Category Archives: Geekness

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What Good Books Have You Been Reading Lately Vol 11

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It’s summer. And that means more reading time for most people. To newcomers of this blog, this is a semi-regular feature on my blog. I have no set date on when these posts will go up. It all depends on how much I read and how good the books are that I read. Lately, I have been picking good books so it’s been good reading times for me.

On the Noodle Road by Jen Lin-Liu (Riverhead Books, 2013)

My blurb: I’ve really been on a foodie memoir kick lately. This one takes me into a journey through Asia and Europe and combines it with my love of pasta. After reading this, be prepared to eat a bowl of noodles. Doesn’t matter how. You’ll start craving noodles.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (Ecco/Harper Perrenial, 2007)

My blurb: If you’ve ever watched No Reservations or that new show he has on CNN, then you can pretty much know what you can expect from Bourdain. It’s written exactly how he talks. It really gives a great insight to what goes on inside a restaurant and includes many things that you wouldn’t even think about. You’ll still want to go out and eat after reading this one too.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore (Knopf, 2014)

My blurb: This book is more of a history book than a book about the comics. That wasn’t what I was expecting when I picked this up but I was still quite delighted by it. I learned a ton of things that I never knew was connected to Wonder Woman such as the creator was a bigamist and was closely connected to Margaret Sanger, the famous birth control activist. It’s a fascinating read and you won’t look at Wonder Woman in the same way again. It’ll make you look forward to her movie (more so than you did for that Batman V Superman mess of a movie.)

The Pug List by Alison Hodgson (Zondervan, 2016)

My blurb: IT’S A BOOK ABOUT A PUG. So of course I had to read this. Pugs are the best. This is actually a nice memoir about a family and how pugs had a huge impact in their life and what they did for the morale of their family during a very tough time. The only thing I wished was there had been pictures of pugs. You can never have enough pictures of pugs.


Raising the Barre by Laruen Kessler (Da Copo Press, 2015)

My blurb: The premise of this book is that a middle-aged woman decides to try out for the Nutcracker ballet. The Nutcracker is my favorite ballet of all time and based on her findings, so is almost everyone else’s. Reading this book definitely makes me want to see the ballet live again one day. But not this version which still gives me nightmares.

Close to You by Kara Isaac (Howard Books, 2016)

My blurb: Hobbits! Lord of the Rings cosplay! New Zealand! This book appeals to my geeky side as it is a contemporary romance that goes on a tour of Middle Earth. Plus the female lead has a PhD! It’s one of the VERY few romances I’ve read that the story ends and I’m 100% satisfied with how everything turned out. My only complaint is the cover does absolutely nothing for the story. I suppose it’s licensing issues but with such a LOTR heavy plot, couldn’t there be a hobbit door or someone having hairy feet on the cover?

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick Press, 2015)

My blurb: Finally! A YA historical fiction read that doesn’t involve girls in fancy dresses who basically are modern girls disguised in a “historical” setting. This book follows the story of a girl who runs away from a horrible home life to become a house maid. There was a bit of controversy of how there might be some disparaging views of religion in the book but personally I feel that they represent the time period. It may be uncomfortable to read now in modern age but in a historical context, I believe they were accurate. Overall if you like books like Little House or Anne of Green Gables, you’ll like this one too.

That’s what I’ve been reading. What good books have YOU been reading lately?

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Reading in 2016

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This year in 2016 my goal this year is to once again read 200 books. I figured, it’s a safe number that over the past few years, I’ve been right on target with meeting. Well….it’s just now April and I’ve already read 105 books. Perhaps I should increase my goal. At this rate, I’m almost at my 2010 reading level. This is what happens when you work in a library and are surrounded by books 5 days a week.

In addition to reading a certain number of books, my goal is to read at least 50 books by POC authors. I was very dismayed that despite reading over 200 books last year, I read only 8 books by non white authors. I didn’t change my reading habits at all last year so that means that without reading intentionally, I gravitate towards white authors, particularly white female authors. This year I’m being more aware of what I read. I’m not trying to fulfill a quota and just check off a box. But I want to diversify my reading and by reading at least 50 books by POC authors will help me see what else is out there.

