Merida of "Brave" Gets a Makeover

I wrote this first at bubblews.

On May 11, Disney is going to officially induct a new princess into the cannon.

Merida, from the movie "Brave" will be Disney's 11th "princess." But only if Merida "changed."

If you have not seen the movie Brave then you should know that Merida isn't about being the perfect little princess. She's a bit of a rebellious teen. She is 100% tomboy, and just wants to lead her life by her own rules. She's not primping and pining for Prince Perfect. She a "normal" body and unruly very very very frizzy red hair.

Well, before Disney makes her their newest princess, they gave her a "makeover."

They gave her the classic pinched waist, that looks painful. They gave her larger eyes, and and older appearance. They smoothed out her unruly frizz and gave her wavy red locks suitable for a shampoo commercial.


Also, where did her bow go?  And what is up with the sparkley princess dress.  It looks kind of like the one she RIPS OUT OF in order to win herself in the movie.


Basically they took brave, tomboy, free spirited Merida, and turned her into just one more cookie cutter "princess."

Some parents are up in arms about the whole thing. And the website "A Mighty Girl" has launched a petition to get Disney to leave Merida as she is. They say,

"The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value -- to be recognized as true princesses -- they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty."

What do you think? Should they keep Merida's new "pretty as a princess" makeover, or let the character stay true to the spirit in which she was created?

Shopping for Parker at Once Upon a Child

My son needed new shoes.  And shorts.  And summer pajamas because thick, warm footsies are not going to work in 90+ degree weather.

Being a toddler he is swiftly outgrowing EVERYTHING.  Last seasons clothes simply will not do.  While many of his pants still fit him in the waist, his jeans are riding up higher and higher on his legs.

We also don't like to spend a ton of money on new clothes for him, for the very same reason.  They might last him a season, but never any longer than that.

So we went to Once Upon a Child, which is our favorite place to shop for him.

Once Upon a Child is a second hand store for baby and children's clothes and toys and etc.  They also buy children's clothes and toys and etc, though we've never used that option with them.  At least not yet.  And one of the best things is that they have a "punch card" where you get a stamp for every $10 you spend with them OR sell to them.  When you fill up the card (get 20 stamps) you get 15% off of your next purchase from them!

We've been shopping there for things since we first brought our son home from the hospital. 

I will admit to being a little disappointing (for the first time) yesterday.  Their section of 3T clothes was VERY limited.  Almost nothing there, and most of what was there were winter clothes.

We didn't leave empty handed though.  He got 3 new pairs of pajamas (2 of which were 3 piece sets!) 2 t-shirts, 2 nicer button down shirts, and a pair of shorts, as well as 2 pair of shoes, all for about $42.  We would have spent that much for the shoes alone anywhere else.  Some places would charge that much for ONE pair of shoes for a toddler.

Anyway, as we were leaving I saw something other than clothes that I wanted.

We've been talking about getting a train table for our son, to put his wooden train track on to be able to play with it more.  And as we were leaving the Once Upon a Child I saw a train table on the sidewalk.  It was ONLY $40.

That same table was going for $145 on amazon, and even more in stores.  I showed it to hubby and he decided we could get it for him.

We couldn't get it right then though, because there was not room for the train table in the car we had driven there.

So, hubby went back inside and said he wanted it, and asked if they could hold it.  They said they would be happy to hold it until the end of the day.  He said he would pay for it right then if they wanted him to.  She told him he did not have to pay until he got back to pick it up.

So, we were able to finish our errands, go home and switch cars, then go back and get the train table.

And our son LOVES it.  He even gave it a hug and a kiss when he came home from grammas yesterday and saw that we had gone back and got it for him.

As you can tell from the picture, he has already covered it with stuff.

Cleaning/Organizing My Craft Room

Well, I'm trying to face reality here.

For YEARS I've been arguing for my own office/craft room in our house.  Fairly recently my husband gave in and the spare room became ALL MINE.

Now that a second child is on the way I know that I'm going to have to give up my craft room to baby #2.
Its TOTALLY worth it, but....

Since I got my own space I've spread out a bit.  I have stuff, and things, that I didn't have when my craft space and my bedroom were one and the same.

While our newest bundle of joy is MONTHS away yet, I'm hoping to get a good bit of use out of the space still.  For now, I'm trying to clean, organize and downsize.

Well, tonight I cleaned off my desk top.  Sounds simple, but its always an undertaking.

