I need y’all to know the sacrifice I am making for this marathon. One of my FAVORITE Spanish shows has a new season on Netflix, & I’m staying away to focus on Disney Plus. 😭
Lizzie freaking out over bra shopping is R E L A T A B L E. 😱
S1E13 – Come Fly With Me
S1E14 – Random Acts of Miranda
👁 Spotted: Orlando Brown from That’s So Raven & The Proud Family
For a glee club recital, Miranda sings Reflection from Mulan. 🎤
S1E15 – Lizzie’s Nightmare
S1E16 – Obsession
🍃 This episode has such an important message. I’m totally in support of doing what we can to care for our environment, but there is a line which is crossed by Lizzie. She becomes so obsessed with having a hand in every single environmental issue that she lashes out at the people around her for not doing as much as her. That has a negative effect on both her personal & school life. There are practical ways to make a difference without isolating yourself & stalling your life. 🌎
S1E17 – Sibling Bonds
6:45pm – Editing a video + Cadet Kelly 💻
Christy & Hilary + Superchick = The best dance battle in existence! 🌟
Does anyone else have a special place in their heart for The Coffee Bean because of Lizzie McGuire?? Lizzie & her friends hang out at The Digital Bean. Digital Bean. Coffee Bean. So close! ☕️
👁 Spotted: Kyla Pratt from The Proud Family
Final thoughts for the day: First of all, it was a busy day full of filming, but I had a great time hanging out with Christy Carlson Romano & Hilary Duff. Second, remember the sacrifice I was talking about earlier? I may or may not be contemplating a warm bath & some Alta Mar on Netflix at this very moment. Oops! 🙊 Just a heads up: I have to work tomorrow night so I’ll probably be watching one movie earlier in the day. I’ll make it a good one. 👍 See you tomorrow! 👋
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With twelve minutes to spare in 2017, I completed my Goodreads goal of reading 50 books. Thanks to the diversity of those books, I also completed the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge. Let’s recap the categories accompanied by detailed & extensive lists:
📚 A Book you Chose for the Cover – Before we dive into the list, I want to clarify that I define a cover buy as a book I picked up because the cover caught my eye, which doesn’t mean I didn’t look at the synopsis:
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins | I almost didn’t buy this book, but I couldn’t get the cover out of my head.
📚 A Book in a Genre You Usually Avoid – These aren’t all genres I avoid on purpose; I just don’t reach for them often:
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins ( contemporary )
📖 Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ( science fiction )
📚 A Book You Were Excited to Borrow or Buy but Haven’t Read Yet – Though I’m excited about every book I purchase, this list includes the titles I’d been dying to read but had yet to do so:
📖 My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Ally Carter, David Levithan, Gayle Forman, Holly Black, Jenny Han, Kelly Link, Kiersten White, Laini Taylor, Matt De La Peña, Myra McEntire, Rainbow Rowell, & Stephanie Perkins ( the holidays )
Due to reading fatigue, I am not officially committing to the 2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge. However, I’m not giving up completely. I may join at any point during the year so I’m leaving the categories here for reference.
📚 A Classic You’ve Been Meaning to Read – A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
📚 A Book Recommended by Someone With Great Taste – TBD
📚 A Book in Translation – The Time in Between by Maria Duenas
📚 A Book Nominated for an Award in 2018 – TBD
📚 A Book Of Poetry, a Play, or an Essay Collection – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
📚 A Book You Can Read in a Day – Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
📚 A Book That’s More Than 500 Pages – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
📚 A Book by a Favorite Author – Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
📚 A Book Recommended by a Librarian or Indie Bookseller – The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
📚 A Banned Book – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
📚 A Memoir, Biography, or Book of Creative Nonfiction – Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham
📚 A Book by an Author of a Different Race, Ethnicity, or Religion Than Your Own – Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar
Last but not least, I pledged to read 55 books on Goodreads. I’m not going to push myself because reading should be fun, not a competition. Regardless of whether or not I read a certain number of books, I’m doing something I love. Happy reading!
⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: My intention is not to spoil the movie for you, but spoilers are hard to avoid once you’ve seen and want to talk about it. You have been warned! ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️
I recently saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi and loved it, but I’m still dealing with a lot of feelings. The severity of my emotions caught me off guard, and it wasn’t just because of Carrie Fisher’s death, although that sadness is still very fresh. This is the end of an era, a transition from the old to the new. I’m excited about the next generation of characters, but that doesn’t make the change any easier. When the twins reunited, Luke said the words “No one’s ever really gone” as he placed Han’s dice in Leia’s hand. From that point on, I couldn’t stop crying. That one poignant moment sums up my experience with this film. I know that’s a really short statement about a really big movie, but I honestly can’t bring myself to say anything more.
• Early 2015 – I borrowed DVDs from the library and watched Gilmore Girls for the first time in my life; at some point, I transitioned over to Netflix. Fun Fact: I created the draft of this blog post in April 2015.
• Unknown Date – I stopped watching the show in the middle of season 7, episode 14.
• September 2017 – After a long break, I returned to Stars Hollow and finishing everything including the four new specials.
* * *WARNING: IF YOU KNOW THAT CRITICISM OF THESE CHARACTERS WILL UPSET YOU, I SUGGEST YOU THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE READING THE REST OF THIS POST.
It may come as a surprise that I took such a long break before resuming my marathon. At the risk of sounding snobby, TV characters that are bratty or fickle get on my nerves, and those adjectives describe Lorelai & Rory on their worst days. If you need more specifics, I got sick of Rory being whiny; Lorelai acted like a best friend which made her daughter lack respect when she decided to put on her mom hat. Their relationship irked me, and the way their relationship affected the other relationships in their life irked me. Before you send out a search party with a warrant for my arrest, you should know a bit of background about the TV shows I watch. Gilmore Girls was a modern, realistic show that dealt with relatable issues, which is commendable. I watch very few shows that are realistic or take place in the current day. The drama got to be a bit much for me so I had to take a step back, but please don’t leave with the wrong conclusion. I love the citizens of Stars Hollow and consider myself a fan, even though I’m not as die hard as others in the community. Taking a break is exactly what I needed because I really enjoyed the last few episodes of season 7 as well as the specials on Netflix. I’ve even started watching the show again from season one. Everything worked out! 👍🏻
Someday I will write about subjects other than Disney & nostalgia. Today is not that day. 😂 In honor of Disney Channel’s original movie marathon this Memorial Day weekend, I am going to share my favorite DCOMs.
My friends and I listened to the soundtrack on repeat. We would pretend to be The Cheetah Girls, touring and making music videos with my camera. Since there were three of us, I was a Chanel/Dorinda hybrid. ;)
The HSM movies are the only DCOMs I still own (besides Camp Rock). That about sums it up.
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Stuck in the Suburbs is my favorite because it possesses the DCOM spirit. The only reason it’s above The Cheetah Girls and High School Musical is because both of those series blew up and became something beyond just Disney Channel films. They were revolutionary and to this day hold significance in DCOM history. A random person on the street might know about T.C.G. or H.S.M. but most likely not S.I.T.S. Hopefully that makes sense!
Lizzie McGuire and Kim Possible are two of my favorite Disney Channel shows. A movie with Christy Carlson Romano (Kim) and Hilary Duff (Lizzie)?? Yes please!!
This movie is a hidden gem. I found out about it after seeing Johnny Pacar on Flight 29 Down and doing further research about his career. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I totally forgot about this movie until I saw it on the Disney Channel TV schedule. I flipped out!! Hands down one of my favorite DCOMs. I wish I could watch it more often.
These are movies that I like but don’t love. Some may surprise you, but keep in mind this is my personal opinion. I also want to point out something. I like the Zenon series, but I haven’t watched the movies many times therefore I don’t feel right putting them in the favorites category.
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If you’ve missed part of the marathon, have no fear! There are many DCOMs available on Netflix. Also, more will be airing throughout June in preparation for the premiere of Disney Channel’s 100th original movie Adventures in Babysitting.
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I suggest you tune into the Thingamavlogs livestream. They are staying live through the entire marathon for a great cause: The Pablove Foundation. Necessary links below:
• Livestream – http://www.dcommarathon.com
• Pablove Website – http://www.pablove.org
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If you know me well, you know that my life is fueled by nostalgia. Not a day goes by without me thinking about something childhood-related. For awhile I felt like a freak who just couldn’t handle the stress of “adulting.” Turns out I’m not alone. More and more people born in the 90s are speaking up and reminiscing about the “good old days.” In college, blankets and backpacks adorned by beloved characters such as Strawberry Shortcake and Spongebob Squarepants were a normal sight. I’ve recently noticed several Youtube videos revolving around childhood. Remakes of classic TV shows and movies are being produced by the dozens. There is unrest in the 2010s!! I can think of two major reasons why this is happening.
