Navy Outfit, Fixed.

Alrighty.  I finally got my Navy outfit fixed that I had got like in April.  That is how ridiculously slow I can be sometimes.  Does anyone remember how absolutely disgusted I was with it?  I loved the pictures I saw of it on Etsy, but as soon as I opened the package, I was completely disappointed and was certain I would probably never wear it.  It was most likely from the 70's or 80's (bleh), made of polyester (double bleh), and had the most horrid gold braiding on it (I had enough of that my 14 years of dancing thank you very much).

Well, I had a moment of clarity and decided to cover those ugly gaudy gold trimmings with white.  I used 3/8inch white grosgrain ribbon to hide that nasty, belongs on a dance costume only, gold trim, and it did a pretty good job.

I replaced the painted gold buttons with plain white buttons.

The biggest challenge was re-embroidering the emblem on the upper pocket.

I need to go over it again with embroidery floss, because when I was fixing it, for some reason I was completely out of floss so I was using 1 strand of thick quilting thread.  That was....frustrating.

Well, I finally got it all put together over labor day weekend!  And, just in time to take my bike out on its maiden voyage, which I forgot to take a picture of.  Stupid me.  I don't think most of my family liked this outfit, but I don't think it's truly awful.  Anyways, I think it turned out relatively cute.  I obviously need to get a smaller belt.  Certainly not the cutest thing I own, but certainly not the ugliest thing I own either.

I should entitle this area of my posts What Caitlin Wasted Her Time Doing This Week, or something probably more creative than that:D

Well, these past few weeks since my last post on this subject, I have watched a few tv series, a few movies, a few animated favorites, and read 3 books which is an unusually tiny amount for me.  I think it might be because I have taken to reading my Bible readings at work now too, so that takes away time from other reading (not that that is a bad thing).  Alrighty, here we go:
TV SHOWS

VERONICA MARS SEASON 2
First off, my mother and I like to marathon tv shows, especially when we are both sewing, though she hasn't sewn in a while.  We finally finished watching Veronica Mars Season 2.  I love love love this series.  I cannot believe it only lasted 3 seasons.  It is so much better than all the other crap they are trying to have teens watch nowadays, it's not even funny.  Veronica Mars is adorable, sassy, snarky, smart, and a kickbutt private eye.  And, it's not dirty, nor does it focus on who is hooking up with who.  Yay! The best thing about this series is the strong, realistic relationship between Veronica and her protective father.  I am a sucker for this type of tv trope. A++

BLACK BOOKS SERIES 1-3
My mother randomly decided to pick up this series from the library, and I am so glad she did.  I love shows imported from England, as if you needed to be told that, what with my love of Doctor Who, Merlin, Being Human, etc.  I think the writing is better, the acting is stronger, the comedy is actually funny, unlike most American shows (with the exception of American comedy Arrested Development).  This series is no exception.  Sometimes, I have to be careful with English shows because they don't have the limits on what they can show on broadcast TV after a certain hour like we do.  Thankfully though, this series only issue is that the main characters are constantly drinking with each other.  The language is pretty tame, and there is almost no sex in it whatsoever.  And it is one of the funnies shows I've seen.  The main character owns a used book shop, but hates people and is constantly verbally abusive to his customers.  I don't know how he stays open because I don't think he ever sells anything.  Which is good, because he doesn't know how to order new stock.  He hires a helper in the first episode and the helper basically becomes his poor abused peon.  And, he has only one friend: the lady who owns the shop next to him who is very unlucky in love and they drink a ton of wine together.  A-

THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES
This is yet another one of those English show that I adore.  It is a Doctor Who spin off, which yall know I am in love with, right?  Well, this series focuses on one of the Doctor's former companions, and her adventures fighting aliens on earth with her son and her son's friends.  It can pretty hammy at times, no where near the quality of Doctor Who or Torchwood, but if I didn't have those shows to compare it to, I would think it was pretty fabulous.  It is definitely geared towards a younger audience, unlike Doctor Who and Torchwood.  However, as with those two shows, it does push evolution and liberal theories in your face, but if you are okay with that then it shouldn't be a problem. B