I'm a messy person.  A messy, messy, MESSY person.  Always have been.

The results:

The entire desk was a mountain of stuff.  Empty medicine bottles my son plays with.  Empty soda bottles I keep procrastinating taking to the recycle bin.  Small scraps of paper with notes from work on them.  Used tissue, candy wrappers, random hair elastics, glue sticks, tape, all kinds of stuff.

A lot of it got trashed.  Some of it got put in the drawers.  Some of it got moved to the craft table off camera to the left.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to tackle the drawers, then work my way to the crafting table, then over to the bookshelves on the left side of the room.

I'm gong to sort through my ephemera and get ready to sell some of the stuff I've bought but not used.  And to better organize the stuff I know I'm gonna keep, but have no idea where I'm gonna put it when my bedroom and craft room become one again.

An Afternoon Outside

Today actually did feel a little like spring for a change.  So despite Parker still being a little sick, I decided it was safe to take him outside to play for a bit.

He was super happy about it.  He has not been able to go out much just lately as it is always raining, or too cold, or he's too sick.

He made a beeline for the sandbox and hopped right in.  He spend most of the hour we spent out there he spent in his sandbox.

While he was at it, I did a little outside work.  Some of that included taking the trashcan outside and washing it.  Since we've all been sick it had gotten full to overflowing, and developed some kind of yucky fluid buildup.  I also took the rats cage apart and gave it a good cleaning.

I love my little rat girls, so I'm sad to say that this pair will probably be the last ones I have as companions for a long time.  With child #2 on the way, and my crazy needy Labrador, and all the other stuff I have to take care of, I have to cut back on my responsibilities a bit.

After that I started looking around at the pots on my patio.  Usually around now my MIL and I would have gone flower shopping, but that is not going to happen this year.  My pots are looking a little sad and empty.

However, some of them wont be empty long.  The orange lillies that never bloomed last year are coming up in 2 different pots.  The bucket I had moss roses in last year is springing forth with little baby moss roses, which excites me to no end because I kept forgetting to collect their seeds last year like I wanted.

Best of all, the hydrangea I got from my dad's funeral, which I was CERTAIN I had managed to murder over the summer is sprouting new leaves!  I got a second chance with it.  GOODY!

Also, the trees in my yard are being ravaged by Spanish moss.  That stuff is all over this city.  And while its pretty hanging from those giant ancient oak trees, its not quite the same when its strangling my flowering pear tree.

I started pulling down all of it I could reach, and thought, "People pay $5 a bag for this where I work, they could totally just go pick their own!"

Now I have a small-ish hunk of moss that I'm looking at going, "I KNOW there is something I can do with this stuff."  I don't know what yet, but I'll probably hold on to it for a while.  It'll probably end up in the trash at some point though.

Lastly, right before we went back inside, I snapped a picture of the "Rat Graveyard."

It was a dogs grave already there when we moved in, and my little beloved but short lived pets have been burried in that area ever since.  I used to spruce it up a couple a times a year, but I don't think I've really don ANYTHING to it in at least a year.  Maybe longer.

If Parker feels up to playing in the yard tomorrow I might go out there and clean it up real pretty again, it sure needs it.

So, how was your Saturday?  Is the weather nicer where you are today?  Did you go outside at all?

I Have An Announcement

Several days ago I took a test.  The next morning I took another one just to be sure.  Both showed two little pink lines.

Looks like Parker is going to be a big brother!

We were sitting on the news, other than telling the people I work with because they deserve to know why I'm spending more time than usual in the restroom (peeing or puking....pregnancy is not very glamorous) and as a fair warning to management that if I had to flee from a confused customer leaving them angrily behind that there really was a good reason for it.

However, hubby broke down and told his mom yesterday, so I messaged both of my brothers today.  So now I just have to tell the whole world, cause I overshare like that.

I've not been to my OB yet.  I've not even taken an "official" test yet, just the home tests.  Its still super early and we all know things happen, but right now I'm as happy as I can possibly be.  Sick as a dog who ate rat poison, but happy nonetheless. 

55 Book Related Questions

1. Favorite childhood book?
   This one is a little bit of a toughie.  I loved the entire series of Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine.  Or at least all of them I read before I quit getting them all.  When I was VERY little I used to love the Dick and Jane reader books.  I used to read those to my dad.  But there was one book called "Ghost Cat" by Beverly Butler that I remember reading a few hundred times.  As well as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the looking Glass"  I read all three of those until they fell apart.
   
