Monday, February 28, 2011

Messy Bun


So, here's the next hairstyle post I promised one of my sisters. Again, all you people with normal length hair, this probably isn't going to work for you. It's for very long hair. :-)
This tutorial may be more confusing than the last one for which I apologize... but I'm doing my best! Okay, down to business. First you smooth your hair back into a pony-tail then start twisting as you would for just a normal 'cinnamon roll' bun.



Keep you left hand at the base of the 'pony-tail' and make your first wrap with your hair...thus. Now your fingers on your left hand should be sticking through the center of the bun.
Grab that leftover hair into those fingers and pull it through. (Gee...this is super hard to describe! Hopefully pictures help.)







 


You are going to have to adjust your bun so that it is centered on your head and pin it in place. Now, you can leave it like this (which is very cute...except my hair looks a little weird in this shot!:-) and put your favorite pretty hair clip in to make it fun. OR you can take it a step farther and turn it into a sort of messy bun.













All that leftover 'ponytail' hair is just perfect for making curls! Yay! LOL. So, you start curling little (and I mean little) sections of hair around your fingers and pinning them in place all over your existing bun. This takes time, patience and quite a few hair pins. :-) Don't worry if your curls aren't staying perfect or are 'puffing' up a little. That's okay. It'll look pretty when you're done. Well...hopefully.








And TA-DA!! Isn't it pretty?
AND! If you try it and it doesn't turn out well the first time don't give up. It takes a little practice. But it's worth it.
God Bless,
Amy

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Russell Watson

Here's another music review for all you wonderful readers. This CD, "Russell Watson-the Voice. The Ultimate Collection" is an older CD, released in 2007. However, I just recently bought it and I love it. Hence, I am writing a review. :-)

We got Russell Watson's first CD when it came out and I wasn't all that impressed. (Of course, I was pretty little...) There were a few songs that I liked, but overall, I wasn't sold on him. Now here I am, years later (that makes me sound so old! LOL) and I have decided I really like Russell Watson. And this CD is amazing. There are 20 tracks and I like almost every one of them. There are a few that I don't really care for but they are not terrible, or anything like that! They just aren't as good as the others on this CD.

One of my absolute favorite tracks is, "Miserere." It is beautiful. I've heard other artists do this song but this version is by far my favorite. Normally it's a duet, but Russell Watson sings both parts using different 'voices.' (Okay, that may have sounded weird. :-) Perhaps I should have said he uses different singing styles to give the two parts distinction. (?) It's just amazing.
He also performs several fun Italian 'opera' songs like, "O Sole Mio," and "Funiculi Funicula." :-)
Russell Watson has several different singing styles and on this album you get to hear a little of each.

I confess, I decided I really liked Russell Watson after I saw an interview with him. He has had a lot of health problems recently but in the interview he didn't play that up or anything. He just seemed like a really good fellow. And (this was the turning point for me:-) he was very respectful about God. It's so refreshing when a person isn't ashamed to admit they believe in God and they trust that God is going to take care of them. You see it so rarely that when it happens its like a breath of fresh air. Ahh...

Well, that about sums it up. I hope I didn't bore you all stiff.

To my dear sister, I will try and post a new hairstyle post soon. I know you really want more of those! :-) They are just the most time-comsuming to do! LOL.

God Bless.

Amy


Oh! And keeping to my little bet, here's the song for this post! I found it fitting to have it a Russell Watson song (duh!:-) and this was one of the best videos I could find. He's rather charming to watch. :-) The song is called, "Volare."

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day.

Betcha' didn't think I was going to get a post in today, did ya! Ha!
So, this post is going to have a few different topics all combined into one. :-) Isn't that going to be fun?
I just wanted to make a special mention of Saint Valentine. It is, after all, his feast day!
Not much is known about St. Valentine. He was a very holy priest (obviously:-) and was martyred in about the year 270 under the reign of Claudius II. As I said, not very much is know about him. It's a pity, really. He helped assist the other Christians that were persecuted and martyred under Claudius.
And try as I might, I simply couldn't find a really nice picture of Saint Valentine. This one is nice...but I have seen much nicer holy cards in my time! But, I do believe Saint Valentine deserved a picture, at least.


Now, going on a different track, I drew this picture a while ago and it seemed a very valentine picture. So, I told myself sternly, I would make sure to post it on Valentine's day! And I am. :-) Even if it is rather late on Valentines day.  I have lately discovered that I really enjoy drawing mice. My sketch pad is covered in micey doodles.

And last, but not least, this is a song that I really love. (And the singer is mighty nice looking, too! LOL:-) It's a pretty, romantic-ish song, and even though the music video is a little sad, (and the girl in it is a bit...catty looking!) the song itself is just pretty. Plus, the setting of the music video is great. I love the house and the costumes used in it. :-) (I am turning over the idea of trying to do a song with every post...that would be a challenge. But all you lucky people might get to hear some pretty awesome music! We'll see.)
Anyhow.  Enjoy.
God Bless.
Amy

Sunday, February 6, 2011

An afterthought

So, after going on about magic, I meant to attach a few links to some of my favorite magic videos...and I forgot! :-)
For those of you that love a little visual with your story, here are the links!

This one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9lFe504i2s is a particular favorite of mine. The magician's name is James Galea. He's amazing...if a tiny bit strange. :-) And yes, all you people, DO the group IQ test at the beginning of this video. It's a must. Just do it.

This is a different magician. His name is Ricky Jay. Also a brilliant magician. I've watched this trick over and over again and I still have no idea how he does it. Watch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNUepjt6QmI

Magic, People! You gotta love it! :-)
God Bless
Amy

Friday, February 4, 2011

Magic Anyone?

Magic, slight-of-hand, illusions, misdirection! I absolutely love it! There is nothing quite so intriguing as a well done bit of magic. What makes a trick so exciting? Why do we love getting conned?
I have a special fondness for card tricks. They are a rather 'lay-back' sort of magic. You don't need special equipment or special gadgets. You just need a simple deck of cards, ordinary playing cards, and you can do some rather amazing tricks!
I became interested in card tricks about a year ago. I was newly introduced to an old TV show 'Hogan's Heroes,' (a wonderful old show! I completely recommend it to anyone! They are fun and clean. Yay!:-) and it just so happened that one of the characters was something of a card sharp. He was so subtle and smooth with his tricks and slight-of-hand that I got a urgent desire to learn. Usually, when I get a sudden impulse like that, I am interested for a week or two then I move on...but card magic has kept my interest. I find learning card tricks very soothing! Of course, it can be jolly annoying when you are trying out a new trick on one of your little sisters and they just wait for you to make a mistake! And sometimes sabotage your trick Ooh...grrr.
I have since branched out to coin tricks as well. I am not very good with coins yet! In fact, I'm rather awful at coin magic. :-)  It's fun, though., and someday I will be truly dexterous and sneaky.
I recommend the amazing book, "The Royal Road to Card Magic" written by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue to anyone that wants to learn card tricks. It does very clear, step-by-step instructions and gets you actually doing tricks very quickly. There is a great feeling in knowing how to control a deck of cards!
God Bless
Amy