edgy, but at least she wasn’t nauseous anymore.
Then Matt’s band began to play Fall Out Boy’s My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark. Matt got the crowd to clap to beat, and Will couldn’t help but join. The crowd was really fired up—they were over an hour late to the party. They hadn’t decided on anything, so those who couldn’t pull a nice costume out of their closets had traveled to a Halloween store for some last minute shopping.
As Will jumped around during the chorus, she noticed that Elyon the fairy and Cornelia the Greek goddess were jumping too. Irma the pirate and Hay Lin the geisha had tried to headbang and had almost fallen over. Taranee’s Mad Hatter hat kept falling off, but she didn’t care. It was at that moment was when she really began to relax; she was dancing like she was on crack, showing the world how gorgeous she was, and listening to her favorite song. But best of all, she wasn’t alone.
After a long period of dancing, Cobalt Blue changed to a rock cover of Imagine Dragon’s Radioactive, and the girls were getting thirsty. They found the buffet table had been taken over by the Grumper Sisters and Uriah’s gang. While the boys cleared all the sandwich plates, Bess, the older sister, looked them up and down.
“I’m shocked,” she said. “No whores this year?”
Cornelia scoffed. Will didn’t think Bess was one to talk. She was in a rainbow-striped mini-dress with a phony blonde wig and a unicorn horn plastered to her forehead.
“And what are you supposed to be, a rainbow slut?” Irma replied.
“I’m Lady Rainicorn from Adventure Time, duh!” Bess snapped back.
Cornelia picked up a cup of punch, then “tripped” on her long, blue ombré dress and “accidentally” dropped her drink all over the snob. As Bess bit back a scream, Mrs. Knickerbocker came over to scold the boys for taking everything. Not wanting to cause more trouble, Bess and Courtney simply stalked off with the boys.
That had surprised Will. Her previous “bff,” Andrea, would’ve never done anything like that. She would’ve laughed at Will’s expense and then called her a baby for getting mad over it. Instead Cornelia got more punch, and the others assured Will that she looked rocking and to forget them.
They did everything Cornelia had said they would the day before; they danced like they were on crack, complimented lots of others on their costumes, chased Martin the Mummy away, ate lots of junk food. Two boys even danced with her during the covers for Adele’s Skyfall and Lorde’s Royals. She didn’t want the night to end.
But, of course, it did.
Badly.
She was on her way to the bathroom with Taranee, who had come as “the sexy scientist.” She was talking about some of her favorite Disney movies, and mentioned how she used to think the 1994 Thumbelina from Warner Brothers was a Disney film.
“Oh, really?” Taranee asked.
“Yeah,” Will responded with an embarrassed laugh. “I was always asking my mom, ‘play the Disney princess with the singing frog!’ ”
Taranee laughed.
“I loved Charo’s performance in that movie,” Will confessed. “She was the one who got me into frogs.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I also loved that movie,” supplied Taranee. “The frog freaked me out, though.”
“Hah!”
“How cute.”
Will whipped around at the mocking tone, all her comfort and happiness gone. Fear spiked through her body like ice water had flooded her veins. Her hands curled into fists while a whirl of emotions made her stomach churn.
It was Uriah and two of his flying monkeys, Kurt and Nigel. Over the past few days, Will had been working on not reading her friend’s minds. In a large group it was easy; it was a loud blur to her. It was the same in class. But now she focused on Uriah’s gang. Sure enough, he was planning on “getting her back” for Bess.
Deep, pure rage flooded the red-head.
I’m so sick of this, she thought viciously. When will people leave me alone?
Meanwhile, Uriah had been talking the whole time, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.
“That’s such a sweet story, Wilhelmina,” the delinquent jeered.
“Her name is Will, blockhead,” Taranee sneered.
“Yeah, whatever, Tyranny,” came the short bark. The smooth, sleazy smile returned an instant later.
Watching the play of masks come on and off made Will’s temper spike.
Just get on with it and attack me, dirtball.
“So,” he called to her, “you like frogs?”
Will didn’t respond. The lack of retaliation seemed to amuse him more than anything, which put Will on edge even more.
“Well,” he called softly, his eyes alight with malice, “we have a gift for you.”
The second he said “we,” Will’s stomach dropped. She’d been so focused on Uriah and Nigel she hadn’t realized that the others had come up behind her. Before she could turn someone—probably Clubber—grabbed her, pinning her arms. As she started to squirm, they shoved something wet, cold, and slimy down her back. Will let out a scream only a few seconds after Taranee’s shriek. She managed to spin out of their grips and ripped the frog out of her dress—right as a bucket of filthy water was dumped on top of her head. It wasn’t tap water.
By the time she was able to wipe the gunk out of her eyes, the boys were already gone. Their cruel, wicked laughter echoed off of the lockers.
Infuriated, disgusted with herself, and extremely tired, Will sank to the floor and began to do the only thing she could.

Cry.

Friday, December 13, 2013

My Week(s) in Pics ~12/1-12/14~ Holiday Decorations!

Hey ya'll!

Sorry for not posting this last week! I didn't take any pics, but this week will be big! As the title says, I got my decor up this week, so I've got that all down below.

And sorry for the blur effect, I took the decor pics at night, which means the camera can't focus very well at all (remember the pics at night from my trip to Las Vegas?). Anywho, here it is!

 
The Tuesday after Black Friday is called Giving Tuesday, and Polished and Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) paired up.
 
 
 
Mighty continues to appear in new spots! Now he's taken to the computer room chair!
 
 
 
And I don't know if you noticed behind Mighty, but for a little while, I got a new comp! It's actually my bro's old one, but his new one died shortly after it arrived, so he's currently using the one he gave me to try to get a new one, or a refund.
 
 
 
But before my bro's comp died, my sock did! :( I loved these socks, there were my only knee-highs, which is probably why they wore out. Gonna try to stock up on some in the after Christmas clearance sales at Dillards and other places.
 
 


 
Onto Christmas Decor. This year, me and my girls got it all done, tree and outside too, in ONE DAY!!! We didn't do the outside lights, my dad did that earlier, but everything else we did!!! BOOYAH!!!
 



 
Again, sorry about the blur. But doesn't the tree look cool at night?
 


 


 

 
WHEW! Yeah, it's a lot, but MAN it looks good! We worked so hard, so this isn't just for me, but for my girls too. Megan's back hurt her, and Ray even climbed on the step ladder to do the stockings, even though she's terrified of heights. Great job, ladies!
 
 
 
After taking my girls home, Spotify rounded up my year! While I'll def have a December and 2013 favorites, and I'll build my own playlist, this was interesting. My most played song and artist are Selena Gomez, her song Come & Get It! I do love that song...
 
 
 
Something terrible happened this past week or two. My cousin was a passenger during that ice storm that hit Texas, and was in an accident. She's recovering from an head injury, but is still in the hospital recovering. She's single mother of 3, and her kids need her. In the meantime, the bills need to be paid. This picture was made by her friend for her, using her favorite quote from her favorite show, Dr. Who. On the page where you can download this for free is a link to a donation page to help her family while she recovers.
You can read all abou this picture, as well as find the link here: http://www.taedesign.com/angiesangels/
 
 
 
But to finish this post off, LOOK AT MY BOYS!!! They randomly were chilling in my room together. So cute! They're not there now.
Speaking of which, Megan's spending the night, so those sheets must be washed...
 
Hope you guys stay safe, and have a great week ahead!!!

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Monday, December 2, 2013

Monthly Favorites ~November 2013~

Hey guys!

It's already December! Where has this year gone? I mean, seriously, it's disappeared! Hard to believe I've been doing this monthly favorites for over a year! I'll have so much to choose from when I do my year favorites, which will be in under a month. DANG!

Anywho, I'll have time to reminisce later, but onto my favorites from the past month, and I've got a lot. So here we go:

 
BOOKS/READING
 
 
LA Knight's Darkness There, and Nothing
 
This isn't a book, but an Avengers/Thor fanfic that redeems Loki. I actually *hate* these kind of fanfics, but LA has corrupted me. I'm in LOVE with this story, and she's just wrapped it up. There will two more coming, so if  you haven't read it, GO! It's not super long, really short and sweet and I'm in love!
 