1. It’s normal to reach an age where childhood is a distant memory, and adulthood is a scary place. The feeling is similar to that of a skydiver’s parachute unexpectedly disappearing. Suddenly the innocence and freedom of the grade school years sounds like an upgrade.
2. People are truly unhappy with the quality of entertainment (toys, music, movies, shows, etc) being produced this decade. The 90s and 2000s are a golden age of sorts. Think about it. “Full House” has a successful spinoff, and “Hey Arnold” reruns air every weeknight on The Splat. If demand is any indication, the surge of nostalgia isn’t stopping anytime soon.
No matter the reason, we are winning the battle. Millennials unite!! Here’s a look at my childhood:
• Baby Years (1993 – 1998)
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• Middle Years (1999 – 2003)
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*Note: I also watched a lot of old shows such as “Looney Tunes”, “The Flintstones”, I Love Lucy”, The Andy Griffith Show”, and “The Brady Bunch.” My dad and I watched western movies on the weekends. Lots of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. :)
Teen Years (2004 – 2011)
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*Note: My later teen years were spent obsessing over crime shows such as “CSI”, “CSI: NY” and “The Mentalist.” I also watched reruns of old shows such as “The Nanny”, “Friends”, “Saved by the Bell”, and “Full House.”
• This is only a small part of my childhood. For more nostalgia, click the following link & visit my “Childhood” board on Pinterest:
*Note: There were a number of contestants unable to be involved in the Idol finale. Some of those absences were disappointing, but it must have been a nightmare trying to organize so many different people and schedules into two hours of television. I am squelching my feelings and focusing on the positive in this post.
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Going into the Idol finale, I knew I would be emotional, but I didn’t realize the tears would fall so soon. Familiar faces from past seasons appeared during the opening song, and the floodgates were open. In that moment I buckled my seatbelt and prepared for a two-hour storm of nostalgia. The majority of the show was dedicated to a flow of performances by contestants and judges. I really like that the contestants were mixed rather than organized by season. It was fantastic to hear duets and groups that I would never have dreamed of seeing perform. Even Larry Platt (“Pants on the Ground”), Sanjaya Malakar, and William Hung made an appearance. I died from laughter when I realized Sanjaya was moving around the audience and wearing different wigs. 😂 Of course the original judges had to make an appearance: Paula, Randy, & Simon, the trio that started it all. Judges come and go, but they will always be the most memorable panel. I noticed that the current judges were very emotional throughout the night. It’s hard to say goodbye to the show, but I think it had more to do with the slew of past contestants & winners making an appearance. This show has been on the air for 15 seasons, and the numerous performances proved that more times than not, the judges and voters got it right. Not every contestant made it to the pinnacle of fame, but they are spread out all over the world of music sharing their unique gifts. Last but not least, America found out who the final “American Idol” is. The winner is… Trent Harmon!! Even though I was rooting for La’Porsha, Trent is incredibly talented. I wish both of them nothing but the best. I believe both of them can go very far in the music industry.
🎶 “I have won and I have lost. I got it right sometimes, but sometimes I did not. Life’s been a journey. I’ve seen joy, I’ve seen regret. Oh and You have been my God through all of it.” Sing Colton Sing! 🎶
*Note: The videos that are missing will be posted once I find them on Youtube.
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I didn’t start watching this show until season 6, but it impacted my life long before then and continues to do so. I have owned Chris Daughtry, David Archuleta, David Cook, Kelly Clarkson, and Lee Dewyze CDs. My ipod playlist has included Angie Miller, Carrie Underwood, Colton Dixon, Jason Castro, Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen, and Phillip Phillips. My diary (2006-2014) is full of “American Idol” predictions & celebrations. I still own Kelly Clarkson’s album “Breakaway” on CD. Over the past decade, I have played that thing to death. Watching Kelly’s medley tonight, I was reminded of just how talented and special she is. She was a huge part of my childhood, and I will forever be grateful that she took a chance and auditioned for a brand new reality competition TV show.
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Farewell American Idol!! Your legacy lives on in the careers of the numerous stars you have produced.
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