2. What are you reading right now?
   Just started reading something called "Big Girl Small" by Rachel DeWoskin.  Its about a teenaged dwarf girl who chooses to go to an arts academy.  Apparently something bad happens because of it, but I've not gotten that far yet.
   
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
   Nothing at the moment.  I don't put things on hold too often.  I use trips to the library like treasure hunts.  I scour the shelves until a title catches my eye, then if the back cover sounds good I'll pick it.
   
   
4. Bad book habit?
   Turning the corners of the book to mark my place, for sure.  I think some people call this "Dog earing."  I also break the spine of ALL of my paperbacks, which I know some people hate.  I will read while I eat, ending up with crumbs and stains on some of my books (depending on what I'm reading) and I read in the tub, which means a lot of my books, specially paperbacks, have "stains" where my wet hands were holding the cover.
   
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
   "Big Girl Small" by Rachel DeWoskin
   "Finding Alice" by Melody Carlson
   "The Different Girl" by Gordon Dahlquist
   "One Dog Night (An Andy Carpenter Novel)" by David Rosenfelt
   "Gone" by Mo Hayder
   "Dogs Rule!" by Daniel Kirk (for me to read to my son)
   
6. Do you have an e-reader?
   I do.  My husband bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas the year it came out.
   
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
   Since I got my Kindle I've been reading 2 books at once.  I'll read one paper one, and one kindle one at the same time.
   
8. Do you have a blog where you post about books? If so, have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
   I had a book blog once up on a time, but hardly kept up with it.  I'm a voracious reader, but I kept forgetting to write about the books I was reading.  Now I write about them on my personal blog instead of trying to keep a separate blog for books.  It hasn't really changed my reading habits though.  I still read too much, and always forget to write about the books afterward.
   
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
   So far this year it would have to be "The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares" by Joyce Carol Oates.  It was a collection of short stories, and after I managed to force myself to read the title story, I didn't even attempt the others.  The plot of the story was good, but the way it was written was almost painful to read.
   
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
    I guess that would have to be "The Different Girl" by Gordon Dahlquist.  I sat down and read it in about 2 hours.  And didn't want to stop until I had finished.
    
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
    Not very often.  Usually when the voice of my father in my head tells me "You're morbid.  You need to read something different."  He said that to me in person one time because all I ever read was horror novels.  He then convinced me to read "Clan of the Cave Bear" and I went on to read most of that series.
    
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
    Horror.  Stephen King.  Dean Koontz.  I like monsters and violence.  I'll settle for a good murder mystery.  I also like coming of age type stories, and novels like "She's Come Undone" where your protagonist is not entirely sane.
    
13. Can you read on the bus or any other moving vehicles?
    Not any more.  When I was younger I would ride with my dad to the store, and buy a Goosebumps book, then read it on the way home.  We lived way out, so it wasn't unusual for me to be almost finished with it before we got back to the house.  Now, however, if I try to read at all in a moving vehicle, I get terrible motion sickness.  Although sometimes, if its dark, I can get away with reading my Kindle without feeling sick.  But never when the sun's up for some reason.
    
14. Favorite place to read?
    I know this isn't very good for the book, but my favorite place to read is in the tub.  Is the only "me" time I have.
    
15. What is your policy on book lending?
    I never lend my books, unless its a book I don't care about.  I've lent books to many of my friends in the past, and very few of them ever made it back to me.  I was devastated by the loss of an book series I loved, and never lent books again afterward. 
    
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
    I do.  I'm a horrible, horrible book page bender.
    
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
    I don't.  I blame my school.  It was drilled in us to never, ever, ever write in our books, and as a result I've never been able to write in a book I'm reading.  If I like a passage I take out my journal and copy it over into my journal, but never write in the book.
    
    
18. Not even with text books?
    Specially not text books!  I never went to college, and went to a public school so none of the textbooks were really "mine." and we were told often to not write in the textbooks so they would still be serviceable for the next year's students.
    
19. What is your favourite language to read in?
    English.  Its the only language I know.
    
20. What makes you love a book?
    It has to have a good story, with characters I care about.  If it has one but not the other I might finish reading it but not really enjoy it.  If it has neither then I wont even finish reading it.
    