I’m trying to read more non fiction this year as well as, oddly, more male authors. Really anything out of my normal reading habits is fair game.

I think I’d like to try to do a weekly post on what I’ve read this week. Not necessarily posting about EVERYTHING I’ve read but the top books of the week. I find that I personally like reading what others have been reading (especially if they post the covers) so I figure maybe other people would like to read that about me too.

I’ll start off by posting the books I’ve liked best over the past 3 months.

Armada by Ernest Cline (Crown, 2015)

My blurb: I’ll start off by admitting that it’s not as good as Ready Player One and the ending comes REALLY fast in a slightly unsatisfying way. And there’s a bunch of namedropping of everything nostaglically pop culture. But it was still really fun to read and I couldn’t stop turning pages. If Cline writes another book, I do hope he veers away from this formula but I’ll be glad to read it as well.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert (Gallery, 2015)

My blurb: Foodie fiction is my favorite kind of fiction. And look at that cover. It’s a chick lit book, about a restaurant owner and a food critic, and miscommunication. And a lot of food.

You’re Never Weird On The Internet (almost) by Felicia Day (Touchstone, 2015)

My blurb: Truth, I didn’t know much about Felicia Day before reading this book. I knew her name but I couldn’t figure out why she was so internet famous because I hadn’t really seen/heard much about her outside of the internet. But her book is delightfully geeky and even though I still don’t actually interact with things she’s in, it’s a great funny read.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (Grand Central, 2015)

My blurb: I’m just going to say this is basically Prince William and Kate Middleton fan fiction with Kate being an American. I mean look at that cover. If you like the royals and you’re a Will and Kate fan, you’ll love this book.

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans (Thomas Nelson, 2015)

My blurb: I’ve loved everything Rachel Held Evans has written. While I don’t necessarily agree with EVERYTHING she says, I do think that her thoughts challenge what most Christians blindly believe and makes one take a deeper look at their faith. Some people never really think about leaving the church but for those who have, this is a fantastic read.

Every Crooked Path by Steven James (Signet, 2015)

My blurb: Ever since I discovered Steven James about 8 years ago, I look forward to every Patrick Bowers book. I don’t care that this is as prequel to the main series and that I technically know what happens to Patrick, Christie, Tessa in future books. The story deals with child predators and child molestation so it can be an uncomfortable read at times. But it’s so gosh darn written well that you CANNOT put the book down. James is one of my favorite authors ever so I HIGHLY recommend these books. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

The Distance From Me to You by Marina Gessner (GP Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015)

My blurb: This is a novel about a teenage girl hiking the Appalachian Trail by herself. I’ve had a friend hike it so it was really cool to know the lingo and recognize landmarks mentioned. I don’t have plans on hiking the trail myself but it was fun to live vicariously in this story.

My Brother’s Crown by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould (Harvest House, 2015)

My blurb: This is glorious historical fiction that I love combined with a modern story that goes back and forth weaving the two together. I’ve never read a Mindy Starns Clark book that I haven’t loved (even her Amish fiction is SUPER good because it really isn’t Amish-y) and I couldn’t put this one down. If you enjoy French history or just a darn good story, read this one. And then be left dying for book 2.

Reservations for Two by Hillary Manton Lodge (Waterbrook, 2015)

My blurb: More foodie fiction. And traveling overseas. And mentions of Doctor Who and Josh Groban. When does book 3 come out?

The Annotated Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and John Matteson, editor (WW Norton & Company, 2015)

My blurb: This is one of my favorite classics of all time. This version includes annotations throughout the story that add more insight to Alcott’s life and her writing. There are also colored pictures throughout the story including drawings from Alcott’s sister, pictures of historical artifact’s from Alcott’s life, as well as images from all the movies and Broadway show based on the book. If you haven’t read the book or it’s a been a while, this is a great way to experience it. Warning it’s a HUGE and heavy book, not for toting around everywhere.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn (Viking Adult, 2007)

My blurb: I love to cook but there’s not way I could study to be a chef. Especially not at the hardest culinary school in the world. But it’s so fun to read and live vicariously through Flinn about living in Paris and training to be a chef. Plus there are recipes! Foodie memoirs are a delicious read.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling (Crown Archetype, 2011)

My blurb: Based on my Goodreads, I think I am the last of my friends to read this book. I’m honestly not quite sure why it took so long for me to read it. It’s really hilarious and I want to be Mindy Kaling’s best friend after reading it. I’ve already go her next book on hold for me at the library.

Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke (Bethany House, 2003)

My blurb: This is a reread of a Christian fiction classic and despite the fact that it was originally written in 1979, it’s still held up quite well today. It’s not groundbreaking or edgy by any means, but it’s a sweet read that’s very comforting. Better than those hacked up TV movies that are supposedly based on the books any day.

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2015: A Year in Books

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2015 was a stellar year for reading. It was the first year that I filled out a reading spreadsheet and I’m so glad that I did. I realize that not everyone is as gung ho about keeping track about what they read (and into so much detail) but I am.

Books read: 221

Ebooks read: 4

Source of books: 96% from library

I did notice several habits about my reading. I didn’t intentionally change any of my reading habits this year, instead choosing to see what I naturally gravitate toward. 96% of the books I read were from the library so that means I didn’t really buy any books this year or read any of my own personal books.

12% non fiction (This is more than I’ve ever read in a year)

24% YA or MG

13% male (Again, more than I’ve ever read in a year)

8 books by POC authors

Now that final stat really disturbs me. Because a large number of my books were Christian fiction, this means that the majority of the books I read are written by white, female authors. That genre is almost exclusively written by that demographic because that is who their reading audience is. And unfortunately those readers seem to want to read that what they know and therefore there is almost no diversity in that market. Many of these books feature smiling happy white women or white couples on the cover. I’ve resigned to the fact that the market isn’t going to change. But I can make a change about what I read.

Not in any order, here are the top 10 books I read in 2015. I recommend any and all of these.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pamela Smith Hill, editor (South Dakota State Historical Society, 2014)

My blurb: Well this book just destroyed my childhood. So it’s Wilder’s REAL autobiography as the Little House series was a) mainly written by her daughter Rose and b) heavily fictionalized plus the editor’s commentary on the sides chock full of facts and trivia. Like I said, my childhood is now ruined because I found out things like (SPOILERS) Jack, the brindle bulldog, never went to Plum Creek and onward with the family or the fact there was an extra family who lived with the Ingalls family during The Long Winter and she just chose not to add them in. It’s a great long read but be prepared to be like WTH.

Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly, 2008)

My blurb: This book is fantastic for so many reasons. 1) I’m half Burmese so WOOT. 2) It’s a graphic novel. 3) The author is French so it’s not from an American POV. 4) It’s like a travelogue and a memoir in one. 5) It’s a very enjoyable read. Once you get started you don’t want to stop. 5) Also parents, especially dads will like it. I borrowed Delisle’s other books about living in China and North Korea because this one was just so darn good.

The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel (Gallery Books, 2015)

My blurb: So the funny thing about this book is that it’s really not one of my favorite books from this author. I felt the main character to be a bit whiny and I really wish she would have just TOLD her feelings instead of hiding them or assuming that people would just understand them. But what made this book stand out is that the overall plot is something I’ve always imagined “what if” to myself and it filled out the technical holes I always wondered in that situation. If you got transported into another version of yourself, how would you know everything in that life and still be aware of your real life?

The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki (Howard Books, 2015)

My blurb: I didn’t know anything about Elisabeth or Sissi, the Austrian empress before this book but after reading it, I’m now like MUST FIND OUT EVERYTHING. This is a wonderfully written historical fiction. It’s lush with detail and I really felt transported into the story. I’m really not sure why this book is published with a Christian publisher as there’s nothing that stands out as being really Christian (which is fine for me but I know problematic for others). Pataki’s last book (The Traitor’s Wife) was outstanding as well and I cannot wait for her next one.

