17. Sylvia (2004)

As a person with Bipolar I'm always intrigued by movies that deal with the subject of mental illness.
I must admit that up until about two weeks ago I'd never even heard of Sylvia Plath. I was on Pinterest surfing the net for new & interesting shit when I came upon some poetry quotes.
These short poems really moved and spoke to me and I was surprised to learn that they all were written by Mz Plath.  This prompted me to investigate more about this writer which in turn lead me to this movie. 
I'm not a big Gweneth Paltrow fan but she does a great job in this film. Daniel Craig is pretty good too. It's a slow movie but if you are interested in the live of Sylvia Plath I think you will find it interesting.
I wish they would have included more of her actually poetry which is very dark and lovely.
It's sad that alot of the most incredible minds usually suffer for it. It's ironic that such a creative woman was driven mad by the demons of her mind and yet it was in this depression that her best work came about.
"I took a breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am.  I am."
3 STARS

If she were a President she'd be Babe-raham Lincoln

Whoa what a weekend. I'm so freaking exhausted from so much taking it easy. Phew!
Being the utter champion I am I began my weekend by participating in the weekend Parkrun at Sandgate.  This was my third Parkrun. Upon finishing this week's 5km run I had what you might call an epiphany. As I crossed the finish line & collapsed onto the ground in the shade gasping & sobbing it became clear to me that I AM NOT A RUNNER. Not only am I not a runner but I fucking hate running. If it were not for the incredible Lyndall who had promised herself to jog the whole thing, the organisers would STILL be waiting for me to cross the line. Lyndall is amazing and is totally commited to the MB12wbt. I stuck with her as long as I could but my dodgy thighs & feet had other plans. Doing the 12wbt SSS (super Saturday session) were a bunch of chicky-babes right near the parkrun track. I'm going to join them from now on. At least I know that while I am dying I will also be laughing like a looney.

Lyndall ... what a bloody champion!



The 12wbt NORTHSIDE CREW

STRIKE A POSE BABY

FULLY SICK

Saturday arvo was a lovely time spent with friends having a BBQ, eating bad stuff, reviewing movies and talking about random shit.
I went WAYYYYYYYYYY over my WW points thanks to Trish's brownies that I believe may contain illegal substances because it is impossible to only have one. I'm not stressed though... back on track today.

Sunday we hit The Pig n Whistle pub to watch UFC157. I LURVE UFC.
This round was one of the first main events to feature women fighters. It was unreal.
Jesus these chicks are freaking MEAN. And FIT. OMG They are beyond FIT.
It was a great fight and it totally made me want to take up boxing training.

Not take up actual boxing as I am WAY too much of a princess to either punch an actual person and I am sure I would squeal like Ned Flanders if I even got so much as a tap! But boxing TRAINING looks good. All that belting the shit out of a bag. Hmmmmm
I know this might sound a big weird but I thought it was so great to see a super hot chick busting the stereotypes by being a total hornbag but a complete HARDARSE in the ring.
Rousey is my new girl crush.
xoxoxoxoxoxo

16. Beasts Of The Southern Wild - (2012)

I didn't know ANYTHING about the plot of this film.  I had only read alot of reviews. Just about all of them said that this movie was highly recommended... Poignant was a word thrown around.

It starts off pretty good and the little girl Hushpuppy is a really good little actress but I found myself holding in there waiting for something to happen. I did enjoy Hushpuppy's narrations but I found the movie itself a bit of a non-event. It was kind of an interesting insight into the lifestyle of the people who live in The Bathtub which is a town on the bayou near New Orleans. I can't believe people actually seem to LOVE living like this. It's funny... on one hand little Hushpuppy is really neglected & lives a horrible life surrounded by poverty & boarderline starvation with only adults being moonshine alcoholics and yet everybody seems pretty bloody happy living like that.

At first I liked the big pig-buffalo things (the imaginary creatures that are coming to destroy everything) but in the end they were just silly.

It was really disjointed and frankly bloody weird.
I don't see what all the fuss was about.

2 STARS

We tease him a lot cause we've got him on the spot, welcome back welcome back welcome back

The other day I logged on for the first time in quite some time onto the Weight Watchers community pages for a squizz. Before doing the MB12WBT I did WW.  As a matter of a fact I'm a dubba-ewe dubba-ewe junkie from WAY back when.
I first joined up with the Ws when I was 20. I weighed about 100kg. I loathed myself. By the time I was 21 I had lost about 35kg. Back then the plan was to eat so many proteins, carbs, fats etc a day.
I really really loved WW & the support network it provides.  Over the years I have lost & gained lost & frickin gained. I ALWAYS end up back at WW. I know that it works.