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
    If I reach the end of the book, and wish there were a sequel for me to read, that is when I will say to someone else, "Hey, you should read this book."
    
22. Favorite genre?
    Horror/Thriller
    
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did)?
    Classic Literature.  I feel like I should read more "smart" books, but just can't make myself do it.
    
    
24. Favourite biography?
    The only biography I've ever read was "On Writing" which is Stephen King's autobiography.
    
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
    I have not.
    
26. Favourite cookbook?
    I'm a horrible cook.  I only own one cookbook and its one my MIL gave me.  Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book which was published in.....1976
    
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
    Nothing I've read so far this year has been even slightly inspirational.
    
28. Favorite reading snack?
    White Cheddar popcorn.  It goes back to my childhood, reading Goosebumps books on a Saturday while eating a bag of white cheddar popcorn and drinking fruit punch.
    
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
    Harry Potter!  Because of all the hype around these books I refused to even give them a chance.  I think the 3rd or 4th one had just come out, and I was babysitting and picked up her copy of Sorcerer's Stone because I was bored.  Meanwhile, I loved it and became a fan who now owns all of them, of course.
    
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
    I don't' know if I've ever seen what a critic had to say about a book.  I dont' usually read any kind of review about a book.  If its one I want to read, I read it and form my own opinions without being colored by the so called "professionals."
    
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
    I've done it before.  I'll do it again.  A bad book should be badly reviewed.  I once reviewed an older horror novel on my blog, and the author himself ended up leaving a comment being all whiny about how it was his first book.  I told him that didn't change that fact that his sporting goods store turned into a hardware store just as soon as his characters needed a shovel.  He blamed the editors, of course, but I think I'll still hold that one up to writer error.  lol
    
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
    I suppose I would have to say French.  Maybe reading some of the classics in their own language would make me more likely to read them.
    
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
    Guess it depends on your definition of intimidating.  Content wise, I don't read intimidating books.  I only read for enjoyment.  Now, size wise I'd  have to say Stephen King's "Under the Dome."  That thing is so huge I have to sit at a table to read it because its too big for me to hold long comfortably.
    
    
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
    The Bible.  I'm never going to read it all, so I'll probably never try.
    
    
35. Favorite Poet?
    I don't read much poetry.  My favorite poem is one called "Not Waving, But Drowning" so I guess I'll say my faorite poet is Stevie Smith even though I don't know any of her other poems.
    
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
    5 or 6
    
    
37. How often have you returned books to the library unread?
    A few times a year.  It is usually because I got over ambitious and picked up more books than I had time to read in a 3 week period.  More often than returning them unread I'll just renew them until I can get them read.
    
    
38. Favorite fictional character?
    Einstein, the super smart golden retreiver from Dean Koontz's "Watchers."
    
39. Favourite fictional villain?
    Probably Stephen King's Randall Flagg, who has show up in countless of his novels to terrorize different people at different places and times.
    
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
    I don't go on vacation.  The closest thing I get to a vacation is having 2 days off of work in a row, and I have my whole book shelf at home to choose from.
    
    
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
    I can't think of any time that I've not been reading something.  Probably a 12 hour shift at work would be the longest time I've gone without reading, but even then I usually carry a book to work in my purse to read on my lunch break.
    
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
    Just one?  I'll say Dracula.  I've tried many times to read that blasted novel, but I can never finish it.  No matter how hard I try.
    
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
    Not much.  Sudden loud noises maybe.  I can read over music, and television, and the nagging of a 3 year old.  I even learned how to read while someone was talking to me by reading on my breaks at work.  I guess the easiest way to distract me when I'm reading is to put something between my eyes and the book.
    
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
    Probably "The Mist."  Up until the end it was so very close to the actual Stephen King novella that I was in awe of it all.
    
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
    Hands down, the movie "Vampires" by John Carpenter.  It was based loosely (very, very, very loosely) on a novel called "Vampire$" by John Steakley which is hands down my favorite vampire book EVER.  When I first realized that movie was going to be based on that book I was ESTATIC.  Then I actually saw the movie and I was like, "What in the name of god is THIS?"  Pretty much the only thing the same between the novel and the movie was the characters names.  Even their relationships with each other were not right. 
    
    So I'm STILL waiting to see a movie adaptation of the best vampire novel ever, but that will proably never happen now because apparently vampires are no longer evil, they are all "misunderstood" creatures who fall in love with teenaged girls, and some of them even sparkle in the sun.
    
