Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 Part 1
Day 4 Part 2
STEPHANIE'S EUROPE JOURNAL
Day 4 Continued Continued
7.11.11
"I put on my pajamas, but I didn't feel like figuring out the toothbrush situation since we can't ingest the water here, so I just went to bed.
I wanted to write, but reading was mas importante {more important} and since lights out at 11, I had to pick. God's been giving me exactly the right Psalm every day, and last night it was Psalm 16. It was so right I cried. Again -___- That makes two days on this trip.
Then I just read "Lily's Passport to Paris" til lights out.
Let me tell you that sleeping without air conditioning is muy dificil {very difficult}. I was so glad Momma and Sarah didn't have to be here. Alicia has a thermometer somehow and it said 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah. Luckily I was on the lower bed with the window over it. Unfortunately it doesn't cool down that much at night, and the elevator runs right outside. XD I fell asleep eventually, after more crying, and 17 days felt like an unbelievably long time.
Oh! I forgot some things at dinner. We ate with the French boy, who's great. He's 13 and gorgeous. Brown hair, tanned skin, and a boy-cute face. His voice, I love. At dinner, Hannah, the resident translator, tried talking to him, but she's kinda mean. It's like she assumes anyone who doesn't speak English is stupid. She and Kira talked about the boy like he wasn't even there, and said things like, "He probably doesn't understand anything."
"Well, he probably does, just not the things we're talking about."
"No," he said suddenly in his adorable accent. "I do."
"Oh. But not very much."
"No, I do," he was endearingly indignant.
"I think you understand a lot," I said honestly. "You're much better at English than I am at French. Or Spanish." He smiled. We talked a little about tennis, and Hannah brought up escargos. We asked the boy if he'd ever had them. He made a funny face, confusion and skepticism and humor. It was cute.
"Whaht?"
"Escargo."
He looked totally confused, which baffled us.
"But that's French! Escargos? You know, snails?"
"Wait, I have a snail shell!" cried Hannah, leaping up from the table and leaving. While she got it we tried explaining it to the boy.
"They're slow...like a slug? With a shell?"
"Es. Car. Go!"
*makes crawling motion on table*
I tried pronouncing it French-ish, but it came out Spanish-ish.
Hannah came back with the shell and the boy immediately exclaimed, "Oh! Ehs-KEHR-gohh!" He laughed, we did too, blinking.
"That's what we said...!"
He laughed and shook his head.
"Say it again," I asked. He did, looking at me kind of annoyed-like, but laughing. I repeated it, he smiled.
Back to this morning. I knew I'd dreamed, but I couldn't remember. Consuela came in and told us we could shower then eat breakfast. This morning I felt terrible. My stomach was churning and the thought of facing another day was unbearable.
Alicia showered first; after a few minutes, she came racing into the bedroom. "Help! I can't turn off the shower! I've tried everything!" We ran into the bathroom. I turned the knobs both ways and all kinds of stuff but couldn't do it either. I felt bad for Alicia, in a towel, because just last need she'd told me she hates using other peoples' bathrooms because they always do something weird.
I went into the dining room and found Lucia.
"Ayudame," I said, motioning. She came and so did Consuela, who turned it off eventually.
While Alicia was finishing, I ate breakfast. I expected it to be awful from Kira and Hannah said. It wasn't! Not one little bit! The toast was good, we got to make our own hot chocolate with warm milk, the peach juice was fine and this little sugar muffin was delicioso!
Almost immediately after, we went out to shop. I was feeling rather worked up again. As we went out onto the street with a shopping cart that looked like a stroller, the world tilted and felt lumpy, like my body was in a house of mirrors. I really thought I was going to pass out, but as we walked I told myself to chill. Sure, it felt like we were in the ghetto, but as Lily says, "Details are details." I noticed the awnings and peoples' clothes, the cracked buildings and funny "walk" and "don't walk" lights. We went to a flourist first, where we left a plant. Consuela told the man something about water. Next, we stopped at a bakery, which smelled funny. The woman told Consuela that whatever it was wasn't ready and to come back.
We went to markets and fruit stores and supermarkets and all kinds of places. As time passed, Lucia began to talk to me. She tried to tell me the name of each store and things like that. I used a lot of "No se" {I don't know} and "Que?"{What?} and "Si," {Yes} but we got along okay :) She showed me more, and in the supermarket we played "Que es?" {What is?} I identified cheese, soda, milk, a basketball, a camera, and probably more. She told me towel, cart, basketball hoop, juice and mellon. I'm much better with Spanish than Alicia, so Lucia would sometimes tell me to keep quiet so Alicia could answer XD
I asked what some things were, like a mirror. Espejo. I knew but I couldn't remember. We got pretty good at communicating between making connections, reviewing and hand motions :) She told me about vans, which hold "muchas personas."