How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor (Basic Books, 2014)

My blurb: The cover isn’t amazing but if you’re a huge Star Wars fan, then this book is going to be one of the most fun reads you’ll have this year. It gives a history of the franchise but not in a chronological order. Taylor focuses on different aspects of the movie making process as well as reactions and opinions. You can tell he’s a fan but he’s doesn’t shy on criticizing when it needs it. Almost every little thing I personally like that deals with the franchise (both good and bad) gets a shout out. To be honest, it makes me really want to go back and watch all the movies and TV shows and read some of the books to prepare for The Force Awakens in December. I highly recommend this one.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Random House, 2011)

My blurb: I talked a bit about this already on the blog but I had a BLAST reading this book. My “book club” decided to read it and I’m really glad because it’s been recommended me for a while and I kept putting it aside. Basically if you grew up in the 80s and know a lot about pop culture this is the book for you. It was so fun reading it too! Granted some of it seems a bit like name dropping at times and how many references can the author cram in a passage. But overall it’s really fun and I’m looking forward to the movie directed by Spielberg in a few years.

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs (Quirk Books, 2015)

My blurb: This book is the handbook of my life. Seriously, if you ever wanted to understand my interests better, please pick up this book. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, young or old. All the things I like that are geeky are in this book. All the things I want to like but haven’t had the chance to are in this book. It’s written in a fun way and well…I’m just geeking out right now thinking about it.

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014)

My blurb:

I realize I normally don’t write reviews on here, but this really was one of the best books I have read this year. I could not stop laughing while reading this book. I also developed a major crush on the author while reading. Alas it was not meant to be. This was by far the best memoir I read this year. If you are someone who grew up in Christian youth group, you’ll get this book as well.

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon (GP Putnam’s Sons, 2015)

My blurb: First, I’m only going to recommend this book if you read the rest of the books in the Mitford series. I can’t say you’ll enjoy it as much if you didn’t read the others. That being said, if this book is the FINAL book in the series, then it goes out with a wonderful bang. Everything I loved about everyone in this series happens and it’s a wonderful way to wrap things up. I came away highly satisfied and, as always with a Mitford novel, highly comforted.

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (St. Martin’s Press, 2015)

My blurb: I normally wouldn’t have picked up this book had it not been a recommendation from Book Riot as it falls out of my normal gravitational pull. But I’m really glad I did. It’s a book about books. And librarians. And a mystery. And I personally like the deckle edged pages that come with it because I feel it adds to the story. It’s beautifully written.

I’ll talk about 2016 reading goals in an upcoming post. Yes, a spreadsheet has happened again.

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Genre Geeking: Graphic Novels and Comics

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I’ve decided that I want to talk a bit more about the things I like on here, mainly because 1) it’s my blog and 2) I like talking about things I like.

This time around we’re going to talk genres of books that I’ve discovered that I like reading. Today we’ll be talking about graphic novels and comics.

I’ve always liked comics (really, you’re kinda boring if you don’t). But it’s only very recently that I’ve truly enjoyed them as a form of literature. It probably comes from a childhood where one was taught that reading a comic book wasn’t really reading. They were for leisure only and therefore not to be taken seriously. Plus growing up it was mainly a guy thing, girls didn’t really read comics.

All that’s changed now. Graphic novels are super popular among the middle grade and YA set. Our copies at the library fly out at a tremendous rate and are read by both boys AND girls. It’s now become acceptable to be of any age reading them, really. Sure you’ll have naysayers who will disagree but who cares. It’s a medium that is done very creatively because you can either have an original story and make it come alive with good art or you can take a story that’s already been established and the graphic novelization of it makes it into something new.

I think reading graphic novels and comics is a ton of fun (though sometimes with the comics, I have issues with how women are portrayed but for right now we’ll let it pass) and there’s so many good ones that I’ve read in the past year.

Ms. Marvel series by G. Willow Wilson (Marvel)

Thor by Jason Aaron (Marvel)

Jeffrey Brown’s Star Wars series (Chronicle books)

Guy Delisle’s travelogues (Drawn and Quarterly)

The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman (Image Comics)

Now I know that these don’t even begin to scratch the surface of comics and graphic novels at all. I’m not an expert and there’s still so much to learn and explore. One excellent website to learn more is Panels, from the folks who also do Book Riot.