 

Don't get me wrong people. I totally LURVE the MB12wbt programme. It flickin ROCKS!

But after visiting the WW site I couldn't stop thinking about the programme and in particular how much I missed all the amazing zany funny (slightly disturbed) people in the WW community.

I felt myself being drawn back into this world like Spock being beamed up to the Enterprise.

I think the cincher was discovering that Toni Wood is the leader now at Northlakes meetings.

Who is this Toni Wood?

WELL...... only one of most inspiring amazing gorgeous women like totally EVER.

Oh and I might mention that she was the WW 2011 QLD Healthy Life Awards Finalist.

You can read more about Toni here:   http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/success

So, yesterday I signed up to do WW Unlimited. I immediately felt good. Like I had been wrapped in a leopard print Snuggie from Demtel fresh from the dryer. Arrrrrr It's good to be home. Pass the Jarrah Hot Choc drink. I was totally expecting TBF to dramatically smack his forehead & exclaim "Jesus Wept Woman! Will you make up your flippin mind! If it's not one thing it's a bloody nutha!"
Instead, bless his hairy face, he smiled and said "Oh Ok no worries then. Did you listen to the podcast about What Nutmeg Does today?"... He's so awesome. (my next blog will be all about TBF & the influence he has had on my life and weight losses & gains)

The last time I was doing WW I lost 7kg but stopped going to meetings, frankly because the leader was a complete deadshit with the personality of a wet sock filled with rocks.
It was also hard for me to sick to the programme because of my raging alcoholism. It's hard to stay in your points when you are knocking back 3-4 bottles of the grape each week.
Now I am a boring soberette, I think I will find it alot easier. I have also learnt heaps & heaps from doing the 12wbt especially when it comes to exercise and eating CLEAN.
So now you lucky things, you will get to read all about Pro-Points.
If you are into things like watching soil erosion and reading about the annual molting habits of the Hungarian albino sloth then my blog is for you.
Fucking rivetting stuff.

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.
Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.
Who'd have thought they'd lead ya
Here where we need ya

We tease him a lot cause we've hot him on the spot, welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

 

 

Money Can't buy you Happiness but it does Bring you a more Pleasant form of Misery.- Spike Milligan

 

As I stumble down the path of my life I quite often step on a patch of bindies.

Even though I come across as being a total vintage glamour queen of outstanding comedic & craft skills, it may horrify you to know that I actually have a rather low self-esteem.

I have this pathetic habit of COMPARING MYSELF TO OTHERS.

In the outer realms of my soggy grey matter I am bitterly aware that this is utterly ridiculous and that everybody is unique and has their own shit going on.

Too often I look at the goings-on of you crazy kids on Flakebook and think silly silly things like

Why can't I have rooms filled with awesome vintage frocks?

Why can't I travel all over the place & go to all this awesome events?

Why can't I be filled with super human motivation when it comes to exercise?

Why can't I look freakin glamourous all the time?

Why can't I be fit & thin like her?

Look at all her amazing vintage hair barettes and bakerlite bangles.. sigh.

And so it goes on..........

 

 

This is a habit that I am working hard to break.  This whole 1950s vintage-style living thing can sometimes put alot of pressure on a girl.  I must admit that when I was with my ex I felt that I was under ALOT of pressure to wear the exactly right clothes, hair done exactly right and heaven fucking forbid I didn't own a lucite handbag. Luckily my current hubby (hahahah I sound like Zsa Zsa) loves me just the way I am (even in my Best N Less tracky daks with no makeup) and so I no longer feel inclined to be 'frocked up' all the time and have now 'let myself go' to a degree.

I look at photos of the big rockabilly festival at Ballarat and the pics of the pin-up competitions and feel like even though I want to go, I am NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Everybody just looks too amazing.

I remember the first time I went to Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekender about 12 years ago.

I ascended the escalator into the main room in my modest vintage cotton frock, took one look at all the girls with their literally TOP TO TOE bull-shit rare incredible Shaheen / bakerlite/ lucite / vintage everything and ran back to my room crying.

It's very intimidating. Even for a gal who has been in 'the scene' for quite a while I can tell you that the feeling of being judged never quite leaves. 

I don't give a shit as much as I used to.