After shopping we went to a "parke." It has an airplane model/statue thing, so it's called "Parke de Avion." Lucia showed us this "pyramide" of ropes you can climb, a "rio" {river} that runs through the park, a stage where they have "concertos y peliculas en el verano,"{concerts and movies in the summer} and a swimming pool. she also showed us a memorial that looked like a jungle gym in a concrete planter. Something about death and the sun. Each side was dedicated to a different person or creature or something, which an engraving in the concrete. She told us that unlike the pyramide, we couldn't climb on this one XD She showed us her favorite patch of flowers and made a picture-taking motion. I did.
On the way back a la casa {to the house}, we looked in the window of a pet store.
Later we played "Mentito," which is basically BS. Actually, it's exactly BS XD
For lunch we had pasta! And salad and bread. At desayuno, I had told Consuela "Como poco, siempre." {I always eat little.} She remembered because just when I was getting full, she smiled and said, "Si quieres no mas, es bueno." {If you don't want anymore, it's okay.} I was ecstatic! I told her gracias, that everything was muy, muy bueno and ate a little more. Perfect! :)
Kira and Hannah have been wrong a lot. Lucia is wonderful, the food is good, and Consuela is the kindest Spainish lady ever. You just have to be open and try!
This morning I was completely inconsolable and wanted to go home. Right now, at 5pm, I think this has been on of the best experiences of my life. 16 {days} is still a painfully, painfully long time, and I don't like to think about it, but I think I can do it.
Oh, one thing that SUCKS: no towel! I can't BELIEVE I forgot a towel -__- *sigh*
{minutes later}
We just ate this little loaf of cake-bread that was so good! And cinnamon milk called...h... {I couldn't remember.}
{that night}
We went shopping! I got two shirts. One is black with a blue glitter tiger and the other is green and white and peasant-ish. We went with Lucia and her wonderful mother, Rosa."
Stay tuned XD
~Stephanie
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Barbie Pink Lips & Nails, Dune Shoes & Wolfey
I attended my friend's wedding on Saturday and I came over all Barbie by donning candy pink nails and lips. I was wearing a cobalt blue dress so it made for a nice contrast. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I quite enjoy being uber girly at times.
My makeup for the wedding wasn't anything ground breaking and it's actually very similar to my blog header makeup but using cheaper products. I never like to go over the top with my makeup when I'm going to a wedding.
The cheap as chips lipstick is by Rimmel (Lasting Finish) and is called Indulgence (004), a gorgeously sickly flamingo pink!
For a £4.99 lipstick, the formulation is surprisingly good. The coverage was impressive with little to no faffing around on application. It's longevity was pretty good too. I only had to reapply it once after the meal and then it stayed put for the rest of the night. I love this vibrant shade for it's tan-accentuating properties though.
Even though the weather here has taken a turn for the worst, I can pretend it's still summer! The only downside to this lippy is the fragrance, I'm not too keen on it. Apart from that it's a great bargain for anyone who loves vibrant pink lipsticks.
The nail colour I have on in the pics above was also a Boots purchase, it's Maybelline Forever Strong Pro polish in Bubblegum. It's a cool toned candy pink with blue reflects.
I love how this polish looks on my nails and it dried super quick BUT I must say that it really didn't last that long. After 3 days it started to peel off in small areas. So the fact that the polish claims to last 'up to 7 days' is a bit of a joke really. Maybe it's performance could be improved with a REALLY good top coat. Do you guys know of one?
Another product I am wearing in the pics above and have become slightly obsessed with lately, is the JK Jemma Kidd Gliteratti Shadow Dust Duo in Paparazzi. It's basically a liquid gold shadow on one end and a highly reflective gold rollerball powder shadow on the other.
This is a gorgeous gold shade that has an amazing metallic finish, the kind where it looks like you have molten metal on your lids. The liquid shadow is gorgeous on it's own but when you apply the powder shadow over the top, it amps up the reflective properties even more to create a really pretty finish.
I had a couple of people on Saturday asking what I was wearing on my eyes. They are only £5.72 on ASOS at the moment and although they are currently out of stock, they do seem to get regular batches in so keep an eye out!