Tell me what graphic novels and comics you like and based on what I’ve shown here, give me some recommendations!

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Again and Again!

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I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to write for today’s post and The Fellowship of The Ring is on tv. I’m not sure if it’s because of Christopher Lee passing away or because the network is about to start playing The Hobbit. Anywho, I’m rewatching it because it’s fantastic and the LOTR trilogy is one of my favorite movie series ever.

I’ve written before about not having a problem with rereading or rewatching TV/movies. Today I’m going to tell you exactly what series I can rewatch over and over again. In fact I’m severely tempted to drop everything that I’m doing right now and start binge watching/reading these.

Books –

Harry Potter


The Chronicles of Narnia

Anne of Green Gables

Little House on the Prairie

Movies –

Lord of the Rings trilogy (sorry Hobbit, you weren’t as good)

Star Wars (I personally can watch all 6, but 4-6 are very good on their own as well)

Indiana Jones (Let’s be honest, we’ll just forget Crystal Skull happened)

James Bond

TV shows –

Doctor Who

Breaking Bad

Lost

Maybe I will again one day. How about you?

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I can enjoy a good chick flick….from time to time

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In the past few years I’ve become known for being a big fan watching all those geek, adventure, superhero, sci fi blockbuster movies where about 80% of the time I’m watching it with my guy friends vs my girl friends. And I completely enjoy them 100%. Enough to the point where I’ll see them multiple times in theaters….

But every now and then I do like to kick back and watch a chick flick. Granted, my type of chick flicks tend to veer in the historical costume drama type and skew towards the British end of things. Hey I can’t help it if Brits do it best and that bringing a book to life can be the best way to tell a story. Anywho though, I like having an emotional side too where I can swoon over a good love story or cry my eyes out and just enjoy being a girl.

So here today are some of my favorites:

The Young Victoria (2006) is one of my all time favorite movies ever. It’s British, it’s historical, it deals with British royalty and it stars Emily Blunt who I adore. It’s so wonderful and this scene where Victoria and Albert both sort of propose to each other makes me swoon.

And speaking of swooning, every time I watch this scene from Pride & Prejudice (2005) – be still my heart. I’m sorry to all the 1995 purists but this version of this scene is WAY more romantic. Seriously – dawn, mist, fog, sunrise, long flowy coat.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m #TeamJoLaurie all the way but since we can’t have that, this ending from Little Women (1994) is just lovely. The music swells, Jo is so excited to see the Professor and the look in his face when he realizes she’s still single. My heart is still swooning.

On the complete end of things, Bright Star is such a bittersweet love story of the relationship between John Keats and Fanny Brawne. It is so sad and beautiful. This scene here, I am still sobbing as I write this. It’s so emotionally raw and maybe it won’t for you, but I really can’t see how you watch it without feeling any sort of moisture coming from your eyes.

Now lest you think, I ONLY watch historicals, here’s a clip from my favorite chick flick of all time, Love Actually. Really it’s best scene out of the whole movie because it’s so freakin romantic. Anyone who thinks this scene is stupid, I don’t get you. I really don’t. Please tell me why or how you think it’s stupid. And then tell me how you got your current signficant other.

And to cap it off for today, He’s Just Not That Into You as a whole isn’t the best movie, but all the Gigi scenes are highly relatable to pretty much everyone so that is what makes it a good chick flick. Also this scene….sigh.

So who’s up for girls’ night?

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Geeking About The Beatles: Help!

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If you’ve known me for any extended amount of time, then you know that my all time favorite band is The Beatles. One of my blogging goals for 2015 is to have a regular feature and because I’m completely random, I will be featuring a Beatles album monthly. This is exciting because it gives me a chance to relisten to these albums again. I’m not exactly reviewing it (as I am not a music reviewer) but instead enjoying it as a fan.

It’s movie time again with The Beatles! Interestingly I believe I saw this movie first before really getting into the band. It was on PBS and I remember the ski resort scenes and also the fact that it was in color. Anywho if you haven’t seen Help!, it’s a lot of fun. It’s drastically different from A Hard Day’s Night as it’s more of The Beatles in crazy locations doing crazy things (I mean Paul shrinks for goodness sakes and Ringo is about to get sacrficed) and it’s in color! But it’s still a lot of fun and it gives a good insight to what it was like during the 60s.