 
 
LA Knight's Once Upon a Time
 
Yes, I'm biased in my pics this month. If you don't know, I'm LA Knight's editor for her fantasy novels, and these two fanfics. No others, just these two. But again, I'm not a fanfic fan, I actually hate them as a rule. But this was the first exception. She had to bribe me into reading it, and chapter one is the most powerful writing she'd written at the time (her novels and later chapters in this and Darkness have risen above that first chapter).
Now, this fanfic is HUGE. As in, something like 10 novels worth of writing. But some fans have literally sat down and read the whole thing, ALL of it, in two or three days. I couldn't do it, but more than one person has! I love this story that starts long before the movie and will (eventually) go through the movie to a different conclusion!
 
 
MOVIES
 
 
Thor 2: The Dark World
 
Me and my girls have been WAITING for this movie! And then LA got sick, so we had to push it back twice...but we did see it! LOVED IT! Fav line: Tada!
If you haven't seen it, but liked the Avengers, GO SEE IT! If you're broke, do the early bird specials. Three of us saw it for under $20.
 
 
 
Oz: The Great and Powerful
 
So, I know, this came out forever ago, but we just never got around to seeing it. I really liked it! Super fun, cute, funny and the special effects! STUNNING!!! OMG, the imagery was just beautiful. Very well done, Disney. And because I saw it on DVD, I saw Disney's trip to OZ, which was really cool.
 
 
TV SHOW 
 
 
Legend of Korra Book 2: Spirits
 
I know I picked this last month, but the season wrapped up in November, and WOW it was AMAZING! Everything I thought happened in the finale did and didn't. First with Beginnings, then with the last four episodes, it just took the whole series to a new level. I'm super exicted for the next season, like I haven't since Avatar the Last Airbender, season 3. GREAT series!
 
 
YOUTUBERS
 
 
AprilJustinTV
 
This is the vlog
 channel for AprilAthena7, one of the two youtubers I choose last month. Her and her husband Justin are just so stinking cute! Love them. And they're also cat lovers, which is awesome, since I am too. Oh, and she's expecting her first child, a son, in April! :)
 
 
 
BubzVlogz
 
This is the vlog channel for my other youtuber from last month, BubzBeauty. Just like with Justin and April, Lindy and her husband Tim are super cute and fun to watch. They're dog lovers, but I can overlook it ;) J/K
And unlike so many other vloggers, they don't tell you what day it is, it's just a bunch of fun clips of them living their lives and having fun. Or fighting. With paint. lol!
 
 
VIDEO
 

 
So, I'm a super Zelda fan. I remember sitting for days after school and just watching my brother play Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I fell in love with the story, which was a heavy inspiration for Warrior, BTW. That Link has been in more games than any other except one (Legend of Zelda 2, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages are all one Link). This video shows his story, which is WAY more messed up than any other so beautifully. It's actually from a Tumblr post which you can check out here: http://llobrien13.tumblr.com/post/67393519989/caffeineandcarpaltunnel
Although, the original creator loves this vid and has commented!
 
 
FASHION 
 

 
Winter is here in Tucson (aka, the temps below 70 degrees), so I've been wearing some sweater dresses with either leggings or my sweater tights and boots! It's just so comfy to wear them!
 
 
MAKEUP
 
 
ELF Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths
 
So, right after Thor 2, I got some gas to run a few errands before me, LA and Megan headed back to my place. And the gas...sprayed all over me. I had to make a run to LA and Megan's apartment where I changed into some borrowed clothes, and showered (again). They didn't have any makeup remover (they seriously don't wear makeup at ALL), so I just used face wash.
...
Yeah, I looked like a dead bride come to kill her ex husband or something. It was terrible. Ran to Target and picked these up. I got all the rest of it off and looked normal again. I've used them since, and they get my waterproof mascara off better than anything else I've ever used!!! At $3, that's AWESOME!!!!
 
 
FOOD 
 
 
Attain Crave Blocker and GC Control Shakes
 
For the past two or three months, this (or an Attain Crave Blocker bar) has been my breakfast. When it's cold, I heat the water and mix it up in a large thermal mug, or if it's warmer, I just put it in a large water bottle and shake it up. It's yummy and has really been helping me lose weight! I'm already down to a size 30 or 10!!! Hard to believe last year I was a size 14-16! And they're really yummy!
 
 
MUSIC 
 
 
1) Katy Perry - Unconditionally
 
This song is AWESOME! The video's beautiful, and so is this song. Little surprise it's in my top three on Spotify.
 
 
2) Superchick - Stand in the Rain
 
This is actually an old song from high school that I rediscovered this past month. I love the message to just hold on and stand in the rain. Very powerful and brings back good memories of hanging with my friends and watching anime!
 