I have been looking for a certain pair of shoes for what feels like forever now. Basically I wanted to find shoes that:
a) are neutral and go with everything
b) are comfortable to walk around in
c) are made from durable materials
I managed to find the perfect pair on Amazon,courtesy of Dune! They just arrived today and they definitely fit the criteria I had in my head. They are sling-back pale taupe leather shoes with a chunky, wood-effect heel.
I can't explain how comfy these shoes are! The elasticated/buckle sling-back means no rubbing or squashed feet. The real leather upper is soft enough not to rub in awkward places and the heel is chunky enough to add support, comfort and will make it easy to wear them for hours on end.
I can wear them with jeans, trousers, skirts and dresses and because they are neutral, they can be teamed with pretty much any colour in my wardrobe. I got them here for only £33.97 including delivery...I think that's a gret saving considering they were originally £75! So, if you are a fan of Dune shoes, ALWAYS check Amazon because they stock quite a few styles for really affordable prices.
A mish-mash post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my little friend, Wolverine (or Wolfey as he is sometimes known). I brought a cute little cupcake home from the wedding on Saturday and after taking Wolverine out of his cage to get him some fresh fruit, I popped him on the couch near the cupcake.
BIG mistake!
He proceeded to try and break into the cupcake wrapping...he obviously thought I brought it home for him!
He's such a diva!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Honeycombs and Bees in the Flint Hills of Kansas
Sweetest Bees! more on this later. check out this old farmhouse's treasure...
Most Despicable Acts Ever--Book and Movie Edition
Gracias to Lauren for following! Hope you like Pandora XD
The Most Despicable Acts Ever, book-and-movie edition { WARNING: potentially spoiler-esque, but not intensely so}:
1. Running away from the final blow--on your hands and knees. {Troy}
2. Massacring a guy by surprise. {The Godfather}
3. Betraying/forsaking your friends for money. {Newsies}
4. Manipulating everyone by guilt-tripping and batting your eyelashes. {Eclipse}
5. Making your guy lose his honor, pride and position to "prove" his love for you. {A Knight's Tale}
6. Deciding you're in love with a guy because he turns you on. {The Forest of Hands and Teeth}
True to my normal overly-analytical ways, I then tried to figure out what this says about me as a person. Is there a common theme in this list? What is it that really GETS me?
I decided the recurring issue is Honor. I was already fully aware of my fiercely strong opinion on honor. {It comes with being southern, I kid you not. You can steal my stuff, but you do NOT insult my momma, my honor or my land. End of story.}
The first Despicable Thing, crawling away from a final blow actually got me on my feet during the movie. I literally jumped up off the couch with an enraged gasp of disbelief. That's not how it works, buddy. You signed up for it, now TAKE IT LIKE A MAN. There is no other option. {Except I guess there was. Wuss.}
The second DT, the massacre is just absolutely sick, not to mention dishonorable. Shooting a guy til he's riddled like swiss cheese out of the blue when he's {SPOILER} on his way to kick his abusive brother-in-law's ass is just WRONG, I tell you, WRONG. URGHHHH. *grits teeth* It gets me.
DT number three {lawl, rhyme...} betraying/forsaking your friends for money doesn't directly have anything to do with honor. It has to do with LOYALTY, which is a FACET of honor. {I clearly need to do a post on honor. I think I will. Stay tuned.} Loyalty is important, and when you don't have it, you suck.
Ah, the famous guilt-tripping and batting lashes trick by Bella Swan {DT #4}. Again, nothing to do with honor, but doesn't it just make you wanna vomit? Or punch a wall? {Or a werewolf.} It's absolutely disgusting, despicable. I HATE girls who do this. If you seriously do not have a better method of persuasion than bringing up past "wrongs," you do not deserve a favor. Get a life. Get some logic. Grr.
#5, making your guy lose his *ahem* HONOR to prove his love for you. This pisses me off. I mean, yeah, it might prove that he loves you, I get that. But personally, my guy's honor is directly tied to mine, and if *I* really love him, I'm not gonna ask him to fail at something. It's just...somehow wrong.
And the sixth and final Despicable Thing, deciding you love a guy because he turns you on. {In my opinion, the whole book "Forest of Hands and Teeth" had virtually NO REDEEMING QUALITIES and this little gem only made it worse.} Hopefully I don't have to explain this one to you. Love and lust are way not synonymous, and this Mary chick doesn't even seem to know that. She genuinely thinks she loves this guy because she laid on top of him one time {long story} and was like "Ohmigawd. I feel funny."
And that concludes my rant on despicable book-and-movie moments. What are some moments that made you cringe? Do you notice any recurring themes?