This is actually one of my favorite Beatles albums. Almost all the songs are ones that I can listen to over and over again. There’s such a range on here from silly love longs to things that are deeper with more feeling. You have George starting to write more and Ringo gets to do his country/western sound that he loves so much. I think this is the last album for a while that uses a cover. There are a lot of classic Beatles songs on here and they all sound really good.

What I think is most interesting is how “Yesterday” is tacked on near the end. I know that they handled packaging differently when it was originally released in the US but here with its placement it seems almost like an afterthought. Which of course is funny because it is one of the most (if not THE most) covered pop song of all time. And it’s such a lovely song too.

  • Help! (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – John
  • The Night Before (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – Paul
  • You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – John
  • I Need You (Harrison) – Lead Singer – George
  • Another Girl (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer- Paul
  • You’re Going to Lose That Girl (Lennon/McCartney)-Lead Singer – John
  • Ticket to Ride (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer- John/Paul
  • Act Naturally (Russell/Morrison) – Lead Singer – Ringo
  • It’s Only Love (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – John
  • You Like Me Too Much (Harrison) – Lead Singer – George
  • Tell Me What You See (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – Paul/John
  • I’ve Just Seen a Face (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – Paul
  • Yesterday (Lennon/McCartney) – Lead Singer – Paul
  • Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Williams) – Lead Singer – John

Standout Songs: Help!, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, Ticket to Ride, Yesterday

Personal Favorites: It’s Only Love, Tell Me What You See, I Need You, You’re Going to Lose that Girl, I’ve Just Seen a Face

Least Memorable: You Like Me Too Much, Dizzy Miss Lizzy

As you can see I LOVE this album. And there are MANY songs that I love so much. In fact because there are so many that I love, I’m going to highlight two of them today.

“It’s Only Love” is just simple and beautiful to me.

The lyrics to “Tell Me What You See” are what I once told a guy I like. I mean seriously, open up your eyes because I’M RIGHT THERE. But whatevs.

Fun fact: the Beatles are NOT spelling Help on the cover with their arms. In fact they aren’t spelling a word at all. In fact it’s just saying NUJV.

Next Month: Rubber Soul

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What is Deborah Geeking Over This Week Vol 7

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All these rocked my world this week:

When I saw this trailer in the theaters, I didn’t understand it or have a desire to see it as I had never seen the originals. But then I got free tickets to a preview showing and thought what the heck. I brought my friend who was a HUGE fan of the originals. And guess what? We both really enjoyed it! It’s a lot of fun and adrenaline and honestly one of the softest R movies I’ve ever been to and the female characters are FANTASTIC. Go see it!

I’ve listened to this song for a few years but recently it’s been on non stop repeat. Like I’ll go to bed with this playing in the background. I’ve even gone so far and written a story based on how this song makes me feel. Never to be read by other eyes but it’s had that much influence.

I’ve been trying to eat more healthy these days (and it seems to be working somewhat!) and this means I’ve been eating more salads for my lunch. Yesterday I went to Chick-fil-a and go this, the market grill salad. I used only a bit of the berry vinaigrette dressing and didn’t add the granola or nuts (saved them for snacks) and it was extremely filling for the low amount of calories! I am learning however that eating healthier means paying more. Sigh.

I got a hair cut (which no one seems to have noticed but when you have long hair, 4 inches isn’t that much) and I needed to do something with it so I got this. Yes I realize it says blonde on the bottle but I’ve actually used a lot John Frieda blonde stuff in the past and liked it. This one is good for texturizer plus it has a nice scent and it makes me feel like my hair has just gone to the beach.

I have a thing for Chris Pratt right now. He’s just fantastic in everything. And yes I enjoyed him BEFORE he got all buff in Guardians because he was excellent in Parks and Rec and all his earlier stuff too. But, look at him in a suit! And he’s a great dad too! If I were to make a movie about my life, I would cast Chris Pratt in it. There may be a celeb fangirling post soon…..