Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Footloose!


I have been overly excited, waiting for the new remake of the Movie Footloose to come out! I think I was about 19 years old when the original came out (just a couple of years ago!) :) I had taken dance classes all through High School & love dance movies, and Footloose was one of the best! As a Christian girl I also loved the storyline of the Pastor's daughter. I saw that movie too many times to count in the theater & then on VHS after that! I now own it on DVD & made my kids all watch it with me before the remake came out!

A remake is always a scary thing though. Can it ever even come close to the original? Especially a well loved original? Well, you will have to see it for yourself to see if it does! I have to say I LOVED it! It is still one of my favorite movies! Now I don't want to spoil it for you, so if you haven't seen it yet, I'm going to say something I thought I'd never say to you: Stop reading my Blog! :) Go see Footloose, then come back & finish reading this post! I don't want to persuade you one way or another. I'm gonna share what I loved about the Original & what I liked & didn't like about the new one! (And let me tell you, there are a few things I like even better in the second one! shocker, I know! But true) So before you read any further let me just say "Spoiler Alert!" You've been warned.


First and foremost is the heart of the Movie; the Dancing! The new one has everything from Country line dancing to Crumping! (Yes, I watch So You Think You Can Dance, I know what Crumping is! I'm hip like that!) :) Some of the dancing though in this new version is too sexually suggestive for High Schoolers to be doing. And yes I know the actors aren't really high schoolers, but they are playing them. And being me, I seized the opportunity to have a conversation with my Daughters about trying to grow up too fast & acting older than you are can lead you into trouble. We also talked about the character of Ariel, and how she is acting out due to her feelings of sadness & helplessness in loosing her brother & her Hero, & is rebelling against her Father & the laws in the town the only way she knows how. Thankfully she figures it out before she does irrefutable damage.

And speaking of Ariel, I have to say Julianne Hough vs Lori Singer in dancing is no contest! I don't know anyone who could say she was a good dancer in that original movie. Julianne (from Dancing With The Stars) is really good! And she does a good job acting as well. And I really liked how the new movie explored more the reasons behind her rebellion! It allowed you to see why she did what she did & how she was feeling when she did it. Lori's version was just a Rebel!


Some of the other characters that stand out is Rens Uncle & Aunt. They are so much more relateable in the new version. They are on his side & stand up for him. I love that! Ariels parents are basically the same in both versions. Her Mother especially. You could dub in lines from the first one & not know the difference. With her Father, again I loved that they allowed you to see more of his heart. Or maybe, it's just dawning on me, it's because as a parent now seeing this one, I understand why he'd do some of the things he did. I could only see the first one as a teenager would see it, since that's what I was! hmmm.

The characters I liked better in the first one are first of all Rusty, Ariel's BFF. The girl in the new movie is adorable, but you just can't help but like Sarah Jessica Parker! She is after all just so likable! You want her to be your BFF! I still want her to be my BFF in my 40's! (Hey, we both are Mother's of Twins now too! See, we're destined for Best Friendom!) And Ren's best Friend Willard. The kid in the new Movie is so cute & really does a good job, but in the original, you knew he really couldn't dance & it was so fun watching him try to learn how! In this one, you know he's really a dancer acting like he can't dance! And it wasn't just Ren teaching him how, several others were involved in the process. The little cousins, the football team crumpers, an instructor at the night club they go to. It just wasn't the same! And Ariel's Bad Boyfriend Chuck, in this version, hes a man & should not be going out with a High School girl! (okay, maybe that's the Mom coming out of me again!) And there was a Librarian, but no book burning in this one! That's a good thing! When we watched the Original, my girls, who I have worked very hard at instilling a love of Books into, asked in horror, why would anyone want to burn books? :) And then there is Ren himself. Kenny Wormald plays him in the new version & does a really good job of it! He's a good dancer too. But, the original had Kevin Bacon. 'Nuf said. No competition! Am I right?!


I did like that they went into more of Ren's back story, of him & his parents. You feel like you know him better. And I was glad to see his yellow VW bug made the new Movie too! :) I also loved that they went more in depth regarding the accident that set off all the rule making in the first place. That was a nice touch.

Even though the setting, the clothes & dancing were updated, they kept some of the same lines in this movie! And some of the great songs from the original soundtrack were in this one too! Some were updated & some new songs were added & it all sounded great! So weather you prefer the original or the new version, both Movies make you want to get up & dance! Or, I should say make you wanna "cut loose - Footloose!"

Monday, October 17, 2011

24 Years!


24 Years ago today
10/17/87
"Sweetest Day"
I Married the Man of my Dreams!


God Blessed us with 4 Amazing Kids!
Kyle, Zach, Erica & Alexia


We've had our Highs and our Lows,
But through them all,
we always had each other!

Looking for Laughter
in every Moment along the way!



And 24 Years Latter,
We're still Dreaming Together!


Happy Anniversary Babe!
I Love You
Even More Today then I did back then!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Do It Yourself Paris Party!


Viva La France!


A few months ago at Bath & Body Works
we launched a brand new Fragrance
called Paris Amour! It's Lovely, and is made of Tulips & Pink Champagne.
And I got a Brilliant (If I do say so myself!) Idea.
A Paris Themed Birthday Party for my Daughters
who were about to turn 14!


My Manager allowed me to borrow some Eiffel Towers from the store
(once they were no longer required in the Windows!) So Cute!
We used the big one to put gifts, on & around.


But, we ran into a major problem!
There is NO Paris Themed Birthday Party favors/decorations out there!
Any where.
So we improvised!
And being the Party Planning Extraordinaire that I am, :)
I had a lot of fun putting it together!


I started with my right hand man (literally,
my Graphic design loving Husband) :)
I wanted a "Postcard from Paris" for our Invitation.
And he created one!


I found the girls shirts at Target!
Lexi's has The Eiffel Tower on hers,
and Erica's says "Cest La Vie" (say la vee) which means "That's Life!"
And I had a top with Paris on it!


I Found this cute Jewelry Box at Marshalls! Cheep.
And the coffee mug I actually bought in Paris for my Dad
who collected them!
(After he passed away my Mom made sure I got it!)


The Party Favors for each guest consisted of
a purse size Paris Amour lotion,
3 Nail Files & Paris Lip Gloss!


The Treat Bags with the Eiffel Tower on them came from B&BW as well.
The adorable Hat Box I found at Ross! Score!


We made a play list of songs with or about Paris in them:

Like Yesterday: Colbie Caillat
Paris Nights/New York Mornings: Corinne Bailey Rae
Good Life: One Republic
Postcard From Paris: The Band Perry
Paris: Faith Hill
Our Last Summer: Mama Mia (or Abba) :)
Cest La Vie: Shania Twain
Pink Roses: Olivia Zelechowski :)


We also found a Tin Plate at Hobby Lobby.
Perfect.


This Eiffel Tower poster the girls found at a Boarders Closing
a few months ago! Love Great deals!
It went perfectly on the front door to welcome our Party goers!
They knew they were in Paris now!


Since there were No Paris themed table ware,
we used both Girls favorite colors;
Erica = Pink
Lexi = Green


I ordered this adorable cake from Sams Cub!
It's called Bows & Dots,
and they let us choose the colors!
How cute is that?!


The ONLY thing we did find at a Party store was these cut outs!


I placed The Arc De Triumph & Notre Dame on end tables,
& The Eiffel Tower cut out on the restroom door.


For a game I used an old French Dictionary I got in 1985
to take on my trip to France with me,
and came up with words & phrases. Then John made up these cards,
The Eiffel Tower on the French cards
& The Statue of Liberty on the English version.
And the girls had to match them up.


We had two teams & the race was on!


Some words were obvious, and others weren't.
But a lot of Laughter was going on trying to decide what meant what!


Then later we used the back of the cards to play Charades!
And a lot more Laughing ensued!


Our next game was called Mail Call,
going along with the Post Card from Paris idea.
But before we started the girls had to get ready . . .


A girl I work with gave me these Mustaches,
because all French men have them right?! :)
Left to right top row: Samantha, Mykenna, Michelle, Cailin & Lexi
bottom: Erica, Shannon, Briana & Isabeau


One person is in the middle & says "Mail Call for everyone ______"
(fill in the blank)
For example: everyone wearing make-up, or in 8th Grade, etc.
Then everyone who fits that description has to change seats,
the person in the middle takes one of the seats in the shuffle
& whoever is left without a seat is now in the middle!


Warning: It can get a little crazy! :)


Then we went back inside for some Cake
& of course French Vanilla Ice Cream!
Joyeux Anniversaire! (jwah-yurz ahnee-vair-sair)
Happy Birthday!


We gave the girls Paris Journals!
You know I LOVE Journaling!
Hoping they become Bloggers some day too! :)
And wait. What's that inside the Journals?
It must be tickets to the Breaking Dawn Midnight Movie Premier!
(Yeah, that's right! I'm a cool Mom like that!) :)


Magnifique (mahnee-feek)
"Wonderful" Erica!


Tres Joli (tray joh-lee)
"Lovely" Lexi!


"Merci!" (mar-see)
Our "Thank You" cards.
I LOVE Parties with a Theme!
And this one was one of my favorites!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Hubby!




Happy Birthday to the Best Husband/Father God ever created!




Happy Birthday Babe,
Love you more than life itself!

Praying God Blesses you with a new job for your Birthday!
(And a Detroit Lions win!) :)

Monday, October 3, 2011

14!


My Baby Girls turn 14 years old today!


Where has the time gone?




They are Smart, Beautiful, Talented & Funny Girls!



Happy Birthday Erica & Lexi!
We Love you both so much!


Walking through Life Together!
I'm so glad I get to be a part of it!