~Stephanie
Holiday: Must Have Products & Beauty Saviours
I was relieved to pay a visit to Leigh at I-Candy last week to have my tresses redeemed to their former healthy state. Since I got a good tan on holiday, I decided that honey and caramel tones would compliment my skintone more than the lighter blonde brought on by the blazing sun in Greece. Although I was uber conscientious in making sure my hair didn't get frazzled on holiday, I still felt like I needed to lop off the dead wood on the ends. So I had an inch chopped off my hair and I have to say that my hair feels and looks a whole lot better now.
I just wanted to go over some of the products I took on holiday with me that became must have remedies every single day.
I have mentioned this products loads of times before but that's because it really works for me and it saved my face from being burnt to a crisp! It's tinted, it's non-oily and create a great base for any face makeup thereafter. It's Clinique Super City Block...
I tried out a couple of new sunscreens and the best by far was St Tropez SPF30 High Protection For Body with Tan Enhancers. "This luxurious and nourishing lotion simply melts into the skin, helping to protect you from harmful UVA and UVB rays. Formulated with MELANOBRONZE, an innovative ingredient which helps stimulate melanin production, to help enhance your tan naturally. Leaves skin feeling hydrated and softened with the addition of Muru Muru butter and antioxidant rich Vitamin E".
Chris used the Face one and I used the one for the body. It sank into the skin quickly, didn't leave a greasy residue and meant that neither of us got burnt at all whilst on holiday. I also felt like I tanned a lot more than I usually would so there must be something about the 'tan enhancing' ingredients that work! It's £20 for the 150ml Body sunscreen and £15 for the 50ml Face sunscreen. I used up the whole body tube in one week but the Face one was only half empty after the week was up. It's always good to know how much sunscreen to take with you!
A couple of other products I tried for the first time whilst away was the Clarins After Sun Gel Ultra-Soothing and Clarins SOS Sunburn Soother. The After Sun Gel was absolutely brilliant and both myself and Chris used it everyu day after sun exposure. It's cooling, light in formulation and leaves your skin feeling really comfortable and hydrated. I will definitely be buying this for my next holiday abroad! The SOS Sunburn Soother was also great for the days when my skin was a bit pink in areas. A primer example of this was the very top of my forehead. Although it didn't get burnt as such, it looked a little pink at one point. However, after applying the SOS Sunburn Soother at night, the slight redness completely disappeared and there was absolutely no peeling. Love this stuff! It's £17.50 for the 150ml of After Sun and £25.50 for the 40ml tub of SOS Sunburn Soother. I know it seems expensive but to be honest with you, my skin is really important to me so I don't mind paying a bit extra to ensure it stays in the best condition possible.
I was vigilant with my hair on holiday too and the best shampoo by far for a beach holiday is Frederic Fekkai Marine Clean Detox Shampoo. It's a gentle formulation that removes any sea salt, chlorine or other residue from your hair without stripping it of it's natural oils. This shampoo left my hair soft, silky and very lightweight. It also contains a UV shield which helps to protect your hair from sun exposure and colour fading. It's £20 for a 200ml tube and even though I used it twice a day sometimes, it was still half full when I returned home. I also suspect Chris and our other friend were using it too since neither of them had shampoo with them! I also used my old favourite Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment as a conditioner every day to ensure my hair stayed in good condition and was properly hydrated.
The Phyto Plage Protective Sun Veil completely saved my hair from turning to straw. It contains Sweet almond which forms a non-greasy seal and softens the hair. The light-protective sunflower extract it contains strengthens the hair's natural resistance by preventing the production of free radicals. The UV filter protects your hair from the sun's rays. I spritzed my hair with this every morning before going in the sun and took it with me in my beach bag to reapply if needed. It costs £20 for a 4.2fl oz bottle. (the packaging of this product has changed since I got it so it may look different from the pic above).
I took my trusty MoroccanOil with me too to apply to the ends of my hair and keep them supple and soft. I also applied it all over my hair at bedtime on a couple of occasions to give my hair an intensive treatment. You only need a very small amount of this product, especially if you have fine hair so don't go overboard or your hair will end up looking greasy. It's pricey at £29 for a 100ml bottle but it really does last forever! I also liked using the Frederic Fekkai Marine Summer Hair Beach Waves.
"Have sexy hair with Frédéric Fekkai Summer Hair Marine Beach Waves. Hydrating your hair for effortlessly tousled waves it also prevents moisture loss, leaving you with beautifully soft, textured hair.
Formulated with AquaNutrient technology that blends marine botanical extracts:
Sea Kelp to hydrate and block moisture loss for sexy, effortless tousled waves, anytime and anywhere.