SUPERNATURAL SEASON 5
Alright.  I don't think I have ever written about Supernatural.  If you've been following me for awhile, you'd probably think my favorite show was Glee.  Dead wrong.  While I do have a lot of love for that show, my heart belongs to Supernatural.  I started watching this in the second season after catching up with the first season on DVD my sophomore year of college.  I love this show so much, I usually record all the episodes so I can watch them again the following week, read several blogs solely dedicated to this show, look up and practically memorize every episodes mythology, know which classic rock songs have been on the show, mostly know which classic rock songs are in what episode, buy the DVD the day it comes out, etc etc.  You get the picture.  In fact, the first season, my college roommate and I watched so many times, I should probably be embarrassed by the amount.  Sometimes we would watch the same disc or episode a few days in a row, especially our favorites.  Well, each season just keeps getting more and more awesome.  And this season it was basically heaven vs. hell, angels vs. demons.  And the boys fight lucifer.  And it is pretty epic.  Though the religious undertones of last season make me a little nervous sometimes because they are so theologically unsound, I hope teens or other viewers don't take that part seriously or to heart.  While this show is about the brothers fighting demons and supernatural entities, the true heart of the show is about the brother's relationship with each other.  This show is all about family, which as with Veronica Mars, is my favorite thing about any show.  A+

MOVIES

BLUES BROTHERS
I watched this for the first time.  This is like one of those classic movies that everyone sees and you can't help but like it.  Like John Hughes movies in the 80's (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Breakfast Club, etc.).  They are fun and everyone can enjoy them.  Well, I certainly liked my time watching the movie.  I can't believe I had never seen it before, and, besides some language it was pretty clean.  A-

TITANIC
Well, what can I say about Titanic other than I love it.  This was the first pg-13 movie I saw, back in 5th grade.  Wow, that's how old this movie is, and that's how long I've loved this movie.  I even got it when it first came out on the 2 tape set.  With certain movies or shows that I love, as if you couldn't tell, I can get pretty obsessive over and watch multiple times in a short amount of time with no problem.  I have watched Titanic a ridiculous amount of times that I should be embarrassed about.  I remember when I first got it on tape, I would watch one tape, then tape 2, then tape 1 again, then tape 2 again.  Over and over.  Thankfully I had my own tv so I didn't drive my parent's nuts with it.  A lot of people make fun of this movie, but it is just this epic romance/adventure that is so engaging, I honestly don't know how you can't enjoy it.  Plus, I was watching with someone who had never seen it before, so it was almost as if I was experiencing it for the first time again, which was rather quite lovely.  I could pretend to experience Jack and Rose's dramatic first meeting, the 3rd class Irish dance party for the first time, the evilness of Cal and his manservant, the amazing effects of the ship filling with water and breaking in half, the sorrow and the sadness all for the first time.  I liked that a lot. A+

PRINCE OF EGYPT
I said I was going to have to watch this movie while I was reading Exodus, so I did.  I hadn't watched it in years since I only have it on tape and our only tape player is in the sewing room.  I am surprised at how accurate this movie actually is.  I mean, of course they take some liberties with the text, but the heart and message of Exodus is fully intact.  Sometimes, when animated movies use celebrities instead of voice actors to voice the characters I get really distracted and all I can see is the actor instead of the character.  However, with this movie I don't really notice it, despite having Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ralph Fiennes, etc.  And, the songs are beautiful and very singable which is important for me.  In fact, the ending song "When You Believe" was the very first song my best friend and I sang in church.  We weren't really even friends when we decided to sing this, but after a few months of working on it together, countless sleepovers, buying matching outfits to sing in, she became my very closest friend.  Man, I wish we had that performance on tape somewhere.  That would be hilarious.  Me a lowly high school freshman and she a superior high school senior.  Oh the memories.  A-