 
3) MKTO - Classic
 
This song came out in the summer, but I fell in love with it when Bethany Mota featured it in a recent video. Very fun, upbeat, and I totally approve of the message of being a lady and having guys think it's hot! 

So that's my monthly favorites! Whew! It's a lot, but I just had a lot to love.

Anything cool happen to you this past month?

Saturday, November 30, 2013

My Week in Pics + Black Friday!!! ~11/16-11/30~

Hey guys!!!

Sorry I haven't been writing, my carpul tunnel's been bugging me, and I've been working on other things, like food! I did start a new story, but it's on Figment. You can check it here: http://figment.com/books/722011-Glenn-s-Story

Hope ya'll had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty quiet, but fun regardless, and OMG, Black Friday was CRAZY!!! If you saw my post on Facebook, you know I got up at 4 AM, and was either shopping, eating, or driving for over 12 hrs. TWELVE HOURS! I spent 2 hrs in Old Navy just to buy some shirts. It was REDONKULUS!!! SHEESH!!!

Anywho, here's some pics!

 
 
My Thor 2 Inspired outfit which I wore to see the movie! I don't have ANYTHING that's red other than a tank, so I just wore that under my black long sleeved shirt. The belt reminded me of armor a tiny bit, the hat was for his helmet, and my necklace is for his helmet's wings. In the comics he wears blue pants with his boots, so that's what I went for. And red lipstick of course!
 
 
 
LA didn't want me to show her face, but she went for a Loki inspired look. Actually, a Thea inspired look, which was inspired from Loki. So her shimmery green dress was paired with a dark long sleeve (it's gray, but she doesn't have black, same with the leggings).
 
 
 
And when we got back, found out my folks had gotten the extended edition of The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey in the mail! YAY!
 
 

 
Mighty's found a new perch....12 ft in the air. My dad noticed him up on this plant shelf. He was just chilling, enjoying the view. *shakes head* crazy woozle!
 
 
 
Winter arrived with a bang here! It got cold...and really really foggy. Not scary foggy, just kinda cool and creepy. I was so glad I didn't have to drive anywhere that day, although my mom thought it was awesome and took me out to eat with her! :)
 
 

 
When my besties came over for the first time in 2 weeks, Megan brought her laundry to do, which is what she always does. Mighty hadn't seen her stuff in a while, so he had a blast jumping on the bags and in the baskets and on her laundry. I guess it was his playground! (BTW, he is HUGE now, since it's gotten cold. His fur has really fluffed out, so he looks a big teddy bear...that hisses and growls if you touch him)
 
 
 
Because we hadn't been together in forever, we hung out twice. The next day, we returned to see the boys being all friendly! Doesn't happen often, especially on my bed! I took the pic them hugged them both....Mighty avoided me the rest of the day, lol!
 
 

 
And last but not least, I went Black Friday shopping! I got up at 4 AM because I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving. Since I've worked retail, I can tell you that you look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas so much, because there's no guarantee that you won't work any day other than those days. Even days you asked off, and were promised off, you can be called in. So shopping on Thanksgiving (unless it's last minute at a grocery store, because they stay open only for the morning and close their doors about 3 PM) is just tacky to me.
 
So I got up early, went shopping, traveled up to Phoenix to see my fam, and was wisked away by my cousins to go shopping some more! Literally spent all day in stores and barely stopped to eat and nap! Crazy and fun!
 
My friends and I went to Forever 21, Sears (didn't get anything there, OMG, that store SUCKED), Charlotte Russe, Ulta, Hot Topic, and Shasa (didn't get anything there, we were pretty much broke by then). Cuz's took me to J Crew, Bananna Republic, Charlotte Russe again, and Old Navy. I only bought in Old Navy for the second shopping spree.
 
I bought plenty for Christmas or for my friends, and those aren't shown. But in Forever 21 I got two pairs of pants for about $10 each in teal and black. I also picked up some red leggings for $3.40! And I bought two shirts for $4.75 each at Old Navy. Those weren't worth the 2 hr wait, but we were in sight of the registers for a really long time, so me and my cuz Jordan, who bought way more, just waited it out.


Today I've been just chilling and catching up on Youtube and gathering pics for this!

Did you go Black Friday shopping? What'd you get?

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