Frédéric Fekkai Summer Hair Marine Beach Waves also contains a UV filter to help protect your hair from environmental damage and helps prevent colour fading".
It added texture to my hair, made it look tousled and was a really easy way to style my hair without using a hair dryer. It's £20 for a 150ml bottle.
I took two perfumes with me to Greece, one was the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess scent and the other was the Escada Taj Sunset perfume. The Estee Lauder one was great for the daytime when we were hanging out at the beach because it smells like summer and is quite subtle. The Escada one is more fruity and was the perfect summery, fresh scent to wear at night.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The Gauntlet
Titel: The Gauntlet / Hetsjakten
Genre: Action/Kriminaldrama/Thriller
Land: USA
År: 1977
Regi: Clint Eastwood
I rollerna: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince
Handling: Den slitne polisen Ben Shockley får i uppdrag att föra ett vittne från Las Vegas till Phoenix. Men det som verkar vara ett rutinuppdrag visar sig vara en mardröm. Många har satsat pengar på att de inte ska komma fram.
Omdöme: Clint Eastwood rider på Dirty Harry-vågen med en karaktär som likt Dirty Harry inte går efter regelboken, men får jobbet gjort. Men det är också det enda de två karaktärerna har gemensamt då Ben Shockley inte är den smartaste polisen man sett och blir ständigt räddad av vittnet han ska leverera från Las Vegas till Phoenix. Vittnet är Gus Mally och spelas av hans dåvarande flickvän Sondra Locke (som han gjorde ett par filmer med, rättare sagt sex stycken). Något som är lite kul är att hon oftast har övertaget rent dialogmässigt vilket är lite ovanligt med Clint Eastwood i huvudrollen.
Det är en av få filmer jag sett med Sondra Locke där jag inte stör mig på henne. Förmodligen för att hon har en ganska bra karaktär här och rollen som stor-i-käften-prostituerad passar henne. Skådespeleriet och karaktärerna är filmens starkaste sida där bl.a. Shockleys chef, polischefen Blakelock (William Prince), och polisen (skönt spelad av Bill McKinney) som Shockley tvingar köra mot statsgränsen, sticker ut. Inte någon av Clint Eastwoods bästa filmer, det är en sak som är säker. Underhållningsvärdet finns iaf där.
Filmen, som lika gärna hade kunnat heta "När Harry träffade Mally", är en underhållande actionfilm som bjuder på fart och fläkt. Samtidigt är dess handling långt ifrån realistisk och blir ofta skrattretande rolig, något som jag tror var meningen. Man har några riktigt bra helikopterstunts under en jakt ute i öknen som får en att skaka på huvudet när man ser hur pass nära en ordentlig olycka man faktiskt är. Filmen tappar allt mer i trovärdighet mot slutet, men ser man filmen som den actionfilm det är och kan bortse från dess brister så är den helt ok. Något som däremot är riktigt avskyvärt är musiken som absolut inte passar och bara förstör filmen igenom.
3 - Skådespelare
2 - Handling
3 - Känsla
1 - Musik
3 - Foto
--------------
12 - Totalt
Betyg:
IMDb: 6.3
Trailer - The Gauntlet
5-year old abducted, assaulted in DC area
One posts the horrific stories--a lot at first, then, with decreasing frequency as the horrifics stay the same and the trauma endures.
One wants to maintain the public awareness: these crimes do not stop, they continue, they repeat, here, there, everywhere...
Looking for hurricane information regarding my family on the east coast, i see the following story on the front page of the WP and decide all the pictures of horses on roads, of cats in light, of men biking across america to alert folks to the pain our children are enduring must now again be tempered with one of a hundred, a thousand stories of rape and assault in the news this week...
excerpt:
By June Q. Wu, Published: August 27 "A 5-year-old Springfield girl was abducted from her bedroom early Saturday and assaulted somewhere nearby before she made her way back home, police said.
Fairfax County police said the unknown attacker broke into the townhouse in the 7000 block of Brocton Court after midnight, went upstairs and took the girl from her bed. The girl’s parents and 1-year-old sibling were at home, police said. They said the parents did not realize that the girl had been abducted until she returned home about 4 a.m. and told them what had happened. ..."Officer Don Gotthardt, a police spokesman, described the abduction and assault as “horrific” and unlike any crime the neighborhood had seen before. He emphasized that neighbors should remain vigilant, keep their doors locked and report any suspicious activity to the police.
The 5-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment of upper-body injuries that are not life-threatening, Gotthardt said...." MORE
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