STARDUST
If you couldn't tell already, most things I watch have some fantasy or supernatural element to them.  I just think it makes things more enjoyable and I tend to use it as a form of escapism.  Well, Stardust is no exception.  I think most people compare it to Princess Bride as in they are both truly enjoyable films that most people enjoy.  I don't think you can really hate either movie.  Neither movie can really be narrowed down to only one genre, there is an adorable love story in each, these weird fantasy lands, magic etc.  Stardust is about this boy, Tristan, who is one of those very loyal boys who you know would do anything for anyone who needs help and you can just tell he would make a really great husband.  Well, he is in love with Victoria, a spoiled snobbish girl who does not deserve his love.  She is in love with someone else purely because he can afford to buy her things, but agrees to marry Tristan only if he can find her the star they saw fall.  The problem is the star is across the Walle, where no one ever ventures.  Well, through a series of events, he gets into Walle, and finds the star.  Problem is, the star is a young girl and an evil witch is after her to eat her heart.  There is a whole lot more that goes on in this story, some dark humor, some more witches, some sky pirates.  Just trust me,  You will enjoy it.  A+

Moulin Rouge is my favorite contemporary musical, so I can't say a bad word about it, though I know a lot of people hate it.  It does take a while to get used to it.  In fact, I had to watch the first 20 minutes of it 3 times before I could go any further, it is just that weird and random and hyper.  The costuming, the scenery, the music, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous in this movie.  The songs are all songs you would hear on the radio if it was in the 70's and 80's, with a few originals thrown in. It is about a Christian, a writer(Ewan McGregor) who moves to Paris to discover things about life, like love and beauty.  He meets Satine(Nicole Kidman) who is a courtesan and she makes him believe that she loves him the first night they meet because she thinks, by a comedy of errors, that he is a very rich duke who can fund the play that the owner of the Moulin Rouge wants to put on.  Well,  Christian truly does fall in love and continually pursues her, despite her being contractually obligated to the real duke in order to get the funding.  It is full of romance, betrayal, jealousy, etc.  And, for a movie about a whorehouse in the 1800s, there honestly is not as much sex in it as there could be.  Most of it is implied.  A+

Man, I watched some awesome movies the past few weeks.  This is one of my favorite Disney movies.  And I just realized now, watching it with adult eyes and mindset, how much this movie truly is not meant for little kids.  It is rather dark and ominous, and edgy for a Disney movie.  Frollo, the mentor and father figure to Quasimodo, is the most cruel and vile villian in a Disney movie.  I am pretty sure there is nothing redeemable about him, not to mention he lusts after Esmeralda, is sexually obsessed with her and threatens to kill her if she doesn't submit to him.  All of which he blames on Esmeralda herself, because she has used her "witchcraft" on him.  And we are advertising this movie for little kids?  The soundtrack is one of the more fabulous Disney soundtracks, which is hard for me to say because I basically love all Disney soundtracks. A-

The last movie I watched, several times actually, was Annie.  No, not the 1980's movie version, but the Disney made for TV movie.  I had never seen this version before, and I have to say, as much as it pains me to say it, I like this version just a smidge more.  The one thing this movie definitely has going for it is that it includes a few more songs in it from the Broadway show that did not make it into the other 80's movie.  I also think the singing is much stronger in this version, except by Kathy Bates.  No one can beat Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan.  Even acting wise, Kathy Bates is blown out of the water by Carol Burnett's drunken swagger throughout the entire movie.  The acting is not as good, however, in this Disney version.  Sometimes it feels too "stagy" if you know what I mean.  But, Victor Garber, who played Jesus in the Godspell movie and Mr. Andrews in Titanic is in it as Daddy Warbucks.  And, Kristin Chenoweth, from Wicked and Pushing Daisies: one of the cutest, if not the cutest show ever created, is in it.  She is just the most adorable thing ever.  Though, she doesn't sing very much.  How dare they do that to her. But, yeah, its awesome! B

Alrighty, that's it for now.  I will work on a preview of what I've been sewing and Bible post tonight.