Artsy Fartsy Time- Narwhals, a Bow Tie, and a Fez

TGIF my friends,

In this segment of Artsy Fartsy Time I'll be sharing some of crafts my Mom and I have been doing for birthdays and cons.

Narwhals:

Fangirl recently had a birthday. I was racking my brain what to get her. I found her some anime stickers, and dragons, but I wanted to get her more. I came across Craft Passions instructions for a Sock Unicorn Whale, basically a narwhal. This was perfect, cause Fangirl finally discovered the awesomeness of Star Vs. The Forces of Evil. Now every time we go somewhere and she sees a stuffed Narwhal she pelts me with it going "Narwhal blast!"

I used the aforementioned instructions as a guide of sorts. The only colorful socks I could find were shorter than what the instructions called for so I had to go by the seat of my pants on this project. The result is not the best narwhals, but they get the job done Fangirl has done pelted me with them.

Narwhal!!!

To Become the 11th Doctor:

I wanted to be the Doctor from Doctor Who last Halloween, but I wasn't able to put a costume together in time, so I went as a mermaid out of water. Well I started early putting the costume together for Halloween, I decided to get it done by the time the Asheville Anime Regional Convention came, so I could wear it there and get 5 dollars off my ticket, either way awesome.

Most of my costume I done owned or acquired at a thrift store or online, that was for my sonic. Two pieces I enlisted the help of my Mom to make the bow tie and the fez.

Even when I searched for one during prom season, I could not find one in a thrift store. So instead I bought a thrift tie and my mom turned it into a fancy looking bow tie. We just need to attach it all.
Now my fez required the aid of a colonel, Colonel Sanders that is. I first tried using old drink boxes, but that failed, but luckily my adopted nephew works at KFC so he got me some chicken buckets, unused of course. Then with some red felt I purchased at Jo-Ann's, Mom glued it to the bucket and added a black tassel made with yarn.

I'm Doctor ready!

 So are any of you guys crafting anything awesome? Let me know it the comments. I hope you have a good weekend, let your geek flag fly, and God bless you!

Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

Musical Moment- My Summer Playlist

Happy Monday my friends,

Summer is here and that can only mean one thing... Sunburns! Kidding, just kidding it's time for those summer jams to come out. So I thought I'd share some of the tunes I listen to when the heat is on.

Fishin' in the Dark- The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
This song actually takes place I think in the spring, but it still conjures up images of summer for me. I've never been fishing in the dark, but I have found myself on hiking trails after the sun's gone down.

The Cheap Seats- Alabama
One thing that spells summer is baseball and this song speaks of the game. My Dad and sister love keeping up with the Braves their on the TV almost every night here at the house.

...To the Music- A*Teens
This is a song about following in love to the music in the summertime. I think this song would be a great closing number in a summer musical.

I think I'm in Love With You- Jessica Simpson
This was a song I loved to jam to in high school. It was a fun song and the video with its sunny skies and amusement park made me think of summer.

I'd Rather Ride Around With You- Reba McEntire
This one came out in the summer during my middle school years. A pretty good song to jam going down the road in the summertime.

Love Me Like You Mean It- Bryan White
When I hear this song I envision a music video with convertibles and girls on roller blades.

Six Days on the Road- Sawyer Brown
This is another good song for the road. I remember my sister and me doing some of the moves from the music video or making up our own in the back of the car going to Transylvania County for one of our many summer trips there.

Playing With the Boys- Kenny Loggins
At my house it's not summer without the Top Gun soundtrack. My Mom only plays Top Gun in the summer. This was one of the tapes she'd play going to Transylvania County. This is my favorite song off the album.

Soda Pop- Britney Spears
This is fun little song that I love listening to during the summer, I don't really know why it puts me in a summer mood.  I usually play the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch version of the song.

Rollercoaster- B*Witched
The video to this song makes me think of summer, with the beach setting, and upbeat song. It's also my favorite B*Witched song ever.

Soak Up the Sun- Sheryl Crow
A song that invites us to get out in the sun. Add in the tropical location and surfing in the music video how could this not be a summer song.

Sounds So Good- Ashton Shepherd
This images this song produces reminds me of summers as a kid. Like when she describes the slushing of a cooler. I so remember sounds like that when we went fishing. The video even has a summertime get together.

You Go First- Jessica Andrews
This video played a lot during the summer vacation, before I went to 10th grade.

Summer Nights- Rascal Flatts
This is a summer song to dance to. I liked they left the video to the fans.

When the Sun Goes Down- Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker
Another ode to the summer nights on the beach. Click the video's link for Hula Girls.

Surfin' U.S.A - The Beach Boys
It's not a summer playlist if you don't have The Beach Boys, and this is one of my favorites.

(I've Had) The Time of My Life- Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Another album my Mom jams in the summer the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack which is only write given the movie took place during the summer, filmed in North Carolina if I'm not mistaken.

Watermelon Crawl- Tracy Byrd
I have been to Georgia in July. It is hot for a Carolina girl.

Summer's Comin'- Clint Black
This should be at the top of the summer list, a great way to usher in the summer. The video to this is hilarious with a lot of cameos.

If you wanna see the complete Summer playlist head over to the Spotify List! What's on your summer playlists? What makes you think of the summertime?

I hope you guys have a good summer, stay cool, and may God bless you!

Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

Ninja Writer's Library- A Classic, Some Magic and the Failed Readathon

Hello Fellow Readers,

This post of the Library was suppose to be of my readings from the O.W.L's readathon, but I ran into complications. One book gave me trouble, and I didn't have one of the books I needed to fulfill the Writer's Career reading requirements, and I wouldn't get any of those from the library till after the readathon was over. It was a mess, oh well there's always next year... Lord willing. 
So let's get to our reads. This month we have another read in my Jane Austen reading journey, a trip to a magical land, and I believe the final books in my Sarah Addison Allen reads.

Mansfield Park- by Jane Austen

This was my first read for the readathon and the only one of my reading list I actually managed to complete. I had a little trouble getting into it at the beginning, but once I did I couldn't put it down, though I did loose focus frequently and found myself rereading parts.

Reading this made me think of how blessed we are to have our music anytime we want, back then you had to hope that someone not only knew how to play it, but could play it good.
This may be my 3rd or 4th favorite Austen work I'd have to reread Emma to make it a sure decision.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

This was my second read for the readathon and this is the one that killed me. This one was a tough one to get through, though I don't really know why for sure. It was intriguing enough that I wanted to see where the story went, but I kept putting it down and loosing interest. I actually took a break from it to read Lost Lake.

One thing I did love about the book was this necklace that September gets that allows her to remember all her memories of her life to that point, I could use that!
I probably won't keep this in my permanent book collection, I don't look to be giving it a reread since it was so hard to get through the first time.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

 I had this one I think in my holds and I'd hoped it would be ready to read for the readathon for my contemporary, but no. It did come in May and provided a respite from the previously mentioned book I struggled through.

This was a beautiful, but haunting book. Allen really wove a magical tale, as she usually does. This I believe was her first book after her battle with cancer, it's also the first book of hers set outside of North Carolina.

I say the book's haunting, because they speak a lot of passed people, the main character is actually been dealing with grieving the last year.
The book takes place in the summer and her descriptions of the summer time, make you ready for the season, so I'd totally add this to a summer reading list.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

This was the latest book Allen had written and the final one I needed to have read all her books. This is another tale with Allen's first characters from Garden Spells the Waverlys. We had a couple of them make a cameo in her book The Peach Keeper. We find that 10 years has passed for the characters since the first book and all dealing with growing pains be it being a teen, a successfully business woman, or a woman wanting a second chance at motherhood.

This was a bittersweet read, which is what I usually say with books were we see a dramatic time shift. Seeing established characters age always makes me a bit sad, but it's an anxiety trigger for me. so it's just me.

Another thing in this book, as happens with many of Allen's is the food she mentions makes you hungry.  I'm actually quite curious to try that Fig and Pepper bread.

Well that's another visit to the Library. I hope you guys have a good weekend, get lost in a book, and God bless you!

Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

All About Aladdin

It's another Monday friends,

Sorry this post was delayed, I wasn't well Friday my old foe the mental health hydra drug me down again. But were not here to talk about my health, this post is about Aladdin!

For my birthday I decided to see Aladdin. I know as with any remake there was a stink, especially about Will Smith as Genie. I understand, I mean I was raised on the original Aladdin, and the cartoon series. That tape was one of the frequent ones my sister and me watched when the folks played cards with the neighbors in the kitchen, included in this list was Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and Beauty and the Beast.

I've enjoyed a lot of the live action remakes Disney has been making and after seeing all the trailers for it I got more excited to see Will Smith's take on Genie. I found myself quoting it before I saw it.

So what did I think of it? Amazing. It was beautiful, funny, with a dose of female empowerment. Jasmine was always a feisty and tough princess, but they added to that in some ways.
I'm glad they kept the musical numbers the same, though some words were changed. I'm glad some of the things from the cartoon translated to the movie. There was a new song not in the original that I thought was a beautiful addition.

My favorite scene/song was also my favorite one from the original cartoon the A Whole New World carpet ride scene. I had goosebumps and had to keep myself from singing along.

I hope you guys have a good week,  behave yourselves, may God bless you!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

Birthday Haul 2019

A good rainy Wednesday to you friends,

I have had a busy few days here. I've been to a family reunion where you never know what will happen, like a sister acting like she's gonna knock out her brother with a prosthetic leg (my family y'all). It was also my birthday. So much geekiness. So I thought I'd share some of my haul from my birthday.

First up is these Five Star vinyl Harry Potter™ figures from Walmart. I got Harry, Ron, and Hermione the usual suspects:

I just gotta figure out where I'm gonna put these bad boys, I have limited space, this is why I wish I had my dream library where there would be a special section for Harry Potter™.

Next we have also from Walmart and Harry Potter™ Collectible Wand it's a blind box and I got Harry's wand! Yay!
Beside that is a Chessex® Gemini™ Purple- Teal with Gold Die Set that I went nuts over during a visit to Hot Topic with Fangirl who got them for me and everything on my haul thus far.

Now we go to a couple things my parents got me for my birthday. The first made me excited as a Critter it was a Nott the Best Detective Agency T-Shirt from Critical Role. I just finished Campaign One, I'm watching all the one shot, then I'll start Campaign Two where this shirt comes from. Since I was one watching old shows and broke I couldn't ever get the cool stuff they offered, cause the limited stuff would no longer around. So I'm really excited to own a shirt now.

Lastly is a piece of jewelry that makes me smile. It's from Windsor® called an Over the Rainbow Ring. I love it, I can see a rainbow anytime I want now!

Apart from the gifts I had a good birthday. I had Chinese for lunch, we did a lot of thrifting, and went to see Aladdin, which I will talk about in Friday's post.
I hope you guys have a good rest of the week, geek out, and God bless you!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer