So, I've Got Some Splaining To Do...

I haven't blogged on blogger for a long time. I thought I sent a message out to all of my followers saying so, but apparently I didn't? Le sigh. I'm so sorry! I am over on wordpress! You can find me at A Curvy Gem and Johanna's Mama. Please come on over and see what I've been up to!

God Speed!
~HG

The Hunger Games Film, A Review

I know a lot of my friends and acquaintances were excited about the Hunger Games being made into a movie, but I doubt any of them were as excited as I was...and nervous. The Hunger Games was the best series of books I had read since Harry Potter. It was superbly written and pulled me in within the first few pages of book one. A week later, I was done with all 3 books and excited to reread them all asap!

As the time drew near for the movie to make it's debut, I, being the fanatic that I am, bought a Hunger Games t-shirt. I was READY for the movie, ok? Some of my friends even shook their head and made haughty comments. What? A t-shirt? Yes bish, a t-shirt, and if you don't like it here _/ have a seat. Because this was the come back in books I had been waiting on for years. I like Twilight enough, love the books, but the movies never lived up to my expectation. I learned to accept them for what they were. However, looking at the cast for The Hunger Games, I KNEW this film had to be on point, right???

Well....ok, here's the thing. I was not able to look at this film objectively. I'm still way too in love with the book. So this review is more of a...warning...for those of you that are fans of the books as much as I was. In your eyes this film will get a big fat D, C- at the least. Why? The same reason as always. They changed things, gave Cinna more speaking parts than needed. My friend said it was because they wanted to show the bond between them. I'm positive they could've done that without having him say stupid stuff. Then there's the extra scenes with snow that were unnecessary, and just...yeah. I think the other movie goers who had not read the books were completely over me screaming "THAT WASN'T IN THE BOOK!". Yeah, those poor people.

This review isn't all bad though. As I stated, I think the actors they picked were great for the part. There were parts that were completely on point. I swore that if Katniss didn't bury little Rue in Flowers I was leaving the theatre. Well, obviously I stayed until the end. Some moments made me laugh, others made me gasp. I'm willing to bet that if I see this film a second time, which I will, I'll give it an A. Ok, let's not go that far. I'll probably give it a B+.

So, go see The Hunger Games. If you haven't read the book, you'll love it! If you're a crazed fanatic, you'll love it simply because it's finally in film form, But if you're like me and just really appreciate the characters and the words that were on the those pages, you might be a little disappointed, although honestly, who isn't when one of their favorite books is turned into a film?

~HG

FOTD: Blue Bandit

~HG

It's All Just Too Much...

I keep feeling like I should write something about Whitney, not only because I loved her, but because everyone else is paying tribute, so shouldn't I? The thing is, I feel lost. I feel like 2011 started a wave of death and sadness one on top of another. We just keep getting slammed with it, even into 2012 and it doesn't cease to hurt. Losing Whitney Houston hurt.

When I checked into twitter and saw all of the tweets that we had just lost Whitney, I rolled my eyes and thought dear God, twitter kills everyone off. And while that is still true, I could no longer be in denial once reputable news sources started reporting it. My blood ran cold. I started having an anxiety attack. How is this possible? Why is this happening? What's really going on? Most importantly, why do I feel so sad?

I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out that I was feeling the way a lot of other folks were feeling. Was I allowed to feel this sad? I mean, I had never met Whitney Houston a day in my life. Did it make sense that I was feeling as strongly as I was. I had to give myself permission to grieve.

I grieved because I had hope for Whitney, that she would be the come back kid. That she would get better and do better. I was silently waiting in the background for it to happen. I grieved because of Bobbi Kristina. I don't read a lot of tabloids, but I often hear about her doing things that as a mother, makes me quite concerned. How empty and lost she must feel now. Who will guide her? I grieved because of the memories. While so many others were posting their favorite Whitney songs and videos, I couldn't. I couldn't watch them, couldn't listen to them, just couldn't. It was taking me some place I didn't want to go. I grew up listening to Whitney Houston. My mom and I use to stay up on a Friday night and watch a vhs tape we had with nothing but Whitney Houston videos. We would sing Whitney Houston songs to one another. Yeah, I grieved because yet another part of the memory of my mother left this Earth.

It was too much. It is too much. I am ready for this week to be over. I'm ready for the wake and the funeral to be done with. It's too much.

That's all I really have to say about the passing of Whitney Houston. I really did love her. For the part she played in my childhood and for that beautiful voice that could raise goosebumps on my arms.It is evident that she will be missed. I hope everyone keeps her family in their prayers.

~HG

Ahem...

Go Giants! Tis all.

~HG

FOTD: Bright Lips (and Personal Issues)

Hey foxy ladies (and gents)! Usually I doh't do a bright lip because I'm much more confident (and comfortable) with a nude lip. Bright lips make me go to a whole nother level of confident because I have to push through the self-consciousness. Come to think of it, anything that really puts me out there does. Like hats. I love them, but rarely wear them, because they call so much attention to me. Okay, apparently I have issues. Anyway, i hope you like the look. I'mma go now and umm...do some self relfecting...yeah....

[Beauty] Reading IS Fundamental!

Over the past few days I've been doing a lot of thinking about how I got to where I am now and how to move forward. I started reading some old entries here and in my personal diary. I realized that every time I was on fire, every time a fuse inside of me was lit, it was because I was reading. I was constantly being inspired by other people. Somewhere along the line I stopped reading. Literally. I stopped reading blogs, I stopped reading books...the only thing I've been reading are status updates on facebook...yeah...

So yesterday I read as many blog entries as I could and guess what happened? Why of course, I was inspired! I even went to Sephora and played with makeup, then bought 3 polishes. I haven't done that in almost a year! I feel like I'm slowly coming back into myself and who I am.

So, thank you, my fellow bloggers. Thank you for writing and inspiring me; for helping me find ME again.

By the way, here's a pic of my little one. So many of you were reading me while I was preggers and I know I haven't posted a pic in a long time. She's a year old now and totally running things. I love it!

~HG