I didn't write this blog to fish for compliments. I try to make an effort when I go out and I love to wear vintage & do my hair & make up.  I don't do this to impress anyone though.

I do it because it is WHO I AM.

If you see me at a gig & it appears that I am stand offish or even a tad aloof I can reassure you that I am the most UNpretentious person in the universe.

Come & say Hi.

If I don't remember your name, I'm sorry but my brain isn't very good at retaining stuff n things sometimes.

I think that my gift to the world is my sense of humour and my honesty.

If I can make someone smile than I am happy.

 

I'm not a Procrastinator. I'm just Extremely Productive at Unimportant Things

I'm just going to go ahead and say it...
I REALLY LOVE SEWING.  I'M HOOKED.
Yep. It's true. I've been to 3 sewing classes now and am having the best time. I think it helps that the 3 other women doing the class with me are all nutty as fruit-cakes and funny as a fit and Brenda who teaches the class is also hilarious and brilliant. It's like we are in a sewing version of Steel Magnolias (I'm Dolly Parton's character obviously, however the others would probably say I'm more like Shirley Maclaine).
The classes are now at Brenda's house which when we all rock up with our machines looks like a sweat shop. I keep expecting Brenda to come at us with a piece of bamboo screeching "Faster Faster More blouses for Katies... More More!"
Instead, she uses her attack dog Obe to guard us. Last night he AGAIN attempted to intimidate me by staring unflinching at me with his menacing eyes.

OBE. Look at those threatening eyes.

Thankfully in week 3 the Evil Doll was hidden away in the bedroom. It was rather distracting in lesson 2 to have the stoney cold eyes of pure evil staring into the back of my head. I swear I heard her whisper "Kill them with the pinking shears Vicki and I'll be your friend to the end".

SO ANYWAYS................last week my assignment was to make a pair of boxer shorts. Woohooo!
I didn't do too bad until I sewed the crotch up wrong. I had a dodgy crotch! Bloody hell hand me the quick-unpick AGAIN.

I've got a case of the dodgy crotch

My AFTER photo! Not! Just pre-elastic shot LOL

Sexy pattern. Excuse me while I fetch my Ken Done fabric.

Then it was time for Brenda to teach me how to do ELASTIC WAISTS! So exciting!!!
I was so excited that I rushed home & pulled out my fabric container. (I have a massive storage container filled with fabric I've collected over the years.) I had this border-print fabric since Jesus played full-back for Jerusalem and now I knew how to make a skirt from it so the border would stay around the bottom!!! SQUEAL!!!

The finished product. RAD!

OMG. Now that I know how to make full skirts with elastic waists I'm going to go MENTAL making them in every colour and fabric.

Last night I had another class & showed Brenda my super fantastic creation.

"LOOK AT THE AMAZING CIRCLE SKIRT I MADE ALL BY MYSELF!!!"

I was advised that it is NOT a circle skirt but a full skirt but I could tell Brenda was very very impressed with my effort. I think I'm on my way to becoming the teacher's pet.

I had to finish off my boxer shorts by hemming the legs.

The finished product was a wee bit baggy & made me look like I was about 200kg but very very comfy and the point is that I made them myself! Hmmmpfft.

I gave the gals a fashion parade of me in my fabbo boxers which impressed them all to no end.

(Jan in the background is obviously laughing WITH me)

SEXY SEXY PASSION-KILLERS

 

Right. First project done.. time for the next one.
Cutesy kitchen apron. So excited.
I'll just have two things to say........
GINGHAM and RICKRACK.

15. Downfall (2004)

Downfall is a film about the final 10 days of the life of Adolf Hitler. The movie centres around the young lady  Traudl Junge who was his secretary. The beginning & end of the film show her 'in real life' talking about her feelings about being Hitler' personal secretary.
This is quite a long film at 2 1/2 hours but it is very intense all the way through.
I found it really really interesting.  I like to learn about events but from both sides of the fence.
Bruno Ganz who plays Hitler is fantastic as the delusional lunatic who refuses to surrender no matter who is sacrificed.
I know I've said it before but it truly astounds me that these events happened in the same era as my grandparents. Seeing the 'real'  Traudl Junge speak almost brought me to tears.
I just don't know HOW you could go on to live a normal life after living through this.  This also includes alot of the Generals that did serve time but then got out & lived until the early 2000s!
Amazing.
I REALLY enjoyed this film... A wee bit too long but very very good.
4 STARS