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
    Maybe $25, and that would have been over 4 years ago.  We have $0 in our budget for buying things for enjoyment.
    
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
    The fist thing I do is read the cover blurb about the book.  If it takes place in a time other than modern day I'll skim through a few pages just to see what the language in the book is like.  If its hard to read (by which I mean the flow of the words, not that I don't understand the words) then I'll probably not pick it up.  Thats the only time I really skim the book.  I usually go by what the book jacket says.
    
    
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
    If the flow of the book is just impossible.  Mostly recently I was reading a book called "The Corn Maiden" and I just COULD NOT get into the story because of the way it was written.  It was choppy and jumpy and made me want to pull my hair out.  It was a short story collection.  I muddled my way though the first story, then put the book away.
    
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
    Sort of.  My Stephen King novels take up one whole shelf of their own, but they are not in any real order other than hardbacks together and paperbacks together.  The only execption is the Dark Tower series which are all together even though some are hardback and some are paperback.  My other books I mostly try to keep grouped together by author, but not in any kind of order.  They are not alphabetical or anything. 
    
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
    It depends on the book.  Usually I only buy books that I KNOW I'm going to keep an re-read.  Books by my favorite authors.  Most of what I read comes from the library so I have to give them back.  Sometimes I'll be gifted a book that I don't care much for, and might pass it on.  Or I'll make a trip  to a used book store.  Once in a rare while I'll cull down my book collection and make a donation to the library or the humane society thrift store.
    
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
    I dont think anyone could force me to read any of the Twilight books.  Ever.
    
52. Name a book that made you angry.
    Most recently would be "What Comes After" by Steve Watkins.  I'm sick of stories where some poor person is forced to move from the north to the south, and then ever southern character is portrayed as ignorant, uneducated, hateful, racist, abusive etc, etc.  Since I live in the south I'm tired of that stereotype.  I wanted to scream and shake the writer saying, "I don't know a single person who acts like the characters in your town.  NOT EVEN ONE!
    
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
    Probably "Clan of the Cave Bear" which I read because my dad asked me to.  He thought all of the horror novels I read were making me morbid.  I ended up reading most of that series as well, though I don't remember much about the books now.
    
    
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
    Dracula.  I love vampires (the old fashioned killing kind, not the new sparkly variety) and Dracula is like THE vampire, but I just cannot read that novel, try as I might.
    
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
    All of it.  I only read for pleasure.  I don't' read what I jokingly call "smart books."  I read for the sheer enjoyment of reading, must like most people watch movies. 

5 Books I think everyone should read: (List 5 books titles and their authors)

This is difficult, because I read for pleasure and I know that pleasure reading is so different from person to person.  A book I adore other peole might hate.  But, I'll list some I've read and re-read until they fell apart

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass  by Lewis Carroll
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
The Stand by Stephen King
Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

Spring and Flora Homicide

Spring has arrived.  At least that is what the keep telling me.  Its actually cooler out there now than it has been through the entirety of winter I think.

I suppose I should beleive the plants over my own skin tells me though.  Pollen is drifting through the air in yellow clouds, and the tree in my back yard has burst into a million tiny white flowers.

I have no idea what the tree is, but its very pretty through the year.  Greens, reds, white, it wears a variety of colors.

So, with spring (hypothetically) in the air, I've started thinking about growing things.

I'm bad with plants.  I have a black thumb.  If its vegetation, there is a good chance I will murder it.  Every  year I plant flowers.  Every year I kill flowers.  Last year I tried a couple of fruits and veggies.  I killed those too.

I'm still thinking about trying again though.  In fact, I have a pack of sunflower seeds here that is begging me to start them.  I'm good at starting plants.  I've started several through the years, and they trived wonderfully in their little indoor habitats.  Its when the turn into teenaged plants and I kick them out of my house that they die.

This year I'm thinking about trying to make a "mini-greenhouse" out of an old soda bottle, and see if I can start some seeds outdoors, despite the frigid spring that is outside my door.

I'm trying to come up with more "green" projects to do around the house.  Things like the tote bag I made out of a recycled magazine pages:

So, do  you have any handy gardening tips for a beginner with a tendency to mass murder plants?  Do you have any "green" gardening tips, or ways I can recycle household garbage in an eco-friendly way?  Have any seeds you want to send me, cause all I've got is these sunflowers.  :)